Why we record in the order we do

ORDER

There are so many reasons we record the instruments in the order we do.  Sometimes it’s to make the best use of our time in order to keep costs down.  And sometimes we know that a certain order is better for certain members of the band.  And sometimes we get next to no choice in the tracking order because of scheduling conflicts.  No matter the reasons, just know that you can trust that we’ve tried every order of recording known to man and this is the best for both the bands and the studios.  Do what you can to get the musicians to match their availability with this tracking order, it’s the best for everyone involved in so many countless ways.  This suggested order assumes that the band hasn’t already tracked some of the instruments at home.  This is how we would go about tracking a full band from start to finish. 

RHYTHM GUITAR

I’ve only met one drummer that could perform an entire EP worth of material by memory to nothing but a click track and no references whatsoever.  So I guess we can’t start with the drums.  95% of guitarists can do this without a problem.  But here’s the catch - you need the drummer present to double check the tempos the guitarist picks if you’re not working off of pre production reference tracks for your tempos and song structures.  I’ve written plenty of blogs about the importance of pre-production and how it’s the key to success in the studio as well as a huge money saver so I’ll save you from hearing it again here.  This step can be a little frustrating because you’re not just recording rhythm guitar, you’re determining your tempos, time signatures, song structures, and setting your markers.  Also, you’re usually capturing two full performances from the rhythm guitarist so you can achieve stereo guitars.  All these things slow down this step but believe me if you get this right it’ll make the rest of the recording process much easier.  You don’t want to be the band that completely tracks all the guitars for a song just to find out that it was the wrong tempo and you have to start over.  Yet another reason pre-production is so important. 

DRUMS

Recording the drums can really mess up the tracking order more than any other instrument.  Once you set up and start recording drums, you can’t tear them down and move them.  You can’t tear them down to go perform a live set.  You can’t tear them down just because the session is over.  And you can’t tear them down because you need the space to track another instrument.  Once they’re set up and you start recording, you have to commit to leaving them up for the duration of the drum tracking.  Any attempt to tear them down and move them will prevent you from achieving a consistent drum sound on your record.  Studios go to great lengths to acclimate the drums, maintain a consistent temperature and humidity in the studio, and prevent anyone from touching, playing, or moving the drums even the smallest bit just to have a fighting chance of maintaining a consistent drum tone throughout the record. For this reason, we tend to prioritize drum recording towards the front half of the session and knock them out before anything has a chance to screw it all up.  On the other hand, the really savvy bands are using MIDI drums throughout the entire recording process and save the actual drum tracking for the very end of the session.  This allows the songs to be restructured and stringed instrument parts to be changed or rewritten without being restricted by the previously recorded drums that were torn down and can’t be set back up for re-recording.  But beware, some drummers can’t perform at high levels for a full 8-10 hour tracking day so stacking up nothing but drums for the very end couple days of the session might be counterproductive.  

BASS

I stopped asking the vocalist if they needed the bass tracked before they began tracking vocals.  They all say “nah, I’m good” when I know for a fact that the missing energy in a mix that comes from the bass guitar will negatively impact their performances.  Even if they say they’re good without it.  I stopped tracking vocals before bass years ago unless there’s just no other choice.  And when that happens, I crank the shit out of the guitar low end to try and drum up just a little extra excitement in the mix to coax the best possible performance out of the vocalist.  Believe me, I’d prefer to track bass after the vocalists just so I don’t have to listen to the bass players complain about not knowing where they are in the song without the vocals.  And I’m not complaining about the bass players, I totally get it.  As a drummer, I enjoy following the vocalist and building off their energy.  But sometimes we have to do what’s best for the final product and more people will notice a lackluster vocal performance than weak bass playing.  

VOCALS

Start this step at the earliest possible stage in the recording process if you want the best possible vocals on your record.  Also, stretch out the vocal recording over the longest possible period that your budget allows.  If you can, the vocalist should be wrapping up the very last day in the studio with their last song.  This spreads out all of their performances over the maximum number of days and gives them the best chance for rest and healing between songs to give you their best possible performances in the vocal booth.  For this one single reason, I start vocal tracking the second we finish the bass guitar on the first song. 

NOW WHAT?

Although this tracking order will give us the best vocals, I absolutely hate it because tracking instruments this way is the slowest possible momentum you can achieve because you’re constantly switching gears between switching instruments and it ruins all the flow.  Don’t worry, you’ll get a chance to build better momentum once you’ve knocked out the first song worth of vocals because your vocalist needs some time to rest.  Now’s your chance to scratch off two more songs of rhythm guitar, two more drums, and two more bass before coming back around to vocals again.  Unfortunately, you don’t have the time to work on anything but rhythm guitar, drums, and bass tracking because you need to continue to build up songs for the vocalist to work with.  You’ll have to skip on any extra fx, guitars, keys or what not until later in the session.  This is also where the tracking order can start to be dictated by the vocal health of the vocalist.  If they’re feeling great and they’re ready to hop in the booth, you might only get one more song tracked on guitar/drums/bass.  If the vocalist is having an off day, you might knock out three more songs worth of instruments before they’re ready again.  

GUITAR LEADS AND/OR KEYS

The second you finish tracking rhythm guitar you can start working on guitar leads or keys.  Until then, your job is to keep building the songs for the vocalist.  But once you hit this point, you’re ready to start bringing in new elements.  And who knows, your vocalist might be ready for a break and you need to keep moving in a forward direction on the tracking.  Another great reason these parts are so far down on the list is because we want the guitar and bass to provide us with a clear picture of the key and vibe of the song when we’re wrapping up writing leads and keys in the studio.  Again, do your damn pre-production and you won’t be wasting time writing in the studio.  Another reason I prefer tracking guitar leads after vocals is to get a better feel for the arrangement and how the lead guitars can fit the needs of the song better.  If you have your vocals tracked, you’ll easily identify holes in the arrangement where lead guitar is actually needed and not just filler.  Or you might identify where the lead guitar is too much and actually needs to be reduced.  

IN THE MEANTIME

Piano, FX, percussion, strings, post-production, and what not can all be used to fill in the blanks.  Waiting for dinner to arrive and no one wants to get started on the next song?  This is the perfect time to audition bass drops and string quartets and talk about the transitions between tracks or verify that your feature vocalist is scheduled for the correct session time next week.  If you’re the project manager of a session, you should always have an ongoing list of things to accomplish during “down time”.  This is a great time to do drum or guitar tech work, or edit something, or organize session files, or comp vocal takes.   Even if the vocalist can’t sing, they can assist with any vocal tuning questions you may have.  Or this might be a great time to chat about kick drum samples with the drummer.  No matter what, you always have something that needs doing until the album is complete.  

REST

Don’t forget to rest.  You can work until 3 AM if you want too, but your work is going to suffer and it’s going to show.  Every single time I’ve tracked a vocalist when they were too tired or burnt out we’ve had to go back and re-track everything they did that night.  At the time they thought they were doing fine but when they listened with fresh ears they realized how sub-par their performance was.  Make sure to plan rest periods, dinner breaks, and schedule tracking sessions that prevent you from working more than 10 hours in a row.  I don’t care who you are, you’re nowhere near peak performance during your ninth hour in the chair, fifth song on the instrument, or third song in standing in the vocal booth.  

THAT’S A WRAP

As you can see, there’s a lot of thought that goes into why we track which instruments in which order.  And furthermore, you can see how so many variables work against you to achieve the perfect tracking order.  All you can do is try.  If you can get the band on board with the why, you can make them your partners working towards the same goals and achieve something great.  The key is to try for the best and adapt to the rest.  And don’t worry, give it your all and everything will work out just fine.