Recordings don’t lie!

[sloar]

Thought I was sounding pretty good until I recorded a couple songs. Not as good as I thought. It has helped clean up my playing since I started to really listen to what I was playing. I felt like I had to apologize to my wife after hearing what she’s been listening to this whole time.

[howthewestwas1]

Haha. I think we are our own harshest critic. I often feel very underwhelmed when I listening back to recordings of myself. But it is true that listening back to yourself on a recording allows you to hear things differently and you pick up on faults and imperfections. It certainly can help you become a better player. I have certainly have had the same experience.

[tippy5]

I learned a lot too. 8 years ago I started recording tracks. It was pretty hairy. I then added a soft kick drum tone - metronome beat - in headphones. That really helped the track acquisition.

I also started to realize which guitars have a better sweet spot for a natural rhythm. The dreadnoughts were not the winners. Additionally I use a medium .62 to heavy pick depending on the BPM. Then there's the songs that the rhythm requires a pick bounce off the strings. This really helps. I like my Charmed Life for this.

For hybrid playing, fingerstyle, Travis picking, melodic chord comps... double and triple stops, and bass lines..... a Blue Chip 50 and dangling two fingers is really nice.

How you hit the strings all comes out in recording. Looking back, after hearing the inaccurate playbacks, I pitied some of my pocket rhythm playing on stage. All those decades before in bands where I didn't quite know the song, or which chord voicing sounds the best.


Play it back. Face the Music!

[Methos1979]

Yes and no. It depends a lot on the equipment recorded on, the room/venue recorded in and other variables.

I remember the same thing happening to us - we thought we were sounding great and then recorded some practices with just a cell phone and were horrified at how bad it sounded. But at least some of that was just the poor recording microphone.

For instance, I'll frequently record short videos at open mics or other live performances of local musicians that they can use as they wish for their Facebook pages (because it's hard to get your own recordings) only to have some play back and sound really awful even though when I was recording it sounded great.

Recording yourself is certainly a valuable tool for improvement. But sometimes the recording actually does lie. Or at the very least, color the performance in an unflattering way.

[Methos1979]

Another example that just occurred to me is when I record a demo video for here on AGF only to listen back on my laptop speakers and the guitar tone sounds horrible! But then I plug into a nice set of headphones and all the lush tone is suddenly there.

So don't automatically just give up playing and performing thinking you suck when at least some of it might be caused by other things! I know the first time I heard myself singing I swore I'd never do it in public again! And even now I really hate the sound of my voice even though others tell me I sound just fine.

[Ncbandit]

LOL!! Isn't that the truth. I learned how to sing a few years ago by doing just that. I was so horrible I couldn't delete it fast enough, but with persistence it came around.

Acoustic is definitely the same way, especially a large diaphragm condenser mic picks up everything. You have to be so precise it's crazy. One recording I couldn't figure out what this weird sound was until I realized it was a finger brushing a string while moving between chords.

[Russ C]

Not true! Every recorder I've used puts in wrong notes and messes up the timing.

[jaymarsch]

I can’t swear that every recording set up is perfect but I can attest to using a digital recorder to assist me in playing better has been a win win. I use it to record my lessons as well as feedback for both my playing and singing. You just have to remember that it’s just the map, not the territory.

Best,
Jayne

[Glennwillow]

Hi Sloar,

Yes, over the years I have found that the best way to practice for a live performance is to record myself and then make adjustments and improvements based on what I am hearing. It's so hard to be your own critic when you can't get out of your own head. With recording you can.

- Glenn

[Yamaha Man]

Yep, mics pick up every little thing, that why I'm switching over to a Seymour Duncan Woody pickup into a Supro Blues King amp, then into the computer.....here's a finger strumming sample of my setup.....


https://waynekraft.bandcamp.com/trac...thru-the-supro


.

[Mbroady]

I wanted to just sell all my guitars and equipment the first time recorded guitar and vocal. It was painful. But glad I did not give up. A few years later and a couple of voice lesson under my belt and I can actually listen to my self with out any self loathing.

Good times

[rockabilly69]

Sub par recording technique can make you lose confidence in yourself as quickly as a sub par performance.