Many of us will agree that mixing is far more fun and exciting than recording.
We get to mess around with cool plugins, and we get the feeling that "this is where the magic happens".
Recording, on the other hand, can seem boring and technical.
Running around connecting cables, setting levels, and moving mics.
But this way of thinking (and working) is holding us back from getting far better mixes.
Recording Is The Most Important Stage Yes, you read it right.
It's much more important than mixing or mastering.
Your recordings will define the sound of your final mix more than anything else.
Mixing and mastering are very powerful and important processes, but they have their limits.
Bad recordings will eventually turn into a bad mix, not matter how good of a mixing engineer you are.
Yes you can use EQ, compression, saturation, reverb, and all of the tools and processing your gear can offer, but they all have limits, there are things that can't be changed once recorded.
To get a pro sounding mix, you must first get pro sounding recordings.
What Makes A Good Recording?
Recording is not about "getting something to mix", it's about capturing a sound and a performance in the best way possible. While recording can be affected by many things, the end results can be measured in two aspects:
Performance, and Sound
These two should go together in order to get a good recording.
Focusing only on one of them is not enough.
Good Performance
Every good recording starts with a good performance.
It is true that getting a good performance relies more on the musician (whether it's you or not), than the recording engineer.
But sometimes we have to put the producer hat on, and push the musicians to their best, to get the best take they can deliver.
If you're mixing a rock song and you want a rocking drum sound, there's no way to get that if the drummer hits the drums too softly.
If the guitar player can't play his solo, it doesn't matter how good his tone is.
Your performance should be aimed towards the sound you desire.
Good Sound
Getting a good performance will get you half way to a great sound, but you still have to capture it as best as you can.
Many of us rush the recording stage, just to get to the mixing stage faster.
"Just slap a mic on it and we're good to go".
Don't do that. Don't compromise about the sound and performance of your recordings.
Take your time, experiment with different mic positions, try out different microphones, find the best location in your room, look for the right techniques for the situation, and make sure to check your levels.
Put all of your efforts into getting the best recordings you can.
That's the only way you'll be able to get a great sounding mix.
The Final Mix Can Only Sound As Good As The Recordings
You can't get an amazing mix from bad recordings.
How many times have your heard someone saying: "Don't worry, we'll fix it in the mix".
That's one of the worst things you can do.
Why fix it in the mix when you can fix it now?
Don't record problems to deal with later, solve them on the spot and get a great recording that is "mix ready", or at least close to that. Recording is hard and challenging, especially in the home studio.
Sometimes we even have to record an entire band with just one microphone in an untreated room.
But don't let that hold you back, do everything you can to get better recordings.
Even if it means moving stuff around the room to find the best spot to record, or hanging blankets on the walls to get better acoustics.
Why Am I Putting So Much Weight On Recording?
Because this is the one thing that will truly define the sound of your mix, the sound of your music.
There's always a limit to what (or how much) you can do when mixing or mastering.
Recording is really "where the magic happens", rather than mixing, even if it seems like the opposite.
The faster you realize that, the better you'll do for your music.
Did you ever record tracks that gave you a hard time while mixing?
Do you spend more time recording than your are mixing?
Share your experience with us in the comments bellow!
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