TimR

Yes. That's where volume wars start. Bass drum isn't bass.

I suspect e-drummers need to learn the same thing we learned a long time ago. What sounds great in their bedroom or headphones doesn't sound good in a band environment. Too much reverb and a smiley EQ? 😆

Is this Guitar Chat? I don't feel very well.

My drummer would have to have very long arms to reach my bass cab. 😆

Record everything that you're planning to record on a handheld recorder or phone, and everyone listen to everyone else's parts, well in advance. (May have been mentioned above) On the day is not the time to find out the guitarist has been playing a minor chord over the key's major chord, or the drummer's carefully crafted great fill is crashing the vocal line. That's the same time you decide what the tempo should be, as everyone will be nervous and playing at a million miles an hour.

Again that depends. If I'm being recorded it's because someone else wants the recording done. I don't even want to be in a rehearsal room unless it's for working on new material. I'd be happy playing my part and then heading off but staying contactable if anything major needs changing. If everyone has rehearsed properly then its just a case of playing and being recorded. Studio time is expensive and guitar or vocal double tracking can be worked out in advance using readily available software and a laptop.

And that's why I said "I would be wary".

It's like any drug. I drive much better after a couple of pints.

Well that and they don't actually work if you're in the studio for a long time. You get a high then a sugar crash, feel sleepy, take another hit, rinse and repeat all day. Pointless.

Yes. Sound was variable. But that just reinforces what I say about audience expectations. Most people were listening on mono AM radios in their cars or cassette players. As long as the musicians could pull off a reasonable performance that was all that was expected. In extreme cases - yes - ghost players were used. The problem now is the musicians don't even need to pull off reasonable performances. Stock, Aitkin and Waterman were pretty bad but it's like an endless stream now of female (and male) vocalists who can't sing, coupled with a bunch of engineers whose hearing is so "perfect" that they need to adjust everything to be pitch perfect. Karaoke... And bands expect to sound perfect (and loud) - so then the engineers have to polish using all the tools available. It's the snake that eats itself.

I wouldn't expect anyone to put their beer on my amp at a gig, but quite happy to put mine up there. One beer is manageable and if I spill it, its my gear. An amp turning into a drinks tray is a recipie for disaster while those responsible for the blue smoke and pyrotechnics dissappear in the nearest Uber.

Spillages are expensive. Had someone yesterday spill a whole mug of coffee into their PC. Took out 6 desks when the breaker went and ruined the PC. That's an hour out for 6 people while maintenance replace the power strip and reset the breaker, and another, for the persons whose PC went bang, while IT replaced the PC. A smoke head went off so security attended as well. The thought of energy drinks being spilled into anything worries me. Ultimately it's your control room and if you spill tea on your gear, you pay to replace it and you lose money while it's being replaced. If your guests are happy to stump up for replacement equipment and lost revenue then I guess let them drink whatever they want. 😆

I suppose that's another reason to give the drummer a few hours head start...

Regarding Studio Etiquette. If I do agree to record again, I'll suggest turning up 3 hours after the drummer and if I have to do any drop ins, to do them without the band present. Red light fever is real.

I think we are going off at a tangent to extremes now. There's lots of stories of ghost players being ushered in after the band have left. But I'm talking about regular normal bands who could play to the expected standard. What we have done is shifted the 'expected standard' to be a manufactured idea of perfection. Unfortunately I think its an engineers version of perfection rather than a musical version.

In the 70s you needed to be able to play live in the first place. Unless you had a load of money, you weren't going into the studio to record. You couldn't fix vocals or bad notes quickly. You'd have to redo and drop in whole lines. Audiences didn't have pocket video cameras. This had several effects but mainly people were used to hearing real music by real musicians. Now music is so sanitised that almost anyone can put out something from their bedroom that sounds 'good', but everyone expects perfection. Top selling artists won't perform live as they are afraid of not being able to reproduce the studio quality that people have come to expect. It'll only get worse with AI as 'engineers' decide that straight lines drawn by human artists must be over-drawn using rulers.

It's not the drummer's job to keep time for the band. It's everyone's job. The arguments start when the drummer believes he is the sole person responsible.

It doesn't. It makes it worse. If something really needs adjusting then fine, use it selectively on one phrase on the musician who has slipped. But running everything through beat detective and pulling it all together just because you can is a really bad idea. Next - autotune on vocals. 😆

Zoom H4 will do that. Either 4 separate mono tracks simultaneously or overdub existing track.

Indeed. One reason I gave up trying to record bands or pay for recoding bands I was in. Delusions of grandeur. If you're getting gigs and getting asked back you don't need a demo. If you're not getting asked back - a demo of how bad you are won't fix that.

Summary: Guitarist was too loud. OP tried to fix by moving mics. Guitarist was too loud. OP moved monitors. Guitarist was too loud. OP changed EQ. Guitarist was too loud. OP implemented in ears. Guitarist was too loud. Guitarist turned down. Everything was good Guitarist turned up. Guitarist was too loud. OP worked out the problem.

Short of red light fever this should be a basic requisite of every band. Or at least have the guitar amps in an enclosure so the drum kit is bleed free.

Seriously though, I'm not sure using high grade recoding gear for musicians you have no track record with should be the norm.

Should have got the keyboard player to move the mics.

The one at Knebworth/Whitwell. The one at Stotfold is an all day band thing in a Marquee so not really any urgency to pack up or set up between bands as far as I can see.