The Game Composer’s Blog

Word of the day: Frankenstein (verb)

Frankenstein: verb – To patch together the best bits of recorded live takes for use in an audio recording. Commonly used to take the best segments from multiple takes of a performer’s recording and create a more perfect overall track.

I first started using the word “Frankenstein” 9 years ago when I first started doing music for games. I commonly played several different instruments in my music. Maybe while playing trombone I would play one section great in one take but then find a note that’s a little off later on while listening in the monitors. I always do a few takes even if I think I’ve nailed it (just to be safe) so I would simply take that note from another take and crossfade into it then out of it. And, voila, I just Frankensteined!

With digital music recording, it has become extremely easy to take bits and pieces from various takes and patch them all together into one long, almost-perfect track. And when done correctly, the listener has no idea that they are listening to a patchwork of several different recordings all crafted into one whole. One of my professors in grad school conducted and produced new music recordings and was always extremely proud to say how many cuts there were in the final product and how undetectable they were. And, indeed, nobody can tell when you’ve Frankensteined.

I guess some purists might say Frankensteining is an abomination. Don’t you lose some of the heart or soul from a player’s performance when you stitch together takes like that? Maybe so. But when doing a recording session, a player will not really vary that much between takes unless it is a part of the music, like often it is in jazz. Breaking up a long jazz solo will be jarring, better to take a longer performance, warts and all. But there are a great many types of music that doesn’t apply to. If a long held note is out of tune, nobody will notice or care if you fix it by Frankensteining. In fact, they’ll probably appreciate it. Of course, the term itself does have some negative connotations…

I was going to claim on this blog that I’d invented the term. Back when I first started using it, I’d never heard it used before and I was very proud to have invented such a cool term that so perfectly describes what you’re doing. Unfortunately for my ego, though, after speaking with friends and other audio people, I’ve learned that they use it too. I guess it is a pretty obvious term to use. Oh well. Still, it’s a great word and a fantastic technique to help your recordings sound as good as possible.

February 6, 2009 Posted by thegamecomposer | Ponderings | Frankenstein, recording | Leave a Comment