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Studio......NOT!

Buc McMaster

By Buc McMaster
in Gibson Acoustic

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Buc McMaster

Buc McMaster

Posted
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Well the studio is much as I remembered it being.......somewhere I don't belong. Recorded two tunes, live guitar & vocal with the engineer adding a bass track afterwards. The results are okay but upon listening back to the rough mixes here at home I am once again struck with the question: why? what is this for?! And I can't come up with an answer to satisfy myself. So given that, I've decided I'm done.......no fiddle track, no mandolin, no more tweaking this and that, no more money down the drain. I will admit to being a bit pissed off at myself for thinking this would somehow be something more, something rewarding in some way. Not. [thumbdn]

 

Thanks to you folks for your words of encouragement but tossing money down the studio rabbit hole just ain't for me.

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AnneS

AnneS

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Sorry to hear it, Buc--I recall you mentioning some time ago that it wasn't your favorite environs, so I was cheering for you. Good for you for scoping it out again, but you can only do what makes the best sense for yourself.

Hope ya go easy on yourself; as a fan, I certainly think it was worth a try.

-A

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BluesKing777

BluesKing777

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Surprised to hear that!

 

What in particular didn't you like about the studio?

 

Playing to someone behind the glass? Headphones? The sound of the particular mic? The seat? The people? The smell? Nerves?

 

Don't give up now, Buc! We want the whole album! If it is the sound, that can be changed easily enough. If it is the people, well, next!

 

What about pure solo guitar/vocal instead of multi tracking?

 

 

BluesKing777.

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E-minor7

E-minor7

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Surprised to hear that!

 

Ditto - and I too wonder what dashed it. The studio is a demanding and blessing environment that both strips you naked and dresses you up.

 

Was it the bass track. Did you play with click, , , probably not.

 

your home recordings sound really great to my ears

 

Well, what I do know apart from the fact that your playing/singing sound and generally stand very good when we hear it on these pages.

In a way one would imagine those many home-videos should have worked as preparing exercise. Then again the studio-mic shows no mercy.

 

Something tells me you might need - if not a producer - then a guide to point out the traps and suggest a few basic tricks and steps.

 

Back on the horse, , , , after some rehearsing.

Hep

 

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Fullmental Alpinist

Fullmental Alpinist

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There's a reason they call 'em rough mixes Buc. Almost nobody sounds good on a rough. That's why the mixing and mastering engineers make the big bucks, Buc.

 

I'm privileged to have the original, unmixed studio tracks of songs by Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Bob Marley, and Queen. The roughs would never have made gold records even though each one of the artists was/is super talented. It takes the work of the whole studio to make something exceptional.

 

Take a deep breath and give it a rest then go back to it. We're waiting for your Christmas album.

 

FMA

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Buc McMaster

Buc McMaster

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Thanks. But it's got nothing to do with the environment, the engineer, the roughs or any of the hardware.......it is the purpose of the endeavor that is in question. Seems to be an existential conundrum for me. Where is the value in a studio recording.......for me, in my circumstance. I find no value there. Flawed though they may be, the YouTube videos "get it out there" in a listenable form........the point of the exercise for me.

 

Soooooo........sad to say there will not be a Christmas album, FMA.

 

This video (rather audio) may not work......it doesn't work for me but maybe it's a wonky connection. The vocal & guitar done live, capo-ed at the 4th. We had a stereo pair on the guitar and a single boom mic for the vocal. No click track.........live, baby! My buddy added the bass track at the control desk via DI while I went outside for a smoke. To my way of thinking this effort is no more effective than a YouTube video at conveying the song to the listener, and it lacks the video element to boot........

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_NzLx5X3ms

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Lars68

Lars68

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Well, my honest opinion, your vocals and guitar sounded great, but I'm not a fan of the added bass guitar. Nothing wrong with the playing or the tone of the bass, but it just feels wrong to me. It sort of takes away from the authenticity of the recording, making it a studio product, instead of a straight forward recording of you, doing what you do.

 

If I was to record you, I would just record your playing and singing with the most natural sounding mics available, no added instruments, no added effects, nothing but you and the Bird. Only the best possible recording of you!

 

Sometimes the nature of the songs can make them more suitable for a demo style approach. The roughness of the sound is, in my opinion, perfect for the songs and topics of Springsteen's Nebraska, which I think is the most well known demo album out there. Also, the way Rick Rubin recorded Cash in the latter part of his life takes this approach, a man, his voice, and his guitar. Also, Townes van Zandt's Live at the Old Quarter comes to mind as a successful example of less is more. Your songs don't need too much polish.

 

Just my take...

 

Lars

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blindboygrunt

blindboygrunt

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I'm with Lars here , have had a few bass players sit in and I have hated it every time , no drums = no need for bass

 

Unless you can get a Danny Thompson to your John martyn .

 

A little keyboards is great with acoustic guitar . , but it also depends on the song .

 

 

 

A studio can be used to create pink floyds the wall and it marvellous .

But then there's Dylan's approach , get in get out just capture a moment .

I think if you had a studio in the basement or one that could just be available 'there and then' , it would suit you better , but sometimes a song just needs to be sung right now and next Tuesday it doesn't coincide with your flow .

 

 

 

Ps - I love Nebraska but wish he'd done it in a studio or something rather than on a cassette player !

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BluesKing777

BluesKing777

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Thanks. But it's got nothing to do with the environment, the engineer, the roughs or any of the hardware.......it is the purpose of the endeavor that is in question. Seems to be an existential conundrum for me. Where is the value in a studio recording.......for me, in my circumstance. I find no value there. Flawed though they may be, the YouTube videos "get it out there" in a listenable form........the point of the exercise for me.

 

Soooooo........sad to say there will not be a Christmas album, FMA.

 

This video (rather audio) may not work......it doesn't work for me but maybe it's a wonky connection. The vocal & guitar done live, capo-ed at the 4th. We had a stereo pair on the guitar and a single boom mic for the vocal. No click track.........live, baby! My buddy added the bass track at the control desk via DI while I went outside for a smoke. To my way of thinking this effort is no more effective than a YouTube video at conveying the song to the listener, and it lacks the video element to boot........

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_NzLx5X3ms

 

 

You are probably spun out after being under the microscope....

 

Loved the track and played it to the better half who also said she loved it and didn't have to lie about it like she does to me....hmmmm ummph! I'll remember that one....

 

To me, once you have bass you need drums but in this case you could have simple beat with brushes only. I'm thinking maybe a bit of harmonica throughout and the solo a bit of slide. If you don't want to do any of that, you could just turn the bass off, though that may hurt feelings. Tough at the top, but I think you have a hit!

 

 

BluesKing777.

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Murph

Murph

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I think I get it.

 

I don't think it's so much the experience as the VALUE perceived.

 

There is no way I could spend the kind of money I spent producing the Double Aught c.d. nearly 20 years ago. While I'd be happy to live THAT over again, I have far more important things to drop funds into NOW.

 

As much as we'd like to own a full tilt "Buc" production, I think a man and his guitar are far more interesting to most of us here.

 

Best of luck.

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E-minor7

E-minor7

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I too liked what was heard. Wouldn't fire the bass, but hold it back volume wise.

Then add harmony (or ies) in the chorus - plus BK777's dobro - he can swing it down via an mp3.

 

Your right-hand approach reminded me of this one.

And here there's absolutely nothing 'cept for the acoustic, the vocals, , , and a hyper nice melody.

 

Enjoy

 

1975 ~ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Hp3Z12wjyw

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Fullmental Alpinist

Fullmental Alpinist

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First, Buc, I'm crushed to learn there will be no Christmas album.

 

Second, thanks for bearing with us as we played Job's counselors to your Job.

 

I think you sorted it out: your problem was more existential. Your perceived value of what you did. And you're right: if you're just putting out YouTube videos for fun why spend the bucks for a quality demo? I went down a similar track trying to capture songs I was writing and thinking I needed full ProTools gear and certification. Once I got into that stuff I stopped hearing the muse and just gave up.

 

The demo was good however--I was out to lunch in my analysis thinking you just didn't like your sound. Sorry. It sounded great to me: essentially what you'd want if instead of YouTube videos you were looking to do the Nashville Handshake. This would be a good demo if you were trying to market the song.

 

Don't give up on us Buc--there's a lot of us here that enjoy hearing what you and some of the others are posting.

 

Got any more old standards for us or are they all stuck in your ukulele?

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BluesKing777

BluesKing777

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There is good and bad in recording at a friend's recording studio!

 

I arrived with guitar, fresh and practiced at the nominated time and he only just got out of bed and not one thing set up to go. And then I had to help him move some furniture from his back bungalow/granny flat and I got a splinter! And it was really hot! And I played crap.

 

 

BluesKing777.

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