how picky are you with your recordings?

C

chris4355

Member
Ive been recording a lot lately and I seem to never be satisfied.

I record with a click and everyone in my band says it turns out perfect. but im always bothered by those very minor imperfections, however at the same I kinda like the human feel to it.

we haven't recording other instruments yet... what are your opinions on this subject? I know how to edit drums, but is it worth it?

my guitarist is saying i wont hear those imperfections that he says he doesnt even notice once theres even 1 instrument over it..



what are your thoughts?

sorry if this has been covered, i didnt know how to search this exact question...
 
Very picky. But sometimes I just need to be happy with what I've done and move on.
 
chris4355 said:
we haven't recording other instruments yet... what are your opinions on this subject? I know how to edit drums, but is it worth it?
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What kind of music is it, and how serious a recording? There's genres where absolute precision has come to be the standard (say, modern metal) and there's those where an organic feel can still be appreciated. Also, if it's just a demo, obviously everything doesn't have to be grid-perfect.
 
chris4355 said:
Ive been recording a lot lately and I seem to never be satisfied.

I record with a click and everyone in my band says it turns out perfect. but im always bothered by those very minor imperfections, however at the same I kinda like the human feel to it.

we haven't recording other instruments yet... what are your opinions on this subject? I know how to edit drums, but is it worth it?

my guitarist is saying i wont hear those imperfections that he says he doesnt even notice once theres even 1 instrument over it..



what are your thoughts?

sorry if this has been covered, i didnt know how to search this exact question...
Click to expand...

i remember reading jeff porcaro saying he's never been happy with what he's recorded, which is crazy.

in a full mix you do notice a lot less so i think its up to how you feel about it? what kind of minor things?

im mega mega picky and over analytical of my own playing. but i've learnt a lot from hearing recordings back about whats working and what isn't. its really helped with my mental approach. i hear a lot more in drum tracks in general because of it and appreciate just how good the first call guys are.
maybe you're finding/have found the similar things?

if it really bugs you everytime you hear it, maybe its worth it? if its a placement thing a simple note move might fix it no problem. or you can re-record that couple of bars and insert it into the current drum track?
 
The theme seems to be that we often wish we played better on our recordings. Me too. Every time.

I don't think I've ever played a song exactly right and I'm not sure I ever will, but I've been happy when there's a good vibe to the music.
 
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As I've been explaining to my students recently, there are a million ways to be right in music, not just one. You will almost always find yourself second-guessing the parts you play, the vibe you gave, one particular fill, whatever. I think that's just human nature, and us learning to express ourself through our instrument, only to discover that our feelings, techniques, approaches to music, etc, have changed over time. The more time you spend in the studio, and the more you are doing it on your dime, or the dime of someone else who you want to hire you again, the more you get over this.

With that said, if you make an actual mistake, even if it's minor...you will hear it for the rest of your life, whenever you listen to the recording. I was once in a fairly progressive band, with million-notes-per-song type drum parts. We were cutting a demo at a church, so I couldn't punch in...we could do overdubs of any other instrument, but not drums. The one tune that was particularly hard, I nailed in one take, except that in one fill, I clicked a rim while also hitting the head of the drum. Everyone agreed it didn't matter...but man, I hear that click, even in the background, as though it was the loudest thing in the song. I now insist on perfection in all my recordings, as far as them not being "wrong." However, I also know how pointless it is to try to find the best version of "right" and hold up the whole recording process to do it, because there is no one "right" right.
 
I am very picky, I have never been satisfied. I also think recording yourself is a very important practice tool. On the studio side of recording, I have had some songs I played on
that I was very pleased with.
 
chris4355 said:
primus, rhcp, rage that kinda stuff.. lots of slap bass, but we do get heavy as well.
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I believe it would definitely suffer if the organic, natural feel was lost; if the groove is happening some slight mistakes won't hurt it. On the other hand, as noted, some mistakes you'll hear for the rest of your life even if the others don't.

I think any micro-timing issues and similar stuff will get lost once the other instruments are laid down, but any mistakes such as a single missed note you find standing out you should probably edit.
 
I believe there is a particualr difference in being picky about "time" and being picky about "sound". You are just the musician that puts it down....worry about that first. The music is what drives whether or not you can "float" around your click. Playing a little in front or behind as the "song" demands/feels is far more important than the sound (at first). I think if you try and focus on both at the same time, you'll lose something.

Our last recording, I recorded everything to a click, with scratch git and vocals along in the mix. It helped me with the feel. Once drums were complete, we were able to eliminate the click from the parts that didn't need it and roll on the other instruments with the raw drum feel knowing that they were recorded to a click. For our music, I think it makes a substantial diference.

Being picky about consistency is definitely a critical item. The actual level (power or if your watching it on screen "amplitude") you apply to each hit makes a huge difference when you go to mix. Wanna drive your board engineer nuts? Be inconsistent. He'll be chasing the levels till he quits. And the truth is, replacing a single rimshot mistake made during the best take out of 20 takes is acceptable in my book. Better to be happy about the finished product and that you scrutinized the "time", AND then the "notes", AND then the sound of the kit. Just take it in segments...

It's like eating an elephant, one bite at a time.

Hope that helps...

Oh yeah, I try to let my engineer have some freedom and creativity when it comes to actual "sounds". Between the producer(s) and engineer(s) is where greatness lies.
 
mrchattr said:
With that said, if you make an actual mistake, even if it's minor...you will hear it for the rest of your life,
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2nd on this^

As for you asking about it being worth it to do edits? I say for sure. If you have the time and resources to edit, it will save you from a lifetime of always hearing those imperfections.

I feel lucky to have been able to do my own drum edits on a couple recent recordings, makes it easier for me to focus on everything else that's happening in the mix rather than just listening for my parts.
 
In my preparing to record later this summer, I have been playing to a couple of our demos as well as some regular drum play-alongs. I then listen back to the recording (laptop video) to see if/where I made any mistakes. I know what you all are talking about. Even on some recordings where I thought I laid back or left out some stuff, it still sounded busy or something. Are we really ever satisfied with our work?

Not sure if this is off-subject or not, but I also do this when I'm learning a new groove from a book, exercise, etc. I don't move on until I think I have a 'good take'. I've done this for quite a while. Is anyone else this meticulous with just normal play-along songs or am I being too hard on myself?
 
i wish i was allowed to fix everything i'd like to fix, or re-record entire tracks. usually when i'm in the studio everyone is in a big hurry to get the drums recorded so they can record the guitar and vocal tracks. studio time is expensive so no one wants to mess around nit picking with drum tracks. as soon as i come up with a take that's marginally acceptable, everyone is eager to move on. i'd like to spend all day punching in or re-recording things but i never have that luxury.

that's why it's so important to really know your parts before coming into the studio. sure, you can punch in over mistakes, and the technology exists to fix things after they've been recorded, but time is money and it's much cheaper to get it right the first time.
 
dairyairman said:
usually when i'm in the studio everyone is in a big hurry to get the drums recorded so they can record the guitar and vocal tracks. studio time is expensive so no one wants to mess around nit picking with drum tracks. as soon as i come up with a take that's marginally acceptable, everyone is eager to move on. i'd like to spend all day punching in or re-recording things but i never have that luxury.
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and that ^

There was a very encouraging chat at practice last week. Our singer said it's important for the drum tracks to be good on our upcoming demo and everyone agreed. Of course, once it comes down to the moment and everyone's itching to get things rolling those fine sentiments could easily go out the window. Wish I'd recorded it :)
 
yes! those fine sentiments go out the window as soon as everyone realizes that we have "x" number of hours to record "y" number of songs because there's only "z" number of dollars.
 
*sigh* yeah, if I was a betting woman I'd have my money on SNAFU #20 lol.

Still, one lives in hope ... at least for a slightly less SNAFU-y session.

The worst was a demo in the early 80s. I screwed up really early and just mucked around afterwards, treating it as a warm-up. I couldn't believe it when everyone said it was a take ... WHAAT?? COULDN'T YOU HEAR THE SCREW UP RIGHT AT THE START??? ... "Oh, I didn't notice anything".

If I had my time again I would have stopped as soon as I screwed up. Moral of the story: never underestimate band mates' ability to ignore the drums.
 
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