The nightmares are many. The path to glory is fraught with pitfalls. If your band doesn’t record well, you might as well throw in the towel. With Myspace, the Internet clouds, and the glut of available media, people are going to give you about 10 seconds of your first song to prove yourself, and if you suck, they are going to move on and never come back.
We go into the studio on February 22-23rd to record a three song demo. Sounds so simple, but oh man . . .
Here are some great ways to wreck a recording session:
Drummers:
- Skimp on replacing old drum heads
- Fail to tune your drums or ask someone to tune your drums
- Blow off showing up one day early to spend a couple hours specifically on drum set up
- Fail to tell the studio tech to move the overhead mikes if your sticks might hit them
- Forget to bring enough/new sticks
- Forget your drum carpet or another random item
- Speed up during the song
- Slow down during the song
- Play irritating fills that are too long or too short
- Not speak up about the headphone mix so you can hear the bass guitar and other important parts that you need to hear
- Spaz out on the ending
- Forget to bring tape and pillows to mute unwanted sounds
Guitarists:
- Forget to change your strings
- Forget to stretch and play in new strings
- Fail to tune before each take
- Fail to keep your hands and instrument the same temperature
- Set up under track lighting, which increases buzz
- Move your guitar around too much, which increases/decreases ambient crackling
- Play obnoxious solos that don’t fit the song
- Have old weak batteries in your pedals
- Neglect to practice enough beforehand
- Find out your part sucks and changing it during the recording session
- Change the volume between takes by playing too hard or soft
Bassists:
- Blow the groove
- Play irritating, showy bass lines that lack taste and discipline
- If you are doing your job, hardly anyone will know you are there
Singers:
- Fail to use a pop guard
- Use the wrong microphone for your singing style
- Blow off memorizing the words
- Forget to put tape on the floor so you remember exactly where to stand between takes
- Move your head around too much in relation to the microphone
- Record sober — I have yet to hear a vocalist who doesn’t sound more relaxed after a shot whiskey
- Bleat like a nervous goat because you are so terrified
- Try to portray a narrator in the song that you lack empathy for
- Sing outside your style or capacity
- End up with a weak pair of headphones with a bad mix
Whole Band:
- Fail to rehearse and think you can figure it out in the studio
- Settle for an inferior take and be bothered about it forever
- Don’t spend enough time mixing it properly
- Be tense, overly critical, too rushed, etc.
- Fail to get enough sleep
- Show up hungover
- Forget to take breaks so you get hungry and thirsty
- Lose focus
Recording Engineer:
- This is a big topic, I’ll try to come back to this in a later post.
I would love it if some musicians would pipe in with some examples of problems they have had in recording sessions. Bloopers, tragedies, bungles, goofs. Tell us about it. The only reason I know about the stuff above is because I’ve made just about every mistake in the book at one time or another.
{ 2 comments }
For me, the challenge lies in practicing patience. I like imperfection but it has to be Just Right!
Working with others in a studio setting definitely poses a mental health risk for all involved but even more so when even one ( or more ) person(s) brings their shadow-self(s) into the studio to project on everyone else.
I hear chanting OM, relaxation tapes and circle jerks all contribute to a healthy band/session. Just sayin.
InJoy!
j
Nowhere Love?
Now Here Love!
nowherelove.com
Yeah, staying chill is a big part of it. Fights in the studio can get ugly. The recording engineer ends up playing the psychologist, like Doctor Phil on Oprah.
Thanks for commenting.
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