Common Recording Mistakes
by Joe Kleon

Recording, like any art, is subjective. There really is no wrong or right way to record music. As long as you’re happy with the outcome, that is all that matters. However, you may want to take the following tips into consideration if you are new to audio recording.

1)  Do not record and mix too hot. If your waveform ever looks like this,
you are recording and/or mixing way too hot. Your signal will be distorted, and individual tracks will never be able to breathe and interact properly. Strive for waveforms that look more like this. Back in the day, running levels very hot on analog equipment added a nice harmonic distortion.  In today’s digital world. It just provides clipping. Recording in 24-bit will add a ton of headroom, enable you to keep levels down, and extract the power and dynamics from your performance without pushing your levels through the roof.

2)  When using plugins, don’t rely on presets from other sessions.  Set them manually for each track and session, depending on the mood and atmosphere that you want for each track. One size never fits all when you’re talking about digital plug-in presets.

3)  Experiment with microphone placing. Don’t run everything direct. Keep vocalists six to 12 inches from the mic. Getting closer can add unwanted mouth noises and distortion into the vocal track.  Always use a pop shield or mic screen. Experiment with different condenser mic patterns. If you are not familiar with condenser patterns, please familiarize yourself. You’ll be amazed at the new vocal world that will open up before you if you experiment with condenser patterns and mic placing.

4)  Don’t move past a mistake or shaky spot thinking you can fix in the mix. Fixing later may not always be possible. Record the best bed tracks you can before mixing. Use as few effects as possible during recording. Effects can easily be added and tweaked in the mix. They cannot be removed from a track if the track is recorded with the use of effects.

5)  Play your mixes on as many platforms as possible, including different mobile devices, stereos, speakers, and vehicle sound systems. Make sure your mix sounds great on all platforms. Do not add too much compression, as many devices and radio stations have compression built into their output. Overcompressing during the mix can ruin the sound of the recording once additional platform compression is added. Again, let your music breathe.

6)  Back up everything, including your operating system. Do this regularly. Keep rough mixes, demos, and other performance recordings. You’ll value them later, possibly for re-releases, bonus material, or just a fond archival collection that you can enjoy from time to time. Backing up your sessions, especially while they’re in progress, is very, very important. You don’t want to lose that perfect track due to a computer freeze, power outage, or other glitch.

The last thing goes without saying, but I’m going to say it anyway.

7)  Make sure all of your gear is in tip-top shape.  Don’t go into a studio with old strings, worn stretched out drum heads, or shoddy cables. Double and triple check everything before going into the studio. Bring extra strings, extra drum heads, extra sticks, extra batteries, extra everything. Make sure you are prepared.