Think of your recording the way an artist works with paint\u2014that is, using different types of instruments, as well as effects or even mic techniques, to create contrasting shades of sound that help get the listener\u2019s attention.<\/p>\n
It takes a keen ear to understand how to produce tracks that have warmth, depth and above all, layers of color, as if the finished product were a painting rather than a recording. In director Matthew Longfellow\u2019s 2010 documentary on the making of\u00a0Damn the Torpedoes<\/em>, Mike Campbell, sidekick to the late Tom Petty and Heartbreakers lead guitarist, gave voice to that analogy. \u201cWe use guitars like they\u2019re different colors\u2014as if you were an artist and needed a certain shade to fill in a particular spot,\u201d says Campbell. Only instead of paint, it\u2019s a Telecaster to the left, perhaps a Gretsch in the opposite corner providing a different texture. \u201cAnd if you know which colors will work best and they\u2019re really vibrant and well-balanced, it can make a huge difference.\u201d<\/p>\n Though some may choose to add color at will, applying brush strokes strategically\u2014such as in the lead-up to a chorus, or during the song\u2019s fade\u2014 often works wonders. On 2003\u2019s\u00a0Welcome Interstate Managers<\/em>, mod masters Fountains of Wayne demonstrated how an assortment of melodic guitar overlays and other choice ingredients can make an already infectious collection of pop sound even better. \u201cStacy\u2019s Mom<\/a>,\u201d the album\u2019s out-of-the-blue smash, crystalizes the FoW production approach: after a pared-back guitar intro complete with lo-fi vocal, co-writer\/producer Adam Schlesinger quickly brings a staccato synth into the mix, which then gives way to a stereo pair of uncompromisingly fuzzed guitars as the song builds to the chorus. With Verse 2 (\u201cStacy do you remember\u2026\u201d) the cycle repeats, this time with a slightly different shade of six-string (courtesy a compressed Gretsch electric).<\/p>\n \u201cThe lo-fi thing was something we\u2019d done before\u2014actually the initial version of \u2018Radiation Vibe\u2019 [from the band\u2019s eponymous debut] had a cool beginning like that,\u201d says guitarist and co-writer Chris Collingwood. \u201cIt was just me singing through an SM57 mic in this rehearsal space with everything feeding back, and from there it just segued into the high-fidelity part of the song. It was a technique that worked.\u201d<\/p>\n Mix Choices<\/strong><\/p>\n Which brings us to another point: when \u201cfilling in\u201d your mix, it isn\u2019t just about what ingredients you\u2019re using, but how and where you use them during the production. Like Fountains of Wayne, SoCal quartet Weezer also relies on jagged scene changes as a way of adding extra dimension. \u201cIsland in the Sun<\/a>,\u201d the second single off 2001\u2019s remarkable\u00a0Green Album<\/em>, is a prime example: here guitarist Rivers Cuomo (with producer Ric Ocasek) keeps the acoustic framework largely intact, only briefly accenting the choruses with a simple ringing mono guitar plus synth overlay before finally unleashing the band\u2019s trademark double-barreled rhythm guitars at the start of the bridge (\u201cwe\u2019ll run away together\u201d). The disciplined mix ensures that Cuomo\u2019s lovely melody and background harmonies remain the focal point throughout.<\/p>\n