WHAT IS INVOLVED IN RECORDING A PROJECT? WHAT IS THE TYPICAL SEQUENCE IN MAKING A QUALITY RECORDING?

There are so many different recording scenarios that if all of them were to be discussed here, you would probably be reading through at least 100 pages of info. So, for times sake we’ll just assume that you have a 3 to 5 piece band that wants to record a CD.

We’ll start with the most asked questions… “How come it takes so long?” “Why can’t we just record everything at once and have a finished CD at the end of the session?” “We’ve really been practicing, and we figure we should be able to record all 16 songs in 1 hour…so the whole thing should cost us only $55, then we’ll be done and it will sound just like our favorite band on the radio, right?”

And now, in the real world of recording…

Set-up for a full band usually takes the engineer at least 1 hour. He has to set up microphones, route all the cables, set up headphones and extension cables, and sometimes place movable baffles around certain instruments to control the sound. Then there may be the delay of tracking down a buzz coming from one of the instruments or guitar amps.

Then back in the control room, a session is set up and configured in Pro Tools recording software. All the microphone channels are configured and routed internally. Then the engineer has each band member play one at a time while he adjusts the volume levels and EQ. Then the whole band will play and the headphone mixes will be adjusted. It is highly recommended that the drummer and band practice together with a metronome, and write down the tempo of each song prior to the recording session. This will save time in the studio when setting up click tracks. But if this hasn’t been done, the engineer will use a metronome while the band is rehearsing and he will try to match the tempo. Then a click will be programmed and will play in the headphones so that the band will remain steady throughout the whole song. Doing this will also make any copy-and-pasting of parts much easier later on. The band will usually rehearse the song a few times and work out any rough spots. While rehearsing, the headphone mixes may be adjusted a few more times. And oh yes, tune your instrument…often! Check for tuning before EVERY song.

Now we’re ready to start recording. Up to this point, 1 to 1-1/2 hours have elapsed.

Recording. Remember, it’s emotion and feeling that make the best song, not necessarily the best technical rendition. Relax and have fun! If you mess up a part while recording, don’t stop and start over. That can easily cause you to burn out. Instead, check to see if the engineer can punch in the correction. Always keep in mind the focus of your music. If it’s the vocals, plan to spend the most time on them. Don’t waste time on things that don’t highlight the focal point. Unless you have unique effects, record individual tracks dry, then add effects later.

An inexpensive microphone will be used for recording a “scratch” vocal track at the same time the band is playing. This scratch vocal is used so that the band can know where they are in each song. The scratch vocal will eventually be discarded once the “good” vocals have been laid down separately, using a good expensive microphone.

“Why can’t we save time and just use the scratch vocal track as the final vocal?” Well, the whole band is set up in one large room, with guitar amps in separate isolation rooms, and everyone plays at the same time to try to capture a certain “vibe”, which could be lost by having each musician in separate rooms. Having the scratch vocal microphone in the same room as the drums, the sound of the drums bleed into the vocal mic, which makes the drums sound very unfocused, washed-out, and trashy. Once the scratch vocal mic is muted however, this nasty sound goes away and will not be there once the good vocals are laid down.

The most important instrument to concentrate on getting a good take, are the drums. If the drum tracks are solid, but there’s a shaky bass line, or a bad guitar note, no problem! These bad parts can be re-recorded as “punch-in’s”. Meaning, the drummer can now leave if he wants to, and the other instrument tracks in question can be fixed just by playing along to the previously recorded tracks.

Overdubs are additional instrument or vocal tracks that are recorded after the basic tracks have been recorded. After all of the instrument tracks are fixed and sounding good, the good vocal tracks are then recorded.

Singers: don’t bring ice water! Ice constricts your vocal chords. Our studio provides bottled water, hot tea with lemon and honey—good for the throat! Know when to quit for the day. If you’re tired, it will show.

After all the tracks have been recorded, then editing, mixing, and mastering begin.

Editing is the process of removing any unwanted noise at the beginning, during, and at the end of each song. Coughs, sneezes, a guitar buzzing while not being played, vocalists clearing their throat or tapping their foot in between vocal lines, the sound of sheet music pages being turned, this all gets picked up by the microphones…all too well, and must be removed. Editing also includes copying and pasting pieces of audio to other sections of the song, and nudging the timing of parts of tracks so they are in time. And if necessary, vocal pitch correction is used. Which, on some lead singers, this feature gets a lot of use.

Mixing is a complicated process of adjusting the volume, EQ, compression, stereo panning, and any effects on each track. A lot of care must be taken to ensure that all the instruments are EQ’d properly, and sit in their own sonic space so that every detail can be heard. Mixing takes longer than it does to record the tracks, and you don’t want to skimp here. Mixing can take 2 to 4 hrs or more per song. Listen in the studio to CD’s you’re used to hearing in your car and at home so you can get an idea of how the studio’s monitoring system sounds. Think about the songs as a whole and not just the individual instruments. Otherwise everyone will want their instrument louder in the mix.

A note from your friendly engineer: DO NOT invite a bunch of friends to your session!! This is a critical part of the project, and a bunch of extra people yakking away in the room while the engineer is trying to listen to the fine details of your mix can be incredibly irritating, and makes it hard to hear and concentrate on the mix. Yes, it’s happened.

There are usually several mixing sessions for your project that are scheduled on different days. After going through the mix of all the songs, a “test mix” CD is burned and given to the band to listen to for few days or so. The engineer does this too, and makes notes over the next day or so of any areas that he hears that need to be adjusted. Then in the next mixing session, the band and engineer compare notes together, and make the necessary adjustments. Another test mix CD is burned, and the same process is done once more. Very rarely is there ever a session where the songs are mixed only one time through, and every one is happy and calls it a “wrap”. As a comparison, many top engineers working on “big label” records will take 1 whole week of mixing just one song!

And mixing sessions should not go more than 3 to 4 hrs at a time without a break, because your ears get fatigued, and your mixes will start to suffer. So take a half hour break every so often, then get back at it. Know when to quit for the day. You’re better off quitting a session early when you’re tired than wasting time making a bad mix that will have to be redone anyway. After everyone is happy with the mixes, the engineer will make a final stereo master copy, which then will need to be “mastered”.

Mastering occurs after your recording is mixed and before duplication or replication begins. It is the final tweaking an audio recording needs before it is ready for release. Every major-label release is mastered to prepare it for radio play and retail sale. Mastering makes recordings sound punchy, warm, and full, while raising the overall volume and highlighting details that aren’t already apparent. Mastering unifies the sound of a recording by using EQ and compression. Once a good mastering job is complete, the recording will have a consistent sound from track to track, and played against a non-mastered CD, will sound brighter and fuller. Whether your CD is playing in a car stereo, portable CD player, or a top-of-the-line home stereo system, mastering will make it sound it’s best. You can have your CD mastered at RADIOSTAR STUDIOS in Studio A on the NEVES Console. If you have a fairly large time-involved project, and if your budget allows, we would highly recommend shipping your CD to an outside mastering house. They have top of the line outboard equipment just for mastering, and mastering is all they do. Plus, you’ll get the advantage of having a professional mastering engineer with a fresh perspective listening to your music, and they can add the finishing touches to make your CD sound even better. The outside mastering house we use costs from $400 to $600 for a whole project, depending on the number of songs. Their turnaround is 3 to 5 days. If you are interested in going this route, just ask us to hear the “mastering demo packet”. If you don’t have the budget for this but would like to hear what we can do, we’ll master 1 of your songs so you can hear the difference of before and after. And if you’re not satisfied, there’ll be no charge for mastering the 1 song.

Studio Time For a full band, you should plan on around 7hrs per song for recording, editing, mixing, and mastering at RADIOSTAR STUDIOS. Around—could mean 5hrs, or up to 10hrs or more per song. The time it takes a band to finish is different EVERY time. Sometimes drastically different.  It’s really hard to pinpoint exactly how long it is going to take to finish your project.  Other projects that aren’t as extensive as a full band will of course cost less and will not require as much mixing time. After discussing your recording needs with the studio, we’ll be better able to give you an estimate tailored for your project. If you are a solo artist without a band, we can provide studio musicians at competitive hourly rates. Piecing together a song from scratch using all studio musicians, which is done in separate stages, and depending on how extensive the song is, can take as much as 20hrs per song. You can also bring in background tracks and sing to them—a very inexpensive vocal demo!

To book studio time at RADIOSTAR STUDIOS, they require a deposit to secure the appointment. This is to deter those people who book studio time and then don’t show up or even call. Yes, they’ve ruined it for everybody. 

F.Y.I. One last tidbit of advice…please do not schedule your CD-release party before your CD is finished! This goes for the CD printing and duplication process too! Any unexpected delays in the recording ,mixing, or CD duplication process will cause a lot of undue stress on everyone. This is bad for the engineer, and ultimately for the band because doing this causes the engineer to be rushed to finish the CD by the release deadline.  Having to rush through a mix is no fun, and your CD may end up not sounding as good as if the proper time was taken to do things right, by not having to rush. This goes for live gigs as well.

TIME WELL CRAFTED RECORDS ONLY WORKS WITH INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS WITH PROVEN TRACK RECORDS, WHEN YOU PUT YOUR PROJECT INTO OUR HANDS, WE CAN ASSURE YOU THAT YOU HAVE CHOSEN THE BEST FOR THE BUDGETS WE WORK WITH. OUR AVERAGE PROJCT OF 8 SONGS CAN BE ESTIMATED AT 7 DAYS INCLUDING MIXDOWN. THE AVERAGE CHARGE FOR A WEEK IN RADIOSTAR STUDIOS AVERAGE $3,500.00 WHICH INCLUDES ENGINEER AND PRODUCER IF REQUESTED.