Part 15 - Beyond Self-recording

This episode was originally going to cover group recording, loudness, mastering and distribution but that would have been far too long so we're just looking at the recording side today.

Recording more than just yourself.

So far we've largely assumed that you're working for, by and with yourself; the key exception being Part 8 where we looked at co-writing. We're going to build on that now and briefly talk about recording / producing groups and remote collaborators.

Broadly speaking, groups fall into two categories when it comes to recording. There are 'traditional' set-ups, where the group is self-balancing and arranging (perhaps with a conductor) and your job is to faithfully capture that sound. Classical music, brass band music, and a lot of folk music fall into this camp. The other set-up is the more modern approach, typically used in pop, rock, country, metal and similar productions, where each instrument tends to be captured separately with a view to much more intensive mixing and production phases.

Type 1 - 'traditional' recording. Stick a pair of mics in front of the group, pan one left, one right and you're done right? Well, you might be. But these things can get quite complicated quite quickly. What kind of mics are you going to use for your stereo array? What kind of array are you going to choose? Where should you put that array? Does it even need to be stereo? Where should you put the group for that matter? Etc. etc. etc.

It's actually the last question that probably drives the answers to the others. Are you recording the group at a concert? At their rehearsal? In the live pub session? Guess what? There are plenty of books about this too, but I'm not going to go into the technical stuff here because actually, "stick a pair of mics in front of them and see what it sounds like," is the crux of it. How you fix any deficiencies in that sound is where it gets technical and far too long for this blog.

But there are some other things to think about that will apply more generally:

Understand the brief. Is the recording for release purposes? For the group to listen back to for self-analysis and improvement? Are you the one driving it for a bit of fun / development? Make sure everyone is clear on the objective and outcome and that everyone is comfortable with it. Beware of 'scope creep' - where you start with one objective "It's just for us to listen to and analyse" and it morphs into something else, "We thought it'd be great to sell these as CDs."

Rehearsals. Always try and head along to a few rehearsals first. Introduce yourself to everyone, make sure that clarity of objective is there, and really listen to what's happening without being distracted by thinking about tech. Maybe put your phone or a portable recorder recording in the background, but this is your chance to move around and use your ears. If your main recording will be in the same room as the rehearsals that's great. If it'll be a different venue then get to that venue too and try and make sure you hear some similar music there too. Location recording is a big topic though, so let's park that one!

Red light fever. No matter how well someone can perform something at rehearsal or on their own, when the recording light comes on, people will feel an extra bit of pressure, and will* either not play as well or make mistakes. Your job is to reassure and relax people. Expect errors, look and seem completely comfortable with it, play down the impact, point out the good bits, re-set, and go again. Just another day in the office, no biggie, "We're not paying for tape anymore," etc. etc. 

Your job is to serve. Go back to the brief. Nowhere in that initial understanding will there be anything about the purpose of the session being to make the recorderist feel special. If the job is to provide something for the group's internal assessment, then your job is an accurate and honest recording. If it's for a release, then an 'accurate but flattering' recording. If you're recording a live concert then your job is to be as invisible as possible so that the live audience get the best gig they can. If something you are doing is getting in the way of those outcomes, find another way to do it.

Apply those principles and a pair of well positioned microphones and take it from there.

Type 2 - 'band recording'. There are some bands out there, in some genres, where you can take the same two-microphone approach. But not many, and even fewer at the levels that readers of this blog are likely to be playing at. So things are going to get more complex. More microphones, more set-up time, more channels, more mixing, more changes of style between songs, etc. etc.

You may be thinking this automatically becomes more expensive and, to an extent, you'd be right. But here's a link to a series of blogs I did about recording a band on a budget of £50. https://blinddrewsmusic.blogspot.com/2017/06/band-on-budget-recording-process-part-1.html (23 parts but some are very short.) If I recall correctly, the most expensive bit of equipment (apart from the instruments) was about £200.

And those general principles above still apply just as much, with one addition: the more mics you have involved, the longer it will take to mix and the more chance there is of phase problems and other mush. Minimising the number of mics is a good principle to start with.

And for the final word on this, Dr. Hugh Robjohns over at Sound On Sound shared this interview with Simon Eadon from Gramophone.co.uk.

Remote recording

Somewhat horrifyingly we're now nearly a quarter of the way through the 21st Century, and whilst we may appear to be going backwards in some ways, our ability to make and record music is only going forwards. One way in which it is doing so is the ability to collaborate remotely.

There are two** main approaches to remote recording; one is the video-led approach that sprung up during lockdown of a band playing the same track, in their different locations, and being mixed together. The other is the more common method where someone adds a part in their studio and then sends it you to mix into the rest of the track (or vice versa) - remote overdubbing basically. We'll tackle these in reverse order as the video approach is really just an extension of the latter.

Remote over-dubbing. Let's assume then that you have a song and a bunch of willing volunteers dotted around the country, or the world. Really it's pretty simple. Record a guide track and share that with your collaborators, get their pieces in return by email (or whatever transfer platform you prefer), and mix it all together. 

You'll need to agree a few technical things (like formats, sample rates etc.) but the most important thing is to make all the expectations clear. Is somebody sending you something expecting it to be incorporated completely and without adjustment, or are they offering you a smorgasbord from which you can pick and choose? Or something in between. Any option is fine as long as everyone is clear and in agreement. It's also worth being really clear up front about who the decision maker is and what will happen with any money. Get that bit written down, even if you don't expect to make anything.

What you will probably have to come to terms with, and learn some new skills on, is... well, turd-polishing is probably a bit rude, but let's call it 'making the best of things.' There's a good chance that you might know some wonderful musicians who would love to be involved, but the chances of them also having good recording skills, a decent mic, and a decent room are considerably lower. Remember those filter and EQ tips and be prepared to ask for some stuff again (and maybe offer to help people with their set-up if necessary).

Remote video. Really this is very similar but you're adding another bunch of files, another editing tool of some kind, and another chance to over-complicate things and make a mess. But we are increasingly in a video-led world so this is a useful thing to experiment with.

During the Covid-19 lockdowns my band did a couple of videos like this and, to save everyone the hassle of covering it again here, I wrote up an article on how to do it at the time: https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/recording-music-videos-social-media

OK, that's been a bit of a detour but hopefully of some help for anyone working as part of a group rather than solo. We'll definitely get to mastering and distribution next time.

* Unless you're recording professionals, in which case you're probably not the target audience for this blog.

** Everything can be split into two categories if you generalise enough! :¬D