Your career as a recording artist hinges on many things – from the songs you choose to the musicianship on your records. But the single most important thing for your identity as an artist is your voice. The more relaxed and confident you are as a singer, the more people will know who you are and what you’re about. Musicians may critique your music for its musicianship, but fans and followers want to connect with your voice.

This post on how to approach vocals in the recording studio comes from my experience as a musician, session player, producer and owner of recording studios in Nashville and northern California.  If you’re just getting started in today’s independent music environment, you’ll probably play many of the same roles that I do – artist, manager, producer and A&R pro. Sometimes getting your own great vocal performances involves knowing which role to play and when.

Let’s look at them one by one.

Manager/Label/A&R Pro

Acting as manager, your job is to make sure that you have a comfortable place to record where you can do great work. You’ll need to find a studio, talk to engineers, listen to examples of their work, get prices based on your budget and ultimately lay the groundwork for an organized, low-stress recording process. You might invest in your own recording equipment (beware of the learning curve!) or use a friend’s project studio to give yourself the added flexibility of recording whenever you want without concerns about the ticking of the studio clock.

Wherever you record, taking care of the details (things like silencing mobile phones, having snacks and beverages are on hand, confirming that the garbage trucks will not be rolling down the alley when you’re laying down tracks) will make all the difference in how smooth the recording process will be.

Regarding artist development, consider the services of a vocal coach.  The more you work on your songs before you enter the studio, the more likely you’ll be to deliver a great performance when the time comes.  By studying your songs and working on the smallest details ahead of time, you’ll end up with a baseline performance that you can deliver with confidence. Then – when the RECORD light is on, you won’t have to worry about your technique or interpretation.

Producer

Here your role will be to not only find the songs that work best for you as an artist but to focus on a few very important elements:

Find songs that you can sing with emotion and sincerity. If you’re a songwriter, you may think that the best songs to sing are your own.  But outside material can keep the level of songwriting consistently high and add the necessary diversity to a project.

Know the range of your vocal instrument and make sure the songs fit.

Consider the song’s key.  Just because you’ve always performed a song in a certain key doesn’t mean it might not work better in a slightly higher or, even more surprising, sometimes lower key.

When it comes to the actual recording process, you will have to make decisions about when to keep going and when you’ve reached the final take.  This can be extremely difficult to do in the heat of battle but it’s essential. Take a five-minute break every hour or so to review what you’ve sung.  The temptation is to keep singing and singing because that perfect take is just one take away. Sometimes, though, the best one might have come five takes ago and you’ve just been wearing yourself out needlessly.

Record a comp vocal. A composite (comp) vocal allows you to sing the song from beginning to end multiple times – going for the performance without worrying too much about the details.  Getting bogged down in trying to fix a word or line can quickly take the life out of a vocal performance.

Here’s how to do it: Creating a comp vocal is as simple as recording multiple passes of your lead vocal without allowing your producer persona into the studio. When you’re done, put on your producer hat and listen back to each pass, marking a lyric sheet with which pass is good on each line. If there are still a few lines that need work, you can go after them knowing exactly what you’re missing and how to fix it.  The key to this process is to prevent yourself from judging what your doing while you’re doing it. The more you keep your producer and artist selves separate during this part, the more effective you’ll be in getting a great performance.

Artist

This role is strictly musical and the one that’s probably most familiar to you.  All of the groundwork has been laid. When you step up to the microphone, your only task is to remember that these songs move you. Sing them that way.  The best singers sound like they’re talking to you.  You believe what they’re saying because they believe what they’re saying.

Avoid any and all technical concerns since playback will tell you whether you’re hitting the notes exactly on key or if your timing is good. Just tell the story and the tone and pitch will follow.

Of course it can be nerve-racking the first few times you go in to record your vocals but the more you do it, the easier it will become. Every bit of work you do in advance as your own management, label and production team will make you that much more prepared to deliver a great vocal performance that will showcase the artist you are.

Good luck!

CLIFF GOLDMACHER is a songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist session musician, engineer, author and owner of recording studios in Nashville, TN and Sonoma, CA.

Cliff’s site has loads of resources for the aspiring songwriter including a downloadable sample of his eBook “The Songwriter’s Guide to Recording Professional Demos” a blog, newsletter and online webinars.  Click here for more information.

What’s the advantage?

Open back headphones have ports that allow sound to enter and exit through the earcups. Audiophiles and engineers choose them because the sound can be more natural, open, and accurate (than closed back headphones); offering a wide stereo image and increased depth of field. For mixing and mastering, the sound produced by open back headphones more closely approximates monitor speakers. The advantage, according to Shure Product Manager Michael Johns?  “Purely acoustic accuracy.”

We asked session player and recording engineer Cliff Goldmacher about his experience with these headphones and here’s what he said:

“Open back headphones are for critical listening.  That’s a different headphone application than the typical recording studio tracking session.   Since I’m also a session guitarist, a lot of my listening situations involve being in front of a beautiful large diaphragm microphone that picks up everything.   In a situation like that, I’ll use the Shure SRH440 or SRH840 closed back headphones.  They do a beautiful job of containing the clicktrack or whatever else is going on in my headphones.

But there are certain times when I really want to have a second opinion from the studio monitors  – where sound isolation is not mission critical but detail is critical.  The kind of detail I can get from open back headphones, the kind of response and evenness across the frequency spectrum makes a huge difference.  For me, it’s a secondary or a tertiary way of critically listening to mixes so I am sure that the detail is there.”

How to Make the Best Choice for Your Application

First of all, let’s take a quick look at the other type of headphone: closed back.  These, of course, don’t have openings that let sound enter or exit the earcup. This makes them ideal for recording tracks and broadcast applications such as podcasting, because the microphone won’t pick up sound that’s bleeding from the headphones.

They’re also a good choice if you want a private listening experience, since they provide a degree of isolation from what’s going on around you, whether it’s the ambient noise of an airplane or the television in the next room.

Next, let’s assume that you’re a recording engineer or an audiophile and you’re looking for the accuracy of open back headphones.  Which of the two new Shure models is right for you?  Michael Johns, Product Manager at Shure, provided the guidance.

 SRH1440

  “SRH1440 headphones have lower impedance and higher sensitivity. That means this headphone can be driven by a consumer electronic or mobile device since it requires less voltage to get the best output. For the consumer, it can be used very well with a portable device.”

Choose this one if you are a:    Recording engineer or personal listening user who may want to use them with mobile devices like your smartphone or MP3 player.

SRH1840

  “SRH1840 headphones have lower sensitivity and a higher impedance. That means they require more voltage, so they’re better suited for professional applications where there’s an external amplifier like the kind you’d find in a recording studio or home stereo system.”

Choose this one if you are a:   Recording engineer or an audiophile with an external amplifier

The Backstory

When you stop to think about it, headphones are speakers. And according to Michael Johns, there are almost as many types of headphones as there are loudspeakers.  Certainly, Shure’s headphone category is growing, from the SRH240 and SRH440 introductions just three years ago to over eight today, including the new open back models.

When those of us old enough to remember think about headphones, we cast our minds back forty years or more, thinking about the “cans” we plugged into our tube amplifiers back at the dorm.  The effect was mind-blowing.

But headphones go back much further than that.

Radio days: Earphones like these were used for broadcast applications.

• Early 1900s:  Sound was transmitted along telephone lines, with uncomfortable,  sometimes shock-producing headphones that used ‘moving iron transducers’.  First users: telephone operators and the US Navy.
• 1920s:   Radio broadcasters adopt headphones.
• 1930s:  Germany’s Beyerdynamic begins marketing headphones to consumers.  Acceptance is limited.
• 1950s:  Jazz musician John Koss invents the first stereo headphone geared to audiophiles.
• 1970s:  Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation becomes SONY and toward the end of the decade, introduces the Walkman with MDR3 supra-aural headphones that weighed about 75% less than popular around-the-ear headphones
• 1980s:  SONY’s Discman debuts in 1984, followed by MP3 players  and eventually smartphones.
• 2004:  Shure establishes the Personal Audio Business Unit with the successful introduction of its E Series Earphones.
• 2007:  Shure SE530 Sound Isolating Earphones names one of “100 Best Products of 2007” by PC World magazine.
• 2009:  Shure introduces three professional headphone models: the SRH240, SRH440 and SRH840.
• 2012:  Open-back Headphone models SRH1440 and SRH1840 debut. 

 The ubiquitous Walkman with its lightweight headphones 

Glossary

Here’s a helpful cheat sheet just in case you don’t know your supra-aurals from your circumaurals.

Cans – Slang for headphones

Circumaural – Headphones that surround the ear. (SRH1440 and SRH1840 are circumaural headphones.)

Earphones – Also called earbuds, these ubiquitous listening devices were first used by musicians with in-ear monitor systems and were later popularized by iPod users. (Shure SE535, for example.)

Open Back –  Headphones that are designed to allow sound to pass through the back of the earcup. The effect is sometimes described as having an open, accurate or natural sound. (Shure  SRH1440 and SRH1840 are examples.)

Noise cancelling – Headphones that reduce unwanted ambient sounds (i.e., acoustic noise) by means of active noise control (ANC). This involves using one or more microphones placed near the ear and electronic circuitry that uses the microphone signal to generate an “anti-noise” signal.

Reference headphones – Professional headphones that accurately reproduce the entire frequency heard by the human ear. (SRH940 is an example.)

Sound-isolating –  Characteristic of earphones or headphones that prevent unwanted sound from entering the ear by physical means – a snug fit, use of foam or other material to reduce ambient noise.

Supra-aural – Headphones that sit on top of the ear.  Walkmans came with this type of headphone in the days before iPods.

Cliff Goldmacher is an engineer, producer and owner of recording studios in Nashville, Tennessee and Sonoma, California. A multi-instrumentalist, Cliff has recorded, played on and produced thousands of demos for major and independent publishers, brand new songwriters and Grammy winners.

Michael Johns is a Product Manager at Shure managing PSM and Headphone products. Michael has a degree in Sound Engineering with a concentration in Recording from Columbia College Chicago. He has also been DJing for over 15 years and specializes in producing “mash-ups” and remixes using software such as Ableton Live and Apple Logic.

Los Angeles, CA

There’s nothing quite like trying to make something cool happen – especially at the last minute.  Longtime Shure user and recording engineer Cliff Goldmacher called me to see if it was at all possible to get hold of an SM7B he wanted to use the next day to track vocals with Antonia Bennett, daughter of the famous Tony Bennett.  He was heading down to Southern California and could pick it up in the LA area if one was available.  Antonia tours with her father quite frequently and Cliff wanted to catch her before she hit the road again.

I quickly placed a call to our local Rep firm, Audio Geer and it just so happened they had one in house. (Thanks guys!!)

I exchanged information on the result is what you see below.  Antonia cut a track co-written by Cliff while listening through a set of Shure SRH840 headphones.

For those of you who are not familiar with the SM7B as a studio vocal mic, it is worth looking into as several Award winning artists and engineers use this as their “go to” vocal mic for recording.

Ryan

If you want to capture a more natural sound in your recordings, it’s time to learn a few fundamentals of stereo miking.

Early on, these techniques were developed to approximate the sound we hear in our own two ears. Stereo recordings give the listener sound images that correspond to the location of the instruments in the recording session – left to right and front to back. They provide a picture of the recording space’s acoustics and capture sound source characteristics without the tonal imbalances that mono close miking can sometimes produce.

Stereo miking offers an open sound that is an alternative to multi-track recording.

Using just two or three microphones, stereo miking is still the preferred method to record classical music and small ensembles ambiently. In this article, we’ll explain four of the most popular stereo miking techniques, illustrate them with images of mic set-ups from Shure’s Performance Listening Center and provide audio clips that will amplify the critical listening differences.

Stereo Microphone Techniques

Every recording situation is different. Room acoustics vary, the instrumentation changes, even the type of music and tempo can influence the sound you’re trying to capture. You’ll probably want to test more than one of the following techniques (and then make your own adjustments) to get the recording you want.

Unless you’re one of the fortunate few with a well-stocked mic locker, you don’t need a lot of expensive gear to get started. In fact, a couple of inexpensive cardioid mics will get the job done. Just make sure they are the same make and manufacture to minimize differences in their sonic signatures. What’s most important here are your own critical listening skills, since stereo recording is an attempt to replicate the way your personal transducers (those ears of yours) process sound.

Here are four of the most typical stereo miking techniques.

Keep in mind that stereo miking, just like any other audio exploration – whether its composing, performing, doing live sound or recording — is just that … a journey and an opportunity to experiment.

It is completely subjective, so try different techniques, borrow microphones if you need to and play with angles and positions to achieve the recorded sound you’re after. Be careful about the most basic of basics – tightening stands and mic clips. Take your time. Be meticulous and the results will be more than worth your effort.

Tips from the Pros

“My favorite stereo miking technique changes with the application. For a larger vocal group or choir, I like ORTF or X/Y plus an extra wide spaced pair to capture the outer edges of the group. For drum overheads my favorite is definitely X/Y. For me, it centers the snare in the stereo picture better than a spaced pair and also is less prone to phase issues because the capsules are so close together. For acoustic piano and hand percussion, I like ORTF for its wide picture of the stereo field.” –Kevin Becka, MIX Magazine Technical Editor

“One stereo mic technique I seldom see employed live is the good old X/Y pair over the drum kit as overheads. Properly utilized, an overhead X/Y pair gives you a very big stereo image that translates across the venue quite nicely, and collapses down to mono – perfect for your matrix feeds and whatnot. Get yourself a nice sturdy stand and a couple KSM44s and give it a shot. Also an extremely wide pair of SM81s are great for realistic room/audience mics for your multi track live mixes. Place them as far downstage left and right as possible. Sometimes the talent likes a little in their in ears as well. Gets rid of that isolated feeling in the ear buds.” –Zach Mishur; Guitar Player, FOH Engineer

“In tracking mostly vocal groups, I use two different setups for stereo recording. It all depends on the size of the source I’m capturing. If the source is no wider than 10-15 feet, I’ll go with two small diaphragm condenser mics in an XY configuration, making sure each capsule is at a 90 degree angle to each other. If I am trying to capture a larger source, like a chorus or orchestra, I’ll use a Decca Tree style which is 3 large capsule condenser microphones in a triangle configuration, 2 mics three units apart, and the third centered between the two and 1 unit forward toward the source. Always keep a 1 to 3 ratio between the 3 mics to limit phase cancellation. Then I use two other small condenser mics on the outside edges of the source on the same plane as the 3 mics on the Decca tree to add to the stereo image.

I’ve used this in Germany for a Symphony concert with the vocal group, Take 6 for an outdoor concert in Berlin. The six guys were amplified through individual handheld mics and supported by the Decca tree, 5 mic setup on the symphony. It resulted in an extremely natural representation of the symphony, while giving clarity to the 6 vocalists. The only true issue we had was that our in-ear transmitters were on illegal frequencies and broadcasting on police radios around the city. I thought they would have liked a 10 time GRAMMY® winning group breaking up the radio waves and adding to their crime fighting days. But, no. They threatened to shut the festival down.” –Tony Huerta, GRAMMY® Award-Winning Producer

“While the bulk of my work as a producer and engineer involves recording vocals or other mono sources, I recently had an opportunity to use my pair of Shure KSM-141s in a fairly unstructured recording environment. A composer client of mine booked time in a high-end furniture showroom in New York City to record some of his contemporary classical arias with a pianist (the showroom just happened to have a Steinway) and an array of vocalists. I arrived with my laptop, a mic stand with a stereo bar mount attached, my KSM141s and a set of Shure’s SE530 in-ear monitors to be certain my sound source was being accurately represented.

In this instance, I used a modified X/Y pattern where I pointed one mic at the partially closed piano and the other in the general area of the vocalists. In order to get a proper vocal balance (given that the number of vocalists on any given piece ranged from one to twelve!) I had the softer/lower voices closer to the vocal-directed mic and the louder/higher voices a bit further back. In the end, by adjusting the left and right levels (in my mix) I was able to get a nice, full stereo blend of the vocals and piano that accurately captured the spirit of the room and the performance.” –Cliff Goldmacher; Recording Engineer, Studio Owner

“My engineer, Brian Peters, and I love to experiment with colors and sounds and upon reflection on how three of our last solo CDs were recorded, we realized we’ve actually never used the same technique for any two recordings. Our approach to each new CD was always borne out of new ideas and inspiration, as well as reactions to whatever we’ve done in the past – gleaning some things and discarding others.

For “StereoNucleosis” (WERTICO – 2004) we settled on a configuration with two KSM 32s on either side of the drum kit, at arm level, facing inward at the kit, almost like room microphones. It gave a very spacey asymmetrical sort of sound, but it captured the spirit of what we were trying to do for the record, so we went with it. On a few tunes, we panned both microphones center to make the drums punchier for rock-beat type grooves.

For “Ampersand” (Brian Peters & Paul Wertico – 2007) we did a more traditional spaced pair above the kit, observing a line of symmetry and capturing everything in a balanced way, but then for one song (“The Tundra”) we decided to apply cymbal mutes (Pro-Mark X-Mutes) to shorten all of the cymbal sounds on the kit in comparison to the drums and we discovered that the entire kit sounded pretty good just through the overheads. So we kept everything mono (sometimes alternating mics, sometimes using both at the same time) and we threw a huge amount of compression with an ultra fast release across the entire drum bus to bring out the cascading decays of the different elements of the kit, later adding in a little bit of kick and snare mics to make it meatier.

For “Impressions of a City” (Paul Wertico’s Mid-East/Mid-West Alliance – 2009) an X/Y overhead configuration was used, but during mixdown, the sonic image of the kit felt too shallow and wide, so we panned the overheads in reverse orientation from the stereo image of the tom mics, which made the kit suddenly feel more three dimensional and spatially deep.

Often, after getting the sounds for all the close mics, we’ll set up multiple configurations of overheads and listen to how they sit in a mix, and how they sound by themselves during solo drum pieces. We’ve used the Blumlein technique for realistic binaural recordings that capture intricate patterns being played across a ride cymbal, we’ve used an M-S configuration when we wanted to capture the entire kit in an interesting sounding space but wanted to have control over the balance of the natural reverb during mixdown, and sometimes we’ve recorded the cymbals and drums separately when we wanted to EQ the cymbals a certain way but not affect the sound of a brush part on the rest of the kit.

Overall, the most important (and rewarding) thing is to keep continually trying new things and to avoid just settling on some ‘tried and true’ method that might have been instituted after trying one thing you read on the internet that someone said is “the best” method for everyone.” –Paul Wertico, GRAMMY® Award-Winning Drummer

Glossary

Several of the most common stereo miking techniques are known by different names. That can be confusing for the newbie recordist.

Coincident-Pair
(Also know as X-Y Pair) Microphones angled apart with grilles touching.

Decca Tree
A spaced microphone variation commonly used for orchestral recording. Developed as an A-B method adding a center fill, the technique was developed in the early 1950s by a team at Decca Records to provide a stereo image.

Near-Coincident Pair
A common variation is called the ORTF system, so named for the French Broadcasting Organization that developed it. Microphones angled about 110° apart, often with capsules about 6″ to 7″ apart.

Spaced Pair
Mics spaced 3-10’ apart, pointed forward.

Mid-Side Technique
Also known as M-S. Cardioid mic pointed forward, bi-directional mic side-pointed.

Shure Recording Microphone Lockers
If you need a basic selection of microphones to get your studio up and running, here are a few selections based on type.

Basic Home Studio
(Overdubs, vocals, acoustic guitar)

• SM57 (2)
• SM27 (1)

Advanced Home Studio
(Tracking, drums, overdubs, vocals, guitar)

• SM57 (3)
• SM27 (1)
• KSM137 (2)
• Beta52A (1)
• A27M (1)

Project Studio
Type of recording: Commercial (Tracking, drums, overdubs, vocals, guitar)

• SM57 (4)
• Beta52®A (1)
• KSM137 (2)
• KSM32 (2)
• KSM44A (1)
• SM7B (1)
• VP88 (1)

Resource Room

Here’s where to find more comprehensive information on the subject of stereo miking and even more stereo miking techniques.

Articles

6 Stereo Miking Techniques You Can Use Today (Audio Tuts+)
Stereo Microphone Techniques (Bruce Bartlett)
Stereo Microphone Techniques (ProSoundWeb)

Video

Microphone Techniques: Stereo Miking Techniques

Books

Bruce Bartlett, Recording Music on Location
F. Alton Everest, Critical Listening Skills for Audio Professionals
Ron Streicher & F. Alton Everest, The New Stereo Soundbook

The following article is an excerpt from Shure Notes, Issue #13 (August 2005).

There are almost as many reasons to make your own recording as there are new (and yes, even established) artists making them. You may want to chart your progress as a performer or record a new tune you’ve written. Maybe you’d like to make your band’s music available on the web. Aim even higher and enjoy the artistic freedom (along with the profits) of self-producing your own indie effort.

Point is – whatever your goal, you need to understand the basic process and how to make the most of your freshman effort – whether you create it in your home studio, a project studio or a professional recording studio.

We’ll look at:

• Reasons to Make an Independent Recording
• Pre-Production
• Recording
• Mixing and Mastering

And while the focus of this issue is on producing your own CD, we’ve asked Cliff Goldmacher — who owns Cliff’s Walk-In Closet Studio in Nashville— to explain how and when to use a professional recording studio to your best advantage.

Why Do It? Or Just Do It.

We’re not going to spend a lot of time taking a long view of the leap-frogging advances in recording. Suffice it to say that the introduction of cassette tapes in the 1970s made it much easier to record (with portable, but bulky by today’s standards, multi-track equipment) and distribute music. When digital technology arrived, and along with it the availability of slick, affordable, user-friendly recording tools, “home recording” was born.

Here are some reasons to record:

Personal Archives
If you’re a performer, recording your music is a great way to preserve a chord progression, an arrangement, an interpretation … even your progress as a musician. It’s one thing to write down lyrics and chords — and another to hear how you and your band interpreted a piece of music on a particular day. You’ll have all the time in the world to experiment with your recording set-up, arranging multi-tracks or overdubbing.

Live or Songwriter’s Demo
You’ll need to do this if you’re pitching your band or your songwriter skills. In either case, this is a showcase of your talents and should capture the essence of either your live show or your music. In either case, you want to keep it simple and keep it short. Five or six tunes are probably more than enough to demonstrate the range of your offerings. This is your business card.

Independent Project
Not that long ago, self-produced CDs were a little like vanity publishing – the last refuge of the desperate. Today, things are completely different – and for one reason. The Internet. The fact is, with file sharing, piracy and music download sites, not to mention the popularity of iPods, record company sales are down. Those elusive record deals are harder to find and here’s more news: not that attractive.

Major artists, including Prince, Peter Gabriel, Phish, Fugazi, Ani Difranco – and scores of others – not only produce their own music — they’ve started their own labels. These artists want more control of their music and more control of marketing and profits. You may give up the record-company sponsored tour to support the new release, but you’ll be in charge. Out-of-reach, you say? Think Kyle Riabko, the 18-year old self-produced Canadian singer/songwriter who has toured with Keb Mo, John Mayer and Buddy Guy.

Pre-Production

This step is one of the most important in the entire process since it forms a bridge between why you want to make a recording and how you will make a recording. In its simplest form, it’s planning, the foundation of any creative project. While the feel you may want to capture (for a live demo, for instance) is spontaneous, the process is not.

The Price (and the Profits) of Success

“With digital technology, a CD can be recorded these days quite inexpensively. And, CDs can be manufactured for less than $1 apiece. Artists who record and manufacture their own CDs can sell them at shows for as much as $15 or $20 a piece. About 1,000 CDs sold means revenue of $15,000 to $20,000, minus recording and manufacturing costs. When you add in sales of merchandise and tickets, an independent touring musician can begin to make a living wage on relatively modest record sales. “

-Christian Bordal, “Marketplace”, National Public Radio, March 2005

The difference between making a demo to get gigs and an indie CD dictates everything — gear, personnel, instrumentation, timing and packaging. How much a recording costs you in time and money depends on having identified your destination and what it will take to get you there. Main goal of preproduction: Advance planning for smooth sailing.

Here are some guidelines:

• Have a vision for each song. Know what you’re going for, whether it’s a pounding beat or a soulful vocal. Hearing it in your head (and being able to communicate what you want) will increase your chances of nailing it on the CD.
• Recording your songs during live gigs and pre-production rehearsals can be helpful. A simple cassette recording played on a boom box may reveal weak parts.
• Collaborate with bandmates, fellow musicians or, if you’re using the services of a recording studio, a producer. A cross-pollenization of ideas can make all the difference.
• Practice, practice, practice. Know the material and make sure everyone else does, too. Warm up.
• Have the right gear on hand. Choosing the right mic, for instance, may save you some of the hassle of fooling around with EQ later.
• Make sure everything works. This means instruments, recording gear, cables, connections. Have back-ups ready to keep the momentum going in-session.
• Know how to use it. If you’re doing computer recording, for instance, understand how to use the software. All those bells and whistles are there to make you sound like a pro. Your recording will reflect your knowledge of ProTools or Q-Base or whatever you’re using.
• Understand the limits. Recording a live band performance in a home studio is a pretty tough challenge. Live recording at home is better suited for techno, electronica, hip-hop or singer/songwriter projects.
• Get comfortable. Recording studios understand this. If you’re recording in a home or project studio, make the room as comfortable as possible because you’re going to be spending a lot of time there. This means paying attention to room lighting and temperature and of course, seating.
• Take care of yourself. Get enough sleep before the session so you’re ready to record. Make sure that you and your band mates stay hydrated – have water on hand, especially for vocalists. John Lennon’s amazing version of “Twist & Shout” was made in one take, fueled by cough drops and milk, after a grueling 15-hour recording session. If you’re not trying to achieve that ragged sound, treat your voice kindly.
• Allow enough time. You’re not under contract yet. Be realistic about how much time it will take to produce a recording that you’ll be happy with. If you’re recording in your own or a friend’s studio, you won’t have the pressures of hourly studio rates. And if you are using a recording studio, solid pre-production work will help you make the most of the time you have.

Recording

Here is where it all comes together – the tunes, the musicians, the engineers (if you’re in a recording studio) and the talent. You’ll be doing several takes for each song, with the first more or less a rehearsal. Listen to each take in playback and keep in mind that if you don’t like it here, you’ll like it a lot less when you’ve burned 500 CDs.

A Java Chip Frappuccino and a Herbie Hancock, Please…

Another reason for the move away from traditional record company deals is the fact that most artists don’t see a dime until the CD has sold a million copies – a mean feat in these MP3 times.

Enter Starbucks. The Ray Charles album, “Genius Loves Company” was actually released by the Starbucks Music Hear label and sold an impressive 700,000 copies. What’s next? “Possibilities”, a collaboration between jazz great Herbie Hancock and pop artists Sting, Christina Aguilera, John Mayer and Paul Simon. According to Herbie, “It’s a fantastic business opportunity. Unlike record stores, which are geared to young people between the ages of 18 and 24, Starbucks is not limited to younger listeners. Everyone goes to Starbucks.” And? “When you sign a contract with a record label … they can do whatever they want.”

-Source: “All Jazzed Up”, New York Times Magazine, July 24, 2005

Here are some guidelines:

• Treat this just like a gig. Wherever you’re recording, be on time and let others know what is expected of them.
• Technical accuracy is a given, but emotion and feeling in the final recording are probably even more important.
• If you make a mistake, don’t stop and start over. You can always go back and punch it in later.
• Assume that it will take at least five takes to get the one you like. If you’re considering a five or even ten-song CD, that’s a lot of takes. One more reason to pace yourself.
• Use the right microphones and use them correctly. This will save you time and trouble in EQ and will guarantee the best sound (learn more about recording techniques in our next issue.)
• Don’t try to fill all the tracks on the tape. You don’t need to force something that won’t fit.
• Keep the focus of your music in mind. If it’s the vocals, spend your time there.
• Get the sound you want while recording. Don’t try to fix everything in the mix. This is the time.
• Record individual tracks clean and add effects later.
• Keep guests out! This is work and they’re unnecessary distractions. The same is true of cell phones – turn them off.
• Be flexible. It’s great to have creative ideas, but realize that they won’t all work.
• Tune instruments often. Use the same tuner if possible; since some tuners may differ in their sensitivity.
• Maintain a track listing and time log.
• If you’re tired, rest. If you’re exhausted, quit for the day.

Mixing

Now that everything has been recorded, it’s time for the mix-down. This is where you’ll blend individual tracks, adjust levels and add effects. Main Goal of Mixing: Balance track levels.

Here are some guidelines:

• Understand there are limits to what you can achieve in this phase. That’s why it’s so important to get the sound you want in the recording stage. A Les Paul isn’t going to sound like a Strat – a dark ringy ‘jazz’ snare won’t ever transform itself into the bright ‘cracky’ snare heard on many country tunes and there’s not a button made that will make Vanna White sound like James Brown.
• To keep the sound consistent from recording to the mixdown, use the same speakers (if you’re not recording in a professional studio).
• Listen to your music at moderate levels in your car or on a boom box. This is how most people will hear it, and mixing at loud levels will fatigue your ears and distort the “true” sound.
• Use sound isolating earphones in the mix-down, then playback on a small pair of speakers at low volume levels.
• Give it a rest. What’s true in recording is also true in the mixdown. Come back to the project with fresh ears.
• Think about the big picture and the overall sound.
• Don’t fight for your instrument to be heard: “I need to hear more guitar/bass/tambourine…” Do what is best for the song.
• Decide which format you want the finished mixes to be on. Use the format that makes the most sense for your needs.
• And don’t forget to make a safety copy. It’s the best and cheapest insurance you’ll ever have.

Mixing involves more than ‘setting the faders and rolling the tape.’ Most mixes have a certain degree of dynamics: instruments being brought up and down at various points throughout the song. It’s a way of adding a sense of movement and liveliness.

Don’t be afraid of using automation. When there are a large number of moves to make, a computer has the facility to execute changes more consistently than a roomful of guys with their hands on the faders. If enough moves are involved, automation is often less time consuming than mapping, marking, and practicing a mix until you finally ‘get it.’

Mastering

You’ve reached the final frontier – the last step before the duplication process. This is where you put the finishing touches on the mixes and make sure that everything is right. Main goal of mastering: Get your recording ready for release.

Been There, Done That: One Band’s Experience

Kurt Dinse is a professional musician we know who performed with the band Apocalypse Hoboken from 1992 to 2000. In that time, the band released four full -length records, two EPs and “many, many seven-inch singles”. Today he is a successful graphic designer and creates a different kind of digital magic. We asked him to recall his studio days and what he learned from them. This is what he had to say: “After doing a bunch of demos on personal 4-track recorders we saved our money and went to a real 24-track studio. We did it over several weekends or whenever we could get the time and money. I was surprised at how long the process took. I wasn’t expecting that. You need to make sure that everything sounds just right. I learned a lot about drum tuning and vocals during that time. You really need to listen to the sounds not just the song. One of the most important lessons we learned is that good mastering is everything to a recording. The first CD we did sounded so thin compared to other bands recordings. That was because we left the mastering to the guy that was pressing the CD. From then on, we always made sure that the band was present for the final EQ.”

You’ll want to:

• Put some time between the mix and master steps. Live with various mixes before you and your associates make the final decision.
• Clean up the beginnings and endings of the final mixes.
• Place the tunes in order, with the strongest first. First impressions are important. If listeners don’t know you or your band, you need to catch their ear.
• Adjust the spacing between songs, and
• Match volumes for consistency from track to track.
• Think about adding a degree of EQ or compression.
• Edit sections of songs or splice different takes together.
• Consider having a different engineer handle the mastering if you’re using a pro studio. Fresh ears can make a difference.
• Make sure your master format is compatible with what your duplicator uses.
• Make at least two copies. If you’re recording in a home studio, you may not have back-up of the DAT you left in a taxicab.
• Independent recording is an art and a science. It begins with a musical idea or lyric that floated around in your mind a few months or years ago and ends with the polished presentation of that idea in a form that you can share with the world.

Sources for this article included:

Cliff Goldmacher, Owner, Cliff’s Walk-in Closet Studio, Nashville, TN
Curt Juergensen, Director, Tokyo School of Music
Steve Revilak, Producer, Newbury Sound, Boston, MA