📑 Sections (5)

Quick guide: record the song

The recording session from start to finish: decisions up front, format, instrument order, levels, monitoring and editing.

This guide organizes the whole session. For each instrument’s setup, every step links to its quick guide. The idea is to record from the foundation up, so you don’t redo what’s already there.

The order
Decidetempo and key
Preparesession and format
Recordfrom the foundation up
Editwhat's distracting
Saveversion and backup

1. Decide before recording

  • Tempo: test it by playing to a click.
  • Structure: mark intro, verse, chorus and solo on the arrangement ruler.
  • Key and tuning: try the highest part of the vocal before recording the foundation.
🔴 Set this NOW· in recording

MIDI adapts if the tempo or key changes, but guitars, bass and vocals have to be recorded again.

2. Prepare the session

  • Format: 48 kHz and 24 bits.
  • Buffer: 64 or 128 samples. If there are dropouts, raise it one step.
  • Named mono inputs: “Guitar DI”, “Bass DI” and “Vocal NT2-A”, in Song Setup → Audio I/O Setup.
  • Buses and effects: drums, bass, guitars and vocals, plus a reverb and a delay.
  • Template: save all this as a template for the next song.

3. Record in this order

  1. Drums: the groove’s skeleton in MIDI, because everyone plays over it.
  2. Rhythm guitar: it defines the chords and accents. With it you can adjust the kick.
  3. Bass: against the kick, in a single take.
  4. Vocals: with the foundation ready.
  5. Solos, doubles and details: at the end, because they depend on everything else.

If the song is born from the vocal or a riff, first record a quick guide track of that part and delete it later.

4. Levels and monitoring

  • Recording peaks: −12 to −6 dBFS on the loudest part. Set on the iD44.
  • Superior Drummer 3: peaks of −10 to −6 dBFS per channel.
  • Fader at 0 dB while recording, so the meter shows what’s coming in.
  • Guitar and bass with amp sim: blue button on and channel lowered in the iD mixer.
  • Vocals: direct monitoring on in the iD mixer and blue button off.

5. Editing

  • Choose the best full take and replace only what fails.
  • Cut before an attack or in a silence, with a short fade.
  • Correct the timing only where it’s distracting, starting with bass and kick.
  • Give it a time limit. If nothing pulls you out of the song when listening without looking at the screen, you’re done.

6. Close the stage

  • Convert to audio what you settle on, with Transform to Audio, and keep the DIs and MIDI.
  • Save a numbered version: Song_v1_recording.
  • Make a backup outside the computer.

Checklist

Before moving on to the mix

  1. Tempo, structure and key decided.
  2. Drums with the groove locked to the riff.
  3. Rhythm guitars doubled with two different takes.
  4. Bass locked to the kick.
  5. Vocals with energy, in layers and with the final take built.
  6. No take with clipping.
  7. DIs and MIDI saved.
  8. Numbered version and backup done.

Expected result

Expected result

All the parts recorded, with no clipping, in tune and in time, with the DIs and MIDI safe. It’ll sound raw, and that’s fine. To understand each decision, continue with the session and the order. When it’s ready, go on to the mixing quick guide.