advice needed

  • Thread starter Thread starter asv
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asv

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Hi guys,

When you record music, which piece of instrument do you record first?

I would normally record ‘rough guitar’ as a basic track follows by drum –> bass and re-record guitar track, lead, etc

Is this correct?

Ideas please?

Thanks
 
This can really vary by preference and what you are recording. If you are multi-tracking a full band I usually think it is good to start with the drums as long as the drummer knows the song well. This will help keep all the other instruments in time. However, if the band doesn't want to do that a second option would be to start with guitar, maybe just a rhythm track with some bass. It can be hard for some drummers to play to a pre-recorded guitar track, but bass helps guide them.
In my case, since I do a lot of solo work where I play all the instruments, I usually record everything except for drums in my home studio and then go to another studio set up for recording drums and do the drums there.
 
multi-tracking full band.
and almost 90% drummer i know need a basic track.

Awesome! cheers for the info dude!
 
Ideally...

Put the drum/drummer in a separate room, everybody else in another room. Send the drums to everybody room thru monitors, everybody to the drummer thru headphones. Record the drums to as many tracks as it takes/you have minus one- record everybody else to that one (scratch) track.

If you have, say 24 tracks to record on, play the drums back and record everybody else in whatever order you want (best might be bass, guitars, keys, vocals) on the other tracks. If you lack sufficient tracks to do that mix the drums down to one or two tracks, then proceed- but keep the original multi-track drum tracks, and sync them with the other instrument tracks (again, if you have enough hardware to do so.)

And one thing I feel strongly about: track ALL vocals- lead and harmonies- together. If you have separate rooms, fine, you can track each separate, but if not, have everybody sing at the same time, regardless. I have found that tracking EACH VOCALIST SEPARATE will drive you nuts, take freakin' forEVER, and won't result in a noticeably better result.

If you can't do all that, track ALL instruments together, in one room, close-micing or DI-ing everything as close as you can, to minimize bleed. Have the vocalist lip-sync if the band needs them to keep their places. Then, track the vocals (all of them,) separate, and mix down.
 
what works best for me is to record all the guitar tracks first, from start to finish and then i will have my bassist record his section from start to finish, then record drums and save the vocals for last.

guitar > bass > drums > vocals

:)
 
totally depends on the band, your gear, your room.

I almost always track everything, sometimes including vocals, at once, in the same room.

When I had a smaller rig, I would record the drums, with a guitar guide track into the drummer's headphones. Then add a new guitar, everything else.

I wouldn't record lead and backing vocals together, but I would record the backing vocals all at once. Lets you do a couple of passes, to get a thicker sound in a reasonable amount of time/tracks.

Do whatever works, there are no rules. Really. :)
 
Depends on style alot of the time too. Jazz would want to be recorded live, where you can track rock individually. I usually record a guitar playing along with the drummer for a scratch track, then have the drummer record their section, then it can vary between bass or guitar next. It depends on each project. However I typically find recording drums last typically the hardest. But it does happen on occasion.
 
Is asv still around to pick up the answers that they wanted back in August ?
 
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