Tips -n- Tidbits
Are you prepared?
Do you have the songs down well enough that you can play them in your sleep? Well… time is money and the best way to save money is to best use your time right. Play them over and over and over till your sick and tired of them. When you get here to track it will be easy!
Drum heads, guitar strings, bass strings
Why the heck cant i use the ones I’ve been using for the past year? They sound fine to me! Ask yourself this question. “Do I want to sound the best I possibly can?”. I would hope so! I mean you’ve worked this hard to create your songs and your going to “Invest” some $$ into recording them. Think about it… who’s going to hear this? A lot of people!
Seriously… your can’t polish a terd (but you can stick it in the corner and hide it). If it sounds bad to begin with… well…. you’ll get a bigger sounding terd. New drum heads are KEY to getting a great drum sound. Same goes for guitar strings.
**A good friend of mine wrote the following tid bit and sent it to me to post up here. Drumming is his profession and he has a great deal of experience in the studio.
I recommend remo because they have the most body, depth, and attack.
6″ – 8″ toms: clear or coated ambassador (1 ply) these drums are much too small to be using a standard two ply head. although most people think using the same ply heads on all toms is best – its actually not. a two ply head on a drum this small would completely choke the drum and it would sound awful.
10″ – 18″ toms: clear or coated emperor (2 ply). anything 10″ and above works well with a double ply head. resulting in great attack and a full round body.
clear = brighter, lots of attack (sometimes too much to work with)
coated = darker, more body, slightly subdued mids. great for studio use.
snares: coated emperor (2 ply)
kick: clear powerstroke 3 batter. never use front stock heads. they are impossible to work with. something along the lines of an ebony powerstoke 3 w/ 4″ – 6″ port hole will sound best.
Credit: Dave
Metronomes, Click tracks, Drum setup, Playing styles, Tuning
Please… practice to a metronome. You may be surprised. The drummer will either make or break the bands sound. 90% of any major records was tracked using a click track (I am guessing here but it’s a lot!). This is not easy to do if you are not familiar with playing to a metronome. Of course you do not need to record to a click. Sometimes with different styles of music the vibe can actually be lost using a click. Use your discretion. In the end it’s up to you. What ever works right?
LEARN HOW TO TUNE THE DRUMS MR. DRUMMER!
9 out of 10 drummers don’t know how. There are tons of articles just on tuning drums out there. Be proactive and then practice tuning!
Ever wonder why a lot of great drummers never get tired doing a ton of double kick runs or why they seem to hit every drum with precision and loudness? Here is a great article that is a must for any drummer to read. It’s funny and VERY informative about you playing the drums and the recording process.
Here is a clip from the article. Thanks to Glenn Fricker for all this info.!!!
Now comes the important point: How high is your drummer sitting? A lot of “not so great” drummers will sit very low. These guys also hit like wimps & can’t seem to get the kit to sound good. Let me tell you from experience… the best guys I’ve ever recorded play “down” at the kit. I.E, their throne is set very high, with the toms set at a level so they’re at the apex of a stick strike. One of the fastest double kick players I’ve had come in actually stacked books up under his throne to get higher. Let me tell you, even I could play double kick on this setup, and I’m probably the worst drummer in the world. One funny point: I’ve noticed low sitters cry about how much their legs hurt after doing extensive double kick runs. That’s because they’re playing “up” at the kicks. They have to raise their legs far higher to hit the bass drum…. and gravity is working against them. Have them raise up the throne. It’s less work to play & will sound better.
Credit: Glenn “OZ” Fricker
Lets talk about guitar tone
Here is a question to ask yourself. If Randy Rhodes, Steve Vai, Zakk Wylde, (insert your favorite guitarist here) plugged into my amp with his guitar would it sound good? Your damn right it would! A lot of people listen to records and want that sound. Of course the amps, guitars, pickups and what ever will make a difference but most all great tone comes from the person playing. Sure you can EQ a recorded guitar sound to make it sound nothing like it was but my point is this… adopt your own sound because you will never get your sound exactly like anyone else. Be original and people will notice. Here are a few tips to get a great sound. These are numbered in what I feel is order of importance.
- Practice (obviously)
- Guitar setup and fresh strings
(setup properly, easier to play, more enjoyment, therefore more playing and practicing (see step 1.)) - Maintain your guitar and use GOOD cables
(is the jack plate loose? Do the knobs turn around and around and make scratching noises when you turn them? If you cannot fix this yourself, get it fixed. Treat your instrument well and it will return the favor when your on stage in front of people or spending $$ recording
- Mid range EQ
(most inexperienced guitarists scoop the mid range out on their amps. Keep in mind that tone is a very subjective topic but I can guarantee that if you were to turn that amp up beyond bedroom playing level it would sound like a rumbling pile of unclear crap. Not saying you have to have the knob on 8 out of 10 but a fair amount of mid range gives the guitar warmth and body.) - KISS (Keep it simple stupid)
(Don’t have 40 effect pedals between your guitar and amp! The more crap you have to run through the less raw tone will make it to the speakers. Plain and simple.) - Buy a good quality instrument
(I realize everyone is on a budget and loves good deals. Although, there is nothing more frustrating then playing a guitar that won’t stay in tune or keeps falling apart. Bare in mind there are some nice playing guitars that are relatively inexpensive but plan on spending over $800 bucks or so for a nice guitar or bass. Talk with experienced players and see what guitars they have owned. Try out many kinds of guitars. Just because the paint job is cool doesn’t mean it’s a quality instrument. A good quality instrument will last a lifetime. You will find yourself buying a cheap one every year and then will have spent enough money for a really good instrument.) - Stop making excuses
(All the great gear in the world will not make you a better player. Granted, it may make your life and playing easier. Sometimes you have no choice then to use what you have and that is fine. What will make you a great guitarist, drummer, bassist etc. is dedication and practice.
Garbage in, garbage out
Although there is amazing things you can do in the studio, do not think it is a Band-Aid for a poor performance. Most of the bands you hear on the radio or on your favorite records have been playing for years and are very experienced. That is their life and what they do for a job. We all set high expectations but please be realistic. If you can not play your songs all the way through effortlessly, cannot tell if you or the other players are in tune with each other (but guess it sounds ok), you may want to practice a bit more before heading to the studio. I am being honest and see this a lot. If you have no where to turn and need advice or want to work on this type of thing in the studio that is fine also. Just remember, garbage in, garbage out.)
The above section is not to discourage you but rather make you aware of things you may or may not be conscious about. In the end it’s all about making music and having fun. That is why I love to do what I do.
Mastering. I don’t need to do that, do I?
You have worked hard to write your songs, you have practiced ’till blue in the face, spent money to have them recorded and right when you think it’s finally done, boom, everyone tells you to spend more money to have the CD mastered by a professional mastering engineer. You may not want your project mastered if it’s a demo for friends or personal listening pleasure. Which is fine and understandable if you are on a very strict budget. Again, do you want the CD to sound the best it possibly can? If the the answer is yes (which I hope it is!) and you want your CD to sound like a record you would buy in the store then mastering is a must. A professional mastering engineer will put the ‘sheen’, ‘polish’ and any other necessary overall EQ adjustments to the whole record. This may sound simple but that is not the case. ME’s (mastering engineers) have years of experience, special gear and rooms designed for the perfect listening environment. Therefore allowing your CD to translate on any stereo system. I have described a very basic overview of this process as there is much more to it. The following link will give you a more in depth look at the mastering process and why it is necessary.
http://www.digido.com/audio-mastering.html