pipelineaudio
Well-known member
This is something I posted at a local forum but might be ( mostly ) relevant wherever
Ok youre in tune, and your drums got all their lugs, new heads, etc...
Take this for what its worth. I have had quite a few problems recording bands lately that just werent ready. The worst part is, sometimes of the bands have GREAT songs, that just cant come across for lack of skill. If you suck and your song sucks, no big loss, but if you are a kickass writer, but cant play, then it gets frustrating....I get all hooked on the song and really want to put it out great, but the foundation just isnt there...ugh ugh ugh
This might sound harsh, but if you WANT to suck, go somewhere else. Yeah its your money, but its also MY name that will look bad putting out subpar records.
So anyway, heres a little more ranting, if you come to me, or anyone for that matter. Remember, whatever you record, in one way or another you are also representing the AZ scene, for better or for worse.
First of all it would be cool if bands REALLY practiced together. Everyone knew where they were supposed to be and when. And aware of what the other is doing. Too many times I see bads that are somehwat tight at the beginning of a song, but then as it goes on it is totally ambiguous where " 1 " is at all times. And people are just roughly playing as if they had an idea of what the song was, but not really anything else. A LOT of times people play WAY faster than they are able, and it sounds like CRAP on tape. Might look good live, but sounds like ass.
It is of CRITICAL importance that the drum part be looked at. I warn people time and time again, but they dont always listen, till its too late. Yes, I CAN edit your stuff till the cows come home, and usually create a decent take out of whatever. Sometimes it is beyond even editing. And when it is played WELL, with maybe a few tiny edits, it sounds a zillion or so times better than an edited together take. EVERYTHING in the song depends on those drum parts being good. They are the reference for the tempo, the timing, when to come in, when to go out, where the " 1 " is, etc... This cant be stressed enough
So here are some specifics: There are ALWAYS exceptions to these but you get the drift
1: Hit your drums like you MEAN it. tip tapping and flim flamming on your drums, ESPECIALLY toms, is going to make for a crappy recording. Dynamics are one thing, poor control is something else entirely. If your hi hat is louder in your snare mic than your snare is, we have a MAJOR problem. Slower and harder is always better than fast and crappy. For a GOOD example of fast and hard, see " Scott Travis "
2: Dynamics AGAIN. Be aware of your dynamics at all times, keep it STEADY when it is supposed to be steady, and build it up when it needs to be built up. If you are holding the rhythm, dont go tip TAP tip tip TAP TAP tip. you are being distracting and not helping the feel of the song at all, in fact you are ruining it in most cases
3: GOD DAMN TOMS...toms are like artillery. They can have a MAJOR effect, especially if they are pinpointed accurately and used sparingly. If they are dropping down like rain, you get numb to em and just ignore them, hoping that you dont meet the " one that has your number"
I wince when I see a drummer bringing 5 or more toms into a session. Sometimes they use them all, and make everything sound great. Most of the time though, it becomes a flim flamming mess and a nightmare. Unless you are really in control you can expect every tom that you use to add at least 4 hours to your mixing time. Toms are a BITCH. If they are hit HARD and steady, they add killer accents to the song, and are no problem at all. If they are played lightly and sloppy, you gotta spend the rest of your life trying to find some electronic fix to make them work in a mix, whether it be triggering them, or gating or some radical EQ'ing, whatever, its better to just WHACK them when they are supposed to be hit.
Many times a band will bring a CD of a group to show what they want their toms to sound like. You will nearly always notice, those toms were played HARD and SLOW, giving them time to build up all their energy...AND they are in a point in time in the song where they are not interfereing with anything else and nothing is interfering with them. So of course I say " no problem"
The drummer then goes on to do some tip tap flim flam rolls using every drum in the drumset 60 times in a 250 BPM fill in a 120 BPM song, AND the cymbal is louder in the tom mic than the tome is! You think Im kidding...
If in doubt, Leave it out!
4: Fills. You really dont need to be playing fills at all times do you? At LEAST let a rhythm be established SOMEWHERE in the song. Somehow Minor Threat pulled fill after fill off AS a rhythm on the out of step album, but still....Fills should ACCENT not take away. Its like the little boy who cried wolf, do it too much noone pays any attention. Sticks flying looks great live, but * Tape cant see your tattoos*
Be DAMN SURE where one is and make sure the timing on your fills isnt at some godawful weird tempo that makes it impossible for the bass and guitars to fit. AGAIn be DAMN SURE you come back in on one
AVOID AMBIGUOUS FILLS AT ALL COSTS!!!!
AVOID AMBIGUOUS FLIM FLAMMING ON THE TOMS AT ALL COSTS
there should NEVER EVER EVER EVER NEVER be a question of where another instrument is supposed to play, EVER. Cant stress that enough. Remember you are competing with thousands of other bands out there. Loose, sloppy timing will get you the axe for SURE, 100 % EVERY time, make NO mistake about it.
Fills are great, they really make you look forward to hearing the next part if done right. They can really accent a mood change in a song, or herald in a new part. Done wrong, they will multiply your studio time and associated costs, and no matter how much money is thrown at it, will still sound a lot worse than it should.
Thats a lot to think about for drummers. You can see a lot applies to guitars and bass as well, but I'll type something up for the string stranglers later.
Aaron Carey
StudioZ/Pipelineaudio
602-954-6185
www.studiozpro.com
pipelineaudio@angelfire.com
Ok youre in tune, and your drums got all their lugs, new heads, etc...
Take this for what its worth. I have had quite a few problems recording bands lately that just werent ready. The worst part is, sometimes of the bands have GREAT songs, that just cant come across for lack of skill. If you suck and your song sucks, no big loss, but if you are a kickass writer, but cant play, then it gets frustrating....I get all hooked on the song and really want to put it out great, but the foundation just isnt there...ugh ugh ugh
This might sound harsh, but if you WANT to suck, go somewhere else. Yeah its your money, but its also MY name that will look bad putting out subpar records.
So anyway, heres a little more ranting, if you come to me, or anyone for that matter. Remember, whatever you record, in one way or another you are also representing the AZ scene, for better or for worse.
First of all it would be cool if bands REALLY practiced together. Everyone knew where they were supposed to be and when. And aware of what the other is doing. Too many times I see bads that are somehwat tight at the beginning of a song, but then as it goes on it is totally ambiguous where " 1 " is at all times. And people are just roughly playing as if they had an idea of what the song was, but not really anything else. A LOT of times people play WAY faster than they are able, and it sounds like CRAP on tape. Might look good live, but sounds like ass.
It is of CRITICAL importance that the drum part be looked at. I warn people time and time again, but they dont always listen, till its too late. Yes, I CAN edit your stuff till the cows come home, and usually create a decent take out of whatever. Sometimes it is beyond even editing. And when it is played WELL, with maybe a few tiny edits, it sounds a zillion or so times better than an edited together take. EVERYTHING in the song depends on those drum parts being good. They are the reference for the tempo, the timing, when to come in, when to go out, where the " 1 " is, etc... This cant be stressed enough
So here are some specifics: There are ALWAYS exceptions to these but you get the drift
1: Hit your drums like you MEAN it. tip tapping and flim flamming on your drums, ESPECIALLY toms, is going to make for a crappy recording. Dynamics are one thing, poor control is something else entirely. If your hi hat is louder in your snare mic than your snare is, we have a MAJOR problem. Slower and harder is always better than fast and crappy. For a GOOD example of fast and hard, see " Scott Travis "
2: Dynamics AGAIN. Be aware of your dynamics at all times, keep it STEADY when it is supposed to be steady, and build it up when it needs to be built up. If you are holding the rhythm, dont go tip TAP tip tip TAP TAP tip. you are being distracting and not helping the feel of the song at all, in fact you are ruining it in most cases
3: GOD DAMN TOMS...toms are like artillery. They can have a MAJOR effect, especially if they are pinpointed accurately and used sparingly. If they are dropping down like rain, you get numb to em and just ignore them, hoping that you dont meet the " one that has your number"
I wince when I see a drummer bringing 5 or more toms into a session. Sometimes they use them all, and make everything sound great. Most of the time though, it becomes a flim flamming mess and a nightmare. Unless you are really in control you can expect every tom that you use to add at least 4 hours to your mixing time. Toms are a BITCH. If they are hit HARD and steady, they add killer accents to the song, and are no problem at all. If they are played lightly and sloppy, you gotta spend the rest of your life trying to find some electronic fix to make them work in a mix, whether it be triggering them, or gating or some radical EQ'ing, whatever, its better to just WHACK them when they are supposed to be hit.
Many times a band will bring a CD of a group to show what they want their toms to sound like. You will nearly always notice, those toms were played HARD and SLOW, giving them time to build up all their energy...AND they are in a point in time in the song where they are not interfereing with anything else and nothing is interfering with them. So of course I say " no problem"
The drummer then goes on to do some tip tap flim flam rolls using every drum in the drumset 60 times in a 250 BPM fill in a 120 BPM song, AND the cymbal is louder in the tom mic than the tome is! You think Im kidding...
If in doubt, Leave it out!
4: Fills. You really dont need to be playing fills at all times do you? At LEAST let a rhythm be established SOMEWHERE in the song. Somehow Minor Threat pulled fill after fill off AS a rhythm on the out of step album, but still....Fills should ACCENT not take away. Its like the little boy who cried wolf, do it too much noone pays any attention. Sticks flying looks great live, but * Tape cant see your tattoos*
Be DAMN SURE where one is and make sure the timing on your fills isnt at some godawful weird tempo that makes it impossible for the bass and guitars to fit. AGAIn be DAMN SURE you come back in on one
AVOID AMBIGUOUS FILLS AT ALL COSTS!!!!
AVOID AMBIGUOUS FLIM FLAMMING ON THE TOMS AT ALL COSTS
there should NEVER EVER EVER EVER NEVER be a question of where another instrument is supposed to play, EVER. Cant stress that enough. Remember you are competing with thousands of other bands out there. Loose, sloppy timing will get you the axe for SURE, 100 % EVERY time, make NO mistake about it.
Fills are great, they really make you look forward to hearing the next part if done right. They can really accent a mood change in a song, or herald in a new part. Done wrong, they will multiply your studio time and associated costs, and no matter how much money is thrown at it, will still sound a lot worse than it should.
Thats a lot to think about for drummers. You can see a lot applies to guitars and bass as well, but I'll type something up for the string stranglers later.
Aaron Carey
StudioZ/Pipelineaudio
602-954-6185
www.studiozpro.com
pipelineaudio@angelfire.com
If they could just get "tight", the "vibe" and "feel" would be evident eh?
He just doesn't want clients to get frustrated in the sessions.