Last Saturday my band went into the studio to record a demo cd. I love recording. It's such a different dimension of music. We've played these songs hundreds of times, but when you record them for the first time, you hear things you've never heard before. For those of you who don't know how the recording process works, I'll briefly explain it. First you record what is called a scratch track. A scratch track is when everyone plays live together and you get the song roughly recorded. None of this recording is used in the final product, so it doesn't have to be perfect. It only has to be on time. Once the scratch track is recorded, the drummer goes back and records his actual drum line by himself. The scratch track is used so he can play along with something. He wears headphones to hear it, while everyone on the outside can only hear the drum line by itself. This process is repeated with each instrument. It allows the recording engineer to be able to edit each instrument independently of the rest of the song. The point I was trying to make, is it's amazing everything you realize you have never heard when you listen to the drummer or the bass player isolated. I constantly was doing double takes thinking, "What did he just play? Does he always do that?" Below are some pictures I shot.
Jonathan Burkett... what a stud
Dan Telvock and Dan Fong ready to rock.
Fong in the engineering room.
The studio mascot. Myrtle the turtle.
This is our recording engineer, George Jr. He's like 16, but he's freaking awesome. He's been doing this stuff since he was 11.
Sometimes Fong acts like he is 11.
Sometimes I do too.
You wouldn't know it from looking at the pictures of the sound and audio rooms, but this is actually a home studio. The family room off to the side made for a comfortable lounging area between tracks. The guy on the left is George Sr. He's kind of like the PR guy, and his son is the recording guy.
In this picture he kind of looks like Don Vito from Viva La Bam
Dan getting ready to lay down the bass track.
The studio wasn't huge, but it did the job. You really don't need millions of dollars of equipment to make a good recording. It's all in the personal touch.
Recording is a strange feeling actually. When you are playing a show, or at practice you don't pay so much attention to perfection. Plus, there is a lot of emotion that goes into performing, which adds to the song. When you sit down to record your part, you are all stiff and up tight. You want to get it right the first time. You are paying attention to everything except the emotion that goes into the song. The finished product really has to speak for itself.
This is the amp I used. It's a Gibson G105 2x12 solid state amp. It's like 30 years old. I got it for free! It still sounds great. Who says you need expensive equipment. I heard a saying one time that I really love, "What does a really crappy guitar player who plays really good equipment sound like? He sounds like a really crappy guitar player who plays really good equipment." That's how I make myself feel better anyway.
Fong setting up.
Jonathan and Dan chillin'
Jonathan Burkett... what a stud
Dan Telvock and Dan Fong ready to rock.
Fong in the engineering room.
The studio mascot. Myrtle the turtle.
This is our recording engineer, George Jr. He's like 16, but he's freaking awesome. He's been doing this stuff since he was 11.
Sometimes Fong acts like he is 11.
Sometimes I do too.
You wouldn't know it from looking at the pictures of the sound and audio rooms, but this is actually a home studio. The family room off to the side made for a comfortable lounging area between tracks. The guy on the left is George Sr. He's kind of like the PR guy, and his son is the recording guy.
In this picture he kind of looks like Don Vito from Viva La Bam
Dan getting ready to lay down the bass track.
The studio wasn't huge, but it did the job. You really don't need millions of dollars of equipment to make a good recording. It's all in the personal touch.
Recording is a strange feeling actually. When you are playing a show, or at practice you don't pay so much attention to perfection. Plus, there is a lot of emotion that goes into performing, which adds to the song. When you sit down to record your part, you are all stiff and up tight. You want to get it right the first time. You are paying attention to everything except the emotion that goes into the song. The finished product really has to speak for itself.
This is the amp I used. It's a Gibson G105 2x12 solid state amp. It's like 30 years old. I got it for free! It still sounds great. Who says you need expensive equipment. I heard a saying one time that I really love, "What does a really crappy guitar player who plays really good equipment sound like? He sounds like a really crappy guitar player who plays really good equipment." That's how I make myself feel better anyway.
Fong setting up.
Jonathan and Dan chillin'
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