Crafted Recordings was designed to be as versatile and adaptable as possible. We go way beyond the traditional “go to the studio and pay by the hour” concept. This page will serve as an example of possible types of recording sessions that one might experience with Crafted Recordings.
Bands recording in their rehearsal space
This is one of the most common sessions for Crafted Recordings. We come to your space, set up within a matter of minutes, and begin placing microphones, while the band warms up. Typically, the first step is to get the room sounding good — taking into account room acoustics, instrument/amplifier placement within the room, and balancing amp volumes. Once the room is sounding good, and the room mics are picking up a well-balanced representation of what the band is doing, we can turn to individual instruments.
While the rest of the band relaxes or takes a short break, we then turn to making each instrument sound its best. The most complex part of this is typically getting the drum kit microphones sounding good. It takes some time and experimentation, placing the microphones with headphones on while the drummer plays. Once the drums sound great, we go to each additional instrument, usually putting a combination of one or more microphones on each amp, as well as possibly a direct signal.
Once each instrument is sounding good, in addition to the room mics, we are ready to begin tracking. Typically, this setup time if done carefully takes between one and two hours, depending on the conditions in each situation. This is arguably the most important part of a session; if the sounds aren’t great going in, then there’s not a lot that can be done during the mix to “fix” it. A well-recorded performance will almost mix itself; certainly a good recording can be made to sound great during the mix. On the other hand, a poor recording will almost certainly never sound great.
Then, there is tracking. The technical engineering stuff is done, all that remains is for the band to do their thing, to capture the magic happening in the room.
Bands recording in the Crafted Recordings space
This scenario is quite similar to the previous one; the main difference is that we are obviously much more familiar with the sonic characteristics of our own room. In addition, our room has been acoustically treated with highly adaptable treatments; unless the rehearsal space is a very good-sounding room, it is likely that recordings done in our room will sound better.
Live gig recording
This scenario is another quite popular session for Crafted Recordings. It is nice to produce a live recording for release on CD, mp3, or myspace. As with all live recordings, it is more limited than a studio session in terms of sound quality and performance, there is no undo, it’s all about capturing the moment. In addition, most clubs don’t sound as good as most studio rooms, there is more background noise, etc.
That said, Crafted Recordings can do a fantastic job of recording your gigs for you, resulting in a carefully crafted sound at the end.
Setup, again, is quite similar: get the recording rig going and spend some time with mic placement. Once done, we are ready to record the gig.
Crafted Recordings can also interface with the house PA system and mix the live show, in addition to recording the show. However, if there is a house sound engineer or if you have your own, we prefer to let them mix the show, while we concentrate on getting a great recording.
Recording a church choir performance
This is another popular option for choirs who wish to record a performance, release a CD of holiday music, or do a creative fund-raising project for their church. The flow for this type of session is familiar: setup, place microphones, tweak mic placement while the choir warms up, then begin tracking.
Tracking can either be only for the recording, or it can be during a live performance. Both can yield superior results.
Overdubs
This type of session is where you wish to augment the original recording with additional performances. It is most common for guitars, keyboards, or vocals in the context of a rock band. It is often desirable to do overdubs in the same room where the basic tracks were recorded.
Setup can vary highly. For example, if we are doing vocal overdubs, we will take a bit of time to tweak the room and the placement, perhaps try a few different microphones to see which is most flattering to the performer’s voice. Typically setup can be accomplished in an hour or less in such a scenario as it is less complex than setting up for a full band. Setting up for guitar overdubs can be a bit more complex, as there are usually 2 or more microphones involved for each amp, and care must be taken that the mics sound good individually, as well as when blended together.
In addition, a great headphone mix is essential for the overdub process. This will take some time to dial in.
Once set up, we can begin tracking and/or editing until we have the perfect takes.
Mixing
Mixing is the step of bringing together all the parts of the recording into one powerful, coherent, and emotionally compelling whole. Mixing must be done in a carefully-controlled acoustic environment; it is essential to hear all the details and nuances of the recording without coloration by room reflections. For this reason, we prefer to mix in our own room; we have acoustic treatments there and are quite familiar with its characteristics. If there is another room available with acoustic treatments in place (note that this will most often be in another recording studio) we might be willing to mix there depending on the characteristics of the space.
Note that is is not essential for the client to be present for all parts of the mix session. Indeed, it is often preferable to let the engineer get the “busy work” part of the mix together, tones and general balances, before the client comes in. Once the mix is starting to happen, then the client can come in to listen and guide the engineer through the rest of the mix, if they desire to give such input.
Freelance enginnering
Sometimes you have all the gear you need to make a good recording for your band. All you need is someone to come to your studio and handle the left-brain tasks of technical engineering, so you can concentrate on the right-brain tasks of playing music. We are happy to come to your space and operate your equipment for you under such conditions. Also, having equipment does not necessarily mean one knows how to get the best sound out of it. We can help you get the best out of your own gear in your recordings.
Consulting
Consulting is not necessarily a traditional recording session, but it can be highly valuable for your recordings. Crafted Recordings is available for consultation on recording tutorial, studio setup/wiring, acoustics, and other engineering tasks. See our consulting page for more details on this.