it happens.....but not exactly frequently. i've recorded one band that didn't track drums to click, yet he was amazingly tight...then the gtr player came in and essentially recorded each song in like 10 minutes. left guitar, done, right guitar, done. bingo. only a few punch ins needed. i swear, i sat there with a big retarded grin on my face. i just wished every band was this well prepared....
and about good band = good mix: totally true imho. it's starts right at the source. if the drummer is a pussy who hits the shells like a wimp but beats the fuck out of the cymbals, there's really only one sensible solution - unfortunately these same guys seem to be extremely opposed to drum samples.....noo, i want my drums to sound natural.....better start practicing, boy.
same thing with guitars. if the guitar player just barely touches the strings, plays some wimpy ass 11-56 strings on B standard things will never sound as heavy as if a good one had played guitars. what's even worse than the pussy is the constantly out of tune but doesn't notice kinda guy. like, guitar is tuned well, and properly intonated (you obviously need to take care of that yourself, never trust a guitar player!), tape's rolling (figuratively speaking
) and shit's constantly ringing out of tune....you start scratching your head trying to figure out what the fuck is wrong, while hendrix jr. bitches about how you're constantly deleting GREAT takes....those we're flawless man! wtf! it's around that time that you start looking at the guitarists fingers, and notice that all hope is gone. fucker is constantly bending strings out of tune, even when fingering powerchords. oh jesus don't get me started on these fucktards.....
bassists, same thing, some of them play it just like the guitar. constantly palm muting along with the chugs. i mean, it's cool as an effect, but how are you gonna get any weight to the low end if he's a) constantly palm muting and b) hitting like a pussy on top of that? fortunately bassists tend to be too stupid to play mister wise guy, so they do as you tell them....to the best of their abilites.
i actually enjoy tracking vocals most.....i'm doing a lot of death/thrash/melodic death/grind kinda stuff, so it's pretty much cookie monster city. with vocals there's not much room to fuck up, it's all about getting them into the right mood. if they're using the wrong technique all they're going to do is scream their lungs out and ruin their vocal cords....not my problem, i got my good takes by then hehe.
sorry for the rant...i guess the point is: shit in = shit out.
now, the real question is: how many of the professional guys still encounter these kinda "musicians"??? thinking about the pro tools backlash thread right now....
