Here are eight tips that will help you to improve the overall quality of your recordings and get them to a more professional-sounding level.
Hello, and welcome to another Dojo! I want to focus on eight tips to help your recording techniques have more professional-sounding results. Because this subject is so deep, I created a free companion to this article at my website, bryanclarkmusic.com. Tighten up your belts—the dojo is now open.
1. The Right Space. The first and most crucial step is selecting an appropriate space for recording. You want to choose a room with minimal ambient noise, good acoustic properties, and enough space for your equipment and instrument(s). Remember that all rooms can benefit from strategic soundproofing via acoustic panels and diffusers that help control reflections and resonance (standing waves), resulting in a more controlled and balanced sound.
2. Gear. Buy the best gear you can afford because it will make a massive difference (see my September 2020 PG cover story “10 Recording Mistakes Guitarists Make (And How to Avoid Them).”
Microphones: Choose microphones that suit your needs. For vocals, a good condenser microphone is often ideal, while dynamic microphones are better for loud sound sources like 100-watt amps or drums. Also, get a pop filter to reduce plosives in vocal recordings.
Audio Interface: This is the bridge between your microphones and your computer. Invest in a quality audio interface with low-latency and high-resolution capabilities.
Headphones and Monitors: Use studio-quality headphones or monitor speakers to accurately hear the nuances in your recordings. This gear is highly personal yet essential for critical listening.
Cables: Use high-quality cables to connect your equipment. Well-shielded, low-noise cables can reduce interference and maintain signal integrity. (I love Asterope’s XLR to TRS cables, $55–$120 street.)“Sometimes, the most innovative and unique recordings come from pushing the boundaries and questioning ‘rules.’”
3. Optimizing Recording Techniques. Proper recording techniques are the key to professional results. Experiment with microphone placement until you find the sweet spot for your sound source(s).
Recording Levels: Maintain optimal recording levels to prevent clipping and distortion. Aim for an average reading of -18 dB to leave headroom for mixing.
Multi-Microphone Techniques: When using two mics on the same sound source, such as a drum kit or choir, or two mics on your amp, etc., make sure all microphones are in phase. Check by first recording for several seconds, then zoom in on the two mics’ waveforms in your DAW to see. If they’re not in phase, move one of the mics either forward or backwards to get better alignment of arrival times.
4. Software and DAWs. Select a DAW tailored to your needs and preferences and invest the time to learn the software’s features and shortcuts. Popular options include Pro Tools, Logic Pro, LUNA, and Ableton Live.
Take advantage of virtual instruments (Arturia, Native Instruments, Spectrasonics) and effects plugins (Waves, UA, FabFilter, Soundtoys) to enhance your recordings. High-quality virtual instruments can replicate the sound of real instruments, while effects plugins offer various processing options for mixing and even mastering.
5. Recording Environment. Minimize background noise by turning off fans, air conditioners, and other noisy appliances during recording. If your room has persistent noise issues, use noise reduction software (Izotope RX), or record during quieter times of the day. You can also control sound reflections by using acoustic treatment in your room(s) to prevent unwanted reverb and echoes. If recording vocals or acoustic instruments, consider using isolation shields or reflection filters to reduce room noise and improve clarity.
6. Editing and Mixing. Remove unwanted noise, fix timing issues, comp the best parts from multiple takes, use EQ and compression (sparingly), and use reference tracks from professional recordings to compare and gauge the quality of your mix.
7. Monitoring. Listen to your recordings on various playback systems (headphones, monitors, car stereo) to ensure they sound good across different contexts. Don’t be afraid to re-record and remix as needed. Improvement will come from learning from your mistakes.
8. Continuous Learning and Experimentation. Finally, the world of audio recording and production is continually evolving. Keep learning and experiment with unconventional recording techniques and/or effects. Sometimes, the most innovative and unique recordings come from pushing the boundaries and questioning “rules.”
I’m always here to help, and remember that improvement takes time, patience, and practice. Until next month, namaste.
Here’s a different way to unleash the beast within your tracks.
Welcome to another Dojo. Last month I explained in detail how to set up and use sidechain compression techniques to get that classic pop/EDM pumping sound on your rhythm guitar parts and other instruments in your mix. This time, we’ll use the same setup techniques but, instead of sidechaining a compressor, I’m going to show you the benefits of using a gate.
What is a gate? It’s an audio circuit design (hardware or software) that operates relative to a set threshold, much like a compressor. The key difference is that while a compressor reduces the dynamic range (volume) when the audio signal goes above the threshold, a gate reduces the volume of an audio signal when it goes below the threshold and cuts it off completely.
For those of you who play rock, prog, extreme metal, or anything that uses massive gain, you most likely use a noise gate to tame the excessive pedal/amp noise (and possibly even feedback) that would otherwise run harum-scarum over every second of silence—in between each palm mute, pick stroke, etc. The net result is super tight and punchy guitars that can stop on a dime.
The net result of using a gate instead of a compressor is that the guitar solo track will open up instead of closing down.
Let’s get crazy from the start. Take a song you’ve recorded that has multiple instruments (full band with vocals or similar). Next, create a new guitar track and record yourself playing a wicked solo for the entire song. (I was guilty of this when I first learned the pentatonic scale.) Make it as wild as you want and add lots of signal processing as well. Unleash your inner guitar demon.
Once you’ve accepted your award for “longest guitar solo,” place a gate plug-in on the track. I’m going to use FabFilter Pro-G ($179 Street), but another great choice is Waves C1 Compressor/Gate ($29 Street).
Now, we can get into some uncharted waters. Choose a track (like the snare drum, chorus BGV parts, or a cool rhythm part) and route the output of that track to the gate’s input on your new guitar-solo-from-hell track. Every DAW has slightly different ways to do sidechaining, so like last month (see August’s column “Try Sidechaining for Greater Expression”), I’m going to use Pro Tools and follow the exact same procedure—the only difference is that this time it’s a gate and not a compressor. I’m also reposting the same link as well, with instructions for non-Pro Tools users courtesy of the Fab Filter website support page that gives directions for Studio One, Logic, Cubase, and Ableton.
The net result of using a gate instead of a compressor is that the guitar solo track will open up instead of closing down. For example, every time the snare drum hits, you will briefly hear wherever you were in your new solo track. You then can fine-tune how little or long it stays audible before being forced back into submission.
Fig. 2
In Pro Tools, open up the gate plug-in you placed on your guitar solo track [Fig. 1] and set sidechain from internal (In) to external (Ext). Next, in the “key input” menu of the plug-in interface, which is just above the FabFilter logo [Fig. 2], choose Bus 1 instead of the default “no key input.” The gate is now looking for an external source to trigger it open.
In Pro Tools, open up the gate plug-in you placed on your guitar solo track [Fig. 1] and set sidechain from internal (In) to external (Ext). Next, in the “key input” menu of the plug-in interface, which is just above the FabFilter logo [Fig. 2], choose Bus 1 instead of the default “no key input.” The gate is now looking for an external source to trigger it open.
Fig. 3
Now, let’s bus-route the snare drum track to the gate on the guitar track. In the “sends” slot of the snare drum track, select Bus 1. The Bus view window for Bus 1 will pop up [Fig. 3]. Set its level to 0.0 dB (so it will send audio signal to the gate) and select “PRE” (pre-fader) [Fig. 4]. You’ve now routed the audio (using Bus 1) from the drum track to the gate’s sidechain input on the guitar track.
Fig. 4
If you mute the snare drum track, you’ll be able to hear how it is affecting the guitar track. Now you can play with the threshold, attack, ratio, and release. Start with a quick attack (.010-.025 ms), a high threshold, and a medium release time (150-200 ms), then adjust to taste.
I love doing things like this because every time the snare drum hits, you don’t know what you’re going to get. You can take this farther and add some reverb and delay to the guitar track to further play with how long the solo “blip” will last. This is just the tip of the iceberg, so keep experimenting and let me know if you find something really cool by emailing me here. Keep sharing your musical passion with the world and, until next time, namaste.
Blackbird Studio ace Bryan Clark breaks down the versatile studio technique and provides some advice on how to avoid phasing issues.