Now, there is some special kind of wizardry these days when it comes to the power of plug-ins when you're mixing.
But unfortunately, there are no fancy mixing tricks that can save a poorly performed recording.
What you record in the room has to have heart and soul. There is no plug-in for a powerful performance.
You can try to save the sound as much as you can (and you can certainly improve things), but there is no "Emotion-Exciter" in your plug-in library.
There is no substitute for that.
When you're recording an artist, making sure they're comfortable is key.
Some artists can't feel comfortable in the studio because the pressure is so different than what they're used to. When musicians perform live, it's a different type of pressure.
It's an exchange of energy between the audience and the performer.
But when you're recording, there's no energy to feed off of. There's just anxiety about getting the best take.
For instance, a singer/songwriter who sings and plays acoustic guitar at the same time feels more comfortable recording that way. They're used to strumming their acoustic and singing. It's a balance they've gotten used to from performing live.
But you, as the engineer, might want as much separation as possible between the instruments. You want them tracked separately to reduce bleed because it makes it easier to mix.
However, when you take the guitar away from the singer/songwriter, they're off-balance. They're missing a crucial ingredient that makes them perform to the best of their abilities.
So what to do then?
Never fear, Björgvin is here with the third and final video in my singer/songwriter video series that helps you get better recordings from your home studio!
