D8 Skills #12 & D9 | Unit E | Recording Band, Loft | Session #1

Today, we began recording some tracks for Loft.

Instruments:

• Guitar x2
• Bass
• Drum Kit
• Vocals

The setup went smoothly and we recorded a reference track with them all playing together so that we can later record each instrument separately.

Pros for this method:

• Increase in instrument separation in the mix due to the absence of bleed.
• Ability to get as many takes as we want until each part is perfect. It would be a lot harder to do this if we got the whole band to do this, as it wouldn't be likely that the best performance from each member happens during the same take.
• Easier for us to speak directly to the player and suggest changes.
• Easier to experiment with microphone placement as we can hear the changes more clearly.
• For quiet sections and loud sections, we have the option of recording them separately to get the optimum gain for both.
• Allows the other band members that aren't currently being recorded to sit in the control room and listen. They can make suggestions that are more valuable than mine.
• Allows us to position instruments/amps/microphones in their optimum position in the room without worrying about logistics such as not getting them in the way of other band members and their instruments/amps/microphones.  
• Gives the band member more freedom to experiment as they can have as many takes as they want.

Cons:

• Considerably more time-consuming.
• Requires us to take more notes so that we remember what had been decided upon going into the mix.

Critical Reflection:

We want to later record the drum kit in the main room instead of using the take from the drum booth that we got today. Since drummers often find it very hard to overdub onto a recording of everyone else, we should have really got our final recording of the drums FIRST during the recording of the reference track for everyone else. Since the sound of the guitars didn't matter during this take, I think that a better way about this would have been to have the drums in the main recording space in order to record them properly, and then had the guitars and so forth in the drum booth. I think that this would have saved a lot of time, and I will remember this for the next track we record.  

Equipment List:

• AKG D112
• Shure SM57 x3
• Samson CO2 x2
• Audix D6
• DI Box
• Headphone Extension Cables
• XLR Cables
• Boom Stands