Professional Sounding Results

[theletterq]

You can have some pretty crappy sounds, but if the song and arrangement is amazing, played with great proficency, is very well rehearsed and in time, for the most part it will sound professional.

John Paul Jones once said that he was over at John Bonham's house when he (John) sat down at his son Jason's little beginner set and it sounded just as huge as ever...

 

[BradD]

Thanks for all the help. I'll take these suggestions into account and keep plugging away.

 

[cominginsecond]

don't forget that commercial releases are all mastered by a professional! costs about 2 to 3000 for an album

You can get really good professional mastering for much, much less than that. I'm getting my record done with Tardon Feathered at Mr. Toads for less than $400. He moderated the TapeOp Con's mastering forum and he's done records by Beulah, Low, and Mark Kozelek. He's definitely a pro, and he's not charging 2-3 grand.

That's like saying you can't record a professional record for less than $50,000.

 

[chessrock]

Did you mean "...the 2nd Epiphone guitar you;ve ever recorded..."?? Or did you mean "epiphany" as in "revelation"??????

Oh my God! That was quite a blunder, wasn't it. Believe me, it isn't often that I have an Epiphone and an epiphany at the same time. I must be losing it.

 

[chessrock]

Its also rare to have the best source for every track (or any track really). When you do, exploit it.

I think what we're talking about here is the difference between commercial CDs and home recordings.

I read an article a while back about tracking drums for a Bon Jovi album. The producer mentioned that they had at least 2 professional drum techs on hand at all times to check everything out between takes. They even had several snares on hand with brand new heads on them. And after each take, one of the drum techs would swap out for a new snare.

And I've read where many of the guitarists will have personal techs of their own to swap out guitars for them so they have a perfectly-tuned one at all times.

And I realize this is kind of excessive. But as good as our recording gear and skills get . . . we just don't have that kind of means. Doesn't mean we can't get great results if we're dedicated and driven enough, but sometimes I don't think some of us are fully aware of what we're up against.

 

[TexRoadkill]

The light flashed for me when I started working on some high budget film productions and in nice post production facilities. I noticed a definate pattern.

1. Keep it simple.
2. Have a source worth recording.
3. Buy the best gear you can possibly afford for all critical applications.
4. Use proper gain staging.
5. Make sure the record button is pressed.

 

[Rev E]

My rant that I always try to make known... use quality cables throughout the entire signal AND monitoring chain. I can vouch for Mogami and Canare, as I have and use these brands. Monster is also good but overpriced. I hear good things about
Blue Kiwi cable also. There are some pricier brands like zaolla, but Mogami, Canare, Belden and Blue cable represent a nice price for good performance.

Also, use quality analog to digital conversion. Quality converters are lower priority than 1) great song/music, 2) great playing and musical arrangement, 3) good mic technique 4) quality mic preamps, 5) good gain staging on those preamps. BUT quality conversion will make a noticeable difference once you get the other stuff straight. Plus with quality digital to analog conversion, you will actually hear the mix for what it truly is or isn't.

 

[Rev E]

Also, I agree with Chessrock in that the light went on for me on two occasions:

First, when I first recorded (personally) a talented and experienced band. These guys were pros, had been playing and touring for some big names. They had recorded before and knew the rope. Once the green light went on and these guys started playing ... all of a sudden things sounded like a record... right there. Their excellence in the technical area made up for any inadequacies in the equipment and were highlighted by good equipment.

Second, the gear/equipment light came on for me when I first bought Mogami cables and a Roland sound module. The cables took all of the noise out of the signal chain and allowed me to actually hear my instruments and the recorded signal in a way that sounded like completely different equipment. The day I plugged in the Roland module and played it, I realized that many of the sounds that I heard in my head and on so many records came from this keyboard. Bottom line... great gear gets you 85% there.