Back in the day, nearly every song was recorded by a group of musicians in a studio session. With multi-track tape systems and exceptionally talented session players it was simply the smartest, most efficient way to record music.
The idea of a live recording session has always seemed daunting to me, especially since I made played every instrument in my songs until a few years ago. But the idea of recording a group of musicians playing together while maintaining complete mixing control was always an idea that excited me.
why record a live take?
In the modern era of computers and DAWs, it definitely seems unnecessary and difficult to record every instrument of a song at the same time. In fact, I put it off for a while, thinking that recording each instrument with complete tonal control and no microphone bleed was significantly easier. It wasn't until I started really jamming with the band live that I realized that there was an awesome pocket or groove that occurs when a group of musicians can play together that honesty seems to disappear when recording to a click track.
The other benefit is how efficient and easy it becomes to record an entire song. What would normally take 3 or 4 recording sessions can be accomplished in one single session!
Drawbacks
The biggest drawback I've had to handle is the technology side of things. While the old tape machines had 24 tracks, each with inputs, computers have unlimited tracks, usually with one or two inputs. Unless you would like to spend a lot of money, there aren't a lot of interfaces with more than four or eight microphone inputs.
The other issue lies in something called Mic Bleed where microphones pick up instruments they aren't supposed to. This problem can be minimized, and honestly, as long as it isn't a lot, my personal opinion is that it adds depth and "glue" to a mix!
My first live take session
One day I was on a walk, listening to the great Steve Winwood sing Gimme Some Lovin' with the Spencer Davis Group, when an epiphany struck me!
We could use multiple computers to record a song.
That solution worked quite nicely! With three computers, we could record two mono inputs into each interface, or one stereo source. I ended up gathering the band into Anna's basement apartment, and we recorded an entire song. One computer took drums and bass while another took guitar and vocals. The Third computer took a left and right for the organ.
Here is how it turned out!
While our cover of Gimme Some Lovin' was successful, it was definitely difficult. Many things went wrong! A camera fell in the middle of the take, and the compressor on our Bass amp blew out halfway through, making the Bass bleed through all the microphones at an unholy level.
It took a lot of mixing to get that song to the stage it's at now. But I would definitely say it was a success.
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