Is it that your tracks bleed on one another?

Is it that you weren’t very meticulous in dialing in sounds?

Is it that the guitar is slightly out of tune?

Is it that you have a really abrasive snare sound?

Is it that your lead vocal track sounds sexy?

Is it because you didn’t use a click track?

Is it because you recorded to analog tape instead of Pro Tools?

Is it because it was recorded on a four track cassette?

Is it because you didn’t use automation when you mixed?

Is it because you used “old school” gear and FX during mixing?

I have worked on some records where the lead vocal bled all over the drum tracks, but you would never know it.

I have produced records which I recorded live, with minimal isolation, but the final mix sounds as polished as ever.

I have worked on records that were tracked to analog tape without much EQ, but the final mix sounded totally clear and defined.

Everything in record making is subjective. Even the rules are subjective.

So just what is it, exactly, that dictates that a recording sounds raw?

Are you struggling a little bit to get your recording career off the ground? Perhaps you’re stuck having to work that low-level day job a little bit longer than you hoped. Or you completed an internship at a studio, but the big gig never came. Or maybe you are going through a transitional time right now, booking projects at a little bit more of an inconsistent basis than what’s ideal…

…And you’re thinking about jumping ship-getting involved in another line of work altogether.

But does that make sense? Does it make sense to invest time and money into something that you have no (or less) experience, not much expertise, passion, or drive, and no work history?

Or does it make more sense to keep going-to invest more time and money into something that you’ve already got a good start in? Why change careers when you’ve already invested so much time, money, and passion into producing and engineering, and right when you’re on the verge of a big breakthrough?

Sure, you’ve got to know when to quit, but you’ve also got to be certain you’re quitting for the right reasons (and understanding when you should stick). Are you truly ready to get out of the game? Did your passion for record making really extinguish? Or are you just frustrated with the way things are going right now?

Sometimes quitting doesn’t mean changing vocations entirely. Most the time, in fact, the best option is to stick with what you’re passionate about. Rather than investing time and money into a career change that would require a complete restart, I would argue that it’s actually better to invest more time and money into record production and/or audio engineering. Because you have already put this much time and money in, and making records is what you’re passionate about.

So before you run off to do something that is going to require you to start completely over, evaluate your current situation, and what you can do to improve it.

What is your single biggest deficiency? What is your single biggest challenge? What one thing can you do differently that will improve your situation? Where can you innovate?

Quitting is an absolute last resort. It’s very expensive and very risky. I would argue that what you should be focusing on is tweaking and persisting. That’s a much less expensive, substantially quicker, and more fun path to success.

//Jon
Twitter: @stsn

Last Tuesday, Mother/Father – the band I’m involved with in a management capacity – released their new EP, Physical Heaven.

Physical Heaven is the latest project to become a part of my production/recording/mixing portfolio, and I (as well as the rest of the team) are excited about finally being able to share this release with you.

You can listen to Physical Heaven in full here:

Buy Physical Heaven on iTunes

Buy Physical Heaven on Amazon

Buy Physical Heaven on Radical Notion Digital

Other production and recording notes:

Produced, recorded, and mixed by: Jacquire King
“The Hours Witch” produced, recorded, and mixed by: stinson
Additional production by: James Robert Farmer, David Miller, stinson, and Willie Forreal
Additional engineer: stinson
Mastered by: Richard Dodd

Typically, the records where I’m in the producer’s chair are recorded live, with all the musicians close enough together that they could reach out and touch one another. I do this because it ignites a special kind of energy when the band is all playing together. It also means that all the tracks bleed on one another.

There’s a fear in the recording community of track bleed. People can be meticulous about making sure all the instruments are isolated, so they don’t bleed on one another. They’re afraid that all this bleed will degrade the sound of the record, or lock them into a position that keeps them from having options later.

I love bleed. I think track bleed actually enhances the sound, as to me it’s all about what happens when the parts come together, not really the micro-focused aspect of the individual parts themselves. It’s also about the human element of recording, and track bleed helps create a sound that has more of a human feel.

But it’s all very subtle. Realistically, track bleed is very much a non-issue. Honestly when all is finished, the listener is never going to know the vocal got on the piano track a little bit, and the drum mics also picked up the guitar. All that is a layer of production that really just creates a subconscious texture.

You would be surprised what you can get away with – across all genres, and in most situations.

If the individual tracks of your recording are the single bricks which make up the house, bleed is the mortar which holds the recording together.

It’s human, it’s real, it’s organic, and it’s warm. Take advantage of it.

//Jon
Website: jonstinson.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/stnsn
Twitter: @stsn

It happens to me every day. And you know what my natural reaction to it is? To push even harder, straining to break through. That might happen eventually, but not nearly as successfully as I’d like.

You know what really works? To walk away. Get away from the problem and, ironically, you will find the solution.

Pretty much common sense, but it’s funny how in the middle of it all our lizard brain defeats us.

Photo by: Evil Erin. Licensed under a Creative Commons License.

Throughout the years recording technology has undergone some astonishing developments. With these developments record makers have been afforded an array of inexpensive tools with which they can pretty much do anything they can imagine.

But this progression brought about a side effect-the danger of overproducing, getting bogged down in the record making process, and concentrating too hard on the technology itself and not the music.

Here’s Dave Stewart, co-founder of the Eurythmics, in an Artists House video sharing his take on the role of technology in music production, and how that has evolved over the decades.

Record the music. Don’t use the technology.

But make the choice to move on anyway. You will always second guess a decision you made in the mix. Or question a vocal. It’s easy to convince yourself that there’s more work to be done-that the bass is too loud, the drums are too quiet, the mix is too thin.

And you know what? There IS always more work to be done.

You’re always going to worry about what others will think of your work. It’s the blessing and the curse of working in a field that is so public. Don’t let that fear creep in and hold you back.

At a certain point you have to detach… just enough…

Just enough that you can escape the self-doubt.
Just enough that you can care less about what “everyone” thinks.
Just enough that you can have the confidence you need.
Just enough that you can learn how to be okay with closing a project.

Because if you’re constantly second-guessing everything you do, then you’re running in place. And then you’re not growing, moving your career forward.

Then you’re a slave to what “everyone” thinks. And “everyone” will never like the records you make.

Having knowledge of the tools-understanding them-is an important part of your artistic process.

The results and character of what you get with pen and paper is certainly different from what you get with keyboards and electrons.

Recording to tape using a collection of vintage tube mics is not going to make your art any more or less compelling. But there is a specific inspiration you get from recording to tape, and another specific inspiration you get from recording to a DAW. And neither one of these is “better” than the other-they’re just different.

Make sure you understand the tools. Don’t ignore one thing because it’s too “new” and another because it’s too “old.”

Utilize a collection of tools throughout all your creative processes, whether recording, writing, taking photos, or anything else creative. You will be pleased with the way it changes your style and character, and the different nuances within the results you get.

This is another way of saying, “Don’t put the cart before the horse.”

A while back I read a great book called Behind the Glass. It was and is a popular book within the music community. Back when I first got an internship at a recording studio, I was given the book by the assistant manager of the place. Later, I let a friend borrow it, and I never saw it again. I’ve been meaning to purchase the book ever since.

At the beginning of the book, Howard Massey, the author, conducts an interview of five record producers. One of which is Tony Visconti. On page thirteen Tony says this:

A common mistake that’s being made today is getting the order or protocol reversed. People think, have, do, be: If I have this equipment, I can do it, and I can be it. That’s not the way it works: It’s be, do, have. Everyone says, “How do I get a great guitar sound?” It’s really simple: You put the amp there, you tweak, you play, you put the mic there-and a microphone is pretty much a mirror-you put the mic in front of that great guitar sound. That’s where you have to do it in the first place. So many people think that, if they get all this gear, it’s going to make them sound great, but the opposite is true. I know that things are going to change-30 years from now, I don’t know what we’ll be recording on. Maybe a tomato, I don’t know. But it doesn’t matter-certain principles will always apply. They applied two hundred years ago when Mozart was alive-you have to really be an artist. And being an artist means that you have to woodshed, you have to put time in, you have to practice. That is where good sounds will always come from-how you record them is irrelevant. A great performance transcends all that.

Be. Do. Have.

That short quote from the book has stuck with me ever since I first read Behind the Glass. It’s become a mantra of sorts for me, making sure I keep my priorities in order as I progress in my career as a producer.

Owning gear can quickly become a distraction. Focus on constantly sharpening your skills. That is your real asset as a record producer.

And grabbing a copy of Behind the Glass for yourself isn’t a bad idea either. Here’s a preview with links to buy.

Seth Godin says that everything you do is marketing. I think he’s right. So if that’s true, then how you interface with people throughout the record making process is everything as far as your career is concerned.

Everything you do-every reaction you have to a good or bad situation, how relaxed you seem, how focused you seem, they way you respond to people, the way you listen to people, they way you respond when your ideas aren’t used, the way you respond when your ideas are used-shapes your reputation and personality as a record maker. Through this reputation and personality you’re inadvertently “branding” yourself.

You can learn all the information in the text books, and regurgitate that information verbatim. You can learn everything about the circuitry of all the most popular equipment, and even build a lot of it yourself. You can know everything there is to know about gain staging, acoustics, phase, mic placement, or gear components. You can even know all there is to know about harmony, key changes, scales, tempo, or time signatures. But if you don’t have people skills you won’t be making records with people.

I’ve seen people who knew more than anyone else about all of the above and beyond, get passed over for people who did not know as much but were very creative and had great people skills.

The trouble with the people who know everything is that they get hung on the verbatim part. If it does not look and feel exactly like what they know it’s supposed to, exactly what the science says it’s supposed to look and feel like, then it’s wrong.

Text on pages and what you “know” are just a tiny spec of dust in the universe of record making. You have to have people skills. You have to be able to speak the language of creativity. You have to open your mind to other perspectives. You have to throw out the legalistic thinking of what is “right” and what is “wrong.” You have to be able to sympathize and empathize with people.

So how are your people skills?