BGV Tips

(Note: I posted this answer to a question about rock BGV recording a few days ago on Quora.com, and I thought I should post it here as well. I added a few things for this post.)

I generally record my own backing vocals. I usually do either 3 part harmonies or 4 parts with the bottom note doubled up an octave. I overdub each part a minimum of 4 times, so there are at least 4 voices on each note. I then evenly distribute each part across the stereo field.

When I am recording other singers doing backgrounds, I typically have people switch back and forth, so one voice is not dominating any specific part. I usually ask for a very forward placement, with extremely bright vowels, especially for rock. Having a male sing high falsetto in unison with a female also produces a great effect.

I lightly compress each track, and I usually bus all the tracks to the same reverb I am applying to my instrumental tracks. As far as EQ, I usually apply a high pass filter, and boost some of the mids and some of the highs, but specific frequency choices depend on what else is going on in the track.

When you have that many tracks, things like ending consonants are not always together, so I often edit out any late endings, and use just a couple of tracks to establish the ending consonants.

One more note on track numbers: If you are limited on tracks, it's a good idea to record all 3 or 4 parts once, then bounce those down to 1 track, and so on. I've always felt like that fills the sound out more than bouncing all the takes of one part to one track.

(Originally posted at Quora)

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Metal Machine Music Revisited

The Quietus has an extremely entertaining and informative interview with Lou Reed regarding his noise masterpiece "Metal Machine Music." It's a must-read! (via New Music Reblog.)

The Quietus.com: Lou Reed Interview: Metal Machine Music Revisited

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The Loudness Wars: The Debate Continues

I have commented before on the modern propensity to over-compress recordings, something which I am guilty of as well. My friend @mattsearles posted this on Twitter yesterday. I haven't had a chance to listen to the podcast yet, but the written post summarizes a discussion with some notable producers and mixing engineers, in which they share their thoughts on this phenomenon.

Bowers & Wilkins Lab

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Cut Your Own Record?

This company from Switzerland sells a home vinyl record cutter. If I remember my exchange rate correctly, it is extremely expensive, but I'm just amazed that there is a market for something like this!

dubplatecutter - Vinylium

(via Analog Apartment)

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Another Multitrack Audio Format - iKlax

Somebody commented on my earlier post, so I checked it out, and it looks interesting. iKlax is a music-based social network which allows artists to offer their music in a multitrack format, and listeners can do their own remixes. Interesting concept, and it's free to join:

iKlaxmusic.com - HOME - Download multitrack and interactive music

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Throw Away Your DI Box!

Somebody has come up with a phantom powered guitar cable that has it's own preamp. Why didn't anyone think of this before?

FET Preamp Cable

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Recommended Reading for Music Types!

I recently read the autobiography of Al Kooper ("Backstage Passes and Backstabbing Bastards,") and I am currently reading a book by and about Phil Ramone ("Making Records: The Scenes Behind the Music.") I highly recommend both books for musicians as well as producer/engineers.

Al Kooper is a colorful character, and his book is interesting just for the stories. Throughout his career, he has worn many hats, including that of songwriter, arranger, recording artist, sideman, producer, A&R scout, and probably a few more I have forgotten. He first came to fame as the organist on Dylan's "Like A Rolling Stone," and it's fascinating reading how he actually got the gig!

He originally came to my attention as the producer of the Tubes debut album, but he is much more famous for producing Lynyrd Skynyrd's early albums, as well as being the guy who originally signed them. He is multi-talented, and a true "renaissance man." Unfortunately, that also means that has never fit into the "box" that the music industry and it's associated media likes to fit people into, which is why he never became a big star. I hope someday he will get the recognition he deserves, and I hope he lives to see it.

On a more personal note, I discovered that, until recently, he was teaching at Berklee, and he lives in the next town over from me. If I ever get to meet him, you'll definitely hear about it here!

Phil Ramone's book doesn't have as colorful stories as Kooper's does, but it is interesting just the same! Ramone (not a member of the Ramones, btw) was a classically trained violinist who started his career in the late 1950's as an engineer, and didn't really begin making his name as a producer until the 1970's.

I was most familiar with his production work with Billy Joel, but I was surprised to see some of the records he engineered in the 1960's. He worked on some of the Burt Bacharach records, and even recorded some landmark jazz albums, such as the Getz/Gilberto record. I was surprised to learn that I grew up listening to some of the records he engineered, such as Dionne Warwick's late-1960's work, produced by Bacharach (my mother had it on 8-track!)

Ramone's book describes his working relationship with Billy Joel and Paul Simon, as well as other artists. He also talks a bit about recording techniques, so it's essential for engineers. It's not necessarily an autobiography, in that it's more about his work than his life.

Get a signed copy of Al Kooper's "Backstage Passes and Backstabbing Bastards" from his website.

Phil Ramone's autobiography "Making Records: The Scenes Behind the Music" at Amazon.

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Remix a new Radiohead track

A Twitter friend pointed out the following site to me:

Radiohead/ Remix/ Nude


If you do a remix and enter the contest, let us know so we can vote for you!

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More Bad News for Analog Fans

Quantegy recently officially announced that it is discontinuing what looks like almost it's entire line of magnetic tape products. This includes analog reel-to-reel tape, as well as digital audio tapes and video tapes. They will be taking orders through the end of February, so you might want to stock up if you use these products!

This has been a long time coming. In spring of 2005, the company almost had to shut down, but was bought out at the last minute. However, it was obviously only a brief reprieve. Quantegy has been the only company still manufacturing reel-to-reel analog tape for at least a few years. However, ATR Magnetics has promised to pick up the ball, although they have not officially released any tape products as yet.

Still, you might want to stock up on Quantegy tapes, just to be safe!

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DAW Wars

Recently, I have heard quite a bit of debate and questions concerning DAW's (Digital Audio Workstations.) Of course, this debate has been going on for many years, as long as there have been DAW's. The most common question I have heard is: Which software/hardware combination should I buy? Of course, the contenders are Pro Tools, Cubase/Nuendo, Sonar, Logic Audio, and Digital Performer. Pro Tools has proprietary hardware, while the other platforms will work with a variety of hardware interfaces.

I'm going to weigh in on this, and I think I may end up surprising some people. I couldn't say this a few years ago, but today I can safely state that they are all the same! OK, so they aren't exactly the same, but each application has a similar set of features. Some are stronger in certain areas, of course. For instance, Cubase and Logic have superior MIDI features to Pro Tools, although Pro Tools has been catching up in recent years. In addition, each program has a slightly different user interface. However, by and large, all of these applications are strong contenders, capable of allowing the user to produce professional-quality recordings.

Here are a few things to think about when considering purchasing a DAW:

1. Portability - i.e., will you be taking your projects to other studios at times? If so, you should use the most compatible DAW. According to the word on the street, most professional studios still use Pro Tools, but Sonar, Cubase and even Logic have a significant piece of the market.
2. Operating System - If you use a Mac, you can't use Sonar, and Windows users can't use Logic or Digital Performer. I am also of the opinion that Pro Tools and Digital Performer will be more intuitive to longtime Mac users, whereas Cubase and Sonar might feel more comfortable to Windows users.
3. What are you recording? If you are using mostly MIDI, you might prefer Cubase, Logic or Digital Performer. If you are recording live instruments and don't use MIDI, Pro Tools, Sonar or Nuendo might be more appealing.
4. Budget - This is where I believe Pro Tools suffers. Their low-budget options are severely limited, in terms of track counts, features, and plug-ins, especially when compared to all of the other programs I've mentioned. There is also a significant price jump when migrating from the "consumer" Pro Tools platform to the "pro" versions. This is largely due to the proprietary hardware requirements.
5. Stick with what you are used to - A friend was recently considering switching from Sonar on Windows to Pro Tools on the Mac, largely because a music store employee told him he needed to. After he described his system to me, it was clear to me that he could do everything he needed to do with his current system. He had never really used Pro Tools anyway, and he felt very comfortable with Sonar, so there was no need to switch.
   

I really believe item number 5 is probably the most important. I recently bought my own home DAW system, since I will be leaving my job soon and will no longer have access to the studio facilities. I briefly considered switching to Logic Audio, because I was impressed by the feature set, and felt like I would get a better "bang for my buck!" However, I have been using Pro Tools for more than 10 years, and it just doesn't make sense for me to switch at this time.

The first Pro Tools system I worked on was a TDM Mix system with a maximum track count of 24 mono tracks and only the basic Digidesign plug-ins, and I was still able to produce some great recordings. I can certainly make do with 48 stereo tracks, numerous plug-ins, and sample rates up to 96k!

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Recording Drums: Tuning

I tried to submit a comment on drum recording to Mix Magazine's website, and for some reason they wouldn't post it. Who needs them anyway, I have my own blog!! This is geared toward those who have home-based project studios that they rent out, but I think it could also be helpful to songwriters who do their own demos. I have a few friends who are drummers who read my blog, and I invite their comments!

Possibly one of the biggest challenges to project studio owner/engineers is drum recording! This can be especially true if the engineer is not a drummer! You need to have good microphones, and a good-sounding room to start with. Of course, it also helps to have a good drummer!

Even the best microphones coupled with the best room sound won't help a poorly-tuned drum kit. Often, drummers who only play live gigs do not even think about tuning. In a live situation, especially for rock players, these subtleties are usually lost on the listener anyway. It's more important that the audience can hear the drums above the guitarist. Thus, some drummers never even learn to tune their kit, because they don't need to.

However, when you get into the studio, the sound of the drum kit is suddenly under a microscope, and tuning becomes essential! Old drum heads, old, cracked cymbals, and other hardware defects can also adversely affect the sound. As an engineer, there are several things you can do:

1. Learn how to tune a drum kit yourself. This includes having the hardware on hand! You may need to keep several drum heads, as well as a few cymbals, around as well.

2. Buy a fairly decent drum kit for your studio, keep it well in tune, and insist that all drummers use your kit. If you have the money, this is a great option. You can even keep them set up and miked, which will save you loads of time. If you can't afford an entire drum kit, you might even think about buying a high-quality snare. Believe me, this is worth it. If you consistently have great-sounding drum tracks, you may get quite a bit of work because of it!

I might also add that it is equally possible that a guitarist might walk into your studio with a terrible-sounding rig, so it wouldn't hurt to purchase at least one decent guitar amp as well. The bottom line: A good studio often requires more than just the recording equipment.

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