Non technical hints for first session?

nate_dennis

nate_dennis

Well-known member
Hey guys.....finally after years of reading/studying/some practicing/wishing/etc....I'm recording someone else's music this weekend. I'll be acting as producer and engineer. She's a good friend and if things end up sucking there's no real harm.....but I'm nervous as hell.

Any tips? And I don't mean mic technique or anything like that. Any tips to help things go smoothly and productively?

I'll let you know how ends up after the session this weekend. Thanks so much for all you all do.
 
Just make sure you double check everything, gain settings, mic placement, etc.

The first time I recorded someone I sat there for close to 45 minutes or something trying to figure out why I my condenser mic wasn't getting a signal...Silly phantom power:facepalm: lol

Again just go through your steps of setting up and double check settings and placement for everything and you'll be fine.
 
Be set up and ready before the talent arrives.
Spend a little time getting comfortable, talking about other stuff besides the session.
Then move into the session...seamlessly.

If she hasn't done this before either...no need to stress her further, she'll be more uptight than you are. :)
 
Don't refer to her as "the talent".....

Don't be a stress bunny

Be realistic about what can and can't be fixed with comping and fandangled studio trickery and err on the side of performance.

Good luck...
 
Thanks Guys!!! We're actually setting up in her house so there's no being ready before she arrives. She's not paying (and I wouldn't want her to) so I don't know that she is or will be stressed. I just don't want this to be a negative experience. Plus I'm so scared to start making "executive decisions" as the producer. I loaned her a hand held digital recorder to give me demos ....that's all the has and I am supposed to guide that into a full EP. I think thats almost more what I'm scared of.....making decisions about someone else's music. Anyway...i'm rambling. Thanks again....you all rule.
 
Armistice said:
Don't refer to her as "the talent"...
Click to expand...

You know, I understand where you are coming from- she's a person, not just "a talent," (God, I sound like that stupid loser who tried to make a name for himself by "tearfully" defending Britney Spears...:facepalm: ) but sometimes noobs get a charge out of that sort of thing: "Hey, I'm 'the talent?' Cool! Can't wait to see that in my contract!"

As you are doing it at her house (I remember when that statement had an entirely different meaning...) give yourself PLENTY of time to set up, and once everything is pre-set, take a break to clear your head.

As she is "hostess," but you are "producer," hard to say who's responsible for m&m's...
 
I recently recorded a track for a friend; an acoustic guitar / vocal number. We did it at my house as I'm set up to record a full band. I've played with this guy plenty of times and he is never self-conscious about picking up a guitar and belting out a diddy. Put a mic in front of him and he was nervous as hell! He messed up the guitar part a couple of times. I just made sure he new that it was no big deal. I would just tell him it was digital, we could lay down as many takes as he needed. He could take his time and get it right. The track ended up coming out great, and I think the next time we record it will go smoother.

The biggest thing was just to remain calm, and be patient. Some people can play in front of a crowd all day long, but when they know that their every mistake is being recorded, they get nervous. That and if they are doing originals they are really putting themselves out there. Even with a bad take I would tell him what I DID like about it. That helped too.

Be calm, be patient, be positive.
 
Murphy, thanks for the post. That makes a lot of sense. And welcome to the boards! We're both really excited and I can't wait to post some MP3s for critique on the mix board.

Thanks again everyone!!!
 
Make sure you can listen to the same mix you send the performer, and when they are singing make sure their voice is a bit hot in the mix, maybe 3-6dB louder than what seems right to you.
 
I recently did a similar project with a worthy bunch of teen students of mine and some of them got red button syndrome. Some didn't, one had to be left alone to track the vocal. I'm rambling now but you get the point everyones differant and theres no way of telling how they're going to react so +1 to murphy's advise and remember the more fun it is the more likley they will want to do it again.

As far as talent goes as it happens the vocalist did it perfect in couple of takes and i've now got a qaulity new session singer.
I hope it goes well for you mate
 
The best advice I can give is to be VERY flexible. If the artist has trouble playing to a click track, then set up an alternate groove track or just forget the click altogether. If the artist has trouble recording with headphones, then go ahead and stick a speaker right in front of them! If the artist has trouble recording their instrument/voice separately, then allow them to record their vocals and playing at the same time, etc., etc...

Some of these suggestions might sound bizarre or even unprofessional, but what matters is that the artist feels comfortable recording and is happy with the finished product. Make sure you check in with the artist and ask for their opinion often!

BTW, I'm stating this all from personal experience... good luck!
 
You know, the "red button syndrome" posts here are making me appreciate what went on at those rock n roll summer camps I provided live sound/recording gear/services for- some of the kids had problems during the recording, and it was a good environment to get them through it. The parents pay a serious premium for the week, but the quality of the experience is darn good.

Now back to our regularly scheduled thread.
 
stevieb said:
As she is "hostess," but you are "producer," hard to say who's responsible for m&m's...
Click to expand...

Clearly M&Ms are the responsibility of the host...

As a joke present, my GF once went into a candy/lolly/sweets store and painstakingly scooped out as many blue M&Ms as she could, one at a time, using the scoopy thing... until the owner caught her and got cross with her and told her to stop... but he still sold them to her. $0.67 worth.. lol! :laughings:
 
Armistice, that story reminded me of a story:
Once I was at a buffet with my family. My mother told me that I needed to get some "green stuff" on my plate. (Clearly referring to vegtables.) So I went to the sundae bar and retreived every green candy from all of the bowls. She tried her damndest to be mad at me, but couldn't!

Thanks guys for the thoughts and ideas. I think mostly I just went through a "I'm going to fuck this up" stage and wanted/needed some venting and support. You all are awesome!
 
stevieb said:
m&m's...
Click to expand...

Armistice said:
M&Ms
Click to expand...
You know, Peanut M&Ms are the only way I can eat peanuts now, without being sick or feeling like I'm going to be.

As for your session Nate, pretty much everyone has nailed it here. When I'm recording someone for the first time that's singing, I ask them if they're nervous or shy. Nearly each time, they've said yes. So I say to them, "well, think how nervous I am firstly showing you this song and secondly, knowing you might hate it or laugh at it".
If the session has headaches thereafter, it's not because of nerves !
 
OK, so the session was saturday and it went like one would expect a first session to go. We worked to lay down scratch tracks so I could play drums over it. She had a hard time with the click so it was a bit sloppy. As a result drums took longer to record than I would have liked. As a whole I was happy with what happened. I learned a lot. Found some interesting things (the piano sound was particularly interesting: when I switched to an X/Y set-up in the center of the upright piano my low end turned to mush....whoda thunk?) We will finish things this coming saturday and I anticipate it will go smoother with better results.

Thanks to everyone for the help and encouragement.
 
nate_dennis said:
She had a hard time with the click so it was a bit sloppy.
Click to expand...

Not sure why some people have a problem with clicks...?
If you ever took any lessons on whatever instrument you play, at some point, you HAD TO use and play to a metronome.
It's part of every beginner's learning process.
A click is no different.

If you are one of those self-taught people...well, you must have some understanding about tempo/rhythm, and if you tap your foot to music, it's no different than a click.

The only reason IMHO that people have a problem with a click is because they don't play on time or hear that they are not on time, and maybe while they play alone, they don't notice it, but good luck playing with others. Timing is the foundation, and that's really all a click provides.

Of course, if you are playing something with all kinds of time signature changes, that's a bit more complicated, though it is programmable click-wise, but most Rock/Pop/Country is usually a pretty steady/straightforward beat...so a click should not be a problem.

You might want to try laying down a basic drum beat to a click with whatever BMP you decide on for a given song...then let her play along to the drums, though I'm going to guess that she will have the same problems if she can't hold time to a click.
 
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