Recording - November 2013 - 59

positive attitude the first day (and every day), get sleep, bring snacks,
and prepare for greatness! This will make everyone more comfortable, and comfort is the air creativity needs to breathe.
6. Things take time—as we start
Expect at least a few hours of setup time for a session—more if
the band’s makeup is complicated, or if there are isolation/sound
issues. Getting good sounds will set the tone for the whole record,
so expect to spend time doing it. There may be more than one
setup even in a one-day session! You may track the basics—drums,
bass, a few rhythm instruments and a scratch vocal—then tear all
of that down, and set up for overdubs. You should expect an engineer to work fast and efficiently, but standing close to him looking
at your watch every few minutes is counterproductive.
And leave time for experimentation! Getting wacky sounds can
be fun and lead to that special something that makes your work
really stand out. Trying parts, even if some never make the cut,
can yield great results. But that takes time, too...
Anticipating all of this can help you plan and budget your project!
Since a band takes so much time to set up, try to schedule it intelligently. Plan to get all of your basic tracks (drums, bass, a few keeper
rhythm tracks) done in one sitting or over one weekend, so that the
setup time takes you as far as it needs to and won’t have to be repeated later.
7. Things take time—as we finish
Don’t hurt your project by budgeting 90% of your time (and
money, if you’re working outside your home) on tracking, and then
being forced to rush through the mixes. A lot of magic happens
here, and it can’t be rushed. We’ve all heard the joke about the
client who asks if the engineer can do a mix in an hour. “Well, an
hour a song can be really tight...” “No, we meant an hour for the
whole CD!” Unfortunately, I do get calls like that.

Plan on three to four hours per song at a minimum. The mixing
process involves cleanup, tuning and timing tweaks, noise removal,
and the vital balancing that lets the producer/engineer guide the
listener through the song, controlling its mood. It cannot be overestimated how important this is to your songs—the more resources
you budget for it, the better, especially if you’re the mix engineer!
8. Be kind
Remember that you are dealing with stuff that’s close to your
heart. The bass part on one song may not be working, but it might
be the best the bassist could come up with at the time. When the
songwriter is confronted with a lyric problem he’d never considered,
it can be hard to face it and find a workable option that fits the original vision and makes the song work better. Many of us get used to
playing or singing things the way we’ve been doing it live for years.
And it hurts to hear, “Dude... that really sucks.”
A good producer can see problems, read what’s happening
among band members, and step in with creative criticism that leaves
everyone feeling good about the fix. It doesn’t always work—sometimes the best you can do is to have folks take a break, which is not
a waste of time if it saves a session—but sensitivity is crucial. A
healthy dose of compassion is a good thing; if you don’t have a producer, it’s doubly important to remember this as you work.
And so
This is a lot to remember and do, but I think it’s all valuable to help
along the creative process as you bring your art from inside your
head out into the real world. And this doesn’t cover everything. So,
as I believe any good producer should, I would welcome any questions you may have!
John McVey (mcvey@recordingmag.com) is an engineer/producer
working at Coupe Studios in Boulder, CO.

http://www.realtraps.com http://www.coproaudio.com http://www.coproaudio.com

Recording - November 2013

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