Fighting Discouragement

Recording Techniques, People Skills, Gear, Recording Spaces, Computers, and DIY

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Gregg Juke
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Post by Gregg Juke » Thu Jul 10, 2014 12:43 pm

>>>>what i have found is that i swear 1000% less when recording music.<<<<

Wow, then you're not at all like some of my other engineer friends, who don't do any carpentry work (DIY or Pro), but do a lot of swearing at tape machines, ADAT remotes, DAW screens, unrepentant plug-ins, and various musicians, singers, and voice-over talent (and producers).

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floid
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Post by floid » Thu Jul 10, 2014 2:31 pm

MoreSpaceEcho wrote:
floid wrote:some things i have found to be equally true of carpentry and recording music
what i have found is that i swear 1000% less when recording music.
quote]

Cussing comes with the territory. Learning how and when to use your customer voice comes with time.
MoreSpaceEcho wrote:
floid wrote:quality tools and knowledge of their proper use are what set professionals apart from weekend warriors.
the quality of the finished product too.
Saw some thing on tv once about some guy a hundred odd years ago that built an amazing spiral staircase in a monastery. Modern engineers were trying to figure out how it held together, how it could have been assembled, etc. He'd built it with a hammer, hand saw, and folding rule. Not sure if it really proves or disproves my axiom, but i'm thinking maybe i shouldn't have been quite so axiomatic there.
MoreSpaceEcho wrote: do you do carpentry for a living?
Spent most of my 20s trying not to, but yeah. It's hell on the ears and the hands (shot a framing nail thru my finger last year, still can't really feel properly), but i like it, and try to be smart enough to still be able to do it when i'm 60. If i could run trim and build cabinets all the time, well, i'd be pretty damn content.
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floid
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Post by floid » Thu Jul 10, 2014 3:45 pm

to totah: ten yrs ago i was the guy trying to help out the local scene. lots of free recordings, carting gear to shows and practice spaces, lots of fun...
but when you're trying to explain to a kid you're recording as a favor to a mutual friend, that his cymbal shaped objects attached to things that have more in common with pendulums than stands will continue to sound washy until his technique improves, and he insists the real problem is that you should get some triggers before he comes back...
when you try to figure out how to tell a band that just because you recorded their show for a pitcher, doesnt mean the same terms will apply to the e.p. ...
when the band offers you yet another shitty guitar processor missing it's oddball power supply 'to give you something for your time'...
THAT gets discouraging.
seems to me putting a nominal price on your services sets a different tone. it becomes a working relationship, rather than, 'yeah, bring some beer/bud and record some...shit.'
just my experience.
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vvv
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Post by vvv » Thu Jul 10, 2014 4:41 pm

Ha!

I'm larfing because my current guys don't beer or bud ...

One time, they did bring some pretty good sub sammichs tho', about 4 sessions ago.
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floid
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Post by floid » Thu Jul 10, 2014 5:25 pm

no donuts? sorry, too easy. in yr sitch i could see doing a session in exchange for getting to use their tazer on them. depending on how much of a kid they still are inside, of course.
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MoreSpaceEcho
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Post by MoreSpaceEcho » Fri Jul 11, 2014 9:54 am

Gregg Juke wrote: Wow, then you're not at all like some of my other engineer friends, who don't do any carpentry work (DIY or Pro), but do a lot of swearing at tape machines, ADAT remotes, DAW screens, unrepentant plug-ins, and various musicians, singers, and voice-over talent (and producers).
oh i swear at the computer plenty...the difference is then i'm swearing while sitting in a comfy chair drinking delicious coffee. as opposed to being on tip toes on top of the ladder trying to get the last $%^&* screw into the #$%^&* ceiling joist. or whatever the $%^&* problem of the $%^&* moment is.
floid wrote:It's hell on the ears
you gotta wear the ear goggles! i learned some stuff from watching youtube and i was always cringing when guys would be hammering something in an empty room, and the reverb's all crazy...which makes the already-loud sound of hammering that much louder.

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floid
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Post by floid » Fri Jul 11, 2014 10:35 am

i use the rubber plugs, but prolly not consistently enough. hammering in a closet or other tight space really makes you respect the danger of high spl's.
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vvv
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Post by vvv » Fri Jul 11, 2014 1:56 pm

floid wrote:no donuts? sorry, too easy. in yr sitch i could see doing a session in exchange for getting to use their tazer on them. depending on how much of a kid they still are inside, of course.
:lol:
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tjcasey1
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Re: Fighting Discouragement

Post by tjcasey1 » Wed Aug 27, 2014 5:03 am

totah wrote:Have you ever heard a recording so bad that you wanted to sell all your gear and hide in your apartment until you die?

I should have been motivated by it. I should have heard it and thought of all the ways I could have done it better. But I'm just so discouraged at how easy it is for knuckleheads to buy a microphone and make some garbage. Then I realize, I am a knucklehead. Maybe all my work is garbage.

So what's the point?
I'm so discouraged by multi-million-dollar pop/R&B acts that make the glossiest garbage I've ever heard and then get to promote it on national TV.

The crappy recordings sound great to me in comparison.

And if you ain't having fun recording, you're doing something wrong.

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Post by getreel » Tue Jun 23, 2015 2:36 pm

I like to record my music or for other people. My little studio is semi private now after having a commercial space around 10 years for awhile. My last project paid in moonshine so that was pretty cool. I don't know if my stuff sounds that good compared to other's with small studios, but I like the way it sounds. I have a particular sound I tend to get and people come to me around here for that. All that matters to me is that I like the sounds I get and my clients like it too.

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markjazzbassist
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Re: Fighting Discouragement

Post by markjazzbassist » Wed Jun 24, 2015 8:36 am

tjcasey1 wrote:
I'm so discouraged by multi-million-dollar pop/R&B acts that make the glossiest garbage I've ever heard and then get to promote it on national TV.

The crappy recordings sound great to me in comparison.

And if you ain't having fun recording, you're doing something wrong.
i agree with this wholeheartedly. i will hear a fantastic soul or jazz record and then some pop garbage and fear for humanity. i used to share music with friends but when they didn't get it or didn't dig my tastes i just stopped, i like the music i like and try and support artists by buying music and attending shows (when i can afford it).

i also agree with you recording fun thought, just finished another EP here in New Orleans at one of the nicest studios in town and it's always just a joy to work in proper rooms with proper gear and a proper engineer. It's a joy to be able to play my bass and not worry about anything and everytime it sounds good and it's FUN!

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Jarvis
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Post by Jarvis » Fri Jun 26, 2015 4:58 am

Carpenter musicaner recordist here chiming in. Hearing's a wreck, hands have been through a surgery or two, turning 60 this year with 30-40 years of bands in there. Currently a computer audio recording hobbyist having a blast. Fuck the clubs, I am way too old for that.
Pulled my tools from a site yesterday where everyone was playing the "Who can be the biggest asshole" game. No foreseeable income, no problem. Today I cranked up the DAW at 7am.
I have always put my faith in The Little Baby Jeebus? and she has yet to let me down.
Not discouraged, defiant.
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lyman
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Post by lyman » Fri Jun 26, 2015 6:24 am

I dig your style, Jarvis.

MoreSpaceEcho
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Post by MoreSpaceEcho » Mon Jun 29, 2015 9:54 am

me too. except for the 7am part.

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Nick Sevilla
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Post by Nick Sevilla » Sat Jul 04, 2015 10:42 am

Laugh.
Rerecord.
Rinse.
Repeat.
Howling at the neighbors. Hoping they have more mic cables.

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