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The 2nd or 3rd take might be better than the first. The 8th will definitely not be.

Please, for god's sake, if you're thinking, "might be nice to have some backing vocals here..." then before you get to the studio, work them out. Decide who's doing them, work the line out, rehearse the part and get it ready. This is true for any overdub really, but for some reason backing vocals specifically, more than any other studio chore, take way more time than they're worth if you're unprepared.

Bring spare strings, drumsticks, drum heads, guitar picks etc. We have some spares here at Electrical, mostly for maintenance on our own inventory of instruments, but it's crazy how often a session breaks down elsewhere because the guitar player lost his one and only pick, or there's no spare B string.

That's about it.

Make sure all your gear works. If you think you might use something, just bring it so you've got it handy and don't think "oh it would have been nice to use the Buttmoosher on that part" or someone has to go drive home and grab it and eats up 90+ minutes.

More and more find multi-track demoing helpful, especially for figuring out backing vocals, additional percussion, keys, etc ahead of time.

Don't write lyrics in the studio.

in this day and age where everyone has their own basic recording studio in their practice space there is absolutely no reason for there to be any "working out" of stuff in a professional studio where they are paying by the hour or day.

playback of the first take should never be the first time you actually really *listen* to your song

The tambourine/shaker overdub will be more annoying than the artist(s) expects. How much time has anyone in a regular-format rock band spent rehearsing on the tambourine? Why should anyone expect to effortlessly knock something out with a skill they develop at a rate of 3 min/year? or whatever.

This doesn't mean people should spend time practicing the tambourine. It just means yeah guitar player it'll probably take five or ten takes instead of one, because you're not actually good at this, which is OK. Although if you didn't roll into the studio thinking "we gotta remember that tambourine overdub for Song A" there's a definite chance that you don't need it.

In fact I like to have all the fixed ideas tracked—so any live-off-the-floor tracking plus pre-plotted ideas for overdubs—before getting into spur-of-the-moment overdubs. There's the time organization aspect, but I find it can mess with arrangements too. There's no point in starting the "it's still missing something..." expedition if you have other finalized parts that simply aren't in place yet.

I'm especially thinking lead vocals there. I feel like tracking a main vocal last can create too much space for overdub bloat—like trying to emphasize a moment that the vocal already emphasizes, or trying to elide an instrumental mistake that the vocal actually elides just fine (even if you downplay the vocal in the mix like anyone else with an account here). Less commonly you can end up with new parts that clang against the preconceived parts, like a gross chord or a gross doubling of a note, but to me it's more about the overdub bloat.

When you're making a record, you're building a house. You can build a house that is spartan or austere; you can build a house with plenty of decorative and ornamental touches, too. You are not allowed to build the Winchester House.

penningtron wrote: Mon May 17, 2021 8:38 am The 2nd or 3rd take might be better than the first. The 8th will definitely not be.

I wonder what do those of you who work in a studio think about beginners/sloppy musicians coming to record… Those needing many takes to have a decent one. Just wondering if it's better to spare myself the humilation.

oZZma wrote: Mon May 17, 2021 1:08 pm

penningtron wrote: Mon May 17, 2021 8:38 am The 2nd or 3rd take might be better than the first. The 8th will definitely not be.

I wonder what do those of you who work in a studio think about beginners/sloppy musicians coming to record… Those needing many takes to have a decent one. Just wondering if it's better to spare myself the humilation.

That quote has more to do with the energy and enthusiasm of the first takes dissipating into frustrated/mechanical playing. Your 12th take won't be any more "decent" than the first few takes on the same recording date.

You should be comfortable with your song before showing up to a recording date - for the money you've put on the line, for you/your band/the engineer's time, hell for your confidence in making music.

Sloppy musicianship can absolutely be utilized to make cool music, but for god's sake, believe in your slop. There's no reason to book a studio if you still haven't practiced the song.

jason_from_volo wrote: Mon May 17, 2021 1:19 pm

oZZma wrote: Mon May 17, 2021 1:08 pm Just wondering if it's better to spare myself the humilation.

Being humiliated is a given for me! Just have to get over myself and tell myself that the end result will be worth it.

I am definitely interested in hearing stories (names redacted if necessary) of poorly-rehearsed bands coming into the studio.

it's more a case of delusion.

it's very clear when a band really hears themselves for the first time.

like, for the entire past eight months in their head they've been too busy rocking and planning the album cover to notice that the drummer always misses every other fill, the guitars are out of tune and the singer wants to be Jeff Buckley but sounds like Tiny Tim.

oh. and something else to think of - plan how you're going to handle any silence. how you're going to click into songs. are you going to have the solo played live or go back and do it? and if so, should he play anything when you're doing the original track or just cut out? and make sure everyone knows how to end the song by not immediately talking after the last note is struck. silence or natural fade out, have a plan.

I have been in bands where a member will feel weird being in a professional studio and flub parts they never flubbed before. It's cool, it happens, staying relaxed and keeping the pressure low for a fellow band member is helpful. In my experience once the nerves settle it will be ok. But getting pissed off is never helpful and makes things worse.

Back in the early 90s the first time I was in a studio at all, I had no idea you had to wear headphones and it took me a few takes to get the hang of that. It felt very strange and alien off the bat. By the end I could have done it all day.

Be as prepared as you can be. Really know how you want the songs to be and that everyone in the band is on the same page and don't bring in the brand new song that is mostly done. Know your limitations. Know how much time you have $$$ for and try not to make everyone to kill themselves to record more than you have time for.

Mason kinda beat me to it but I will 2nd the notion that aux percussion is hella more difficult than you think its going to be to to play in a way you will want to hear on a record. If you aren't experienced at hand/aux percussion, skip it.

Also, you don't really need to double track guitars or vocals even though you think you do. You don't

also, the Gain knob on your amp or fuzz box is too high. Turn it down. Cleaner guitar tones are more aggressive than fuzzy ones anyway.

Also, if the engineer is suggesting something, it's probably out of experience. Listen to them.