Here is an update to the following post;
Our band has been asked to record a video concert that is to be played at a local corporate Christmas party. The latest news from our Governor is that all large gatherings are banned, so whether the party actually will happen is questionable at this point. We are scheduled to record at the studio the first week of December. Set list includes Christmas songs and some of our more popular 50's forward songs that we play at regular gigs. We are scheduled for a one-shot recording session with a short sound check before recording. Based on video concerts by other local bands that I have seen recorded during this Covid business, I suspect it will be just like a live performance, warts and all. Of course, the difference is that there won't be a live audience at the concert, just the recording engineer and maybe some helpers. We played 40 dates in 2019 and were scheduled to play 39 in 2020, but this will be a new experience for us so we'll see how it goes.
We had our studio session last night, and I wish I felt more positive about it, but so it goes.
This was a video concert to be played at a corporate Christmas party. First off, this is one of the best studio's I have ever recorded in; all first rate gear, and knowledgeable staff. So any mistakes that make it to the video are ours and not the studio gear or staff. This studio is owned by the corporation we were making the video for, and is staffed by their employees.
It has been my experience that bands that sound good live do not always sound good in the studio. There are many reasons for this; most bands (ours included) have much more time playing live than they do in the studio, the studio environment tends to be rather sterile in nature, the band is generally not in their comfort zone, and of course, what's being recorded will be heard over and over again, when in a live gig any mistakes die when the next song begins.
I learned when we arrived at the studio that we were one of three bands recording last night. Our band was scheduled to be the second one in the lineup. We could hear the first band from the Green Road, and they sounded terrific. Because they did a number of retakes, we were almost an hour late in beginning our session. Sound check went well, except for a problem hearing the bass in the monitors. I play mandolin in this band and the bass player brought his A/E bass which presented some feedback issues. We do a vocal warmup by repeating the Chorus to Delta Dawn acappella two or three times, and that went well. Of our seven members only five could make it last night and we all sing.
We had one or two retakes earlier in the set and I hit one sour vocal note somewhere in mix, can't remember which song it was, but I think it was one of the songs we recorded again; apparently my sour note was not the only issue with the first take. The rest of the set went reasonably well until the final song. That song "Christmas Hallelujah" was the longest song of the evening and I screwed up the chord in the last measure. By this time, a couple of the band members had said no to a request from the BL to do another take on an earlier song, so I did not ask for a retake on my mistake. Each vocal and each instrument was assigned to an individual track, so I am hoping the engineer hears my error in the final mix and fades out my instrument track at that point.
Because we started late, we finished about an hour behind schedule. We did not hear the recording before the staff had to move on to the next band, so I'm hoping the final mix doesn't turn out as bad as I fear. I think in a situation like this we all want to be prefect and are hyper critical of our performance. I studied recording engineering and hence have a lot of studio time, both in the control room and in front of the mic, so while this wasn't exactly new for me, it was none the less different. I hope we can hear the final mix before it's aired at the party.
Thump on,
One_Dude
Our band has been asked to record a video concert that is to be played at a local corporate Christmas party. The latest news from our Governor is that all large gatherings are banned, so whether the party actually will happen is questionable at this point. We are scheduled to record at the studio the first week of December. Set list includes Christmas songs and some of our more popular 50's forward songs that we play at regular gigs. We are scheduled for a one-shot recording session with a short sound check before recording. Based on video concerts by other local bands that I have seen recorded during this Covid business, I suspect it will be just like a live performance, warts and all. Of course, the difference is that there won't be a live audience at the concert, just the recording engineer and maybe some helpers. We played 40 dates in 2019 and were scheduled to play 39 in 2020, but this will be a new experience for us so we'll see how it goes.
We had our studio session last night, and I wish I felt more positive about it, but so it goes.
This was a video concert to be played at a corporate Christmas party. First off, this is one of the best studio's I have ever recorded in; all first rate gear, and knowledgeable staff. So any mistakes that make it to the video are ours and not the studio gear or staff. This studio is owned by the corporation we were making the video for, and is staffed by their employees.
It has been my experience that bands that sound good live do not always sound good in the studio. There are many reasons for this; most bands (ours included) have much more time playing live than they do in the studio, the studio environment tends to be rather sterile in nature, the band is generally not in their comfort zone, and of course, what's being recorded will be heard over and over again, when in a live gig any mistakes die when the next song begins.
I learned when we arrived at the studio that we were one of three bands recording last night. Our band was scheduled to be the second one in the lineup. We could hear the first band from the Green Road, and they sounded terrific. Because they did a number of retakes, we were almost an hour late in beginning our session. Sound check went well, except for a problem hearing the bass in the monitors. I play mandolin in this band and the bass player brought his A/E bass which presented some feedback issues. We do a vocal warmup by repeating the Chorus to Delta Dawn acappella two or three times, and that went well. Of our seven members only five could make it last night and we all sing.
We had one or two retakes earlier in the set and I hit one sour vocal note somewhere in mix, can't remember which song it was, but I think it was one of the songs we recorded again; apparently my sour note was not the only issue with the first take. The rest of the set went reasonably well until the final song. That song "Christmas Hallelujah" was the longest song of the evening and I screwed up the chord in the last measure. By this time, a couple of the band members had said no to a request from the BL to do another take on an earlier song, so I did not ask for a retake on my mistake. Each vocal and each instrument was assigned to an individual track, so I am hoping the engineer hears my error in the final mix and fades out my instrument track at that point.
Because we started late, we finished about an hour behind schedule. We did not hear the recording before the staff had to move on to the next band, so I'm hoping the final mix doesn't turn out as bad as I fear. I think in a situation like this we all want to be prefect and are hyper critical of our performance. I studied recording engineering and hence have a lot of studio time, both in the control room and in front of the mic, so while this wasn't exactly new for me, it was none the less different. I hope we can hear the final mix before it's aired at the party.
Thump on,
One_Dude
