Re: [Harp-L] Going into the studio for the first time

[richard perkins <judoblues2@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I want to thank everyone for The support and advice that was given.
 I went into the Studio last Saturday. It was interesting. The producer was friendly and supportive  but did have definite ideas on how I was to play. The first tune we worked on , I was thrown a curve. I had practiced and worked on the tune The way the band plays it, more concerned about not over playing on it. Like harpdog wrote you have to be careful on over practicing. The producer wanted me to play all the way through the tune and he would edit it later. Instead of using my own mike (fireball-v) or sm58, He had me playing acousticaly with what looked like an omnidirectional mike. What came through the head phones sounded dry and tiney ,which is a tone I hate. I got a big case of the stupids. It took a bunch of takes to get what he wanted. 
  The second tune, Which I also like a lot, went quite a bit better. I requested to have the sound i was hearing adjusted into my headphone to something closer to the way I like it. Which he did and pretty much nailed it on the first take. We did a few more takes and that was it. 
  The experience was interesting and I imagine it will be a lot easier the next time I go there.agin thanks for the advice. 
--------------------------------------------
On Mon, 1/5/15, pdxharpdog@xxxxxxxxxxx <pdxharpdog@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

 Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Going into the studio for the first time
 To: "Hunter, Richard" <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
 Cc: "harp-l, List" <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
 Date: Monday, January 5, 2015, 2:04 PM
 
 Not that I'm an expert on studio
 work, and I'm certainly no studio harmonica artist like some
 on the list here, but I have been in the studio about 10
 times - 7 of them for my band's albums and the others were
 single tracks for compilation projects. 
 
 In my humble opinion, the studio session dynamic depends
 heavily on the producer and the relative power that he/she
 might have on that particular project. For example - I have
 done 4 of our records with all of the harp parts created and
 worked out by me before going in to the studio, and I have
 done projects where I had worked on the songs and had ideas
 for parts but those were completely thrown out in favor of
 what the producer wanted to hear on the track. If the
 artist/songwriter or lead band member has a heavy hand in
 the production, then your relationship with that person
 matters more. First of all he/she probably knows what you
 sound like and prefers certain things regarding your
 harmonica part that also translate to live performances
 where you play together. After all, It's all about getting
 to play the songs live in my opinion. 
 
 If the Producer is in majority "creative control" position,
 then it really depends on what he/she wants to hear from the
 harp. You might offer up ideas, but in the end, the Producer
 will tell you what to play and then cut/paste and piece it
 together from those takes to get the sound that they hear in
 their heads. Not always a bad thing - in fact, every time I
 have had to defer to the producer for the harp creative
 ideas, I have grown as an harmonica musician, and other than
 maybe the quantity of harp notes that remain on the released
 version, it is usually much better than what I came up with.
 The one exception is if the Producer doesn't "know"
 harmonica well you can have issues playing what's in his
 head. 
 
 I will say that if you go into the studio with heavily
 prepared parts ready, that can be a bad thing - as you might
 have them so burned into muscle memory that it can be hard
 to be creative on the spot with new parts. I did that one
 time, and it was quite frankly a horrific and embarrassing
 session for me. Best to talk to the Producer up front and
 ask for ideas (play like Taj Mahal on Who caught the Katy,
 or like Led Zeppelin on When the Levee Breaks) - that way
 you have an idea of what the feel of the harp part is
 needed. Good Producers respect your opinion on the harp
 parts and usually will encourage a take or two of what you
 think, or even a take or two of something off the wall that
 might work) Some of the best stuff I ever did was from a
 "let's try something crazy" take. Also, ask them about
 effects - from your gigging rig, or studio gear, or just
 digitally added plugin effects which are usually the easiest
 for the Producer. Personally, I can't tell the difference
 between added digital effects and gear effects. You should
 offer your opinion on the harp effects too. 
 
 I love the studio, because it's where you really and truly
 learn the song. If you record it, you'll never forget the
 part, ever! Band practice aside, the studio is the holy
 grail for actually hearing a song and all it's component
 parts. If you're in a band, try to attend all of the other
 part sessions - for moral support for your band mates, and
 to learn more about how a song comes together. Be happy in
 the studio - be humble in the studio - makes for a much
 better experience. The one really bad session I had was when
 I had memorized all the harp parts and got to the studio
 where they were all summarily tossed in favor of specific
 riffs and notes from the Producer's head. In that session, I
 must have apologized to the Producer a million times from
 the booth - "%^&*()_, Sorry Chet" - so much so that he
 looped my apologies and under the guise of listening to the
 take made me listen to my apology played over and over while
 he went out for a smoke. They all thought that was hilarious
 - me, not so much. But I learned a lesson. 
 
 Be prepared for everything. One time I had all the harp
 parts for 10 songs rehearsed to perfection and as soon as I
 got into the studio the Producer wanted them all played on
 an octave lower harp - not that easy depending on how
 intricate the parts were on the higher octave harps. But in
 the end, I totally agreed with that decision. 
 
 Lastly, when you listen to the mixed version of your harp
 part in the mix before mastering, AND you hear something
 that you don't like, speak up. Give them a logical reason as
 to why you don't like it - they might be able to fix it
 easily in Pro Tools digitally or, it might require an
 overdub. But do speak up. I didn't one time and it ruined my
 opinion of a tune that was almost perfect to my ear but for
 the one little thing that I hated. Another time the Producer
 digitally spliced a part and i could tell that no harmonica
 player would ever play that way live, but I let it slide. In
 that case the Producer's idea made sense, but I should have
 spoken up on why you can't play it that way. Recording is
 your legacy too and it's important that you like the body of
 work that get's mastered and produced for sale. 
 
 Good luck - and have fun. I love the studio. 
 
 Ross Macdonald 
 www.sassparilla.info 
 
 
 ----- Original Message -----
 
 From: "Richard Hunter" <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
 
 To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx 
 Sent: Friday, January 2, 2015 2:55:31 PM 
 Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Going into the studio for the first
 time 
 
 David McCurry wrote: 
 <Some on this list are far more qualified to answer, but
 I would say the 
 <first thing to get out of the way is being nervous. The
 one really great 
 <thing about studio work (vs. live band performance) is
 that if you mess up 
 <or didn't give your part the best shot, you can just do
 another "take". 
 <Actually, I find live performance more stress producing
 than recording. You 
 <have the "do over" factor to get the best take you can.
 That said, in 
 <studios, time is money, so the people paying for the
 recording will want 
 <you to nail it down as quickly as you can. Practice your
 part and be ready 
 <BEFORE you walk into the recording studio with some idea
 of what you want 
 <to play. Studios are no place to noodle around or to
 learn a new part. Make 
 <notes and cheat sheets for yourself to place on a stand.
 
 < 
 <Remember to keep extraneous noise (from hands,
 breathing, shirt, whatever) 
 <to absolute minimum. The mics are sensitive and pick up
 everything. If you 
 <are playing a part, don't make any sound immediately
 before you start or 
 <after you finish. Give it a few moments until the
 engineer signals all 
 <clear. That gives him or her some room to work on the
 track. 
 < 
 <And... remember to have fun! We all need more of that. 
 
 All good advice. The only thing I'll add is to make sure you
 know what instruments you're going to need, and make sure
 that your gear is working before you go in: harps tuned and
 playable, cables in decent condition, amp (if any) working
 without crackles, buzzes, etc. You don't want to have to
 worry about your gear when you're on the studio clock, with
 4-5 other musicians standing around wondering when you're
 going to be ready. And you don't need to--just have your kit
 in good working order when you go in. 
 
 Regards, Richard Hunter