2.7 Managing Bleed
Bleed is what happens when you record a number of tracks live at the same time.
Kind: concept (reamix-section) Chapter: 2 Pre Mix Fix: Corrective Action Source: ReaMix (October 2009)
Bleed is what happens when you record a number of tracks live at the same time. This could happen under any number of circumstances, varying, for example, from a solitary musician playing a guitar and singing at the same time to a whole band, complete with drum kit and all. In the first case, you might record with two microphones on the guitar and one vocal mic. In the second case, you might record using a dozen or so microphones when you record simultaneously. In both cases, the method of recording used means that you will not have discrete tracks for each voice or instrument.
Conventional wisdom says that recording with discrete tracks, layering one over the other, will be more likely to yield the best results. Don’t be afraid to challenge conventional wisdom. Live recording can have certain advantages. For example:
-
It may be much easier and less stressful for the musicians, thus ensuring better performance.
-
It can capture a spontaneity that may be difficult to reproduce with layering.
-
Your recording process can capture a natural reverb that may be difficult to recreate electronically.
However, we cannot ignore the fact that bleed can bring its own problems. In each case, you will have to assess the situation and make a judgement. Sometimes the best course of action may be to simply live with the spillage between instruments and do the best you can with it. Other times, you may wish to consider using any of a number of techniques to ameliorate it.