Dont touch the mic while recording

It is of major importance to let the mic be a mic while it is recording. Touching or cupping the mic can create a lot of issues in your recording that cannot be taken care of properly in the mix.

​

 

​

Use no effects while recording

 

Record the tracks dry and unprocessed, unless it is essential for the track (like for example an amped E-Guitar). We are living in a time where you can work with up to hundreds of plugins in one session, so printing effects while recording is not necessary at all and narrows the options of the mixing engineer you send the tracks to (or your own options when mixing it yourself later). 

 

 

 

Keep the appropriate distance to the mic

 

This distance varies for every instrument and the kind of sound you're looking for. For example you normally keep about half a meter of distance minimum when recording a violin. When recording vocals, mostly it's around 20 centimeters. Some singers use the proximity effect too, this should be well overthought though, as it is irreversible, once recorded. 

 

 

 

Make sure your stereo recordings make sense and are mono-compatible/downward-compatible

 

The goal for your final, mastered track is to sound great on as many systems as possible. This includes mono systems. Mono- or downward compatible basically means that the stereo track still sounds good when being forced to play in mono. This is of huge importance, for example if you want to get played on major radio stations - these normally require tracks to be mono compatible for a set of reasons. Also, many people nowadays listen to music on their phone speaker or small portable speakers, which mostly are mono speakers. Adding to that, some clubs, bars or cafés for example use mono systems since a stereo setup wouldn't make sense for their room shapes. You can check mono compatibility with a correlation meter. There are many plugins, even for free download.

​

You should also think about when and if recording in stereo actually makes sense for your production. As an example; usually, it doesn't make sense to record a single voice in stereo since there is no width or movement in the sound source contrary to, as an example, recording a piano. Recording pianos in stereo makes a lot of sense in most cases since there is a lot of width to gain there and it sounds natural to have the lower keys on the left hand side and the higher ones on the right. Recording drumkits in stereo (for example with overheads) also makes sense. Recording a single trumpet player in stereo doesn't make sense in most cases. You get the picture.

 

 

 

Invest in room treatment (or make some yourself)

 

Having an untreated room, in the worst case an empty room with very few objects in it, mostly results in having phase problems when recording. This occurs since the walls reflect the sound waves, which causes them to 'overlap' with the original wave, creating phase cancellation in most cases. Recordings with phase issues mostly sound muddy and unclear. Recordings with heavy phase issues cannot be saved in the mix in most cases, it will sound unclean. Also, the flatter your walls are, the more likely you will get standing waves causing phase issues.

 

 

 

Use XLR-Cables if possible

 

To reduce the amount of noise and crackles in your recordings it is of upmost importance that you use balanced (XLR) cables, since these cables are isolated from electric signals that could potentionally add noise to your signal. Also, using a quality interface benefits the sound.

 

 

 

Try to record when you're relaxed and in a good mood for recording

 

Performance can be very mood based, so you might want to record when you're feeling great and ready for it. Forcing yourself to record something or recording under pressure will (in most cases) affect your results negatively.

​

​

​

​

Avoid recording in noisy places

 

Having a lot of background noise, like for example traffic noise from outside, can affect your recording negatively, especially if you record more than one track. The noise on the tracks sums up, giving you a higher level of ground noise than usual. If you have the option, try to isolate your recording room as good as you can, or record in a location where it is more quiet, or at a more quiet time of the day (when there is not that much traffic, for example).