Recording a CD -- have you done it? Tips/advice?

[slewis]

I'm about to start the process of recording a CD, to both sell as a CD and to post on-line. Mostly acoustic guitar/vocals and acoustic instruments; I want to keep it pretty organic and simple and earthy, but with as much quality as I can afford. Performed for years, with a little studio experience, but never any projects as in-depth and invested as this (all my own material, etc.). Limited budget, of course, and aside from knowing that I'd better go in as prepared as I can possibly be (knowing what I want to accomplish and how I might want to do it, etc.), I'm open to the high-level advice from anyone who's gone down that road. I imagine, too, that there are some good on-line resources and PDFs for this kind of topic. Although I have a Boss BR-8 digital recorder and some decent mics, which might be sufficient for a high-quality recording in the hands of someone who knows what they're doing, I don't know if I'd get good-enough results with it. So I need to either commit to using that and learning more about it (or hiring someone to use it who knows what they're doing) or go into a studio (or at least locate someone locally who has good basic gear and is up to working with me). SO... any thoughts, ideas, recommendations, etc. for someone in my spot? Thanks in advance!...

[Fran Guidry]

Originally Posted by slewis

I'm about to start the process of recording a CD, to both sell as a CD and to post on-line. Mostly acoustic guitar/vocals and acoustic instruments; I want to keep it pretty organic and simple and earthy, but with as much quality as I can afford. Performed for years, with a little studio experience, but never any projects as in-depth and invested as this (all my own material, etc.). Limited budget, of course, and aside from knowing that I'd better go in as prepared as I can possibly be (knowing what I want to accomplish and how I might want to do it, etc.), I'm open to the high-level advice from anyone who's gone down that road. I imagine, too, that there are some good on-line resources and PDFs for this kind of topic. Although I have a Boss BR-8 digital recorder and some decent mics, which might be sufficient for a high-quality recording in the hands of someone who knows what they're doing, I don't know if I'd get good-enough results with it. So I need to either commit to using that and learning more about it (or hiring someone to use it who knows what they're doing) or go into a studio (or at least locate someone locally who has good basic gear and is up to working with me). SO... any thoughts, ideas, recommendations, etc. for someone in my spot? Thanks in advance!...

You might figure it out a lot sooner than I did, but it took me about 3-4 years to learn enough about recording to be satisfied with my CD, and it was solo acoustic instrumentals, no vocals, no extra instruments. I love recording at home, I find it fun and fascinating, but if your goal is to produce excellent recordings within the next year or so I think you'll have better luck using someone else's studio. The Seattle area must have tons of excellent engineers and facilities.

I would still recommend spending a lot of time in front of your current recorder. You can certainly use your existing recorder to do pre-production and get used to playing into a mic. And who knows, you may find that you're turning out tracks that meet your needs.

There's a huge gap between a properly recorded basic track and a mastered CD. I was amazed at the improvement a good mastering engineer made in my project. If you start hearing performances that you like, captured cleanly, you may be able to find a pro engineer who can take them the rest of the way.

My other bit of advice is to watch out for shipping charges when you're pricing your replication. I'm definitely going to look for a local outfit next time.

Fran

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by slewis

...SO... any thoughts, ideas, recommendations, etc. for someone in my spot? Thanks in advance!...

Hi slewis…
I've done 3 CD projects.

If I were given the assignment to make one again, I'd just buy a simple high quality two channel interface, a pair of good 20mm diaphragm mics, a decent large diaphragm mic and I'd prep a room to be really dead and use the software to add any effects later.

I now know how to utilize space with a minimum of prep to rooms, and how to get decent multi track recordings with 2 tracks. I actually had an 8 channel interface and owned/operated a small studio for 8 years.

When I cleared it out, I bought a high quality 2 channel interface, and hung onto my best pair of 20mm diaphragm mics for guitars, and have a pair of large diaphragm mics to choose from for vocals.

As for tips for someone with some experience, I'd take my time, and utilize the equipment you have and maximize it. I'd think about how to market the music (which I've never been concerned about).

All three of my personal CD projects I've just given away free and enjoyed doing so.

If I thought my stuff had serious commercial potential, I'd go to a better studio and pay several hundred or a thousand to have them record and produce a really well done pair of songs, and run them past people who are in-the-know and see if it had as much potential as I thought it did before getting in any deeper.

Recording is tedious, challenging, fun, addictive, and I can tell you that I've put 60 hours into one song, and when it was done and amazing sounding my wife (who is an excellent critic) said "Nice song, what's for dinner?"

Others said similar things and asked when the album would be done, and honestly I don't have time to play concerts, do touring and self-promotion to get projects out there and as soon as you finish one, you have to do a second, followed by a third project, because people tire of albums pretty quickly.

If it isn't 'new' it's not 'news'.

That's as honest about what I have learned about recording personal projects (which I did a great job with and was proud of).

At the end of 8 years of running the studio, I know what I can do and what can be done, and I like my photography and playing at coffee houses and giving away my CDs a lot.

[Larry Pattis]

Rick Ruskin has a recording studio set-up in Seattle.

Rick is a member here...easily found on the internet.

That's the best recommendation I can make (and I mean *BEST*!).

[Ty Ford]

Your assessment that recording is a daunting task is correct. You have to decide whether you want this project to be a learning experience where you learn to record, or whether you want it to be about learning to find someone who can do it for you and make you sound a lot better than you could yourself.

I've recorded over a dozen vinyl and CD recordings, most not of myself. I came to do this with specific training in electronics and acoustics. Without at least some of this info under your belt, your finished CD will fall short in comparisons with CDs that were made by people who had the knowledge and gear. If that's OK for you, fine.

I do see a lot of post asking "Why doesn't my CD sound as good, big, loud, smooth, etc. as the big guys?" The difference is experience and equipment. I'm not trying to dissuade you; not in the least. If fact, I encourage you to jump in. Just don't expect your first recordings to make your pants wet.

Regards,

Ty Ford

[Bob Womack]

I do this for a living. If you are going to do this yourself, here are a few rustic suggestions, kind of "stream of consciousness:"

Get the best monitors you can afford.

Find a commercial recording you like and play it on the good monitors until you have its balance and frequency response memorized. Then attempt to emulate it.

Shop your mixes out to as many sound systems in as many environments as you can, realizing that your product will sound different on each.

Don't be afraid to scrap a recording if you can't make it right. Start again. The pros do it.

Get some education on the art and science of recording. Any is better than none. Alan Parsons (Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, et al.) has put out a video series on his techniques. Even the brilliant Tom Scholz of Boston, who was formerly an MIT engineer before he recorded Boston's albums, had to be taught to record and mix properly.

Enjoy watching yourself grow as you learn.

Bob

[PorkPieGuy]

I've probably recorded a dozen CDs and/or demos since I started playing out in 1994. If you choose to use a professional studio, try to find one that's produced the same type of music that you are wanting to do and make sure you are happy with their mixes. I recorded once with an acoustic-based rock band in a studio where the engineer's specialty was Southern gospel. It didn't turn out pretty. If you are in a small town, this may be difficult to do, but do the best you can. Make sure you know the terms and pricing schedule for the studio. Some charge by the song; some charge by the hour. Some who charge by the hour only start the clock when they hit the record button the first time, and others start the clock as soon as you step through the door. Just make sure you know.

Time is money, so make sure you know those songs like the back of your hand before you go in. I usually tell folks to play and practice a song until you are sick of it, then practice it a little more. Don’t wait to get to the studio to write parts. Sure, if you have a quick idea and want to give it a try just to see how it sounds, fine, but remember you are paying for your little “experiment.” If you want to see what a layered part sounds like before going into the studio, just download Audacity and demo it out at home on your computer.

If you playing a song with a consistent rhythm throughout the song, practice with a metronome before going into the studio. If you want to do some copying and pasting a la ProTools, click tracks are great for keeping everything lined up…not that I would know


When you are recording, either in your home or in a professional studio, do your BEST to get the best sound BEFORE mixing. If you guitar comes out sounding muffled on the recording, re-adjust the mics and do the take again. Don’t just say, “Oh, I’ll just fix it during post-production.” Nothing is more frustrating than having a sub-par sounding recording long after the instruments are put away and the clock is ticking. You will NOT want to go back and re-record parts at that point.

If you are planning to record at home, a major advantage is money. If you already have a decent computer, you can usually spend in equipment what 1-2 days in a professional studio would cost you…and no one is looking at a watch and keeping time. You can take frequent breaks if you need to and you don’t have to deal with engineers. I will have to say that the vast majority of my engineers I worked with were fine, but there were a couple of goobs that I wouldn’t work with again. I can’t give better advice when it comes to equipment than what Larry said above (ljguitar). Feel free to buy used. I think that I got little Mackie mixer and my interface used off of craigslist. I only buy mics new. Although a used mic may work, you may fight to get a good sound out of a used mic due to damage you can can’t see due to it being dropped at some point or high pressure levels.

If you record at home, there will be a learning curve to learning your new equipment. Some folks have a hard time being musician and engineer at the same time. I’ve done three projects myself, and I’m pretty happy with how they turned out; however, in the beginning there was A LOT of trial and error. It would be ideal if there was someone in your area that could show you how to use your equipment. I’ve been paid a time or two to go to people’s houses that were setting up home studios and explain how to use their equipment. It might be worth it to pay/barter with someone to come over and show you what to do.

Another disadvantage is room treatment. Some rooms “sound” better than others. I noted a significant difference in my recordings when recording in my little “office” at home and then moving everything into the kitchen/dining room/living room with 12.5” ceilings. Everything sounded so much more full. I’ll set up my little studio at the kitchen table from now on. You may have to worry about noise in your home. Cars going by, the fridge kicking on and off, toilets running, the A/C or heat clicking on or off, or (my worst pet peeve of all) the toenails from your family pet clicking on the wood floors at the end of a take. What’s bad is sometimes you don’t notice it until it’s too late. If any of you have any of my CDs, there’s a certain track on a certain CD where you hear water trickling in the background at the end of the track. It’s just BARELY audible, but you can hear it if you listen close. It’s actually my fish tank that was low on water. I didn’t notice it until I was mixing down.

As far as mastering goes, I'm not sure I buy into it. I know all of pros have their stuff mastered, but discmakers.com sent me a CD one time of song samples. One track would have an unmastered version of the song, and the next would have the same sample, only mastered this time. Looks like they've posted some stuff online.

http://www.discmakers.com/soundlab/audiosamples.asp

See if you can get a hold of the CD (if they still have it). They shipped it to me for free. I believe the quality of master depends on two things: 1. The equipment and skill of the person doing the mastering and 2. The quality of the recording itself (the whole “you can polish a t*rd philosophy). I think that if you record good music and good songs and have a good mix, people will be happy. If you are trying to get radio play, you might consider mastering to make sure your levels are the same as radio levels. The levels on my CDs are pretty hot though, and haven’t had any issues when getting radio airplay. Most people won’t be able to tell the difference.

I know that this is a whole bunch of do's and don'ts, but remember all of this is supposed to be fun. Most of all RELAX and have a good time. I hope this helps!

[Glennwillow]

I have always done my own recording with my own equipment, but I have been messing with this for more than 40 years. I have done dozens of CD's for myself and others (volunteer projects for the local high school choir and jazz band). I also helped in recording my son's metal band. That was quite a bit more complicated because of the challenge of recording a full drum set.

I am a degreed engineer who has been interested in recording technology for a long time, so I take what I have learned over all these years for granted.

However, the cost of recording an album in someone else's studio is going to be very expensive. I know people who have spent $30K-50K recording their albums in someone else's studio, and compared to big name groups, that's not anywhere near what can be spent. So for that kind of money, you can buy some nice equipment for your home. And what is available today that will fit in a spare bedroom is quite amazing compared to even 20 years ago.

I built a separate recording studio in an out-building on my small farm.

As Fran noted, if you started today collecting equipment -- mics, preamps, computer interface, decent software, etc -- it probably would take you a few years, maybe 4-5, to get good, if you ever get good at it. For some reason, some people never seem to get it while lots of regular folks seem to figure it out.

For my money, I would work on doing it myself, maybe look for ways to learn about how to record better to speed up the process. There are a ton of instruction books out there, and taking some classes or instruction with good people, as Bob Womack suggests, could really speed up this process for you. Also, you need to find people who are skilled at recording to evaluate your results.

I am one who thinks good mastering of your end recording product can make a great big difference and the cost is not all that high.

Good luck with this,
Glenn

[Ty Ford]

"I know people who have spent $30K-50K recording their albums in someone else's studio, and compared to big name groups, that's not anywhere near what can be spent. "

I've done singer-songwriter projects here for about $2k. If you want to get fancy with overdubs and full instrumentation, sure it can go up, but it doesn't have to.

Regards,

Ty Ford

[ljguitar]

...I've done singer-songwriter projects here for about $2k. If you want to get fancy with overdubs and full instrumentation, sure it can go up, but it doesn't have to.

Hi folks…
We have access to several solidly good quality (with experienced techs and high end gear) that are $35 hr and $300 10 hr day.

To my way of thinking one could do a fairly good small CD project with minimal overdubs for around $1200 at those prices, and you sure won't be into all the studio gear you want/need for that.

When I owned/ran a studio I often coached people that they could be doing their own recording the next time around. Only a couple ever did. Most preferred to work with seasoned engineers and people who knew how to record, and were setup and ready to roll (us).

Most projects were accomplished in well under 30 hours.

[Scott Whigham]

I'm actually in the middle of this process right now. I'm enjoying the advice as well. I opted to build an $x,000 studio and learn how to record because, looking down the road 20 years, I wanted to be able to record as often as I liked plus the option to record my children should they get into the business. I originally had planned to release my album in June, 2010 but got "sidetracked" with the whole studio + learning curve. It took a full year of heavy work to buy the right gear, master the gear (I hope!), and get it right.

1) I am only the recording engineer. There's no way I trust myself after only a year to be the mixing or mastering engineer. I found both from records that I love the sounds of.

2) I'm not at all unhappy that I had to delay the release of my album by 18 months. I started out with a small circle of knowledge. Based on the size of that circle, I made a guesstimate of how long it would take. As I learned more, my circle grew and the circle just grows and grows still. I've learned enough to know that I can't mix and I can't master!

Good luck!

[RRuskin]

Originally Posted by Larry Pattis

Rick Ruskin has a recording studio set-up in Seattle.

Rick is a member here...easily found on the internet.

That's the best recommendation I can make (and I mean *BEST*!).

Thanks for the endorsement, Larry.

To the OP, regardless of where you record, your instinct about being as prepared as possible is spot on. The only other pieces of advice I'll offer is to
1. not bring anyone not essential to a session. Friends & significant others are a distraction and trust me, they will get bored quickly regardless of how much they care for you and your music.
2. Have realistic expectations as to how much can get done in any one session.

[slewis]

You guys rock; I knew I'd get some great advice here. Actually, shortly after I even posted it, I started realizing how much prep work I have to do just to finalize (doh!) my material. I know I have to have my parts down cold as well as (duh!) have my arrangements down (changeable, but down) and instrumentation ideas, etc. And being "relatively old," I am sure that I'm going to try and find someone who enjoys audio recording, has a decent base of experience and a low-overhead small studio where I can do this and pay as I go. I'm way too impatient to get into recording this myself, but I will use the digital equipment I have to record "draft" arrangements and help to decide what the final approach should be for my stuff.

Sooner or later I'll also probably post here on the topic of duplication and packaging, 'cause I KNOW some of you have experience and advice to offer there too...

Anyway thanks very much for the input; I'm sure a lot of others will find this info valuable as well....

[Bob Womack]

By the way, my site has a few suggestions for your first sessions. You can see it in my sig line below.

Bob

[alexevans917]

My personal advice is to look for someone in your town/city who is young and "up and coming" in the world of Audio Production. Someone who is at school for Audio Engineering, or maybe even someone who does live sound and is working on getting together some recording equipment. These sorts of people tend to be more mobile and much cheaper, and are also willing to put far more work into your project than an established studio, since they will likely use you in their portfolio. Just for an example (I don't know where you're from) but in Cincinnati, there is a freelance engineer named Chad Wahlbrink who is currently an audio engineering student at Belmont in Nashville. He has worked at the two best studios in Cincinnati (The Monastery and Ultrasuede Studios) and has tracked, mixed, and mastered for some of the best up and coming bands in Cincinnati (Pomegranates, Enlou, The Yugos, Sacred Spirits, etc). Although his rates are more when he works through one of the aforementioned studios, his rates for mobile recording are the cheapest in down. 75 per 8 hour day of tracking, 15 to mix per song, and 10 to master per song. These rates are cheaper than the WORST studios in Cincinnati, yet his equipment is much better, his knowledge is much better, he will put in more time and effort, and he allows you the freedom to record anywhere you want, from basements to churches to open fields to concert venues.

Now, you most likely do not live in Cincinnati, so all of this information is probably irrelevant. However, the purpose of my longwinded rambling is to say that you should look for a a freelance engineer, similar to the one mentioned above.

Oh, and just for fun, here's a link to Chad's website, in case you want to check out some of the work he's done or equipment he is using:

http://chadwahlbrink.com/cw/Home.html

Best of luck with your project! If you do decide to record it all yourself, just use your ears. You can get phenomenal results with very inexpensive equipment as long as you position your mics carefully, play well, sing well, and dedicate enough time to the project to get it right!

Enjoy it,

Alex