Studio in less than a week

Mahumadi · #1 08-02-2010, 09:54 AM

Well, the band im a part of will be going to the recording studio in less than a week with aspirations of laying down 2-3 tracks. We will have 12 hours to do our work.

I have only been playing 2 years and the band im in is my first band, ever. Ive been practicing with them for 3 months and have gigged 2 times. Im 26, mature, but not by any means great on my instrument.

Im giving this info in hopes that someone can feed me some tips, tricks, or just sound advice to make this recording experience a successful and fun one.

Some specific questions.. I use an ODB-3 and Im worried it may sound like crap. I have this image of studio musicians using highend gear to include pedals. Are there options in the studio, through software or what have you, to get a desired distortion?

I really have no order to this post as my confusion has gotten the better of me. Any advice, tips, tricks, or things to make sure I DONT do, to avoid looking like a newbie fool?

#2 08-02-2010, 09:57 AM

I don't mind looking like a newbie... ask lots of questions of those who are in the know, that's how one learns... besides, people love to think of themselves as experts and hear themselves talk. Win-win.

deekay911 · #3 08-02-2010, 09:58 AM

I would leave the effects out of the tracking chain. If the studio is half-decent they will be able to apply any effect you like post-tracking. Know your parts inside out, and make sure your other band members do also. If you haven't done it already, get used to playing with a click and make sure the drummer can too. Enjoy it!!

NineSpine · #4 08-02-2010, 09:58 AM

My advice, and many may disagree, is to record as much at the same time as you can (preferably the whole band), even if you are going to record over it with better tracks afterward. This will make your job much easier if you aren't accustomed to playing to a click or just drums.

guroove · #5 08-02-2010, 10:03 AM

The ODB-3 may indeed sound crappy in the studio. If the engineer knows what he is doing, you should trust his insight. He may have an amp in the studio that gets good overdrive. Or he may ask you to record direct, and re-amp it later to try different distortion effects.

Also, there is a slight chance the engineer won't like your bass. He may have one that he might ask you to use. Do you think you would be ok playing someone else's bass? Also what kind of music do you play, and do you use the OD on everything?

Mahumadi · #6 08-02-2010, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NineSpine

My advice, and many may disagree, is to record as much at the same time as you can (preferably the whole band), even if you are going to record over it with better tracks afterward. This will make your job much easier if you aren't accustomed to playing to a click or just drums.

Ill keep this in mind. The guitarist and drummer have been telling me about how we may be wearing headphones and be sectioned off (not being able to see each other).

Is this why a click-beat is used? Couldnt they just put the guitar into my headphones, so I have that to go along with the drums? Why would they only put drums through?

Mahumadi · #7 08-02-2010, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by guroove

The ODB-3 may indeed sound crappy in the studio. If the engineer knows what he is doing, you should trust his insight. He may have an amp in the studio that gets good overdrive. Or he may ask you to record direct, and re-amp it later to try different distortion effects.

Also, there is a slight chance the engineer won't like your bass. He may have one that he might ask you to use. Do you think you would be ok playing someone else's bass? Also what kind of music do you play, and do you use the OD on everything?

I do use the OD on everything. Ive been looking to upgrade to an aguilar or catalinbread sft, but in the mean time Ill be hoping the studio can give me some thick creamy OD.

I have no problem using someone else bass, in fact I was hoping they would have a few options for me. If not, Ill be going in with my Geddy Lee

Mahumadi · #8 08-02-2010, 10:12 AM

Oh, and the style of music is psychedelic blues/hard rock

Beasts of Traal, can be found on facebook.

guroove · #9 08-02-2010, 10:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mahumadi

Oh, and the style of music is psychedelic blues/hard rock

Beasts of Traal, can be found on facebook.

Oh ok. With that kind of music, and your use of Fenders you should be fine with whatever the engineer would prefer to use. My favorite recording studio here in NYC has an old P-bass hanging on the wall, and an Ampeg B-18. The only time I didn't use his stuff was when I tracked upright bass.

clmayhew · #10 08-02-2010, 10:37 AM

I always record sitting down. I find it more comfortable.

Try to run a clean signal directly from your bass and one "wet" with the ODB-3. That way you can choose one or the other or blend them. YMMV.

Angus · #11 08-02-2010, 10:43 AM

12 hours to record 2-3 tracks? Players not been playing very long? You should go buy a lottery ticket if you actually get 2-3 tracks fully recorded in that time.

A440Hz · #12 08-02-2010, 11:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NineSpine

My advice, and many may disagree, is to record as much at the same time as you can (preferably the whole band), even if you are going to record over it with better tracks afterward. This will make your job much easier if you aren't accustomed to playing to a click or just drums.

+1. If you've played some tunes for a long time together, you may find (as I did once) that you speed up and slow down during various sections of the song.

A band I was in changed from 88 BPM to about 94 BPM between the verses and the chorus, and it wasn't until I changed the click tempo in my hard disk recorder between those sections that everyone felt comfortable.

Of course, any modern studio can do this too. They can have tempo markers that are at whatever rate you want, and they can put in transitions if there are speed-ups and slow-downs that happen over a period of time.

Just make sure that your songs don't have any tempo flex before you practice with a click.

YMMV.

deekay911 · #13 08-02-2010, 11:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mahumadi

Ill keep this in mind. The guitarist and drummer have been telling me about how we may be wearing headphones and be sectioned off (not being able to see each other).

Is this why a click-beat is used? Couldnt they just put the guitar into my headphones, so I have that to go along with the drums? Why would they only put drums through?

It depends on the quality of the studio. In a decent studio, you will all wear headphones and have your own individual mix of all instruments. The drummer will be behind sound screens so the drums don't bleed into everything. Keys and bass will typically be in the same room and be able to see the drummer. The vocals and guitars may well get their own small live rooms, acoustically decoupled form everybody else. You will all be able to dial in as much or as little click as you like.

BZadlo · #14 08-02-2010, 11:26 AM

Does the 12 hrs include mixing time?
If so, I think that 3 songs is a bit ambitious. Try to simplify the recording of the bass.
I was just in the studio last week. We spent hours setting up multiple mikes, trying different basses and tweaking my amp only to use a P bass DIed straight into an LA-2A.
Some setups seem less than original but just work!
My set up times could have gone from 2 hrs to 5 minutes.
Remember to leave your ego at the door. You're there to make the best recording you can with the money you have.

Mahumadi · #15 08-02-2010, 11:42 AM

The 12 hours does include mixing time. I should have clarified, 2 songs are what we want to get done and a 3rd on stand-by, assuming we have the time.

jimmyjames77 · #16 08-02-2010, 11:49 AM

Practice playing along with a click track before you go in. My first time in the studio was an eye opener to how sloppy my transitions were. Every time a click sounds you should be hitting the string. Well in the appropriate spots anyway. After you get good you can feel the track a little better and paly with timings. For now just lock in.
Oh and for some reason being early on the beat always sounds so much worse than being behind slightly, to my ear anyway.

Mahumadi · #17 08-02-2010, 11:51 AM

By a click track im assuming everyone means the same type of click as a metronome?

deekay911 · #18 08-02-2010, 11:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mahumadi

By a click track im assuming everyone means the same type of click as a metronome?

yep, although with ProTools you can choose a couple of different sounds

dave64o · #19 08-02-2010, 01:56 PM

"You'll, of course, be playing a four-string, passive Fender, right? RIGHT?!"

Love,

The Engineer

EDIT: Yes, I'm being facetious. I'm just always amazed by stories about how engineers will accept nothing else. But what do I know?

shadow_FIX · #20 08-02-2010, 02:04 PM

The ODB-3 doesn't sound that great in the studio...I've tried it. I found it was much easier to apply overdrive through Protools after the fact, and the end result was fantastic using that approach.