How obsessed are you with trying new techniques?

[Slider]

I've told this story before.
I did this one project with a pretty big name engineer (I was a musician on this particular record).
This guy was really good, but when we suggested trying some different techniques, he got really pissed and said "look, I've been micing stuff this way for 20 years!! It works!"
That was probably not the best thing to say to us.

When I have days I'm not working, I'll go in and mess around with my own songs, or sometimes I'll just throw up some mics I've never tried before.
Or hey I want to play my drums or guitar anyway, I may as well put up some mics and put on some headphones and record a bit.
I always learn something new.
Hey...I wonder what a 414 would sound like on this Ludwig kick?
Oh...okay it sounds like shit. good to know.
I find when a band is concerned about the time they're spending, I start going back to my tried and true, rather than trying something new.
You guys spend way too much time F'ing around with your stuff?

[JGriffin]

I dunno about "obsessed," but I do get excited about trying new tricks, new instruments, new pieces of kit, etc.

[joel hamilton]

I find that every situation demands an approach. Sometimes it is one that you have done before, sometimes not. I simply make mental notes (as we all do as a part of learning) and it gets easier and easier every session to get good results. Trying new stuff is a part of this process, as every session there is new stuff to try your old techniques on, then adapt them or modify them to the current situation.

That being said, I DO mess with things when I am given the chance to do so.

if there was ONE right way to do all this, it wouldnt be any fun!

Every time I am presented with something to mix, I learn something even if I tracked it. If I didnt track it, I learn a bunch of things. Every band is different, every project is different, every song is different. That is why we have knobs and faders and not preset gain levels... All of this stuff requires our interaction. Getting sounds to do what you want them to is just a series of knob twists and fader moves... A zillion little decisions.

[Rigsby]

I wouldn't say obsessed either, but i've definately become increasingly interested.

I used to record with this guy about ten years ago who was setting up mics for my acoustic guitar and heard me playing in the corner and really liked the sound there rather than where i'd usually sit in the middle of the room (just seemed like the right place to be before that), so miced around me while i played there, i think this was the first time i'd seen someone be creative and actually listen rather than automatically using tried and tested techniques.

I like to try different rooms, different mic positions and combinations, and like you say slider, just play and see what happens and how it sounds, it often starts a thought process on what one likes and doesn't about that particular set-up. Thoughts change all the time too, there was a time when i would prefer to record as dry as possible, but my most recent recordings were in my bathroom and i currently adore that sound.

This board has obviously helped me think about such things more recently, it's a good place.

[kayagum]

Rather than trying new techniques for the sake of being new or different, I prefer to work backwards.... have an idea of what I want something to sound like, and work back through the signal chain.

It doesn't work for morality or ethics, but for teching, the end really does justify the means.

[Slider]

I'll also put up something I just mixed and mess around with it after everyone leaves.
Then I'll call the next day and say "Hey I think I improved it".
I've done this numerous times.
It seems like when everyone leaves I can relax and just mess about without the pressure of it being done there and then with everyone watching me.
Maybe I'm a freak.

[mjau]

Rather than trying new techniques for the sake of being new or different, I prefer to work backwards.... have an idea of what I want something to sound like, and work back through the signal chain.

It doesn't work for morality or ethics, but for teching, the end really does justify the means.

Yeah, I think I'm a backwards-working person, too.

[E-money]

I'm obsessed with trying new techniques, but my wife usually isn't into it.

Any ideas?

[Rigsby]

I'll also put up something I just mixed and mess around with it after everyone leaves.
Then I'll call the next day and say "Hey I think I improved it".
I've done this numerous times.
It seems like when everyone leaves I can relax and just mess about without the pressure of it being done there and then with everyone watching me.
Maybe I'm a freak.

Not at all IMO. There are times when i almost can't wait for them to leave so i can play with the mix or the parts or both. I'm more likely to call up and say 'hey, i reworked everything, so now there's two versions' though. It'd be a group i'm playing in, so it's not like i'm taking liberties with other people's material.

[heylow]

I think I get bored too easily....I mean....sure, there are standby techniques that I use but I still really get a kick outta being amazed with sound and the endless ways in which it can be gotten. When I first started I was more into doing what I knew would work...I'm more about winging it now, I think....except the days when I'm not...then I'm not.



heylow

[Red Rockets Glare]

This guy was really good, but when we suggested trying some different techniques, he got really pissed and said "look, I've been micing stuff this way for 20 years!! It works!"
That was probably not the best thing to say to us.

you didn't by any chance ask if you could use his 414 on your kick drum did you?

I was really impressed once by an engineer that let me use his ribbon mic on a snare drum when the drummer was using brushes.

[Fieryjack]

I think there are right brain and left brain people. Some people who have more patience to try messing with gear and stuff to make it sound better, people who have a meticulous approach to sonic detail....

I'm definitely not one of those people. I like shortcuts and getting stuff down.....I really don't enjoy messing with the stuff too much once I've got a decent sound. For one thing, it seems I'm always short on time (aren't we all?).

[Noah]

i toolove experimenting

its tough for me though, since my set-up for the past 4 years has consisted of a single sm57 and a portastudio. only so many different things you can do with that. now ive got a ompressor though, and a mixer, and im getting an 8 track, and some more mics (i cant wait to record in stereo!) so the experimentation has just begun for me.

[midiot]

I've told this story before.
I did this one project with a pretty big name engineer (I was a musician on this particular record).
This guy was really good, but when we suggested trying some different techniques, he got really pissed and said "look, I've been micing stuff this way for 20 years!! It works!"
That was probably not the best thing to say to us.

When I have days I'm not working, I'll go in and mess around with my own songs, or sometimes I'll just throw up some mics I've never tried before.
Or hey I want to play my drums or guitar anyway, I may as well put up some mics and put on some headphones and record a bit.
I always learn something new.
Hey...I wonder what a 414 would sound like on this Ludwig kick?
Oh...okay it sounds like shit. good to know.
I find when a band is concerned about the time they're spending, I start going back to my tried and true, rather than trying something new.
You guys spend way too much time F'ing around with your stuff?

I have to say I don't know of many clients who walk into the studio with experimentation on the mind.

[i am monster face]

I don't really try new teqniques. I just fuck up and it sounds sweet. Only problem with that is that I have problems ever doing the same thing again.

Ian