Modern Techniques to AVOID that KILL the Music

Well, the only thing that i was a bit upset about was that it seems that anyone who has an uncommon view point gets dogpiled and attacked like some kind of digital pariah.

If i had a dollar for every band that swears to me that they are prepared and absolutely ready to record in my studio, only for them to show up unrehearsed or still working out parts of the song, i'd have a pile of dollars that Scrooge Mc'Duck himself would be proud of.

And do you know what every single one of them say as the excuse?

"I can't find the groove" or "its not happening, there is no groove" , when in reality, they have confused "groove" with "jamming".

It doesn't matter if they play together or separate. We try it all. Still, because they aren't ready, it doesn't work out. Usually the second session goes a lot better because they've realized how unprepared they were and how winging it doesn't make productive studio sessions.

Jamming is fun and all, but nobody should confuse studio time with happy fun jamming time. Write your songs, practice them until they are solid and come record.

It's not about how people record musicians. That hasn't changed.

Musicians just got lazy about their craft, that's all.

So I guess if you want tips:

1. Avoid bands who constantly say things like "dude we wrote this song last night and want to record it tomorrow" as there is no way they've written a perfect song in one night and have it down perfect.

2. When the band can't get their parts right, do what you can but ultimately send them home to practice more.

3. Musicians have different viewpoints of what they want in the band.  Find the best view and work with that band member as the leader.  Usually they'll step up to the job and you won't get 5 different opinions on every damn thing you do.

4. Your job is to capture the essence of the band.  Do what you can to make them sound their best, even if it's different from their ideas of what they should sound like.  Most of the time the band wants to sound just like their favorite band rather than themselves.  Do them a favor and help them develop their sound.  They'll thank you for it later.  If this means crushing their mix because they are a hard rock band or it sounds good, then DO IT.

5. Always make it be known that you are not their producer.  If you do not, they'll expect you to figure out how to fix everything for them as if you were, only not getting paid to do so.  So either make an agreement for extra payment, or refuse to do it and make the band figure out how to fix their shoddy arrangements.

6.  Ultimately, the band will be looking to you for guidance and control of the situation.  You cannot sit on your hands and expect them to do their best work.  If the take sucked, tell them why it sucked and keep doing it until it's right, or they go home to practice.  If you want a good session with a good outcome, control that shit.  You're the boss and your name/work is on the line.  Control it like you would any other job.  Bands need structure, so tell them there is no such thing as autotune or snapping-to-grid, or cutting and pasting. You'll be surprised at how receptive bands are when you tell them that they are going to get it right when they play it and there will be no fixing it in the mix.

What sounds good is opionion; The flat Earth thing is a horrible analogy.

IMO, here is one that actually makes sense when talking about recording techniques:

Can a great chef use a 40 year-old gourmet recipe to create something that taste better than a McDouble (which millions of people think taste fine)?

Svart has totally valid points imo. For sure I'm a bit nostalgic for how I used to record 20 years ago but things change. For publishing demos I can't afford to pay the guys I want to use so I try the best I can by myself. For my own material I certainly can't afford to pay, let's say tonycamphd, to learn some self indulgent prog piece that will take him a week to play...so I try my best again.
Does the music suffer? Yup. But with the publishing stuff I feel the energy of the track is represented well enough to get the message across to the listener. For the solo stuff one day I'll replace what I feel needs replacing but it still won't be me and great players looking for that magic take.
I don't like rap/hip hop but I'll defend your right to express yourself however you feel best. Be it with a smokin band or smoking bud by yourself it can still have emotional impact. Or maybe I'm full of shit!LOL

Actually I think mine is better.  It's all about dogma and taking things for fact when there is only opinion.  What really pissed me off was being told I was flat out wrong, when in fact my opinion was totally valid, just not shared by others.  They spout opinion as fact because they cannot fathom that someone would have an opinion other than theirs and would rather trash another person's opinion than admit that maybe theirs was flawed.

And just to add, I'm not really directing this at any specific member. It's just that I get tired of seeing the same "down with modern music!!" chanting and complaining but it's all the same complaints for the sake of complaints, and nothing new to add.

Who in the world has said this? And where were you told you were "flat out wrong"?

yeah it was me, realgearonline.com/post/21517/thread  i guess i took offense to the psychological evaluation, and being told i was a "flat worlder", "unhappy with music" and "behind the times", you are something svart, i'm gonna post the pm i sent you since you didn't feel the need to respond.

See, I think the rhetoric was thrown at me, not the other way around.

I'm an old timer. I find myself liking a lot of modern music, now that I've forced myself to seek out and listen to it. (+ to streaming services, which is another arguement for another thread.) I still like the way things were recorded in yesteryear too, and how a nice sounding room full of great players and vocalists doing it at once is magical, like hearing a live performance. That said, I don't think I could make any 'modern' music that would compete for the teenage ear today. My head and hands just don't live there, and I'm not comfortable enough with today's idioms to speak that language.

Click tracks became fashionable in my recording experience in the '70's. I don't think "Rumors" would have sold the humoungus numbers without the drum loops. The public has gotten so used to steady time, they likely would feel uncomfortable hearing bad time, or bad pitch from vocalists.

The recording I've done in the DAW home studio age has been primarily overdubbing. On my own songs or other's. I don't think the tempo track of a DAW file dooms music to banality or boredom. It's easy for me at least, to groove to, hunker down on, or rub up or play against or otherwise play around a fixed tempo, while always referring to it. I'm confident any overdub I do on someone's song will bring more vibe and interest to the song than the song arrived with, and I'm sure most everone is capable of that given the required talent exists.

I bet much of today's pop chart music is done this way. My biggest dissapointment with hit music is how little variation there is within a hit song and how often one chorus or section is cut and pasted over and over again. When you had to play every second of a tune, there were subtle differences and moments to savor over the 3 minute journey as you repeatedly listened. I miss that.

Life is like a box of chocolates ??

Ha! Don R hit a great tip.

Music is supposed to take you somewhere, to ebb and flow, to build and release, etc.

Copying and pasting sections is just plain wrong. Color me guilty too.