Hours a day: what's your limit?

joelpatterson · Post by **joelpatterson** » Mon Sep 05, 2011 4:57 am

alcoyot wrote:I'm not a pro. I'd imagine that tracking endurance over many hours would be very dependent on the proficiency of the musicians.

It's more a function of the "eyes glazing over" syndrome and just the brutality of relentlessly concentrating on the same thing, you hit a point of diminishing returns, negative returns really-- but the thing you ten hour guys miss-- when the band is burning out and has lost all perspective, that's a KEY time-- you can subtly steer the whole thing away from their quirky, misbegotten, amateurish aesthetics into a land of properly produced audio. But here we're going to ease into a discussion of how bands have no idea how they're coming across-- blind to the nuances that make recorded music palatable and appealing and addictive, because they can't hear their own stuff objectively. So this is where I glue a strip of duct tape over my mouth.

Post by **TapeOpLarry** » Mon Sep 05, 2011 10:21 am

Joel,
I get them on that track while they're still conscious. That's a whole other round of negotiations!
-LC

"when the band is burning out and has lost all perspective, that's a KEY time-- you can subtly steer the whole thing away from their quirky, misbegotten, amateurish aesthetics into a land of properly produced audio."

vvv · Post by **vvv** » Mon Sep 05, 2011 1:53 pm

JohnDavisNYC · Post by **JohnDavisNYC** » Mon Sep 05, 2011 4:02 pm

8-10 is best... i'll stretch it if it's happening, or if we're a few takes away from completing a vocal or a guitar part or something, and the musician is still working well... but honestly, even at 8 hours, i'm in better shape than most musicians... very few have the 'hanging chops' to be useful in hours 9 and 10 and onward...

8 intense hours of focused work is always better than 12 easy/lazy ones.

however, with this new studio build, aaron, jacob (our assistant) and i have been sometimes putting in solid 14 hour days (construction and sessions at the same time... party!!!) and somewhat holding up. i guess that's just endurance that comes from experience.

john

cgarges · Post by **cgarges** » Mon Sep 05, 2011 9:11 pm

It's funny how much MORE you can get done in a shorter day if everyone's relaxed and is taking appropriate breaks and stuff. It's always those non-stop kind of days where everyone's stressing about getting enough done where stuff doesn't get done in a reasonable amount of time.

I've actually kind of started doing this thing where I charge by the hour if it's a one-day project. I really prefer charging by the day, but if someone is trying to get everything they can done in one day, there's no way I'm charging them a flat rate for that one day.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

xpulsar · Post by **xpulsar** » Thu Sep 08, 2011 2:36 am

The Sessions I have been doing lately have been 10-14 hours a day. Sometimes 16 hours. This has always been the norm when working on albums with a budget and full studio lock outs. People just want to get shit done, I don't mind the hours as long as We take real lunch and dinner breaks.

-Collin

Post by **TapeOpLarry** » Thu Sep 08, 2011 6:58 pm

I was thinking about this. I know when I work freelance in other studios that this changes. I'd certainly prefer 10 hours but if we have a lot to do and the band pays me hourly I might go "over". I know I have in the past. But man, it does make editing the mag hard to do if there are too many long days in a row. Even the 11 ten hour days I just worked made some simple proofreading hard to get done (that's my excuse for issue 85).

MoreSpaceEcho · Post by **MoreSpaceEcho** » Fri Sep 09, 2011 10:03 am

larry, i'm awesome at proofreading if you want to subcontract some of that stuff out. seriously.

joelpatterson · Post by **joelpatterson** » Fri Sep 09, 2011 11:56 pm

as long as capital letters are not, like, a priority.

MoreSpaceEcho · Post by **MoreSpaceEcho** » Sat Sep 10, 2011 10:19 am

well bowled, sir.

Gregg Juke · Post by **Gregg Juke** » Sun Sep 11, 2011 12:55 am

I KAN PRUF REED VRY GUD 2. I DONT CHAHRG THET MOCH ITHER.

KALL MEE.

GJ

themagicmanmdt · Post by **themagicmanmdt** » Thu Sep 22, 2011 8:32 am

U MISSSED UH U EN PRUUF GJ WHOW.

anyways.

8 always hit it for me and everyone.

the best, most productive sessions were actually easy paced and well rehearsed bands doing 8-10 hours. absolutely no more than 10.

i usually have to call '8' hours, because tracking stops at 8 hours, and then people want rough mixes or something...plus tear down/tidy up, that always adds an hour.

yeah, i never had an intern.

:/

weatherbox · Post by **weatherbox** » Thu Sep 22, 2011 9:45 pm

My policy has become that at 9.5 hours, I reserve the right to tell everyone to start winding down the night in tracking situations. We pretty routinely go over it, but often with the understanding that we're going to start 45 minutes late the next day. The strings of 14 hour days are not missed. It's just not possible unless there's absolutely nothing else I need to get done that week, in the studio or otherwise.

Mixing, I'm usually feeling pretty fried after 6-8 hours.

roscoenyc · Post by **roscoenyc** » Fri Sep 23, 2011 4:54 pm

I've never seen or heard anything really great happen in a studio after 8 hours.
I have had some laughs though.

AndersonSoundRecording · Post by **AndersonSoundRecording** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 7:47 am

Live and on-location work routinely call for a 12 - 16 hour workday. 20 hours is not unheard of, especially if you include travel time.

Working in the studio, 10 - 12 hours for editing. mixing, and such seems about right. Just have to keep the levels under control so I don't fry my ears. But one has to consider how many days you can pull that off in a row before reaching burnout.

However, I will not under any circumstances work more than 24 hours in a single day.

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