- Oct 26, 2009
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In the past, I've encountered guitarists/bassists that are very difficult to record. They're nervous while tracking, they don't play with a confidence you're looking for, or there are just parts that they are having troubles with performing while tracking. The following techniques are just a few that I've picked up from experimenting and from other AE's I've worked with. NOTE that these are only used in extreme cases such as listed before. Here are a few:
-If there's a section that the guitarist is having to punch in over and over again, solo his/her track and let him/her play to a click. Just hit record, let the click play continuously and wait until they play the part exceptionally. Be patient and let them practice if they need to. This way they don't have the stress of 'keeping up' on their shoulders while they try to nail down that difficult part. Once they nail it, simply cut/paste the part where it belongs.
-If there are parts that may be too fast for the player, there's a cool technique used by several producers. Once again, solo the guitar track and have a click track going. Have the guitarist play the riff/section at half speed. It may take some time for them to adjust and figure out what 'half speed' really is. Once they perform correctly, slice before each transient. Once that is done, slice at HALF of each note. You need to make sure your grid is set up correctly. If the riff consists of mainly 16th notes, they'll be playing the riff at 8th notes, but you're targeting to make the riff at 16ths, essentially. Thus you need to have the grid set to 16th notes. Once the notes are split in half, delete/trim the second half completely off. You don't need it. Then, join the remaining notes together and you'll notice you get a realistic sounding riff.
-Sometimes there are 'in between' notes that sound terrible. Let's say everything else sounds good except for a few notes. Add a new track and have the guitarist target those specific notes. If they know what notes they are, specifically, they don't even need to play it to the song. Just have them play the notes longer than what they're intended to be ( with the correct attack), slide it to the right spot and trim accordingly.
-If you're doing a chug riff, there is a cool technique used sometimes. Let's say the guitarist you're working with is a bit skittish and doesn't pick hard enough, or just doesn't have that edge with his/her attack. Once again, solo out the guitar track, play 5-6 good chugs. Once this is done you can treat those notes like replacement notes, like when replacing with drums. Copy/pate those chugs accordingly to where it sounds real and edgy.
Of course there are some people out there that calls this cheating. Well, unfortunately these are some pretty universal techniques that a lot of successful people use. I personally don't like using them, as they can be a bit tedious and time consuming. But in the long run, when you have a really terrible performer on hand, it can actually save time and yield the best results possible.
Please add to the list, if you'd like!
-If there's a section that the guitarist is having to punch in over and over again, solo his/her track and let him/her play to a click. Just hit record, let the click play continuously and wait until they play the part exceptionally. Be patient and let them practice if they need to. This way they don't have the stress of 'keeping up' on their shoulders while they try to nail down that difficult part. Once they nail it, simply cut/paste the part where it belongs.
-If there are parts that may be too fast for the player, there's a cool technique used by several producers. Once again, solo the guitar track and have a click track going. Have the guitarist play the riff/section at half speed. It may take some time for them to adjust and figure out what 'half speed' really is. Once they perform correctly, slice before each transient. Once that is done, slice at HALF of each note. You need to make sure your grid is set up correctly. If the riff consists of mainly 16th notes, they'll be playing the riff at 8th notes, but you're targeting to make the riff at 16ths, essentially. Thus you need to have the grid set to 16th notes. Once the notes are split in half, delete/trim the second half completely off. You don't need it. Then, join the remaining notes together and you'll notice you get a realistic sounding riff.
-Sometimes there are 'in between' notes that sound terrible. Let's say everything else sounds good except for a few notes. Add a new track and have the guitarist target those specific notes. If they know what notes they are, specifically, they don't even need to play it to the song. Just have them play the notes longer than what they're intended to be ( with the correct attack), slide it to the right spot and trim accordingly.
-If you're doing a chug riff, there is a cool technique used sometimes. Let's say the guitarist you're working with is a bit skittish and doesn't pick hard enough, or just doesn't have that edge with his/her attack. Once again, solo out the guitar track, play 5-6 good chugs. Once this is done you can treat those notes like replacement notes, like when replacing with drums. Copy/pate those chugs accordingly to where it sounds real and edgy.
Of course there are some people out there that calls this cheating. Well, unfortunately these are some pretty universal techniques that a lot of successful people use. I personally don't like using them, as they can be a bit tedious and time consuming. But in the long run, when you have a really terrible performer on hand, it can actually save time and yield the best results possible.
Please add to the list, if you'd like!
