Making a Song At Chicago Recording Studio - Untold Stories Recordings: Step One Recording (VIDEO)
Welcome to Untold Stories Recordings, the premier recording studio in Chicago dedicated to delivering professional and exceptional music production. Today, we'll explore the first step in making a song: Recording. Let's delve into the details and learn about the process and estimated timeframes.
Recording is the vital stage where we capture your performance with utmost precision. As experienced recording engineers at Untold Stories Recordings, we pay meticulous attention to the following technical aspects:
Placement in the room: The positioning of the artist or instrument within the studio space plays a pivotal role in defining the overall sound.
Mic distance and placement: We carefully determine the optimal distance and placement of the microphone, taking into account the unique characteristics of your voice or instrument. This allows us to achieve the desired sound, whether it's a bassy, distant ambiance, a super intimate tone, or capturing the richest nuances of the instrument.
Throughout the recording session, we maintain a vigilant eye on the microphone's volume levels. Our preferred range typically falls between -12dB to -8dB, providing ample headroom for subsequent stages like mixing and mastering.
We kindly request that you avoid excessive movement during the recording process, ensuring consistency in your positioning relative to the microphone. This allows you to fully focus on delivering an energetic and captivating performance.
For singers and rappers, capturing vocals for a song usually takes around 1-2 hours. If we're recording instruments, a similar timeframe is allocated per instrument. It's important to note that we don't merely record a single vocal or instrument track. For vocals, we meticulously record the intro, outro, stacks, ad-libs, harmonies, hooks, and often break down verses into 8-bar segments to ensure perfection.
In the case of instruments, we often record multiple performances of rhythm guitars, allowing us to create a rich and expansive mix in the later stages.
If you're a rapper or singer providing an instrumental to sing or rap over, anticipate a recording duration of 1-2 hours to capture all the vocals. For bands encompassing guitars, drums, vocals, and bass, allocate approximately one to two hours per instrument.
Please note that these time estimates assume preparedness. Should you wish to experiment or arrive unprepared, it may extend the recording timeframe.
Stay tuned for our upcoming article where we'll delve into the next step: Producing a track after it has been recorded! Feel free to reach out to us at Untold Stories Recordings in Chicago, IL, if you have any inquiries about recording. We're here to assist you on your musical journey.