Multitrack Recording

Record a band with a single microphone and you capture one blended sound: if the guitar is too loud, it stays too loud. Multitrack recording keeps each source on its own track. The vocal, the bass, each drum microphone and the keyboards can all be adjusted separately later, in mixing.

Two ways to fill the tracks

• All at once: several microphones and inputs record at the same time, one track per source. This captures the energy of musicians playing together, but sound from each instrument also reaches the other microphones, called bleed or spill, which limits how much one part can be changed later.
• One part at a time: a foundation is recorded first, often drums or a guide part, and the other parts are added on top while listening back, which is called overdubbing. This gives the most control and lets one person play every part.

Most productions combine the two: a rhythm section recorded together, then vocals, solos and extra parts overdubbed.

From tape to the DAW

Multitrack recording began on tape machines that recorded several parallel tracks on one reel of tape, and each increase in the number of tracks gave producers more freedom. Today a DAW records as many tracks as your computer and audio interface can handle, and each track can be copied, edited and processed without wearing out.

A typical recording session

1. Plan the tracks. Decide which parts will be recorded together and which overdubbed, and set the tempo and click track if you use one.
2. Set levels. Adjust each input's gain so it records strongly but never clips.
3. Record the foundation: drums, bass, and a guide vocal or keyboard.
4. Overdub the remaining parts, checking each against the foundation.
5. Edit, choose the best takes, and mix down to a stereo file.

Tracks, stems and mixes

A song recorded this way can be shared at different levels of detail: the full multitracks (every individual track), stems (grouped submixes, such as all drums or all vocals; see stem), or the final stereo mix.