When you record, do you go for "feel" or "no mistakes"?

[GreyBeard]

I seldom play anything the same note for note. As long as I don't flub it up and the feel is right then I'm good with it.

 

[Dabndug]

Horses for courses, as my dear old Dad used to say. There are times when you'll want every error to be there, no matter how drastic, to remain "authentic". There are times when you'll want the recording to be so crystal perfect that it would make an angel cry. Most of the time you'll be looking for a compromise. With digital technology, you can pretty much achieve anything from one extreme to the other with a small number of takes.

 

[4001]

If I'm making mistakes during recording, that means I didn't rehearse the tune enough.

edit for: I have at least one mistake on each of my videos..

 

[PWRL]

I want it to be right. That means the right feel, with no mistakes. Sometimes I make them, sure, but it drives me nuts, and I know where they all are, too.

 

[buldog5151bass]

Both. The times I've gone to the studio, I had my parts down cold, and worked hard with the drummer to get the feel. But no matter what, you should know your parts in your sleep - the recording doesn't let you hide.

 

[Basshappi]

Many of the greatest recordings in history have mistakes.
A great performance is job #1, always.
Through preparation reduces mistakes and usually helps to ensure that the ones that get through are minimal.
Quantization (and auto-tune) is the worst thing to happen to music.

Rick lays it out very well;

 

[dbsfgyd1]

What's your approach to recording (for release)? Does the finished song need to be mistake-free? Do you quantize and move notes to get "perfection"? Do you record a take that sounds and feels good and say "yep, that's it"? Or somewhere in between?

I ask because I'm typically a "somewhere in between" leaning toward "if it's a good take with good energy and groove, don't mess with it". But I've worked with producers who would go through each beat and nudge the kick drum (or other parts) measure by measure if it wasn't exactly where they wanted it (and this was for a drummer with good groove). And I thought the final product sounded kind of sterile.

So I'm curious about others' practices and leanings.

When I record I'm usually very prepared for the task at hand. That means the song form is laid out, the melody lines are settled, and I have a good idea of what my part should be.

With modern recording you have the ability to cut and paste parts to fix just about anything if needed.

 

[Smooth_bass88]

Gotta be both. If a take is 90% perfect but with one or two flubs, just simply go back and punch in.

 

[groovaholic]

Feel is king, but glaringly obvious errors should be corrected.
I'm always my own worst critic, so rather than obsess over it, I let my bandmates weigh-in on what requires correction, and what's fine the way it is.

 

[Acoop]

Headspace, headspace, headspace. ... So, that's feel with no mistakes. ... If you can do it better then, do it better. ... Just remember, if you're not mixing the song expect the bass to be buried. ... Even killer tracks get buried. ... Why? ... Because bass is more present in a studio setting and they always turn it down thinking that's the way it'll be on a CD, but, it ain't. ...

 

[MDBass]

What's your approach to recording (for release)? Does the finished song need to be mistake-free? Do you quantize and move notes to get "perfection"? Do you record a take that sounds and feels good and say "yep, that's it"? Or somewhere in between?

I ask because I'm typically a "somewhere in between" leaning toward "if it's a good take with good energy and groove, don't mess with it". But I've worked with producers who would go through each beat and nudge the kick drum (or other parts) measure by measure if it wasn't exactly where they wanted it (and this was for a drummer with good groove). And I thought the final product sounded kind of sterile.

So I'm curious about others' practices and leanings.

Both is the only right answer here.

There is absolutely no reason in the digital recording age to leave a mistake in a final track, unless it's a happy accident that actually improves the song.

That said, a "producer" who arbitrarily grids a drum take already sounds and feel great literally doesn't understand what a producers job is.

 

[eddododo]

It depends.. some styles and largely improvised recording processes lend themselves to small mistakes (like a badly fretted note in a run) not mattering in the least. But there are absolutely times where I want to have a good plan and nail every single note critically.

That being said, if I weren't so shy I would (and have) sit there with the engineer and perfect every little moment.. it's important to know when to let go

 

[MDBass]

What's your approach to recording (for release)? Does the finished song need to be mistake-free? Do you quantize and move notes to get "perfection"? Do you record a take that sounds and feels good and say "yep, that's it"? Or somewhere in between?

I ask because I'm typically a "somewhere in between" leaning toward "if it's a good take with good energy and groove, don't mess with it". But I've worked with producers who would go through each beat and nudge the kick drum (or other parts) measure by measure if it wasn't exactly where they wanted it (and this was for a drummer with good groove). And I thought the final product sounded kind of sterile.

So I'm curious about others' practices and leanings.

I was once on a session where I played a run with a m6 in it, over a chord with a M6 in it, because that's where my ear took me: the producer loved the tension it gave the part, and the same line with the M6 instead (though technically correct) sounded totally wrong.

"If it sounds good, it IS good" is the golden rule.

Playing with "feel" doesn't mean sloppy time keeping or making mistakes though, and it's often enough used as an excuse by pedestrian players who don't have the chops to play a part any other way.

It actually takes a fairly advanced player to intentionally, and consistently, push or pull around the beat.

Playing as laid back as Pino did on Voodoo is REALLY hard.

 

[Artman]

Groovy feel and no mistakes

 

[Spectrum]

Listen to Jimmy Page's solo on Heartbreaker. It's been said that he was sloppy when he played that, and that a hard rock or metal guitarist today would be expected to do it much "better".

Which is a bit ironic, considering Page had been a session guitarist before starting Zeppelin. But in any case, I think the passion and slop in that solo are part of what makes it great, and part of what makes Led Zeppelin great in general. Page had skill and used it when and where he needed, and he also knew when it was time to let his hair down and set it on fire and just go for it.

So as long as you're as awesome as Led Zeppelin, you'll be fine playing sloppy! Which is a sarcastic way of saying that while feel is great, you still have to practice and be good at your instrument in order for it to mean anything.

 

[fdeck]

Since I play upright and fretless electric, I'm always concerned about intonation. That makes me too cautious in the studio. I play with plenty of feel but am cautious in my choice of notes.

 

[DavC]

if it's not without mistakes and hasn't got the 'feel' ... it's not ready to record ... !!

Both is the minimum ..!

 

[IamGroot]

What is a mistake? My recent instructor taught me how not to broadcast mistakes so they were not noticeable.

 

[Nephilymbass]

What's your approach to recording (for release)? Does the finished song need to be mistake-free? Do you quantize and move notes to get "perfection"? Do you record a take that sounds and feels good and say "yep, that's it"? Or somewhere in between?

I ask because I'm typically a "somewhere in between" leaning toward "if it's a good take with good energy and groove, don't mess with it". But I've worked with producers who would go through each beat and nudge the kick drum (or other parts) measure by measure if it wasn't exactly where they wanted it (and this was for a drummer with good groove). And I thought the final product sounded kind of sterile.

So I'm curious about others' practices and leanings.

my goals for tracking are

1) be well prepared.... so I don't make many mistakes. I hate how so much music these days is copy and pasted together so if I play a take that requires punching in multiple times to fix I'll just play the entire song over. Every recording I've ever been on the bass was the fastest instrument to track. So no one gives me crap if I want to spend an extra 5 minutes retracking a song instead of punching in a bunch of times. For me if it's a minor mistake like I hit a note a few milliseconds off or a part has some notes where the attack isn't consistent I'll often leave it be because to me that stuff gives the recording character but obviously catastrophic mistakes don't fly.

2) capture the energy/dynamics. (You can play flawlessly but if the performance doesn't have right energy it'll suck. I try to get my mind in the right place and if it's a high energy song Ill track it standing up and rocking out a little. Not to say that everyone is the same but I know when I play sitting down the vibe changes a lot.

 

[JimHouchin]

I usually blend the two and put no mistakes with feel and get "no feel"!!