So far, we have studied sounds as if each instrument was on its own. For example, we have talked about how you’d like your guitar to sound, or the drums, or the bass and so on. But of course, a recording is about how all the sounds work together.

Different instruments cover different areas in the frequency spectrum; for example, a bass guitar is lower than a guitar. Some instruments are capable of covering a large area (a guitar or a piano), while others are more limited (a kick drum).

You may have a preference for certain frequencies; some people love a lot of bass on a record, some people might like high-pitched voices. 

While it is OK to cater for your personal taste, it is a good rule of thumb to cover as much of the frequency spectrum as you can. Obviously, this rule doesn’t apply if you make an artistic choice of recording something with no bass, or something with nothing above a frequency of 5kHz.

Well said, but how do you make sure you cover the frequency spectrum?

Two things can allow you to do this. The actual note you play, and the sound settings you use. Simply put, a pure note corresponds to a specific frequency. But each instrument not only plays that pure note but also certain harmonics. The types of harmonics it plays define the timbre of an instrument; this is what makes a guitar sound different from a piano. More over, external effect processors and recording techniques can affect the harmonics and frequencies.

If you use the same instrument and settings, playing a bass line one octave higher will shift the sound higher in the frequency spectrum. When choosing where to play a chord on a guitar, think about the sound you want in respect to the other sounds on the recording. This is when voicing comes in handy, as it allows you to shift the sound higher or lower in the frequency spectrum.

The other way to alter a sound is by using an effect. While many effects have an effect on the frequency spectrum, EQ is the signal processing effect which will affect the frequency spectrum the most. Simply put, you can boost specify frequencies, or you can lower specific frequencies (or do a mix of boosting and lowering).

Going hand in hand with covering the frequency spectrum is giving room for instruments to breathe within the frequency spectrum.

If you have several guitars for example, you run the risk of having a muddy sound because all the guitars are fighting for space with each other. It doesn’t mean you cannot record several guitars, but you have to work harder to achieve separation between those.

If you have two guitars, you can pan one left and one right, so they effectively use a different space of the stereo. For more guitars, or if you don’t want to use panning, you need to focus the sound of each guitar on a separate area of the frequency spectrum. You can read more about layering guitars here.

I’ve talked about guitars but the same applies to synths, piano, strings and any instrument you want to record.

All this theory is nice and all, but what about taking the plunge? I’ll discuss this next monday.

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