recording at home psychology

[gwlee7]

On a recording software site I visited there was a long thread with all sorts of good information for home recordists. One little saying that stuck out to me was “Finished is better than perfect”. I have taken that to heart in so far as at least getting rough takes and mixes of songs I am writing. If I get them “finished” it frees me up to move on to something else and then return to the “finished” ones with fresh ears at a later date.

[FrankHudson]

Originally Posted by KarenB

When i've recorded in studios, I was aware of "the clock"-- time spent equals money spent. Recording at home affords me endless time which has lead me to this syndrome of, "I could do this even better."

What is a good strategy to deal with this? Thanks.

I hesitate to replay since Bob Womack and KevWind have already given valuable replies. Consider mine just a little personal anecdote that may fuzzily reflect some of what they have already said.

I've been doing a project for several years now where I record and present something multiple times a week. I usually compose the music, I usually play most of the parts. I am not a great musician, indeed I don't know if I even qualify as adequate using a good working definition of a musician.

So this means that I need to commit to ideas fairly quickly. I need to accept takes of various parts fairly early in that curve that Bob Womack importantly talks about. Does this produce results inferior to what might have been accomplished if I'd taken more time? I think that's likely.

But something else also happens. This kind of forced march really does make one stretch one's chops in composition, recording, and even in playing skills. I worry most about the possibility of "practicing mistakes" with my playing in this, but the push to do 2-4 pieces a week has improved my composition chops and helped me learn more recording skills.

There are times when something I've released feels embarrassing to me afterward, but my self-imposed schedule means I ask myself to go out there tomorrow and do the next piece better.

Sometime this year I'm going to re-visit this project. One possibility would be that I'll continue it with much slower, more exacting, processes. If I do that I'm pretty sure the years of forcing myself to do so much so quickly, to decide early on that this idea is promising or not, to learn how to track without the pressure of "this one needs to be the 'money take," this stuff I learned by completing things will be a help.

This is not the only way. It may not be the best way even. But I think it helped me.

[keith.rogers]

There's a lot of good answers here.

Honestly, it depends on what you are trying to do. A practice or scratch to send out for others to work with would be quite different from putting an album release together.

Everything I record of myself is just for amusement or to try out a new mic, different configuration, and most of the time, test whether I can do a single take recording. (Usually, but almost never the first!) If I'm recording someone else, it can be for different reasons, but because I'm delivering something to them, I'll generally nudge folks along to get a better take if I think that's possible. Still, whether myself or others, I agree that there's a limit to how long you can play and/or how many times you can do something before "better becomes the enemy of good" (from a co-worker in a different realm).

If you have studio experience, then just approaching things the same way would be my suggestion. Working within some time constraints helps get things done. The place I fall down is [not] allowing time between recording and mixing and release. Enforcing time away from it really can help you decide what is "good enough," and what really has to be fixed. I think of it as taking the performer hat off and putting on the mixer or producer one - not easy to do when you've spent hours with the first one on.

[rick-slo]

Home recording can be a really big pain depending on how picky you are being that day.

I might record something I played well but I don't like the way the recording sound came out. So move the mikes and rinse and repeat which might
happen a few times until heck with it for the day.

I have learned during a recording to play parts or the whole piece more than once as you may prefer one play through more than another (e.g. a bit
of rubato here or there, a bit more or less volume on certain notes). Also I might have several larger variations I use when playing something and I
may insert more of them into a particular recording than I intend to keep.

[gwlee7]

Another thing I am also working on is separating the engineering me from the music playing me. I have started keeping a notebook with mics and mic placements and also trying to leave the mics I use the most set up and ready. The more time I can spend playing when it’s time to play the better.

[TBman]

One of the things I have noticed about my home recordings is that a few of them didn't sound that good the day after. In the excitement and fun of playing and recording and tweaking the eq, the whole experience sort of puts blinders on me as to what the end product is supposed be and that is an enjoyable tune for someone to listen to.

I guess that sort of falls into the "I think I can do it better" syndrome, but it does force me to slow down and try to put up things that are on a higher level the first time around.

[Glennwillow]

I value having my own studio and unmetered time.

I am not a perfectionist, but the longer I've been recording the more I've learned. This tends to raise my standards to a higher level than they were earlier in my experience.

Trouble is, I'm older now. I can't sing like I could when I was 30 or 40 years old. So I am never satisfied with my earliest takes. It takes me longer now to get practiced well enough to get a good vocal down. I find that a few hours on the first day in the studio has to be chalked off as nothing more than practice. The second day I am better, but often, still not good enough. It's not uncommon for me to need about three days of effort, a couple of hours on each day, before I get a recording that I'm not embarrassed to put out in front of others.

The number of takes -- not all full takes, because generally if I know what I'm doing is not good enough as I'm recording, I just stop and cut the take short -- is often on the order of 60 takes or so. So for me to make a recording these days takes some practice and some effort.

But I still find it rewarding or I wouldn't keep doing it. Being able to record, even if all I'm doing is creating a bit of a record of time, helps me keep my hand in music even at my age. I've spent so much of my life making music that I really am not ready to give up on it yet.

I think having a home studio is a huge benefit. I see no disadvantages whatsoever.

- Glenn

[RRuskin]

When working on a piece and not on any deadline, I set 1 goal for each session. Once achieved, I shut it down and go do something else. It may take a lot of time to build up a mixable track but I don't 2nd guess much if at all.

[Yamaha Man]

I love having my home studio so that I can experiment with various pieces of equipment to get the ultimate sound I can. I'm into writing new music which for me takes up lots of time, sometime when the inspiration hits, I can come up with a new piece in a matter of minutes, because my studio is up and running and ready to go at a moments notice. Yes it's considered a hobby, but at the same time, these are tools which help me create new music. Will it turn into a profession ?? Who knows maybe, but because there are so many people doing it, that is unlikely. But running off to a professional studio to record a musical idea every time the inspiration hits is unfeasible. So the best solution is to have my own studio.

[KarenB]

Thanks to all for your thoughts, ideas and sharing your workflow. Recording is like a magnifying glass. I find it humbling and enlightening at the same time. I will "chew" upon the wisdom in this thread, and incorporate these ideas into my recording life (and life, life) which right now feel like they are one and the same.

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by TBman

One of the things I have noticed about my home recordings is that a few of them didn't sound that good the day after. In the excitement and fun of playing and recording and tweaking the eq, the whole experience sort of puts blinders on me as to what the end product is supposed be and that is an enjoyable tune for someone to listen to.

I guess that sort of falls into the "I think I can do it better" syndrome, but it does force me to slow down and try to put up things that are on a higher level the first time around.

And this brings up a good point which I did not mention. There is also value in not trying to do everything at one sitting. Or if I do I still will put it away for at least a day or two or more and then recheck it. to see if it still sounds good. Because as you say.
While "in the moment" I sometimes get so focused on one particular aspect within the recording (particularly in my multi instrument recordings) that I am not listening to the overall performance and sometimes make changes that I do not notice the overall affect of until quitting (listening altogether) closing the session for a period of time and doing something else non mixing related and then a day or two later going back in with fresh ears .
So now my SOP is to in fact record and do a rough mix and then stop and wait a day or two, then go back and maybe do some tweaks and stop again, and then revisit again a third or forth time (but I try to keep in mind that this can become and endless cycle) and now I usually try to get it done in no more than 4 to 8 re mixes....

[Yamaha Man]

Thank God I have my home studio. With the Corona Virus problems going on, I'm pretty much stuck at home for the next few weeks, at least I'll have something to keep me busy during this trying time.

[DCCougar]

Originally Posted by catdaddy

...Have I done 10 takes to try to "nail" that lead part? Sure. 20 takes? You bet. 50 takes? Yup, a few times. More than 50? Probably.....

Whoa, dude, that's one heck of a lot of takes! Of course, as others have said, it depends on whether you're recording for "friends and family" or you're putting out an album and hoping to make some income from it.

I haven't noticed anyone mentioning "cutting and pasting." I'll often cut 3 or 4 tracks of a particular part; there will be some good sections in there, and maybe a verse or two I can do without. I'll cut and paste the good sections and of course leave out the poor sections, thus constructing a good final "take" for that part. I use cubase elements, starting with a set rhythm track at a particular bpm, and you want to set the cubase project to that bpm so your cuts are clean. I've been into recording for decades (not so much the technical part, but the player part). Current home recording technology is fantastic!

DCCougar example (original)

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by DCCougar

...I haven't noticed anyone mentioning "cutting and pasting." I'll often cut 3 or 4 tracks of a particular part; there will be some good sections in there, and maybe a verse or two I can do without. I'll cut and paste the good sections and of course leave out the poor sections, thus constructing a good final "take" for that part. I use cubase elements, starting with a set rhythm track at a particular bpm, and you want to set the cubase project to that bpm so your cuts are clean. I've been into recording for decades (not so much the technical part, but the player part). Current home recording technology is fantastic!

DCCougar example (original)

I don't think I have ever done any cutting and pasting on my own projects. For me, it's so much easier to just do it again and get it right. I use Steinberg Cubase 10 Pro.

I have done some cutting and pasting on a trilogy of piano solo recordings I did over the last couple of years. But that was because the recording was done in a church located fairly close to a busy street. Every once in a while I might find some low-level traffic noise in a section of the recording that I didn't know was there when I recorded the piece. So the cutting and pasting was done not because the pianist wasn't good enough to play the piece but because traffic noise beyond our control ended up on the recording.

We had multiple recordings of every piece and after a while I knew the pieces so well that it was not all that hard for me to lay another stereo recording of the piano recording next to the best take, find the offending part, and patch in a short phrase that removed the traffic noise. The challenge was to find a take that was at a similar energy and tempo. This pianist is so expressive and each take tended to vary quite a bit.

I haven't had to do this very often. On the last CD I had to do a cut and paste only in two places, two very short phrases, on the entire album. The pianist could never tell where I made the edits, so I was satisfied that I had not ruined the integrity of her performances. I did not want her CDs to have audible traffic noise on them -- to me, this was just unacceptable when I could do something about it.

It's true that recording technology of today is pretty incredible. I really sweated these edits and did them very, very carefully, but when I was done, they sounded great. Even I don't remember where I made the edits today.

- Glenn

[Chipotle]

I take advantage of being able to do different takes, as well as cutting/pasting, all the time. To me, it frees me from the pressure to be perfect every take, the entire take. Great take except for one spot? No problem go back and play that spot again. For example, here's one track from a recent song: bits and pieces of 8 takes, and that's not including stuff I messed up right at the start and deleted.


Sure, for some purposes, like a scratch track to play along with or just capture an idea, I'll just run through once or twice. But if I'm trying to get something "permanent", I'll use the technology and fact I have plenty of time to make it better. And sure, sometimes I'll nail it first or second time. But other times, it actually seems to take a few takes to get a groove.