recording...

[UTS-D]

Hey guys,

My band is recording our first CD and my turn to lay down tracks is right around the corner. I was wondering if you guys had any last minute ideas and/or tips to recording.

 

Thanks in advance for your input.

 

Don

[Davo-London]

Give yourself plenty of time to record.

 

Practice the songs extensively beforehand and work out all the songs down to the breaks and bridges etc, so that the recording session isn't a rehearsal.

 

Use a click track.

 

That's a start - but you know all this I daresay.

 

Davo

[Eric VB]

Hey Don, good for you!

 

You are the bass player; your job will be to play the bass.

Your #1 priority is to know and be able to play your parts dead on.

Don't stop if you make a mistake; recover as you would if playing live.

Strive for perfection but realize that 99% of what bugs you will be buried in the mix.

Ask for adjustments to your mix/level while tracking if you need them.

The engineer put as much effort into engineering as you did into bass; respect that.

Ask if you can track to the control room monitors instead of headphones.

A DI box is going to give the truest recording of you and your bass.

Don't obsess about tone; most likely your lows will be cut and highs rolled off anyway.

Be open to suggestions; politely voice your opinions.

Bring your pro attitude.

[...]

It sounds like this may be your first time recording period.

 

The single most important thing about recording: RELAX

 

10 If you're stressed you'll play poorly and make mistakes.

20 If you start making mistakes you'll get more stressed.

30 GOTO 10.

 

Other stuff:

 

 

• NO SIGNIFICANT OTHERS IN THE STUDIO. EVER. PERIOD. Bringing your girlfriend/wife/whatever is a sure way to introduce problems and headaches for everyone. They like to talk. They like to ask questions. They like to touch things (like mics, buttons, faders, whatever). Bad bad bad. NO SIGNIFICANT OTHERS IN THE STUDIO. EVER. PERIOD.
  
• Bring a bunch of basses if you want but don't be surprised if the engineer/producer wants you to stick with only one.
  
• Talk to the engineer/producer ahead of time and see how he wants to record your bass - DI only? DI + your amp? DI + an amp at the studio? your amp only? etc... You could save yourself the trouble of bringing your rig if you're not going to use it in the first place. (been there, done that)
  
• Be open to suggestions from your band mates and/or the engineer/producer. Odds are that even though you've been playing these songs for your band mates may not even know completely what you are playing. The engineer/producer will often have very good suggestions for the 'recorded version' of a song - a lot of times this is just "play less"
  
• Have fun
  
• Relax some more... because you can't be too relaxed, man
  

 

[UTS-D]

Man...you guys have some great ideas. Some of them I am aware BUT I'm glad they were mentioned because it's really helpful to see that I'm on the right track.

 

Significant others...yeah. Nothing against my girlfriend, because I totally love her to death, but the only time I allow her to be involved with the music is when she's in the crowd listening at one of my shows. HOWEVER, she did design my band's logo. It might look a little weird but that's because it's an ambigram; you can turn it upside down and it still reads "Under The Stone". I think it's totally sick!! Anyway, the logo and her attendance at shows are the only times she's allowed to be involved.

 

Back to the topic, I think the biggest lesson is for me is patience. Not to force the bass line and realize I don't have to knock it out in the first try. And with each song, we are taking it section by section instead of running the marathon.

 

As for micing and what not, I think we're running 3 lines off my bass: DI, A 609 at the top of the cab, and some kinda bass drum mic at the bottom of the cab. And then see if all 3 can be mixed OR just take the best from the lot and build from there.

 

Anyway, this isn't my 1st recording. This IS my 1st recording with this band. My previous bands insisted that I tracked my bass lines in 1 take and they just buried my tracks in the mix because they all wanted that ...And Justice For All sound. I guess I have MetallicA to thank for that. hahha

 

Anyway, this time I'm with a quality band that demands quality bass so I'm going to give them my best.

 

Thanks for the input guys.

 

Don

[Paul K]

...snip... Don't obsess about tone; most likely your lows will be cut and highs rolled off anyway.

 

Although I have been on fewer recordings than I have fingers on one hand (...and no industrial accidents...), I feel better knowing that this happens to other people also.

 

I know that you're gonna knock'em dead!!!!

Peace

Paul K

[Mike Chini]

Definitely relax. But be prepared. It's probably obvious but I find that recording is VERY draining so it's important to get some good sleep and eat some good food the night before (yeah, I know, thanks MOM).

 

To prepare, I suggest playing through whatever song(s) you're going to record multiple times and always with a click if possible. Recording bass can be tricky at first since a lot of the excessive noise we make with our fingers, picks etc. can now all of a sudden be a big problem. But don't sweat it. Just play your best and you'll be fine.

 

I think being in the studio is one of the most exciting things a musician can do! Good luck!

[alexclaber]

Don't use a click unless your band is already experienced at playing to one! Leave your EQ and tone controls flat so that your tone can be tweaked in the mix - midrange is your friend. Know your parts inside out so you can relax and get into the groove. Try tracking your parts at the same time as the drummer so you can get a more cohesive feel - if the studio is big enough, see if you can get the whole band recorded at once and vocals overdubbed afterwards. DI your bass so you can re-amp if need be. Run a miked cab if you have the opportunity but beware of comb-filtering when mixed with the DI signal (you need to delay the latter so they match).

 

Alex

[Phil W]

Ditto Alex on click.

Concentrate on groove and feel rather than details (and then hopefully the details will play themselves).

Make sure you get the mix you want.

Make sure the headphones and cables are decent, I've been given dodgy ones by top studios on the odd occasion I've had the pleasure to go in.

Enjoy the experience.

Warm up!

 

Relax!

We all play better when we're relaxed. Even a forced smile can felt your body to relax. I've been known to take a goofy photo of my young son into the studio or on stage so that when things get tough I can look at that and smile. Sounds sentimental; but it works. Sometimes we try too hard and tense up, then we won't be relaxed or play as good.

 

Make sure that you are well rested, watered and fed before the recording.

If it helps, do a little light exercise as part of your warm up, you're going to be sitting down a lot.

[The Bear Jew]

Try not to suck.

[Nicklab]

Leave your EQ and tone controls flat so that your tone can be tweaked in the mix - midrange is your friend.

 

Let me add a disclaimer here about tone shaping. I do use EQ in the tracking stage, but ONLY at the amp. However, make sure that the engineer is not using EQ on your signal during tracking. It's better left for the mix when you're trying to seat things together. If he rolls off your high end in tracking and you're going to need that in the final mix, you may be in for a rude awakening. Because I have been at mixdown sessions where I was playing bass and producing and asked the engineer "where the f*** did all the high end go on the bass ?!?!"

 

As for what to track, I use a combination of a DI and a mic'd amp. Those go into the computer as seperate tracks and well blend them or use one or the other when we get to mixing. It's become fairly standard practice since most studios are working in the virtual world now and they aren't constrained by a limited number of tracks.

 

The click can be your friend or it can be your enemy. It all depends on what kind of experience your drummer has with a click track. I've seen many a good drummer get totally thrown by a click track and many hours wasted in a studio because they're put off of their game.

 

I would try to avoid having any guests in the studio. They're a source of distraction unless they know their way around a studio and they're there to help you out. Plus outsiders tend to make it difficult for some band members to openly criticise performances, and what you're working towards is the best recording possible. If you guys cannot constructively criticise each other openly during a session for fear of what a guest at the session might think, then you've got some problems.

[yourlord]

Try not to suck.

 

Best advice so far!

[Davo-London]

I'm surprised at the anti-click lobby, but I guess I've come from a clicky (not cliquey) background. If you use a click then you can cut and paste out errors and end up with a much quicker recording session. However, if your drummer doesn't use/abide a click - then this isn't an option.

 

I would also add don't be too proud or precious about your output/ideas. The recording engineers can have VERY fixed views on what they want. Bringing several basses is a good idea.

 

Davo

[thabottomend]

Bring everything you think you will need, but don't be surprised if the engineer asks you to plug straight into the board if they are using Nuendo or some similar program. The last recording I did was at a studio that used Nuendo. That particular program is able to model so many different heads, cabs, mikes, and mike distances that it was too much trouble to go through to actually play through my rig. It was truly amazing and a little disconcerting to see so much of the "human element" removed from recording. Instead of having to do punch-ins, the engineer could cut and paste with amazing accuracy and literally build a bassline out of multiple passes. Almost made me miss two inch master tapes and reel-to-reel.

 

I must be getting crotchety in my old age.

[music-man]

Other things:

 

1. Be polite and friendly with the engineer but make them spend enough time to get the mix right in your headphones (or in the monitors, if you're overdubbing and playing in the control room). It doesn't matter if the mix that works for you sounds weird to other people. Above all, focus on getting enough of the right drum mix (whatever that is for you) to allow you to play in time - and cut out extraneous and distracting other parts (i.e. rhythm parts guitar, offbeat tom fills, etc.). Often I cut it back to basically drums (kick, snare, and hi-hat), perhaps a little guitar, and some scratch vocals (just enough to know where I am in the tune). Make sure you can hear enough of yourself so that you don't change your technique in order to be heard ... but make sure also that you don't have so much of yourself that you lose your compass on the rest of the rhythm section.

 

2. You'll last a lot longer if your overall headphone volume is not too loud ... but give yourself enough to be able to feel like you're "in the middle of it," and not observing from afar.

 

3. Record every pass - that is, once you're plugged in and ready to go don't do a few "practice" takes before you actually punch "record." You'd be surprised how often that first pass will be "the one" that you end up doing little fixes on later.

 

4. If at all possible, set up your tone before you ever hit record, and then don't touch it. Write down your settings (including outboard gear like compressors and channel EQ) so that if you have to overdub something later, you'll be able to match the sound.

 

5. Play the part you know, and only that ... unless there are problems with it, and then be flexible about adjusting.

 

6. Make sure you've got some food with protein, to keep your brain working.

 

7. Focus. You're there to play, and that's all. Forget everything else - including impressing bystanders, how much time (and/or money) it's taking, whether you love or hate the part, etc. Just play.

 

 

[UTS-D]

So after about 26 hours of recording time over a span of a week, I have finished laying down bass lines for 10 songs. The 1st 4 hours was all about dialing in the tone and getting the levels right. I ran DI, a 609 mic on the horn, and bass drum mic on a 10" speaker. So that's 3 tracks at once. The final mix should be really cool. And yes, tons of mids!!! For clarity of course.

 

After this experience I have learned that I have a new favorite song to play and 1 song I really can't stand anymore and I would be totally fine NEVER playing that song again. hahaha

 

All in all I had a good time. There was a couple days where it just wasn't happening. I so wasn't in the mood to record. And then there were days I couldn't wait to get to the studio. This past Saturday I played for 7 hours straight. I hadn't done that in forever. My hands were so destroyed after that.

 

The End. Thank you for reading. :^)*

[Phil W]

Thank you for posting . . . look forward to hearing!

 

Sounds like an intense experience!

[Davo-London]

I find recording or rather listening to the playback is a somewhat painful experience. Although, like all things, the more you do it the better you become.

 

I'd love to play for 7 hrs. Can't imagine when this will next happen. I like your note about some days it just wasn't happening. I'm working on trying to relax during recordings!

 

Davo

[...]

Awesome. Post some rough mixes if you can.

 

There was a couple days where it just wasn't happening. I so wasn't in the mood to record.

 

This happens to me occasionally and I think it was a bad round of this that cost me a gig once. Spent several days in the studio and my head just was NOT in it. I wanted to be there, I wanted to be laying down wonderful things, but something was just not right and my groove was suffering mightily. The worst part about this experience is that I can hear that I'm sucking royally and it makes me uber self conscious; which makes the sucking increase ten fold.