Tonight I had a particularly productive recording session. I think it would help future sessions to break down why.
I took a break – I usually record on Saturday nights, but I’ve been busy with a screenplay these last few months. So I took last Saturday off. This helped me come in feeling ready to go.
I’m excited about my new song – I haven’t released my last two songs because I ended up not liking them. They were OK, but not good enough. They deviated too far from what I want to be known for, and not in a good “experimental” way. They were just not great songs. So they’ll stay in the vault. With this new song, I know it’s in my wheelhouse. I already know it’s a solid song. The music is solid and the lyrics mean something to me. So it fired me up.
I took my time – Sometimes I’ll go into recording without really thinking about the song being good enough, or baked enough. This time, having created two songs over the course of two months and not really liking them, I made sure to write one I really liked.
I didn’t drink beer – I start recording on Saturday nights around 7:30, after waking up at 6:30 A.M. to go for a run. On the one Saturday a month I record drums, it takes my 40 minutes to set up the kit, mics, and my setup. Then it takes my 3-4 takes, which takes about an hour. It’s tiring work. So tonight, I didn’t drink beer at dinner, or at the studio. Instead…
I took drugs – Just instant cappuccino at the studio with some hot water. BAM. So after I killed it on my drum takes, I recorded four rhythm guitar tracks with my amp. AND a guitar solo. All under three hours. That’s over 60% of the song right there, barring vocals and bass!
I recorded guitar tracks through my amp – There’s something about getting the tones right and experimenting a bit with different pedals… And live amps almost always sound better than software. Doing this also cuts down on the processing the computer has to do when mixing. And since the tones are dialed in at the studio, the mix starts to mix itself.
It’s the song, stupid – I know it’s a good song. Period. This goes so, so far. I’ve been experimenting with recording techniques and different styles of songs for over five years straight now—consistently. My average has been putting out a song every month. Tonight got me back to recording the kind of song that’s really me and that I know I’m good at—hard-hitting alt-rock / power pop with a bit of sophistication and flair.
One of the things that also led to a great night is that I haven’t stopped trying new things. Even though I use the same gear and techniques I’ve been working with for decades, I’m also at the point where the simpler I keep things, the more efficiently I work, and the better the sound.
For example, I’ve been frustrated at how weak my live guitar tones have been. So I asked my good friend/genius engineer/bass player Ron about panning hard left and right, versus keeping things in the center. His thoughts inspired me to take a slightly different approach to recording live guitars tonight, but it’s also “back to basics” and something I’ve done before. So the meandering and experimenting all adds up to feeling like I know what I’m doing as I progress. Although with music and mixing, there’s always something to learn.
A few other small but significant tweaks to how I've been doing things:
I tried new drum sticks - Vic Firth SD1 Generals. I’ve been a 5A man since college. But a few sessions ago, I had to use a pair of Sd1s someone left at my studio. They felt very heavy but I got used to them, and of course they made the drum takes sound… wait for it… way heavier. And they were somehow easier to play because I didn’t have to smash the drums as hard. So I ordered two pair for myself and used them again tonight with the same success.
I turned up the bass on my amp – I’ve been feeling my Fender amp has a gritty but thin, “hollowed out” sound. So I turned up the bass a bit more than I usually do. Doy, that seemed to flesh it out to where I wanted it.
Anyway, that’s it for now. I just wanted to capture why tonight was kinda magical. There was a lot to it, but I really do think the biggest thing is working on a song I believe in.
I’m leaning toward putting out less material in the future to really focus on songs I know are really good, versus, Oh, I have a new riff… write, record, repeat. Maybe it means putting out a song every two, three months, versus every month. Or just taking it easy for a week or two, before the next GOOD song pops into my head.
I look forward to getting this one right and putting it out soon. Rock on.
