Do you edit your recordings?
Once everything has been recorded, before you start mixing, do you edit the audio? Do you fix things? Do you think it’s cheating?
Do you think it’s stupid not to do it? I’m going to give you my take on editing, but be sure to let me know your opinion in the comments below.
What is Editing?
An audio editor is much like a book editor. He takes the original audio file and adds or removes bits and pieces to make it better.
An audio editor at a radio station will take a spoken-word commercial that’s 34 seconds long and trim it down until it fits into a 30-second spot.
A book editor will read the manuscript and suggest that certain parts be taken out…or certain parts be stretched out.
With regard to music production and recording, editing involves any changes made to the audio between the recording phase and the mixing phase.
This can involve normalizing audio files, correcting timing issues, removing unwanted sections, or even changing the actual performance itself.
Editing is not just a digital thing. Back in the “analog days,” engineers would regularly cut and splice tape between two different takes.
Is it cheating?
One could argue that the musician’s performance should remain untouched. If the performance wasn’t perfect, that’s okay. That’s reality. That’s how the musician really sounds.
Others like to take a good performance and “touch it up” here and there to make it even better. A prime example? AutoTune.
Some people rant and rave against AutoTune. They write things in the liner notes like “AutoTune was not used anywhere on the album.” Others swear by AutoTune.
First, let me make a point here. You should be recording good musicians. No amount of editing tools or software or magic voodoo will make a crappy musician sound good. Let’s just assume we’re talking about good musicians and good performances.
So…is it cheating to take a good performance and try to improve it? Is it wrong to “pocket” the drums so they’re a bit tighter and more in sync with the click track? Is it wrong to pocket the bass, making it “lock in” with the kick drum? Guitars? Keys? Background vocals?
I can’t tell you if it’s cheating or not. But let me give you my take.
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