We are planning to go to a small recording studio for a weekend to record one song as a 5 piece band. It will be the type of setup where the owner does the recording/mixing/mastering all himself.
I've never done this before, what are the usual methods/process for recording the individual instruments?
Would drums be done first, then used as a backing track to record guitars against?
Or is playing to a click track expected now?
Is recording all the instruments/vocals live (but isolated) ever done these days, or is that the preserve of larger studios?
I'd really like to record guitar against the drum track, as it's the drums I listen to when playing live for timing/groove - I just have no idea what the norm is.
Any advice at all on recording studios would be gratefully received - cheers!
Comments
If you're asking because you don't really know how you want to do it, then depending on the style of music, I'd suggest attempting to lay down the basic tracks live but with the amps reasonably isolated from the drum kit. That way you can keep the live guitar and bass takes if they're good or easily replace them if not.
At any rate I'd suggest talking to the engineer beforehand to establish what everyone's expectations are.
* There may well be good reasons. For instance if you want to make modern, ultra-technical metal you're not going to get that sound from a live recording. If so the engineer should be able to explain why.
Decide what works best for your band and then inform the engineer.
If they argue about it then ask why.
You don't have to play to a click- it makes editing easier but if the drummer can't groove over the click then it is pointless.
Be results driven.
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If you need to go through all these contortions just in order to lay down a guitar and bass part alongside the live drums, you're in the wrong studio or working with the wrong engineer.
Remember, it's you that is paying. It really, really isn't too much to ask that you should be able to play live guitars and bass through your amps while the drums are being tracked. Most studios have isolation booths for exactly this reason. If the one you've picked doesn't, it won't be hard to find one that does.
Main thing is to get very well rehearsed before you get into the studio.
+1 go well rehearsed, get a scratch vocal and redo fixes or final vocals, solos and BVs. The place should have at least one place to isolate the singer or a loud amp if not using modellers.
Can add solos and vocals after if the rhythm section is down good. Doubling solos is a great trick to try if you have them down.
I’m in the studio all day tomorrow. We will play live with IEMs & some isolation around drums and amps - all closed mic’d and vocals.. DI feed from bass to keep it clean. There is some bleed but it sounds natural to us, decent for promo level. I’ll overdub my BVs if off.
Of course it ultimately all depends on the style.. is it classic guitar band stuff or you got electronics?
Once the drums are done, you can all play from that instead - so you're actually playing to an instrument rather than a click.
http://www.2020studios.co.uk/prep.htm
It goes into some detail about the different ways you can record as well as notes on preparing intruments
Some of the other band members have recorded a few tracks in this band but everything so far seems to be a bit disorganised, so I wanted to get some ideas before I talk with them about how they usually go about it.
We are a pretty simple setup of lead singer playing rhythm(who might not play on the recordings), bass player with backing vocals, me on lead guitar, drummer and possibly someone on keyboards.
I use valve amps so would want to be mic'd up, but the bassist generally seems happy with DI.
I really like the idea of creating scratch tracks to play along to, and recording live with some isolation, I think our live sound is pretty good and would want to capture some of that in the recordings.
We are Manchester based, in the past the band have used Mad Fox studios and Redbridge studios.
You're presumably going to work with a particular engineer/studio because you think they do a good job based on their portfolio and reputation. That means their should be a degree of trust. It also sounds like this is a new experience for you, so it's unlikely you have a firm idea of exactly what approach will work for you until you've tried it!
The best thing is to have a conversation amongst yourselves as a band to get together any thoughts, ideas, or concerns, then have a conversation with the engineer, and get their input on the best way to go about it based on your needs and experience, the end result you're going for, and their understanding of how to get the best out of that specific studio environment. Absolutely try and do things in a way that you think is comfortable for you, but you are also hiring a professional to take you through that process so listen to them rather than insisting. They know their studio and which approaches will likely yield the best results.
Danny's guide linked above is a brilliant set of pointers if you're not experienced being in the studio. I'd let everyone have a read of that! The points about being prepared, knowing your parts inside out and having your equipment in good shape are particularly critical to how good the end result will be!