Let's talk multiple takes and comping

[AllanD]

How many of you guys are doing this as a normal thing? I'm seeing it pop up more and more in threads, and I've actually never done it in my life, one good take and move on.


How do yall approach this? Every single section do you do a new take? How many separate takes are you doing? When do you decide it's enough takes? How are you comping all of the together?

 

[Machinated]

do it all the time, logic's quick swipe comping makes it so easy. if you are using pro tools use playlists.

keep doing takes until there is enough "good" parts of each section to put together. drums i tend to get about 5 or 6 good passes of each section to really make sure theres enough.

 

[Terminus]

I try and do every riff 3 times as takes (which with a double tracked guitar would come out to 6 different takes per riff) just in case I hear any flubs later when listening. I just go riff by riff on both guitars until the song is done to satisfaction and that's it. Same with bass, leads and vocals.

If you can do well enough it in one take, more power to ya.

 

[blackbull]

I've always recorded by just playing each section till it's perfect. Gonna try this next time, I have no idea why i've never bothered to try..

 

[Plendakor]

Comping mode in Reason 6 is a great tool. I'd say it's new to me, but definatly a great way to play in loop and select the perfect takes or parts of a take.

 

[Manicompression]

With some drummers ive recorded, they dont play the same fills and stuff exactly the same way twice so its nice to have some options, but it is a pain in the ass to sort through so I try not to get more than two or three takes. With rythem guitars i wouldnt want to do this, just go untill its right, but i could see the merit in doing leads this way.

 

[Sloan]

I typically try to do whole song takes for everything, trying to get the whole thing as tight as possible with each take. Then I go back and use the most solid track as THE ONE, then comp parts from other takes to improve the track if possible. This especially applies to drums because I want to chop them up as little as possible.

Some things I do find is less time consuming to do in chunks, like bass.

 

[Melb_shredder]

I usually get Guitarists/ Bassists to do shit riff at a time and get it as perfect as I like to think it is From there, I'll get another take or two if I feel it's needed for certain characteristics etc. But that's really it... 1 main take, maybe 2nd, 3rd IF need be

Drums is always 3-4 takes of a song so I can comp together what need be!

 

[Nimvi]

On guitars I usually play as much as I can without messing up/becoming untight, and then I do that part again until I get 2 quality takes; maybe 3, if it's a part of the song that will stick out very much.
On slower songs this can mean that I play half the song in one take, but on fast tremolopicking and chug parts, I usually record per riff, because I keep much more control over the muscles in those short bursts. I prefer not to do too much editing.
Solos I often track in sections. I don't mind minor mistakes in solos, if it makes them sound organic. If it sounds cool, it is cool.

On bass I often only need one good take, but that is because most of my bass parts aren't very complex. Just carrying the song. As long as it's tight, and picked hard, I'm happy with it.

On vocals I usually try to do the entire song in 1 take, but I always end up getting weak towards the end, so I just add 2 more overdubs for every part after a break.
What I also like to do on vocals is to record 3 styles of screams for most parts. Deep growl, mid growl, and higher scream. Gives me a choice of palette when I need it during the edit/mix, and also enables the option to underline certain words and sentences by combining them when I feel it adds to the excitement of the song.

 

[if6was9]

I do it all the time, but it really depends on the band and the player how many takes I need to get and how long I let them do in each take. It'd be nice to get a full take and not do any edits but in reality you might never get "the" take so editing them together is a great way of getting great results and making good use of time and skill.

I also feel it takes some of the pressure off the players, if they know they can make a tiny mistake and it's not a huge deal they tend to be more relaxed and play better.

 

[Uros]

Not much comping here for metal unfortunately, only vocals get that treating (drums sometimes). Mostly it's one riff/section at the time, 'till we are satisfied.

 

[DanLights]

More than 3 takes is shooting yourself in the foot IMO, you're never gonna listen through all those takes. I've only done it with vocals and sometimes drums, but 2 takes only, each making sure it's a perfectly usable take by itself

 

[Paminar]

I think it´s a cool tool for soloing and vocals, maybe for "weird" rythm guitrz.

I use to let the takes to overlap and then crossfade between take 1 & 2, it usually works fine, sometimes need more job...

 

[Plendakor]

More than 3 takes is shooting yourself in the foot IMO, you're never gonna listen through all those takes.

I disagree. At least for how I do it.
I record, say a 4 bars, on loop and it stacks the takes.
I just "lock" in the loop and can play it 20 times, then look at their waveform and audition a couple to find the best. I can find another good take from the stack and send it directly to the 2nd track and so it's double-tracked, but from a single hit on the record button.
I play more than 3 takes because the first ones are like warm ups. Works well really.

 

[jENK]

I always do multiple takes with vocals and comp. Also, drums most of the time. It gives me more options for later on. However, too many takes can work against you and it takes forever to sort through. I try to keep it at three or four good takes (at the most) and comp from there.

 

[rvs0002]

I do a whole take and then just punch in on the parts I don't like until they are fixed. I'm too lazy and indecisive when faced with multiple takes to listen through.

 

[Machinated]

That last post is the way I'm doing it, not going over large sections repeatedly but comping together small parts after punching in. Really depends on the part and the players ability, will approach it different every time depending on that.