• Get a decent microphone. The better quality the mic, the better the recording – it’s that simple. If you’ve not got a good microphone and don’t want to buy one, ask to borrow one from a friend or even loan one from a shop. It really is worth it.
• Cut out the noise. Sounds obvious but you would be surprised at the number of demos I listen to that have dishwashers in the background, or friends chatting. Even less obvious things, like the background hiss from some electrical equipment, can make a difference, so make sure your recording space is as quiet as possible.
• Mic positioning. As a general rule, the less distance between you and the mic, the less room there is for something to go wrong or interfere. If possible, plug instruments straight into your recording device (i.e. your computer) with the line-out socket on your amps. If you’re singing, use an old pair of tights as a ‘spit guard’, to go between your mouth and the microphone. This helps reduce the sounds of breathing and ‘popping’ from your mouth – as well as stopping the mic getting covered in spit!
• Dampen. Any hollow, echoing sound is not your friend when making a recording and you’re likely to get this in your house, especially if you have wooden floors. You can reduce this by surrounding the recording area in anything that will deaden the sound – duvets and pillows, for example, or the classic egg boxes will help a little. Try to enclose the recording space as much as possible.
• Let it flow. It’s amazing the effect a microphone can have on a musician’s nerves, even if they are just sitting in their bedroom with friends! The best advice is to just play as normal and try to forget you’re recording. With huge disk space on computers these days you can even leave it recording for a whole session – one or two hours – and go back to pick out the best bits, which takes some of the pressure off. Unless, of course, you play well under pressure!

I hope you found these tips useful – you’ll never get studio-quality at home but for a rough demo they should set you on your way to a half-decent recording.

So I’m trying to forget about football this week (although I will watch the Stoke game tonight, obviously) and concentrating on some other stuff. There are a couple of really interesting bands in the studio this week and I’m enjoying working with them. The lot I’ve had in today have put down three tracks and I honestly think they could be something big – they’ve got a really original sound. And the (female) bass player’s not bad looking either.

Which reminds me – I’m off out on Friday night with a girl I met a couple of weeks ago in a Manchester bar. We got talking about restaurants in Manchester that we both like and it turns out her favourite is also mine, so we’re going there on Friday. She’s also a singer so it seems like we might have a few things in common – maybe I can help her with some recording! Speaking of which, I’ve had a few people ask me recently for some music recording tips so I’m thinking of doing a blog about it later this week, to help out all you bedroom musicians out there – watch this space…

I’ve invited quite a few people round to watch the game at mine so I think it’s going to be quite a party – a 12.45 kick off means it could be a long day too as I expect we’ll head into Manchester afterwards for a few beers around the bars. That’s if we win anyway – some of the lads get really depressed when we lose big games and the party spirit really goes out of them. I can understand why but I never let it affect me that much; I’d rather still go out and enjoy myself than sit at home moping!

I managed to go and look at that Mazda 5 yesterday and I must say I really liked it. They’re really well made cars and it’s a good size for me – definitely given me something to think about. Anyway, just one more day of work this week – finishing a band’s demo off tomorrow – then the big FA Cup weekend. Here’s a little reminder of some United magic to get me in the mood – a classic Bryan Robson goal against Liverpool in the 1985 FA Cup:

This weekend’s all about the FA Cup anyway, with us paying our old friends Liverpool a visit on Saturday. Always a heated game with our north-west rivals but there should be some good football too. Glad I’m not going over for it anyway – much better to stay at home and watch it with a few mates than get caught up in all the hassle of travelling over there. City have got Liverpool away tomorrow, in the League Cup, so it’ll be interesting to see how we both get on with them in the same week.

It’s been a steady week in the studio, which has been nice. Some good, interesting work as well as a bit of time to sort stuff out. More car hunting this week – I’m off to look at a used Mazda 5 tomorrow, to see if it would be a good model for me. They’ve got a bit more room in them than the others I’ve been looking at so it might suit.

With the studio worries off my mind I can start concentrating on some other things. The football, of course, takes first place, but I’m also going to make a real effort with sorting out this car as well. Me and Sally were driving past a big car place at the weekend and popped in for a look. They had a lot of choice and it was good to have a look at all the different models but their prices were really high. I’ve been looking on the net at some other big places for car sales North West. There are a few around so when I get some time later this week and at the weekend I’ll go out and take a look around. There’s got to be a car for me out there somewhere!

I suppose there will always be arguments about it though – especially when the referees’ decisions go against you. In my days of (very) amateur football, when I was younger, our manager always used to say to us: “The referee is always right, even when he’s wrong.” Maybe someone needs to tell Rooney and Mancini this – although I’m not sure it’d go down too well! Anyway, looking forward to continuing a good run at Arsenal this weekend, then it’s on to a more pressured game, away to Liverpool in the FA Cup the weekend after that. Looking forward to it, if a little nervous.

I won’t be going to Arsenal this weekend, mainly because I can’t be bothered to go all that way when I could just watch it at home with the lads (which is what I will do). It also means I can enjoy myself on Saturday night without having to spend loads of money in London or worry about rushing around on Sunday – I love all the bars and restaurants Manchester has to offer, there’s no need to go anywhere else really!

This week’s been pretty good in the studio. I’ve had two bands in for two days each, recording demos, and they’ve both been really good – nice people and talented, passionate musicians. I even did some backing vocals for one of the bands, on a track where they needed a big group sound. It’s not very often that I’ll do that but they did ask so I thought I might as well. Many studio owners are former or failed musicians who jump at the chance to be on a record but I have to say I’m not one of those! I do play a little piano but I certainly have no designs on being the next Elton John – or Jamie Cullum. I know what I’m good at and it’s definitely not creating music – producing it, yes, but not creating it.

Still, it’s always good to be reminded that there is a ‘proper’ music scene out there, away from all the sugar-coated commercial stuff, and this week’s bands have left me with a positive vibe for the weekend – let’s hope United are in a positive mood against Bolton on Saturday!

We’ve drawn Liverpool away in the next round, on the weekend of 28 January, which should be a classic. One of the lads mentioned trying to get tickets for it but I don’t think I’ll bother – I don’t mind the odd away game but these special ones, with the rivalry, tend to be more hassle than they are worth. I’d rather just enjoy it at home. Anyway, back to the Premier League this weekend with Bolton at home – maybe Scholes will inspire the team to show a little more consistency in the league!

The studio is up and running again for another year. I’ve got a couple of local bands in this week recording demos and it’s the first time it will have been used since before Christmas. I don’t expect it to be booked out all the time but I was a little surprised we’ve not had more interest recently. This time last year I was turning people away so I hope this isn’t the start of a trend – I may look at getting a bit of PR consultancy, just to see if I can raise our profile a bit and make sure it’s being used regularly. That’s about as far as my business plan for this year goes really – try and get the studio well booked!

Right, I’m off to do some recording with today’s band so I’ll leave you with the little ginger wizard – good to have you back Paul Scholes!

It’s a classic on Sunday anyway, playing City in the FA Cup (which I’ve just noticed is now officially called the FA Cup ‘with’ Budweiser) and we have a bit of a score to settle after losing to them in the semi final last year. I don’t begrudge them that, or eventually winning it – I think it’s good to have a decent rival and if they never won anything it would be a bit boring. Still, I do like a derby and I will, of course, be hoping to give them a good stuffing this Sunday!

I do normally try to go to the games with City but I’m not this year. I’ll be out Saturday night as… wait for it… I’ve got a date! I know, I’ve kept that one quiet! I only met her last week actually – she’s a friend of a friend and we just got talking on a night out over Christmas. She gave me her number and I texted her to invite her out for dinner this Saturday and she said yes, obviously. Not sure where we’ll go yet but I’ll probably take her to one of the best Manchester restaurants – can’t have her thinking I’m a cheapskate!

The football kicks off at 1pm on Sunday so I’ll have a couple of the lads over to watch it, and hope for a decent win to get rid of these Premier League blues!

I read in the paper about Rooney, Gibson and Evans being fined and all dropped from that game for going out on Boxing Day and not training very well the following day. I can understand Sir Alex Ferguson’s need to be strict about things like that but it seems a little harsh, especially as all dropping did was to help us lose the game, which also means we’re still not top of the Premier League. We have a chance this week, depending on how Man City get on at Liverpool tonight, and our game at Newcastle on Wednesday of course. Let’s hope Rooney doesn’t hit the town again this week!

Anyway, the New Year means, of course, that most of us are making resolutions. Here are mine – only three this year and I’ve tried to keep them realistic:

1. Sort out the new car. I’m going to look at a new Renault Megane this week and I’m determined to get the car sorted this year.
2. Concentrate on work. I really enjoyed having bands in the studio last year so I’m going to make an effort to get more in and help them record some really good stuff.
3. Win the league. OK, so there’s nothing much I can actually do to help it but maybe my good vibes will help!