We are continuing on from our last post, “Audio Recording Mistakes: Part 1” and discussing more recording mistakes that you should look out for. These are all problems that we have seen happen in studios and while working on recording sessions so hopefully by being aware of these mistakes and solutions you can achieve better recordings yourself.
Recording wet?
I explain this in more detail in “Recording: Wet Vs Dry” but here is a brief overview.
When you record audio to either a digital or analog source you are pretty much stuck with it like that. It is possible to take out certain aspects of a recording through the use of plugins but usually this isn’t the case. “Hey, can u pull back the delay on that guitar track cause it’s a bit too much”. Sorry, no can do. Effects get recorded to the same track as the dry signal so you can’t get rid of one without affecting the other. To avoid this, record your effects on a separate track. This will give you a lot more control.
If you are sure that what you are hearing is how you want it to turn out, then record wet. After all it saves a lot of time doing it this way and allows you to accurately capture what you are hearing. If you have any uncertainties, then record it as dry and clean as possible. You can always add the effects later on in post-production. There’s nothing worse than capturing a great performance, only for it to be ruined by using too much or the wrong type of effects.
Use the right microphone
At the end of the day, the right microphone is whatever microphone you have at your disposal. If you only have two sm57s then I guess you're using 57s. But don’t reach for a condenser microphone when you’re tracking lead vocals just because that’s what the book says.
Mic shootouts are the most efficient way of assessing what mics works best on what sources. By recording the same take with several mics you can simply listen back and see which sounds the best. Easy and effective, right. Always experiment and try new things, don’t get stuck into a routine.
Acoustic treatment
I can’t stress how important this is. The perception by many is that your recording is limited by what microphones you have to work with. In fact, the space in which you are recording is usually the biggest limiting factor.
When you are trying to capture a sound coming from a source you don’t want to be capturing anything else. You don’t want the sound waves bouncing off every flat surface it encounters and then reaching the mic.
You are also trying to prevent the mic from picking up on background noise such as loud neighbors or a bus driving by. You may not notice these sounds when you are recording but when you are using effects like compression in the mixing stage they will get louder and more apparent as the dynamic range decreases.
Isolation is the goal. Standing in the middle of your bedroom, holding a mic in your hand is an example of how not to record. The sound will bounce all over the place and the microphone's sensitive diaphragm will pick up on it. Studios use isolation booths and absorbent materials to prevent the mic picking up on any unwanted sounds. This is what you should try and accomplish with your recording space. Try and eliminate any flat surfaces and reflective materials around you and remember, wooden floors are one of the worst culprits for this. Get creative! Use your closet as a recording booth, use pillows in the corners, hang sheets off the walls, use a piece of carpet or a rug on the floor and don’t forget to use your ears. Record something every time you add a piece of treatment to see if you have made things better or worse. It doesn’t have to look pretty. It just has to work.
Phase
Just seeing the word phase annoys me. It's something you have to be constantly aware of and if not addressed, can have serious consequences on your track.
Phase occurs when you record a source with more than one microphone, when you split a signal from stereo to mono or if you wire a piece of gear incorrectly. In short, it causes the waveform to cancel itself out and makes audio sound filtered or muffled. If two signals are completely out of phase then you will hear no sound at all. This usually isn’t the case, which can make it difficult to detect.
To solve the problem you can either move the microphone a few inches, which can completely solve the problem or if it was recorded out of phase you can either nudge the waveform a little or use a plugin to adjust it. Universal Audios Little Labs IBP phase alignment tool plugin is great for this.
Use a Click
So many artists say, “Nah man, we don’t use a click, we like to just play by feel”. That’s great, then don’t complain when it takes 3 score and 10 years to align tracks, cover up performance mistakes and move sections around. “But John Bonham didn’t use a click”, well you're not John Bonham. The point I’m getting at is, if you have the ability to hold a tight and consistent groove then by all means don’t use it. We all know music sounds better when it’s allowed to naturally deviate in tempo but if a band can't manage to all land on the one at the same time, then just call it a day and bring on the click, at least the engineer can patch it up after. This is the cold hard truth about the click.