Music Production Method - Beds,
Overdubs, Mix
14/07/09 01:41 Filed in:
Music
Production
Beds, Overdubs, Mix, Redux
Some of us produce music without a band or are lacking some of the
needed musicians to make up the usual band unit. My advice for
those of you in this situation is this. The closer you stay to this
format the easier your life is going to be. If you are a
programming drums lay down a click track first and play your
instrument to click and then lay down the drums, then add the other
bed tack elements until you have at least the bass guitar and
drums. Then proceed to your overdubs. It sounds too simple to have
to be explained but you'd be shocked by the number of times I am
asked to help someone with a recording project only to find that
the problem they are having is that the entire track is completed
except for the drums because they just can't seem to find anyone
who can play in time with it!
Why Does it
Work?
Well, in laying down the drums first you lock into a framework that
is then finalized. There's no adding a few bars or taking some away
as drums are difficult to edit. This forces you to think about your
song structure BEFORE you build up the track and decide that 2
minutes is a little long for a guitar solo. I once had a recording
session where the client insisted that he just record his voice and
guitar to a click track, and I was to build up the track from
there. He played the song three times and I recorded it. The
Structure of the song was different all three times and third take
was a minute and half longer than the first. I ended up learning
the song, making the structure decisions for him and then had him
back to sing to my new version of his song. At the end of the
session the client was amazed how much better things went!
Recording is a process no different from baking a cake or designing
a better tube sock. The right decisions made in the correct order
almost alway give you the best result. In fact I have found that
adhering to this strict method of recording actually gives me more
freedom and flexibility in terms of what I can do with the layering
of the tracks. It also almost always gives you better performances
from vocalists and other soloists when they can give their
performance while hearing a nearly completed mix in the
headphones.
Tags: Beds, Overdubs, mix