Do you sound better, worse, or the same in your recordings?

[PorkPieGuy]

I thought that this would be interesting to see what you think of your own recordings.

I know that recording's purpose is to capture your playing/singing at your personal best in hopes of putting something out that others may want to listen to. However, I have often found that my recordings don't represent exactly what I do when I perform. But before I get into too much of an explanation, I'd be interested to see what ya'll think regarding your own experiences/opinions about recordings of YOU!

[dchristo]

I get nervous just like there was an audience ....LOL.......... sooooo my recordings do sound like me, but not like what I want

[PorkPieGuy]

I think in some ways, my projects sound better in that I can use multiple instruments in my recording; however, when I play solo, it's just me.

With that said, though, I think that I play with more feeling when I play live because I'm not so worried about "hitting the targets" as I am when I'm recording. I have to use a click track when recording so everything matches up together (I play all of my own instruments and do all of my own stunts).

How about you?

[RogerC]

You need another option up there because I know I sound better than my recordings... at least I do in my head . I have a feeling, though, that my recordings acurately represent my glaring lack of talent.

[JonPR]

This is one of those typical polls whose only correct answer is "it depends..."

In this case, on which aspects of the music (if any) are "better". Eg, in my recordings, I make fewer mistakes (because I edit or retake until it's good). But live, the overall sound is better. Then again, in recording I can add lots of effects (or other instruments) I can't do when playing live.

The truth is that live music and recorded music are two different art forms. Recordings can never accurately reproduce the live experience, even with the best recording equipment and engineers with the best ears. It will ALWAYS be inferior in that sense. (And one of the ways in which live is better is the random accident, the variable ambience - the kind of things that perfectionist engineers may try to remove or equalize.)
But there is so much MORE you can do in a studio that can't be done live - which might have once been regarded as "cheating", but is now (in the main) an accepted part of the art of recording.
IOW, to argue than one is "better" than another (except in specific aspects) is meaningless.
(Sorry, I know it's only a poll . I voted option 3, btw.)


BTW, I note that this board is now titled PLAY and RECORD. An interesting amalgamation for an "Acoustic" site...

[ljguitar]

Hey PPG...
I find that often when I'm relaxed and recording I often surpass what I'm doing live - for the time being…

Then as the song settles into our sets, I begin to catch up and surpass what I did on the recording...kind of leap-frog-guitar.

In fact, sometimes I review the recordings for inspiration since I'll spontaneously throw in licks in a relaxed studio environment that I've never done before that are pretty creative and really nice.

[SMan]

I never sound as good recorded (guitar and vocals) as I think it does when I am playing. JS.

[Fret-O'File]

I play my best when I am alone and not recording. When I do record, as soon as the red light goes on, I get a little nervous and stiff. Same when I am playing in front of people but the more you do it, the easier it seems to get.

Kurt

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by Epiman27

I play my best when I am alone and not recording. When I do record, as soon as the red light goes on, I get a little nervous and stiff. Same when I am playing in front of people but the more you do it, the easier it seems to get.

Kurt

Hi Kurt...
The way I overcame that was one day I just hit 'record' and played for about 45 minutes non-stop. I went back and selected some good takes and put them in a different place (cut-n-paste into a new file).

After about four sessions like that, I became pretty impervious to whether the recorder was running or not.

[Rodger]

I've been doing home recording for about 15 years. When listening back to my playing after recording, I notice every flaw. I work hard re-recording to eliminate them until I have a track that has no flaws that I can hear. It forces me to improve my technique much more than playing live. This results in my playing being best during recording.

I enjoy both recording and playing live, but if I make a mistake playing live, the moment is over and I can move on. If I record something that I or others may listen to more than once, I want it to be as perfect as possible. I avoid those "cringe" moments at any costs - even scrapping and re-recording significant parts.

Plus, multi-tracking allows me to play a variety of instruments and produce a more complete sound.

[kscobie8]

I'm more relaxed when I play live than when I record. Must be the pressure. I like Larry's suggestion of just turning on the recorder for the whole session and seeing what comes out.


Bel isi,
-kyle

[Jeremy]

My recordings almost always sound better. In my recordings I utilize multiple guitar and vocal tracks; stuff I can't easily do when playing live.

Though my wife says my singing is at its best when I'm performing live.