Much respect to those who record...

Me and the boys recorded 8 songs back in the early 70s. Analog not digital. Our approach was to have an album depicting what we do live. No splicing, overdubs, or anything an audience wouldn't hear when we were on stage. Came out great.

That's always been my preferred approach. Keep it simple, authentic, and transferable to live settings. No tricks, toys, or gimmicks. Perhaps that standard isn't technologically advanced enough for many of today's listeners, though in some cases, technology is in place to disguise otherwise bad music.
 
I've done both analog and digital. I prefer digital. Not for the bells and whistles, but for the piece of mind. I can play with a click, so grid me up. All my parts were always exact, meaning I played it the same way every time. Digital made it easy to fix any mistakes without another take. Once I was done, I was done. I was always able to sleep well at night knowing my parts were solid.

Analog frustrates me. First off, no click. So all mistakes were left alone, or the track was scrapped and we did another. Second, everyone must feel good about their take. This is extremely difficult when you play big, complex, faster pieces. So 1 or 2 takes becomes 8 real quick. If someone is having a bad day, everyone ends up having one eventually this way. At least in my experience.

I love the studio. I could live there. It's much more friendly than the road. Magic happens there and it has always left a big ? eating grin on my face.
 
I've done both analog and digital. I prefer digital. Not for the bells and whistles, but for the piece of mind. I can play with a click, so grid me up. All my parts were always exact, meaning I played it the same way every time. Digital made it easy to fix any mistakes without another take. Once I was done, I was done. I was always able to sleep well at night knowing my parts were solid.

Analog frustrates me. First off, no click. So all mistakes were left alone, or the track was scrapped and we did another. Second, everyone must feel good about their take. This is extremely difficult when you play big, complex, faster pieces. So 1 or 2 takes becomes 8 real quick. If someone is having a bad day, everyone ends up having one eventually this way. At least in my experience.

I love the studio. I could live there. It's much more friendly than the road. Magic happens there and it has always left a big ? eating grin on my face.

My last band recorded exclusively in analogue studios (8 and 16 tracks) and we had a click each time.

Obviously depends on the studio but recording in analogue doesn’t mean you can’t have one.
 
My last band recorded exclusively in analogue studios (8 and 16 tracks) and we had a click each time.

Obviously depends on the studio but recording in analogue doesn’t mean you can’t have one.
I was not afforded the option either time. It was also like 25 years ago. It wasnt a big deal, I just like the click.

Now, I would always have a click as long as I have my phone.
 
My last band recorded exclusively in analogue studios (8 and 16 tracks) and we had a click each time.

Obviously depends on the studio but recording in analogue doesn’t mean you can’t have one.
Yeah, back in the analogue days we ran a click track off my Dr Rhythm drum machine on one of the tracks, in later years when I was programming keys I set up a click track with the keyboard tracks in Cakewalk...digital was a lot easier as I just set up midi tracks, but there was something extra special l about going home with the 2” master tapes and DAT cassette mixes...good times! (y) :)
 
And preparation is really the critical element. Knowing your parts inside out instills considerable calm. I've also participated in on-call recordings in which preparation has been minimal. Sometimes I've had drum charts; other times I haven't. Confidence goes a long way toward making you comfortable in any situation that arises. Often, if you believe you can get through a session just fine, you find that you really can.
Best bet is to let the Wrecking Crew do your recording for you.Two takes as opposed to seventy when The Byrds tried doing it for themselves. (if I remember correctly)
 
Yeah, back in the analogue days we ran a click track off my Dr Rhythm drum machine on one of the tracks, in later years when I was programming keys I set up a click track with the keyboard tracks in Cakewalk...digital was a lot easier as I just set up midi tracks, but there was something extra special l about going home with the 2” master tapes and DAT cassette mixes...good times! (y) :)

There is indeed. Something magical about analogue and leaving the studio with the tape.

Obviously we’d converted it to a digital file once complete but I prefer analogue every time now.

Something more honest about that recording technique. Everyone has to be at the top of their game.

Here’s the reel to reel in the last studio we used. Absolutely love it.

4810259F-AE26-428C-8EAB-D63AD9E0DAD4.jpeg
 
i havent recorded in a few years myself, but i found it bringing back good memories. i first recorded onto analogue tape when i was 12/13, and that experience taught me to know my parts and get it right within 2 takes, because having to rewind the tape and re-record everything from the start gets very tiresome very quickly! i love the studio atmosphere and the ability to make something magical that you can take onto the stage,m plus sometimes recording can make or break you as a musician.

the worst member of the band i recorded with was the bass player......he told us he had "studio experience", yet when it came to recording he didnt know "what the clicking sound in his earphones was" (it was the metronome), and it was "putting him off". he also thought the studio would of had a selection of basses to choose from, and the one he brought kept detuning cause (as it transpired) the headstock had cracked and his mum had araldite'd/glue'd it back together!!!
 
i havent recorded in a few years myself, but i found it bringing back good memories. i first recorded onto analogue tape when i was 12/13, and that experience taught me to know my parts and get it right within 2 takes, because having to rewind the tape and re-record everything from the start gets very tiresome very quickly! i love the studio atmosphere and the ability to make something magical that you can take onto the stage,m plus sometimes recording can make or break you as a musician.

the worst member of the band i recorded with was the bass player......he told us he had "studio experience", yet when it came to recording he didnt know "what the clicking sound in his earphones was" (it was the metronome), and it was "putting him off". he also thought the studio would of had a selection of basses to choose from, and the one he brought kept detuning cause (as it transpired) the headstock had cracked and his mum had araldite'd/glue'd it back together!!!
I helped out an indie band record some demos at a beautiful residential rural studio in Herefordshire UK. It was a great session but it was clear that their bass player was struggling. A plan was concocted that I would offer him a lift home with me (I was due to go home earlier than everyone else after finishing my drum tracks) but I had to pretend that I didn’t have enough room in my car for his bass. The bass player was grateful for the lift home and the band was grateful that his bass was left behind so the guitarist could redo all the bass parts after we left!! ? ?
 
index.php


oof. No thanks. I find there is much more flexibility with digital recording. I know exactly what I have (amplitude, frequency, noise, timing) instantly after each take. Same goes for digital photography. The ability to manipulate the capture (before Photoshop kicks in) and know exactly what I have beats the analogue workflow hands down. It’s also tremendously faster.

In TapeOp magazine they frequently discuss analog vs. digital. The problem with digital recording is that many times no one can make up their mind and commit to a final version because there are so many options. IMO, this only happens when the end result has not been predetermined (or previsualized in my realm).
 
I helped out an indie band record some demos at a beautiful residential rural studio in Herefordshire UK. It was a great session but it was clear that their bass player was struggling. A plan was concocted that I would offer him a lift home with me (I was due to go home earlier than everyone else after finishing my drum tracks) but I had to pretend that I didn’t have enough room in my car for his bass. The bass player was grateful for the lift home and the band was grateful that his bass was left behind so the guitarist could redo all the bass parts after we left!! ? ?
hahahaha a la steve jones when sid vicious buggered off home then xD
 
index.php


oof. No thanks. I find there is much more flexibility with digital recording. I know exactly what I have (amplitude, frequency, noise, timing) instantly after each take. Same goes for digital photography. The ability to manipulate the capture (before Photoshop kicks in) and know exactly what I have beats the analogue workflow hands down. It’s also tremendously faster.

In TapeOp magazine they frequently discuss analog vs. digital. The problem with digital recording is that many times no one can make up their mind and commit to a final version because there are so many options. IMO, this only happens when the end result has not been predetermined (or previsualized in my realm).

Yep, I was in a band that had recorded an album prior to me joining and for about six years two of the bandmates kept tinkering with the songs and they couldn't agree on the final mixes/edits. Very frustrating. It probably had more edits than the last Guns and Roses album.

The album remains unreleased to this day, 12 years later!!

Pros and cons in analogue and digital. Mostly comes down to personal preference.
 
You’re not wrong, but I’ve got killer memories associated with analogue sessions...some of the best musicians, engineers, producers, songs, laughs and people! I know I’m a nostalgic old fart...and digital is easier...or is it? :unsure:?(y)

Yeah the engineers have to be top of their game too. Once we had the perfect take accidentally wiped on the tape after struggling to get to that point and had to start all over again. Can I remember that take now though? Nope!

The engineer we used was normally top of his game though.

Each time we went to one of the analogue studios it took around the same time to start recording. Then it's mostly down to the musicians to use the time wisely. We rehearsed for months beforehand each time so were very well prepared. Just goes back to my point of having to be at the top of your game with analogue as there are no shortcuts/hiding places.

Digital is good but for every taped over analogue take I've also had hard drives die and sessions abandoned (that's happened at not one but TWO digital studios to me so far!) and other technical issues (pro tool/software...etc)

Pros and cons with each
 
Digital is good but for every taped over analogue take I've also had hard drives die and sessions abandoned (that's happened at not one but TWO digital studios to me so far!) and other technical issues (pro tool/software...etc)
Any time a client is coming into the studio, the gear must be prepared. Mics checked, cables checked, pre-amps & converters checked, host compute checked, RAID 1 drive (at a minimum) checked. And this all happens before the band arrives. If the studio engineer isn’t on top of his gear, it’s his hobby.

/rant: off
 
Any time a client is coming into the studio, the gear must be prepared. Mics checked, cables checked, pre-amps & converters checked, host compute checked, RAID 1 drive (at a minimum) checked. And this all happens before the band arrives. If the studio engineer isn’t on top of his gear, it’s his hobby.

/rant: off
You may already know, but RAID 1, or mirror will actually lower the performance of the virtual drive writes. You can gain write performance with other forms of raid, but honestly with the SSD drives available it's all no longer necessary. You can get a single SSD drive that will destroy the performance of any spinning disk array at any level... Well except for the 80k enterprise ones but we aren't using that stuff, and even those are all converted to SSD now.
 
You may already know, but RAID 1, or mirror will actually lower the performance of the virtual drive writes. You can gain write performance with other forms of raid, but honestly with the SSD drives available it's all no longer necessary. You can get a single SSD drive that will destroy the performance of any spinning disk array at any level... Well except for the 80k enterprise ones but we aren't using that stuff, and even those are all converted to SSD now.
Indeed, and IMO there’s no excuse for a failed drive during tracking/capture with the tech currently available. It’s like one must actually try to crash a drive to achieve failure.
 
Me and the boys recorded 8 songs back in the early 70s. Analog not digital. Our approach was to have an album depicting what we do live. No splicing, overdubs, or anything an audience wouldn't hear when we were on stage. Came out great.
This reminds me of something I heard Keith Emerson say in a documentary, that albums are like writing a check. It's your word that you'll be able to deliver what your name is attached to.

I guess nowadays people "playing" laptops, the concept of cheating the audience doesn't really matter anymore. Another subject for a different thread another day...
 
This reminds me of something I heard Keith Emerson say in a documentary, that albums are like writing a check. It's your word that you'll be able to deliver what your name is attached to.

I guess nowadays people "playing" laptops, the concept of cheating the audience doesn't really matter anymore. Another subject for a different thread another day...
I agree with you 100 percent. Also need to rid the world of auto tune or whatever it's called. You can either sing or you can't.
 
Back
Top