Producers/Engineers: Do you enjoy timing drums/tuning vox?

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sharpmachine
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Producers/Engineers: Do you enjoy timing drums/tuning vox?

Post by sharpmachine » Thu Jul 02, 2015 6:11 pm

Producing music is a creative process. I know for me that when it comes time to time the drums and tune the vocals, I get taken out of my creative flow and put into a tedious one. It's that thing you have to do before you can get to the fun mixing part.

For curiosity's sake, I'd like to get a sense of how many others feel the same way. If you don't mind I have just one question:

On a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being strongly dislike and 10 being strongly like), how much do you like timing drums and tuning vocals? And feel free to tell me why you answered the way you did.

Thanks!

(I like quantifying things so that's why I'm asking this in this way)

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Post by kslight » Thu Jul 02, 2015 7:52 pm

It beats shoveling shit.

I answered the way I did because I am generally doing those things because I'm getting paid to do it, which is a positive influence...and like most jobs there are some things that are tedious and or challenging...I suppose if they were fun and easy I wouldn't get paid for it. Which if I'm not getting paid for it, turns back around and impacts how much I like it negatively. So basically my answer is...um...pi.

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Post by sharpmachine » Fri Jul 03, 2015 7:16 am

kslight wrote:It beats shoveling shit.

I answered the way I did because I am generally doing those things because I'm getting paid to do it, which is a positive influence...and like most jobs there are some things that are tedious and or challenging...I suppose if they were fun and easy I wouldn't get paid for it. Which if I'm not getting paid for it, turns back around and impacts how much I like it negatively. So basically my answer is...um...pi.
So would that be like a 4 or 5?

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Post by Snarl 12/8 » Fri Jul 03, 2015 4:56 pm

According to google,

Pi = 3.14159265359

Approx.
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Post by joninc » Fri Jul 03, 2015 6:12 pm

probably 2. tuning vocals is less annoying then fixing up drums.

to me it's more like airbrushing zits in photoshop then making music. super uncreative and non inspiring work.

but it's worth mentioning that not everybody edits the crap out of everything. i don't ever grid out the drums or quantize.

i will sweeten really offensive notes in a vocal but if i am tracking we will attempt to get it all 100% good with no tuning.

same goes for drums. but if there is a super distracting late fill or flam, i am not averse to small edits here and there.

that said - i also mix things that i didn't record....
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Post by A.David.MacKinnon » Fri Jul 03, 2015 7:15 pm

If I recorded it then I reserve the right to say no tuning, ever. Sing it till it's right.
I will edit drums if needed but never drastically. If I have to really go to town on it then you ending up with me playing a recording of the drummer playing the drums. It's faster, cheaper and sounds better to hire a good drummer.

But......as with Jon, I also mix things i didn't record. In those cases all bets are off.

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Post by ott0bot » Sat Jul 04, 2015 7:36 am

-10

It's the most bland and terrible part of engineering. if I'm the producer, neither will happen. Sure...editing, but if the timing on the drums is that off or the vocals are terribly flat or sharp, it's time to roll tape again. If I'm mixing someone's material and there is no possibility of overdubs or re-tracking...ok maybe a little...but nothing drastic. I always leave a few mistakes to make it feel like a real recording. Sometimes an accidental rim shot will give the song a pulse. not a fan of copy & paste editing.

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Post by vvv » Sat Jul 04, 2015 8:10 am

It's just one question but it's a compound question so I need to give two answers:

A. Tuning vocals is a no-no for me, done only rarely onna sustained syllable, for which the free VST, G-Snap works adequately. So, "2", for aesthetic reasons.

B. I'm not a drummer so I always work with the drums of others (should be a song title, that!) and therefore I am constantly editing drums not just to fix errors, but to make 'em do what I want. A "10", because I think in this day and age that drums' timing is as important as anything in a mix, more important than many things.
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Post by Nick Sevilla » Sat Jul 04, 2015 10:36 am

For me, today, it entirely depends (LOL...WTF) on the STYLE of music I am working on.

Pop music is pretty much a HAVE to on both tuning and timing perfectly every damned note. It has been the "style" for almost a decade, and shows no signs of changing soon.

On the other side of the spectrum, punk and classical music are pretty much not to be touched, but overdubbed if the mistakes are too large to edit expediently.


As to which I prefer to do, I prefer to do timing over tuning. I own three different tuning plug ins, and they all suck ass to my ears. They simply turn vocals into fucking robots, and not cool laser wielding robots that fly and shit, but broken, phucked up robots from hell, all rusty and just useless.

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Post by getreel » Wed Jul 08, 2015 3:30 pm

Nick Sevilla wrote:They simply turn vocals into fucking robots, and not cool laser wielding robots that fly and shit, but broken, phucked up robots from hell, all rusty and just useless.
That made my day right there. Better than all the memes I've seen this month put together.

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Post by Gregg Juke » Fri Jul 10, 2015 6:26 am

>>>>if I'm the producer, neither will happen.<<<<

What Ottobot said ^^^^.

If I'm engineering or mix consulting, or, specifically hired to edit, it's a "whole 'nuhdah ballgyem" (as Bob Marley said). "Polishing ____," as Quincy Jones is supposed to have said.

What do I say? "As long as I get my money by next Friday."

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Post by GooberNumber9 » Fri Jul 10, 2015 7:36 am

Timing drums: 2 or so. Hate this.

Tuning vocals: 4 to 9, depending.

My favorite "tuning vocals" process is laying down a complete take with questionable pitch, tuning the crap out of that take and then having the artist sing along with the ultra-tuned take. They almost always make takes with much better pitch when they are singing along with the tuned take, so it's like the best of both worlds.

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Re: Producers/Engineers: Do you enjoy timing drums/tuning v

Post by SpencerMartin » Fri Jul 10, 2015 4:23 pm

sharpmachine wrote:It's that thing you have to do before you can get to the fun mixing part.
Revisiting this idea is where I think you might find your answer. I used to feel that way too - that I have to get the editing out of the way before mixing. Lately, I've begun mixing by immediately assessing the big picture. Getting everything into place in one big, epic sitting (not to dissimilar to that time after eating nothing but Chipotle for 2 days back to back).

Everyone here is right about editing being tedious, uninspiring, and distracting from the important things - vibe, character, creativity, etc. I've learned that the editing can wait til later. My newfound mixing process is:

1. Stage 1 mix
2. Editing (a.k.a. the fun part!)
3. Stage 2 mix
4. Final tweaks

I'm loving this new approach. By placing the mindless editing part in the middle, it gives you a much needed break from straining your mix perspective. Also, once a mix is already in place you might find that the song doesn't need as much editing as you originally thought.

Try it out! I think you might really dig the "edit later" approach.

(I will add that editing drums is much easier than pitching vocals, at least for me - I have a system down that doesn't take very long at all. Also, I'd say that most of the time, drum editing is more "necessary" than vocal pitching. Depending on the style/genre of course.)

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Post by vvv » Fri Jul 10, 2015 5:09 pm

"Chipotle for 2 days back to back" would affect my bottom.

Eh, line, my bottom line - it's expensive, see. :twisted:
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Post by SpencerMartin » Sat Jul 11, 2015 8:40 pm

vvv wrote:"Chipotle for 2 days back to back" would affect my bottom.

Eh, line, my bottom line - it's expensive, see. :twisted:
It's a recipe for disasster. :cry:

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