How do you structure recording?

[Zed10R]

..... I mostly have been doing it without any complete fundamental, just piece by piece.

A few questions popped up on the subject, however.

1) Isn't it better to record bass after other intruments, in order to let it kind of...talk to other ones? Like, if there is a skip, have a bass play some sort of riff. Or let bass speak with the whole rhythm, so that it fits effectively, and enhances the feeling. If you don't have the rest of layers, you can't really analyze where and how to insert bass... Do you agree or not, and why?

2) Do you think of a music you make in terms of frequencies? As in, let's say you have something high playing with bass and drums, and you think "i probably should paint in the mids with some ambient atmospheric licks".

There is nothing wrong with going piece by piece. Sometimes if you deliberatly take a piece from one song and stick it with another unrelated piece, you will find inspiration and a flood of new ideas. Try doing it every way you can. There is no wrong way. The best way is what gives you the results you want.

1) I do agree 100%. Bass has a huge impact on the instuments around it, and bass tone sets the feel for the song. For what I do, it is just more efficient to track the bass last. I get the guitars, drums, and vocals sounding just right, then I put in the bass. A big, punchy, grindy, growly bass. That really gets things going. Also, it helps me think about what the bass should be be doing if I listen to the song without it. The bass can take on many roles, and those roles can change many times within one song. I like the song to "tell" me what the bass needs to do.

2) No. In my opinion, doing it that way is too much like writing by formula. I always go by what sounds good, by what the music wants to do. In the situation you described, it could sound beautiful and angelic to just have a bassline in a high register with drums and nothing else. Or some simple keyboard harmony/melody, still in a high register so the bass becomes the mids would do it. Just go with your instinct.

 

[XLR]

Interesting thread, hearing how everybody works. I record mostly my own acoustic guitar playing – nylon classical and flamenco and some steel string. I have a few different ways of working depending on whether I'm recording solos or multitracked arrangements.

For multitracking, I record in my monitoring room, which is small (16x12x11) but the high ceiling helps it get by for passable sound. Most of what I do with multitracking is duet improvisations. For that, I first record a line, trying to stay outside of familiar pitch patterns and play with rhythm and phrasing that I’ll be able to stay with on the next pass. Don’t use a click track. Then I put on the cans and do a second track, playing ideas that respond to those in the first. I always just do just one take of each part to keep it from getting too planned out. If I keep it, later I edit out any parts I don't like.

My recording process is simple with solos - I just start recording and play for an hour or so, doing as many takes of a piece as needed to get a good take of each section, then edit the best sections together. I've gotta prac the hell out of the music first though or it's just a waste of time. Occasionally I get a piece tracked that doesn’t need any editing, but not usually. My best room for recording is about 100 ft from my monitoring room, so I run mic cables from one part of my house to the other, do a quick level check by walking back and forth once or twice, then just play and forget the gear.

I do minimal processing – usually a slight multiband compression on the lows and low-mids, and a subtle reverb. Mostly I just try for a decent sound in the room, and use mic’s, pre’s and converters that hopefully don’t muck it up.

Tim

 

[Monkey Allen]

Sounds a bit like how I go about it. When you record way down in the other room you'd have to trim off all that empty space at the start of the track wouldn't you? Coz, you'd have to press record, then walk down, get the guitar and start playing.

 

[XLR]

When you record way down in the other room you'd have to trim off all that empty space at the start of the track wouldn't you? Coz, you'd have to press record, then walk down, get the guitar and start playing.

Yeah, sometimes the file's first minute or so has to be deleted but usually I use the time to do a verbal log of the take - date, guitar used, mic's and position, room used. The route between the two rooms is a resonant stairway and foyer so the mic's pick up my speaking voice the whole way.

Tim