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Recording in a studio vs. recording a live show

Recording: The process of capturing data or translating information to a format saved on a storage medium. The environment in which you capture sound though, makes a big difference. Being in a recording studio is not the same as a stage. In the early days of recording, bands didn't have a choice. The only way of capturing an entire band was to do it all together, in one take, and that was it. As technology evolved, so did the recording process. Now we have all sorts of tools and techniques to capture and manipulate audio, which if used correctly and to good taste, can create a beautifully processed song and albums.

When you record in a studio you have the space and time to try things. By this I mean to do more than one take, so that you can later choose which you prefer or sounds best. You can experiment with micing techniques, record one instrument at a time, and built it up little by little. When you record a live performance you commit to whatever the set up is, and yes, there will always be bleed, no matter how hard you might try to isolate but you will be able to capture the band or artist doing what they do best, perform. So, why do people choose to recording in a studio so much more than recording a live show?

It has become the norm to record in a studio because it is the best possible way to get clean sounding audio. Also, because it provides the ability to treat the files pretty much how ever you'd like. The musician, engineer and/or producer can decide they don't like something, and go back and change it. Unfortunately though, because of the pressure of "being in the studio" and the discomfort of being without an audience or stage, many artists don't achieve the same performance in a studio as they can during a live performance.

This last statement is what made my personal preference, which is live audio. In my experience, it took a lot for the musicians to feel as confident in a studio as they did performing on a stage, and that is, if they got there at all. I realized that I'd much rather put the effort into recording a band in their element, then out of it. Recording live is not easy either, don't get me wrong. For the musicians, the pressure is on, and for an engineer, the quest for perfection is the biggest priority. The show will be grab as it received and processed with more factors embedded, but at the end, you can have a recording you will enjoy.

BAMM.tv does live recordings and it even gives you the opportunity to do two takes, just in case you felt the first one wasn't good enough, or it had a little something that you know you can do better. I think this format is pretty spectacular. We get the benefit of having a show and the ability to choose from takes.

Check it out!

Sonia