G
Grail_72
New member
I was just wondering. When any of you start recording a song, what do you record first?? Guitar, bass, drums?? I owuld like to know what others do.
G
glynb
Balladeer
1. drum track (using rhythm unit)
2. guide guitar (later to be wiped)
3. guide vocal (later to be wiped)
4. keeper guitars...
from then on depends on the song.
Always end with the big banana, the lead vocal final take.
2. guide guitar (later to be wiped)
3. guide vocal (later to be wiped)
4. keeper guitars...
from then on depends on the song.
Always end with the big banana, the lead vocal final take.
scrubs
Not of sound mind
Grail_72 said:
It totally depends on the project. I do mostly solo work, so I typically record a "scratch" track with acoustic guitar + vocal with a click. Then I design the rest of the arrangement around that. The first "real" track I lay down, using the scratch track as the guide, is drums/percussion. Then I play a super-phat bassline that really grooves with the drums. Then guitars and keyboards. Then vocals. Then any "beeps and boops" to keep it interesting.
For bands, I think it is pretty standard to record the whole band playing together (isolated, if possible) with the intent of capturing a tight drum track (+/- click usage, depending on preference) and possibly the bass. The rest of the tracks are often scrapped and replaced with overdubs.
L
LRosario
New member
To be honest, there is no real standard order to go in. Some engineers will choose to record vocals before anything. It all depends on what approach you'd like to take and what kind of music it is.
I like to write down a tree of instruments before I get started.
To make things general:
[Drums]-[Scratch Guitars or something the drummer indentifies with]-[Percussion]
[Bass]-[Scratch Guitars]-[Backup vox]
[Guitars]
[vox]-[any other details]
It really dosn't matter how you track it, since it will most likely be reordered in mixing later.
I like to write down a tree of instruments before I get started.
To make things general:
[Drums]-[Scratch Guitars or something the drummer indentifies with]-[Percussion]
[Bass]-[Scratch Guitars]-[Backup vox]
[Guitars]
[vox]-[any other details]
It really dosn't matter how you track it, since it will most likely be reordered in mixing later.
Stefan Elmblad
New member
If there will be a clicktrack
1. clicktrack
2. instrument that the song was written on + vocals as guide later to be erased
3. the rest in order that depends on song and arrangement
If there is no clicktrack, jump to step 2 and begin there.
1. clicktrack
2. instrument that the song was written on + vocals as guide later to be erased
3. the rest in order that depends on song and arrangement
If there is no clicktrack, jump to step 2 and begin there.
F
Fire Dome
New member
crude but effective
This is what i did just 3 weeks ago with my band in preperation for final recording.
I miked up the drums and the singer and DI'd the bass and guitar. Now we just played the songs through as if we were practising them and didn't think about the fact that we were being recorded. Then i did a bit of eq, compression etc and leveled out the whole thing in about 5 minutes. This gave us a basic backing track where i could take out the parts that some one was playing. For example if the bass player was tracking then I took out the bass but left everything else.
Now I don't know if this is the right thing to do but who cares it worked.
During final recording i did the drums(my part)first then bass, guitar, 2nd and 3rd guitar overdubs and then the vocals.
Dave
This is what i did just 3 weeks ago with my band in preperation for final recording.
I miked up the drums and the singer and DI'd the bass and guitar. Now we just played the songs through as if we were practising them and didn't think about the fact that we were being recorded. Then i did a bit of eq, compression etc and leveled out the whole thing in about 5 minutes. This gave us a basic backing track where i could take out the parts that some one was playing. For example if the bass player was tracking then I took out the bass but left everything else.
Now I don't know if this is the right thing to do but who cares it worked.
During final recording i did the drums(my part)first then bass, guitar, 2nd and 3rd guitar overdubs and then the vocals.
Dave
Last edited:
Track Rat
Just Your Average Sized Member
I prefere that the whole thing goes down at once or at least as much as possible. It ALWAYS just grooves better. Things just...swing, ya know what I mean? You can always come back in to fix or add stuff.
Now if I'm working by my self, I build a drum pattern, then the rhythm instrument (guitar or keys), then bass, vox then leads. I just hate doing that anymore though. It never equils people playing in a room at the same time.
Now if I'm working by my self, I build a drum pattern, then the rhythm instrument (guitar or keys), then bass, vox then leads. I just hate doing that anymore though. It never equils people playing in a room at the same time.
distortedrumble
all up in yo grill!
drums first and everything else is scratch.
rhythm and then lead guitar is recorded with the bass and vocals being scratch
bass is recorded with the vocals being a scratch track
main vocals then recorded
backup vocals then recorded
main vocals re-recorded just in case there wasnt enough energy in the last recording to match backup vocals
rhythm and then lead guitar is recorded with the bass and vocals being scratch
bass is recorded with the vocals being a scratch track
main vocals then recorded
backup vocals then recorded
main vocals re-recorded just in case there wasnt enough energy in the last recording to match backup vocals
A
AGCurry
New member
I'm with Track Rat. My answer is "get as much as possible laid down first." If it's a band, I'll record everything, or as much as I can get on 8 tracks. If it's myself, I'll go track by track, with acoustic guitar likely the first thing.
G
glynb
Balladeer
Fire Dome said:
There's a problem with this approach. Not all drummers can play along to a recorded band, it's like asking them to play to a click track, some just can't do it.
Of course if you know the drummer is competent enough to handle this then fine.
But that's one reason why people like to try to get the drums down first, then add or re-record whatever else later.
M
mrface2112
Well-known member
when working with a band, everything (or at least the "meat" of the tracks--drums, bass and DI'd guitars) gets recorded live.....then we overdub.
when recording myself, i usually lay down the click first, then the acoustic guitar part (which is usually a keeper), then the vocals (edited to a comp track), then bass, drums and additional guitars, keys, and other things. very basic process....and i have no problem playing drums to a click track. i do find it ironic that drums are one of the last things i lay down when i'm doing the "one man band" thing.
cheers,
wade
when recording myself, i usually lay down the click first, then the acoustic guitar part (which is usually a keeper), then the vocals (edited to a comp track), then bass, drums and additional guitars, keys, and other things. very basic process....and i have no problem playing drums to a click track. i do find it ironic that drums are one of the last things i lay down when i'm doing the "one man band" thing.
cheers,
wade
X
xstatic
New member
This is how I prefer to do it, but things are always open to change when the project dictates it.
I like to record the Drums, bass, and rhythm guitars at the same time, with a scratch vocal and a click track. I always try and set things up as if they were to be the final take. You never know when the guitar player may hit that "magic" take. However, my only real goal initially is to get tight rhythm guitars and bass to the click. Then i like to go retrack the drums so we can really focus on some of the little things. However, a drummer has to be capable of working like this to be effective. After drums I like doing bass and then rhythm guitars and then leads. After that i like to do vocals, but occasionally (if the refernce tracks are decent) do the vocals before the guitars. It really depends and the bands style, and the singer themselves. After vocals, thats when I like to add the auxilliary tracks. Guitar layers, percussion, backround keys and FX etc... That way it's really easy to see which tracks make the mix better and which ones just clutter things. My favorite is when the reference tracks and the drum tracks come out decent during the first stage, yet the plan is still to retrack them. This gives the band and I a good chance to sit down and evaluate tones, arrangements and other things that that we can have a better or more clear vision of the project when we sit down to track for real. The one thing I always try and do is approach every track in a such a manotr that if a stellar performance was to be had we don't have to ditch it due to bad mic'ing etc...
I like to record the Drums, bass, and rhythm guitars at the same time, with a scratch vocal and a click track. I always try and set things up as if they were to be the final take. You never know when the guitar player may hit that "magic" take. However, my only real goal initially is to get tight rhythm guitars and bass to the click. Then i like to go retrack the drums so we can really focus on some of the little things. However, a drummer has to be capable of working like this to be effective. After drums I like doing bass and then rhythm guitars and then leads. After that i like to do vocals, but occasionally (if the refernce tracks are decent) do the vocals before the guitars. It really depends and the bands style, and the singer themselves. After vocals, thats when I like to add the auxilliary tracks. Guitar layers, percussion, backround keys and FX etc... That way it's really easy to see which tracks make the mix better and which ones just clutter things. My favorite is when the reference tracks and the drum tracks come out decent during the first stage, yet the plan is still to retrack them. This gives the band and I a good chance to sit down and evaluate tones, arrangements and other things that that we can have a better or more clear vision of the project when we sit down to track for real. The one thing I always try and do is approach every track in a such a manotr that if a stellar performance was to be had we don't have to ditch it due to bad mic'ing etc...
G
Grail_72
New member
Okay.
Here is my dilemma. I am alone doing all instruments.
Here is my dilemma. I am alone doing all instruments.
T
The Green Hornet
New member
Ahhh, most sought-after GRAIL:
I also do my stuff alone and here is how I set it up.
I usually, if not always, use a drum machine. I like to do chords and the drum machine. It's a lot to keep in your head but if you know your song, not much of a problem; it's pretty easy to go back and do it over if you mess up.
Once the chords and drums are down, the rest is over-dub.
You should plan ahead on how many instruments, tracks, you want to do.
[you have not mentioned what you are using to record?]
If you have 8 or more available tracks, then the planning is easy. You most likely will never do more than five/six tracks if you are doing it alone.
When you are over-dubbing, say, a sax--you can go back and re-do the track if you mess it up. [I'm assuming you are using a synthsizer or some other keyboard or you play sax.]
Easiest type of ending to use when you are working alone is the slow fade-out. This will keep you from having to have three hands when you are ending. You can even ramble on a bit and still fade it out before you get to the jumbles that can happen unless you have every note written out.
When the tracks are done, now comes the tough part--mixing. But, it's all part of the recording process. And, you'll find it interesting and challenging.
Often I use CD music background for projects. This makes it easy. The music is all done--in the right key or adjusted--now you just need to do the vocal or parody or let your talent sing to the inserted CD background. Easy and fun.
Well, jump in and start splish-splashing around.
Green Hornet
I also do my stuff alone and here is how I set it up.
I usually, if not always, use a drum machine. I like to do chords and the drum machine. It's a lot to keep in your head but if you know your song, not much of a problem; it's pretty easy to go back and do it over if you mess up.
Once the chords and drums are down, the rest is over-dub.
You should plan ahead on how many instruments, tracks, you want to do.
[you have not mentioned what you are using to record?]
If you have 8 or more available tracks, then the planning is easy. You most likely will never do more than five/six tracks if you are doing it alone.
When you are over-dubbing, say, a sax--you can go back and re-do the track if you mess it up. [I'm assuming you are using a synthsizer or some other keyboard or you play sax.]
Easiest type of ending to use when you are working alone is the slow fade-out. This will keep you from having to have three hands when you are ending. You can even ramble on a bit and still fade it out before you get to the jumbles that can happen unless you have every note written out.
When the tracks are done, now comes the tough part--mixing. But, it's all part of the recording process. And, you'll find it interesting and challenging.
Often I use CD music background for projects. This makes it easy. The music is all done--in the right key or adjusted--now you just need to do the vocal or parody or let your talent sing to the inserted CD background. Easy and fun.
Well, jump in and start splish-splashing around.
Green Hornet
Stefan Elmblad
New member
Stefan Elmblad said:
This is when I record myself, when I record full bands switch #2 to:
2. guitar + bass + drums + scratch vocal, all as a guide track later to be erased
scrubs
Not of sound mind
Grail_72 said:
Grail,
Like I said, I do mostly solo work also and record all the instruments myself. Here is my process (using computer-based recording with mostly audio and minimal MIDI):
1) "Scratch" track with acoustic guitar + vocal with a click (this is built into my recording software now, and I can turn it on or off; in the 4-track days, I just plugged a metronome into the recorder and it became a permanent part of the scratch track -- make sure you give yourself a 4-8 beat count-in so you can get positioned when overdubbing all the other instruments). The scratch lets me determine the tempo, number of measures for the various song segments, and song length. Usually, when I get to recording, I have only written the main guitar and vocal line anyway, so I listen to the scratch when writing parts for other instruments.
2) Drums/percussion. If I think the song needs percussion, I'll come up with that first by listening to the scratch. I don't have a drumset presently, so I am using MIDI and drum samples for percussion. Typically, I'll come up with a MIDI drum part (again, built into my recording software) and then transfer it to a separate program to replace the beats with real drum samples, so they don't sound quite as cheesy. Then I re-import the new trum track back into my software as a wave file.
3) Bass. If there are drums, then there is almost always a bass line. I may have some idea what this will be before I record, but typically, I come up with the bass part after I've laid down the drums. I monitor the drums and the scratch track while recording the bass line to make sure it is tight, especially with the bass drum, and that it fits with the song.
4) Rhythm guitars. Anywhere from one to four tracks, depending on the needs of the song. Once these are laid down over the drums and bass, I scrap the scratch track.
5) Vocals. I typically record my lead vocal first, then add background vocals where they are needed. Some people do background first, so the vocalist will have something to listen to.
6) Everything else. Any leads, keys, horns, sound-effects, etc. are recorded toward the end when the song is already mostly realized. I'll add whatever I think the song needs. Sometimes these get eliminated at mixdown if they don't add anything.
I am pretty pleased with my method for solo recordings. Of course, all that may need to be modified if you are using a 4-track, as you'll have fewer tracks and fewer options at mixdown, especially if you are bouncing.
E
Emperor !!!
New member
a guide
The first thing I do is lay down the "scratch" track, I think it is necessary for the ones recording themselves, like me, to have it as a guide.
The first thing I do is lay down the "scratch" track, I think it is necessary for the ones recording themselves, like me, to have it as a guide.
G
Grail_72
New member
Scrubs, That sounds good. I am going to try your method and see if it works. I will lay down the ryhthm tracks first on my acoustic and maybe a guide vocal, then do drums, bass and guitars.
I have a Korg d1200, so I have more than enough tracks to work with.
Here is a pic of my studio loft.
Click on link:
https://photobucket.com/albums/v209/Grail_72/
I have a Korg d1200, so I have more than enough tracks to work with.
Here is a pic of my studio loft.
Click on link:
https://photobucket.com/albums/v209/Grail_72/
T
The Green Hornet
New member
Yo Grail:You'll never get anything done--your studio is too NEAT!
You need a few empty beer cans, some tangled cables, and a synth from which you can't reach to controls of your recorder, and a couple of mics dangling from the ceiling and two upright on the floor, and two hot chicks singing, Doo-wah Doo-wah Doo-wah.
Nice set up.
Green Hornet
E
EVT
New member
I first record the drum track ( I use a drum machine). Then, I record the rhythm guitar. I then sing a scratch lead vocal. It helps to have the lead vocal recorded first before the bass player records his track, because he uses my singing to guide him for his voicings. The tracks are always better when we have done it this way. The other day we tried recording the bass, but we only had the drums and guitar recorded, and the feel wasn't there without the vocals.
After this is done, I see how everything sounds together. If I like the main vocal, I keep it, if not I redo it. Then I add keyboards. Then added percussion, or lead guitar lines.
It's a matter of personal taste, and ability to make things work. Since I work with a drum machine, it would really be difficult to match it up later on in the recording process.
evt
After this is done, I see how everything sounds together. If I like the main vocal, I keep it, if not I redo it. Then I add keyboards. Then added percussion, or lead guitar lines.
It's a matter of personal taste, and ability to make things work. Since I work with a drum machine, it would really be difficult to match it up later on in the recording process.
evt