the more I record, the more I dont get it

[joel hamilton]

It seems like the more I record, the more I feel like the gear doesnt matter.
The more I record, the more mic placement doesnt matter.
Things get automatic, like tying your shoes in the morning. Sometimes they stay tied all day, sometimes not.
The more I put mics in front of sources, the more I hear the subtleties of the way the sounds will work in the mix, without moving the mic.
The less I seem to "shove things around" the more they respond to me by sitting in the mix.
I know this is totally "the tao of mixing" or totally zen and the art of recording... but really.

The more I just record the sound, and let it show me where it wants to be in the mix, the more it just rides right along with the other sounds. I dont need to try and make it do something it was not ever going to do.

The more I use the same mic for everything on a record, or just take the path of least resistance in general, the easier a record flows into being.

I am finally starting to see the art of simplicity, and only choosing a tool for the job because it actually puts you a step closer to your goal. Whether it is transparency or brute handling of a sound, a tool can make things move without using so much muscle.

Putting up a bunch of mics is simple. Making a record is art. I feel like I am finally getting to the "art" part.

The less it feels like magic, the more it kinda IS magic.

The more I feel like a constant, the less I sweat any of the variables.

Sorry, this just struck me as a valid recording concept. Maybe it is, maybe it is not [insert cheezy kung -fu movie flute sample here].

[Cedar]

Well put... Ofcourse we have to recognize that simplicity in recording and achieving great results with or without the "over the top" gear is mostly dependant on the band themselves. Garbage in... garbage out. Congrats on the Unsane recording. Can't wait to hear it.

[andyg666]

i think that your vast experience and knowledge affords you that simplicity. it's like you have to learn everything about everything in order to forget it all so it doesn't get in the way of the creative process. i'd say that there's a pretty long learning curve in between the beginning and where you've gotten to. if you didn't know about all sorts of gear and you hadn't heard 1,000,000 different mics and mic pres and compressors and biased your tape this way or that to achieve this effect or that effect, you might not be able to be able to see the simplest path to the final product. i think you're reaching recording nirvana!!

[Milkmansound]

this kind of happened to me last night doing live sound at the club I work in every night.

This great band caled Los Blancos came in and set up - and these guys have a great sound as it is because they know how to make their gear sound its best, and their singing voices are top shelf - but I kind of just set them up in autopilot. It was about a 10 minute process, I miked things sparsely, I was completely not in my usual mindset of "what sounds good on what" because I had been previously blown away by watching the extended Return of the King DVD earier...

It was like the zen of live sound - because I do it so often in this one particular space that I can just feel how a band is going to sound in there - or a particular piece of gear. But oftentimes it does not really matter - because its the sound of the band themselves that makes it or breaks it.

And yes, the tools are the lever that will make the sound moving. Last night the sound of this band playing moved me, and the people in the audience. Music is truly power - and it is a gift to be able to make other peoples art get heard by the masses. If you have reached the zen level - it that much sweeter.

[inverseroom]

You're describing BEING GOOD AT WHAT YOU DO!

I'm on a simplicity kick myself but you gotta have the chops. You got 'em. I don't. Life is a process of exercising options and eliminating unproductive ones, which you've been doing every day for years.

You earned it, Hoss, it's yours to use.

[radiantbrian]

i've spent 4-5 hours micing a guitar cabinet as well as throwing up cheap dynamic mics on an entire band in a practice space in about 15 minutes. the practice space recording is almost always more enjoyable to listen to.

it hurts my brain thinking about it.

[nacho459]

I have mixed FOH at my church almost every Sunday for the past 4 years. This is a pretty big place with a PM3500 and a Turbosound system. I walk in set up mics, push faders, turn monitors on, All while I'm half asleep.

I had this PRO engineer fill in for me (Veteran mixes PA for CBS) and he was getting all this feedback and having all these problems. I guess I'm kinda in the same boat with that room, I know what needs to EQ, Compression, etc before I even hear it.

[Dr. Sausage]

I've reallized in my constant pursuit of getting the "perfect" sound, and wanting to get a crap load of equipment, I came to the realization that you can have the best equipment in the world but if what you are recording is shit, you will get shit. I am now concentrating on my songwriting rather than what next recording equipment I need to make my songs better.

[assfortress]

ive been missing these little posts from Joel. They always seem to inspire me to do (or not) something new. Thanks.

[pk]

As with most things you apply yourself to, the constant of 'improving over time and experience' prevails. The more we keep doing this, day-in /day-out, with sutained motivation and the eagerness to learn, the better we will become at it, it's inevitable. While I don't do the same kind of recording Joel does, I can appreciate his post as I've felt that way before, if only in phases, where things that seemed so complex and turbulent out of nowhere become clear and understood. For me, it seems like we achieve these delightful moments in tiers, and each tier brings a new bundle of knowledge, resulting in better recording, mixes, masters, etc. I look at what I know now compared to 4 years ago when I started my project studio, and I'm stunned. There's still much to learn, obviously, but it's inspiring to think of how much better I'll be in a year's time, and so on...

Hail to that feeling.

[Mark Alan Miller]

No, Joel, you get it. You really get it. I aspire to get it like I perceive that you get it. I often think that I get it like I percieve that you get it... but it's impossible to tell.
Well, said, sir.

[TapeOpLarry]

I'll look down at the console during a mix and realize I didn't use more than a couple of EQs, three compressors and one effect. Years ago I would have all the EQs on and all sorts of crap happening to try and make my shitty-sounding tracks work, now they just fall together.

I wonder though. Like someone said about garbage in-out, I'm usually kinda bored by the recording process these days - especially overdubs. With many sessions it's really easy for me on a tech level and I feel kinda let down by the artists (some times). Don't get me wrong, I still love the recording game, I've just burned out on some of these projects. I sit there and think how the band will sit on the recordings for months wanting some label to put it out, and how the band isn't really all that good or unique anyway, and that I'm not really challennging myseelf either.

So Joel, what do I do?!

[Cappy*tan]

For some reason...and I realize this may or may not have anything to do with this topic, so if I'm totally off...forgive me this once. But I've noticed the recordings I really love are all really simplistic type things. Today I was driving for 10+ hours. And what was I listening to? Hank Williams Sr and Patsy Cline on cassette, and when I tired of those two I hunted for an oldies station. And to me those old(er) recordings just seem so much more natural...everything seems to fit. And I understand a lot of it was due to technology or the lack thereof...but if a few mics and a band that could play back then could make an awesome recording the same should hold true now...I guess the only difference these days...is the band. Surprise surprise. lol Eh, just the ramblings of an exhausted young man. heh But for the most part, my line of thinking is "do this as simply as possible."

[hethaerto]

This thread is a great example of why TapeOP folks are special.
Other forums I frequent harbor geekdom to a degree I cannot connect with.
You guys take your recording to a transcendental state, much like you become part of the band, and your massaging of the recordings are as much a part of the creative process as is the writing and performance of the songs.
What sux is when you put so much of your heart into the recording and mixing, then the band just doesn't like it.
Allen

[joel hamilton]

I'll look down at the console during a mix and realize I didn't use more than a couple of EQs, three compressors and one effect. Years ago I would have all the EQs on and all sorts of crap happening to try and make my shitty-sounding tracks work, now they just fall together.

I wonder though. Like someone said about garbage in-out, I'm usually kinda bored by the recording process these days - especially overdubs. With many sessions it's really easy for me on a tech level and I feel kinda let down by the artists (some times). Don't get me wrong, I still love the recording game, I've just burned out on some of these projects. I sit there and think how the band will sit on the recordings for months wanting some label to put it out, and how the band isn't really all that good or unique anyway, and that I'm not really challennging myseelf either.

So Joel, what do I do?!

I build in a flaw. On ever project I do lately, I try to trick myself into paying more attention. On the unsane album I just did, I put a mic in a really unlikely to sound right place, used a custom ampex 601 pre through an AM864/U compressor, and just KILLED it to tape. I still wound up with no eq. It sure made me smile to hear that track just melting down SO hard when the drummer would lay into it. Gave me a great overall "fingerprint" for the drum sound on that record. i used it sparingly, but at the start of each mix (i mixed 11 songs in two days for that record) I would shove the faders around until they all kinda started to live somewhere. That killed room mic was the first fader I would push up every time. I only spent about 2 hours on any given song for the entire 11 songs on the record.
Challenge yourself. Dare yourself to do things completely weird. Use your usual "snare" mic for a mono overhead and use your kik mic for the snare. Make it work in what sounds effortless, rather than a guy trying to be weird.

Larry, I guess this is my short answer:

Every move we make should sound effortless. A classic actor once said:
"I dont have to feel it, I just have to make the audience feel it."

I LIVE by that when I am recording and mixing music.