Your fault??.. or production??..
Moderator: Dave Mudgett
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Glenn Austin
- Posts: 694
- Joined: 7 Dec 2000 1:01 am
- Location: Montreal, Canada
- State/Province: -
- Country: United States
Bob, This is not your fault. The bass is off right from the start. The singers are very good considering that they're singing along to an out of tune bass line. The producer and engineer should clean the wax out of their ears. Anybody would have had a hard time playing in tune with this one. I think your playing is good.
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Bob Carlucci
- Posts: 7344
- Joined: 26 Dec 2003 1:01 am
- Location: Candor, New York, USA
- State/Province: New York
- Country: United States
Well Glenn,That means a LOT coming from you.. I know you are a studio engineer with a VERY sensitive ear...I think the only thing on the scratch track I played to was the acoustic guitar and the brush drums along with a scratch vocal track.. I don't think all the vocals were complete.
Still,it bugs me however.. That CD is being sold in lots of places, mostly locally and on internet outlets like CDBaby..and I want to sound my best,,
I am only an average steel player,certainly not up to the level of some guys on this forum, but this part is way below what I would consider acceptable for my skill level.. I do feel it should have been cut out or re done.
Next time I will insist on a good playback or two,,, 3 maybe???.. anyway Glenn, I so appreciate the input of someone with your considerable studio experience,,, bob
Still,it bugs me however.. That CD is being sold in lots of places, mostly locally and on internet outlets like CDBaby..and I want to sound my best,,
I am only an average steel player,certainly not up to the level of some guys on this forum, but this part is way below what I would consider acceptable for my skill level.. I do feel it should have been cut out or re done.
Next time I will insist on a good playback or two,,, 3 maybe???.. anyway Glenn, I so appreciate the input of someone with your considerable studio experience,,, bob
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Marc Friedland
- Posts: 1045
- Joined: 26 Jan 1999 1:01 am
- Location: Fort Collins, CO
- State/Province: -
- Country: United States
Bob,
Communication before the session is so important!
When asked to record pedal steel on a session, ONE of the items discussed is what tracks have already been recorded and what will I be listening to when doing the recording. I explain to them that because of playing an instrument that does not have fixed pitch, ideally what I should be listening to are the FINAL takes, and if that's the case, and I need to return to redo a track because of ANY mistake of mine, I will do it free of charge. But I will charge them to return if my intonation is out only because of what occurred AFTER I left. Meaning if they add a keyboard, or other major instrument, auto correct the bass guitar, change the vocal parts, or anything like that, I may give them a break on price, but my return trip will not be free of charge. This is not a difficult concept for anyone to understand. If they didn't realize it before, now they know not to have the steel player play to a guitar track that might not even be on the final mix, but instead only bring in the pedal steel after a majority of the final tracking has already been done. I realize that some people's skill level may allow them to play with perfect intonation even without a reference to listen to, but I certainly don't fall into that category.
Marc
Communication before the session is so important!
When asked to record pedal steel on a session, ONE of the items discussed is what tracks have already been recorded and what will I be listening to when doing the recording. I explain to them that because of playing an instrument that does not have fixed pitch, ideally what I should be listening to are the FINAL takes, and if that's the case, and I need to return to redo a track because of ANY mistake of mine, I will do it free of charge. But I will charge them to return if my intonation is out only because of what occurred AFTER I left. Meaning if they add a keyboard, or other major instrument, auto correct the bass guitar, change the vocal parts, or anything like that, I may give them a break on price, but my return trip will not be free of charge. This is not a difficult concept for anyone to understand. If they didn't realize it before, now they know not to have the steel player play to a guitar track that might not even be on the final mix, but instead only bring in the pedal steel after a majority of the final tracking has already been done. I realize that some people's skill level may allow them to play with perfect intonation even without a reference to listen to, but I certainly don't fall into that category.
Marc
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Bob Carlucci
- Posts: 7344
- Joined: 26 Dec 2003 1:01 am
- Location: Candor, New York, USA
- State/Province: New York
- Country: United States
Marc,, I ALWAYS tell every person I record for that the steel should be the last thing to go on the recording.. Usually I hear, "oh sure no problem", but in reality it usually does not work out that way..
I do the same thing you suggested,,, If I am out of tune or my playing bites, I'll redo it for free,,
If there is a problem after I leave the session because of parts added later, I charge.. depending more or less on my mood and who I am working for... all good valid points you made,,,, bob
I do the same thing you suggested,,, If I am out of tune or my playing bites, I'll redo it for free,,
If there is a problem after I leave the session because of parts added later, I charge.. depending more or less on my mood and who I am working for... all good valid points you made,,,, bob