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

[scorpio01169]

i tracked a band a few months ago and it was horrible. the drummers snare was almost verticle, and i could barely mic it because it sat right up against the toms and the hi hat stand. i argued with him for about 5 mins that just for this session could he just lean his snare back...but he insisted thats how he plays, so i had to just under snare mic him, his cymbals were cracked and some actually had chunks taken out of them, his heads were done...completely done. and he had an attitude problem from hell. to top that off he was angry because i wouldnt let him smoke while he tracked drums, so we had to stop damn near every take so he could go outside and smoke. the bass player had great tone and a nice set up, and he wasnt all that bad, other than he would sometimes go off into his own world and come off tempo of the already fucked up tempo drums ( because mr drummer know it all is too good to play to a click track). the guitar player was the only one in the band that did his job right...i had not one problem with him. ok the singer....the singer would not let me set his levels and when i say he wouldnt let me.....he refused to let me do it...he insisted that i just record him. anyways it later bit me in the ass because there were parts that he whispered and then got louder and when doing a rough mix....he wanted me to bring the whispers almost as loud as the screaming parts. to make a long story just a little shorter....after this full day of tracking they only paid me $25 and said they would give me the rest of the $100 i charged them after mixing. and mr attitude drummer said something that took me over the top....he had the nerve to tell me if i like the mix....i'll pay you the rest.....so i took the $25 they gave me and when they left i deleted the whole project and told the guitarist..the only cool one that if he ever needed any work done without those guys...id hook him up for free.


anyway...i usually dont mix a band the same day i track them

 

[nwright]

i tracked a band a few months ago and it was horrible. the drummers snare was almost verticle, and i could barely mic it because it sat right up against the toms and the hi hat stand. i argued with him for about 5 mins that just for this session could he just lean his snare back...but he insisted thats how he plays, so i had to just under snare mic him, his cymbals were cracked and some actually had chunks taken out of them, his heads were done...completely done. and he had an attitude problem from hell. to top that off he was angry because i wouldnt let him smoke while he tracked drums, so we had to stop damn near every take so he could go outside and smoke. the bass player had great tone and a nice set up, and he wasnt all that bad, other than he would sometimes go off into his own world and come off tempo of the already fucked up tempo drums ( because mr drummer know it all is too good to play to a click track). the guitar player was the only one in the band that did his job right...i had not one problem with him. ok the singer....the singer would not let me set his levels and when i say he wouldnt let me.....he refused to let me do it...he insisted that i just record him. anyways it later bit me in the ass because there were parts that he whispered and then got louder and when doing a rough mix....he wanted me to bring the whispers almost as loud as the screaming parts. to make a long story just a little shorter....after this full day of tracking they only paid me $25 and said they would give me the rest of the $100 i charged them after mixing. and mr attitude drummer said something that took me over the top....he had the nerve to tell me if i like the mix....i'll pay you the rest.....so i took the $25 they gave me and when they left i deleted the whole project and told the guitarist..the only cool one that if he ever needed any work done without those guys...id hook him up for free.


anyway...i usually dont mix a band the same day i track them

Dayum. 25 bucks to put up with THAT for a day? Although it does sound really familiar...

I tell the bands I'm recording that I don't quantize or beat map or anything, so if they suck, everyone will know it. But, I always end up spending waaay too much time cleaning it all up. I don't want some shit band to record with me and have it sound like ass. I'd end up losing business, as they'd probably blame me.

Since I work on a mobile recording rig and mix/master at my home, I'm basically a demo recording guy. As such, I usually get 3-4 songs a day done (without vocals). I then have the vocalist come to my house to track the vox. For albums, the bands record elsewhere and I mix and master at home, as they want to spend the right amount of time getting it perfect, and I can't devote multiple days to tracking with my band, family and job.

I don't spend too much time getting tones, as most of the setups I've seen have indicated that they'll be reamped or sample replaced anyway (I don't even know why I take mics anymore). And, I've yet to record a band besides my own that plays to a click, even after I tell them months in advance to start working on it.

I would say that if you were to analyze the time I spend on a project, you'd find that probably 20% of it was spent recording, the other 80% is getting tones and editing/mixing/mastering.

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

$25. And you didn't put him in his place right there and then?

Fuck I have never had anyone be that shitty with me, and you bet your ass I have a point where I will be nice, bend over backwards etc... But so far what you guys described would have been deal breakers for me. Mr. $25 drummer would have been replaced with a machine, if I even went that far.

 

[C_F_H_13]

whenever I can I don't edit...but as someone else said...people come to me to make them sound better then they really are *sigh*.

I average about 2 hours to edit if it's close, and 4-5 if it's beyond brutal (I'm talking a drummer who swings his kicks when they should be dead nuts straight) per song.

I can only take so many takes of the same shitty performance before I just say fuck it.....

 

[Daunt]

Sorry, I couldn't resist

 

[ApolloSpeed]

Sorry, I couldn't resist

that shirt is awesome!