The 4 Stages of Crafting the Perfect Track

Perfection may be unattainable, but we all want our recordings to sound at least as good as our live performances. Here are the 4 stages I go through in order to get my tracks to sound flawless:

1. The Performance

It all starts in front of the microphone. The closer you get to a perfect take while recording, the less work you’ll need to do later. Practice the part. Do only as many takes as you need so that you don’t burn yourself out. If you’re recording someone else, make sure they’re comfortable. Give them space. And don’t sweat the small stuff; remember, you’ve got other tricks up your sleeve.

2. Comping*

Record multiple takes. Most DAWs will create a take folder from which you can choose the best takes of each part of the performance and combine them in a process known as “comping.” It can be tricky to get the clips to flow as if they were recorded together, but if you take the time to find the right spots to make your edits, you should be able to eliminate any clicks, pops, or awkward silences and piece together the best version of the performance.

3. Timing Adjustment

If you’ve already comped your takes and something still doesn’t sound right, listen to the track in solo. If the performance sounds better in isolation, you might just need to adjust the timing of particular sections. You can cut them from the track and drag them slightly forward or backward as independent clips. You’ll want to make sure to add crossfades in order to prevent new clicks, pops, or awkward silences.

And when all else fails…

4. Copy/paste*

Chances are, your song has sections that repeat. You can use this to your advantage by cloning the best parts and using them to replace identical parts with noticeable flaws. For instance, if the performer played the first chorus perfectly but flubbed the second, you can delete the second chorus and replace it with a copy of the first. Don’t forget the crossfades!

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*Stages 2 & 4 almost require the use of a click track. I’ve talked about the benefits of recording with a metronome in another post.

Of course, I don't necessarily go through all 4 stages every time I craft a track. The goal is always to capture the best performance during Stage 1 so that I don't need to spend as much time and energy editing my tracks, but I've found that at least considering each of these strategies in this order seems to be the most efficient way for me to get from a blank canvas to a track that's ready to be mixed and mastered.