How to ruin a recording session


I was at a recording session the other day, and it was a sad affair.

The engineer and producer were trying to find exactly the right sound for the drums. While the band played their hearts out, the engineer and producer tried every trick in the book. They moved the microphones up and down, they tried different mics, they tried compressors and limiters and every EQ they could find. After about three hours, they finally got something they liked.

But unfortunately, by that time, the band was completely burned out.
Recording NY drummer Dave Lewitt in the Omni studio. 

One thing sound engineers tend to forget is that they're there to capture the best performance they can, not necessarily the most perfect technically performance. You go for both, but if you have to choose, get the performance.

Our job as engineers and producers is to make sure everything it set up and working before the session starts; parts, headphones, mic cables, computer files, hard drives, external equipment, etc. 

Once the musicians come into the studio and get warmed up, we have a short window to capture the best performance. If we're spending that time fooling with the sound, we could end up with a perfect recording of a lackluster performance.

A great performance will transcend a mediocre recording, but the opposite is never true.

- Doug

Comments

Popular Posts