How does band record a song in a professional studio? Instrument-by-instrument?

[peteman]

I would like to know how does a band (rock band for example) usually these days record a song in a professional studio: is it instrument-by-instrument like first the drummer plays his part in solo, then the bassist, then guitarist, etc. etc. ?

Do bands ever record stuff 'live' and by this I mean everyone actually playing the song together in studio like in live performance? If so, how does the recording engineer manage to get every instrument on a separate track without other instruments leaking through? Surely every track needs to be separate to be able to eq, compress, panned individiually?

One more question: which recording method gives a tighter performance in the end? I mean keeping the tempo and stuff... IF it makes a difference..

Would like to know

[egbert]

Plenty of producers like to get the band playing together as a band in the studio. There's plenty of discussion about this sort of thing in the various documentary series on classic albums etc. If this approach is taken there still might well be overdubs but the basic rhythm tracks will often have been recorded together.

[metamorphosis]

To answer your question, yes, usually instrument by instrument, otherwise the bleed between mics tends to affect the mix - on the other hand, some bands like more of a 'live' sound - doesn't happen often nowadays.

[risome]

Most instruments end up having many channels each with different treatments and are then grouped to a stereo buss,as egebert said most stuff is laid down together with edits and overdubs etc afterwards, maybe the vocals after the music is done maybe altogether , there are no rules

[risome]

Noise gates and isolation of instruments can dismiss mic bleed so the band can play all at once and monitor through headphones

[Lotuzia]

Plenty of producers like to get the band playing together as a band in the studio. There's plenty of discussion about this sort of thing in the various documentary series on classic albums etc. If this approach is taken there still might well be overdubs but the basic rhythm tracks will often have been recorded together.

Yes this is the usual way to do it. All musicians playing together to get the best groove and interaction.

Its not a problem to isolate each musician completely and get the whole thing coordonate with headphones, but a lot of musicians will prefer visual contact and a more live sound as well. In this case some different miking choices and some more or less light isolation of different instruments might be required.

In any case miking is very important.

Overdubs usually include vocals, backing vocals, guitar solos, guitar doublings, brass or strings eventually aso. More often than you would think the first vocal take is prefered, because the feeling and emotion were just great.

LtZ

[Compyfox]

As somebody who did both approaches, I can say: it depends.

First and most of all, it depends how large the studio is. If the recording booth is only the size of a 15-20qm apartement, you won't really be able to record a full band, but only some individuals. If it's smaller than that, chances are that you definitely won't go "live" with all bandmembers, unless the recording/mixing engineer is a space-wizard, does half of the stuff "in the box" and knows how to record vocals with minimum bleed. (been there, done that)


Another criteria is how well the band plays together. If you sent in a demo or a garage recording of your band, and it shines through that you can play a song without problems or even bring a special sound with it, chances are your band will be recorded live. Then, if needed, overdubs will be added. Bleeding is sometimes even wanted, can't be evaded to 100% - not even with portable absorbers or gates. AC/DC for example records live ONLY - it's their sound. And that kind of recording technique goes back to the 40ies/50ies, where there were no multitrack machines whatsoever.

On the other hand, if the demo shows that you people have problems playing live, or the recording/mixing engineer catches drift of that while recording (since you're way too nervous), chances are you'll be recorded separately. Or at least the drums and bass together if you provided a demo track to play on top of it. This process takes more time however and chances are that you might loose out on the vibe, but you can focus on details.


I'd say... best of both worlds. No recording method is really better, none inferior. It just depends on the feeling or with what you are more comfortable. Then again, I've heard and seen seperately recorded bands, that had great recordings compared to a "live band" as well.

If you play on stage, that's on a whole different ballpark however.

[peteman]

Interesting!

[Compyfox]

Well scratch that with the 25-30qm apartement. If the room is that "small", it's easy to put in most people of the band. It'll be tight, but room enough to move around, setup mics properly and stuff like that. A friend of mine has an around 30-35qm recording space and he always records a 4-5 head strong band live.

It's a bit different, if we talk about 10-15qm (which is at least suitable for 2-3 guitarists, a 4-head choir, a quartett or a moderately large acoustic drumset). So I changed the upper post to reflect that better.