Recording - September 2013 - 22
Interface with the artist(s) and hear their ideas.
Find out what the goals for this project are. A
recording is like building a house—it starts with a
good plan or design. Even if this changes a bit as
you go along and encounter issues that challenge
it, having a plan to follow can be like a good
map that gets you to your destination without
wasted time and with less trouble and frustration.
As you proceed through the session, continue to
take the emotional “pulse” of the musicians you’re
recording. This is very important. Music is emotional, and so are musicians! You are helping
them to express something that is very near and
dear to them. Try to know when a break might disarm a bad vibe, or when saying the right thing to
someone can build a little needed confidence. In
music, feel is everything! How the musicians are
feeling as they record can make a big difference
in the overall feel of the tracks, so the right attitude
is the first step toward the best possible result.
By John McVey
For this issue on improving your studio results, I’d like to share some tips
on how to use what you have to get better sounds and better recordings.
Sometimes a bit of thinking and planning can make a huge difference. It’s
not always about the equipment or the studio, it can be about how you use
what’s at your disposal—and managing a session can help to get the best
out of the artist(s) you’re recording.
The room in which you are recording may not be the greatest recording
space on the planet! Your home studio, or that of the artist(s) you’re recording, may be a basement, a loft, a garage, or one or more rooms in a house
[see Sven-Erik Seaholm’s article “Recording The Band” in our August 2013
issue for some great strategies in this case—Ed.]. The equipment you’re
using may not be the greatest, and the band may be inexperienced and in
need of guidance... but it’s what you have and where you are.
No matter where you are, there are always decisions you’ll have to
make about how to record. The differences between this room you’re in
today and the best rooms on the planet may be vast, but some of the decisions you make might not be so different, and could mean the difference
between a good sounding project and a not-so-good sounding one.
As a way to get you thinking about solutions rather than only seeing problems,
here are some specific problems and some quick and easy solutions to them.
Too many cooks
“Everyone in the band has a different idea of how things are supposed
to go!” This is an unfortunately common situation in bands that are new to
the recording process and whose members aren’t yet good at negotiating
and discussing the direction of the session. In this situation, as the engineer
and perhaps the closest thing the band has to a “producer”, it’s your job
to make a plan everyone can get behind that is going to work!
Even if you’re working with a band that gets along really well and has
a fairly common vision of how things are going to go, making a plan that
inspires everyone in the room will not only show them you know what
you’re doing, but it will unify you all in a common goal that will make
everyone’s performances better. Make it your intention from the get-go to
create such a plan.
22
RECORDING September 2013
Playing together
“Everyone wants to play at the same time, for
that ‘live’ sound.” This is a fairly common request,
and it can be born of misconceptions about process
and product. The artist might not realize it, but what
the final product sounds like and how it was recorded are very different things. Recording is a trick—
like painting a 3-dimentional image on a 2-dimentional canvas. While I agree that there is an “X factor” that playing live together brings to a recording
(and there are ways to make it work, as discussed
in the Seaholm article mentioned above), it may not
always be the best way to do it in this particular
room. Playing live together to get a basic vibe, and
then replacing certain performances to get the best
sound, can be a great solution.
Obviously, you have to think it through and make
a plan. Know what you intend to capture for keeps
during the live take. (For me, drums are at the top
of the list—they take the most mics, involve the most
setup, and are a little tricky to make sound good.)
Then figure out how to have everyone play together, while focusing on getting those keeper takes.
Things that can go in direct are easy. Keyboards,
for instance, are easy to DI into the board. Fingers
depressing keys won’t be heard by drum mics!
Even if you’re planning to use the funky old upright
in the corner for the final mix, you can use a controller keyboard and find a decent enough sample
for the “live” take to fit the bill. Then replace that
take using the cool acoustic piano later.
Bass can also be (and in fact usually is) plugged
in direct. If the artist’s goal is to get that James
Jamerson sound, which was the reason they used
part of the recording budget to buy the Ampeg
Pop-Top, try recording the bass direct for the live
take. Then replace it later using the cool amp, or
even “re-amp” the live bass take (if it’s great) back
through the amp. All of the above will also save on
mics, so you can use the best ones you have for the
drums—which will, if all goes well, be among the
few things you ultimately keep from the “live” take.
Other sources may not be so easy. Acoustic guitars, vocals... these things will have to be worked
out according to what the session demands. For
example, maybe the acoustic guitars can be simulated by electric guitars through a DI, and the vocalist can sing in the “control room”. (I’ve found a
Recording - September 2013
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - September 2013
Recording - September 2013
Fade In
Contents
Talkback
Fast Forward
The History And Mystery Of Monitoring: A Chat With JBL’s Peter Chaikin
Better Sounds From Tight Spots
Do It Yourself: Fix Your Cables—Save Your Money!
Emotiva Pro Stealth 8 Monitors
MOTU Track16
Ashman Acoustics SOM50 Microphone
Sontronics Sonora 2
Stop Sound Leakage!
Drawmer MC2.1 Monitor Controller
Do It Yourself: Build Acoustic Treatment Right Into Your Walls!
From Shed To Studio
Sneak Previews: Apple Logic Pro X and Avid Pro Tools 11
Readers’ Tapes
Plug-In Outlet: FXpansion Bloom
Recording Fundamentals. Chapter 21: Equalization—Part 2
Advertiser Index
Fade Out
Recording - September 2013 - Intro
Recording - September 2013 - Recording - September 2013
Recording - September 2013 - Cover2
Recording - September 2013 - 1
Recording - September 2013 - 2
Recording - September 2013 - 3
Recording - September 2013 - Fade In
Recording - September 2013 - 5
Recording - September 2013 - Contents
Recording - September 2013 - 7
Recording - September 2013 - Talkback
Recording - September 2013 - 9
Recording - September 2013 - Fast Forward
Recording - September 2013 - 11
Recording - September 2013 - 12
Recording - September 2013 - 13
Recording - September 2013 - The History And Mystery Of Monitoring: A Chat With JBL’s Peter Chaikin
Recording - September 2013 - 15
Recording - September 2013 - 16
Recording - September 2013 - 17
Recording - September 2013 - 18
Recording - September 2013 - 19
Recording - September 2013 - 20
Recording - September 2013 - 21
Recording - September 2013 - Better Sounds From Tight Spots
Recording - September 2013 - 23
Recording - September 2013 - 24
Recording - September 2013 - 25
Recording - September 2013 - Do It Yourself: Fix Your Cables—Save Your Money!
Recording - September 2013 - 27
Recording - September 2013 - 28
Recording - September 2013 - 29
Recording - September 2013 - Emotiva Pro Stealth 8 Monitors
Recording - September 2013 - 31
Recording - September 2013 - 32
Recording - September 2013 - 33
Recording - September 2013 - MOTU Track16
Recording - September 2013 - 35
Recording - September 2013 - Ashman Acoustics SOM50 Microphone
Recording - September 2013 - 37
Recording - September 2013 - Sontronics Sonora 2
Recording - September 2013 - 39
Recording - September 2013 - Stop Sound Leakage!
Recording - September 2013 - 41
Recording - September 2013 - 42
Recording - September 2013 - 43
Recording - September 2013 - 44
Recording - September 2013 - 45
Recording - September 2013 - Drawmer MC2.1 Monitor Controller
Recording - September 2013 - 47
Recording - September 2013 - Do It Yourself: Build Acoustic Treatment Right Into Your Walls!
Recording - September 2013 - 49
Recording - September 2013 - From Shed To Studio
Recording - September 2013 - 51
Recording - September 2013 - Sneak Previews: Apple Logic Pro X and Avid Pro Tools 11
Recording - September 2013 - 53
Recording - September 2013 - Readers’ Tapes
Recording - September 2013 - 55
Recording - September 2013 - 56
Recording - September 2013 - 57
Recording - September 2013 - 58
Recording - September 2013 - 59
Recording - September 2013 - Plug-In Outlet: FXpansion Bloom
Recording - September 2013 - 61
Recording - September 2013 - Recording Fundamentals. Chapter 21: Equalization—Part 2
Recording - September 2013 - 63
Recording - September 2013 - 64
Recording - September 2013 - Advertiser Index
Recording - September 2013 - 66
Recording - September 2013 - 67
Recording - September 2013 - 68
Recording - September 2013 - 69
Recording - September 2013 - 70
Recording - September 2013 - 71
Recording - September 2013 - Cover3
Recording - September 2013 - Cover4
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