mandy woods

mandy woods

Preparing for a session in the studio:

 

I decide which songs I’ll be recording in this session, and make sure I’m word perfect on them without needing to refer to lyric sheets. I can concentrate on putting emotion into the words much more when I’m not having to read them while I’m singing them. Before heading out, I make sure I have the right guitar, together with my two trusty capos (a regular one and a partial one), a cable, and a copy of the lyrics just in case of memory failure in the heat of the moment! Also a memory stick for Felix to save the day’s work onto for me.

 

In the studio, we’ve worked out the procedure that works best for me. First put down a guitar and vocal guide, to a click track. Then put down the final guitar part, playing along to the guide. Then put down several takes of the vocal to the guitar part and choose the best bits of each. Then, where needed, bv’s (doubled) and harmonica. Then let Felix work her magic on the desk, with input from me in terms of what sound I like best (plenty of reverb on the voice!), though mainly my job at this point is to go and put the kettle on!   Mandy Woods

http://mandywoods.co.uk/