5 Key Recording Tips

There are many mistakes made during the recording phases of music production. Some are contributed to inexperience in a recording environment – while others are common things we all tend to overlook from time to time. There are a number of factors that can result in a less than successful recording session. For obvious reasons I cannot list them all. But I can give you a few tips from pre-to-post production that I’ve noted, to help avoid common recording mistakes I have seen, made, and learned from.

Fumbling with technical issues, last minute preparation, lack of a collaborative vision; are among some “controllable” mistakes made by a producer that can interfere with the objectives for a project. Such responsibilities must be recognized and held accountable for, by the producer. Now, if a musician or vocalist misses a note or plays out of key, it is not going to ruin the recording session. These kinds of mistakes are to be expected. Luckily, as opposed to live performance, a bad take or less than enthusiastic recording – can be quickly corrected with very little hassle. A producer must be collected and patient, in addition to providing a natural environment for music recording. It can be tricky to balance; encouraging the recording artists to perform their best, while managing the technical aspects of the production processes. Thus, a producer must be very comfortable inside his studio. He must know all the proper functions of the music equipment, and be able to deal with people at the same time – all the while attempting to capture the expressions of each performance.

Understanding the intentions for a musical production based on the clients goals, and having competence with the equipment needed a to make that happen is the idea here. The method of meeting these objectives should be something that is developed on an individual basis, but there are general production habits that can be conducive to laying the foundation for a positive production experience. I have built techniques on simple trial and error, and the knowledge I’ve been given by a couple music production professors. These techniques can offer guidance to any producer getting started with production and/or client recording sessions, or just refresh some basics for all you weathered vets.

So without further ado, here are some of the essential concepts, key points, and 5 key recording tips.

Preproduction Pays

Preproduction is your general plan for the song, and how you plan to do it. This should be incorporated into your routine, and be done prior to the recording session. Don’t get me wrong, inspired bursts of spontaneous recording is not something I’m advising against, (it sometimes can even conjure up the best musical performances) but when working with a client during scheduled recording sessions, considering preproduction a part of the overall recording process will behoove you.

Preproduction refers to the preparations made - prior to track recording. It can be summed up as developing a basic plan of action based on the client’s wishes and expectations. After this is established, you prepare the audio equipment you intend to use during the session, set track levels, select preliminary instruments for the mix, and etc.

For those who think this may be extra work, unnecessary, pointless… I say, Do you think a good coach sends his team to go perform the best they can without preparation or strategy? No. He doesn’t. He does research, watches tapes, notes-what’s been effective in the past, etc. He takes this research and implements all he knows to come up with a game plan that is thought out and practical. He practices how to make it as successful as can be, and makes adjustments when need be.

Having a basic idea of what you are going to record and how you intend to do it, and having the equipment set-up and ready will make it much easier to get right into recording and adapt to any curve balls that may be thrown your way. Being ready to record, and running a smooth and productive session are key things that will be noticed by a client. It will be appreciated by those you work with and factor into the production experience for everyone.

Microphone Placement

Placing a microphone to record an instrument in its ideal place in your studio is harder than you may think. If you want to produce professional recordings, it is certainly more than sticking a microphone on a stand and pointing it at the source. First of all, get to know your microphones, treat them well and they will work well for you. Familiarize yourself with the polar pattern and the spaces in the room where the microphones sound their best. Get to know the difference between dynamic, condenser, and ribbon microphones, understand what cardioid, hyper-cardiod, and super-cardioid means. Test placement differences for each microphone depending upon the songs genre. (Techniques will vary in a pop, classical, jazz recording etc.)

The 3-to-1 Rule: As a rule of thumb If you are recording multiple microphones, try to space the microphones 3 times as far away from each other, as a microphone is to the source it is recording. This will help isolate each track, and not create a blurry or less detailed sounding mix. For details on microphones see my Microphone section.

EQ Key Points

Using EQ will not make a bad recording sound good no matter what. Before using EQ consider the following; Are the strings old? Is the instrument in tune? Have you placed your microphone in the best place to record from? EQ should be processed on individual tracks, or sub-mixes by using busses. EQ should be added as the first processor on most tracks. The reason for this is that when you equalize you want to capture as detailed dynamics as you can. The raw recording will offer the most dynamics to equalize frequencies on. Compression decreases dynamic range, and should be added after EQ if necessary.

Compression Modesty

Compression is a helpful audio processing tool. When used in moderation, compression can help your mixes achieve deep, crisp, lows - and smooth sounding vocal tracks. Compression can be thought of as sweet icing on a cake, you wouldn’t put it on every kind of cake, and too much icing is not always a good thing. What not to do, do not add compression to the overall mix from one track. Adding compression this way will decrease the dynamics of a mix, and pretty much kill any - live sounding characteristics it may have had. I generally don’t add compression until mix-down, which gives me more options, but it is preferential.

Mixing

When reaching the mix-down phase, don’t do it all in one sitting and call it good. Believe it or not - listening to a mix for an extended period of time can exhaust the precision of your “sonic sensing abilities…” I recommend taking short breaks and coming back to re-evaluate the sounds. When mixing, listen to each track in solo and in the mix, if it’s not quality on its own - it probably won’t add to a quality group of tracks. Remember, mixing is a team effort. Each track has its own time to shine, but they cannot all be up front and center all the time. Mix your song to feature the elements you desire and use your other sections to supplement your lead tracks. Simplicity is simply so much more; I like this philosophy of recording - that basically says if a track or instrument serves no purpose in the mix get rid of it.