April

The Importance of Staying Organized in the Recording Studio

Posted In: Band Management, Career Building, Recording, Uncategorized by claybutlermusic

A while back, I wrote about my efforts to make my home studio more ergonomic and my workspace more organized. Today, I want to take that concept one step further and talk about informational organization.

Right now I’m teaching a recording class at a local college, and the students’ task is to produce a song demo for a songwriter. So far, I’ve noticed the old notion that musicians are the least organized people on the face of the planet. What’s worse, is that I find that I, myself, fall into that same category when it comes to producing a project. It seems that I have to force myself to do the small organizational tasks that ultimately help increase productivity in the end.

So, I’m going to share a few organizational necessities with you guys (and gals) to help you on your next recording session. I wrote about some of these in my book, Recording Basics: A Beginner’s Guide to Producing Music, but I feel it important to go into a little detail on the blog as well.

Recording Budget

The recording budget is perhaps the most important guide in a recording project. Even if it’s a small project, a budget helps you stay on track with how much you’re spending and where the money is going. Having a detailed budget form helps you to see certain expenses that you may not have thought of, like equipment cartage or album art.

Song Arrangement Matrix

When you’ve written a song, it’s a good idea to know what your arrangement will be for that particular song before you start recording. NEVER jump into recording a song without spending a decent amount of time fleshing out your arrangement. At the very least, decide when certain instruments play or drop out. Use a song arrangement matrix, which is essentially a grid that has blocks for each song section by instrument. Shade in each section (verse, chorus, bridge, etc.) which gets played by each instrument.

Track Sheets

Track sheets are vitally important to a recording session. We’re all tempted to think that we’ll remember every detail of a recording session, like which channel is Johnny’s guitar and which one is Bill’s, or that flub the bassist made in measure 149, but the truth is we simply forget those things. It may be weeks before a song gets edited after a session. Track sheets help you keep track of those important details.

Recording Session Checklist

It happens to us all. We drive an hour and a half to the studio only to realize that we’ve forgotten our [insert vitally important item here]. Use a checklist to make sure you have all the essentials and extras that you want to have handy. Include the even the littlest things like picks, sticks, strings, batteries, and a camera.

Equipment Inventory

Similar to the checklist, be sure to make an inventory of each piece of gear that you take to the studio. Not only will you see what you need (or what you may be missing) before you leave for the studio, it will ensure you keep track of what you must take with you from the studio. After an exhaustive eight-hour session, you might not be as alert, so check your equipment against your inventory to make sure you leave with everything.

Check this out!

After falling victim to a few of the aforementioned pitfalls, and after seeing my students do the same, I’ve created package of all these necessities called The Recording Session Toolkit. Now you can have easy access to budget forms, track sheets, song arrangement matrices, checklists, and inventories all in one place. I’ve done the work for you. Simply fill them out and put them in your project notebook. I’ve even included a handy studio prep guide to help you and your band get the most mileage out of your recording studio time. Try it out. Download it before your next recording session. I guarantee it will help you get the most out of your recording project!

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July

Wider is Better: Extreme Panning for a Better Mix

Posted In: Recording, Uncategorized by claybutlermusic

Perhaps nothing makes a mix more interesting than a wide stereo field. However, having instruments panned to the left or right not only makes a mix more aesthetically appealing, but it also helps to create a more stable, balanced mix.

Before I start preaching the benefits of extreme panning, let me first provide a disclaimer. Mono does have its place, particularly when mixing for telephone (such as on hold messaging and music), checking mixes intended for television (many older sets are mono), and checking for phase problems. Therefore, never discount checking your mixes in mono before you print a final mix.

Separation

In a previous post, I discussed eliminating competition between instruments in a live mix by using EQ. Since many live mixes are mono, I didn’t mention panning. If your mix is stereo, though, the first step to creating separation and eliminating competition between instruments is to reach for the pan knob. When two instruments are similar in range or timbre, it’s usually a good idea to pan them opposite from one other. This technique works particularly well if you’re having difficulty distinguishing between two instruments or between what each instrument is playing. The results are instantly noticeable.

Width

Many engineers neglect extreme panning, opting for a more narrow sounding mix. However, panning some instruments “hard left” and others “hard right” and others in between can really open up a mix, creating a fuller sound. While it creates a greater sense of balance within a mix, it also creates a greater sense of width. Extreme panning can also create a “larger-than-life” type of sound.

Aesthetics

To take the concept one step further, if you have an instrument or part that is doubled, try panning one hard left and the other hard right. This technique is often used with doubled rock guitars to create a massively wide guitar sound.

Example

Here’s an example of a typical rock band: acoustic guitar, electric guitar, keyboard, bass, and drums. Try a wide mix with these. Typically, we would keep the bass in the center. Our drums would be panned to either audience perspective or drummer perspective. With a typical right-handed drummer in drummer perspective would be Kick in center, Snare in center (or slightly to the left), Rack Tom at 9 o’clock, Mid Tom at center, Floor tom at 3 o’clock, and stereo overheads. To create even wider drums, pan the toms even wider than 3 o’clock an 9 o’clock, bordering on hard left and right. Now place the electric guitar and keyboard opposite from each other at hard left and right. This leaves room for the acoustic in the center. Another trick is to pan the reverb of a panned instrument to the opposite side of the stereo field. For instance, if you pan the guitar to the left, pan its reverb to the right.

These are just a few examples of the benefits and uses of extreme panning. Try it out on your mixes and see how it expands your mixing horizons. Next time we’ll talk about treating the studio mix as a live stage.

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