Can playing style effect recording?

L

LeeJ

New member
I've played in a UK country Band for 17years now and although I aint no Brad Paisley, Im not a bad twanger.

The problem is when we're doing our album, it comes to me putting down the lead guitar work and when I listen to it back it sounds sh!te, twangy and very amature (in that order).

Is it possible that my style of playing does not lend itself to recording. Am I a LIVE player only? Is this possible?

Has anyone ever had anyone in a studio that you've had to say "Look mate your a fine player but just not in a recording enviroment" ??

Im frustrated but if this is the way it is then so be it.
 
You need to be able to lay down extremely tightly timed and dynamically super stuff. That's the kind of stuff you don't notice so much when your playing, but when your listening, and especially in a studio enviroment, it can be become very clear. Tracking is very different from gigging, and in my opinion, ALOT harder. Tough luck mate :)
 
LeeJ said:
Has anyone ever had anyone in a studio that you've had to say "Look mate your a fine player but just not in a recording enviroment" ??
Click to expand...

Yes. Only I don't generally call them "mate," since I'm in the states. :D
 
Recording yourself is an eye opening experience. It's like football players watching game tapes after the game so you can see your mistakes in the third person. It's the best teacher I know of. You always discover that that one lick you do that you think kicks ass, don't. You can learn to do it for sure but it's like any other learned skill, it takes time.
 
It's the best teacher I know of.

Amen to that. I can always tell guys who haven't recorded before (including themselves, on maybe a cassette) when they come into my studio. Sloppy timing, buzzing strings on chords, missed chord changes..."feel" will only get you so far. Playing live is a great way to improve, in the sense that you get used to performing before an audience and under pressure, but not necessarily a great way to get precise. Recording is all about getting it right. Not perfection, but the performance of the song or solo without a lot of extraneous noises or out-of-time or out-of-tune licks that distract the listener.

Luckily, there is a solution: record yourself and listen back. You'll get better. And do it before you haul all that gear into a studio.
 
I remember the journey of learning to sing on a recording.

It's almost like learning to sing into a mic, really is an acquired skill. Now it's no problem.

I agree that recording performance is quite a skill that improves only with practice.
 
It could be one of two things:
1) You are over-critiquing your work. Ask your band members if they think it sounds OK. Do you have a producer? What does he/she say?

2) You have never heard yourself play when you are not actually playing. Like everyone else has said, record yourself not on studio-time and listen for improvements.
 
Can playing style effect a recording? Playing style is almost everything to a recording. When I'm dealing with a real pro musician, it's almost impossible to screw up the recording (or the mix for that matter). It doesn't matter what instruments he's playing or what mics and preamps I'm using (within reason), when I record a pro it comes out sounding great. So yeah, the musician's playing style is way up there on the list of important stuff.
 
This is a painful experience, like the first time you heard your spoken voice recorded. ("I don't sound like that!") :D

As the others have said, it will really open your eyes to the need for good, tight playing. Listening to recordings of yourself will definitely improve your skill.
 
If it's any consolation, this works both ways. I've recorded guitatists who are fantastic (or at least pretty damn good) on stage but who are totally off in the studio...and some incredable guys in the studio who lack the presence to perform in public.
 
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