bassarama19 Posted October 16, 2004 Share Posted October 16, 2004 The engineer that were recording with wants us to lay down a scratch bass, guitar, vocal track to a click then have the drummer come in after and play drums to the scratch. Wouldn it just be more effiecient for drums to record to live bass, guitar, vocals with a click then to first laydown scratch then setup drums to record with the scratch?? is this common, are then any advantages to this?? THE ace of bass Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassarama19 Posted October 16, 2004 Author Share Posted October 16, 2004 I almost forgot, The song we are recording is in the key of G and at one point I want a supersub bass sound, so im thinking that I will either Detune only my low B string to a low G for basically a sound effect, or would it be better just to overdub a 3rd position G on the low E string and just use the computer to pitchshift it down an octave?? Thanks for all replies. THE ace of bass Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g. Posted October 16, 2004 Share Posted October 16, 2004 Get the heaviest string you can for that low G. The detuned B will sound like pucky compared to using a .140, .145 or even a string designed for low F# - usally a .150 or .165. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g. Posted October 16, 2004 Share Posted October 16, 2004 The engineer that were recording with wants us to lay down a scratch bass, guitar, vocal track to a click then have the drummer come in after and play drums to the scratch. Wouldn it just be more effiecient for drums to record to live bass, guitar, vocals with a click then to first laydown scratch then setup drums to record with the scratch?? is this common, are then any advantages to this??Hey bassarama19, Actually, if you yourself don't have the experience to look at the resources the studio/engineer has at their/his disposal and see perhaps how that affects his preference, you should then ask HIM this question. If he evades or vacillates, firmly but politely demand an answer. There usually is no one right way to do things, but there ARE philosophies of recording. And you want one that works best FOR YOUR BAND, if at all technically possible. It comes down to space issues, sound isloation issues, and microphone availability issues (and engineering experience), in the end... . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy c Posted October 16, 2004 Share Posted October 16, 2004 Whatever works the best is the general rule in recording. If the drummer is unused to playing with a click, there might be an advantage to having the rest of you lay down parts to the click and then having him play later. It will save a lot of takes for the rest of the band. And the drummer will know how the song goes when he plays with your track. And you'll know what the drums are doing when you go back and replace your original parts. I personally dislike recording this way. I'd prefer to forget scratch tracks entirely, get everyone in the room and record the song. Two takes maximum. And then go home. But it hasn't been done that way in a long time. Free download of my cd!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Connie Z Posted October 16, 2004 Share Posted October 16, 2004 Hi bassarama19! I've only been in the studio about 5 times so far, for recording singles and demos, but I have to say that for me, I love a scratch track, and I love a click track. My reason is that, being the perfectionist that I am, I always know that there may be something I want to overdub, or punch-in. The click makes that part very easy, cause we are always in the correct time. If you've ever done recording at home on a 4 track, without a click track, and then tried to go back and add parts later, you can see how much timing will vary, and how hard it is to match up to it. (At least for me... but maybe I have crummy timing! ) And to get the "feel" of the song, the scratch track is great. That way, you hear the vocal and get the feel of the song, and then you can really "let yourself go" a lot more. I usually do a guitar/vocal/click scratch. That is my experience. Hope that helped! ... connie z "Change comes from within." - Jeremy Cohen The definition of LUCK: When Preparation meets Opportunity! http://www.cybergumbo.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LizzyD Posted October 16, 2004 Share Posted October 16, 2004 This method works fine, as long as everyone in the band is comfortable playing to a click. If you aren't, and the scratch tracks aren't on with the click, it could interfere with the drummer's own time when he records. If you do it this way, have the drummer there when you do the scratch tracks so he can listen and be thinking about playing to them. I assume the reason the engineer wants to do it this way are technical, like he doesn't have the resources to set up the whole band live in the studio. If your band would prefer to track together live, and the engineer is unable to work that way, you might think about using someone else. My site | Facebook Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
... Posted October 17, 2004 Share Posted October 17, 2004 Originally posted by LizzyD: This method works fine, as long as everyone in the band is comfortable playing to a click. If you aren't, and the scratch tracks aren't on with the click, it could interfere with the drummer's own time when he records. If you do it this way, have the drummer there when you do the scratch tracks so he can listen and be thinking about playing to them. I assume the reason the engineer wants to do it this way are technical, like he doesn't have the resources to set up the whole band live in the studio. If your band would prefer to track together live, and the engineer is unable to work that way, you might think about using someone else.My thoughts exactly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moot Posted October 17, 2004 Share Posted October 17, 2004 We have always demanded a "live" recording. Bass guitar, drums and all vocals. Then we will come back and re-do vocals if we don't like 'em. This is quick and easy and most of all - It's what we're used to. During our recent feud, (me and the drunken drummer) we decided maybe it was best if we tracked seperately in the attempt to finish our last CD together. I went in Thursday night and the drum track sucked. He tried to lay down to a click track and scratch guitar track. It just didn't work. I had Guy turn the click track off and there was no tempo. I did the best I could but wasn't happy about it. Why? Either he was tanked or it just isn't comfortable for him. "He is to music what Stevie Wonder is to photography." getz76 I have nothing nice to say so . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahuna855 Posted October 17, 2004 Share Posted October 17, 2004 bump, i LOVE that sig. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, if im not mistaken "I'm thinkin' we should let bump answer this one... Prepare to don Nomex!" -social critic "When I install my cannons, I'm totally going to blast their asses back to the 16th century; Black Beard style" -bumpcity Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YourMotherShouldKnow Posted October 17, 2004 Share Posted October 17, 2004 I like click tracks. Listen to the tempo change in Stevie Ray Vaughn's "Pride and Joy" or Genesis' "Turn It On Again". That won't happen with a click. But be sure you take the scratch tracks seriously. If you don't, the drummer's track is gonna be unsteady and uninspired. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclaber Posted October 17, 2004 Share Posted October 17, 2004 Originally posted by jeremyc lugosi: I personally dislike recording this way. I'd prefer to forget scratch tracks entirely, get everyone in the room and record the song. Two takes maximum. And then go home. But it hasn't been done that way in a long time.We did it this way on Thursday night. And just the one take of each track. Nice! Alex Barefaced Ltd - ultra lightweight, high ouput, toneful bass cabs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g. Posted October 17, 2004 Share Posted October 17, 2004 LanceMourn: I like click tracks. Listen to the tempo change in Stevie Ray Vaughn's "Pride and Joy" or Genesis' "Turn It On Again". That won't happen with a click.It will if you program the click track for tempo variation. Which brings us to the next issue: Is it so artistically important that every song be nailed down to a non-varied machine beat? I don't think so. Thanks, Stevie! . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred TBP Posted October 18, 2004 Share Posted October 18, 2004 Originally posted by bassarama19: I almost forgot, The song we are recording is in the key of G and at one point I want a supersub bass sound, so im thinking that I will either Detune only my low B string to a low G for basically a sound effect, or would it be better just to overdub a 3rd position G on the low E string and just use the computer to pitchshift it down an octave?? Thanks for all replies. Don't detune, you'll get floppy-string sounds and it will take extra time trying to get the string in tune. Pitch-shifting should be a standard package available in your studio, so I'd do the latter, even play it up an octave and drop it down two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred TBP Posted October 18, 2004 Share Posted October 18, 2004 Originally posted by bassarama19: The engineer that were recording with wants us to lay down a scratch bass, guitar, vocal track to a click then have the drummer come in after and play drums to the scratch. Wouldn it just be more effiecient for drums to record to live bass, guitar, vocals with a click then to first laydown scratch then setup drums to record with the scratch?? is this common, are then any advantages to this??Yes, it's more efficient to record a basic track with all present, but so much changes in the receoding process that usually everything except the drums gets replaced eventually. It might be, for example (I'm not saying this is the case), there are synchronization problems between you and the drummer and the engineer feels the drummer needs you to lock in a bass track so he can work his groove/accents around that. Or, as is my case this summer, the drummer and I had almost no rehearsal time together so we basically exchanged rough demos and studio takes and worked out what needed to be done in discussions. All this underscores the need to rehearse as much as possible and in great detail prior to walking into a recording studio. Even paying rehearsal space rates is more cost-effective than working out songs at recording studio rates. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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