Andyalfa Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 So it was the studio visit/band meeting last night, and it was very long and but pretty positive, all in all. The recording studio we went to was a no-no however. It was 4-1 against. The place was much smaller than we expected (aren’t they all?), but the equipment was OK and the engineer seemed pleasant enough. The main problem though, was the overwhelming stench of smoke. It was awful, permeating every fibre of the place. I came out feeling nauseous and I know the other band members were complaining about still smelling it on their clothes all the way home. There is no way we could be cooped up in there for 2 days solid and still feel well enough to play at our best. The band meeting was good afterwards though. We got a lot of things sorted, but we didn’t finish till nearly 11. I got home about 11:20 and had to sit on the settee with a glass of wine until midnight to wind down enough to get to sleep. Unfortunately, I woke at 5:30 this morning and couldn’t get back off because some things that came out of the meeting left me frustrated and almost angry. It’s all to do with the recording. We started thinking about a new CD early December. The idea being that we could get the stuff out there at venues and on the website to tout for wedding gigs during the 2009 season. Now, it turns out, the next date when we are all available to record is 2nd May. That’s months too late. All of the weddings, venues and bands will have been booked way before we ever start recording. Arrggghhh! The most annoying thing (probably because I am tired and stressed at the moment), is that we could all do 15th March, but we decided it was too soon to practise the songs we’d like to do. This is what kept me awake this morning. The 4 songs in question are already part of the live set, and we chose them because we feel they are the ones we do best. So why on earth AREN’T we ready to record them? If we can get studio time for that weekend, I would be ashamed as a musician if we couldn’t go in and lay those tracks down with minimal rehearsal BECAUSE WE ALREADY KNOW THEM! One 2 hour practise would see them spot on, no problem! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artisan Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 just get in there & record them,you'll be fine. when we recorded our first CD we laid down 12 tracks on day one,added some vocals & mixed it on day too,all done while consuming loads of beer & having a rite laugh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 on the flip side practice does make perfect. We played for a live video performance shoot, we practiced the same 3 min song back to back with out any breaks for 3 hours. I then went home and practiced it on loop on itunes for another 50 times. When we went to play it boy could you tell! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eight Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 I don't know whether its a £££ thing, but surely it would be better to get in there, record and see what happens? Maybe the stuff will turn out great; maybe you'll decide its good enough to use but will plan to do it again later; or maybe you won't want to use it. You won't have lost anything except a few quid to find out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urb Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 [quote name='Eight' post='414610' date='Feb 19 2009, 07:02 PM']I don't know whether its a £££ thing, but surely it would be better to get in there, record and see what happens? Maybe the stuff will turn out great; maybe you'll decide its good enough to use but will plan to do it again later; or maybe you won't want to use it. You won't have lost anything except a few quid to find out.[/quote] totally, I did one demo in a tiny rehearsal room with no air con on a night in August a few years ago, it was pretty much hell but hey we recorded 6 tunes that had a ton of energy and for the fact it cost us about £80 to hire the room it was a good result... though I'd never do it again. I just did a nice session over in Panic Studios over in North Acton, nice big live room and great engineer, check here: [url="http://www.dancerweb.co.uk/panicmusic2/"]http://www.dancerweb.co.uk/panicmusic2/[/url] Cheers Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdwardHimself Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 Hey if you're paying the studio to record then that's a criminal offence on their part if people are smoking. I dunno how that helps but maybe you could convince them to stop so you can feel better doing the recordings. I say go for it i mean if they're really interested in the band they should have the thing spot on by now. If it's just a demo it doesn't have to be completely perfect, does it? Plus there are tools to make you sound better, if it really comes down to it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hubrad Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 Go for it! One band I'm in has (me included) been pussyfooting around trying to come up with a suitable date for over a year now. Just get in there. If studio choice#1 reeks of smoke to that extent it needs to be one very special studio if you're still planning on going there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eight Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 [quote name='hubrad' post='414705' date='Feb 19 2009, 08:29 PM']If studio choice#1 reeks of smoke to that extent it needs to be one very special studio if you're still planning on going there. [/quote] Oh I dunno, I'm tempted to book myself in for an hour just so I can enjoy a cig in the warmth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tombboy Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 Just built my own studio. Smells fresh as a daisy. I'm a smoker. NO ONE is smoking in my studio. The door is two yards away! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGit Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 (edited) Go in and record what you can as best as you can on the first date. For selling bands to the wedding market you can then edit a short set of good bits together as an example. That will be enough. If you can video your band playing at a gig too that will work even better. A 3 minute composite youtube of you playing 3 or 4 tunes will do the trick. If they are not convinced to contact you from that no amount of polished perfect studio recordings will do it ... Edited February 19, 2009 by OldGit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WalMan Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 I feel your pain. Our soundguy has a 24T ADAT that just needs a pair of light pipes from the desk to be ready to go, and do you think I can get him to record more than a gig a blue moon Of course on the odd occasions he does & I do a rough mix the only comment I get is from the drummer, who complains that the cymbals need to come up. Pointing out that he moans like bu99ery when an o/h pair are set up does not get through and I normally have to try to arrange for the recording to happen on the QT anyway as there is always some reason someone feels we shouldn't!? Why we can't just follow the Govt Mule path and record every gig, then pick best versions is beyond me. [/rant] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyalfa Posted February 20, 2009 Author Share Posted February 20, 2009 I did send the email and the effect was as I hoped. We are now booked into a decent studio, fairly local for 14th – 15th March. Not only that, but the chap who does our live PA, is known there and will help out with the engineering, which will save us a few bob too. Result. As for sound quality, yes. But my thoughts are that getting something down on CD as long as it sounds OK, is good enough for a demo. Most pub/venue owners aren't going to bang it on £10k's worth of hifi and comment about the production. Horses for courses. Our last demo consited of 6 songs done and mixed in a day. Virtually recorded as live with just a few overdubs. It was a good demo, but as the lineup has changed, we can't really use it any more, hence the need for a new one. Anyway, sometimes it seems a rant is all thats needed to kickstart things in the right direction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdwardHimself Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 [quote name='Andyalfa' post='415051' date='Feb 20 2009, 10:02 AM']I did send the email and the effect was as I hoped. We are now booked into a decent studio, fairly local for 14th – 15th March. Not only that, but the chap who does our live PA, is known there and will help out with the engineering, which will save us a few bob too. Result. As for sound quality, yes. But my thoughts are that getting something down on CD as long as it sounds OK, is good enough for a demo. Most pub/venue owners aren't going to bang it on £10k's worth of hifi and comment about the production. Horses for courses. Our last demo consited of 6 songs done and mixed in a day. Virtually recorded as live with just a few overdubs. It was a good demo, but as the lineup has changed, we can't really use it any more, hence the need for a new one. Anyway, sometimes it seems a rant is all thats needed to kickstart things in the right direction.[/quote] Good stuff! As i said, it doesn't need to be perfect and if your playing is good enough for live, it's good enough for a demo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.