Weird question from a band

[Heabow]

Hi

It seems that some bands have weird ideas. I've been asked to record/produce an album in two times. Say a few songs now (record/mix/master) then the other songs in a few months. And they would like to have a real homogeneous album as a result with the same exact sound and vibe. This mainly because they do not have the entire budget right now and they want to have material not too late to book shows... I told them they won't get an album this way but two EPs and told them why.

This makes me wonder if some of you had already to do that way.

 

[Machinated]

I'm tracking an album that I started over a year ago and I don't think it's weird at all. We've used the same guitar for rhythm DI's so there will be consistency between the tracks. really I don't think it's too much of a problem tracking over several sessions. there's so many classic albums that have been made across different dates/studios/engineers and even musicians.

having a consistent guitar tone between songs will bring together a lot of coherency between tracks as they occupy such a huge space in rock/metal mixes. I'd mix the songs to suit each track individually- as long as your mindset is consistent during mixing the tracks will turn out surprisingly similar. I personally think mixing each song for what it is is more important than homogony although be sure to think about both.

it's worth thinking about drum tuning, whether you want it consistent between songs or tuned for each song. also take photos and make notes of mic positions and chains.

really if the band wants to do it like that I'd say go for it. it's a good experience to learn. as long as your initial vision remains in tact you'll be fine.

just make sure you're super organised and you do your edits as you go. last thing you want is a mountain of files/tracks to work through. make it really clear what's what so when you open a project later on you can work out what everything is.

 

[tgs]

Depending on your relationship with the band (and given that they already have all the material ready), you could record the whole thing, have them pay the 50%, and only mix half of the songs and give that for now. That way, if they decide to double-cross you, your loss would essentially be the extra hours you put in during tracking. Chances are though that the band will really appreciate your generosity and you will probably have a returning customer.

 

[Heabow]

@Machinated: As for the guitar tone, it's not the problem really. But I thought especially about the drums. It can be very tricky to get the same results as each mic has to have the same position. But I agree, it can be a good experience after all. Thanks for the advices.

@tgs: That could be a great idea too. I thought about such an offer but it seems that they don't have all the material ready yet. I will talk to them and see what is possible to do. Cheers!

 

[Jormyn]

Trigger the shit out of the drums when you're mixing?

 

[Heabow]

Oh no man.

 

[topsoul182]

I had a band track songs on an EP one at a time. So that consisted of 5 different drum setups with different cymbals everytime. Unfortunately I was forced to program the drums.

 

[B36arin]

If you have the same room, the same kit, take proper notes(or pictures) of which mics you put where and get a Tunebot to mark down the drum tunings I don't see why you shouldn't get in the ballpark. I've worked on quite a few albums(not metal albums though) which were done in separate sessions, never turned out to be a problem. It's definitely not uncommon nowadays.

 

[aortizjr]

This happens pretty often actually. Especially since I still have a day job and I have projects coming in and out and long term ones getting worked on bit by bit.

Take notes and pictures of placement. Pres, tunings, gain settings and such.

I like to remix/remaster the first set of songs for the coherency and because usually in 6 months I have gotten better or learned more about their sound to have a better/different vision. Plus often after having the songs for a month small changes/retakes are needed as they get better and such. So I would charge them for the remix of the other songs.

Or do 2 EP's. No shame in that and even arguably smarter in today's music climate.

 

[Heabow]

Ok. I thought it was very risky to do that way and pretty uncommon actually. It should be fine as I'm very organized. Thanks again for your advices guys. It helps!

 

[cfh11]

having a consistent guitar tone between songs will bring together a lot of coherency between tracks as they occupy such a huge space in rock/metal mixes. .

+1 to this. Having a kemper/axefx helps a lot.

 

[mickrich]

I often work this way.
Once you keep drum overheads consistent (note position and type of cymbals and oh mic placement) and get guitar DI tracks to re-amp the whole album with the same sound before mixing you should be fine.