Why do I loose my groove after hitting the record button?

[amra]

I didn't read all the posts, so maybe this has been said somewhere here.
For riffing around and creative jam sessions, I use an amp modeler (a V-AMP Pro which is hooked up to the SPDIF ins of my recording PC at all times.) I listen to it out of my studio monitors or headphones as I play. if I happen to get a riff that is really sounding good, I fire up wavelab and hit record, and I am recording within 30 seconds of when I decided I like the riff. This is quick enough that I do not even lose the feel or the flow of the riff or song idea. Later on I can go back and hear the riff exactly as I was playing it that day and build from there. Usually I get a rough 'scratch' guitar track down with the modeler, then play it for my drummer and singer and let them work from there. Once they have the groove and have added their ideaswe work on it live for a while and then I re-record with a real amp.

Just some ideas, but situations like that is exactly where amp modelers really shine.

 

[LeeRosario]

Well you have to treat live performance and studio recording seperately.Each requires a different focus and thats the way it's always gonna be.

Thats why, beleive it or not, some famous artist's sound great on CD, but you see them live and they are a sack of shit. And vice versa.

In fact, some artists even design a live show completely different from the CD for that reason.

Green Day is an example of a band that sounds just as good live (with an extra guitarist) as they do on CD. Incubus is an example of a band that designed a great live show since they can't replicate everything they do on CD.

It just takes a while to become used to each world and to be able to excel at both.

For example, I think some of the early Jimi Hendrix stuff came along those lines. He was creating songs that where never road tested and for him to play those arrangments live was impossible. So he seperated his studio mind from his live mind and he did both very well.

 

[CoolCat]

have you tried recording yourself without the headphones and monitors?

seriously, just setup the levels and hit play and record without the hones and stuff on...at least for your first main track, which is what your referring to i think. Your just singing and playing an acoustic?

if you were in a studio, the ME is behnd the glass..you'd just be singing into the mic. Headphones and Monitoring is only needed when the overdubbing starts...but the main performance is down.

and track Dry....don't fhk with anything until later, you can re-amp, eq, compress and flange-echo your ass off later.

 

[Dani Pace]

We all tend to experience a little mic fright I think. It could have something to do with wanting anything we record to be perfect, even though we know perfection IS NOT likely. The only advice I can give is to play/practice in the same environment where you record. Become totally relaxed with the room. Get used to the way your music sounds (in your space) so that you know what to expect. If you use headphones, run them through a seperate amp and EQ it so that the phones sound as cloce to the natural room sound as possible. Record untill you no longer pay any attention to the red light even being on. Repeat the process over and over untill it becomes natural. If there is a better way, I havent found it....yet.

 

[SouthSIDE Glen]

"Hurry, hurry, run upstairs," I say to myself,

You're psyching yourself out. The recording is not important. Treat it like your just playing for an old friend who came over instead of for your going to a job interview, and you'll do just fine.

G.

 

[lpdeluxe]

What I say to my clients:

"Pretend you're playing to the toaster."

That's all those racks of gear and that mic amount to. Just another kind of toaster.

 

[NYMorningstar]

"Pretend you're playing to the toaster."

"Somebody needs a strait jacket!!" haha, that's what they'd be tellin me as I'm sayin " Hey, I'm on with that, just playin to me toaster" haha

Hey, Happy New Year

 

[SouthSIDE Glen]

Unfortunately my toaster preferrs campy stage musicals.

...it was bought on the north side.

G.

 

[SillyBee]

ALWAYS play as if the Red Light is on!

 

[noisewreck]

1. The way I'm actually hitting record, having to move around towards the mic does not help out very much.
(This could be fixed with a wireless mouse triggered by my foot.)
2. While recording I seem to worry about every mistake or missed note, I try to do everything in one take.

One way around both these problems: Set punch in marker where you want to start recording. If you have some background parts, repeat them several times with a bit of a pause inbetween. Then, just hit play several measures before the punch in point to allow yourself enough time to settle while you have some intro playing. This could be the first few measures of the accompaniment too, repeating 7-8 times, which would help to get you in the groove. Then, once you feel good and ready, start singing. Don't worry about having the perfect take. The less you worry about it, the better it will be. Don't try to have it in one pass. This will almost never happen, specially if you're doing everything by yourself.

If you're just recording voice and guitar, just setup your project (in whatever sequencer/DAW you're using) so it can record for 2-3 hours, and just record it. This way you don't have to constantly get up, rewind, hit record, all that nonsense, but can just concentrate on what you're doing.

 

[Bob's Mods]

Why does my guitar and voice sound different after hitting the record button?

While playing a song downstairs it always seems to have a different vibe, more open and relaxed. "Hurry, hurry, run upstairs," I say to myself, as tired legs push me into the modest second floor studio. Okay, now everything has to be turned on and setup for desired results. Now we fast forward an hour, we're still messing around with the mic and guitar, nothing worth while has been laid down.

Finally in an act of rage I force something across the diaphragm that will only be turned into a scary looking wave pattern on my screen. "No matter how these 1's and 0's come out at least it will be something," I yell at the computer screen. After taking a short break I come back to listen and can only say to myself, "this crap sounds like poo"!

I've discoverd this too. I have often wondered if the fields generated by monitors and electronic gear you happen to be close too somehow interfere with the brains electrical process in the area of creativity? There can be some strong fields being radiated close to your equipment. It dissapates quickly once you move away for the gear.

Also too, remember the gear is just a tool, similar to a hammer is to a carpenter who uses it to build a house. It enables you to complete a task. But...being in the presence of a your favorite artist might inspire you to greater heights. Motown used to have a place where all their artists could work on their individual stuff while in the same area. They could throw stuff off of each other and learn from each other. Its not the presence of your "hammer" that will inspire you, its other like minded individuals.

Bob the Mod Guy