Live Recording?

[HAVN]

Anyone have any words to the wise?

I'm not talking about in a venue, but in a proper room. My as of yet unnamed group went to a studio last Monday and recorded four pieces (I'm reluctant to call them proper songs). The rough mix sounds OK (too much bass, not enough guitar, drums are splendid), but I'm not excited enough about it that I want to share with the world. Was basically a live recording with a couple of layers added afterward to fill it out texturally.

This was my first time recording. Bassist and drummer have both been in the studio before. We incorporate a lot of drones and my guitar is mostly drenched in reverb, but my sound is also very shrill, heavy, and upbeat.

I think the biggest things missing were dynamic shifts (could probably be improved by spending more time with the mix) and just energy in general. After playing the same thing over and over I think our fatigue really started to show.

Would welcome any suggestions as we consider making another go at it. Fortunately this time around only cost a few hundred bucks, which was money well spent in terms of the lessons learned.

[Decibill]

First question-How many tracks per "song" did you record or did you just record a 2 bus stereo mix...? Question 2--What was your mic set up...? Also, if you went to a studio, wasn't there an engineer there to mix you prior to hitting the record button...?

[DRodriguez]

First question-How many tracks per "song" did you record or did you just record a 2 bus stereo mix...? Question 2--What was your mic set up...? Also, if you went to a studio, wasn't there an engineer there to mix you prior to hitting the record button...?

These same questions.

Also The mix should not be the source of dynamics, hopefully the song has the dynamics and the mix captures them. The main thing with a live recording is to get good sounds prior the actual recording. You can fix a lot of the sound stuff in post, but you shouldn't need to. Get good sounds prior to hitting record.

[MaggotBrainNY]

First question-How many tracks per "song" did you record or did you just record a 2 bus stereo mix...? Question 2--What was your mic set up...? Also, if you went to a studio, wasn't there an engineer there to mix you prior to hitting the record button...?

These same questions.

Also The mix should not be the source of dynamics, hopefully the song has the dynamics and the mix captures them. The main thing with a live recording is to get good sounds prior the actual recording. You can fix a lot of the sound stuff in post, but you shouldn't need to. Get good sounds prior to hitting record.

agree with this. Most of the bands I record are done live... either set up as though they are playing a show, or with the amps isolated. Getting good sounds from the get go is crucial for any type/method of tracking, but I would agree that it is even more crucial in a live setting. Placement of the instruments and whatnot in the room is important as well.

The energy and dynamics come from the song and the performance 1st... it's up to the players and the arrangements. Can't rely on a mix to bring something to the table that isn't there to begin with. You have to go in well rehearsed, sounds dialed in, ready to get in the right frame of mind to deliver the vibe you want captured. It's a great way to make a record if you can pull it off.

[HAVN]

I want to say the foundation of the recording was eight tracks, and we played in a triangle in the live room. It all just felt kind of flat to me, but part of that probably also had to do with the sample rate of the file the engineer sent us for first listen. Yes, we did play through things to give him a chance to set the levels. Part of my disappointment may have been due to how thin/low I was in the mix (and my Verellen is not thin), and how high the bass and kick were. You know when a bassist says that he's too loud that there must be something to it.

Snare, toms, and kick were mic'd, as well as a ribbon mic overheard for cymbals. Bass was DI'd and mic'd, though I don't know if what was mic'd made it into the mix. Two mics on guitar, and we used the ribbon mic when I went back to add some texture later on.

Bassist needs to re-cone one of the speakers in his cab so he was using a rig none of us had any experience with. I think if we go back and give it another go we'll spend much more time EQing, recording, listening, EQing, recording, listening -- those tasks will probably take more than the eight hours we had.

Thanks for some of the food for thought. I'll readily admit I'm a total novice with such things.

[DRodriguez]

What was the sample rate of the file? The sample rate won't make something sound thin. In fact, reducing the sample rate to an extreme would actually make you lose high end.

Honestly, it sounds like you just have a bad mix. If you still have the multitrack, not all is lost with the recording. Do you have a sample you could post?

[waltdogg]

Sounds like the mix just wasn't mixed yet. Or more time was spent micing the drums, so the bass D.I. track wasn't lowered only for lower end retention and the guitar probably wasn't even mic'd on the sweet spot or because there's more than one guitar mic they could be out of phase. That's usually what I encounter when I deal with a mix that sounds how you described.

[D.o.S.]

What was the sample rate of the file? The sample rate won't make something sound thin. In fact, reducing the sample rate to an extreme would actually make you lose high end.

Honestly, it sounds like you just have a bad mix. If you still have the multitrack, not all is lost with the recording. Do you have a sample you could post?

Goddamn dude you are an MVP. a true fuzzbreaux among fuzzbreaux.

[DRodriguez]

Goddamn dude you are an MVP. a true fuzzbreaux among fuzzbreaux.

Haha, this made my day.

Honestly, I do this for a living. And, seeing as how there is no standard way of getting into this career, I see many levels of quality in engineering at way higher levels of the industry than there should be. That said, it also applies to me. I'm sure I look like a dumb-ass to someone else out there. It just saddens me to see someone new to the process spend a bunch of their cash on something that dashes their hopes of what their music is. The best thing to do is always be honest with musicians/clients about your level of experience, what you are comfortable doing, and what you are comfortable trying, and what you are willing to get done.

[HAVN]

It just saddens me to see someone new to the process spend a bunch of their cash on something that dashes their hopes of what their music is.

I just want to say thanks to you (especially for offering to have a listen) and to the others who have chimed in on this thread. We got a second mix back and it sounds leaps and bounds better than the original (I can hear my parts now!). While I'm not sure I want to set the recording free in the world, I am comfortable with it as documentation of these songs.

We'll likely set this stuff aside until we have a few more bits we like, and then I think we'll shop around for another studio to re-record these, and do a full length.