Before I call it quits? Don't call it quits. But before you record next time practice more. I can't record something in fewer than five takes that I don't intimately. Also, not recording live reveals 'flaws' that one would normally never notice.

Thanks for the reply Jake. You always offer great insite and advice.
I'm not quiting the recording attempt. I just mean for the session.
With this new computer, I can hear every little mess up on the attempts. Every soft picked or partial off note stands out.
It's a lot different than my old tascam units.
If I'm a fraction off beat it shows up on the app like a stubbed toe in a pair of Beach sandals. It's hard to hide the imperfections.
Anyway,,,
I just wondered how many takes other players have to do before they wear out trying to get it right for the session.

If all else fails record multiple takes on separate tracks then pick the best track. If any mistakes then slice a piece out from one of the other takes and replace it. It's a less stressful way of punching in/out I guess.

Joelman wrote:

Every soft picked or partial off note stands out.
It's a lot different than my old tascam units.
If I'm a fraction off beat it shows up on the app like a stubbed toe in a pair of Beach sandals. It's hard to hide the imperfections.

Thanks JoelMan for confirming my choice of sticking with My TASCAM units.

I am chained to 2 computers all day long and the thought of attaching that chain to say my Sears Silvertone (1457) gave me the hee-bee-jee-bees with a side of the willy-nillies. Could not do it, would not do it, will never do it.

Do my recordings suffer because I don't have every missed note, beat and pause graphically illustrated by sine waves? I thanks Dick Dale and the Deltones I will never find out. Would have to be the most torturous way to suck the last bit of fun out playing.

This is rock music damn it!

Leave the sine waves to the astrophysicists and geostationary satellites.

And leave the notes alone.

Da Vinci Flinglestein,
The quest for the Tone, the tone of the Quest

The Syndicate of Surf on YouTube

http://www.syndicateofsurf.com/

http://sharawaji.com/

http://surfrockradio.com/

My first recording experience was a total mess. I had not realized how sloppy I was. I think it's important to be honest about your playing before recording and getting the hang of playing to a click and developing the ear to hear when your playing isn't so hot.

Honestly, just keep recording regularly; it's the best way to practice. The playback doesn't lie and you'll get better really fast.

-Pierre
The Obsidians! (Ottawa surf)
The Obsidians debut EP

Clarry wrote:

Syndicateofsurf wrote:

Leave the sine waves to the astrophysicists and geostationary satellites.

And leave the notes alone.

The Sine Waves

Excellent counterpoint guv!

Da Vinci Flinglestein,
The quest for the Tone, the tone of the Quest

The Syndicate of Surf on YouTube

http://www.syndicateofsurf.com/

http://sharawaji.com/

http://surfrockradio.com/

30 takes, that's nothing, haha

This will for sure make you a more accurate player. I remember when I got serious about playing with a metronome. I got exponentially better in record time.

If I could get back all those years of wasted practice where I would convince myself my playing was tight...

A lot of minor imperfections get masked by the other instruments.

-Pierre
The Obsidians! (Ottawa surf)
The Obsidians debut EP

Thanks guys. I'm glad I'm not the only one doing a lot of takes on one track.
I just finished recording for today.
I took the advice offered and ran new tracks instead of recording over the one I didn't like in a second, third or thirtieth take.
I was listening as I ate my lunch trying to decide witch take on lead I liked the best. Well what do I discover at the end of the song when I get two almost identical timed finish chords?
I asked my self, why did I get two finish chords?
I took a look at the computer, and found, that, Well,, I had actually been listening to two lead takes at the same time!
Talk about a confidence builder. The tracks were identical note for note! Except for the last chord.
I was just playing around with a new computer and KAZAMM! I find that I still got more chops than I thought.
So, to tell the truth, I feel much better about recording now.
Maybe I'll work on some song for the next compilation. If I can figure out how to send the darn thing over the Internet...
Cheers!!

Usually all it takes is 3 takes. If its not there, its not going to happen. At least at that same day

Twang & Bop til You Drop!

When we were last in the studio the mixer told me "Art, there are some players who are perspiration and other that are inspiration. Your first take is usually very good, your second one better, but as the takes increase you seem to think yourself out of the natural flow of the first couple of takes and the overall quality and sound of the guitar performance degradates". I think for me he's right.

So I usually end up using one of the first couple of takes and fix with a patch here and there. I'm definitely not a technician who gets stronger as the recording goes on. Also, sometimes I'll stumble across a change in the lead line when recording that is different than the live or practice lines and it fits great. So figure out if your perspiration or inspiration and go from there. There is no right way or wrong way, just the best way for you and most importantly the song.

Surfcat

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