Recording Advice: Fast Punk With a Pic

[basskababble]

I know I'll loose some interest mentioning punk and a pick... but it's a legitimately hard way to record lines, trying to land triplets over multiple strings with a pic at 220 bpms... so I could use some advice before my recording session with our engineer.

We're doing our songs as a package deal at a deep discount, so we're all trying to nail songs in as few takes as possible. I have 7 songs to get down each with their own challenges.

What do you guys do to prep for a 7 song session? I'm thinking sleep, plenty of time practicing with our click/scratch track, and maybe something to keep the edge off and help me focus? I'm open to anything from caffeine to pills (no blow or roids though.

[knumbskull]

not sure what you're asking? just learn the songs back to front, and especially practice any really complex bits. warm up first, relax, and try not to strain your wrist.

if there are complicated bits of the basslines that you consistently get wrong, maybe ask yourself whether they are completely necessary for the song.

[sammyfallen]

Play on or close to the butt end of the neck, and don't boost your bass amps lows to the max or you will end up with an extremely muddy undefined tone. keep your wrist loose and don't play with your arm. Practice your lines like a mofo ..

[sammyfallen]

Originally Posted by knumbskull

if there are complicated bits of the basslines that you consistently get wrong, maybe ask yourself whether they are completely necessary for the song.

+ 1, another thing to keep in mind is other bassist will be the only ones really noticing your runs, and scales...

[JoeDissolvo]

As a punk bassist that uses a pick, i can help out a little bit.

simplify the lines a little. For me, its easiest to play the line on two strings, as opposed to three, that way you can keep the picking speed up. Just mess around with it, and find something in the same scale, but just on a lower string. Your fretting hand might have to move around like a mofo, though.

If you insist on not changing your lines, try sitting down and recording them. For me anyway, anything real complex i tend to sit down to practice/record. I dont know why, but it makes it so much easier to play.

[pasta4lnch]

Originally Posted by basskababble

We're doing our songs as a package deal at a deep discount, so we're all trying to nail songs in as few takes as possible. I have 7 songs to get down each with their own challenges.

unfortunately this scenario is a reality some times. fwiw I've been on both sides of the glass - usually w/ less a budget than is needed. you have to do the best w/ what you have!

in a perfect world we'd have artistic freedom (and large paychecks) but if you have limited time and can't play a line you have 2 options. get a recording of you not playing the line perfect (i.e. something a lot of people will notice) or simple it up a bit and get a great recording.

the worst thing is having a recording that you're not happy w/ - I've not been able to listen to whole projects because of it. it SUCKS!

if the lines mean that much to you - practice your ass off!

[omnimutant]

Just an aside...isn't punk supposed to sound a little crappy anyway? Not as in bad music, but more rough around the edges and not perfect. At least that's how it used to be. Less polished and more unrehearsed sounding.

[Killspringer]

Practice is #1, yes.

But... and I know I'll probably catch some flak for this... if you're good with protools (or whatever DAW) and things are a little off beat, you can zoom in and drag notes around, using cutting and pasting combined with fades/crossfades to extend the sustain of a note that had to be moved forward, and sort of a reverse process for moving a note back in time. Some engineers don't like it when people take their parts home for editing, but I for one appreciate a band that understands enough about pro tools that they can say, "hey, let me take my bass parts home and edit things a little and bring it back to you edited". Make sure you dont' overdo it.

Next, just make sure you're grooving with the drummer as much as possible for the whole session. Even focus on watching the head of the kickdrum and try and play in time with the way the head of the kick is moving in and out when the beater hits it. Make sure you can feel the bass (kinda sucks to record in just headphones), so you might want to consider baffling your amp or being on the other side of the glass from the drummer if your studio has that luxury. Ideally you'll be in the same room as the drummer so you can really feel the drums too. Make sure the band as a whole lets you and the drummer get good takes... the guitar and vocal stuff can be overdubbed later as long as the drum/bass foundation is solid.

Whatever happens, focus on the big picture. Simplify your parts if you have to. Nobody is going to listen to your record and say "man, I wish the bassist was playing 32nd notes instead of 16th's or 8ths there", but they will hear something that was too fast for your ability or the part that is best for the song. Lock in with the drummer, focusing on the groove of the whole song, and don't stop a take just cuz of a few notes. If there's good isolation on the bass rig, and assuming you're not tracking to tape, those parts can be edited to be more on beat, or overdubbed later.

Also, you might try moving to a lighter pick or play closer to the bridge or closer to the neck; see what's faster/easier and go with it. When I play with a pick I use Clayton bass picks. The triangle shape really rests in your hand very well, and the slightly rounded corners make the pick move across the strings more consistently than a guitar type pick. They are the best for this type of playing. Seriously, GET CLAYTON BASS PICKS. Focus on your up and down wrist/forearm motion ("alternate picking") and make sure that the up-and-down motion isn't interrupted by a certain line, and if it is and it's causing problems, change it or play it on a different string or position and see if that helps.

Finally, remember its punk, so try not to give so much of a f*ck and focus on being high energy. Hope this helps!

[Killspringer]

I was also gonna say... practice with a metronome in this way:

start on a very fast tempo, like you said, 220bpm. Once your grooving to 220bpm, cut it in half to 110bpm and play the same part. Once you're grooving to 110bpm, cut it down to 55bpm and play the same part. This helps a ton because you're progressively allowing the metronome to do less work every time you cut the tempo in half.

[mpdd]

do two easy covers first and then rock out