Adventures of a n00b

[Russtopher]

After spending the last 2 years trying to learn how to record music, I've finally gotten the opportunity to record 4 songs for another band. All of the stuff I do is for my own projects, where I'm basically doing all the music + mixing myself. So now I've got the opportunity to record a melodic death band with real drums (not my 4 piece kit with 2 crashes) and real amps (not my 30w Vox Valvetronix).

Last night was drum tracking, which was fun getting a 7 piece kit nicely miced up with 1 Firepod. The best part was when we finished tracking drums early, and one of the guitarists asked if he could start laying down tracks on one song (this is all being done at their rehearsal space).

I said "sure!!" and he tuned up and plugged in while I put my ear down in front of his cab (Marshall with a 6505+ head), telling him to start playing so I could figure out where to start with mic placement. I thought that since their rehearsal space was relatively small, his volume wouldn't be that high.

I was wrong.

So now my ear's finally stopped ringing just about 24 hours later and I can't wait to get more tracks recorded so I can start doing some rough mixes

 

[GarethSE]

Recording your first band is always tons of fun.

The first full band I recorded aside from my own band and solo stuff was a prog/math metal band with a 16 year old drummer that IMO is going to be one of the greats some day.
I believe the first progression of the first song of the EP went like this.

8 bars of 5/4, 4 bars of 7/4, 4 bars of 9/4, a bar of 11/4 then a bar of 13/4.

It was HUGE amounts of fun. Haha. Everyone was tight as balls and spot on to the click. The whole thing ended up being great fun.

Good luck with the rest of your project

 

[AudioGeekZine]

I said "sure!!" and he tuned up and plugged in while I put my ear down in front of his cab (Marshall with a 6505+ head), telling him to start playing so I could figure out where to start with mic placement. I thought that since their rehearsal space was relatively small, his volume wouldn't be that high.

I was wrong.

So now my ear's finally stopped ringing just about 24 hours later and I can't wait to get more tracks recorded so I can start doing some rough mixes

I guess you won't be doing that any more.

FYI unless you've got headphones on that will isolate you from the guitar cab so you can hear what the mic is doing there's no point in sticking your head anywhere near a 'live' guitar amp.

Next time, unplug the guitar from the amp, crank it, listen to the hiss. Use that to judge where the mic is going. That will be safe for your ears.
Turn it back down, plug the guitar in and find an appropriate volume.

 

[Put]

"8 bars of 5/4, 4 bars of 7/4, 4 bars of 9/4, a bar of 11/4 then a bar of 13/4."

i want to hear this

 

[GarethSE]

"8 bars of 5/4, 4 bars of 7/4, 4 bars of 9/4, a bar of 11/4 then a bar of 13/4."

i want to hear this

I will find it in a second ;D
Warning: mix is no-where near as good as anything i can do now. this was literally like a year ago. eeesch

www.myspace.com/bloodspectrumband

It's the track secrets sold
I don't think the sequence I listed is entirely correct in the amounts of bars n shit, but the time sigs are I believe.

 

[Russtopher]

I guess you won't be doing that any more.

Nope!

I had my -25db Westones in so I figured I'd be ok. The closest thing like that ever to happen was when my band had bought a small PA and were trying to figure out why one of the cabs wasn't working (we were maybe 18 and clueless about live sound). I stuck my head close to the cab to see if there was even any hiss coming out of it when someone else swapped the speaker cable and the cab came to life in a squeal of feedback.

That was the first (and only) time in my life I've ever been knocked over by sound.

 

[Chryst Krispies]

I played a show in CT one time and I didn't wear earplugs. The room was very small and it was so loud, that I put my head next to my cab because I couldn't tell if it was on. But it was so loud, that I actually just couldn't hear anything but a wall of "SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" I must've lost some hearing at that gig.

Fucking sucked.