Band Recording Steps

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pmc181

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I have read many books and researched the net. I have my studio finallly set up, but after all the research, one thing still baffles me both as a recording studio and a band musician who has never been recorded in a studio before. Most articles and books give about one paragraph on the actual steps to record a band and then go into chapter after chapter about how to do the overdubs and specifically record each type of instrument or vocal.
I'd like more on the actual steps. For instance, when a band plays together they all kind of cue off each other. Now in the studio, you tell the drummer to go ahead and play the whole song in time without anybody else and no que. Then the bass player, only now he can hear the drummer played back in the headphones and so on. My question is, Do you normally record the whole band playing first to get down a scratch track, and then start one by one and do the overdubs until everone is happy? I'm doing hard disk recording, cakewalk and can record 8 tracks at a time. My first band coming up is a 4 piece band.

thanks
 
ummm pmc,

If your band is talented I don't see much of a problem, you couls lay down a full track to make it easier. Is this your first time producing anything?

When I do any recording its usually one piece at a time so each sound is a different track which is extremely important come mixdown time..
 
A common approach is get the drums set up so that the set can be recorded in its entirety, which can usually take up to 4 or more tracks..

Once the drums are set up, get the drummer and guitarist together so that the drummer can be properly cued into his performance and can work the nuances, grooves, and overall vibe of the song.. I'm assuming here that the guitar is the key rhythm instrument.. If there is a lot of musical interaction with the bass and drums, then get the bass player in there too.. The idea is to record the basic drums completely along with scratch parts of the guitar and/or bass..

From there you can concentrate on the rest of the rhythm tracks.. You can use the scratch performances of the guitarist and bass player as starting points for getting the guitar and bass to sound right in the context of the drums..

Once the rhythm sections parts are nailed down, you will now have an inspiring performance to use for recording solos..

I prefer to record vocals near the end because it's easier to sing against a near completed song than one that isn't sonically developed..

Backing vocals are usually saved for last so that they can match the lead vocalists phrasing...

Hope this helps,
Cy
 
Gec, Thanks for the reply. Yes, this is my first production. My son and I each play guitar and have recorded ourselves using backing tracks for the other instruments, but never with a full band. I'm just trying to get the steps in my mind so I can tell the band what we are going to do thru out the session. It just seemed funny to me to tell the drummer to go ahead and play the entire song by himself. But I guess you guys are right. If they know their material, each musician should be able to play the whole song without any other instruments accomanying them.

Thanks,
 
Cyrokk, Thanks. I'll give you guys an update after the session. My son and I have a two piece band playing guitars, and use backing tracks for the other instruments and have been playing out in clubs for just over a year now. During that time we kept adding to our studio until now it is ready to record us with a drummer and bass and also record other bands and get away from backing tracks. This is a big step for us and we're really excited. I'm just trying to make sure I'm ready for the band and don't look too inexperianced as far as the recording session itself.

thanks
 
PMC, what I always do is to mic up the entire band, isolate guitars and such from bleeding into the drum mics by either putting the amps in another room, the control room with myself (my least favorite option) but usually just throwing a few moving blankets over them, have the bass go direct and give the singer a mic to do a scratch/guide vocal and record everyone at the same time. What I'm really worried about on this first go around is capturing the best drum sound/groove as possible and if the bass and guitars are keepers as well, that's the bonus plan baby, you know what I mean? When everyone's happy with what I've tracked, then I listen for the stuff that needs to be retracked, guitar doubles, bass using a cabinet if he wants, etc. Rarely does the guide vocal get kept as singers always "can do it better, please, one more time". Yea, right.
 
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I like it ! Thanks Track Rat. This is going to be a lot of fun. lots to learn, what a fantastic hobby to have.

pmc181
 
Oh no! Another victim of the gear slut/recording virus. :D
 
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