Is it worth it? I've been recording my own stuff for around four years, using both analog and digital resources, and no band i've ever been in has ever been very proficient with recorded output. as a result, during recording, i have been forced to record all of the parts onto cassette or hard drive myself, playing everything and programming all the parts i need to.


is it worth booking time at EA with the intention of playing and programming every track myself?

just 'wunnered if anyone had been in a similar situation.


thanks

if you come to electrical chances are that you will walk away with a record that you are happy with. there aren't too many people and/or bands that i can remember in the last year that were unhappy with their music when they left.

That said, most of the bands that come in have an idea of the goals that they want to meet by the time that they leave. If you've got an idea of what you want to walk away with, you then have to determine a reasonable time frame to accomplish this task. If you are able to get the time to come in and have the means to book the time; then there is a good chance that it will be worth coming to electrical audio.

It's different in all situations. The main thing to keep in mind is to be reasonable when determining the amount of time it will take to reach your goals. If you have trouble determining a reasonable time frame it would be wise to talk with whomever you wanted to record with. They would be able to assist when more details were made clear.

Plenty of solo artists come through and leave happy. Some play acoustic guitar and sing. Some play drums, bass, guitar, and sing. Some record 2 songs in 1 day, some record 2 songs in 5 days, some record 10 songs in 2 days, some record 10 songs in 30 days...each scenario based upon goals and time frame. Sometimes you have to sacrifice some of the goals based on time restraints and sometimes you have to spend more cash on behalf of accomplishing your goals. Once you figure these few things out you should be able to answer your own question. We'll help you take it from there. Good luck.

i say go for it. just be realistic in your expectations (don't book 2 days if you are a perfectionist and want every song mixed radically different) and plan on working no more than 10 hours a day. it's hard to do super long days when you do everything yourself.

by programming, do you mean drum machines and stuff?

yeah, just samples of drum pulses and beats and stuff, run thru a digital multitracking program

The guys from Bearclaw bitch to no end about the album Steve recorded for them...but they are a bunch of sally boys so who cares. Do it! I hear nothing but quality come out of that place.

bent_christian wrote:The guys from Bearclaw bitch to no end about the album Steve recorded for them...

Who? Well, you know, some people just look for a reason to bitch, so hey. I would be interested if they had specific, reasonable cause to be dissatisfied with Steve's work with them, but I'm assuming from the tone of your comment, they're really just in need of a high fiber diet.

I personally have been kicking over with the idea of booking time at EA myself, but I too am a solo artist (although I could use a percussionist) and have similar questions. I've heard only excellent feedback, but it's all with bands whose music is rather different from what I do solo. I am not familiar with any solo artists who have recorded there. Could someone name some I could check out? Thanks.

Brick Layer Cake

i think Christian was being sarcastic (or at least hope so) cuz that recording sounds great.

Yeah I thought it was a rather fantastic sounding record. Well played and well mixed.

second to last wrote:

bent_christian wrote:The guys from Bearclaw bitch to no end about the album Steve recorded for them...

Who? Well, you know, some people just look for a reason to bitch, so hey. I would be interested if they had specific, reasonable cause to be dissatisfied with Steve's work with them, but I'm assuming from the tone of your comment, they're really just in need of a high fiber diet.

It was a joke. I figured you would pick up on my sarcasm as well as you did the need for Rich, Scott, and Rob to pound some Metamucil. I would not have any reason to beleive they are anything but completely satisfied and greatful Steve does what he does. I have never heard a drum kit recorded better by anyone else!

bent_christian wrote:It was a joke. I figured you would pick up on my sarcasm as well as you did the need for Rich, Scott, and Rob to pound some Metamucil. I would not have any reason to beleive they are anything but completely satisfied and greatful Steve does what he does. I have never heard a drum kit recorded better by anyone else!

Ah. My apologizes for not picking up on your sarcasm. My triumphantly lame twofold excuse is that I'm new to this forum and I have Asperger's, which causes me to be an idiot in social situations despite my intellectual and intuitive abilities in other, specifically not social matters (hence why I'm a solo musician).

As for my comment about Bearclaw's dietary needs, I perhaps made an intuitive leap based partially on observations one could make of most musicians I've known, including myself. So you can read that as empathy as much as sarcasm if you wish.