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Band Recording: In what order???

fullrangebass

fullrangebass

May 7, 2005
3,604
43
Europe
#1
I am the bass player in a band and we will enter the studio to record our first cd together (most of us have recorded and released music in the past). While we we talking about the days that each one will record, I heard this from one of the guitar players: Drums go in first (I'm perfectly ok with this), then we record the guitars (:hmm: ) cause the bass sits best on the guitars, if there is any intonation problem :eek: :eek: :eek: .

To the best of my knowledge, drums go in first, bass goes in second, unless it's used as melodic/harmonic instrument (that I often do, but not in this case), and then it's the rest. The guitarist argued that it's hard to intonate the guitars on the bass whereas the bass can intonate easier on the guitars.

Has anyone had any problem similar to this? I have all my instruments properly set up and I use the VS-2 Peterson tuner to tune (before and during recording/performing) and all the guitars tune on it too. Never, so far, had such an experience of intonation problems while recording. I have done a search on this forum but found nothing similar.

Any input, ideas, comments are more than welcome
 
#2
Ahhhh... Hmmmm...

Every time I've gone in for recording, we always went from the ground up (drums then bass then guitar, etc. etc.) and IMO and IME as an amateur recorder, it's just easier that way.
 
#3
well i go to school for this, and its beem the topic of many arguments.

a case can be made for drums, bass, guitars, vocals etc.

my band had a drummer that was all over the place, so i (bass) went first, then guitar, then drums and vocals

but having said that, i perfer to record last and let me tell you why. first of all, theres less pressure on you to get it right. yes you want to nail your take but if theres a little flub here or there it might get overlooked and be unnoticed in the mix. this can be a good or bad thing

second, you have the oppertunity to play off of everyone elses parts.

third, you get to watch them do there thing and play producer untill its your turn. if you think something sounds bad, you get to say so. pluss its just more relaxed to go last.

in your case it just sounds like you have a me first guitar player. if your using a producer thats been around hel probably have his own way of doing it anyway, more then likly thel want the bass before the guitars anyway.

i would just be like 'hey dont let your ego get in the way of making a good record, this is how its done" or you can let him struggle with no bass to support him and just roll with it and go last, because honestly if you all know your parts it doesnt really matter in what order you record them

just something to think about
 
#4
I've even heard of bass going first toa click to lay the groove, and then adding drums etc..

fullrangebass said:
The guitarist argued that it's hard to intonate the guitars on the bass whereas the bass can intonate easier on the guitars.
Click to expand...
What the hell is he talking about:confused: seriously:confused:

I think you'd have your guitars and bass in tune and intonated properly before you begin recording, because you can't really intonate anything that's already been recorded, unless you auto-tune.... what the... just do it properly.
 
#5
Depends on the feel you're after, but if studio facilities allow it, I prefer to record basic band rhythm tracks (drums, bass, gits, keys, etc) together, with any amps in iso and using a headphone mix. Punch in any minor fixes, and then OD lead elements and bvox.
 
#6
MarkMyWordsXx said:
a case can be made for drums, bass, guitars, vocals etc.
Click to expand...

True enough, We record a complete click track, for example the drummer is listneing to a metronome, but everyone else is groovin along with him, and then later just replace each instrument with a final take, that way you have a Vocals for marking changes and for filling in licks on guitar and runs on bass whatever, guitars to play off melody, drums for timing, bass for groove. but we usually do Drums Bass Guitar Vocal lead after the initial click.
 
#7
Rob Trujillo said in an interview with Bass Player that on the Infectious Grooves albums the bass went after the guitars so he could dial in the perfect sound for what he wanted to hear.

Having said that, for every recording session I've been in (as well as when I do my own) the rhythm section usually goes first, so that's drums and bass. The intonation thing is a first for me -- maybe he should get a proper setup for his guitar before going in the studio.

Ken.
 
#8
derrico1 said:
Depends on the feel you're after, but if studio facilities allow it, I prefer to record basic band rhythm tracks (drums, bass, gits, keys, etc) together, with any amps in iso and using a headphone mix. Punch in any minor fixes, and then OD lead elements and bvox.
Click to expand...
We have a winner from derrico1 - if you have a 'band', why not record the whole band?

If the members can't play the song together, they probably shouldn't have scheduled the studio time.
 
#9
If the members can't play the song together, they probably shouldn't have scheduled the studio time.

+100000!

Typically, we record the full band so we can get the full 'essence' of the tune, make sure we're all vibing and focus on getting a good drum\bass take. Cos if the groove and meter isn't there, then nothing is. Plus you never know if the planets will align and you’ll get ‘the’ take live! You know people used to record live all the time back in the day! ;)

If the drums came out right then bass goes through to check for flubs, retakes or overdubs. After that it's pretty much preference (gtr, keys, whatever), vox goes last of course.

I don't know what your guitar player is referring to about ‘intonation’. Sounds like a Jedi Mind trick to me. Get in touch with your dark side and tell him "Your lack of knowledge disturbs me!" Then crush his throat! :)

Plus, why would he want to track with only the drums??!! Bass has to be there to establish the groove! Rhythm section has to be there together so anyone who’s tracking on top can ‘feel’ what’s going on!! It's like eating a PBJ without the PB!

Just my 2 pesos..
 
#10
The way that I love to record is recording LIVE!!!

If we cannot achieve the feel, the groove, the energy, the sound and perform perfectly (or very close to it) together, then there is no point in even trying to record anything. If the band has any plans ever performing live, they should be able to pull it through all the way from rehearsals to recording to performing, by doing it it real-time live.

And even though I do not mind the order of the instruments being recorded that much (live is the way if I am the leader, which obviously is not in this case), the reasoning of the guitar player is un-reasonable to my mind, regarding intonation
 
#12
For a second, I gotta be honest, I was a little lost here. however, someone made the all powerful statement of live takes and then I got it.

After having done a lot of studio work on both sides of the glass, I suppose typically (or at least in all of my experiances), the recording process has always been:

Load in and set-up
Dial in the instruments (in this order: drums, bass, guitar(s) vocal - any other odd and sods were accounted for before the vocal depending upon the situation)
Do live takes until you get one you like with a scratch vocal
Overdub
Mix
Master
Print
Get dropped by the label :D kidding....

That's always been my experiance. As far as I'm concerned other than an actual gig the only way to communicate the true feeling of the song is through a live take, though some bands have made incredible music by doing their parts seperately.
 
#13
Ideally, record the drums and bass together. If that's not a possibility, drums first, then bass. It's important to have this foundation for the rest of the players already laid down.

Unless you're a well-practiced long-time band with plenty of performances, I'd highly recommend recording with a click track.

But then again, if the band is that tight, it'd be great to just record everything in the studio live.
 
#14
The only thing that's important to record first is the drums. After that, it really doesn't matter. Do whatever's comfortable. If the guy wants to do the guitar first, let him do the guitar first.
 
#17
I dunno what he is talking about intonating the bass to the guitars, that sounds like he's confused to me or making stuff up?

As for recording live, that can be cool, depending on the type of music you play... with certain styles of music there is just too much bleed (so you'd have to isolate everyone) but with some styles the bleed and ambiance of the room can add to the recording

IMO, just let the engineer do his job and you just worry about your playing and tone...
 
#18
Son of Bovril said:
As for recording live, that can be cool, depending on the type of music you play... with certain styles of music there is just too much bleed (so you'd have to isolate everyone) but with some styles the bleed and ambiance of the room can add to the recording
Click to expand...

What's hard about isolating everyone? Any halfway decent recording studio can do that.
 
#19
where does the groove revolve around in your band? i know its suuposed to be bass but thats not always the case, supporting is different then groove. so with my experience with multiple serious recording sessions the first one has to be the groover. someone who can play by themself and just keep it together and have it feel strong. drummer is preferable definitely but thats not always happening. then work it down from most groove filled to least. that will produce the best sounding recording.
 
#20
Theremin first!

Just kidding. I've usually worked from the foundation, bass and drums, on up. What comes next in the "up" part can be varied to some extent depending on the band.

What your guitarist is saying makes no sense whatsoever. I'm not sure he even knows what he's trying to say, based on your quoting of him.

Just tell him it'll be simple to "intonate the guitars on the bass," as there'll be plenty of horizontal crosstalk if the bass and drums are laid down first.

Matt
 

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