START AT THE SOURCE
Regardless of how good a mixer is that you are working with, you always want to start off with a good quality recording. I’m telling you right now, the better you’re recording is, the better your final product will be. Some mixing and mastering engineers can work wonders, but they aren’t exactly witches and wizards from Hogwarts. Lets look at what you need.
If you’re a band, you’re going to need some sort of recording space such as a recording studio or even a rehearsal studio to record certain instruments. The first instrument that needs the most amount of attention would be drums. If you’re planning on recording live drums instead of using drum samples, you’ll want to do this properly. Here’s a great two part video series from SonicScoop on various miking techniques to know exactly how to mic your drums and how the different miking patterns will sound. Part 1 Part 2
Find a recording engineer and or producer that understands your musical direction and figure out what you’ll need to succeed with whatever resources you have available. If you are limited in resources, GET CREATIVE!
Many don’t realize what our present day can offer in terms of studio solutions. Nowadays, you can rent all the gear you need for most of the production you want to do for a nominal cost. But!... Yes, there is a but... It still requires a certain amount of skill. This is where your handy engineer comes in to play... Now for my rant... :P
THE PRICE IS RIGHT
There is a large misconception when it comes to recording a record. People believe that everyone and their mothers can record a high quality album from their bedrooms with an Mbox and that’s it. Well friends, this isn’t the case. Of course, there are exceptions. It isn’t the gear that you use in many cases, it’s how you use it... Oh my... This conversation sounds oddly familiar... Ahem!... Quality recordings can come at quite the price and it’s not because of the gear you buy or the price of the studio. It’s about the engineers or producers that you record with. It’s about their experience. This is your biggest expense and asset!
Well folks! That’s all!... Well, not really... Next week, I’ll talk about some of the various methods of production you can choose to go through when recording your album. I’ll be covering 3 of the main ones to be specific. For now, feel free to comment below or ask questions and make the discussion interesting!
See you all next week!