Recording is an art that the best musicians have spent lifetimes trying to master. Some of the greatest records of all time have been recorded by amateurs in garages using shoddy equipment, and yet others have been done in exquisite studios with lavish amenities.
The constant in both scenarios and those in between is the substance. A record that truly stands the test of time has songs that speak to an audience and that are conveyed in a skilled, honest way. To make a great record, there are three basic steps: the pre-recording, the studio, and the production.
Pre-Recording
To ‘pre-record’, or ‘demo,’ songs is to record them in their entirety before actually recording them for the release. This allows the artist to work out all the exact details of each part to each song so that when they enter the studio, there is no confusion and the time and money being spent aren’t wasted.
Naturally, it is best to pre-record everything in some sort of studio so the process is as similar to the real thing as possible. However, a band whose goal is to record a demo at a cheap studio should utilize at least a boombox to record a practice and hash through all the details they can.
There is no such thing as over-preparation. In the studio, a musician will effectively beat every single note to death before laying down the keeper track, so knowing each note of each progression of each song is important to saving that time in the studio.
The Studio
The term “studio” can mean many different things. In today’s industry, many hit records are made in the homes of the producers in charge of them. Advances in software and wider accessibility to quality outboard gear has allowed the general consumer to become a mediocre producer at least. However the process has not changed.
The general progression of a studio record goes as follows: click track, scratch track, drums/percussion, bass, guitars, vocals, backing vocals, extras, etc. The cut can go on endlessly, as is shown in many singles that are so overproduced they have no more dynamics. The goal of each song in the studio is to convey the emotion in the truest, most dynamic way possible.
Assuming the artist has done their pre-recording, the studio should be an enjoyable process of checking off each task on the list. The fun comes in experimenting with different tones, sounds, mixes, and effects to play with the way they change the feeling of the song. If the pre-recording is extensive enough, the artist should know exactly how they want the songs to be laid down.
Then the producer (or the artists themselves) can play with the shaping of the song. The studio is the place where all possibilities can be exhausted and the final result is the culmination of those efforts: the best song possible. There should be no walls, no restrictions, and no egos.
Production
Production encompasses many aspects of the recording process, but the best explanation is the face value of the word. Production on a record is what it took to actually produce that record. Ambiguous it may be, but the best producers can take an artist and determine the best way for them to record, the best sound to have them go for, the best instruments to use, the best way to master the record, etc.
Though all musicians should produce their own songs as their career grows, whenever possible (and whenever the artist or group is ready) a producer who understands the direction and potential of the artist should be utilized. This producer can give valuable commentary from an outside perspective, keep plans on schedule, and open up the artist to areas of his or her own talent they never knew existed.
Recording is an emotional process, with the best part being the completion of a project made with the blood, sweat and tears of the musicians involved. It almost takes a few sessions of learning the way a real studio environment is to get past the frustration and be opened up to the endless possibilities ahead. No artist has the same habits or rituals in the studio, and that’s the best part. In a nutshell, the studio is the ‘trial and error’ grounds where identities are formed and timeless classics are born.
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