Overall Recording Help

Decency · 11-07-2007, 10:52 PM

Well, all, since we are a creative bunch of chaps and lads around here, I figured we should all be available to help out those who need it.

I guess I'll start it off.

I record my own stuff and alot of the time is by myself. What do you guys do that also record by yourselves to make it easier? Dummy track or what?

**Rainer.** · 11-07-2007, 11:05 PM

Easier? Not sure what you mean by that.

Decency · 11-08-2007, 05:03 PM

Well, it's hard sometimes to be your own engineer and play all the instruments too. What do you do when you record everything? Any tips you mind sharing?

**thesteve** · 11-08-2007, 05:08 PM

I haven't done it, but it seems like scratch tracks are very common...scratch tracks and just be prepared to do a lot of splicing.

**Rainer.** · 11-08-2007, 05:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Decency

Well, it's hard sometimes to be your own engineer and play all the instruments too. What do you do when you record everything? Any tips you mind sharing?

Well, first off, it's easiest to have something in mind before you start recording. I program my drum tracks, so once I have a basic idea of the song I'm doing, I lay the entire drum track down to act as the foundation. Then comes the bass and then the rhythm instrument, guitar, piano, whatnot. If I'm going for a real drum track, I'll play along with the programmed track if I already have it, or at the beginning, I'll lay the drums down with a metronome.

Decency · 11-08-2007, 10:24 PM

What do you use for your drum track?

Maestro_dmc · 11-09-2007, 11:28 AM

First as Rainer said, it's really helpful to have the whole song in mind, arrangement wise before you start.

When I'm working by myself, or with one other person we'll start off with a metronome (click track) set to the right tempo.

Next we'll record an acoustic guitar(or piano if that is their instrument) and vocal to two seperate tracks. This gives us something to record eveything else to, and these first two tracks will be replaced at the end of the process.

Next I'll either lay down a midi drum track (Played back through softsynth drums in the computer) or Bass guitar part. Sometimes this step goes back and forth a few times. I may record the bass first, then the drums, then re-record the bass to fit the drum groove better, or vice versa.

Next comes some basic electric guitar parts. I ususally track the same part twice and hard pan them for a fuller stereo image

Sometimes we'll add percussion, piano, keyboards, or other things as needed.

Next comes the BGV's. This could use a whole thread because there are so many different ways to do it.

Last we'll record the lead vocal, usually doing 3-4 takes. We decide which one we feel is the best overall and move it to the top, ( which could be a combination of factors, from the pitch, to the emotion or even phrasing). Then I'll go through the whole song and listen line by line to each take, soloed by itself and edit together a master lead vocal track.

That's basically how I do it, I'm sure I left some things out, but you get the idea.

One thing that REALLY helps me when working in this fashion is to track everything with the metronome, and "snap to grid" when doing most of my editing. This lets me take a phrase from anywhere in the song and move it to a new spot.

Without the Metronome keeping the timing constant this wouldn't be easy.

So here is a song that my daughter wrote and recorded for her cousins wedding. We followed pretty much the process I outlined. We were pretty happy with how it turned out (time was short so we got it the best we could and stopped, I wanted more piano, but I suck at it and we couldn't get a pianist quickly enough

)

TBoz · 11-09-2007, 11:38 PM

I think staging is important. I agree to a point regarding about having some sort of structure or full idea of the composition, but you can also use the recording process to help you write as well. At any rate, staging the song is important to me.
One term that I haven't heard for years now (since I use to record years back) is PREPRODUCTION. This is likely do to the fact that not many of us are working with producers. The first thing a producer will do is Pre-production. This stage is the first in the recording phases. It is about picking a tempo, recording basic instrumentation and really getting the final arrangement of the song in order. Don't worry too much about playing perfect and how it sounds as much as getting the idea out there to study, listen to and begin the process of formulating ideas for the actual production. From the preproduction version of the song, you should be discovering ideas about how the performances, engineering aspects of getting the tones are all going to be captured. This is the detail phase. Re-arrangements are made based upon what you like, dislike etc... about the song. Additionally, what other elements are you going to use in the song. Not instrumentation, necessarily, but textures and flow etc....
The next Stage is putting all the ideas to work and tracking the final arrangement of the song. Performances should be polished and ready to track. I am a do it yourselfer as well and it is easier for me to track certain instruments and just painful to track others. I practice performances over until I can play them with the expectancy I have towards anyone playing them. If I cant do it. I'll get someone who can.
The Next stages are mixing and mastering.
Much of what we do in collaborations and on the boards is preproduction. When you act as producer, engineer and performer, it can be challenging and seemingly impossible at times. That is what makes it fun though. If it were that easy, anybody could do it. \
Here is what I would like to see someday happen with online recordings.
1. A seperate non-performing person act as a producer.
2. An engineer (someone that can engineer guitar tone with like Guitar Rig or something and save the presets, attach them to a post for download.
3. Someone mix the project
4. Yet another person master the project.
Sounds crazy, but that is what happens in the real world. Sometimes I think we wear too many hats when others have talents that may not be in the performance aspects. Decency, keep in mind that it is a journey and the fun is on the way.
Additionally, there is alot of talent on this site to draw from.
Tommmy

Decency · 11-11-2007, 10:05 PM

Thanks, Tommy and the rest of you. Great stuff. Maybe we could sticky this for others who might need help one day. Good idea, yay or nay?

**Gustin** · 11-12-2007, 10:51 AM

Why not?

Decency · 11-14-2007, 07:55 AM

Thanks, CGP.

Te eF Kay · 01-15-2009, 01:22 AM

Okay, so here's my dilemma:

I currently have an Allen & Heath ZED 14 mixer (wich belongs to my bands drummer) running into audacity.
I've just been putting my guitar through my Pod X3 Live and then straight into the mixer wich connects to the computer via USB.
And I can't get a tone I'm satisfied with.
It sounds too tinny and distorted.
I heard guitarists in the 80's used to use low distortion and just record guitar parts several times to get that "Massive Tone".

Any tips on getting a good sound?

**Gustin** · 01-15-2009, 09:18 AM

can you post an example recording? It's hard to help without a reference...

Multiple takes will definitely help make it sound massive, but it probably won't help if the sound is bad to begin with...

**Rainer.** · 01-15-2009, 11:47 AM

Yeah, tracking a distorted guitar part at least twice is common practice to making a guitar sound more expansive, not just in the 80s, but today, as well.

Make sure your PODx3 is in Studio Direct mode, and try recording a track panned hard left and a track panned hard right, and see how you like it.

Also remember that the bass track is really important to those heavy guitar tracks. Guitar on it's own won't sound very heavy without the bass carrying the low end.

Mixing tracks in stereo is an important part of modern engineering. Our ears hear in both left and right tracks. Mono sounds unnatural.

Te eF Kay · 01-15-2009, 06:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gustin

can you post an example recording? It's hard to help without a reference...

Multiple takes will definitely help make it sound massive, but it probably won't help if the sound is bad to begin with...

I'll try to get one up asap.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rainer.

Yeah, tracking a distorted guitar part at least twice is common practice to making a guitar sound more expansive, not just in the 80s, but today, as well.

Make sure your PODx3 is in Studio Direct mode, and try recording a track panned hard left and a track panned hard right, and see how you like it.

Also remember that the bass track is really important to those heavy guitar tracks. Guitar on it's own won't sound very heavy without the bass carrying the low end.

Mixing tracks in stereo is an important part of modern engineering. Our ears hear in both left and right tracks. Mono sounds unnatural.

Okay, I didn't think of putting it on Studio Direct mode. duh.

Thanks for the tips.