Going into the studio soon

[sirlimecat]

What are things to expect? Look out for?

Any pointers, im not really nervous but it feels akward being the one man band, carring all these samples too haha

 

 

If you wanna hear what im recording its the song called "Mental" its on the space, the album is titled "Masochist X

 

www.myspace.com/mikepuszczewicz

[Blackwater]

Use a metronome...all the time.

[sirlimecat]

Use a metronome...all the time.

 

 

haha, i recorded riffs first, its slopy just so i can remeber the song, being one man band and having a 17 song album is hard d00d

[Mavesicles]

Be patient, very patient. You're going to have to do more than one take. It can get frustrating. I remember I had to do a few takes on a simple thing because my timing was off coming in, stopping, then coming in again. And that the fact that the dude recording me was an extremely talented writer/guitar player, didn't help me. I was :facepalm:ing myself whenever I had to do a retake.

[newholland]

go in prepared as you possibly can be. practice to a metronome first. if you're shaky, ask for a click track. if you're super concerned, ask for a click track ANYWAY.

 

remember-- it's all re-doable, nothing's totally permanent. BUT.. don't overdo everything just because you can. listen to see if you can do better. if you CAN-- just redo. if you think you might not, put it on another track.

 

but also remember that you can kill stuff by punch-in, and destroy a good feel by making stuff overwrought.

 

don't be super committed to tone-- be critical-- but also, remember how stuff fits in the mix. performance is way more important, in my opinion.

 

turn yer gain down a little.

 

 

and don't be super critical of yourself! if you {censored} up, try again. if you start getting REALLY frustrated-- try something else and come back. you're working on micro-surgery on recordings-- so niggly little details by nature are bitchy.. so go at it knowing you'll have to do microsurgery.. that way you stay focused and don't get totally bogged down with 'oh {censored}.. i'm so awful'.. yer not-- you're just hearing yourself in an oft times VERY unflattering light... none of us want to hit the solo button, trust me!

trust your engineer-- but if something sounds bad-- tell him. he shouldn't be offended. but also know, he might have something in mind. just ask-- usually they're pro and won't tell you to 'stfu'.

 

remember-- it's a moment in time-- not a national monument you're creating.. so small mistakes are TOTALLY fine and hide in the mix. if something sounds great, but is a little off-- you might be the only one who notices..

 

oh yeah. TUNE. a lot.

[Daniel Kamerman]

Learn timing.

[Sixtonoize]

It really sounds like you're playing, and the drums are playing, but they're not even remotely playing the same thing.

It really doesn't sound cohesive. It if were my project, I'd work on getting everything to fit together before the rather grandiose idea (and what will inevitable be a MONUMENTAL waste of money) of recording an entire album.

Obviously, you can record on your own...what do you think will make recording by yourself in a "real studio" and better than recording by yourself in your home studio?

I'm not trying to be a dick. I'm trying to help you out, and i think at this stage of the game, you're just not ready. Recording in a "real" studio is going to be a waste of money.

[sirlimecat]

It really sounds like you're playing, and the drums are playing, but they're not even remotely playing the same thing. It really doesn't sound cohesive. It if were my project, I'd work on getting everything to fit together before the rather grandiose idea (and what will inevitable be a MONUMENTAL waste of money) of recording an entire album. Obviously, you can record on your own...what do you think will make recording by yourself in a "real studio" and better than recording by yourself in your home studio? I'm not trying to be a dick. I'm trying to help you out, and i think at this stage of the game, you're just not ready. Recording in a "real" studio is going to be a waste of money.

 

 

I can see your point on that, i have some different drum loops on the laptop, gonna be using those, I guess your right I should call and reschedual, eh, i suck at making drums haha, how was the solo?

[Sixtonoize]

I can see your point on that, i have some different drum loops on the laptop, gonna be using those, I guess your right I should call and reschedual, eh, i suck at making drums haha, how was the solo?

 

 

Dude, seriously. This is going to sound harsh, but I'm trying to help you out.

 

 

It sounds like a cluster{censored}. Nobody will want to hear it, because it sucks.

 

 

That being said, I'm sorry that I had to be that much of a dick. I'm certainly not trying to make you give up guitar or whatever. I just think that you're really going about it the wrong way. NOBODY wants to hear an album made with a bunch of {censored}ty drum loops. Nobody wants to hear an album where nothing fits together. If your goal is to go into the studio "just to complete the album", then go ahead, but it will be a massive waste of time.

 

The quality of the lead part doesn't matter, because it's surrounded by sonic garbage.

 

If you go into the studio now, you're going to end up with the exact same results that you'll get from recording on your laptop...it just may be mixed a little better, but it will still sound like a cluster{censored}. The only real difference is that you will have paid someone a TON of money to put up with you MAKING that cluster{censored} in their studio, on their time. That's all money that could be put into gear, or coke, or hookers, or whatever else you're into.

 

In my experience (and I've definitely recorded bands that were worse off), don't reschedule.

 

{censored}ing CANCEL.

 

You don't need days, or weeks, or even months to get your songs together. You need at LEAST a year...more like 2 or 3. In that year (or more), you need to either A) find a drummer, or B) learn to program your own beats. You also need to learn how to lock in with a metronome, not just play while one happens to be ticking. You need to re-write everything to be cohesive, and have a logical beginning, middle, and end.

 

Most importantly, you need to work on developing your FEEL. You need the guitar parts that you write to reflect and enhance the drum parts, and vice-versa. Any leads that you do will have to take from the music that's backing them, and expand upon it, not just play notes that *happen* to be in the same key.

 

And you need to keep recording. HCAF is a great place to get help on recordings, and you should use it. Record a new demo, and post it. See what everyone says, take what works, and throw the rest away. Eventually, I'm sure that you'll have a badass metal CD. If you go into the studio now, though, it's just going to be a massive waste of time and money.