Paul White presents 20 ways to ensure your studio runs smoothly

If only he'd taken notice ofthem himself, he might be managing Abbey Road by now!
Even a relatively small studio setup is a complex, symbiotic organism strung together by innumerable leads andoften relying on several pieces of software to make it run smoothly. All it takes is one faulty connection and thefunction of the whole system can be compromised. A little planning and preventative maintenance goes a longway, but because it's boring, it tends to get put off. Don't let it! This month's tips concentrate on those simplethings that if done will help your studio run smoothly, but if ignored, can disrupt smooth running... I have done myvery best to resist the temptation to point out that if you really want a smooth-running studio, the only PCcomputer in it should be used to do the accounts! And so, without further ado and in no particular order, hereare 20 things you can do to help keep the gremlins at bay.
1. Check all your mains cables periodically by removing the covers from theplugs and tightening the connectors. These do work loose with time and giverise to crackles and buzzes, not to mention the risk of electric shock. Ensurecable clamps and fuse holders are tight and that the correct fuse value is fitted.Budget distribution boards can be dismantled and the contacts tightened upusing a pair of pliers, but remember to unplug them first!
2. Wipe all jack plugs using a cloth sprayed with Deoxit (see right), and spray some intoyour patchbay sockets as well to help avoid the build-up of corrosion and dirt. This stuff also works well onmains plugs where it is essential to maintain a low impedance, especially on the earth pin. I don't know if I'd goto Martin Walker's lengths of cleaning all the mains plug pins with wire wool, but it can't do any harm.
3. Make up track sheets to document your recording sessions, and expand your design to includedetails on effects and processor settings. If the session includes sequenced sounds, keep a note ofall the synths, patch numbers, expansion cards and sample CD-ROMs used during the session. Adouble-sided track sheet with one side for audio and another for MIDI is a practical way to do the job.
4. If your sequencer doesn't have a facility for showing the patch names of your varioussynths, photocopy the relevant patch sheets from your synth manuals and get themlaminated. Many local photocopy shops do laminating quite cheaply and it saves thesheets getting creased or torn.
5. Label all used tapes. Labelling the boxes is not good enough as tapes oftenend up in the wrong boxes. Stick to the APRS labelling convention (for detailsof which see the January 1995 issue of SOS) so that master tapes, productionmasters and backups are clearly identified.
6. When you get a new piece of gear, take the time to learn it thoroughly before using it on a session whereother musicians are involved. Even if it's not a paid session, musicians will get impatient if you're messingaround with a piece of gear that you're not familiar with, and this in turn affects their creativity.
7. Many pieces of software have 'key-disk-installs' as a form of copy protection, and if you have a lotof software plug-ins, it's easy to lose track. To ensure you don't miss any if you have to deinstalleverything from your hard drive, keep a notepad file with the names and version numbers of all thekey-disk-install protected software you have on the machine. It also helps to keep all your key disksin one (safe) place.
8. Use a separate hard drive for recording your audio files and defragment it regularly. Failure to do this willreduce the number of simultaneous tracks you can play back without suffering glitching. Try not to work with adrive that's more than around three-quarters full as it can slow down noticeably.
9. Back up everything, especially if it's digital! Digital data cannot be consideredto truly exist unless it is stored in at least two, and preferably more, differentplaces! If you have a CD-ROM recorder, make a copy of your entire hard driveso that it will be easier to reinstall your system in the event of a serious crash.Of course you can't copy key disk installs to a CD-ROM, so you still need totake care of these by manually deinstalling. The same CD-ROM recorder can beused to store the audio files used in your sequences. If you make a lot ofchanges, you might want to use a rewritable disk/drive, but standard CD-Rs are so cheap that it'shardly worth it.
10. When wiring your studio, always make the cables just a little longer than you need. There'll come a timewhen you want to move something, and Sod's Law dictates that your cables won't quite reach! Line-level cablescan safely be made a few metres longer than necessary without compromising the signal quality, especially ifthey are balanced.
11. Do a SysEx dump of all the user patches in your synths, modules and effects units and thenmake further backups of these. You never know when the internal batteries may die, resulting in theloss or corruption of all your patches (see page 42 for more on this). If you use RAM memory cards,you should also back these up as SysEx dumps as everything is lost when the battery is removed.
12. Subscribe to an Internet service, especially if you use a PC for your music. Often the only way to ensure youhave the latest drivers is to check the manufacturers' web sites and then download what you need. The Internetis also a useful place to look for answers to your technical problems, and of course the SOS site is brim full ofPC-related FAQs (see picture on page 200).
13. Even if you don't play guitar, buy a guitar tuner. There'll come a time when a guitarist turns up atthe studio without one and even if you do tune it to a keyboard, it's bound to drift out as the day goeson. It pays to check guitar and bass tuning before just about every take.
14. Don't skimp on media, whether it's DAT tapes, CD-R blanks, ADATtape or whatever. You've spent a lot of time and money on your music, soit makes sense to preserve it in the most reliable way possible. Also,follow the manufacturer's advice on storage.
15. However much RAM your software tells you it needs to runproperly, always fit at least 16Mb more and preferably 32Mb more.At today's low prices, it doesn't make sense to cut corners, andhaving inadequate amounts of RAM can cause all sorts ofproblems, including crashes.
16. Use the right cables for connecting digital audio. Cheap audio phonoleads may appear to work when connecting one S/PDIF device toanother, but you could end up with intermittent clicks and glitches. Buy purpose-made digital cables and keepthe connections as short as is practical.
17. Don't cut corners when choosing a computer monitor. Most audio software feels distinctlycramped on anything other than a 17-inch monitor, but don't just buy the cheapest as you may endup with a fuzzy display that strains your eyes. A really good monitor will cost a little more, but youmay be able to change the display resolution to make it display as much as a 19-inch monitor with noloss of definition.
18. Arrange your equipment racks so that you can get to the back easily if you need to. No matter how cleveryour patching system, the time will come when you have to string together something out of the ordinary.Self-adhesive PTFE (Teflon) gliders fixed to the bottom of a large rack make it easy to move on carpet.
19. Mark up your patchbays clearly. I know you don't get a lot of space, but if your abbreviations aretoo cryptic, visiting musicians won't have a clue as to what goes where. I print mine using an inkjetprinter with eight socket labels per line using tabs to set the spacing between sockets. Three stripscover the full width of a 24-pair patchbay, and clear Sellotape gives a good protective finish to thelabels.
20. When you buy a new piece of equipment, stick the receipt to the bottom of the case so you can find itquickly in the event of a breakdown within the warranty period. Those self-adhesive pockets used to hold parceldocuments are good for this.