O
Onyria
New member
That´s nice... and true.
J
JuSumPilgrim
New member
Heres a couple of things that have worked for me:
1. Dont always go for THAT sound that you love that you heard on THAT CD when you were 15. Experiment, try something new everytime you sit down to record. In order to get something original going you need to deviate from the "path."
2. Try to leave a paper trail as much as possible. You will always end up going back at some point and changing things.
3. Aint nothin in this world like fresh ears.
4. Dont be afraid to tear up a weeks work if necessary... You will thank yourself later and the masses will thank you too.
1. Dont always go for THAT sound that you love that you heard on THAT CD when you were 15. Experiment, try something new everytime you sit down to record. In order to get something original going you need to deviate from the "path."
2. Try to leave a paper trail as much as possible. You will always end up going back at some point and changing things.
3. Aint nothin in this world like fresh ears.
4. Dont be afraid to tear up a weeks work if necessary... You will thank yourself later and the masses will thank you too.
flapo1
New member
Good tips!!!
A sure thing that has helped me out is to experiment and try new thing, don't close yourself into predesigned ideas. Most of the greatest bands in the world have done that and have been very succesfull: The beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Queen, Jethro Tull... both musically and in the studio they did new and great thing that still amaze us. Have you heard that story about the making of Sgt. Peppers when John Lennon insisted that EVERYTHING should be don in a different way than normal? They ended up using headphones as microphones...
Remember that what you are trying to do is communicate with others. So, if the mix is not ABSOLUTELY AND COMPLETELY PERFECT... don't worry too much. I don't mean that you should do sh*tty mixes, but remember to get input from average people too. They are your target market (the ones who will hear your cd or tape at the end) and should be at least heard.
A sure thing that has helped me out is to experiment and try new thing, don't close yourself into predesigned ideas. Most of the greatest bands in the world have done that and have been very succesfull: The beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Queen, Jethro Tull... both musically and in the studio they did new and great thing that still amaze us. Have you heard that story about the making of Sgt. Peppers when John Lennon insisted that EVERYTHING should be don in a different way than normal? They ended up using headphones as microphones...
Remember that what you are trying to do is communicate with others. So, if the mix is not ABSOLUTELY AND COMPLETELY PERFECT... don't worry too much. I don't mean that you should do sh*tty mixes, but remember to get input from average people too. They are your target market (the ones who will hear your cd or tape at the end) and should be at least heard.
C
CyanJaguar
New member
did somebody say fresh ears ?
I it is of paramount importance to have fresh "casual observer" ears hear a mix, especially when you have been working on the project for a long time.
I think my mixing is ok, since I mix synths and vocals, but I have had someone come in and tell me, things like the reverb is way too long or THe reverb sounds like you are in a well.
So let someone new hear it and judge it as they would judge a commercial cd.
peace
I it is of paramount importance to have fresh "casual observer" ears hear a mix, especially when you have been working on the project for a long time.
I think my mixing is ok, since I mix synths and vocals, but I have had someone come in and tell me, things like the reverb is way too long or THe reverb sounds like you are in a well.
So let someone new hear it and judge it as they would judge a commercial cd.
peace
smellyfuzz
New member
1) Throw away all your digital equipment.
* a. PC’s & ADAT sucks
* b. Ebay & Digibig has great old analog machines for sale CHEEP!
2) If it cost under a grand, it will never sound pro.
* a. Just because a cassette deck play what you recorded,
doesn’t mean it ready for the mastering house.
* b. No $200 Marshall mic will ever sound like a Numan.
* c. Your VCR is not as good as a Studer ½ inch ½ track.
3) If everybody that you know recommends a piece of gear…
* a. STAY AWAY FROM IT!
* b. I’m sure it will suck
* c. LIKE BOSE SPEAKERS
4) NEVER VENT YOUR OPINION AT HomeRecording.cuminyourmouth
* a. A new asshole will be ripped for you
* b. Members will email you & threaten you wife & kids
* c. Shunned & ridiculed will be your spelling, grammar & musical tastes
* d. Blue Bear will arrive insuring education on matters like love, law, medicine, anthropology, masturbation, & suicide.
* e. Conform to the mass like a good boy, peeing sitting down, & repeat after me…
My cpu will sound true my cpu will sound true
* a. PC’s & ADAT sucks
* b. Ebay & Digibig has great old analog machines for sale CHEEP!
2) If it cost under a grand, it will never sound pro.
* a. Just because a cassette deck play what you recorded,
doesn’t mean it ready for the mastering house.
* b. No $200 Marshall mic will ever sound like a Numan.
* c. Your VCR is not as good as a Studer ½ inch ½ track.
3) If everybody that you know recommends a piece of gear…
* a. STAY AWAY FROM IT!
* b. I’m sure it will suck
* c. LIKE BOSE SPEAKERS
4) NEVER VENT YOUR OPINION AT HomeRecording.cuminyourmouth
* a. A new asshole will be ripped for you
* b. Members will email you & threaten you wife & kids
* c. Shunned & ridiculed will be your spelling, grammar & musical tastes
* d. Blue Bear will arrive insuring education on matters like love, law, medicine, anthropology, masturbation, & suicide.
* e. Conform to the mass like a good boy, peeing sitting down, & repeat after me…
My cpu will sound true my cpu will sound true
frank_1
New member
Hey SmellyFuzz, take it easy. Don't give your self a heart attack.
Meshuggah
New member
I feel a disturbance in the Force... I feel the presence of a crying child.....
1. OK.. so you think you know how to play your song... Yes, but do you know HOW you'll play it when you're about to record it?
2. Adjust your basses, guitars, drums whatever perfectly. Buy new strings, skins et c. Tune the drums. This can't be stressed enough.
3. You create great sound with your instruments, fingers, amps, not with faders, EQ and reverb.
4. Take breaks.
5. If someone in the band has made their part in the recording and are getting bored.. MAKE HIM/HER LEAVE.
6. Learn how to squeeze the most out of your gear. If you can't get near the sound you're after, new gear will probably not make a HUGE diff.
7. quality before quantity.
8. (mostly directed at myself) Don't stress when you buy gear just because you're a gear-slut.
9. Never listen to Gidge.
10. Food, Water, Sleep and Silence!!!!
11. Patience
12. Buy good monitors, place them well and do your best to give them a good environment.
13. Keep a good spirit. Arguments = break.
14. Maraccas and Tambourines are THE shit!!!
1. OK.. so you think you know how to play your song... Yes, but do you know HOW you'll play it when you're about to record it?
2. Adjust your basses, guitars, drums whatever perfectly. Buy new strings, skins et c. Tune the drums. This can't be stressed enough.
3. You create great sound with your instruments, fingers, amps, not with faders, EQ and reverb.
4. Take breaks.
5. If someone in the band has made their part in the recording and are getting bored.. MAKE HIM/HER LEAVE.
6. Learn how to squeeze the most out of your gear. If you can't get near the sound you're after, new gear will probably not make a HUGE diff.
7. quality before quantity.
8. (mostly directed at myself) Don't stress when you buy gear just because you're a gear-slut.
9. Never listen to Gidge.
10. Food, Water, Sleep and Silence!!!!
11. Patience
12. Buy good monitors, place them well and do your best to give them a good environment.
13. Keep a good spirit. Arguments = break.
14. Maraccas and Tambourines are THE shit!!!
Blue Bear Sound
New member
Resurrecting an old thread...
...but I forgot an important tip!
All delay times (delay, pre-delay on reverb) and flange, phase, or chorus rates should be set as factor of the song's tempo...
Actually, this isn't so much of a tip as it is actually one of the few rules that exist in recording...
Bruce
...but I forgot an important tip!
All delay times (delay, pre-delay on reverb) and flange, phase, or chorus rates should be set as factor of the song's tempo...
Actually, this isn't so much of a tip as it is actually one of the few rules that exist in recording...
Bruce
Tekker
New member
Bruce,
I remeber seeing some sites on how to calculate the delay times to fit the tempo of the song, but I don't remember where. Can you (or someone else) explain how to do this and/or post a link that does?
-tkr
I remeber seeing some sites on how to calculate the delay times to fit the tempo of the song, but I don't remember where. Can you (or someone else) explain how to do this and/or post a link that does?
-tkr
Blue Bear Sound
New member
Blue Bear Sound
New member
More Yet!
“Thank god the public only sees the finished product.”
-Woody Allen, while editing Crimes and Misdemeanors
"Every note obscures another."
-Brian Eno
"It takes a long time to learn simplicity."
-Louis Malle
"When you steal from one guy it's plagarism, but if you steal from two or more it's research."
-Howard Roberts, studio musician
"To listen is an effort, and just to hear is no merit. A duck hears also."
-Igor Stravinsky
"If it doesn't feel right in your gut, it's not right."
-Quincy Jones
"Reverb is like garlic --- The more you eat, the less you taste."
-(unknown)
"What's music but a little technique and a little feeling?"
-Miles Davis
"Look, we're all maladjusted little weirdos or we wouldn't be doing this."
-Don Henley
“Thank god the public only sees the finished product.”
-Woody Allen, while editing Crimes and Misdemeanors
"Every note obscures another."
-Brian Eno
"It takes a long time to learn simplicity."
-Louis Malle
"When you steal from one guy it's plagarism, but if you steal from two or more it's research."
-Howard Roberts, studio musician
"To listen is an effort, and just to hear is no merit. A duck hears also."
-Igor Stravinsky
"If it doesn't feel right in your gut, it's not right."
-Quincy Jones
"Reverb is like garlic --- The more you eat, the less you taste."
-(unknown)
"What's music but a little technique and a little feeling?"
-Miles Davis
"Look, we're all maladjusted little weirdos or we wouldn't be doing this."
-Don Henley
C
CyanJaguar
New member
awesome post bruce.
I have one kinda along those lines.
In the movie "runaway bride"
A rocker guitarist found out that his former fiance, who had walked from the altar, had been carrying a fake tatoo all along, while he had had a very painful tatoo done on his chest.
He was very hurt, and he did not know what to do when she left the garage where he worked.
Finally, he asked this reporter : "what would jerry do"
(jerry was his rocker hero)
You know what the reporter said?
the most profound statement I've heard all week.
"jerry would play."
.so if your heart is broken or those girls are playing games or whatever,
do what jerry would do.
Play
I have one kinda along those lines.
In the movie "runaway bride"
A rocker guitarist found out that his former fiance, who had walked from the altar, had been carrying a fake tatoo all along, while he had had a very painful tatoo done on his chest.
He was very hurt, and he did not know what to do when she left the garage where he worked.
Finally, he asked this reporter : "what would jerry do"
(jerry was his rocker hero)
You know what the reporter said?
the most profound statement I've heard all week.
"jerry would play."
.so if your heart is broken or those girls are playing games or whatever,
do what jerry would do.
Play
B
blackbuck
New member
felt that one
Never saw the movie though.
more tips ( I can't access page 2 and so I hope I'm not just rehashing stuff.) I'm a novice though.
1) Plan your tracks. Especially those guys with limited setups. Just being absolutely certain about what you're going to do helps you out.
2) Don't be upset with the first recordings you do. You'll be surprised how much better things can get.
3) Sometimes it just "doesn't have it" although the song could.
4) Use the best equipment you can afford. That doesn't necessarily mean the most expensive. (often it does though)
5) Start with a good drum track or tracks, then lay down scratch tracks. Work from the bottom up from there.
6) Backup your work if you can.
7) Don't fall in love with tracks.
8) Don't be afraid to use the recording device as a songwritting tool, experimenting with different ideas. Alot of times it won't come together. Experimental stuff is difficult, it's a two edge sword: if it comes together its awesome, if it doesn't it's a pile of crap. Take your time. you'll still end up starting from scratch alot.
9) Know when to quit. If it's just not coming out that night performance wise, take a break. Do it later.
10) Keep an open ear. Remember how many bands who've made it who had some really wierd or outrageous sounds but people love. Anything truely "different" is going to get various opinions.
11) Friends arn't always the best sources for opinions. They have biases when they know it's you who did the words and lyrics. Niether are really musically inclined people who point out every single flaw.
12) Make a disk of various mixes, writting down the various settings. listen to it later. Pick which one goes on your demo or disk then. Keep track of what seems to be sounding best.
13) Ever notice how much technique and expression come up? Ever have problems doing both? Personally I'll get myself into an emotion, try to do something I shouldn't do or get stupid and then blow the technical aspect. Sometimes people can get away with that, sometimes they cant depending on the song and person. The best alternative is to PRACTICE. And practice getting yourself into the emotion as well as hitting the notes.
14) Know your parts. I've heard to have a lyric sheet available, and you should. But you'll have a more expressive recording if you're not 1)reading and 2) thinking about technique as well as trying to record stuff at the same time.
15) Some people go into recording figuring it's a magical cure all. It's not. Practice the crap out of the song before you even bother to think about recording.
16) Take breaks. have other songs to work on. have different parts to work on. get a playstation. Sometimes I've found a part I was not happy with one day, is pretty darn good after a good nights sleep and or going out for awhile.
I'm just a novice so if anyone disagrees just say it, I won't take it personally and I'll be glad that your not letting me throw off fellow novices.
-buck
Never saw the movie though.
more tips ( I can't access page 2 and so I hope I'm not just rehashing stuff.) I'm a novice though.
1) Plan your tracks. Especially those guys with limited setups. Just being absolutely certain about what you're going to do helps you out.
2) Don't be upset with the first recordings you do. You'll be surprised how much better things can get.
3) Sometimes it just "doesn't have it" although the song could.
4) Use the best equipment you can afford. That doesn't necessarily mean the most expensive. (often it does though)
5) Start with a good drum track or tracks, then lay down scratch tracks. Work from the bottom up from there.
6) Backup your work if you can.
7) Don't fall in love with tracks.
8) Don't be afraid to use the recording device as a songwritting tool, experimenting with different ideas. Alot of times it won't come together. Experimental stuff is difficult, it's a two edge sword: if it comes together its awesome, if it doesn't it's a pile of crap. Take your time. you'll still end up starting from scratch alot.
9) Know when to quit. If it's just not coming out that night performance wise, take a break. Do it later.
10) Keep an open ear. Remember how many bands who've made it who had some really wierd or outrageous sounds but people love. Anything truely "different" is going to get various opinions.
11) Friends arn't always the best sources for opinions. They have biases when they know it's you who did the words and lyrics. Niether are really musically inclined people who point out every single flaw.
12) Make a disk of various mixes, writting down the various settings. listen to it later. Pick which one goes on your demo or disk then. Keep track of what seems to be sounding best.
13) Ever notice how much technique and expression come up? Ever have problems doing both? Personally I'll get myself into an emotion, try to do something I shouldn't do or get stupid and then blow the technical aspect. Sometimes people can get away with that, sometimes they cant depending on the song and person. The best alternative is to PRACTICE. And practice getting yourself into the emotion as well as hitting the notes.
14) Know your parts. I've heard to have a lyric sheet available, and you should. But you'll have a more expressive recording if you're not 1)reading and 2) thinking about technique as well as trying to record stuff at the same time.
15) Some people go into recording figuring it's a magical cure all. It's not. Practice the crap out of the song before you even bother to think about recording.
16) Take breaks. have other songs to work on. have different parts to work on. get a playstation. Sometimes I've found a part I was not happy with one day, is pretty darn good after a good nights sleep and or going out for awhile.
I'm just a novice so if anyone disagrees just say it, I won't take it personally and I'll be glad that your not letting me throw off fellow novices.
-buck
MONTE
New member
Always hang on to the first take, even if you try again. After you suck the life out of it with 800 retakes, you'll often go back and wonder why you wasted all that time.
GT
New member
Try to capture the actual sound of whatever you are recording.
Example; If you record an acoustic guitar, AB the playback, with the actual sound of the unmiched acoustic, same with drums. This has to be done through SPEAKERS, NOT PHONES.
Speakers are a much weaker link, than phones, So you must mix to speakers.
Recording is about reproduction, not production. If you want production, grab your electric guitar.
The best recordings, are the ones that sound like the musicians are playing right in your living room.
GT
Example; If you record an acoustic guitar, AB the playback, with the actual sound of the unmiched acoustic, same with drums. This has to be done through SPEAKERS, NOT PHONES.
Speakers are a much weaker link, than phones, So you must mix to speakers.
Recording is about reproduction, not production. If you want production, grab your electric guitar.
The best recordings, are the ones that sound like the musicians are playing right in your living room.
GT