Band overdubs at home

[vvv]

So I gotta bunch of prosumer gear and amps and mics and axes and stuff in my little ranch house.

I've been recording my own bands here for years, set the drums up in the living room in the afternoon hours and record 'em with bass DI'd has been my recent pattern, OD everything else between me and my guitarist. I've got 6 songs coming out momentarily.

But my question is, does anyone have any advice when it's strangers in the house?

I recorded my former bassist's band a cuppla weeks ago at their rehearsal space - the singer/guitarist's basement.

Came out well, got 12 songs of drums (kick, snare and 2 OH's + a sometimes usable room mic) bass, a guitar and a vocal down in about 5 hours - a new band but experienced musicians (the bassist is in one band with the drummer, in another band with the lady singer/guitarist).

The material is a cuppla covers and then original indie guitar rock.

The singer sounds like a belting cross between Ronstadt and Slick.

Anywhat, what doya offer to keep the drummer and bassist occupied when the singer is doin' it, etc.?

Can't turn a TV on with sound as the house is too small, and the DAW and rack shite is in a bedroom with not much room - like a control room.

All I can think of, then, is food and other consumables to keep 'em calm but available.

Mebbe I can get 'em to walk the dog ...

[trodden]

I've got a carport with patio furniture, plus a huge flower and vegetable garden with chairs throughout it, and a fire pit. If the weather is nice, people seem to like relaxing outdoors. Which is great June-September in Seattle. If its not nice out, they're stuck staring at their phones, or the back of my head. I also have a very friendly cat that LOVES attention from anyone, so he helps.

[vvv]

We are figuring onna 8-10 hour session so I told 'em I have a smoker if they wanna BBQ.

I reckon they can wash the lawn furniture themselves if I don't get to it.

Gonna be sunny and 80F here so I can have the aircon on so as not to annoy the neighbors.

I'm not concerned about any mischief, I just don't want 'em bored.

And I don't even have any board games except mebbe backgammon and chess.

Fortunately, they are all ers, and I told 'em to bring their own booze - I'll provide the coffee and bottled water.

[digitaldrummer]

if they can hang outside in "the lounge" area, then great. if not, then you might consider splitting days for tracking basics and then doing overdubs another day - that way you can reduce the number of people that have to be there? that might seem less efficient, but it also then gives you a few hours after the first session to tidy up, make any necessary edits, get a workable mix going, etc. and you may have a better idea of what kind of overdubs are necessary for the next session.

btw, my studio has a covered patio. it's small but it works for break, unless it's 105 deg (which it can be since I'm in Texas). I could send them into my house, where there's AC, but I don't do that unless I know them well - not good to have strangers just poking around your house when you are busy engineering.

[alexdingley]

splitting days for tracking basics and then doing overdubs another day - that way you can reduce the number of people that have to be there.

That was my thinking — I'm sure they might want to be there to listen back, etc... but my first instinct would have been to try to arrange it so they didn't need to be there.

[vvv]

I could send them into my house, where there's AC, but I don't do that unless I know them well - not good to have strangers just poking around your house when you are busy engineering.

Yeah, that's kinda a issue because -to paraphrase FZ - I'm strictly far from commercial. My house is the studio with axes and amps throughout the house; lately the guitar amps have been in the kitchen:

[winky dinglehoffer]

lately the guitar amps have been in the kitchen:

Yep. And it looks like you took the tray out of the toaster oven to use as a pedal board

[vvv]

Ha!

been doing that for years

that's a cooling grate for baked shite

everyone looks at 'em and makes fun of me - just rec'd some abuse o'er at talkbass last week

now two of my friends are doing the same thing, altho' they use panduit straps instead of mini-bungees

it's a cheap system, lightweight and easily altered, fits inna briefcase and doesn't damage the paint or stickers of pedal bottoms

them grates is US$10 for 3, the bungees US$10 for 25

I have about 10 such boards for various purposes, such as shoegaze, funk, bass, guitar, and modelers with speaker simulators

a couple are built around specific pedals that are large and need their own power supplies (12, 15, 18 v.), like the Meek Floor-Q, the big Source Audio Pro Envelope, Ashdown stuff, Radial Marshall pedal ... even that recent Behringer copy of a Mutron what copies it's size, too, altho' that's 9v.

it's easy to mount a short US$3 power strip and leave the pedal's wallwart mounted right with the pedal

and I've even mounted a pair of Cathedral Pipes Durhams on one but it's just out the pic

[vvv]

so the singer hears my band's demo and likes the guitar sound

we just did 7 hours of recording, and the amp setup was as pictured, except we changed the amp out for my ProJr for a cuppla songs, and I changed the ribbon room mic to a tube condenser (MXL Genesis) for a cuppla songs

they both play Tele and so my guitar player should be flattered!

she also liked the simple MXL Genesis into Eureka chain so that's on all the vocs

it was a 100% smoove session, with the singer-guitarist finishing 6 songs including multiple guitars and BV's - I think she replaced 4 lead vocals

the bassist replaced one bass track, what was a his Music Man into One Control Silver Peg pedal di'd into a Brick (no compressor) and paralleled to a Meek VC3Q

the drummer added some cowbell and tambo and a a-go-go in one place

whiskey and CBD and were consumed by some (OK, all)

I figger two more sessions and they will have 6 songs from what to use as a demo and also put up to stream

no one was bored as we kept salting the other guys in at the end of her recoding on each song, which also gave the singer/guitarist a rest

I did have to push her to play leads but I rejected (for now) their idear of someone else to play lead (even tho' it could be me), unless it's gonna be a new band member - she's good enuff to record it all; I hope they stick with that concept, but it's their band

I may or may not end up doing some stuff - likely some keys? - me, but I'd be just as happy if they could do it all

7 hours, and I never got tired of her voice - she can do the Wilson sisters, Ronstadt, Slick ...