https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/137 ... MASTER.wav

The final mix of the Safe and Sound track I recorded for this hardcore compilation 7" dealer. Was a rushed ass recording but I think it came out well. Recording mah bois in Singled Out tomorrow for a split with Safe and Sound as well. Setting up drums and mics tonight so we have the most time playing with mic positioning as possible, should make for a rad day.

Well I've surprised myself and somehow actually managed to learn a bit of a protest the hero song almost up to speed. I just need to work on more consistent taps. It probably sounds a bit weird without a backing track to get the timing right.

That sounds like a real punk record, yo. I know that's a bit of an ox-moron, but, y'know, like a punk rawk recording made in a real studio, not in a basement with a four-track. It's a bit cleaner/clearer overall than what I remember, 'specially the tom bits- is this a different mix than the last one you uploaded?

You are on a recording kick as of late, it seems, and that's excellent. I'm glad you're getting all the recording work, and hopefully the scene connections that come with it- and that appears to be the case. You're going about it the right way- network with the folks making cool music, accumulate cool gear and learn it, and train yer ears.

Did you record the guys with the horns and the organ yet? 'Cause were this a class, that would be perfect for your next "assignment"- record something that's out of your comfort zone.

This,



YA NIGGA

And might I add that the tone is rawkin'.

Am I hearing vibrato on those chords? If so, strongly approved, and if not, I wish I was. Whatever is going on, I dig it. Also, is that some sort of P90 in the bridge?

I do love a bit of vibrato on my open chords And yes they're both humbucker sized p90s, the bridge one is an absolute 21k beast, a Bareknuckle Pig 90 ceramic I believe. Neck is a Bareknuckle Mississippi Queen and has some of the best dirty-clean tones I've ever heard. I want to try the bridge one out and move the Pig 90 into a single bridge pickup guitar eventually - SG Jr would be tasty

Very nice Todge. great tone and playing.

Just noticed I made "quote of the week"

Tom, that vidja is siiiick. The tone is indeed quite gnar, as well.

Thanks, man! And yes, it's a different mix. Messed with EQ on the floor tom and brought out more of the attack of the hit rather than just the thundery rumble. Still rumbles fo sho, but it's more distinct.

I actually fucking hate the sound of this I am realizing. I am becoming the most fucking picky bastard. I find myself realizing things about mixes of albums I listen to that I never did before just from all of the critical listening I have forced myself to do. But that is it's whole other rants so to get back on topic: What bothers me about this mix is that I think it is too bassy and lacking highend and presence. That is partially because I did a poor job of capturing that bassists' rig well and that the guitarist's tone in the room was pretty blah and dead sounding. I mean, it is cool or whatever for what we are doing and I am happy with it, it is just I am becoming a total asshole about these things.

One thing I know for sure, I am about to become a total stickler for people who try to record with dead strings because they don't want to buy new ones.

As well you should be. It's Your Job Now to be That Asshole. It's necessary.

Supposedly bassists can get away with worn strings sometimes, but not in my world. If you want a darker sound, that's what yer tone nobbs and amp EQ are for.

Drum heads, too. We've all encountered the duct tape drum heads.

Now, I get the young, broke and wanting to milk every last bit of life out of your equipment part. (Actually, come to think of it, when I was young I changed my strings a lot more often than I do now. ) But you'd think for recording you'd think that would be a priority? Re: drumheads, I've heard it suggested more than once to keep heads in common sizes around the studio, just in case someone shows up with shitty heads. I wouldn't prioritize, say, tom resonant heads, but a couple snare and kick batter heads couldn't hurt. Having a few sets of strings in common gauges isn't the worst idea either.

Agree, recordings call for fresh strings. Even more so on acoustic recordings. nothing worse than dead acoustic strings.

Haha. Yeah, i wouldn't do that. For myself i would probably do my own guitar strings for recordings, because of my overlove of high end guitar shronk, but i would never make someone else change strings if they came in with dead ones and didn't care that they sounded the way they did.

Which is one of the (many) reasons i will never make money recording.

If a band sounds bad/has shitty gear, i will dislike the sound, but generally, will be inclined to say: fuck it. To me, all of that is a part of a band's sound. I don't like to play the game of "oh, but i think this band thinks they sound like THIS, and so i am going to modify the recording process to make them sound the way they THINK they do".

The exception to this would be if a band is really green, or just kind of never learned shit, and someone says something like "hey, i don't know how to tune my fucking drums, but i WANT them to sound like _____." Or something like that. Otherwise, i will just work with whatever comes through the door.

Partly this comes from recording with my own bands in the olden dayes and having someone try to change shit on me or other doods in my band that THEY didn't like, but that WE liked. I have found personally, that in the end, the recordist kind of has more leverage than the band in these sorts of situations, and IMO, that isn't right or fair. Sometimes a band likes the sound that you think is shitty.

Sometimes they would like the sound that you like, better(but just don't know it yet), but sometimes they are going to quietly be unhappy with the choice that you decided is better and won't say anything because they assume that you know better. I will get a feel from a band from talking with them about what they want, and what they think they are, but i am not going to be playing too many games as far as trying to read between the lines and change their approach if they seem to like their approach. Even if i personally think that it is very wrong and shitty-sounding.

Partly though it also comes from all of the records that i have heard that had a truly unique (and bad) guitar sound or bass sound or drum sound, or just mistuned strings or wonky tom tunings or unevenly dead drumheads, or clearly broken cymbals, or vocalists who just couldn't resist POPpping the fuck out of the microphone they were jabbing into their face, etc etc etc.

The way i am different than prolly any of you, is that i love that stuff, and i love it wayyyyy more than i love hearing a perfect guitar sound, or crisp high end detail on the overheads, or a great natural reverb, or like, any of that shit.

I like shit that is fucked up, ugly, different. I will always prefer a broken record with wrong sounds, to pretty much anything 'good' by a good engineer/producer.

i'm actually in support of this, but i'll help if asked. the only time i'll seriously meddle is if sounds make no sense-- like guitar is destroying bass, or the bass tone is demolishing everything, or cymbals are way too loud-- i.e.-- really serious trainwreck stuff. a lot of the people i record are friends who actually know where i'm coming from about musical stuff-- so if there's an understanding of expectations-- we usually talk stuff out and get to a happy place.

now.. if its people who are SUPER adamant about something-- i have a friend who wanted his guit to sound 'like a tractor'.. i.e. it obliterated the vocal range of the singer... that took some work to work out. i didn't mess with his guitar sound.. in theory.. but the vocalist straightened him out when she couldn't be heard... it was his wife

but by and large-- if a band WANTS fucked up.. sometimes you just run with fucked up and it rules! its not MY music.. it's theirs. to boot-- we usually mix together-- so it's always a winnowing process.. and sometimes bands are super smart in terms of what they want, even if they can't always SAY it in a way that makes sense, and they pull off something magic despite it being traditionallly 'wrong'. i love that. sometimes.. it's just terrible... but you'll have that...

THAT SAID.. i'm a stickler for new heads, strings, etc when it's me. no question. NO NOISE. no garbage. but that's me.

I'll make suggestions, but I've never been insistent that they Must Do It This Way. If someone wanted deliberately fucked up- and it's happened- I'll happily work with them to make it as fucked up as they like. I like that kind of stuff- it's fun. And sometimes that really is just their sound as a whole, and it works in context.

The majority of cases where people walk through the door with junky sounding stuff are mostly younger folks who are inexperienced or just can't afford better. In most- not all but most- cases, they'll happily take advice and even ask me to use my gear if I have something suitable. They tend to have an idea of what they want sonically, even if it's just a mismash of their favorite bands and players. They may not know how to get from point A to point B, but they have a goal and they want to get there, and they care. I actually like working with them even if their stuff isn't what I'd normally listen to (it rarely if ever is) for the enthusiasm. I've actually gone out and purchased gear for them before.

The only time it's ever been an issue at all is with the odd dudebro who's insistent on That's My Sound, Man, and then wonders why it doesn't sound at all good on recordings. That tends to be the sort of ego that conflicts with their band members as well. I've met a few of these, and even been in bands with them. Not cool. There's no real point in arguing with them. These are the ones that make me most inclined to want to tamper with their tracks, because ultimately you're in the business of satisfying the band/artist/artisté and the expectations of their ego will not be met by their real-world skills. They're no fun to be in a band with, run live sound for or record.

I try not to fly in blind re: recording situations; I like to at least speak with one or more of the band members beforehand about their goals for the recording, their influences, favorite albums and sounds, and generally get a feel for what they're looking for, and I ask what they have gear-wise. The past few years this has been sort of a non-issue for me as for the most part I've known the people I was recording and what they brought to the table (and they've been gearheads). But still, if I ever got back into the business of recording other folks, I'd be inclined to keep all sorts of extra paraphernalia around just in case, at least as much as a courtesy to the clients as anything else. Well, and to keep the session flowing. Strings, heads, sticks and the like are never bad to have. Shit breaks and/or just needs to be changed sometimes.

I just replaced a guitar line on one of me tracks with... A tenor sax. I am officially That Asshole Now.

Got a full time job... like, a real one, pertaining to what I learned in school, with substantially better pay than anything I've ever had before. It's a three month contract, and if they like me I'll be on salary with better pay still.

Don't know what to make of it. It's like the end of a long, long period of me being a jerk-off slacker. I'm even looking to buy a car now.

That is awesome, Geoffman. Some day i will get a job like an adult too.

I am starting to think i may not be doing what i am doing for money, maybe too much longer. I have been putting a lot more into the place, but really, not getting much more out of it, if anything, less, if you count the level of responsibility and stress that i have bit by bit, ascended to.

I guess that is just the eternal problem of taking low-paying jobs with the intent of being LESS tied to some eight-hour-a-day, five(or seven)day-a-week, real job with workcrap that you still have to think about after you clock out and go home. At least, for someone who is not partly braindead.

Eventually, over time you start to get handed all of these other shit-you-have-to-deal-withs kind of by default, for like, being someone who can use their brain and generally get shit done. And before you know it, there you are, with an eight-hour-a-day, etc, job with workcrap that you still have to think about after you clock out and go home. Only, now you aren't getting paid for one.

It doesn't seem to register with folks, what you started out doing for them and for how much, and what you are doing for them now, for about the same.

Maybe i should just practice acting stupider, in general, as far as it pertains to the workplace?

Or like, try to figure out what i want to do for a real job, maybe.

Which also makes it sound like this situation is becoming about the money for me, but really, that isn't it.

Money is just an easy(maybe: lazy, but whatever) way to measure where a job's expenditures and rewards balance out, or if they do at all.

Maybe you should just put your foot down and be like 'lolno, you aren't paying me enough to be doing that man'. Then you gets a raise for your troubles?
/