A: Just think of a situation where the band is recording themselves while rehearsing or performing. This is also called by many as demo recording. All of the instruments and vocals are recorded simultaneously.
Q2. We are simultaneously recording ourselves countless times. What makes your approach different from ours? (not applicable)
A: With the benefit of a mixer (both analog and digital), the sound of the recording shall be improved in the following ways:
1) instruments will be individually panned so they don't need to fight over the same sonic space, thus improving stereo imaging.
2) under the digital mixer, primary instruments will be processed by high-quality plug-ins to emulate the world’s best outboard effects and processors.
2) under the analog mixer, secondary instruments will be individually equalized, reverbed or compressed according to taste, so they can improve the sonic mix of the whole song.
3) 7 mics for drums (kick, snare, overhead), upto 3 vocal mics, upto 4 line-in instruments (bass, gtrs, keyboards)
4) mixing is done in a separate soundproofed console, hence guaranteeing better mixing decisions by the studio engineer.
Q3. When does simultaneous recording session begin? (not applicable)
A: Upon the first activation of the record button, you'll be charged 500/hr. Bands or musicians cannot return to the warm-up rate once the record button is activated.
For instance, you can warm-up all you want before recording the 1st song, and you will be only charged 150/hr. But once you start recording the 1st song, you can't ask the studio engineer to stop recording after the end of the 1st song, in order to warm up for the 2nd song, and consequently be only charged for the warm-up rate.
A suggestion is that you rehearse all the songs before telling the studio engineer to start recording. Or better yet, come prepared and don’t warm up anymore. Start demo recording immediately.
Q4: Can the band/musicians rehearse in the studio before simultaneous recording? (not applicable)
A:Yes, only in contemplation of warming up before a scheduled simultaneous recording. Warm-up rate is 150/hr. If the band, in the middle of the warm-up decides not to record, they will be charged the demo recording rate. In short, CL Audio is not a rehearsal studio. It is a recording studio.
A: Drums are first to be recorded. The snare, kick will be miked by dynamic mics, overheads and toms by condenser mics. All such mics shall be routed to the audio interface with 32-bit quality. Each pass of recording will generate 8-9 separate drum tracks into the mixer software (one track for snare, one track for kick etc..). The advantage of this, is that each drum track can be separately processed, as opposed to processing one single drum track (like what happens in simultaneous recording).
While the drummer is recording, he will be accompanied by a guide instrument and vocal and such rough “guides” will also be simultaneously and separately recorded with the drum tracks. The person doing the guides will be in the separate room of console so as to assure that the guide tracks won’t bleed into the drum mics in the studio proper room.
After recording the drums, the sound engineer will then fix the timing and tempo of the tracks. Once the timing and tempo are fixed and finalized, then the other instruments will be recorded (bass, guitars, keyboards), the sequence of which will be the decision of the artist. Bass is preferred next to drums. Recording can be done either in the studio proper or in the console.
Once all instruments are recorded, vocals will then be lastly recorded and the vocalist will be recording in the studio proper for better isolation. Of course, the artist can just record the drums, or just some of the other instruments while deciding not to proceed to record the other instruments. The multitrack recording rate remains the same.
When all tracks are recorded, the artist now then has a choice whether to ask the studio engineer to save or archive all the recorded tracks in a CD, or ask the sound engineer to proceed with the additional service of initial mix and mastering. See Question and Answer 10 on the difference between initial mix and client sit-in mix and Question and Answer 11 on archiving.