Guitar
Every time I do studio work, I come to the same realization: things just don't work out the way I think they will. This is a good thing. I did a session today for my good friends the East Vamps, and, as usual, my preconceived notions were swiftly tossed aside.
The first tune was an old Suzi Quatro number, "What a Way to Die". It was the original request that I play lap-steel on that tune, but when I had a chance to do some pre-production, I didn't have my lap-steel around. I ended up playing bottleneck in open E on my go-to slide guitar, a Danelectro '63 reissue that my brother gave me. Nobody noticed the difference.
Well, you'd think I'd take a hint, but no. I dutifully hauled my lap-steel down to the studio only to figure out seconds into warming up that it wasn't happening- too bright and hi-fi sounding. Out came my '62 Kay Speed Demon, to summon up a dirtier, garage-ier vibe, but it was wa-ay too dark to function in the context of the track. Finally, out came the Dano- I had it in open D which I needed for the next track, and, it being a rather inexpensive (read 'touchy') guitar, I was loath to retune it a whole step up to E just to tune it back down a few minutes later. I employed a capo, something I would usually avoid. The Danelectro was better, but even with its painfully bright bridge pickup it was still getting lost in the track. So I abandoned my rule about "always play bottleneck slide with bare fingers" and pulled out a pick.
Again, close, but no cigar. After some more amp/pedal tweaking, I ended up trying the overdrive channel in the studio amp (Fender Blues Deville), also something I would usually avoid. This time it worked out great, in part because the amp was plugged into a Hiwatt 4X12 cab which was making everything sound a bit too dark and a bit too fat. (Upon later reflection I realized that playing through the Deville's 4X10 inch speakers may have solved the issue, but hey, we'd got a sound and it was time to record for real).
A few takes in, yet another adjustment had to be made. I realized that if I didn't absolutely thrash the strings with my pick, the performance fell flat, so after a couple of teeth-gritted, mad-bastard takes we got our keeper.
All this was done with a running commentary between myself and the engineer, as we figured out what worked best for the track. Often, what's best for the track isn't necessarily what I thought it might be. The engineer has a much more objective sense of how that performance is going to translate in the architecture of a mix, so having his/her perspective can help shorten the "searching for sounds" phase. In this case, I ended up with a much different tone than I would have chosen for myself, yet one that sat in the mix in the spot where it was needed.
In sessions where a band is cutting live off the floor, it can be harder to get the engineer's undivided attention as they deal with multiple sound sources. I try to orchestrate my tones as well as my parts as we work through early takes- figure out what the other players are doing and find a way to provide contrast. Often a guitar I rarely use becomes the star instrument for a session, simply because of the way it blends with the other instruments.
When working with multiple guitars its often helpful to choose a type of guitar that contrasts with the others, ie. accompanying a Les Paul with a Tele or Strat, or accompanying a Martin dreadnought with a cheap plywood parlour. Having an oddball guitar or two in your collection can be a real boon in the studio- sometimes el-cheapo guitars and their wacky tones are the perfect complement to all the "proper" tones around them. None of the guitars I took to today's session cost more than $250.
Whatever gear you're using, the goal should be to not only shine yourself, but to shine in a way that celebrates and enlarges the music and musicians around you. And to that end, I recommend that you always expect the unexpected, and cheerfully (and professionally) set about dealing with it.
- Peavey T-40 And T-60 Users And Literature. .
Peavey were keen to let it be known that their guitars were being used by major artists, at the time - perhaps the most famous, was Ross Valory of the band, Journey. There was also Leon Medica of Le Roux and Banner Thomas from Molly...
- Fender 1985 Rivera-era Concert Amp In Stucio City For $300
Here is a seller offering a nice Fender Concert Head (also known as the Concert II). This is one of the Paul Rivera line of Fender amps that included the Super Champ. These are nice amps with a complex multi gain stage and several push-pull...
- Comfortably Numb
Into the great wide-open, a rebel without a clue... I had an interesting revelation last night: I played better (more dynamically and sensitively) when I had had no idea what was going on than when I did. As regular readers know, I host a...
- Ebow Fun!
This last Christmas a buddy of mine gave me an EBow as a gift. For those who have never heard of the EBow, it is an electronic bowing device, that creates infinite sustain by electromagnetically driving the string. Yes, it works on...
- Welcome To Inspireformation
Hello musicians and music lovers. My name is Double D and it is my pleasure to welcome you to my little piece of the interweb. I have been a working musician for a couple of decades, performing and recording with scads of artists in...
Guitar
Expect the Unexpected
 |
| My slide ride - Dano '63 |
The first tune was an old Suzi Quatro number, "What a Way to Die". It was the original request that I play lap-steel on that tune, but when I had a chance to do some pre-production, I didn't have my lap-steel around. I ended up playing bottleneck in open E on my go-to slide guitar, a Danelectro '63 reissue that my brother gave me. Nobody noticed the difference.
Well, you'd think I'd take a hint, but no. I dutifully hauled my lap-steel down to the studio only to figure out seconds into warming up that it wasn't happening- too bright and hi-fi sounding. Out came my '62 Kay Speed Demon, to summon up a dirtier, garage-ier vibe, but it was wa-ay too dark to function in the context of the track. Finally, out came the Dano- I had it in open D which I needed for the next track, and, it being a rather inexpensive (read 'touchy') guitar, I was loath to retune it a whole step up to E just to tune it back down a few minutes later. I employed a capo, something I would usually avoid. The Danelectro was better, but even with its painfully bright bridge pickup it was still getting lost in the track. So I abandoned my rule about "always play bottleneck slide with bare fingers" and pulled out a pick.
Again, close, but no cigar. After some more amp/pedal tweaking, I ended up trying the overdrive channel in the studio amp (Fender Blues Deville), also something I would usually avoid. This time it worked out great, in part because the amp was plugged into a Hiwatt 4X12 cab which was making everything sound a bit too dark and a bit too fat. (Upon later reflection I realized that playing through the Deville's 4X10 inch speakers may have solved the issue, but hey, we'd got a sound and it was time to record for real).
A few takes in, yet another adjustment had to be made. I realized that if I didn't absolutely thrash the strings with my pick, the performance fell flat, so after a couple of teeth-gritted, mad-bastard takes we got our keeper.
All this was done with a running commentary between myself and the engineer, as we figured out what worked best for the track. Often, what's best for the track isn't necessarily what I thought it might be. The engineer has a much more objective sense of how that performance is going to translate in the architecture of a mix, so having his/her perspective can help shorten the "searching for sounds" phase. In this case, I ended up with a much different tone than I would have chosen for myself, yet one that sat in the mix in the spot where it was needed.
In sessions where a band is cutting live off the floor, it can be harder to get the engineer's undivided attention as they deal with multiple sound sources. I try to orchestrate my tones as well as my parts as we work through early takes- figure out what the other players are doing and find a way to provide contrast. Often a guitar I rarely use becomes the star instrument for a session, simply because of the way it blends with the other instruments.
When working with multiple guitars its often helpful to choose a type of guitar that contrasts with the others, ie. accompanying a Les Paul with a Tele or Strat, or accompanying a Martin dreadnought with a cheap plywood parlour. Having an oddball guitar or two in your collection can be a real boon in the studio- sometimes el-cheapo guitars and their wacky tones are the perfect complement to all the "proper" tones around them. None of the guitars I took to today's session cost more than $250.
Whatever gear you're using, the goal should be to not only shine yourself, but to shine in a way that celebrates and enlarges the music and musicians around you. And to that end, I recommend that you always expect the unexpected, and cheerfully (and professionally) set about dealing with it.
- Peavey T-40 And T-60 Users And Literature. .
Peavey were keen to let it be known that their guitars were being used by major artists, at the time - perhaps the most famous, was Ross Valory of the band, Journey. There was also Leon Medica of Le Roux and Banner Thomas from Molly...
- Fender 1985 Rivera-era Concert Amp In Stucio City For $300
Here is a seller offering a nice Fender Concert Head (also known as the Concert II). This is one of the Paul Rivera line of Fender amps that included the Super Champ. These are nice amps with a complex multi gain stage and several push-pull...
- Comfortably Numb
Into the great wide-open, a rebel without a clue... I had an interesting revelation last night: I played better (more dynamically and sensitively) when I had had no idea what was going on than when I did. As regular readers know, I host a...
- Ebow Fun!
This last Christmas a buddy of mine gave me an EBow as a gift. For those who have never heard of the EBow, it is an electronic bowing device, that creates infinite sustain by electromagnetically driving the string. Yes, it works on...
- Welcome To Inspireformation
Hello musicians and music lovers. My name is Double D and it is my pleasure to welcome you to my little piece of the interweb. I have been a working musician for a couple of decades, performing and recording with scads of artists in...