Studio Time
Jam10
Posts: 654
I'm going into the studio next thursday Nov. 6 to record the song I have been working on. This is my first time recording and I am excited and nervous. Any tips??
I'll make sure to post it here when it's all mixed and completed. Wish me luck and thanks again everyone for all your advice and tips!
I'll make sure to post it here when it's all mixed and completed. Wish me luck and thanks again everyone for all your advice and tips!
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Good luck. Don't be intimidated either. Just go in and rock it.
JEFF HARDY AND JEFF AMENT USED TO LOOK THE SAME
"Pearl Jam always eases my mind and fires me up at the same time.”-Jeff Hardy
-my dad after hearing Not for You for the first time on SNL .
Good luck, and try to remember this is suppose to be fun!
https://www.facebook.com/aghostwritersapology/
Also, I like to record a rough demo before I go in so my engineer can check it out and get an idea what I'm trying to do. That's not mandatory, but helps if you have a strong feeling of how the song should sound. You can use a cheap tape recorder or whatever.
And it's probably going to take longer than you had planned to accomplish whatever you're recording.:p
The other trick, which is hard to prepare for, is playing into headphones. You can practice playing along to stuff on headphones, but it will be a little foreign to begin with. Just be prepared for it.
Try not to be too nervous, they deal with this all the time and, they will work with you to make it all come together. Wish you lots of luck and fun.
aside from that..
have fun. don't put too much pressure on yourself....and...um..oh yeah----PRACTICE as much as you can!
best of luck!
www.cluthelee.com
www.cluthe.com
Oh yeah, if you're recording acoustic.. and you're using a click track through your headphones.. make sure you record some takes of you playing just the last few chords without the click track on. That way you won't hear the bleed of it through the headphones as you are holding out that last note/chord.
New guitar strings the day before, learn any amp or pedal settings, practice some more.
If the studio tech is good, then I wouldn't worry about TOO much. Let the tech give a few suggestions about sound too. That's what they do, and it's great to have a second set of ears to give suggestions.
One thing that will happen is that you'll think you nailed your solo into the track, then listen to it through a beautiful monitoring system and that solo, when it's isolated, will show every scratch and finger squeak and pluck and thunk and you'll be saying,,,, "That's ME?"
If you can record yourself now and listen, try it and maybe you'll get a jump on the game.
If you spend a little extra time and record a scratch track and listen back, you can record again after you hear the first time around.
You will walk out of that studio being a better singer and guitar player, too, after you hear yourself.
Good luck, relax and enjoy it!
Don't be mankind. ~Captain Beefheart
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it depends on you. if you like the worn-in sound, then leave them alone. i usually change mine a few days before i head in so i can loosen them up but achieve a brighter tone. but, i'm not an expert like a lot of the folks on here, that's just my preference.
have fun!!!
www.cluthelee.com
www.cluthe.com
It really depends on a lot of things...
The first thing to worry about is whether your strings are completely messed up or not. If there is a ton of corrosion, gunky build-up, or wear spots from contact with the frets, then you absolutely need to change strings before going in. I'd do it a day or two before the actual date, so the strings have time to stretch and break in. Otherwise, you'll have strings that de-tune in the middle of a performance, and kill the last half of an otherwise-great take.
If the strings aren't completely shot, then it can be a matter of opinion. Strings, as they get older and played a lot, will naturally become more elastic, which makes them more prone to de-tuning. That's a bad thing. Also, strings tend to get a mellower sound, with less presence and attack, when they get older. When the goal of the recording is clarity, that can be a bad thing.
I always re-string my electrics before any big recording session. It's also a good idea to clean the fretboard, frets, nut, and bridge during this time, to make sure there's nothing binding the strings and interfering with your guitar staying in tune. It's also a good idea to check and, if necessary, adjust the intonation to make sure you don't go out of tune once you hit the high notes. If you see a theme so far, it's this: STAY IN TUNE! Nothing ruins a great recording like a string or two that goes an eighth flat in the middle of a song.
Now, for acoustics, it all depends on the guitar, guitar player, the part being played, and the mix. Electric strings get a *touch* mellower with age; acoustic strings sound *radically* duller. For a mix with drums and lots of other stuff going on, new strings are essential. That brightness is what will allow the acoustic to cut through and balance in the mix. Also, fingerpicked parts will sound mellower because of the method of playing (rather than using a flat-pick), so using brand-new strings will give some clarity back to the part. However, on some sessions, I've been known to keep a 2-month-old set of strings (still in good, playable shape with no corrosion) on a guitar to get a warmer, less piercing tone. This works especially well for tracks with sparse arrangements, or strum-along songs with a flat-pick.
I've often told acoustic players to change strings a week before tracking, to give the strings some time to break in and mellow just a bit. But it all depends on the guitar, the player, the part, and the arrangement, so that's not a rule of thumb. Also, the type of string you use can alter the tone and aging process a lot. Silk and Steel strings, or Elixer coated strings, will be even brighter when new, and stay bright even longer. Regular bronze-wound strings will sound bright for 24 hours or so, and then start mellowing out. I use D'Addario EXP coated strings, which is like a hybrid of a bronze-wound and the Elixers; they are a bit brighter when new, stay bright for about a week or 10 days, and then start to mellow REALLY nicely.
Good advice. I agree, if you are having other instruments in the song, you want a clean set of strings to break through the mix and ring. If you are recording just an acoustic.. sometimes it sounds more realistic and honest if your strings are a little worn in.
Sorry to hear about your mother.. good for you in completing this goal though!
Wishing you much good luck with the recording.
Thanks for everyone's advice and support. Everybody here has taught me a lot.
If you over think about it, you'll end up messing the song!
I thought I came here to stay
We're all just visiting
All just breaking like waves.."
07/09/06
07/10/06
07/15/06
Congratulations on getting your first song down. I regularly work in studio environments and it can be very intimidating at first. As you said, you need to make sure your playing is spot on because even small imperfections will tend to stick out on tape.
Looking forward to hearing the song.