It's very easy to let yourself slip into laziness and just wait for that day that you'll drive down, but to make sure you waste no time when you're in there, here are a few tips to remember to maximize that expensive time slot!
Rip it!
Rip down all demo audio tracks you have to stems that are all the same length so you can chuck them straight into your projects. That way no matter what software they use, you can quickly set up an initial track.
This way it's also easier to get a feel for the song - you can re-record any tracks that feel they are lacking and leave the ones that are a good enough quality already (synth and sample tracks for example tend to be fine and just benefit from a little studio polish!)
Get MIDI ready!
As I said, synths don't usually need re-doing, but you might find that a change in the song requires a new sound on an old part.
Having those MIDI tracks nicely organised speeds the process up considerably - especially if you can just boot up your laptop, change the synth patch or sample rhythm a bit, then quickly send it back to the master studio computer.
Practice 'til you bleed!
Well, maybe not that much, but if there's any live instrumentation it's VITAL that you can play it perfectly in time first try.
Practicing along to a click track and recording yourself is a great way to see where you're a bit sloppy - zoom right in on the wave form and see if you're coming in too fast or too slow, notice anywhere you struggle to nail those more difficult parts and find out exactly what you're doing wrong.
Have all samples easily accessible!
Make sure you bring a laptop or external hard drive with your entire sample library, nicely organised, into the studio.
If you need new samples, it's a massive time saver to be able to pick out what you want in a matter of minutes rather than searching through folder after folder of unsorted sounds.
Videography!
Get a film-inclied friend to accompany you and make a video diary for your fans! YouTube is ideal for showing an insight behind the music, so don't waste the opportunity
Boast about it to your friends!
You're going into a pro studio, you've got to milk it!
