how to record???

[philip_y_yu]

can anyone help me, im new to recording. and i want to know what to record first? my bandmate told me that we should be recording the drums first and next the bass guitar, for they are the backbone of any song. but actually we are using pc as our recording tool and a cakewalk software. for me i think its easier to record the rhythm guitar first then all the stuff follows. because there is actually a metronome in the software. i think i dont need the drums and the bass!, am i right or wrong? can any one help? thanks a lot.

 

[Musicbreathe]

Hi Philip,
You're absolutely right. Go first with the instrument that acompaniers the melody most predominantly being it guitar, piano, keyboard... usually those are the ones. Then *I* get the drums on, matter of pref. Whatever you do, leave vocals for last and remember you can always audition other instruments as you listen to what you've recorded in piano, for example using other sounds to play the same track. (if you are using midi, that is)
Oh, and let me leave you with the most valuable piece of advice I can tell you... make it a second nature to save to disk (and) whatever you use as removable media every time you come up with something relevant, every time!
Happy recording!

 

[Blue Bear Sound]

If you're using a click track anyways, it doesn't matter as much, but it is generally better to get a good drums track down first, and then build off of that.

Even in a full band-on-the-floor recording scenario, often all you care about are getting a good drum vibe, and maybe bass if the band is tight enough... all other instruments tend to be treated like scratch tracks at first -- if they work, then fine, otherwise they get overdubbed.

 

[theletterq]

As a drummer and with experience recording drummers, in order for you to record guitar first and then drums, you had better make sure that every single strum that is on a down beat is right on the click. If they are not, when a drummer (who is hopefully playing to a click) nails it right on, it will not sound right as the downbeat on the drums and guitar do not line up. What then happens, is the drummer has to try and play to the guitar part, ie memorizing the parts that are not in time.

The point of all this? Record the drums first with scratch takes and either keep them if they're good enough or redo.