|
By Bjorgvin Benediktsson
Like a teacher that is so familiar with a subject he expects the students
to see how easy it is immediately. Well, sometimes the most common mistakes
are the simplest to overlook and the ones engineers don't bother to tell you.
They just expect you to know why that's wrong and how to do it right.
So without further ado, here are a few recording tips on how to NOT to record
your audio.
1. Don't record at 16 bits
We have 24 bits now, and we want all the headroom we
can get. Use 24 bit audio and record at lower levels, that way you don't
have to worry about putting your recording into the "red".
2. Don't record in the red
Back in the analog days people used to overload their pre-amps a little. Just
to get that sweet sound you know? Well, there is nothing sweet about digital
clipping. Don't record in the red when you are recording digitally; digital
clipping sounds horrible and you can't fix it. Like I said, record at 24 bit
and enjoy recording at lower levels.
3. Don't Record With Shoddy Cables
Cables matter. They might not matter as much as the microphone
or type of pre-amp, but they certainly have a say in the overall sound. Don't
use a shoddy "the
cheapest I can get from Radioshack" type cable.
4. Don't Record Your Guitar With Reverb
If it's absolutely crucial to the sound and you know 100% that you won't want
to change it during mixdown then go ahead. But if you are not sure if that
specific reverb works, or if you don't think it will fit with the arrangement
then consider recording it dry. If the guitarist can't play without it then
add some to his headphones from your software to compromise.
5. Use the Right Microphone
Don't use a cheap dynamic to record vocals and then wonder why the vocal track
sounds so bad. Even though dynamic microphones might work for some vocals and
styles chances are you need a decent condenser instead. Use the right microphone
for the job, and if you have access to a few, try them out.
6. Position yourself correctly
Before I knew anything about recording I stood in the middle of my bedroom
and sang into a cheap dynamic microphone I held in my hand. Not the most ideal
situation for a great vocal performance, since not only was the microphone
wrong(and bad) but standing in the middle of the room AND holding the microphone
was a recipe for disaster. But I still wondered why my vocals sounded so bad.
Well, now I know! Acoustic treatment and a great sounding room are a must,
as well as positioning the microphone correctly.
7. Waves of Phase
Are you recording with two microphones? Make sure they
are not causing extreme phase problems. Phase cancellations weaken the audio
signal and make your signal sound thin and well... bad. If you did this mistake
already most DAWs have an "inverse" setting where you can flip one of the tracks 180°.
Try that to see if the signal gets stronger. If it does then you were having
some phase problems during recording and should probably try to get better
at recording with two microphones in the future.
8. Don't record tracks in a hurry
Some artists work well under pressure. Most don't. Don't expect a singer to
be able to belt out all the vocal tracks to an album in 2 hours. Don't plan
for efficiency, it never works. Things will go wrong, people will show up late
and you won't be able to record everything you wanted. Get used to it and don't
record in a hurry.
9. Don't record to the highest possible sample rate
Rather, record to the one you can handle. Higher sample rates mean more space
and the difference between 30 tracks at 48kHz or 30 tracks at 192 kHz is a
whole lot of hard disk space. With many people recording to their laptops the
highest sample rate and the most ideal sample rate might not be the same.
10. Don't record bad instruments
If an instrument is faulty, out of tune or needs new strings or heads then
replace them before you record. Drums that have old heads sound worse. Replace
them and tune them before you track your drums. Old guitar strings, at least
to me, sound bad. Restring your guitars to get a more vibrant sound. Trust
me, it will shine through on the recordings.
Björgvin Benediktsson is an audio engineer and writer.
He is an Alumni from the SAE Institute and has been working in the audio
industry since 2006. He has written about audio and music for blogs and magazines
since 2006 and has published books on audio recording and mixing. He writes
about music production on his blog. Check out more of his writing right here
on Audio Issues |
