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Managing time in the studio

#22
First of all, do some recording NOW. Use a crappy 4 track, 8 track, digital recorder, whatever. Record, record, record. When my band hit the real studio, we had already recorded a number of versions of each song we did.

We recorded each drum track on the first take, and laid the bass at the same time, playing live, but using the guitar and vocals as scratch tracks.

We punched in a few notes on some of the bass tracks.

Then we got to work adding guitars and vocals.

On the initial recording, we did three songs in two days.

On the followup, when we decided to do an entire CD, we did seven songs in four days.

We had acoustic guitars, multiple electric guitars, keyboards, acoustic piano, and some rhythm instruments; two songs had only acoustic guitars and vocals.

The engineer thought we were amazing, efficiency-wise.

Two songs is possible; maybe even more, but don't count on it!
 
#24
http://meetatsundown.bandcamp.com/album/reborn

that is 15 hours recording in the studio. Three 5 hour sessions

session 1: mic up the studios drums, figuring he'd know how to get a great sound out of them quicker and easier. Recorded drums and scratch guitar tracks for 4 songs, scratch tracks were good enough to be used as rhythm tracks. recorded vocals for 2 songs

session 2: recorded drums for remaining two tracks. marathon recorded the bass, only needed minimal punch ins for some parts, recorded vocals for 2 more songs, fixed a few flubs we found while listening back.

session 3: vocals for final two songs, any guitar overdubs and lead work, discussed mixing and mastering.

he then spent an additional 15 hours mixing and mastering.

it's not perfect but it was what we asked for and within our budget. and I'm damn proud of it.
 
#25
AdamR said:
And are you taking the entire band doing 4 songs in an hour or just your bass parts. Because thats a pretty big difference. Im pretty sure I could track mu 20 minutes (4 songs) of bass lines in an hour. Now the trick is tracking 4 other guys and the guitars having to do multiple parts.
Click to expand...

Just talking bass parts :smug:

If the "trick" is the other four guys and they would be the cause of hours and hours of extra studio time than insist that everyone tracks their parts separately and pay for how long it takes them to get the job done. I have been in this position the first time we went into studio and miraculously the second time everyone knew their parts better and ended up costing less for studio time.
 
#26
Itzayana said:
Actually there is something else.
One of the most important aspects of recording is "performance".
How much feel and emotion is put into the song.
I have been in studio with player who were really good at what they do live and then totally choke when the light is red.
Click to expand...

I have also seen the "choking" when the red light comes on lol ....but usually coincides with lack of experience and or preparation.
 
#31
I personally feel it is a huge mistake to mix the same day you record. Ear fatigue it a real thing. With two days I would shoot for 4 songs with bass, drums one guitar track. Then 2 of those 4 would be finished. Vocals, solos, Hammond, keytar. Then if you have time get as much done on the others as you can. Leave with a rough mix. Wait at least a week before you go back to mix. And wait again to master. You can bring out subtleties in the recording that you feel are missing. The next time you go to the studio you have a jump on a few songs. A lot of the time is setting up. Not actually playing. Take advantage of the time the mics are on. I'm not sure if you are shooting for a lp or what but if you are I would wait to master until you have the whole thing recorded. Maybe master the first two but don't wast the cash on the rest till it's all done.
My first time to a real studio we recorded well over a hour of music in two days. Three piece band. Three guitar tracks. Three vocal tracks. It sounded fantastic, BUT we had been playing those songs live for three years. Two rehearsals a week and 2 gigs a month. The two months before we recorded we rehearsed 4 times a week and took a break the entire week before to make it fresh. Build a bit of positive tension. We came back a week later and mixed everything in one day. It was recorded "live" I only had to punch in 3 times!!! Guitar player got to keep all or the "scratch" tracks. Everything was one to three takes. We were a well oiled machine. We worked our asses off and wasted zero time in the studio. The fear of spending $300 a day and blowing it put a fire under our asses. I have recorded several times since but haven't ever come close to that mark. Long story short. You get out the amount you get out is Directly related to the amount of prep time all you put in before hand.
 
#32
There are a lot of variables in the equation,
I would expect 1 song per day. (including final mix).
Don't break up the recording into 4 hour blocks, because there is set up and tear down involved.

Basically the first hour, hour and a half will be spent setting up drums and amps and microphones.
Then there will be another chunk of time setting up headphones.

You will first probably lay down a scratch track.
That is were most of you play through a song and the recording engineer is hoping to get the drum tracks and maybe the bass track down.
Then the other instruments will overdub their parts. Finally the singer(s) will add their parts.

Expect each musician to do a couple of takes. Since this is going to be recorded and played back for many years to come, make sure you are happy with it. Do an extra take if you have to. Having 2 songs that are awesome is better than 3 songs that are mediocre or have a slightly noticeable flub.
 
#33
I recently worked on a five song recording project with a four piece band with two guest musicians and the studio work was done in three blocks of four hours each.
 
#37
DwaynieAD said:
http://meetatsundown.bandcamp.com/album/reborn

that is 15 hours recording in the studio. Three 5 hour sessions

session 1: mic up the studios drums, figuring he'd know how to get a great sound out of them quicker and easier. Recorded drums and scratch guitar tracks for 4 songs, scratch tracks were good enough to be used as rhythm tracks. recorded vocals for 2 songs

session 2: recorded drums for remaining two tracks. marathon recorded the bass, only needed minimal punch ins for some parts, recorded vocals for 2 more songs, fixed a few flubs we found while listening back.

session 3: vocals for final two songs, any guitar overdubs and lead work, discussed mixing and mastering.

he then spent an additional 15 hours mixing and mastering.

it's not perfect but it was what we asked for and within our budget. and I'm damn proud of it.
Click to expand...

Me too. It was a lot of fun this time too.
 
#39
Find a way to communicate the obvious stuff tactfully-
-Be on time
-Think about the tunes beforehand (work out the 'i always miss that' moments while you hum the song on the drive over)
-don't let ANYONE be clueless as to their set up, equipment, and needs
-don't have anyone in the band be the guy walking around , not set up, talking to everybody in the band about how cool the studio is. the studio is way cooler when you get great recordings out of it!
-don't have the engineer need to ask you what you need.. let them know ahead of time the mic stands you'll need etc. try to find out ahead of time what equipment and microphones he has, and discuss with him what the best applications of each are.
-put all this information on paper so it can't float away in the heat of the moment

PLAN AHEAD PLAN AHEAD!
nothing is more expensive than paying for studio time to walk around trying to figure out what you need to do next!
 

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