Need help with recorindg process.

[JerryD]

My band is made up of 4 1/2 people. Me on vocal, me on bass, me on keyboards, be on guitar, and drum samples.

I was wondering in what order do big studios usually record parts of a song.

Right now I create a song in this fashion.

1. Create a drum track using Acid Pro.
2. Record acoustic guitar and vocals to play the song with the drums.
3. Add new vocal track.
4. Add new acoustic track.
5. Delete first acoustic guitar and vocal track.
6. Add bass track
7. Add electric guitar track.
8 Add keyboard track.
9 Add backup vocal track.

Is the insane or this similar to recording in a real studio? What am I doing wrong?

 

[mixsit]

Doesn't sound all that unusual. You're working solo(?) That's a big difference there. Especially if you're sort of working out the song as you go. If you had the parts nailed up front, I could see where you could skip 2 and flip 4 for 3. Either way it's gonna add up.
A lot of guys (bands) come in thinking they know the songs, then go through a discovery process (aside from maybe finding out they're not tight or something) where better ways and ideas come in, then lots of do-overs..

 

[JerryD]

Thanks.

Yes solo. For some reason I find it hard to layout the music without the vocals. I think I need to keep my songs real consistent to be sucessful at that. Any tips would be helpful.

I had another question if you don't mind. I was wondering if the approch below is good plan for improving my homerecording quality.

I plan on not recording acoustic anymore because I don't have the right sounding room to record an acoustic guitar. I plan on going all electric and using DI devices like Tonelab LE and Sans Amp Bass DI for the guitars and bass. I plan on running my keyboards directly into the mixer as well. I plan on using a Shure SM7 dynamic for vocals and backup vocals since dynamics seem to fair better in bad sounding rooms. That's it. Please let me know if this is a good plan.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[mixsit]

Wow, that's tough to say. Keys, bass, sure. But there's a lot to be said for having a little 'air in there, some speakers vs D/I, etc.
Some gobos, a little reflection control, and a few nice mics goes a long way. Really, just getting control over the major bounces opens up options, for clarity. The stuff is cheap enough, not too hard to build. Three sides, one or two over head, moveable. They don't even need to be tight, just enough to put the room in second place.

 

[JerryD]

Okay. I could go live. I'll look into how these gobos are made and maybe go with tube amps instead.

 

[JerryD]

Thank you.

 

[mixsit]

All I was saying is try to find a balance. If this is more about the songs than the tech chops, then don't let this stuff get in the way. Tossing the acoustic guitar for example could be quite a turn in style.
Wayne

 

[mixsit]

Thank you.

Cool.
Wayne

 

[danny.guitar]

Recording an acoustic guitar is a bitch to begin with, takes a lot of practice and experience. That's all I've been recording since I started and it still gives me a hard time to get the perfect sound.

Having an untreated room makes it even harder. But there are things you can do...

Setup a mattress and space it from the wall a couple inches. Put the mic infront of that. Maybe even hang thick blankets on the surrounding walls. Or put a bunch of clothes in your closet and record into that.

You can get cheap panels to use as gobos here:
http://www.atsacoustics.com/cat--ATS-Acoustic-Panels--100.html

Or of course go the DIY route and make your own.

I wouldn't ditch the acoustic just because of your recording situation. If you think your songs sound better with an acoustic then use it.

 

[JerryD]

I'll check out the wall treatments. Also the computer sound is driving me crazy. I need some kinds of remote so I can run the PC from another room.
Not sure what I"m going to do there. But thanks for all the help.

 

[killmachine]

GEt really really long cables for the mon, key, and mouse........ just kidding. Sounds like you going in the right direction with everything. However, it also sounds like you jumping to the finish a bit early. You've really got to focus on the structure of the song and then you won't have as much of a problem working parts out. Run through things as a whole and add and subtract parts and arrangments. I wouldn't worry a whole lot about the room until it comes to acoustic drums. If that's the case use room treatments like everyone is saying and good mic placement. Also if that's the case you should be able to lay that song down without anything else playing exept the drums.

 

[Nandoram]

Hey, I started out on Acid Music, so I can relate to your question.

It doesn't really matter what order you use. Even if some studio guy tells you to do it a certain way, it doesn't matter. Just do what you're comfortable doing. Personally, I like to have a pretty completed musical track before I start tracking the vocals.

I'm a guitarist, and I like to record with the drums first. I jam around until I come up with some cool riffs, and then I decide which drum loop I'll be using. Then I create about a 4-5 minute loop of the main drum part. Then I'll put down the guitars. Then I lay down the bass. Then I do the solos. I leave the vocals for last. It may be a good idea to do the solos after the vocals, in case you want to quote some of the main melody in the solo. Or if you already have the melody, use it in your solo before you lay down the vox.

For the song I'm currently working on, I'm doing the backing track first. Then I'll mix it, and make a wave. Then I'll bring it back into Pro Tools to do my vocals. I'm going to do some major harmony vocals on it, and I'll need the extra tracks.