This article was written by Stuart Niven at Sweetwater.  Over the next few months, we’re publishing an entire series of articles in the Lounge from Sweetwater along with contests and prizes. Keep your eyes peeled and check back often!

After producing/engineering and mixing bands in Australia for nearly ten years I have worked with artists from their first demo to national releases for indie labels and labels with some pre-production projects for majors like Sony and Warner as well.

In this time I have seen and experienced many pitfalls, made mistakes, and learned some lessons. My hope in this article is not to enforce any rules or preach any “thou shalt do” – this is after all music and should be approached with the imagination, passion and free spirit that is music after all – but rather I hope to give you some tips on how to succeed in the studio!

Before

I find that preparing well provides huge benefits. It’s true you can never be prepared enough, but you do not want to be so locked into ideas that you miss out on the inspiration that comes from the recording process. That said, it’s easy to go so far off the path that you never get back to what it was you first set off to accomplish. These days of endless possibilities in the studio have brought with them a certain risk of never quite making decisions; it’s easy to trade the decisions off for the “we’ll fix it in the mix” path.

While this is great for some, it is a dangerous path for most. Commit! Let your heart take over, set your mind free, does it feel good? Does it sound good? What are we doing here? What is it we are trying to accomplish by recording our musical dreams? We all strive for perfection but sometimes chasing perfection can result in the “need” to edit the life out of an idea. Some of the greatest albums in history were recorded on to two tracks, bounced to another track so the overdubs could be added – editing was not an option.

This “limitation,” by modern standards, was the basis of what I consider the fundamental concept of making a record: Know your part! No amount of editing or digital trickery can replace a well played, from-the-heart performance. Technology should therefore enhance the dream, not replace it. A vintage Neumann microphone with a classic preamp, 2-inch tape, or Pro Tools will capture a bad performance the same as an all-in-one cassette 4-track. Conversely, a great performance will still be a great performance no matter what it is recorded to or how/where it was recorded.

A great record starts in the rehearsal room. It is often thought that the rehearsal (jamming) stage of the process is the fun part. While this is true to a degree, you are defeating the true purpose if you keep making the same mistakes over and over again that will become habits that get overlooked and only appear again under the close microscope of the recording process. If you are rehearsing and make a mistake, stop. What is wrong? Is the arrangement not working? Is the tempo wrong for the part? Do you know your part?

Producer

One of the most valuable sets of ears in the recording process is that of the producer. The role of the producer has always been a bit of a mystery. The evil opinionated guy in the room that makes you do it again…and again…and again? Or, the guy that facilitates the creative flow and exploration…and what makes a person a “producer” anyway?

I always imagined both sides of the coin. We get lost in our own music and sometimes and loose sight of what we are aiming for. A producer can be anyone, but must be objective and slightly removed from the subjective “dream” while seeing the dream in its essence and reality. Basically, a producer will help guide you, keep you on track, and facilitate the process. That may mean bringing lava lamps and creating the “vibe” that keeps everybody motivated and focused or refusing to accept something that doesn’t feel right and demanding better, all while seeing the essence of the song and acting without ego. I guess that the point is that an objective ear is invaluable to a recording, like a jockey on a horse: without the guiding hand of the jockey, the horse could run around completely off the track.

These days of home-based studios where the role of engineer/artist/producer/mixer, and A&R (artist and repertoire) are blurred into one, it’s important to have somebody that is both critical and in touch at the same time…somebody who likes, understands, and has respect for your music.

Gear

The better the gear that you have access to the better you can sound. I recommend hiring or gaining access to the best gear that you can. Spend some money on a good drum room with some great preamps and mics to record the drums. This is the foundation of your recording and chances are, if your drums sound great, the rest will come easier.

Get your sound from the source. A great guitar amp with a great guitar played by a person who knows his part so well that he can let go of the “thought” of the music and just “be” the music will sound real no matter what media is being used to record the performance. But again I must stress, knowing your part and being well rehearsed is paramount, a good vocal performance can be more effective with a cheap mic than a bad performance captured with a $5000 microphone.

Do you sense a recurring theme here?

The Point

I mix with a Pro Tools HD System and have nearly every plug in available, summed into a Dangerous Music 2Bus, almost always with an SSL Bus Compressor strapped over the final mix. Nice gear, but I like to think that these tools only help bring out the best in the sonic soundscape and do not “make” the sound. I have Autotune but I resist the urge to use it unless it is necessary to save a part that cannot be done again. I have Beat Detective, but I try to make sure it is used only to enhance the part and not replace a heartfelt performance.

Stuart Niven recorded bands in Australia for nearly 10 years, including projects for major labels. He graduated from the Conservatorium of Music in Queensland Australia. Niven plays guitar, bass, and drums. He is currently a Sales Engineer at Sweetwater. Reach him at 800-222-4700 x1137 or at stuart_niven@sweetwater.com.

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