How do you keep the will???

[drew_drummer]

How do you keep the will to carry on doing this. I've been recording my band for MONTHS now... it has dragged on for several reasons. The guitarist didn't have an amp for ages. So he bought an amp, but it was faulty. So we went ahead and used amp modelling. Bassist hasn't got an amp, so we used amp modelling for him too.

It took us months to get everything recorded, because the studio we are using is only really available at the weekends. We've been mixing for weeks now, on and off, at the weekends and weeknights after work.

I'm just really fucking drained. I've got another project that I have to start after we finish, and I really cannot be arsed to go through the whole process again.

I'm sitting here at the studio now, waiting for the other guys to turn up, doing little tweaks to the projects.

Realistically speaking, how long should an 8 track album take to record and mix? four or five months feels like such a long time to me at the moment, and I swear we've been doing this shit for that long. I haven't had a weekend off in months!

 

[StefTD]

hey, it could be even worse, the cd of my band isn't pressed at all and we started recording 2 years ago-the whole recording, mixing and mastering process needed 1 1/2 years, than we needed time to get money for pressing it and doing all the art work and stuff...and now it seems that we're splitting up...

 

[Via Noctis]

I have been there. I started getting into this because the area I am in isn't very good at metal. One of my bands went to the studio in 2003 and it was entirely analogue no computer at all. We new the songs really well but even the simplest task seemed to take forever. Fades... etc. so after all of the money we spent on that I figured I could just get a computer and learn myself... stupid idea. I have spent so much time rummaging around here and there getting answers for stuff. Then when it seemed to be coming together. We split up. I have been at it for years now and I still don't even have a round piece of plastic with my name on it. Sucks.. but after all this time. I think. What else am I going to do with my time. Learning a new hobby is just as big of a pain in the ass.

 

[Nebulous]

Pre production started for my bands album at the start of this year. So far only the drums bass and guitars are done. Leads, keys and vocals are all still to be recorded, then I have to mix it.
I get by because I know that in the end it will all be worth the hard work and we will finally have something to show for the years that we've been together.

If it feels like it's taken it's toll on you, just use what you've learnt this time around so that it goes smoother next time. Make friends with other bands, borrow gear, make sure you're as prepeared as possible.

 

[Nuno Filipe]

It´s why I like to work alone!lol It´s fucking hard to do all by ourselves but at least we dont have to depend on others.

Bands = Problems

 

[Fox Mulder]

Well, I've been working on my band's album since January this year. On top of that, I've also been producing an osdm band (ep) for the past one year. *funny, ei?*
Line up changes, changes of taste, etc contributed to such delay.

Life sucks. I feel you, dude.

Edit: I suggest that you take a week or 2 off or something. It shouldn't be that hard. I'm doing it right now - Been gaming for around 4-5 hours a day. I'm hooked. Fuck the money. Other than that, I make sure I stay away from my DAW.

 

[Ermz]

Avoid those drawn out situations like the plague. Everyone's morale takes a toll and the project feels like a weight you're dragging behind you every single day.

Book a whole month-long stretch of studio time and get it done properly, the old-school way. Camp out, LIVE near the studio, live and breathe the recording for that month, then come out on the other end and get someone else to mix it for you. If you're close to a project you're likely to keep it going for ages. Part of the reason you need other professionals involved in the project is so that you can focus on being a musician.

 

[Styvo]

Yeah i agree with the guys above.

I think it's important to have deadlines also.It just helps knowing there must be a date when it's to be completed.

Nothing wrong with taking your time and getting it right,but it's a process that at some point has to draw and end.

 

[20Mg]

It´s why I like to work alone!lol It´s fucking hard to do all by ourselves but at least we dont have to depend on others.

Bands = Problems

I hear ya mate. Dont have to deal with ego + idea clashing. I feel that its much faster doing it alone.

 

[ParsonsMatt]

I've been working on my debut full length for a year now... I am SO tired of it!! I can't wait to just put it out there.

Once I get my SM7b, I'm going to track vocals and be done!

 

[Charlie E.]

Avoid those drawn out situations like the plague. Everyone's morale takes a toll and the project feels like a weight you're dragging behind you every single day.

Book a whole month-long stretch of studio time and get it done properly, the old-school way. Camp out, LIVE near the studio, live and breathe the recording for that month, then come out on the other end and get someone else to mix it for you. If you're close to a project you're likely to keep it going for ages. Part of the reason you need other professionals involved in the project is so that you can focus on being a musician.

I couldn't agree more!

 

[SteelRat]

Go play a couple shows over the next few weeks...

A good show and crowd will give you a much needed boost. Friday night my band played a solid gig and the crowd (at a bar) started chanting for more songs...arena chant like! It really gave us all a big boost to get into the studio for the next CD.

I cant wait now!

hopefully that will help

 

[Lasse Lammert]

fuck them, it's not worth the effort.
Tell them to com back when they really wanna record

 

[Ola Englund]

It´s why I like to work alone!lol It´s fucking hard to do all by ourselves but at least we dont have to depend on others.

Bands = Problems

AMEN brother!! I'm exactly the same.. I do everything in my band except the singing. I don't like to rely on others cause I would probably make a better job and I will be done really fast anyway. Nowadays I write a song one day and the next day our singer comes over to record and we have the song ready for release.
I recommend it to everyone.

 

[Ola Englund]

Hallelujah! My probs with band: Nobody wants to play the same thing/style, drummer is and I quote 'not one to use a metronome' heheh, Vocalist quits, rejoins, quits, rejoins @ a show (walks up, says he wants back in, plays the show, dont see the guy again for a month etc.)...I love playing live (when there's some glory involved lol) but the meat of the matter is your songs, not your playing live. so this drove me to become a musical misanthrope and whether that's a curse or blessing remains to be seen but I think it's worth it just for sanity's sake, even if the music may suffer from one man band syndrome. It's worth it to make whole complete songs up by yourself even if you're in a band. Helps yer compositional brainz.

Hah I didn't even see that you wrote hallelujah to the same quote as me. What a coincidence uke:

 

[Dalinkwent48@aim.com]

ive spent the past 3 years writing a full cd by myself cuz i had ideas and couldnt find people in my area that wanted to go in the same direction...now spent the past 6 months working on learning the whole recording process...ive been in and out of bands since im 14 and still feel like ive gone no where lol...only thing is music is the only thing that keeps my attention and its what i love to do...so regardless of how long anything takes, the finished product is always worth waiting for..especially when other people hear it and have the same appreciation for it that you do

 

[Moonlight_Seeker]

Bah, in november 2006, so almost 3 years ago we entered the studio and the soundman never even tried to mix and did not know how to record stuff and never heard of drumagog and etc. So in the process the singer, the drummer and the bassist left the band. I play the synths and the guitarist still is there. So this "thing" ended last December when the soundman in question did an uber-drama because I only paid half of what was understood in exchange of nothing. Well a demo of 3 songs that totally sucks and that I mixed, which was my attempt at mixing something... and it really sucks.

So I found new members, new very good musicians, the drummer is uber thight, the singer is just so amazingly professional and the bassist rawks.

We don't have lots of money so I decided to roll up my sleeves and record and mix the full length album of 12 songs. Which began last December and finally ended the 10th of July 2009. So I can now FINALLY think of something else! The feeling is kinda weird because I feel like my brain is kind of useless. But the feeling is also very great because, well, I did it! And now I found new things to feed my brain which is paypal and how to sell stuff over the internet and internationally and things like that. Which is cool. And the 2nd album will be soooooooo much faster to record.

So I understand how much being on a project for very long sucks but once you finish it well it's nice.

 

[Fifth_Horseman]

hey, it could be even worse, the cd of my band isn't pressed at all and we started recording 2 years ago-the whole recording, mixing and mastering process needed 1 1/2 years, than we needed time to get money for pressing it and doing all the art work and stuff...and now it seems that we're splitting up...

Sounds just like my story, I started recording my bands debut album over two years ago as well.

Drums were done in two weeks (the only occasion for which we booked a studio), then it all went downhill because I wanted to record guitars and bass with my own equipment.
First in the rehearsal space, which sucked royally, so we stopped that. I then learned about reamping, ordered a Countryman DI and a Radial X-Amp, which took several months to deliver.
Then we started recording guitars and went through everything, from a broken harddrive, random problems due to a faulty SATA cable to us not being able to play our stuff properly (quadtracking is a bitch, shit needs to be tight!).
Right before we wanted to start recording vocals at the studio of our friends' band that studio got broken into and all equipment stolen. Add a year until they recovered.
In that year we made several attempts to record bass, which all failed because our bassist just wasn't able to properly play his parts. In that year I also bought myself a nice bass, so I learned to play fingerstyle and recorded his parts myself.

Now our bassist recently left the band (no loss, see above), followed by our drummer (big fucking loss).

Still have to record vocals, acoustic guitars and reamp the electrics. At least I don't have to mix and master myself... I think I'd kill myself if I had to.

How do I keep the will? I hardly do... motivation is at an alltime low with us now having to replace the band members who left (though we did find a drummer a few days ago, looks good so far!).

IMO Ermz hit the nail on the head...
At least I have learned alot in the last two years (mainly what NOT to do).

 

[Nuno Filipe]

I hear ya mate. Dont have to deal with ego + idea clashing. I feel that its much faster doing it alone.

Hallelujah! My probs with band: Nobody wants to play the same thing/style, drummer is and I quote 'not one to use a metronome' heheh, Vocalist quits, rejoins, quits, rejoins @ a show (walks up, says he wants back in, plays the show, dont see the guy again for a month etc.)...I love playing live (when there's some glory involved lol) but the meat of the matter is your songs, not your playing live. so this drove me to become a musical misanthrope and whether that's a curse or blessing remains to be seen but I think it's worth it just for sanity's sake, even if the music may suffer from one man band syndrome. It's worth it to make whole complete songs up by yourself even if you're in a band. Helps yer compositional brainz.

AMEN brother!! I'm exactly the same.. I do everything in my band except the singing. I don't like to rely on others cause I would probably make a better job and I will be done really fast anyway. Nowadays I write a song one day and the next day our singer comes over to record and we have the song ready for release.
I recommend it to everyone.

And is not only that, If I wait to find the perfect members for a band probably I`ll die before find them!lol and that it´s a pure waste of time. Sometimes if you want something done you have to done it by yourself. Time is precious and if you can not do something with someone, do it alone. This is my philosophy

 

[Dalinkwent48@aim.com]

i tried doin it myself but realized that i cant sing for shit lol so i got everything but that...it just seems so hard to find someone to sing...half the people i talk to are all yeh dude great stuff i love it i cant wait to work on it...then bam i never hear from em again lol