In part one of this article, I showed you how to use overdubbing to fix mistakes as you make them when recording in Reaper recording software - though the process is the same regardless of what program you use. The process is very similar if you discover mistakes after you've already finished recording a part. There are only a few additional things you have to do.
This method is also useful for when you discover short undesirable things in your recordings after you've completed them. For me, this is most often guitar string buzz, or a brief brain-fart where I hit the wrong chord just for a second before recovering.
I use this process when doing voice-over projects. It is especially useful for very long jobs like audio books. You don't want to keep stopping and starting. So when you make a mistake, just let the recording continue move on. You'll want to make a note of where the mistake occurred, however, so you can go quickly find them all when editing. One easy way to do this is to clap your hands, or snap your fingers (any loud quick sound) very close to the mic after your mistake. This will cause a spike in the audio waveform that is easy to spot.
Often I will simply re-record the part I messed up immediately after I make the error, and then move on. In this case there is no need to overdub. You can simply delete the mistake when editing afterward. See our post How To Finish Long Voice-Over Jobs Faster for the step-by-step on how to do this. Otherwise you'll want to use the overdubbing method, which is almost exactly the same as the process to fix mistakes as you go, as described above.
Here are the steps:
In the old days it was often easier to simply record the part as many times as you had to (take 1, take 2...take 35!) until you got it right. Uggh. Both of the methods described here, made feasible by computer-based audio recording, will allow you to quickly create error-free recordings that sound natural.
Here is a video showing you the process I just described:
Good luck and happy recording!
The above video is an excerpt from The Newbies Guide To Audio Recording Awesomeness 2: Pro Recording With Reaper. For more information on the course...
Ken really enjoy your posts about how to fix & repair a mistake in your recordings I think I like this method best. thanks again!!! : )
Thanks for that feedback Sunny. And thanks again for you kind comments!
Ken