Pre-Recording

These are step-by-step instructions for pre-recording your show. Please also consider making this pre-record evergreen.

Evergreen Shows

Evergreen means the show is timeless and can be ready to air in any situation. Every DJ should have an evergreen in the can for weather emergencies or other emergencies.
NOTE: An Evergreen show can air only one more time, and no sooner than 6 months after the initial airing.

Evergreen Show Requirements:

• Do not reference the date, time or even “morning”, “afternoon”, “tonight” etc. or weather.
• Do not mention upcoming concerts, events, current events etc.
• Do not mention that an album or song, or really anything, is new.
• Do not mention the show before or after yours.
• Although it’s difficult, do not mention the breaks! It may seem odd, but do not mention “after the break” or "after these words" or any reference to an upcoming spot that runs during your show in Wide Orbit. Replace mentioning the break by succinctly ID’ing yourself, the show and KDHX.

Step by Step Instructions for your Pre-Record

1. Scheduling Contact Nick at 314-881-8504 or e-mail nick [at] kdhx.org to reserve Air 2 or Prod 1 to record. We will preferably need at least two weekdays after the session is recorded to have it prepared for automated playout from Wide Orbit. Particularly for the first time, we recommend reserving 3 hours in case of any problems, 4 hours for 3 hour shows. Please reference the KDHX Studio Reservations page to see current studio availability for Air 2 or Prod 1 before requesting available time.

2. Pre-enter your playlist in Spinitron Enter your playlist into Spinitron prior to recording. Even if you don’t typically enter your playlist in advance, this will definitely save time and aggravation so you can focus on recording the show. It is also nearly essential for keeping rough track of time and set breaks every 14-15 minutes. You will be able to roughly gauge where your set breaks will be and plan for them. Every segment should be at least 14 minutes.

• Choose the correct date the show will air. (Evergreen: If you are unsure when it will air, a date will need to be associated with it. Always select January 1, 2000 and the time your show typically airs. -- Later when you know when the show will air you can change the date by clicking playlists>browse>(select Jan. 1, 2000). Then, edit the playlist to the correct air date.)
• Choose the “I'm working on the playlist ‘before my show’” option.
• Choose the "I want manual time-stamps," options so your playlist correlates with the time the songs actually air, not the time it is when you enter them in advance.

3. Check this out for complete instructions on the latest AudioHiJack 3.0 software >> Recording:_Using_Audio_HiJack.

Closing down your Audio Hijack session. 

• Be sure the “Record” button is unclicked - this stops & completes the recording.
• Quit Audio Hijack from the File menu at the top, or at the bottom of the screen by right-clicking the program icon and choosing “quit.”

4. Just as you do your show live, keep your show running in 14-minute segments. Begin every segment with a song without making reference to breaks or any of the Wide Orbit spots. Do your back announcing at the end of a set or between songs. This is because there may not always be a pre-recorded Wide Orbit spot in between. Do not include any live reads in your recording.

Be sure to leave at least 5 seconds or as long as you need between 14-minute segments. The longer the gap the better for editing.

5. Keeping track of your time using your Spinitron playlist and the timer on the board. Spinitron will often insert track lengths for you or you can update the lengths as you go. Using these rough set breaks in your Spinitron playlist as a guide, you will be able to roughly guess your 14-minute segments. It’s not an exact science, but will be a helpful guide to keep track of which 14-minute segment of your show you are on.

The board timer is an exact science. It is very simple to use, and is located on the bottom-right corner of the board. Just hit “reset” before each segment. Hit Start” when you begin your segment and “Stop” when you end your 14-15 minute segment. Hit reset and repeat. It’s that simple. You may want to keep track of which segment of your show you are on using scratch paper.

6. Forward announce the last song of each hour and end with a song that can potentially be faded down. Near the end of the final segment of each hour, back announce previous music, and forward announce the last track, since it may have to be faded down if time is running over. This last track should be an instrumental track or a track that would be okay to fade down. The board operator or person automating may need to trigger the top of hour announcement if time is running over. It is always better to go longer at the end of the hour, than too short. This ensures underwriting is played on time, and remains respectful of the next show.

7. Double-check your playlist Review your playlist in Spinitron to be sure that it remains correct.

8. *IMPORTANT* e-mail Nick, once completed to let him know that the show is recorded and in the Pre-Records folder on the Desktop. He will need to know:

• The studio where your pre-record audio is saved in the pre-records folder. (Air 2 or Prod 1?)
• The time and date the show should air
• If it is evergreen and could potentially be aired again > 6 months.
• If there were errors (a retake) during the recording, what time of the error and which segment of the show. (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th segment of the first hour. 1st, 2nd, 3rd 4th segment of the second hour etc.)
• Your quickest contact number, if needed.

Just a reminder that we are not monitoring for FCC violations, as a show programmer, this is always your responsibility.

9. Sign the air room log for the time it will air Finally, sign the bottom of the FCC Log in the air room for the time/day that your pre-recorded show will air, since you are responsible for on-air content at that time. Meter readings will be handled by the DJ leaving as your show begins, so no need to worry about that.

10. You’re Done. Relax.