Well, I am looking for some advice for a dilemma we're having as a band. Here's the background: We are a three piece band with a bassist/singer, myself on guitar and a drummer. As for recording equipment, we have the drummer's computer with Acid Pro, or we sometimes record jams with either a high-quality tape or a MiniDisc.

Now, my bassist is getting all antsy, since it's been his lifelong dream (slight exaggeration, but not by much) to have an album of his own. We've tried recording several times and the only song we have recorded so far is an acoustic song with two or three guitar tracks and vocals.

The reason it's so difficult to record anything is that most of our songs have a lot of different parts to them, so it's hard to lay down one foundation track. Even with the drums, there are times when the drums aren't playing and then they jump back in.

What do we need to do to start recording songs? Someone gave a suggestion of recording a song jam-style and then using that as the foundation track and then delete it after recording all the otehr parts. That sounded like a good idea, but my bassist thought that we weren't tight enough tempo-wise to use that method.

Are there any other methods out there that can work for us? Since we're computer recording, we can only lay down one track at a time.

Thanks for your help everyone!

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... and that's all I have to say about that.

ALL generalizations are WRONG

[/sarcasm]

Assuming the song doesn't change tempos (it can change style, from slow to fast without changing BPM), you can record a track equal to the length of the song with just a metronome. Now, figure out the number of measures that the drums play, and have your drummer play along with the metronome. He won't get off tempo when he's not playing because the metronome will be steady clicking to keep time.

Once you have the drums laid out the bass usually comes next, then rhythm guitar, or vice versa depending on which musician is tighter. Finally add the lead guitar on top of that. That's how me and my brother would record when I went up to his house last summer, and it worked quite well.

One thing you might note - It might be best to keep a simple, easy beat on the drums when recording them at first and then once all the other tracks have been laid down, the drummer can come back and play something more complicated over the whole thing, recording on a seperate track. This allows for him to take some chances and do some fills in relation to what the guitar and bass are playing without worrying about screwing up the song. If he messes up he can start over, no problem. Once you get the final product of the drums, you can delete the original, simple drum part.

Hope this helps, and good luck

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"You must stab him in the heart with the Bone Saber of Zumacalis... well, you could stab him in the head or the lungs, too... and the saber, it probably doesn't have to be bone, just anything sharp lying around the house... you could poke him with a pillow and kill him."

- Aqua Teen Hunger Force, The Universal Re-Monster

You don’t even need to figure out how long the song is just record song length + 1 min of click. Then, record a track that talks you through what is happening where with say an acoustic guitar and mi mic / spoken instructions. This track wont be heard in the final mix however it is a good idea for the narrator not to say things that will make people laugh too hard.

This will save a lot of problems with people missing cues etc. from that point it is just a case of filling in the blanks and then archiving the click and the place keeper track.

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I use the same technique as The Dirt. Just keep a simple drum beat and then record the guitars and vocals. Then have the drummer redo his part adding in the necessary components. It seems to work quite well for me.

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Sometimes I hit notes only dogs can hear.

Well, the song doesn't change tempo, but the musicians do.



The problem with this with our band is that our drummer probably wouldn't be able to play the exact same beat twice. We've tried recording drums after recording a bass track (timed to a metronome) and the drums sounded way off in some places. How do you guys redo your drum parts and not have it off in places?

How much can a part be off tempo and not be noticed? I've never really noticed off-tempo sections in any commercially made music I've heard.

Thanks for all your advice, guys!

__________________
... and that's all I have to say about that.

ALL generalizations are WRONG

[/sarcasm]

This,I think,should make some interesting reading for your bassist:
http://www.guitarnoise.com/songwrit...03/20030510.php
And how come he isn't on this forum?He has a comp!

It's always better to do the drums first, even if it's just a dummy track as some have said before. And when the drums stop playing make sure the drum keeps hitting the hi-hat (in metronome fashion) that way when the guitars record they have something to follow and everything will stay synchronized. Then once everything is together, you could easily use any audio editing software to silence the hi-hat.

Now if the drummer makes mistakes, and depending on what kind of mistake. It's is very easy to fix. If it's a mistake that throws the tempo off, you'll just have to do it over again from scratch. If it's just a small mistake like missing a beat but the flow of the music (tempo) stays on track. You can have the drum play on another track along with the previous track and then later cut out the mistake and replace it with the correct one. Make sure you start a few seconds before the mistake and a few seconds after. That way the tracks will go together smooth. Again this depends on what kind of mistake, and if there are quite a few. You're better off doing it over again.

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