Recording Is GRUELING!!!

[Dubadays]

I recorded for the first time this week for my school's jazz band. It was 3 days long, in 2 hour sessions each. I had no idea that it'd be that grueling!

[capnsandwich]

It can be a bit nerve racking at first but after a while you get comfortable with it. Just pray that you have a good engineer that doesn't make you sound like crap. Also, you'll realize that there's really not much you can do that a good engineer can't fix.

[limit6]

I've been recording for years, and the biggest thing that'll save you is being prepared. Cliche, yes, but it's so important. Even a bad engineer will have a difficult time making you sound bad if your timing is good (I usually always do things to a click), and the actual composition is solid. Silence is key. Figure out when others should drop out because it's usually one person saying too much that keeps a track from being truly special.

[Dave-Action-Fig]

Recording is probably the most difficult and confronting thing about playing bass.
I have the greatest respect for studio bass players.

[ilovethesechord]

For the past few months I've been putting together this ep/demo in my bedroom.

I'll be the first to tell you that sitting in a chair for three hours trying to "nail" that perfect chord progression, then playing that "perfect" guitar solo over the "amazing" bass line is not too fun.

However, at least for me personally, the feeling you get when you show your hard work to others is well worth it : )

[MistaMarko]

My band recorded our first album last year. I tell you, the one thing I learned is when you think you're prepared, you really aren't. You'll play something you know extremely well, and soon as it's played back, you realize 10 different things that you could've done better. You really begin to psych yourself out at this point. It's really a mental game.

[funkydanbass]

I don't know if I am not the norm, but I LOVE studio time... a week of 14 hour days, tracking and mixing etc etc

I thrive in the environment... It's the ultimate opportunity to produce and hear your music and playing as you intended it...

[MistaMarko]

Originally Posted by funkydanbass

I don't know if I am not the norm, but I LOVE studio time... a week of 14 hour days, tracking and mixing etc etc

I thrive in the environment... It's the ultimate opportunity to produce and hear your music and playing as you intended it...

I have to second this.

[Mike Shevlin]

I first recorded a bass line at age 14 - it was a fairly difficult piece & I did the bass track with the drummer in one take. I don't think I've had an easy recording day since then.

[xjeremiahx]

Originally Posted by funkydanbass

I don't know if I am not the norm, but I LOVE studio time... a week of 14 hour days, tracking and mixing etc etc

I thrive in the environment... It's the ultimate opportunity to produce and hear your music and playing as you intended it...

Same...when I STARTED playing bass, I had already dreamed of those days where you're int he studio until 2am tracking. For some reason I just love it. I'd spend weeks in the studio if could. The longer I play to the songs, the better and better it gets - for me.

+1 for long studio days!!!!

[nysbob]

2 hour sessions? Oh the humanity!

Studio work requires a high level of concentration, but I hail from the era when there was no computerized mixing and to save time and money you'd "lockout" the studio and get it done - 12 to 14 hour days were not uncommon. I'm glad it's not really necessary anymore...everything is considerably more user friendly today.

[Dark Horse]

Just keep at it. After a while it becomes second nature, so it's no big deal. I've done albums where it was 6 days a week for 6 weeks, and albums where they were recorded in a day - every project is different. Funny thing is that it rarely takes more than 3 takes to get a great bass line once the drum pattern is solidified and you've figured out the basics of your part.

Comfort and preparation is the key. I used to ride around in my car with a cd playing that was simply click tracks at different tempos for 5 minutes at a time. The car seat had a "bead" in the upholstery that was just about the size of an E string, so I'd listen to the click and use my right hand to practice "plucking" the upholstery bead (yeah, real safe, I know ! ) in time with it, at 16ths, 8ths, etc until it was comfortable not only playing to a click track but moving "within" the click. Now when I play with a good drummer it becomes incredibly simple.

Also, listen to yourself play. Get a click track, drum machine, etc, and record (use a free program like Audacity or I used to just use a jambox) yourself playing basslines to it. It is incredible how much insight you get to your playing technique, both in "timing" and in "dynamic control". You get to the point where anything more than 2:1 or "maybe" 3:1 compression is all you ever need in the studio because you have control of your hands.

Another thing to learn, record, listen, and experiment with : Using you're right (plucking) hand to "EQ" the bass tone. I rarly need to touch EQ because it more bass is needed, I can move toward the neck - more treble, toward the bridge. Even with my live rig I set the amp "flat" and just use playing technique.

Diligent practice, patience, listening, and the ability to identify your weaknesses (and improve upon them) are all necessities for a bassist.

QUICK DEMO OF SOME UNMIXED STUDIO TRACKS I'VE DONE RECENTLY

Practice, and have patience...your journey is just starting.

[walaroo]

I don't know If we're (my band) amateur, (or as I like to say "noobs") but it has taken us 2 years to get a non-terrible recording, and our new ones are still quite unbearable. At first we hadn't realized you actually need a mixing board to record, (no rhyme intended) but now that we have one, it's rather easy to get an OK sounding recording.

Although it takes literally FOREVER to record with multiple tracks, its the only way you can make it sound flawless, unless you can separate tracks you record together, but that takes professional recording-guys, and unattainable feat for 3 impatient 15 year old's.

So don't feel bad, you aren't the only ones. After all, a green chipmunk in a viking helmet, and a knight armor once told me that if at first you do not defeat the robot Nazi overlords, than zap them with a giant cattle prod until their flux capacitors short circuit. happy recordings!

[Barcode31]

The recording engineer makes a huge difference. We recording the tracks for this in about 4 hours altogether. He did some editing on a couple of the drum licks. Me and the guitar did a couple of dub overs where we made mistakes and he spent an hour editing.
Amniotic - Killer Operating System

[mrkreuzschlitz]

i always go into studios prepared,
and end up changing my bass line as i play. then i redo it, different bass line.

i usually pick the one the producer and my band like best and do it.

[Kink Rimson]

Originally Posted by nysbob

2 hour sessions? Oh the humanity!

[Jawshco]

Originally Posted by walaroo

I don't know If we're (my band) amateur, (or as I like to say "noobs") but it has taken us 2 years to get a non-terrible recording, and our new ones are still quite unbearable. At first we hadn't realized you actually need a mixing board to record, (no rhyme intended) but now that we have one, it's rather easy to get an OK sounding recording.

Although it takes literally FOREVER to record with multiple tracks, its the only way you can make it sound flawless, unless you can separate tracks you record together, but that takes professional recording-guys, and unattainable feat for 3 impatient 15 year old's.

So don't feel bad, you aren't the only ones. After all, a green chipmunk in a viking helmet, and a knight armor once told me that if at first you do not defeat the robot Nazi overlords, than zap them with a giant cattle prod until their flux capacitors short circuit. happy recordings!

Nah, you don't need professional recording guys. You just need ProTools and a Mac Book and you'll be good to go. My band uses that. We all record the song about 5-6 times, then pick the best (usually one where the drums are the most flawless), and then spot record any weak areas and cut paste over those parts, and it's a done deal. We don't have a studio space so we always have to redo the vocals because of bleed over of sound, but everything else sounds good.

Recording my bass lines is an absolute chore!! My band doesn't practice often, and unfortunately I need to play with the group a lot before I feel really comfortable with the beat and flow of the songs. Our guitarist and drummer are amazing and pretty much sound good at any time, but there are times where I have to anticipate little fluxes in their playing, and you really can't do that without a lot practice because bass is the one instrument where you just can't be inconsistent.

[shades990]

I enjoy working on music greatly... I love it. It's everything I want to do, it's like having sex with my equipment and making babies.

I say this having finished just one song, but we'll see if I still love it after several more... probably will!