Live Studio Recording - Can it be done well?

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osu122975

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Went and checked out a studio today.

We are on a budget, as most bands probably are. We are not looking to make it big, just some local type stuff or even a neighboring state.

My question is: Is it possible to make a good solid recording playing live in the studio if everyone is tight and knows where they're going?

The idea is to have everyone in the same room recording the drums and have all the guitars/bass plugged directly into the system, then do the vocals later. This studio uses ProTools so I assume they have a nice arsenal of guitar amp simulators and such.

Has anyone else ever tried this?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again.
 
Not only can it be done, this is how *all* recordings used to be done until the mid 50s or so, and how some of the best audiophile recordings used to be made in the '70s and early '80s.

You're right, it requires a tight band, and - these days - a lead engineer at the studio that knows how to do it well on his end too.

G.
 
SouthSIDE Glen is exactly right. People still make records this way, especially Jazz, blues, and that hippie jam stuff. I would be remiss if I did not point out, however, that those genre typically lend themselves to these kids of techniques, due to their performance based and improvisational nature.

Personally, I would not typically use direct lines on the guitars as my final tracks. On the flip side, the best sounding bass track I've ever recorded was a Gibson bass through an Avalon VT737, then apogee converters. But your signal chain doesn't have to be near that beefy to obtain good results.

I would track the drums, and make scratch bass, guitar and vocal tracks, in the studio. Then I would take the sessions home and overdub Isolated final tracks of the other parts.

Maybe consider picking up a 2 channel computer interface like the M-Audio Fast track Pro, you can find them for about $100, or something similar. I would then suggest picking up an additional 2 channel pre-amp of decent quality. I might expect to spend about $100 here as well. One last thing, pick up a Shure SM57 which are $100 new, but if you look, I'll bet you can find it way cheaper. A friend of mine sells his entire inventory of SM57s and 58s about once a year for $50ea. Corporate sound, everything has to look brand new. The 57 is versatile enough to record Vocals, bass and guitars and really just about anything else.

In the end you can spend about $300 - $350 on gear,and not only get the job done this time, but next time as well.
 
not trying to sound like an arsehole, but having amazing sounding drums and then putting them with poorly recorded vocals, guitars and bass is only going to accentuate the flaws in those tracks.
If you want to do the whole track drums in the studio then do others at home i would recommend hiring some decent preamps, converters and a good vocal mic.
 
One of the more challenging jobs I had was to record some demo tracks for a band that needed a CD for a festival application. I got the call for help on Saturday. The application was due in on Monday!

They lobbed in on Sunday at 10am.

I recorded the backing live (no click track, by the way): keys, bass and acoustic guitar direct in along with a miked up kit. I dislike acoustic guitar pickups, but time was pressing . . . there may have been an opportunity to replace later . . . but in the end there wasn't. By lunchtime we had the backings done for eight tracks. This band was tight and knew their stuff inside out!!!

Did the vocals in the afternoon. A few overdubs for harmonies, but mostly single takes.

Mixed the songs in the evening and ran off a CD of eight tracks which they took with them at 10.30pm. They got their submission in on time!

I did a remix a couple of weeks later which had a bit more sparkle than the first.

The answer to your question is 'yes', but the key is "if everyone is tight and knows where they're going".
 
I wish more bands would (or could) record this way. I am tired of hearing recordings that are a pile of overdubs, each one being digitally manipulated to be perfect.

I have even heard surprising stories of some heavy Jazz players that record with total isolation so they can go back and fix stuff. Makes me want to puke, honestly.
 
guitarboi89 said:
If you want to do the whole track drums in the studio then do others at home i would recommend hiring some decent preamps, converters and a good vocal mic.
Click to expand...

I agree completely. After thinking about it for a minute I might suggest picking up an MBox for the bedroom / practice room overdubs, especially if the studio you are using has a ProTools system. The preamps and converters are pretty good in the MBox and I think you would be happy with the results.

The thing I like about this plan most is how much you can save on studio time. Get great drum sound and scratch, or guide, tracks of all the other parts in the studio, then replace, overdub, the scratch tracks at home. Its a plan that could work for you for a long time.
 
Recording drums in a real studio is always your best option if you want a real album feel. Another moving saving tip is to record all guitar tracks direct in at home getting a perfect take on your own time. Then bringing the tracks into the studio and reamping with the studios selection of high class amps. This method allows for all the time consuming stuff to be done on your own time while still yielding the studios great rooms and equipment.
 
This recording I did last weekend for a group (high school kids) is a live recording. Please bear in mind its loud and raw. But thats what they are and how they wanted it to sound. Im not one for the cookie monster type vocals, but this isnt too bad. The vocals were added after the instruments (live). http://www.soundclick.com/util/getplayer.m3u?id=6850460&q=hi
 
I record like this all the time, Drum Kit at one end of the room, wast high screen to keep some of the spill out of the kick, toms, snare. The set up the Guitar amps at the other end of the room facing side on to the drums and screen the amps at the side facing the drums. Bass between the drums and guitars facing side on to the drums. Vocals (if live) with the vocalist facing the band with their backs to the wall with a soft screen behind. I also have some movable head high screens with glass in them for more isolation if need be.

I usually like to do vocals later but sometimes depending on the type of music I have done the vocals live.

The secret is the band has to play at a volume that is quite enough to not have too much spill but loud enough to feel good. If any Guitar players turn up with 100 watt heads and 2 x quad boxes send them home. Acoustic style bands are great to record live.

Cheers

Alan.
 
the red hot chili peppers last album was partly recorded live (main guitar,bass,drums) you can even hear the cymbals on the seperate bass track ;)
 
witzendoz said:
Acoustic style bands are great to record live.

Cheers

Alan.
Click to expand...

I second that. My own first-hand experience:

Used to have/lead a bluegrass band- two guitars, banjo, mando, upright bass, fiddle, up to 5-part harmony. Decided we needed a demo CD, and my son brought his board and ADATS from New Orleans to Decatur, GA, and set up in the upstairs of my house. Hallway was control room, large-ish cathedrial'ed ceiling bedroom was studio room. Being all acoustic instruements, everything was miked (my guitar has a piezo, so we went direct with it, but was not needed.) Did the instruments all together, with dynamics on each inst. and a couple of AT-40XX condensers in the room, plus a SM58 up high for room ambiance. Next day, vocals were recorded following the instrument tracks. Again, all vocals at once, but on different tracks.

It was a great session. We had been playing together for a few months, so we already knew how to blend- which meant remixing was minimal. The sessions were great fun, too- some real positive energy flowing between us.

Not having drums made David's job much easier, of course, but it was a great time and produced great results.
 
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i recorded this band all live in one room - including vocals which were set up right next to the drum set and guitar amp - at their place.

my fave is 'midnight train.' theirs is 'can't replay life.'

a great band with just a passible engineer like myself can get it done OK. these are rough mixes...we're shooting for a Muddy Waters 'Hard Again' vibe for the whole record...

long live 'music' instead of 'recording'!

Mike
 
I'm going to zero in on this phrase for a moment:
osu122975 said:
if everyone is tight and knows where they're going?
Click to expand...

The way you worded this gives me pause. I don't think I can emphasize enough the amount of preparation needed to pull off a 'live at once' recording. Someone once said the difference between an amateur and a professional is that amateurs rehearse until they get it right; professionals rehearse until they can't get it wrong.

Being 'tight' and 'knowing where you're going' isn't enough. You need to be able to play your parts note for note repeatedly, and know exactly what everyone else is playing as well.

Countless bands have told me "we're really tight, it won't take more than 1 or 2 takes" - only to spend all day just trying to get bass & drums playing reasonably well together on one song.

If you have a recording rig yourself, do some serious pre-production. Record the band playing together, then do some critical listening. Ask each other "What are you playing right there?" Lock in on each part and chisel it in stone - then rehearse until you're sick of the songs. When you think you're there - go home, comeback the next day and warm up on some cover songs or just jam - then call out the songs in random order. If you can't NAIL them on the 1st try, you're not there yet. (you should be recording for analysis purposes,still)

Scott
 
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