Entering the studio: give your suggestions!

[Higon]

That´s a thread for all of you hard seasoned sailors, I mean, bassists out there who have been in a studio before and know about the difficulties and joys of recording.

I´m entering in a studio this weekend to record the bass lines for a split album my band is gonna release, and I´m a complete n00b when it comes to recording. I´ve never done it before.

Question is: What should I expect? Any usefull hints and/or tips? Is there any kind of usefull preparation before recording? (besides warming up of course).

 

[Salvatia]

Hey dude, I went into studio after only 6 months of playing bass. I was the bassist for 2 guitarists who have a combine 24 years of playing and a drummer who has 9 years on guitar and drums. We lived in a small town I was a friend and they needed some bass so I took the offer. So the advice I give to you is : Realise ahead of time that laying the perfect track in studio is pressure. You CAN'T screw it up so you tend to do so. Be Aware of that. Another thing is practice the songs maybe 3 times the night before right when your about to go to sleep, and that morning run through them 1 time. Then relax until you hit the studio. Remain calm, don't doubt yourself and you'll do fine.

 

[Travis]

Practice. Your. Ass. Off.

 

[HippieOfDoom]

Don't forget to show up to the studio with your bass.

 

[Satanstoenail]

Relax would be my no.1 tip. When you go to put a take down, don't stress out. You can do another one if it fucks up. When I first started recording, I used to get 'red light fever' really bad. I would over-analyse way too much as soon as I started laying anything down, and screw up stupid things that I normally wouldn't have a problem playing. Just make sure you're practiced enough, and be confident in yourself.

 

[Higon]

Practice. Your. Ass. Off.

I´m working on the pratice bit. Actually, I know every song pretty well, and know everything I can do to change things if it doesn´t sound as good as I want. Those harmony classes are paying off right now... Interesting enough, I find it harder to nail down the notes with precision than just finger picking lightning fast without caring about precision.

Relax would be my no.1 tip. When you go to put a take down, don't stress out. You can do another one if it fucks up. When I first started recording, I used to get 'red light fever' really bad. I would over-analyse way too much as soon as I started laying anything down, and screw up stupid things that I normally wouldn't have a problem playing. Just make sure you're practiced enough, and be confident in yourself.

I´m not nervous. At least not now... I just wish to stay calm once the red button is pressed. Actually I´m more worried about dynamics and tone than anything else.

Don't forget to show up to the studio with your bass.

Hmmmmmmmm... So this is how you do it?! Sounds fair enough. I´ll try that one on the first day and see what happens.

Thanks you guys.

 

[Satanstoenail]

I´m not nervous. At least not now... I just wish to stay calm once the red button is pressed. Actually I´m more worried about dynamics and tone than anything else.

If you have decent gear and good feel, those two shouldn't be a problem. And if you're not nervous about the red light of doom, then you should be sweet.

 

[Higon]

It´s done. My part is finished. It was one of easiest things I have ever done! I dropped my lines faster than the French dropped their guns in WW2... Most songs were recorded in the first try. Seems like practicing my ass off worked pretty well. I´ve lost the red light of doom fright. =P

Thanks again you guys.

 

[Satanstoenail]

No worries. Glad it went well.