THE MAKING OF A RECORD

PART 1

For music lovers, there is nothing quite as rewarding as going to a favorite retail outlet and picking up the new CD of our favorite artist. We listen to music in our cars, while working out, while shopping and even while sitting in the doctor's office. We love going to concerts and are fascinated by the latest offerings served up on our radio stations. With all the attention the music industry gets these days, I thought it might be nice to take a journey into the studio and actually talk about what goes into making a record.

THE PRODUCER

If there is one question I get asked about more than any other as a studio owner, it is the question of “what does a producer do”? The answer is not a straightforward one, but for major recording artists there are some basics we can look at.

In the purest sense, a producer is responsible for the artistic choices that go in to making a record. To be successful the artist must literally place their careers in the hands of their producer. Often times a producer is chosen by the record label based on his past successes and the artist has very little to say on the matter. Well-established, famous artists however, often wield enough clout to choose their own producer or self produce the record.

Among the responsibilities a producer has is choosing the recording studio, picking an engineer, finding the proper support musicians, selecting and polishing songs, and scheduling the players and vocalists for various recording sessions. The producer has a direct responsibility of keeping the project on budget and is often entrusted to put a recording budget together for the project.
Depending on the musical abilities of the producer, he may arrange the songs himself or hire an arranger to suit his needs.

By far the most difficult job a producer has is the one of keeping everybody happy and on schedule. Over the course of making a record, as many as 100 people or even more can be directly involved with the project. Typically, in addition his musical responsibilities, to be successful a producer must deal with a myriad of potential problems that the record buying public would never even think of. Some of these crazy tasks might include

*Convincing an artist to sing a song that he or she doesn't really like
*Persuading studio musicians who hate each other to put aside their differences
*Chasing down the financier to get checks cut for services rendered.
*Dealing with local musician and transportation unions
*Arranging airfare and shuttle for guest players

As a side note, I recently read a sobering fact that this modern age we live in only two out of every twelve records released actually make money. Five of them break even and five will lose money. This perhaps explains why new artists are popping up like mushrooms, seemingly every other day. Think about it! If you were a record exec trying to make money in a very competitive marketplace, you might not be too excited about cutting a record for some self-important artist who demanded the option of hand picking the producer, the songs, the location, the studio food, the players, etc.

Now, if the artist happened to be a Brittany Spears or Garth Brooks, which pretty much guaranteed overwhelming success, you wouldn't have a problem. However, if it were an artist who really didn't earn a lot the last time out, you might just decide to release someone new and keep your costs and your headaches to a minimum. Aspiring artists out there, take note and be hopeful, there's always opportunity to get discovered.

THE ENGINEER

The process of making a record actually requires three completely different engineering functions and if done properly a minimum of three different studios. On small budget records, the producer may have to do all his work at one studio, utilizing one engineer. While amazing records have been produced in this fashion, the odds of doing so are very low. Before we take a look at the different phases of the recording process however, let's finish introducing you to the engineer.

An engineer is hand picked for his vast knowledge of different recording technologies, for his familiarity with the local studios, and for his expertise in capturing the specific sounds a producer requests. A great engineer has a solid rapport with area's top musicians, relationships with near by repair technicians and rental companies and a ready supply of dependable, qualified helpers should the project require them.

For sure, the engineer is the guy responsible for pushing all those buttons you see on the recording console, but he is also the guy responsible for delivering every tool required to let the producer do his job.

For example, the producer might ask for a thunderous kick drum sound similar to one he heard on a specific record. A great engineer can listen to that sound once and determine immediately that in order to duplicate it he needs a combination of a mic and a triggered synthesizer. A less qualified engineer might be able to get the same sound after a few hours of trial and error, however with the clock ticking for the studio, the engineer, any musicians on hand, etc., time is money. The engineer who can get the job done is the one who is going to get the producer calls.

THE THREE PHASES OF RECORDING.

A. Tracking

The initial phase of the recording process is called tracking. In this phase all the individual parts of the record are recorded. Modern recording technology offers a feature called multi-tracking capability (MTC). MTC allows all the parts to recorded onto a separate space as needed. Typically 24 tracks are the minimum number required to make a good record and many modern day computer based studios offer an infinite number of tracks.

Through the use of MTC a band can be recorded one part at a time, the whole band at a time, or even the whole band at one time and then other parts, including vocals can be added latter. In many instances, the entire tape of the band tracks can be shipped to a different part of the country where another musician can go into a studio and add his part to the record and then mail the master tape back to the producer.

Visually here is how a multi-track recording might look. For simplicity sake, I will keep this down to a six-track example. Typically drums are recorded with a minimum of seven mics using at least seven separate tracks. Visualize each of these tracks existing as a “lane” on the recording tape.


TRACK ONE -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Click Track/Metronome)

TRACK TWO ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Rhythm Guitar)

TRACK THREE -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Bass)

TRACK FOUR ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Piano)

TRACK FIVE -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Drums)

TRACK SIX -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Unused)


For those of you new to making records, a click track is a digitally produced click sound that serves as a metronome to keep all the various players in synch and in time.

Now, let's say that the first five tracks were recorded last week and the producer is spending today recording the vocalist. After the microphone is set up and all the equipment is warm the vocalist steps into the booth and puts his headphones on.

Why does the singer use headphones in the studio? Well it's actually quite simple. When the artist begins to sing, the microphone obviously is going to pick up his voice. At the same time, he needs to be able to hear the music in order to sing to it. If the music were simply played for him to hear over speakers, this music would also go into his microphone and be re-recorded thereby ruining the track isolations that are so vital to crisp, clean sounding recordings.

By design we want each track to contain only sounds from one particular instrument or voice, Later on, after all the different parts are recorded onto their own individual track, then we go into the next phase of recording which is mixing. For now, we need isolation.

Did you ever wonder what exactly is it that the vocalist hears in his phones? MTC allows the person in the recording booth to hear all the previously recorded musical parts during the same time he is having his own part recorded.

Do you see that ominous looking recording console in the studio? That console enables the engineer not only to playback the previously recorded tracks into the headphones, but also to adjust the various levels of each instrument to suit the person being recorded.

So for example, let's say the singer does not want to hear anything but the click track (so he can keep time and start at the right point) and the rhythm guitar. The engineer simply mutes the drums, bass and piano and gives the singer what he wants to hear. The engineer can adjust the individual levels of each track, pan them left or right, add reverb to warm it up, or leave out tracks completely during recording. It is all up to the person in the booth.

Once tracks are recorded on to tape, they remain there until the mixing process. Right now, they are unrefined pieces and a lot must be done to them before a record can be made. The concept to remember here is that in the tracking process, the engineer can keep adding parts one at a time, allowing the person being recorded to hear whatever he wants to hear while performing.

The final feature about recording that is useful to understand is the concept of punching-in. Punching-in is merely a technique that allows the engineer to go back in and fix mistakes for any given track. The process is simple. Lets say for instance that a singer recorded a flawless performance except for the fact that on one word, he accidentally hit the mic stand and made a clang.

The engineer has one of two options to fix this boo boo. He can go back and have the artist laboriously record the entire song again, or he can just punch-in and re-record only the part that has the clang in it. To punch in successfully, the engineer must have a part of the music, before the mistake where the singer is not actually singing. A typical optimum spot to punch-in would be after a verse in the pause before the chorus starts. This silent spot allows the engineer to hit the record button and enter the tape without messing up previously recorded material. Once he enters the tape, the singer begins singing along with the music again, and his voice will be recorded over the mistake.

Once he has fixed the mistake, the singer must continue singing until the next silent spot so the engineer can exit the tape. When done properly the listener can't tell that a punch in was ever done.

Well, that's it for part one. I hope everyone has a safe Labor Day weekend and please remember to send me some cookies when you get a chance! Stay tuned for part 2.

Tommy V


Tommy Volinchak is an author and record producer living in Memphis TN. He can be contacted at TommyTuneman@aol.com