At what point do you start (or stop) making the band sound better than they are?

As long a band is paying me to record them, I will basically throw all my musical inclinations out the window and prettymuch become their man whore. If they want hours of editing and gallons of autotune on everything that moves, then that's cool, as long as they're paying :D
 
guitaristic said:
If they want hours of editing and gallons of autotune on everything that moves, then that's cool, as long as they're paying :D
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Well, that implies that they know what they want or need. . . I think the OPs point is that the band in question is floundering about with no direction or experience in what they need or want . . .

When do you start, or stop trying to make a band sound better than they are? . . . I guess in reality you start right away, and you stop when the money runs out. . .
 
When do you start, or stop trying to make a band sound better than they are? . . . I guess in reality you start right away, and you stop when the money runs out.
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He said, "you do what you got to do to make the customer happy and to make sure you don't have anything floating around that you don't want your name on."

That definitely stuck with me^
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Excuse me but was that copyrighted?

Both are pretty good words of advice.
It probably takes experience to know when to say when.

I don't know but it seems like an aweful lot of what is being made today pales by yesterday's standards.

The new music is hard for me to get into.
I find myself resorting to blues and classical more and more all the time.
I don't know the name of the band but the song kept repeating "motorhead" over and over.
I felt like going out and killin' someone.
Some of these clowns screaming unintelligably into the mic should be shot for such stupidity.
Kinda reminds me of KISS. Never took those clowns seriously, but a lot of people did.
I don't know, maybe I just ain't hip for hype.
Just seems like the last ten years music accellerated it's downhill momentum.
I feel sorry for anyone who finds themselves contracted to record that stuff only to find that
they got more than they bargained for. Probably explains why there are "specialists".
 
Some good responses and I agree that at the end of the day your name will be tied to the end product. That bieing said you do what the band and the budget dictates. If you are trying to make a living recording then you can't always afford to be too selective with who you work with and you do the best you can with what you have.
 
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RawDepth said:
It is my opinion, (but don't tell them this part,) that if the band sucks, then they have no business being in a recording studio. They are not ready to record anything until they can play well together.
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possibly true but that would eliminate a LOT of bands and I do think they have the right to record if they wish.
Also ..... one of the ways to get better is by recording and sucking and realizing you have work to do.
 
guitaristic said:
As long a band is paying me to record them, I will basically throw all my musical inclinations out the window and prettymuch become their man whore. If they want hours of editing and gallons of autotune on everything that moves, then that's cool, as long as they're paying :D
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^^^^ this ^^^^
 
Maybe you have to look at it from the band's perspective. In one of my previous bands we worked hard on the songs that made up our first EP - we got them down with a click and all the rest of it. We recorded with an excellent producer for bands at the level we were at (Iain Wetherell, Welcome to Premier Studios) and when it was done, listening back we couldn't believe it was the same band. You know, like "f***, is that us?". The only time he stepped in and gave any coaching was while the vocals were being recorded.

So I guess I'm saying that you should get every element of the mix sounding as good as it can be, but let the band's songwriting and performance be the basis on how people judge the recordings.
 
Lt. Bob said:
I do think they have the right to record if they wish.
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I agree. It may ultimately be self defeating that recording tools are now freely available, but if a group wants to record, who is to say they shouldn't ? If it's that bad, it probably won't get anywhere far.
Lt. Bob said:
Also ..... one of the ways to get better is by recording and sucking and realizing you have work to do.
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This is so true. It certainly was for me. Consideration of other peoples' genuine distaste and the resulting embarrassment can be great levellers.

Beat Poet said:
Maybe you have to look at it from the band's perspective.
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Which is the bottom line. Look, when it comes down to it, if a band/artist sounds great in the studio and shit live and they intend to make a career playing live, they will be found out. But it may not matter to many of their followers.
For me, even the great bands pale live in comparison to their studio stuff, which is possibly why so many that I was familiar with on record were a live disappointment.
 
that's a really good post and discussion:

i would only say this: if you don't make them sound better, they will find someone else who can... (and then say that they are better at 'recording').

s
 
haymedic said:
that's a really good post and discussion:

i would only say this: if you don't make them sound better, they will find someone else who can... (and then say that they are better at 'recording').

s
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If you take two identical performances, shitty or not, and one sounds better...that person would be better at recording.
 
Thanks for the responses so far everyone. There was sort of an ulterior motive to my original post. I currently play in a funk band. I was responsible for recording our last CD.

This CD was a hodge-podge of live takes and dubbed in takes over the course of a year. It started out before I joined the band, and it was supposed to be a demo. All of a sudden, the bass player wants to turn this into a full fledged studio effort but not re-record the demo takes. 50% of the album is originally part of a demo. Some tracks are tight, others are pretty trashy/sloppy. Which is unacceptable in the world of funk music. Everything needs to be tight and on pointe.

Most members of the band want to record our next CD with me, while the key player and guitarist (who is arguably the most talented musician in the band) want to go to another studio and record there. We don't have a lot of money, so in my opinion, this is a stupid decision on their part. I just dropped a couple thousand dollars on studio gear and acoustic treatment for my rooms.

The guitarist was/is relatively unhappy with how the disc turned out. I was too, but we had this stupid CD release show so we had to come out with something. Anyways, he doesn't understand that crap in is crap out. Our drummer isn't the tightest :facepalm: so I feel like he thinks that going to a "pro studio" will somehow make him sound tighter. Oh, and FWIW, it's just another basement studio like mine. I probably still have the better gear.

I have recorded bands between now and then, and of course my skill is getting better with each project. I am only worried that those who listen to our old funk album will think I make crappy recordings because the songs were poorly performed.
 
jndietz said:
Most members of the band want to record our next CD with me, while the key player and guitarist (who is arguably the most talented musician in the band) want to go to another studio and record there.
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So then, the whole band is the producer. . . Well, all I can say anymore is that the bus would never get anywhere if the whole band was jerking on the wheel in different directions. . . Somebody has to drive, and the rest have to let him.
 
It sounds like you need to resolve your internal disagreements before you can resolve your recording problems.
 
I'm new to the forum but I have been in the recording game for along time. The saying I have been taught in recording is "You cant put lipstick on a pig". Remember as much as it hurts, people like honesty and most of them will improve. Plus they will keep coming back to you because your honest. Be kind an honest!
 
RawDepth said:
It sounds like you need to resolve your internal disagreements before you can resolve your recording problems.
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I wouldn't say that we are in disagreement anymore. To be honest, it doesn't make a lick of difference to me where we record now. As I said, money is real tight right now. I am guessing we have around $1750 in the bank. We have several tours lined up for the summer, and with gas prices going up, I highly doubt we'd be able to afford paying someone else to do it.

There will always be bands to record ;)
 
jndietz said:
Thanks for the responses so far everyone. There was sort of an ulterior motive to my original post. I currently play in a funk band. I was responsible for recording our last CD.

This CD was a hodge-podge of live takes and dubbed in takes over the course of a year. It started out before I joined the band, and it was supposed to be a demo. All of a sudden, the bass player wants to turn this into a full fledged studio effort but not re-record the demo takes. 50% of the album is originally part of a demo. Some tracks are tight, others are pretty trashy/sloppy. Which is unacceptable in the world of funk music. Everything needs to be tight and on pointe.

Most members of the band want to record our next CD with me, while the key player and guitarist (who is arguably the most talented musician in the band) want to go to another studio and record there. We don't have a lot of money, so in my opinion, this is a stupid decision on their part. I just dropped a couple thousand dollars on studio gear and acoustic treatment for my rooms.

The guitarist was/is relatively unhappy with how the disc turned out. I was too, but we had this stupid CD release show so we had to come out with something. Anyways, he doesn't understand that crap in is crap out. Our drummer isn't the tightest :facepalm: so I feel like he thinks that going to a "pro studio" will somehow make him sound tighter. Oh, and FWIW, it's just another basement studio like mine. I probably still have the better gear.

I have recorded bands between now and then, and of course my skill is getting better with each project. I am only worried that those who listen to our old funk album will think I make crappy recordings because the songs were poorly performed.
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Geez...How can your drummer deduct "pro-studio" from another basement studio? A real pro studio would cost real pro studio money. Tell your boys to give you a clean slate and if its not happening then go to plan B.
 
How much are you doing to make the band sound good? Quantizing the drum parts? Autotuning the vocals? Secretly re-recording parts after the band have gone home? :laughings:
 
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