Oh.. and In terms of arrangement.
Less is always more. My Pre- Production sessions with bands tend to consist of me telling people to play things half as much, less and sometimes not at all!
work on the material with the band or artist or whoever, and then go for a fuck ,drink and snack, then come back and work on material. This goes for you and the artists.
Yes, that is why I still enjoy recording for myself.
Years ago I almost went into the dark side of studio... my friend did, and now he hates engineering.