Musicians’ Guide to Recording while Touring
Explore how to record high-quality tracks while traveling with essential road-ready tips and tricks . From mobile gear to location setup, this Musicians’ Guide to Recording while Touring will help turn any space into a recording studio.
Musicians’ Guide to Recording while Touring
by Mike Fink from Bandzoogle
You never know where or when inspiration is going to strike, especially when you’re on the road. Your touring adventures can offer great potential song ideas, and with the right tools, you can capture that idea while it’s still fresh.
Of course, creating the right recording environment on the go can be more challenging than producing from the comfort of your home studio. But with the right knowledge and gear, you can open up a whole new world of recording possibilities wherever you are. Read ahead for a guide on the ins and outs of recording music on the road so you can create a hit from anywhere.
Essential portable recording equipment
Choosing the right touring studio equipment is all about your own unique needs. As you would with any DIY home studio, consider your recording needs and priorities when doing your research.
If you’re on a tight budget, you may already have some of what you need to record while traveling. And if your environment poses any creative challenges, consider how your equipment can help you overcome those limitations. If you’re not sure where to start, here are the basics of taking your home studio on the road.
A travel-friendly tech setup
Just as in your home recording studio, your tech setup acts as your command center. The fundamentals for recording music on the road include an audio interface and digital audio workstation (DAW) for recording and mixing. If you’re trying to pack light, DAWs equipped with an audio interface are available.
If you already use a laptop in your home studio, that’ll take care of another essential piece of tech gear on the list. Your DAW and audio interface will need to connect to either that or, via a music-making app, your smartphone. Whichever device you’re using, good battery life and appropriate connectivity options can go a long way. Before you hit the road, it’s helpful to see which gear needs a USB or Firewire connection to operate.
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A good mic
Like when you record at home, the best mic is the one that’ll help you achieve the optimal sound you’re aiming for with your music. Put another way, different types of microphones work best with different kinds of voices. That said, dynamic mics do have a bit of an advantage over condenser microphones on the road: they’re less sensitive to background noise.
If you want a mic that can adapt on the road, you can find all-purpose mics for flexible recording. You might consider a mic that allows you to adjust pickup patterns — sound sources your mic amplifies — depending on a sound’s direction. If you’re trying to find a mic that fits right into your tech setup, USB mics can plug in wherever there’s a USB port.
If you’re especially limited on space, you can make do without a mic if absolutely necessary. Sure, it might not be ideal, but it does work. Portable recorders, for example, may be a little less high-def, but they’re compact and will work in a pinch.
Your choice of songwriting instrument
If you’re out on tour with a rock band, there’s a good chance you’ve already got a few acoustic guitars on hand. Sometimes you might want to record in a location where you can’t unpack a full band’s worth of gear — if you don’t want to get out the kick drum, MIDI controllers can help you produce the beats you need to get an idea down. Compact equipment for assembling a virtual full band can bring your on-the-road recordings to life.
Durable headphones or monitors
You have two choices when it comes to listening to your on-the-go recordings: headphones or monitors. You can listen privately through headphones, which may be appreciated if you’re mixing somewhere like a shared hotel room. You might also cherish how headphones can help you cut out the noise all around you, which easily varies from loud to quiet during travel.
Alternatively, if you feel like you need the extra power of a monitor to hear every nuance, you can find portable monitors. These often include Bluetooth connectivity, making them truly portable. There are also monitor headphones designed for optimal mixing — it’s like a home recording studio that lives right next to your ears.
Any additional tools you need
After you cover the essentials, it can help to ask what else you usually need in a recording setup. From there, you can assess what equipment you’d ideally have to make it happen on the move.
For example, are you planning to record an album’s worth of ideas? If you’ve got space for an extra item along the road, it could help to have the extra digital storage capacity of an external hard drive. Do you need a mic stand for laying down spine-chilling vocals? You can find foldable stands for easy accessibility.
Tips for travel-friendly recording
Getting accustomed to the logistics of recording music on the road can take a bit of trial and error. You’ll likely figure out what works best for you in the recording process as you make music away from home increasingly often. Below are some tips for making the most of your mobile studio.
Finding the right space
Your choice of locations to record on the road may feel a bit limited. You’re already spending most of your time in the van or bus, at the venue, or in Airbnbs or hotels. If you’ve got musician friends in the cities you’re playing, it could be fun to collaborate and take your mobile studio to them. But otherwise, you might need to get creative.
If you know which spaces have the best acoustics, you might be surprised about where you can get great recording quality. Bathrooms are famous for their weirdly great acoustics, and the boxy enclosure of a car’s backseat can replicate a vocal booth surprisingly well.
Minimizing background noise
Using gear that’s less sensitive to the ambient sounds of your surroundings can help you produce crystal-clear recordings when you’re on the road. Accessories such as mic pop filters can reduce sounds that aren’t meant to be part of your song. You can also use portable acoustic treatment and other sound tools to absorb some of your environment’s ambient sounds. Plus, recording in headphones can help you hear your music without all the extraneous clatter.
Packing your gear
If you’ve invested time and money into all this great recording equipment, you may want to make one last investment to keep it all safe. A good bag with a soft interior and sturdy exterior can keep your gear in tip-top shape. Some brands make special backpacks with compartments to fit all your accessories and cables, and your laptop.
Another great way to stay organized is to make an inventory list of everything you’re taking with you before you depart. This way, you won’t have to wonder whether you packed that pedal or plugin, and you won’t accidentally leave your recording essentials miles away.
Remote music production: tech and tips
Technology has made remote working possible for many industries, including music. Whether you’re on the road or your bandmates live in different cities, remote music production technologies enable collaboration with other musicians from nearly anywhere. Below are some of the nuts and bolts of recording music with artists in different locations.
Remote music production software and tech
These are the main tech tools that can streamline remote music production.
- Cloud-based DAWs. If you want to record and mix with your fellow musicians in real-time, cloud-based audio systems make it possible for collaborators to work on a song simultaneously.
- Virtual hangout platforms. When you can’t all be in the same room for a jam session, video meeting platforms can bring everyone together. Some platforms even offer higher bandwidth designed for musicians jamming remotely.
- Task assignments. You can use project management platforms to keep everything organized, and assign tasks when everyone’s working on post-production and general polishing.
- A good internet connection. A strong internet signal can prevent issues such as audio latency. This is especially important, since audio files can be pretty large, meaning errors can happen more easily if your connection is weak.
Remote music collaboration tips
Remote recording offers some wonderful opportunities to work with other artists and music producers — opportunities that are not always available through traditional in-person recording. As with any remote work, extra communication when collaborating can vastly improve the process.
If you’re using virtual video hangouts to generate ideas, it might help to identify another mode of communication for feedback that arises later. After all, although it’s often best to get an idea down right when it appears, other ones might pop up down the line.
Real-time communication can also ensure everyone is on the same page the whole way through. If everyone working on your song is clear about their goals from the beginning, you can make the most of your time together.
Recording software for musicians on the go
You’ve got plenty of options for recording software while traveling, including many budget-friendly platforms. Here’s what to consider when researching the software that’s right for you:
Choosing the best on-the-go recording software
If your primary goal is remote collaboration, cloud-based DAWs like Soundtrap offer affordable monthly subscriptions. Better yet, platforms such as BandLab include free starting plans. BandLab features you might love include multi-track recording, MIDI editing, and vast virtual instrument libraries. If you’re trying to keep your luggage as light as possible, popular DAWs such as GarageBand offer free mobile apps for easy recording.
Optimizing your on-the-go recording software
The more processing power you can get from your software, the better. Recording on the road also means conserving as much of your system’s power as possible. Just as your smartphone running apps in the background drains your battery, sometimes automated recording settings can leech your system’s power. A simple settings check on platforms such as Pro Tools can confirm whether you’re running plugins you’re not actually using and weighing your system down.
Record and share your music from anywhere
In today’s world, you’re no longer limited by location when you want to record. With the appropriate tools and techniques, you can record musical masterpieces during personal travels or between shows on tour.
Once you’ve gotten your remotely recorded song just the way you want it, you can use DistroKid to share it with audiences everywhere. Enjoy unlimited uploads to major streaming platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music, and keep all the earnings from your hard work. It’s a great way to reach audiences far and wide.
