1. If you know nothing about recording then take time to learn before you start working on anything important. There is nothing that breaks the creative flow more than fighting with the computer to make it do something simple. Take an educational course or better still, sit in on some sessions with some fellow musicians or engineers and learn the ropes from them. Work on a few ‘dummy’ projects before starting the big one so that the creative process is as seamless as possible.
2. Don’t skimp on equipment, if you want your record to sound as good as your favorite album then be prepared to buy some decent gear. Don’t believe the adverts that say you can get professional grade recordings with a setup that costs just a couple of hundred quid. You want quality throughout your signal chain going into your recording device (good microphones, good pre-amps, good converters) and good software and hardware to mix with. If in doubt get some good advice from other musicians and engineer you know and trust, don’t believe the man in the shop who’s on commission from the manufacturers!
3. Spend as much time researching, setting up and treating your recording room as you do deciding on your equipment. The room is the key to a great sounding recording, even if that means just making it dead enough so that you can add on artificial room effects afterwards. 
4. Even though your ‘doing-it-yourself’ get other people involved whenever you can. This could range from just playing work in progress to a select group of honest friends with good musical taste to working with someone in a co-producer role. In the latter situation, the dynamic of throwing ideas around with the right person can take a record to a whole new level, it can push you when you get complacent and it can reassure you when you feel unsure about something that sounds awesome but you’ve heard it so many times that you’ve lost perspective. Getting too close to your project is always a danger and so having one or two people come in and give you some objective pointers and encouragement can be a lifeline.
5. Try and set a timetable and stick to it. Projects without finish dates can ramble on for years and lose all sense of creative momentum. Obviously spend as much time as you need to perfect the song writing and production but try to continually push yourself to get it done within a manageable time frame. That immediacy of a deadline can brings it’s own creativity to the process.

Recording With Professionals —>