Going In The Studio With Mike Headrick

Rick in Dixie · #1 08-29-2009, 10:29 PM

Hi Adam..... I'm a Bassist for a Southern Gospel Quartet and I've never recorded with a real good Steel Player, I'm used filling a lot of holes and dead spots with Bass. The only Steel players thats recorded behind me were not Top Shelf and basically played anywhere they could find an open spot. Mike Headrick, on the other hand is a stellar musician and is producing our album project in 2 weeks at Mikron Studios in Jasper TN. I don't want to go in and play like I have to normally play in a concert, should I wait for him to correct me or are there some rule of thumb issues I should know before hand ? Ronny Henson told me to just do what I do best, but sometimes I think I'm overplaying and Ronny is not a Bass Player, he's a Legendary Gospel Writer . I just want our project to be the best it can be.

adamnitti · #2 08-31-2009, 04:42 PM

hi rick!

thanks for your post. this is another great question. my first inclination in a situation like this is to tell you to go in there and 'do what you do best', but since you happened to include the phrase 'sometimes i think i'm overplaying' i think it's worth taking a closer look at things.

the first rule of thumb, of course is to always play to the music. the best players are the ones who can simultaneously do that and still possess a unique voice through their bass parts. overplaying in the studio can have many negative effects, not the least of which is ending up having to compromise your creativity because it may have been so quickly trounced upon by the producer who got a negative first impression of your lines... i guess the bottom line here, and i will do this, myself, is to make an effort to win the trust of the producer and players on the session. if you are not sure how things are going to shake down, then 'test the waters' on the first track or 2... some folks have a completely different philosophy, but i've worked with enough producers now to know that their first impression of you can make or break your vibe on the session. i see nothing wrong with taking things a little more conservatively at first, and then go from there, making sure along the way that folks are diggin' what you are doin. what i have found is that if you are not being asked to change what you are doing, then in most cases all is cool. what i like to do is throw in a little 'extra flavor' on a tune, and then ask the producer if my part is cool... you can then get a read on things from there.

hope that helps,

Rick in Dixie · #3 09-19-2009, 02:08 PM

Thanks Adam, The Session went very smooth, After doing some warm up jamming with Mr. Headrick he told me not to change a thing. We will be at Sound Control in Nashville on October 8th to do the final mix. I have been invited back to Mikron Studios to do other projects.

adamnitti · #4 09-19-2009, 03:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rick in Dixie

Thanks Adam, The Session went very smooth, After doing some warm up jamming with Mr. Headrick he told me not to change a thing. We will be at Sound Control in Nashville on October 8th to do the final mix. I have been invited back to Mikron Studios to do other projects.

Congrats! Sounds like it went really well.