Track by track recordings - a beginners guide

[Lew Bear]

I've reached the stage where just slamming a mic in front of me and trying to get the position right for the balance between guitar and vox is no longer satisfying and have decided to attempt track by track recordings to be able to add more instruments in and give my songs more life and a cleaner, crisper sound

I've got a simple bit of software (audacity) and put a drum beat in (that I will later take out and replace with percussion). I decided to attempt one of my easiest songs to make it as painless as possible and have got a guitar take down

Overall its good, but where do you draw the line on perfection? It goes out of time with the drumtrack slightly in the first chorus and there's a half muted chord somewhere else

The half muted chord I can live with. Its barely noticeable now and when the other instruments are in, should all but disappear. What about the timing bit?

If you take out the drumtrack, once again, its not noticeable - and I can play my percussion along with it just fine - but if I ask other people to join in will it cause a problem for them?

Will it be something that I can live with now, but in years to come I'll look back and wish I'd had one more go? Or is it more that as time goes by, I'll forget where it is? If I attempt too many takes, will it lose its soul and become a robotic version of itself?

I'm not a perfectionist - in fact, while I respect Steely Dan, I've got no love for them coz they are too perfect, but is this a personal thing in where you draw the line? Or is it more definable?

[Broon]

Hmmmm. I wouldn't worry dude. I think its more critical to capture the moment than absolute perfection. In any case you have a lifetime, to develop, re-arrange, or even re-write songs as you progress on each instrument. If you record these songs now track-by-track its not to say they cant be improved on in the future, and yet still they will be better than the recordings you have now.

The only thing that is for certain is that you will notice mistakes on your recordings in years to come. (I could still quite easily point out parts where I mess up on our first album) Other people might not recognise them as well though. Depends how bad they are I suppose.

The real question though is when I am I playing on them?

;-)

[Jo2]

WIth my own stuff, especially the simple demos I put up, I don't worry too much about those little fiddly bits that might be slightly off timing-wise or messed-up-chord-wise because I know those aren't going to be the final versions. Final versions are another matter entirely, at least for me.

Since this is a new adventure for you, try to relax and have fun with it. It's very much a learning process, and I doubt that anyone here was a pro right off the bat with their multitracking.

[Lew Bear]

Cheers man, some good advice here

As for when are you playing on "them"? There's only one at the minute, and - any time you get a chance - dont forget Mad Ole Girls capo'd at 4 now, so your old bass line will be changed, but as you told me you'd forgotten it, it shouldnt be a problem

It'll be an honour to have a real musician on my tracks

Broon said:

Hmmmm. I wouldn't worry dude. I think its more critical to capture the moment than absolute perfection. In any case you have a lifetime, to develop, re-arrange, or even re-write songs as you progress on each instrument. If you record these songs now track-by-track its not to say they cant be improved on in the future, and yet still they will be better than the recordings you have now.

The only thing that is for certain is that you will notice mistakes on your recordings in years to come. (I could still quite easily point out parts where I mess up on our first album) Other people might not recognise them as well though. Depends how bad they are I suppose.

The real question though is when I am I playing on them?

;-)

[Lew Bear]

Very good point Jo - even if I sat for ages working on getting the perfect take, I'm no pro-engineer at the minute and it would still sound like a demo. May as well have fun figuring it out or else I'll burn out and give up on it

I suppose at the very least it'll sound better than what I already have and give me ideas for when I can get at (or own) a proper studio

Jo2 said:

WIth my own stuff, especially the simple demos I put up, I don't worry too much about those little fiddly bits that might be slightly off timing-wise or messed-up-chord-wise because I know those aren't going to be the final versions. Final versions are another matter entirely, at least for me.

Since this is a new adventure for you, try to relax and have fun with it. It's very much a learning process, and I doubt that anyone here was a pro right off the bat with their multitracking.

[John Holliday]

Hey interesting discussion.....Im definitely not a perfectionist, at least I dont think I am. In fact just checked with my wife Annie and she says that I am, in some things. I use audacity I think its pretty good, Ill also use any thing else that I get free or open source, my recording equipment is actually, well it actually might be easier to show it than describe it..although in front of me is one part of it ....an analogue olympus pearlcorder (dictaphone) got it for 3.95p in Currys the other week. As for recording stuff Ive even given up writing words for the minute anyway, and just make the song up as I play.....When i write stuff down I find I try so hard to get it right that it inevitably goes wrong...but if its not right to start with well then thats me sorted......Have recently managed to put some harmonica over the top of a song or two, but thats it...I sometimes wonder If my fear ? of perfection is actually a fear of knowing Ill never be perfect....I should probably just stop worrying and post the imperfect....
Will keep my eye open for more on this topic because it really interests me at the moment catch you later my friend

[Michael Heath (aka Fledderjohn)]

It's a bit of a "how long is a piece of string" question this. Ideas of what perfection is are different for different people and vary over time.

As you probably know I've just been sifting through old recordings of mine. Some of them are quite slick but they also contain a few mistakes - particularly backing vocals being out of tune. The problem with these recordings is that at the time I was attempting to produce something very slick and "perfect" but fell short. Therefore there is this kind of discrepancy between what I was trying to do and what I ended up with - it jars on my ears now. "Perfection" is therefore only an issue if you are aiming for that slick error free sound.

The most "perfect" recording I've done in the last few years is the Zarbo stuff. The interesting thing about this is that we made a decision early on that we would record a lot of stuff live in the studio (drums, bass and banjo were all recorded at the same time) and go with the take that had the best energy and feel. This was rarely the most "perfect" in terms of being error free. We also decided that we weren't going to go back and correct mistakes in the playing. This was an artistic decision based on us wanting to maintain a purity to the performance.

In short it's about having a vision of what you want the thing to sound like at the end. This effectively defines what "perfection" is going to mean for that recording.

The other thing here, as you've already found out, is that recording is an art in itself that requires practice. Over the years I've learnt to play and sing slightly differently when I record (softer, subtler and simpler). I've also learnt a bit about how to arrange stuff, how to separate out ideas and parts, how to reduce and remove parts, as well as the technical side of things. The best thing to do is to keep experimenting and just enjoy yourself. Record, record, record and record. Don't get bogged down.

[Lew Bear]

Very interesting take on things Michael - and really gives me something to think about. I'll mull it over more deeply about what I'm aiming for, but I think for now I'll keep it simple and just say "my best recording yet" which will be an easy task at first, but hopefully get progressively harder until I learn enough through trial and error to make artistic decisions in what I'm aiming for

I tell you one thing though, I've been mucking about with this for 3 days now, not even solidly, and my skills have gone up so much its unreal!

Mainly percussion wise so far, it must be said. I'd jammed along with the song a few times, putting down what I would ordinarily put down if I was adding to others tracks. But now I know what the guitar is doing, when I listened back, little bits sounded off, over-complicated - and at times even just plain silly! I reworked and refined and in one hour probably learned more as a percussionist than I had for the past couple of years

I love live more than I do recording, which is why I've not bothered with this for so long, but now I've come to it, I've realised that doing this will give me extra skills I can take back to live and hopefully keep bouncing one off the other to keep improving

I havent even reached vocals yet and if I achieve the same increased level of understanding then for the next while I am going to be coming on in leaps and bounds in all areas and thats always my biggest aim - to be a little better tomorrow than I am today

[DMAN Band(Doug Mikkelson)]

Since I started recording my songs I have greatly improved on my playing, the thing to remember tho is to just have fun. I used to worry about all the little imperfections but it took all the fun out of it and made it feel more like work. When I record now I try to make it sound as good as I can without getting to wrapped up in it, after all when I play in front of my friends etc... I never sound perfect so why should my recordings? I like them to sound like ME. I really enjoy being able to record more than one track, it has made me a better musician for some strange reason. Remember, just have fun.

Doug

[Michael Heath (aka Fledderjohn)]

Yep absolutely. Recording yourself and constantly listening back never stops being an eye/ear opener. You are forced to analyse and listen slightly more objectively. I think you learn a lot about what is really necessary when recording and focus more on the effect it will have on the person listening rather than the ins and outs of what it is you are actually playing - this has to be a good thing.

And recording your own vocals fucks with your head! You have been warned!

Lew Bear said:

Very interesting take on things Michael - and really gives me something to think about. I'll mull it over more deeply about what I'm aiming for, but I think for now I'll keep it simple and just say "my best recording yet" which will be an easy task at first, but hopefully get progressively harder until I learn enough through trial and error to make artistic decisions in what I'm aiming for

I tell you one thing though, I've been mucking about with this for 3 days now, not even solidly, and my skills have gone up so much its unreal!

Mainly percussion wise so far, it must be said. I'd jammed along with the song a few times, putting down what I would ordinarily put down if I was adding to others tracks. But now I know what the guitar is doing, when I listened back, little bits sounded off, over-complicated - and at times even just plain silly! I reworked and refined and in one hour probably learned more as a percussionist than I had for the past couple of years

I love live more than I do recording, which is why I've not bothered with this for so long, but now I've come to it, I've realised that doing this will give me extra skills I can take back to live and hopefully keep bouncing one off the other to keep improving

I havent even reached vocals yet and if I achieve the same increased level of understanding then for the next while I am going to be coming on in leaps and bounds in all areas and thats always my biggest aim - to be a little better tomorrow than I am today

[Lew Bear]

I have still only put the guide vocals down, but I am guessing you're right. Having a natural hate of my own voice will make it hard to be satisfied with a take I'd guess

Michael Heath (aka Fledderjohn) said:

And recording your own vocals fucks with your head! You have been warned!

Lew Bear said:

[Djay Buddha]

Not a lot to add to this very interesting discussion Lew
Just keep recording and and you will find that you will pick up the tricks of recording as you go along
.Go with the odd out of time guitar track if it isn't too bad and you can work with it Pros would perhaps go for a retake but as you said you don't want a stale and life less track I call It adding Feel to the track even if it was added accidentally :) And the musicians that will be adding tracks are more than good enough to go with that feel, Eh Broon?
If you need any help recording wise just gies a shout..

[John Holliday]

I always get people saying they cant hear me singing (might have something to do with the mumbling...:-) and I finally recorded something where you can hear me sing...and nay body can understand me Geordie accent Wye A mean Whats the Bloody waald cumin te? Eh ? Ahday na wye aye man bluddy crazy.......Am Gan Doon Toon forra pint see ya