# Misconceptions that musicians seem to have in the studio.



## tehguit (Jul 19, 2009)

I thought it'd be cool to post some of the misconceptions that musicians have when going into the studio or otherwise.

Here's a few i run into frequently to non-profesional musicians:

Tuning a snare drum higher, means more crack. I've had to lower a snare nearly a full octave once and they were like wow, how did you get the crack to stay... :blink::doh:

Resonant heads can be tuned to whatever, they're only there to make it have a bit more body...

When you tune your guitar, just wait for the note to settle and make sure you're tuned to the settled note. For metal players this is the WORST!

A good guitar setup isn't necessary.

New drum heads aren't necessary.

I can get a professional sounding drum recording out of my untreated bedroom. I don't care what ANYBODY says, i work in a commercial studio, have used worse mic's on a worse drum kit in a session than i have at home and the studio recording trumps it every time.


So what have you guys heard or seen?


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## chonc (Jun 9, 2009)

I would add that the best instrument sounds come from the artists that play them...


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## DragonMusic (Apr 6, 2009)

That I, as an engineer can transform a really bad singer/musician into a great singer/musician when mixing.


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## Equilibrium8 (Sep 11, 2008)

That they believe they are *ready* to record! Many don't get it, that recording is very different from just knowing your songs enough to play them well. I have had a few bands that I saw playing live and were excellent, come into the studio and everything just fell apart.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Many seriously underestimate the amount of time it really takes to get the mix down just right. I had one guy come in to our church studio and wanted to be out in two hours with his mastered copy in hand.:rofl2:


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## spacedout (Dec 17, 2007)

Not that we're demanding or anything... :blush:


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## tehguit (Jul 19, 2009)

To expand on getting a good mix, (i've run into that so many times its not funny, i'm now considering having minimum time to do songs)

Many musicians underestimate how long it take to get a drum session set up, and then pull some good sounds. Then how long it takes to edit the drums once they are recorded (i always BD drums unless i am REALLY pressed for time)


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## immortalgropher (Feb 16, 2010)

When they think it's okay to be late without calling to let you know. -shows up 20 minutes late without calling- "what happened to our session?" "You're 20 minutes late" lol.

When they think auto tune is the holy grail of vocals. It's not. Spend the time to make good takes or get outta the studio =P.


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## 0bazooka_joe0 (Mar 22, 2010)

Engineer "that was a good take, i think you can sing it a bit stronger though"
Vocalist "yea i was a bit flat on that one eh"
Engineer "yea but thats ok i've heard you hit that note before"
Vocalist "well you can just fix it on the computer right?"
Engineer "yea but i'm not going to... ready? *record arm and playback*"

some other goodies...
- thinking that using your 5 month old strings is ok
- thinking that tuning once at the beginning of the session is ok
- thinking a take is usable "except for that one little thing" that you don't mention bugs you and then its there... on the master copy, and everytime you listen to that song you cringe at little thing you which you could change
- amount of time a session takes... musicians new to the studio dont realize that it takes time to get there, get all your gear inside, set up your gear, tune your gear, set up the session, set up mics and levels, get warmed up...etc. it can take several hours before you're laying down any tracks. 
*TIP* if you're a musician looking to record, give the engineer as much information as possible- this goes for newer engineers too, ask a hundred questions and it will make setting up so much easier-
Things that should be established between musicians and the engineer... (feel free to note some more)
- budget/how much time do you have
- type of music
- how many tracks
- OTF or over-dubbing
- instrumentation and arrangement
- key, tempo, also some drummers are picky about their click type and speed
- what gear they're bringing - amps, guitars, drums, other acoustic instruments, effects...
- what are some of their favorite albums

these are just SOME of the things that should be discussed before the session starts

+1 to thinking they are going to leave the recording session with the finished track... not often but it does happen


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## Darnstrat (Jan 9, 2010)

Ha... good thread.
TapeOp had a great editorial on this a while back. If you're not a subscriber, you should be!

Other popular misconceptions:

The floor is a great headphone hanger.
EVERYONE should blow into your ribbon mic.
"My wife/girlfriend/husband/boyfriend/mom/dad/entourage/homeless guy I saw standing at the freeway off-ramp won't be in the way at all when I bring them to the session"
This amp I found in my girlfriend's basement with all the hum, noise, bad input jack, and blown speaker will sound really great on the recording.. we're into the vintage/retro sound.
Really, we sound a whole lot tighter when we've all had a few beers..
No, we don't need a click track...
Everyone tells me I sound just like Amy Lee... 

There are dozens of others... but I think we need a new time zone developed called "Musician Standard Time" which varies from actual time by being anywhere from 20 minutes to two days behind it.....

Thank goodness the payoff is in helping really good, conscientious musicians create phenomenal works of art in the end.

-your results may vary-:rant:


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## tehguit (Jul 19, 2009)

I'm an engineer and this makes me angry.


Studio price includes tax. :hissyfit:


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## Darnstrat (Jan 9, 2010)

tehguitarist said:


> I'm an engineer and this makes me angry.
> 
> 
> Studio price includes tax. :hissyfit:


Specifically, what makes you angry?


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## ngarjuna (Mar 29, 2010)

My new pet peeve:

"Can't that melo-auto-tuney thing make a fake harmony for me?"


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## tehguit (Jul 19, 2009)

Darnstrat said:


> Specifically, what makes you angry?



If i'm working with a band with a strict budget, we can think everything is fine til the last second when its, ok thats X amount of days for X amount of dollars.... now add tax. which if its a 5 grand budget, blows it out.

I suppose this isn't as much of a problem in america where tax isn't automatically added onto most things (or so i hear) but here in australia, studio rates are one of the ONLY things i can think of that are excluding tax.


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## immortalgropher (Feb 16, 2010)

As far as I know no studios in the states charge tax...Sales tax is only applicable to goods and certain services, not audio stuff though.


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