Hypnotist
Ear Manipulator
ill o.g.
It is imperative that you start keeping notes for ALL your sessions. So many times in production, we go back to something that we started weeks to months ago, sometimes years ago, and don't remember where we left off. And one of the most important parts about keeping notes is when you hand a project off to someone else. If they knew your thoughts along the way, along with some key settings, it just makes things much easier down the road.
Here are some basic tips on how to make some good production notes:
Recall Sheets:
If you have outboard gear and other hardware, make notes on where knobs and/or faders are, and what programs are loaded, parameters, (reverb times, etc) compression ratios, gain outputs, and whatever else you may do to your outboard gear. Software is easy to recall; you just load up your session and BOOM - it's all there. But with most outboard gear, you can't just push a button (there are some exceptions) and have everything be exactly the way you left it. You may be making a beat, recording a vocal, or mixing a song when you say to yourself... WAIT, how did I get that deep bass sound that time? What did I do to solve this problem with the compressor when my levels were hot? Who killed JFK? Okay, there are some things that you really can't recall in the studio. But for everything else, there's recall sheets. These are basically snapshots of your equipment that you can draw in fader marks, knob settings, parameters, etc. and recall your project. You can make them yourself, or you can find some online, like this site: http://www.barryrudolph.com/pages/recalldirectory.html
Comments in Pro Tools and other software:
This is something that takes a second to do, and it will save with your session. USE IT! In the comments section in Pro Tools, you have room to write what microphone was used on certain tracks/takes, positions of where the fader was before you made a slight change to tweak your mix, who was on the gang-vocal track when they said "Yea Yea!", and anything else relevant to a specific track. Now if you go back and overdub anything, it's all there. Wasn't that easy?
Production journal:
At the end of a project, it's good to keep basic notes on how the session went, where you went wrong, how you fixed it, and what you took pride in during the session. It's good to look back at and see your progress, and when you put into words what you've done, it makes what you've learned stick to your ribs. No, sorry, that's mashed potatoes. But when you apply what you learned, and verbalize it, you're adding a whole other dimension to your understanding of your process, and you become a well-rounded engineer/producer/beatmaker/composer/lyricist etc. Here are a few basic questions you can ask yourself after and during a session:
1. What worked, and why?
2. What didn't work, and why?
3. What did you do to fix what didn't work?
4. Is there anything else you could have done, or plan to do in future sessions?
5. Does this have potential in the music market, and why?
6. (for beat prod) List emcees that you can picture on this beat (excluding yourself)
7. (if you worked with other people) How was it working with ___ and what can you do next time to ensure that it goes smoother and more efficient?
8. How do you feel about the overall production?
Feel free to fill in anything you can think of, and add to this list.
9. What mood was I in when I recorded this?
10. What kind of trees did we blaze in the studio that night?
11. Should we have bought doritos BEFORE we smoked and got all ready to record?
Mic/Instrument/Gear List:
Make a list of gear used, microphones used, the media you used and printed to (CD, 1/2" analog tape, SSL 9000J console, Mackie Mixer, etc). If you ever go back to working on a session, you know exactly what to use to make an attempt to replicate what you've done. Imagine if your artist forgot to use the words "my peoples" instead of "my n****z" and now you want to do a radio edit, and you use some other microphone that sounds NOTHING like the one you used. Yea, that would suck to be you. It would take much longer, and you'll probably have to redo the entire take, and your artist would get pissed because his original was PERFECT. Never take that away from an artist.
Credits:
Make sure you document who did what on the session, and other relevant info that could be on the album.
Date: 4/26/06
Producer: Hypnotist
Artist/Talent: Hypnotist
Recording Engineer: Hypnotist
Mix Engineer: Hypnotist
Production: Hypnotist
Studio: Hypnotist, I mean B
Sample credits: Bob Marley & the Wailers, Aretha Franklin
More Documentation:
Take Sheets: These are from the tape days, when a band or artist would do things live and you'd write down the take # and the time code on tape. Outdated, but still good to have around just in case.
Track Sheets: This is a sheet with 24 or so boxes (labeled 1-24) that have all your instruments on what tracks. A common setup is Kick, Snare, Hat, Tom1, Tom2, FL Tom, Overhead L, Overhead R, Room Mic L, Room Mic R, Bass, Lead Guitar, Ac Guitar L, Ac Guitar R, Keys L, Keys R, Lead Vox, Vox2, Vox3, Background Vox L, Background Vox R, Claps, Tamborine, Samples from Porno Video
Mic Input Sheet: If you're in the studio, and you have all these mics in your studio tie box, when you get back into the control room, you have no idea where they're coming in. Fill this sheet out when you plug your mics in, and it saves you tons of trouble later, when you're wondering why your snare is leaking so much into your kick track and vice versa.
I didn't cover everything, so feel free to add to any of this info. Please share with us other Illmuzik bastards what you jot down during and after and before a session. I might add some of my actual production notes from certain sessions so that there's an example, and feel free to do so if I forget.
Pce,
-Hypno
Here are some basic tips on how to make some good production notes:
Recall Sheets:
If you have outboard gear and other hardware, make notes on where knobs and/or faders are, and what programs are loaded, parameters, (reverb times, etc) compression ratios, gain outputs, and whatever else you may do to your outboard gear. Software is easy to recall; you just load up your session and BOOM - it's all there. But with most outboard gear, you can't just push a button (there are some exceptions) and have everything be exactly the way you left it. You may be making a beat, recording a vocal, or mixing a song when you say to yourself... WAIT, how did I get that deep bass sound that time? What did I do to solve this problem with the compressor when my levels were hot? Who killed JFK? Okay, there are some things that you really can't recall in the studio. But for everything else, there's recall sheets. These are basically snapshots of your equipment that you can draw in fader marks, knob settings, parameters, etc. and recall your project. You can make them yourself, or you can find some online, like this site: http://www.barryrudolph.com/pages/recalldirectory.html
Comments in Pro Tools and other software:
This is something that takes a second to do, and it will save with your session. USE IT! In the comments section in Pro Tools, you have room to write what microphone was used on certain tracks/takes, positions of where the fader was before you made a slight change to tweak your mix, who was on the gang-vocal track when they said "Yea Yea!", and anything else relevant to a specific track. Now if you go back and overdub anything, it's all there. Wasn't that easy?
Production journal:
At the end of a project, it's good to keep basic notes on how the session went, where you went wrong, how you fixed it, and what you took pride in during the session. It's good to look back at and see your progress, and when you put into words what you've done, it makes what you've learned stick to your ribs. No, sorry, that's mashed potatoes. But when you apply what you learned, and verbalize it, you're adding a whole other dimension to your understanding of your process, and you become a well-rounded engineer/producer/beatmaker/composer/lyricist etc. Here are a few basic questions you can ask yourself after and during a session:
1. What worked, and why?
2. What didn't work, and why?
3. What did you do to fix what didn't work?
4. Is there anything else you could have done, or plan to do in future sessions?
5. Does this have potential in the music market, and why?
6. (for beat prod) List emcees that you can picture on this beat (excluding yourself)
7. (if you worked with other people) How was it working with ___ and what can you do next time to ensure that it goes smoother and more efficient?
8. How do you feel about the overall production?
Feel free to fill in anything you can think of, and add to this list.
9. What mood was I in when I recorded this?
10. What kind of trees did we blaze in the studio that night?
11. Should we have bought doritos BEFORE we smoked and got all ready to record?
Mic/Instrument/Gear List:
Make a list of gear used, microphones used, the media you used and printed to (CD, 1/2" analog tape, SSL 9000J console, Mackie Mixer, etc). If you ever go back to working on a session, you know exactly what to use to make an attempt to replicate what you've done. Imagine if your artist forgot to use the words "my peoples" instead of "my n****z" and now you want to do a radio edit, and you use some other microphone that sounds NOTHING like the one you used. Yea, that would suck to be you. It would take much longer, and you'll probably have to redo the entire take, and your artist would get pissed because his original was PERFECT. Never take that away from an artist.
Credits:
Make sure you document who did what on the session, and other relevant info that could be on the album.
Date: 4/26/06
Producer: Hypnotist
Artist/Talent: Hypnotist
Recording Engineer: Hypnotist
Mix Engineer: Hypnotist
Production: Hypnotist
Studio: Hypnotist, I mean B
Sample credits: Bob Marley & the Wailers, Aretha Franklin
More Documentation:
Take Sheets: These are from the tape days, when a band or artist would do things live and you'd write down the take # and the time code on tape. Outdated, but still good to have around just in case.
Track Sheets: This is a sheet with 24 or so boxes (labeled 1-24) that have all your instruments on what tracks. A common setup is Kick, Snare, Hat, Tom1, Tom2, FL Tom, Overhead L, Overhead R, Room Mic L, Room Mic R, Bass, Lead Guitar, Ac Guitar L, Ac Guitar R, Keys L, Keys R, Lead Vox, Vox2, Vox3, Background Vox L, Background Vox R, Claps, Tamborine, Samples from Porno Video
Mic Input Sheet: If you're in the studio, and you have all these mics in your studio tie box, when you get back into the control room, you have no idea where they're coming in. Fill this sheet out when you plug your mics in, and it saves you tons of trouble later, when you're wondering why your snare is leaking so much into your kick track and vice versa.
I didn't cover everything, so feel free to add to any of this info. Please share with us other Illmuzik bastards what you jot down during and after and before a session. I might add some of my actual production notes from certain sessions so that there's an example, and feel free to do so if I forget.
Pce,
-Hypno
