Recording a pop song cover

I SEE FIRE COVER


PRE RECORDING:

• Run-Through- Gave my musicians the score sheet for the song so that they could practice at home.
• Rehearsal- got the musicians to play through the song before starting to record.
• Level, sound check and gain- check that cubase picks up the instrument and then adjust the gain to make sure that the tracks don't clip.
• Performance- had several takes of each musician in order to be able to choose their best performance.
• Stereo recording- Set up 2 Microphones to record the instruments with a L and R mic for a better quality recording.
• Multitrack Recording- recorded the individual instruments on separate tracks and then balanced them down onto one track when the recording was completed and mixed and mastered.
• Connections- the connections i used were XLR cables.
• Proximity effect- Positioned the mic closer to an instrument in order to pick up more bass sound.
• Live Recording- Recording the Musicians live in the studio.
• Screens/Guards/Pop shields- These are used when recording vocals in order to get a better quality recording of the vocals.

ELECTRONIC INSTRUMENTS:

• Direct injection- when recording the Bass guitar i connected the bass straight to the mixing desk using a 1/4 inch jack lead.
• Synthesiser- i used a synthesiser in the chorus of the song to replicate the cello/violin sounds.
• Electric Guitar- i recorded an electric guitar using DI to add more emphasis in the chords during the last chorus.
• Bass- i recorded the bass using DI to play the chords throughout the song.

RECORDING:

• Monitors/levels- These were set as close to 0dB as possible without the track clipping.
• Headphones/fold back systems- the musicians used headphones to listen to the original track whilst they were playing in order to get the timings right.
• Talk back - i used these when recording in the studio in order to talk to the musicians from the mixing desk to the studio.
• Track sheets- the musicians used track sheets in order to read the music off when playing.
• Identifying Tracks- to stay organised i renamed my tracks when recording in order to keep track of what instruments are recorded on what tracks. If they were stereo recordings i also made it clear which was R and which was L.
• Overdubbing- Recording the vocals and then putting them over the top of the pre recorded instrumental track.
• Listening for distortion- when recording the track i listened to the track to make sure it was a crisp and clear recording.
• Checking playback: i listened back to the recorded tracks to check for any clipping or mistakes in the recording.