Session Tutorial: Overview/Basic Tracks

The next few pages will walk you through a typical recording session, one step at a time. We will talk you through each step and try and shed some light on why things are done in a particular way, or point out certain common pitfalls that have made themselves apparent over the years.

Every once in a long while there are changes in an industry that are so profound that that industry is changed forever. The advent of digital multi-track recording on computer hard drives has done just that to the music recording industry. ProTools™, Digital Performer, and Apple’s Logic software are leading this revolution.

If you are technically inclined we have put little Tech Notes links to a page pointing out how the hardware and signal flow are different from ‘the old days’. You don’t really need to know this stuff, but if you do, it will make for a better understanding of what’s easy and what’s not, giving you better efficiency in your project.

 The switch from linear-access recording (tape based) to random access (computer hard discs) is so far reaching that it goes beyond being “more flexible” or “more convenient”; it truly fundamentally changes the way you can work! It used to be that there were very specific and well defined procedures and ways of working that were defined by the limitations of tape based recording, well those restrictions are all gone now! You can truly do just about anything. Sometimes it feels to us like ‘everything you know is wrong’ when you realize that a significant portion of the ‘rules’ you’ve been adhering to for 20 years just don’t apply anymore.

 We have elected to use Mark of the Unicorn’s (MOTU) Digital Performer software as our main recording platform. It is a comprehensive recording environment for both Audio and MIDI with seamless integration of both data types in one program. The depth and capability of this software is truly mind-boggling.

There are three seemingly minor differences between computer recording and tape recording that at first seem trivial but actually are so powerful they fundamentally change the way you can record and produce music!

The first is: when you press record, you don’t actually erase anything that might happen to be present on the track at that spot. For us, this one fact is so powerful that once we fully understood all that it meant… well let’s just say we haven’t started a project on analog or digital tape in 4 years!

The second big thing is: the UNDO button! In fact there is unlimited UNDO in Digital Performer. Don’t like that take? UNDO. No wasted tape. That complicated 15 step edit you just did that doesn’t sound right after all? Undo 15 times and you’re back, no harm done.

Thirdly, there is no hard an fast limit on how many tracks you can have. The only limitation is how many tracks your computer can play back before it chokes (we’ve done sessions with over 40 tracks, no sweat). See Tech Note #1 for the hardware differences there.

This all said, let’s dive in and see how a session unfolds in this brave new world of random access recording.

Sound Check

Once everything is loaded into the studio and set up we begin the "Sound Check". The studio session clock for billing starts now. Sound check is to make sure everything is working and sounding good before pressing record for the first time.

Drums are usually checked first since they are the most complicated. The engineer will start with the bass drum and get the preliminary sound on that and each of the other drums and cymbals.

If you have a special way you want the drums to sound, tell the engineer as he goes through each of the drums and cymbals. If the sound you describe can be found only with lots of special effects gear it will be better to just get the basic drum sound for the present because a lot of extra effects in the headphones can make it harder to hear yourself while laying down the basic tracks. You can always add the effects later when mixing down. After checking drums, we'll check the bass and guitars, keyboards, vocals and whatever else needs to be recorded during basic tracks.

Basic Tracks

When everything is up and running and sounding good we start doing the "Basic Tracks". This is where the basic framework of the song is recorded. You should know in advance the exact arrangement of the song and how fast it will go, and be able to start playing from places in the middle of the arrangement in case that becomes necessary.

Digital Performer uses the familiar “Tracks” metaphor for recording, except you can actually ‘see’ the music on the ‘tape’ now! This in and of itself is incredibly powerful and convenient, and it’s only the beginning. The screenshot below shows the layout for the basic tracks of recording a music/band project:

As you can see you have all the tracks named (organized by color if you like), input/output paths are visible as are the play enable buttons (blue arrows) and of course, a little graphic display of the data (music) on that track. All this looks fairly familiar and just like how you’d expect it to look. But this is where the similarity ends.

Basic tracks are also called "rhythm tracks" because you are trying to set up a solid rhythmic foundation for the rest of the song to be built upon.

Usually you will have someone sing what is called a "scratch vocal" as the basic tracks are being recorded. This is a vocal that is not intended to be a final vocal; it is just used as a reference so you can tell where you are in the song while playing.

If you are comfortable working with metronomes, it can sometimes be beneficial (although not absolutely necessary) to work with a "click track" which is recorded onto the tape and then played along with, to insure that the song does not speed up or slow down, or at least does so in a controlled manner.

Working with a click track can be difficult sometimes so you should practice with a metronome ahead of time to feel comfortable and make sure the tempo you choose is a good one.
To read more about click tracks, read Bill's complete tutorial.