The don'ts of recording

[EmilDelaRosa]

Hi! I've been lurking around for a while now and I see there is no thread about don'ts. I was wondering if you guys could list down some tips on what NOT to do regarding equipments, recording, and mixing Thanks dudes!

 

[SentencedToBurn]

dont's ***

and thats a pretty vague question. WAY too vague. there is certain rules to follow when it comes to damaging equipment or up-keeping equipment (phantom power, ribbon mics, clipping pres). but other then that, there are no rules. if it sounds good, it IS good.

 

[heshian46]

Dont record any band/person who is not prepared enough to record.

 

[[UEAK]Clowd]

Dont record any band/person who is not prepared enough to record.

DON'T listen to this. lol

play the instruments yourself if you have to. consider it a personal challenge to make a band that sounds awful sound good no matter what you have to do to get there.

 

[xTomx]

If it doesn;t sound great at the source or whilst tracking, it's not got much hope for mixing.

It's a cliché but don't wait to fix it in the mix, fix it during recording - you can't polish a turd.

 

[Wohma]

Don't spend too much time thinking about/googling/searching/wondering about/choosing the equipment. You'll most probably find about 50% of posts praising it to heavens and the other 50% cursing it and strongly advising you not to buy it.

And another one which is very much connected to the former - create and record, don't waste too much time researching. By the time you find your answer on the internet, you could have easily find out for yourself in most cases.

 

[AD Chaos]

Don't spend too much time thinking about/googling/searching/wondering about/choosing the equipment. You'll most probably find about 50% of posts praising it to heavens and the other 50% cursing it and strongly advising you not to buy it.

And another one which is very much connected to the former - create and record, don't waste too much time researching. By the time you find your answer on the internet, you could have easily find out for yourself in most cases.

Quite the contrary. I think the more you can find out about the piece of gear you're about to buy beforehand, and the more patient you are, the better off your $$$ will be spent... Unless you're a friggin millionaire, in which case, it wouldn't matter anyway.

Despite obvious trolls talking about stuff they don't even own, if you research enough, nowadays you can get a good idea in most cases I'd say (and avoid costly fiascoes-impulse buys).

Proof of this is when I search for reviews on equipment I already own.. surprisingly enough, spot on with some of my own thoughts/experiences, in more than one case.

 

[JeffEstrada]

play the instruments yourself if you have to. consider it a personal challenge to make a band that sounds awful sound good no matter what you have to do to get there.

This just means that your gonna have to put out something bad sounding with your name on it. Spending too much time on a band that cant play their own stuff is not worth it...

 

[greyskull]

Never say never.

 

[The Unavoidable]

Spend less time thinking about it, and more time actually doing it! No matter the project, you can always learn something from it even if that something "Never again"

 

[Harley Barley]

Dont have a "fix it in the mix" type attitude. What gets recorded is what you hear, no matter how many times you edit it. Get it right the first time.

 

[The Unavoidable]

Dont have a "fix it in the mix" type attitude. What gets recorded is what you hear, no matter how many times you edit it. Get it right the first time.

This can't be said to many times, gold!

 

[-Noodles-]

Don't fuck up.

 

[Wohma]

Quite the contrary. I think the more you can find out about the piece of gear you're about to buy beforehand, and the more patient you are, the better off your $$$ will be spent... Unless you're a friggin millionaire, in which case, it wouldn't matter anyway.

Despite obvious trolls talking about stuff they don't even own, if you research enough, nowadays you can get a good idea in most cases I'd say (and avoid costly fiascoes-impulse buys).

Proof of this is when I search for reviews on equipment I already own.. surprisingly enough, spot on with some of my own thoughts/experiences, in more than one case.

Well, I actually agree with you - I only said that when looking up information, one should not delve too deep. I noticed that the deeper you go into teh internetz, the more shit you find.
Obviously, reviews and user experiences are the kind of information you can hardly obtain yourself, I was rather referring to questions like "what frequency should I turn up on the bass guitar to sound like XY?"

BTW, It's not just trolls not owning the gear they write about, it's also the type of trolls who (in their mind) turn into a pro with 20+ years of experience, while they actually are totally unexperienced and can't tell a Gibson from a Stagg with broken neck.

 

[Yhanthlei]

dont's ***

Nope, don'ts. Looks weird, but it's "do not" -> "don't" -> plural "don'ts"

(Sorry, had to do it )

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

Don't shit on the mics.

Don't try to eat pussy and mix at the same time.

Same above, only fucking.

Don't jam the microphones into the drywall.

Don't put the cat in the bass drum for laughs (or do, whatever you evil fuck).

Don't flash your penis to any female customers.

2 drumsticks and a piece of duct tape is not a nun chuck.

If you need to vomit, please kindly do it on the drummer after he fucked up.

Watching gay porn tends to put people off, don't do that while recording.

Calling your girlfriend and complaining she never does anal anymore isn't a good use of time while recording.

Amplifiers are not drink holders.

Amps work better standing up, but if they do fall over please keep a gun near by to shoot the fuck who knocked it over.

If experiencing vertigo, put your head between your legs and try not to faint durring the recording process. Thank you.

Despite popular though, boobs make for horrible drum samples.

 

[[UEAK]Clowd]

This just means that your gonna have to put out something bad sounding with your name on it. Spending too much time on a band that cant play their own stuff is not worth it...

not if you play all the instruments yourself and really push the vocalist hard.

 

[Ermz]

Hi! I've been lurking around for a while now and I see there is no thread about don'ts....

http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/...mz-production-tips-compendium-newer-guys.html

Think of this as an article on the power of knowing where to look and what mindset to be in when engineering... Without a doubt, the single largest issue I tend to see on these forums is that newcomers don't ask the 'right' questions. In that light I will list a few things I would suggest you do, or avoid doing if you would like to grow in your trade.

 

[Uros]

not if you play all the instruments yourself and really push the vocalist hard.

Might as well suck their dicks and pay them for it :Spin:
I mean, where do you draw the line?

 

[jonathan jetter]

don't agree to a $$$ amount that you don't want to agree to.

don't be a pushover.

don't be an asshole.

don't get overwhelmingly caught up in the gear extravaganza (learn the tools you have as best you can, and use them to their fullest extent)

don't make excuses. (don't blame mix problems on the tracking, or tracking problems on the arrangement. even if it's true, it's your job to solve those problems)