Bangkok Jungle

Recording a Band: Live vs. Overdubs June 26, 2009

By Cliff Goldmacher

Cliff Goldmacher is a songwriter, producer, engineer and the owner of recording studios in Nashville and New York City. When he’s not writing songs, Cliff is also a regular contributor to EQ Magazine and Pro Sound News as well as a number of online blogs. He can be reached at cliff@cliffgoldmacher.com

When I’m hired by a band to produce their album, it’s often up to me to decide the best approach to take in the studio. The principal choices are live (all the band members at the same time giving a “live” performance in the studio) versus overdubs (creating a band sound by tracking members of the band separately and then putting all the instrument parts together in the final mix). By reading a little about the advantages and disadvantages of both approaches, hopefully you will be better able to decide which one will be best for your band.

Advantages of Tracking “Live”

If (and this is an important “if”) the band coming into the studio is well rehearsed and experienced, a “live” studio recording can be a great approach. I put “live” in quotes because the recording studio (whether everyone plays at once or overdubs one or two at a time) is seldom a truly live experience. Part of the reason that studio recordings sound as polished and detailed as they do has to do with the fact that the studio is a very controlled sonic environment. There are isolation booths so that individual parts can be fixed without having everyone redo their parts and even if everyone is in one primary room to record, it’s not often set up like the stage of a local club or venue with an audience, applause and general room noise. All this to say that what “live” really means is that the members of the band are given the opportunity to listen and respond to each other while they’re all playing together in the studio. If, as I said earlier, the band is well rehearsed then this arrangement can produce excellent results.

Disadvantages of Tracking “Live”

The studio is, by its very nature, an intense and often stressful environment. By tracking a band all together and hoping for a perfect (or almost perfect) take, you’ve added a lot of variables that wouldn’t ordinarily be present in an overdub scenario. For example, if the drummer is having an off day, it could color everyone’s performance. This is why I brought up the well-rehearsed and experienced qualifier in the earlier paragraph. The more rehearsed the band members are, the less likely one member won’t be able to hold his or her own when the light goes red. There are, of course, ways to minimize the risks in a live tracking scenario including isolating each instrument in its own room or booth so that individual fixes can be made after the keeper take is selected. Also, by using a click track while recording, the engineer and/or producer can create a composite (or “comp”) performance by splicing together the best parts of several performances.

Advantages of Overdubs

Using the overdub approach, the band has the option of tracking different instruments separately. This allows the band, for example, to get the drums and bass parts exactly right before overdubbing electric guitars or keyboards. It also allows the producer and/or band members to focus on one thing at a time and get it the way they want it before moving on. The way I generally approach sessions like this is to track the drums and bass with a scratch version of one additional instrument and a rough vocal so everyone knows where they are in the song. It’s also useful to have a click track running in these sessions as it provides a common rhythmic link that everyone in the band can use to keep him or herself in time. Then, when the drums and bass are solid and provide a good foundation, we add acoustic and electric guitars, keyboards and finally vocals and harmony vocals. This lower pressure and increased focus on individual parts can lead to tighter arrangements and performances.