How much time do you spend recording and how much time editing?

blackcom

blackcom

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Oct 5, 2003
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Some times I get bands in my studio that actually "can" play, but most of the time its bands that think they rock but they really suck at playing.


So the editing...:
With drummers from these bands I have to move every single drumhit to the grid. I have Audio quantize in Samplitude but it still takes time. Tom-rolls takes longer to get right, specially that fast ones.
If I don't do this the recording will suck from here to eternity....it will not be lively and groovy just horrible.
Also alot of singers suck so we double-track the vox. The singer has no clue with rythm, so again I have to move every word from the second track to make the dub sound tight.
Then it's guitars and bass....copy and paste a lot of bars over others to get it tight.... Actually a lot of guitar player can't get a good Djent out of a brilliant guitar tone and i'm like sitting there and thinking "just let me play it instead", but of course, no way!

All this takes alot of time...some times i'm just editing for days and days to make it sound really good....it's just i'm kinda angry with all the sloppy playing going on these days and what the hell is the deal with all the drummers
that HAVE to play stuff that's just WAY to hard for them. Don't go to the studio, go home and practice instead!! And what the hell is the deal with all these drummers that don't like to trigger but can't hit a drum hard or needs to tighten their drumheads too much to be able to play fast so micing it sounds like ass? Argh...

Why can't we just program the drums for bands with shitty drummers and record the actually good ones properly? I don't like to have stuff with my name on it sound like ass so i'm trapped in a bottomless pit of 24/7 editing.
Drummers needs to know they suck before they enter the studio, not after...

How much time a week do you guyes spend editing?

YIKES, KILL ME!
 
screw that!

I will edit maybe a kick hit here and there.....nothing major though. If the band can't pull it off right, I tell them to practice more. How do you think bands in the early 90s and earlier, got shit done? Damn sure didn't have beat detective:lol:
Most my time editing, I would say would be getting the toms to trigger right. And the best way to do this is to make sure the drummer isn't a pansy and actually hits the toms hard enough!
Typically, mixing and editing takes an hour, maybe two,... per song.
 
Maybe we should make bands sign a waiver before they start recording, letting them know that any flaws in the performance is strangely enough, the fault of the performer. Or just be an asshole while tracking...

After first drum take and during playback...
Me: "So this sounds good to you?"

Drummer: "Yeah sounds good."

Me: "...can I get that in writing?"
 
I usually push the band to do a few drum takes, 1-4.

Sometimes the first take is perfect, sometimes the second.

Sometimes we do 4 takes and they come back the next day and do 4 more.

But once we feel like there weren't any major screw ups, I usually only edit the kicks and dial in any drum replacers used (Drumagog).

Guitars are fixed in Overdubs, Vocals are done until they are correct. Same with Bass.

The only thing that takes my time is making something sound good.

Such as if the vocal technique is not the greatest I will toy with EQ, Compression and limiting to get the vocal to stand out better and fit in the mix.

Other than that, a crappy performance will be just that on the recording. Those songs never make it on my Studio Myspace page.
 
I edit the crap out of everything. It takes forever, but that's why bands come back. Because I make it sound like they can play. Luckily about 20% of the bands that come through I don't have to do all that much.
 
"NOPE, DO IT AGAIN"
"NOPE, DO IT AGAIN"
"NOPE, DO IT AGAIN"
"NOPE, DO IT AGAIN"
"NOPE, DO IT AGAIN"
"NOPE, DO IT AGAIN"
"NOPE, DO IT AGAIN"

that's where most of my editing comes from.
I don't do grids or autotune
 
Yeah, just as a side point, Logic 8's quick swipe comping has saved me no end of time in choosing and putting together takes. Guitars always seem to take longest for me (once everything is set up). I am also known to spend ages getting vocals right. With the editing thing, you have to draw the line as to where you could be there all day waiting for them to get it right, or you could fix it. If I think the band is capable of getting it right in a few takes, Ill get them to play it in right. If a part is causing particular problems, I'll tell them to practice and come back to it, and beyond that, we'll edit it right.
 
I like to spend as long as I can getting shit right before tracking is done. Like a day or two getting sounds right and then a few days or even a week depending on everyone's schedule to get the performances right. Getting something "good enough" is usually not good enough. Sometimes, the "talent" will complain that it's taking too long, but you have to let them know that your name is on the project too and your not gonna have it sound like shit.
 
Ive just spend about a week with a band (and Ive got about another week of it) fixing bass parts and vocals with melodyne... This one plug in is saving the session as for some reason neither of them seem to be able to get dead onto the right note or beat.. Bass parts were finished last night and just gotta get the vocals done now..With these 2 its taking twice as long to edit as it is to record.. and yes this really is the best I can get out of them..
 
I just started with a new band, they're between the ages of 15 and 20. I met with them a month before we started and told them to just get a click and and practice, practice, practice. I think drummer actually did, because he wasn't that bad, but the guitar players were a little sloppy. As far as editing, I got about a song done per night. Took 2 days to track 5 songs, and about 5 nights to edit them. And I'm manually placing samples, I think Drumagog is showing up today, haha. It takes a while though. Tracking guitars this weekend, hope all goes well.
 
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