Making a Demo Tape
Written by Dick Hodgin --  m80@nando.net

        
 Question: How can I go about making a demo tape without spending a fortune?
 
                                                                                                                    
          If you don't have a CD out, then this it the easiest way of 
giving someone an idea of what your band is like. It's not easy or cheap 
to make a GREAT  demo tape, but, a suitable demo tape can  be made easily 
and cheaply.  Here are a few suggestions:
 
         1. The cheapest way to make a demo tape is to make a recording 
of your practice with whatever means you  can get a hold of.  If that 
means on a jam box and that's the best you can do, then do it. Set the 
jam box far enough away from the band so that it won't distort the tape 
too much.  Experiment with different positions.  Try setting the recorder 
in another room. You'll be surprised at the difference.  Also try to get 
the vocals on there fairly hot (unless you're one of those bands that 
don't care about the vocals). If you can borrow (or rent) a 4-track or 
better and spend some real time making a tape at home, it's gonna sound 
better. The better your tape, the better your chances of impressing 
someone. (to a point! A shitty band with a good sounding tape is still 
going to have problems getting booked.)               
 
        2.  A step up would be a live recording at a gig. A good console 
and some better mics at a night club are probably going to be better than 
whatever you have for  recording at home. VERY LIMITED! You'll have to 
live with how well you played that night.  If you can do a multi-track 
recording of a live  show, you' ll have more control over the final 
quality. At least you can mix the levels of the instruments and maybe 
putz around with some effects and/or compression and stuff. You can even 
do some over-dubs  if you want to.
 
          3. A step up from that would be to go to your local studio and 
pay for a demo, or try to get a studio to give you a "SPEC" deal. ( A 
"SPEC" deal is where the studio fronts you the time and then you pay for 
it IF  and WHEN  you get a recording deal).  Be very careful about these 
kinds of arrangements. Make sure everyone in the band, as well as 
everyone at the studio knows all the details of the agreement. You'll 
probably want to get something down in writing about who, what, where, 
how much, and of course, when.
        
        4. A "LIVE TO 2 TRACK" tape.  Most studios have some sort of demo 
package for bands that would include, say, set-up time, recording hours, 
engineer, tape and copies to do a "live two-track" tape.  This means you 
go into the studio,  set up your gear just like you play live, and the 
engineer records you as you play your songs. NO re-mixing!  (Cheap! Maybe 
$100 -$300) 
 
         5. One more step up from that gets you into doing rhythm tracks 
with vocal and lead over dubs, then a mix-down session. (more expensive- 
maybe from $500 -$1000) 
        
         6. From there you go to getting a producer and doing a "finished 
project" that you could shop to record companies and/or put out yourself 
for sale. (Could be real expensive - over $1000) The main thing is, don't 
sit around on your ass 'cause you don't have the cash to make a CD 
quality demo. Just do anything that you can to get started. The 
experience of demo recording will also make your NEXT tape sound better. 
You've got to start somewhere.
 
        THERE's ONLY ON THING TO REMEMBER!!!  
                 You get what you pay for!!
 
 
After you get your demo tape done, make sure you have a way of getting 
good copies. Maybe one person in the band has a real good tape deck and 
you can get hold of another one and just make a bunch of copies.( You can 
buy bulk blank CRO2 tapes from FORTRESS AUDIO  919-376-9601-Ask for PAT)  
If you can afford it, get the studio to make your copies, they'll sound 
better, but it can be expensive. 
 
        Another way is to get a master mix on HI-FI VHS and make cassette 
copies from there. Those will sound better than cassette to cassette 
dubs. You can get a little cheap 3-band stereo eq from RADIO SHACK to put 
the finishing overall sound on your dubs. ALWAYS CHECK YOUR DUB BEFORE 
SENDING IT OUT.  It's embarrassing when you go to all that trouble, and 
then you send out a defective tape. Put a cool cover card (J-CARD) in 
there and make sure your phone number is ON THE TAPE ITSELF, as well as 
the cover.
 
        If you've got some money, you may elect to put your demo out 
yourself for sale. You can call companies like American Sound & Video in 
Atlanta (404-633-4577-talk to STAN),  and they'll put your whole tape 
package together for you, complete with printed J-cards and shrink wrap. 
Their high-speed dupes sound good. This looks professional and you can 
make some of your money back. It also makes other bands jealous.
 
        Don't forget, if you have any questions, taunts, good 
ideas....      ------------>  m80@nando.net