Band is going into studio for first time soon...

Thunderbird91 · #1 04-03-2008, 10:19 PM

This weekend my band is recording. We won 6 free hours of recording time for winning a battle of the bands type thing a while back. Got any last minute tips for us?

I'll get the recordings up on a myspace or something soon after, I hope. I'm excited!

'

Oh yeah, we have a show next weekend too. Hooray for progress.

Jimmyplaysabass · #2 04-03-2008, 10:22 PM

What kind of band are you?
Do you know anything about recording?

Thunderbird91 · #3 04-03-2008, 10:31 PM

We are a funk/pop/rock/rap/blues band. We sound like Dispatch's and Phish's illegitimate love child, who happened to be raised by Eric Clapton. Kinda.

None of us have recorded before, but we talked to our engineer guy and we have a good idea of what's going on. We are doing the majority of the music live as a band, then vocals and solo's separately. (I even have a small, simple bass solo! Yahoo!)

scottmabe · #4 04-03-2008, 10:35 PM

First of all...LEAVE THE PARTY AT HOME !!!!! Nothing eats up precious studio time like a party, and time is of the essence...

Second....LEAVE THE GIRLFRIENDS/WIVES AT HOME...(sorry ladies)

Third... RELAX...

If this is the first time any of you have been in a studio, watch the engineer, he knows the room better than anyone !
Be patient... if you have to play the same piece a few extra times..so what? You know your parts and they still sound good.

One more thing...don't lean on them for a copy to take home the same day. The mix will sound so much better with fresh ears and some next day tweaking by the studio folks.

But above all else ... Have fun , Man....

Jimmyplaysabass · #5 04-04-2008, 07:54 AM

If its your first time, and your bands not metronome friendly, you might want to practice as a band and record all of it as a band.

If your going to overdub the solos, learn to punch in, or jump in at anytime, in any song. even halfway through a measure

Lastly, try and mic the amp and do a DI (line out from your head/preamp).

have fun man, let me know as soon as your done.

Thunderbird91 · #6 04-04-2008, 02:09 PM

Thanks for the tips.

I can't wait to record!

Tnavis · #7 04-04-2008, 02:25 PM

One thing that I've learned is that everything in the studio takes twice as long as you think it will, if not three times. Six hours won't be as much time as you think it is, it will go by REALLY fast. How many songs are you hoping to do?

Scottmabe made three really good points. Leave anything distracting behind, and just relax. It's amazing how your playing can change when you start thinking "DON'T SCREW UP" after they hit record. Just take a few deep breaths, and play like you would live or at rehearsal.

Thunderbird91 · #8 04-04-2008, 02:33 PM

We are trying to do 6.

Most likely we won't fit all of them in, but we know them so well and they're pretty simple. I don't think screwing up will be a big issue.

Tnavis · #9 04-04-2008, 02:55 PM

Are you hoping to mix in the same day?

Also, does the recording time include getting gear set up, mics placed, levels set, all that fun stuff?

JKT · #10 04-04-2008, 03:00 PM

Pick the stuff that everybody knows cold. Stay off the page if you can, so you can concentrate on making it sound good.

With the limited time I would suggest considering tracking as much live as you can. Try and not get into a lot of overdubbing.

New strings for everybody.

+1 to the no girl friends/party rule.

If the band has one or two at the most, sets of objective, unbiased ears that are not sleeping with anyone in the band, invite them to hang.

Decide which tunes will be the most use to you in the most number of ways- marketing, demo, website, post game analysis, etc.

Realize right now there is not enough time to accomplish what you're thinking of right now.

Have fun.

JKT

Thunderbird91 · #11 04-04-2008, 03:04 PM

I have no idea what the 6 hours includes but I know that the guy is really cool and might let us stay a little bit late. We are thinking of buying a few extra hours if we really need it too. I'd rather not spend any money though.

Tnavis · #12 04-04-2008, 03:11 PM

+1 to trying to keep it live. If you can, work out ground rules before hand about how many takes you'll do for each song, and also, play through each take, regardless of mistakes, unless it really gets messed up.

Plan for doing six tunes if you're comfortable with that, but be ready to only finish three. Prioritize which songs are the most important, and do those right away.

drcool · #13 04-04-2008, 03:12 PM

As others have said 6 songs is pretty ambitious bordering on nearly impossible depending on what kind of quality you want out of the recording. I have been recording with my band (not in a studio, just in the drummers basement) and it can take much longer than you expect. There are other cases where you will lay down something and get it right the first time.

But here are some tips as to what to expect:

1. Stuff you think sounds great live might not come across well on a recording.

2. Before going in decided on what quality you are looking for. Do you want perfection? Do you want something good enough you won't be embarrassed having someone listening? Are you just looking for a decent demo? Having the right objectives laid out ahead of time will save a lot of headaches.

3. Have everything down pat before you go into the studio. Don't use your studio time for making up new parts or working stuff out. Of course as you do record you will hear stuff here and there you might want to add but try and keep it to a minimum.

4. As others have mentioned, leave all distractions at home. The fewer people in the studio the better. But it could be good to have someone with a very critical ear there that isn't afraid to say "that sucked. you need to do that again"

5. In 6 hours I am guessing 2 (maybe 3) songs would be a somewhat realistic goal. Pick your 2 best songs and crank them out. You might want to have a 3rd song ready just in case though.

6. HAVE FUN!!! Realistically with this being your first time in a studio (and with it being free) just have fun. Don't stress out over every little thing and just play.

bkbirge · #14 04-04-2008, 03:17 PM

In a 10-12 hour day you should be able to get tracks, minimal overdubs (like a doubled guitar track, pre-written solos, and reasonable demo-ish vocals), and rough mixes for 3 songs if you guys know your stuff forwards and backwards and the engineer knows his stuff forwards and backwards. I'd heartily suggest you pick 3 and only 3 songs to bring to the studio. Out of that 10-12 hours plan on 3-4 for mixing. The rest of the time will be crammed nonstop with getting the sounds to tape.

Edit: just saw that it is a 6 hour session. I'd recommend 2 songs and block 2 hours for mixing, leaving you 4 to get tracks, including getting sounds. You won't be able to do much in the overdub department and plan on rough vocals only. Good luck!

DocBop · #15 04-04-2008, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bkbirge

In a 10-12 hour day you should be able to get tracks, minimal overdubs (like a doubled guitar track, pre-written solos, and reasonable demo-ish vocals), and rough mixes for 3 songs if you guys know your stuff forwards and backwards and the engineer knows his stuff forwards and backwards. I'd heartily suggest you pick 3 and only 3 songs to bring to the studio. Out of that 10-12 hours plan on 3-4 for mixing. The rest of the time will be crammed nonstop with getting the sounds to tape.

Edit: just saw that it is a 6 hour session. I'd recommend 2 songs and block 2 hours for mixing, leaving you 4 to get tracks, including getting sounds. You won't be able to do much in the overdub department and plan on rough vocals only. Good luck!

+10 When time is limited you need to rehearse and rehearse so you don't have to spend much time arranging in the studio. If you are well prepared you can cut a few tracks, listen to difference in live sound vs records do a few overdubs to fatten and then mix. If engineer/producer doesn't need to spend time arranging they can focus on the mix. If well prepared you should come out with about three good sounding demos.

Jimmyplaysabass · #16 04-05-2008, 03:14 PM

buy the extra hours, you'll need it

Thunderbird91 · #17 04-05-2008, 04:18 PM

Today was the first day. It started at one, but we got there a little early. We got all our stuff set up including drum mics and everything in probably 30-45 minutes. We checked our levels and stuff and were ready to record soon after that. We ended up getting 4 instrumental tracks done, including solos. We did the vocals for our first song in the last 15 minutes. Tomorrow we need to do 2 more instrumental tracks and do vocal for 5 songs. We'll probably have time for an extra song, so we're going to do a primus-esque noise jam most likely.

The way it was set up was we were down in essentially his basement in a soundproof room. We cut everything except for vocals live. One of the songs was just in one take, but the others took two or three. He was up a small flight of stairs in the control room. He had a really sweet setup. I don't think it was protools but it was something like it. It was all digital and he could just edit and tweak whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. The song we did the vocals for is all mixed and completely finished. The other ones won't take very long.

It was awesome! I can't wait to get the CD tomorrow.

Jimmyplaysabass · #18 04-05-2008, 11:31 PM

make sure to post it so we can check you out brotha

Thunderbird91 · #19 04-06-2008, 04:23 PM

Today went well. We ended up finishing 7 songs. There are some sloppy parts, but that was expected. I'm really happy with it though. The guy is going to work on the mixes but thursday we are going to and do a final listening and approval. So, thursday your ears will be graced with the wonderful musical stylings of Armed Rhinoceros. If you want them to be.

I'll post our myspace link.. once I make one and we have songs up.

Thunderbird91 · #20 04-15-2008, 02:44 PM

www.myspace.com/armedrhinoceros

We have another song to put up (it's the funkiest, hence my favorite) but it got messed up somehow in the mastering process and we have to wait for him to fix it. Oh well. I hope you enjoy it!