Fun at the studio, 8/29-8/30

[Bob Womack]

About a year ago I got one of those projects that make up a good portion of my musical recording work, a song for a music video that had been contracted out to a composer/producer. His finished product was, according to the executive producer, "not working." My job was to make the song work. I rebuild the rhythm section, re-performing and re-voicing the drum kit and establishing a groove, get rid of existing but extraneous material, and perform new parts to fill-out and complete the production. Before I started, the exec asked me to cut eight seconds out of the song at the end where virtually nothing was happening. When that was done I began rebuilding. I built a drum kit from scratch and performed rhythm guitar parts and some leads leads in a couple of spaces that the composer had just tailor-made for them. I played the guitar parts on a Telecaster running through a modeler with a Fender Deluxe Reverb model that I've added some special sauce to. Then I mixed the song, presented it to the exec and got it approved, cha-ching.

A few weeks ago the company decided to release the video in Spanish. They contracted the voices and had them sent to me. I created a copy of the project, dropped in the new voices, and mixed the song. It sounds easy but wasn't at all.

Fast forward to this Monday. I got a frantic call from the exec: the song didn't match the length of the video - it was far shorter! Oh no! An audio for video nightmare. But wait a minute, a tiny mote of a memory about shortening the song at the exec's request appeared in my mind and I brought it up. Mystery solved: the exec had inadvertently used the long, original version of the song to build the video. Oops. We talked it out and decided that the best course of action for all concerned was for me to build the song back out to its original long length and enhance the new length as I had before, and then to perform a new end guitar solo to cover the extended area. I told her it wouldn't be a problem. Hehehe. The trick was going to be to get my guitar and amp to sound like it did a year ago and to fall back into the the same mindset as well so my new takes would match the old ones.

So the session started yesterday with editing and recording and ended with mixing today. First chore: matching the sound. My baseline Deluxe Reverb patch had changed a little over the year so I had to tweak it, but I got there. Then it was time to get in the mindset. I worked for a while going over the old leads, creating the new one, and polishing it to the point where I could record a take. There was one part that I simply couldn't perform sitting down - I had to stand up to get the right hand to work right. Funny stuff there. Finally I got the eight seconds to work out just right but as I packed up the gear, something just felt a little incomplete. The last lead was like the original ones but it didn't feel like it developed the song enough and made a last statement that was bold enough. I went home with a feeling of loose ends nagging me.

Early this morning I brought a couple of my guitar friends into the studio for a playback to get their opinion of the material. They were enthusiastic but I was still unconvinced. I let them try out my guitar rig while they were in the studio so it was lying out when they left. I put up the song on the system and fiddled along for a bit, trying to figure out how to make that last lead feel stronger. And then it hit me: what about a dual lead? A harmony? I tried out running a second line of melody a third lower then the first and boom, there it was. A quick rehearsal to polish it, a few takes, and I was in done. Then I integrated the new material into the long version of both mixes (English and Spanish), mastered it, exported it, and delivered everything to the servers.

Done. Home and dry, and exhausted.

Bob

[Rodger]

I love your studio stories, Bob! Keep 'em coming!!

I've tried to match lead tones long after the original recording is done for recording additional parts and it's quite difficult, unless you document guitars, amps and settings. Even then it's tough.

[StevenL]

I always enjoy your studio adventures. Gives me a chance to experience (to a small degree) some things I've always wanted to do but will probably never get around to. Thanks for sharing your work.

[Halcyon/Tinker]

Can we hear it?

[Bob Womack]

I'll see if I can pull an excerpt tomorrow.

Bob

[MikeBmusic]

Getting the 'mindset' when re-doing previous tracks is definitely the hard part. I usually end up rerecording the entire track, not just the section that needs work.

[Bob Womack]

"Clips!" You say. "Clips or it never happened."

Here's the end of the song. This is a rough mix I that received that needed drums and polish.

CLIP 1

Here is the middle solo I played last year that I was trying to match the feel of this year, as shown in the next clip.

CLIP 2

Here's the segment from clip 1 after I added drums and a guitar solo. and mixed it.

CLIP 3

And for bonus points, here is the first solo, before the song's heat turns on.

CLIP 4

Bob

[muscmp]

very interesting bob!
i enjoy your details in developing this.

play music!

[Cocobolo Kid]

Very nice work.

[Bob Womack]

Thanks, guys!

Bob