Studio Recording Question

[g4string]

First off, do I restring before I go into the studio? I am a fingerstyle/slap player. We are doing fusion/funk/jazz stuff. We have a sound similar to Scofield, Cobham, Govt. Mule, Tribal Tech, and etc. My strings are not dead. However, I dont know if it is wise to resting before going into the studio. I am worried about the zing/pingy-ness.

Also, If you guys have anymore Studio tips, let em' rip. This is the first time "the band" has been to the studio together. And this is my "real" first time recording. Thanks in advance.

JG

 

[jondog]

If the strings aren't dead, I wouldn't restring. Finger noise really shows up in the studio. My only studio tips are to know your parts cold, don't stress too much (everybody else is under the microscope too, you guys are in this together), and try practicing w/ headphones because that's what you'll probably use in the studio.

 

[adam on bass]

Is your band a good live band? I ask because you might want to think about running tracks all in the same without headphones for the basic tracks. Recordings always feels better when you can just let go and not worry about the damn cord on the headphones. Stress always shows up on recordings believe it or not. Just remember to relax, it's only money.

 

[whatsinaname]

remember...Jamerson never changed his strings.
on the other hand, new strings will give your bass a full range tone. You can always remove high end with equalization / tone controls without affecting the quality of your signal. But you never want to add high end with eq in the studio because you will increase the noise level on your track in the form of "hiss". I would at least take a fresh set of strings along so you can put em on if ya need em.

 

[andrewd]

recording sounds pretty damn expensive. i wonder if my band will realistically be able to record, since im the only one with a job! (we're all in high school).

 

[mycranium]

Here's my tip: practice with a metronome a lot before going into the studio. You'll probably be playing to a click track at some point, and if you practice with a metronome you'll get done with a lot fewer takes and with a lot less frustration.

I recently played on a demo for a friend, and I was the only one who could play with the click. The engineer and producer seemed surprised - I guess it's not too common a skill - and they complimented me on it a number of times (the studio owner later hired me to record some tracks for a low-budget horror movie he's scoring). We did three songs, I did one take on all three plus a few punch-ins. The other musicians did take after take after take, mostly because of tempo issues, and the increasing stress level and frustration started creeping into their performances. In the end they did a massive amount of editing on all the other tracks to get them on tempo. My friend told me they only made three such edits on my tracks.

I think I was able to adjust to the click track because I played in orchestra from grade 4 through college, so I was used to taking a tempo reference from an external source (the conductor).

You should also practice playing through the songs without anyone else - it's amazing how difficult it can be to remember where you are in a song when you don't have all those cues coming at you from the other musicians. You really have to get solid on how many bars the fills are etc.

That's pretty much all I have to offer you. I hope you have fun, I really liked recording the few times I've done it.

-Mike

 

[Fo' Shizzle]

I second the motion regarding click tracks. If you haven't done it before it can really stress you out. My band is currently trying to finish our first album. Playing to a click difficulties cost us several hundred $'s at the beginning of the project.We finally settled on a formula that worked for us: 1) scratch guitar, vocal,click. 2) Bass, guitar, vocal, click. 3) drums, bass, guitar, vocal, click. 4) Keeper guitars, keeper vocals, solos, overdubs, and effects.
I know that may sound backwards but it worked for us.
As too strings, based on what you said about your style of play I would say change your strings, without question. The key to remember is that you can EQ out excess finger noise or zinginess but you certainly can't EQ it back in.
Good luck,
Fo'