Recording, Mixing and Mastering for beginners...

[pedro]

[color=darkred]This is a very basic look over the three main stages of recording. It is mostly for the younger guys/gals just starting out with their band (or any indie act) who are looking to record a demo, EP or a full length professional album, and would like to know a bit more about the process.
The main focus in this post however will be Mastering, and how important it is in the making of an album - as it is often overlooked by musicians with limited experience in the studio.
But first, lets start from the beginning...

The entire recording process can be broken down into 3 stages:[/color]

[b]The Recording[/b] - If you're an organised band, then you should have spent a considerable amount of time nutting out your songs so that you're comfortable with them before entering the studio. This does not mean that they need to be set in stone. It just means that in order to try new things and maybe improvise to get that little special moment on tape/disc, you should be comfortable with where the song as a whole is going. I've seen a lot of indie bands not take this seriously, and waste time and money (because time IS money in the recording studio) trying to figure out things that should have been given some thought prior to stepping foot inside the padded walls.
MOST people, consider this to be the most important part of the process - some think its the only part. Even though it is the part where our lovely musician friends wield their magic as artists, and we awknowledge that rightfully so, its the mixdown and MASTERING that truly [b]finishes[/b] an album (and ultimately, a band as we know them).

[color=darkred]Which brings me to:[/color]

[b]The Mix Down[/b] - Even though its constantly done throughout the process, most of this happens after the bulk of the tracks have been recorded and are about 90% there. Usually, after the tracks have been mixed down, you have a listen through it in your car stereo (in a newer car anyway - which usually has the best acoustics to judge the mix) or lounge room stereo, or little radio or all of the above. You need to hear how it will sound across the board.
You can then go back, and add in little bits or take them away, accent certain phrases or whatever. If you're an intricate band, with lots of changes and what-not, then this process could take as long as the recording itself, but hopefully not (like I said, time is money).

After you've listened to the mix, go away on holiday and rest your ears. And after you've taken a well deserved break, come back fresh and have a listen with new ears... you can then be confident that if you like the mix you're hearing upon your return, then its a good one. Enter the mastering...

[b]Mastering[/b] - Of the three, Mastering is the point in the recording process that is often underrated to say the least... mostly because people don't exactly know what it is - or what it does.

This might be because the area is so grey, and requires years of practice for you to just [b]know[/b] what it is and how you do it. To make things confusing for those who don't, you can do things in mastering that could've been done during the mix down, in addition to the usual mastering points like raising decibels. (this often makes young bands who aren't technically inclined to ask themselves "why do we need to get it mastered at all?" when they think its just another form of mixing)

Provided you've been a good, organised artist, the main things you should have to worry about here is the overall polish on the album (with some extra attention on the single). Basically put, this is where your music is given its PUNCH. Of course, during mastering you do have the option of splicing the song up, or remixing, or adding fx to certain bits. But this is where you should be concentrating on the relationship of the vocals to the other instruments, and how loud to master it.

[color=darkred]I'll explain those last two points:[/color]

[i]Vocal vs Instruments:[/i] when mastering, you would have been supplied a master-mix of the instruments as one (they can each be provided seperate, but thats usually not necessary), the vocal by itself, the whole lot together, etc etc.
The mastering engineer can have a listen to the whole mix, to get a bearing on where they stand overall, and then take the seperate vocal and instrument mixes and work his magic. Vocals are given a little more strength, sometimes a little reverb is added here for the vocal, and is run through a chamber that adds depth and smooths it out at the same time, among other things. The instruments are monitored, and EQ-ed a little bit more. Then after many more things which I won't bore you with too much, we have a fine balance of vocal/instrumental harmony.

[i]How loud:[/i] Ever wondered why you put in a random cd and the volume is different to the last cd you were playing? Ever wondered why you have to race to turn down the loud bit when it comes on certain albums? Well, its because of how it was mastered.
Probably the most important part of mastering is this step. Its called compression. In lamens terms, they take the quietest parts of the track, and raise their levels (volume) yet they still sound quiet. Then they take the heavier/louder parts, and compress them a little - yet they still sound loud. This brings them closer together to create a seemless mix of loud and soft dynamics that don't contrast too much so that you have to keep turning your volume up and down. Of course its more complex than this, but thats just the easiest way to explain it. If you've got a cd that requires you to keep your hand on the volume, then it hasn't been mastered properly - if at all. From there, you raise the decibels (which is not just a matter of turning up the vol. either) of the overall recording to get that special finish you'll find on the great, loud, kick butt albums that we all love.

[color=darkred]So, if you don't master an album properly, it could undo the last however-many-months/years you've spent recording and mixing your album. At any rate, if you have the time and money to do it, you should speak up if something doesn't sit right at any stage during the process. Trust me, its worth spending that extra day fixing it before you commit and send the master off to the pressing plant. Then, instead of one problem disc, you have one thousand problems* - [b] all with your name on it[/b].

[size=9]*or usually more if you're a signed act and are having a big release.[/size]

Thats it in a nutshell. And remember, don't feel daunted by the big guys and their huge mixing desks, if you don't like how something sounds, make sure you say so. You'll be glad you did when you're listening to your song on the radio...[/color]

[color=darkred][/color]

[Monk]

very, very good description. Though I don't really understand why a band would compress their sound would an advantage of it be to have more space on the album??

[pedro]

Ah, no its not compressing the audio to a smaller format, its compressing the dynamics of the sound so you don't have too many extremities in the waveforms (ie, too loud/too soft) - it has nothing to do with file size if thats what you were getting at.

You shouldn't over-compress either, as then you won't have enough dynamic in the audio levels, and the music would then sound quite boring.

[Monk]

ah I understand you now, its not about smooshing it so that there is no difference but not too large a difference as all the subtleties of music can be heard more easily. So that say a vocal line was supposed to be more quiet to draw attention to it through the use of the arranging this doesn't have to be too loud as to decrease the effect of this.

[tonewheel]

Geez Pedro, do you want to write our tech tips column, great stuff.

[inspace]

Nice work Pedro! I just need to get a band together now.

Cheers

[pedro]

You can put that in the tech tips if you'd like.

I was just checking out those Laboga amps, man they look like they'd give my Mesa a run for its money. Gee, imagine having both going at the same time.
TOOL, eat your heart out! hahaha.