Drawbacks to having clearer recordings

[TBman]

Now that I have a couple of quieter mics, a better area to record in and software/ plug-ins that hold my hand and help me get much better (to my ears) recordings I'm noticing more areas where I should be holding certain notes longer, playing with less hand noise .......

Its a vicious circle,

[Brent Hahn]

Yup. Nowhere to hide. You're about to become a much cleaner player and a far more proficient editor.

[Woodstock School Of Music]

This is a phenomenon I witnessed in the studio many times, especially with vocalists. Like Brent said there's nowhere to hide but the good news is it will challenge you to be better. Good luck

[KevWind]

Ah yes the two edged sword of good clean equipment and recordings

On the one hand there is no better starting place, on the other hand the horrifying realization that now your foibles are exposed naked for the world to hear.

[ChuckS]

At the celebration of life for a cousin's daughter, my wife sang and I accompanied her on guitar. As I arranged my part and we practiced I started recording it. SMy wife is a wonderful vocalist (much better than me accompanying her) but she was concerned about how the recordings, played through my revealing monitors, were sounding. I assured her when the song was done at the event, with their speakers and all the background noise, all would sound fine.

[Nymuso]

You want to be forced to play cleanly get access to a guitar synth. That thing will bust you in a second for sloppy playing with all sorts of squawks and spurious noises. You can use that same synth to improve your timing if you combine it with computer software that creates sheet music from what you're playing. It will reward you with a display of more 64th rests and dotted whatever notes than you thought existed. Don't ask me how I know all this.

[islandguitar]

So true, Barry! I don't pretend to have the greatest equipment or cleanest playing, but this is indeed is always a challenge for sure!
One other thing....after you record for a while with the new equipment, ( and maybe you're already there) you can train your ear to know "in the moment" whether this or that little (or big) sound is going to be an issue when you listen back to the whole track. I always record with headphones and for me this makes a difference.
Have fun!!
Fred

[FrankHudson]

A big amen to everything said above in the tread, including the MIDI post.

Something I'd like to emphasize: it's good, in that you now have the ability to monitor your playing separately and in your own focused time. I myself have a devil of a time telling how well I'm playing when I'm playing--I'm too busy with the mechanics of playing and the puzzle of what to play. I've learned things from recording for sure. For example, the virtue of simple sounding better than complex very often.

It's also bad, in that you may become too focused on what problems you can now hear and less on what works, particularly on what works in the context of how others hear your music. There's some risk in getting too self-conscious.

[gwlee7]

Yes. Becoming more proficient at recording and mixing has made me a better musician as well. There are a lot of “that’s just not gonna do” moments now that I wouldn’t have cared about in the past. I am going through and getting roughed out versions of a lot of songs I have written or co-written with the intention of really going back and doing them justice.

Recording is definitely impoving my guitar playing.

[jim1960]

Originally Posted by TBman

Now that I have a couple of quieter mics, a better area to record in and software/ plug-ins that hold my hand and help me get much better (to my ears) recordings I'm noticing more areas where I should be holding certain notes longer, playing with less hand noise .......

Its a vicious circle,

Composite tracks are your friend.

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by TBman

Now that I have a couple of quieter mics, a better area to record in and software/ plug-ins that hold my hand and help me get much better (to my ears) recordings I'm noticing more areas where I should be holding certain notes longer, playing with less hand noise .......

Its a vicious circle,

And also do not forget, "Critical Listening" is a learned skill that improves with practice. So that may also be part of what is going on as well

[MikeMcKee]

One of the benefits of aging...we get older, our hearing deteriorates, and our playing sounds cleaner...problem solved ;-)

[muscmp]

it sure is but your ears are getting trained and that is a great thing.

try lifting your fingers for less noise. i do agree that sometimes a little more sustain is better than a chopped note. but, that may make it tough to get to your next area timely.

play music!

[TBman]

The next few months should be interesting, thanks everyone!

[Ty Ford]

Originally Posted by TBman

Now that I have a couple of quieter mics, a better area to record in and software/ plug-ins that hold my hand and help me get much better (to my ears) recordings I'm noticing more areas where I should be holding certain notes longer, playing with less hand noise .......

Its a vicious circle,

enh, add three or four effects pedals and you'll barely notice your playing.....
(you know I'm joking, right?)