Studio Day Four & Five: Acoustic/Rhythm Guitar

The Studio: Day Four and Five (Acoustic Guitar)

Until now, during recording sessions, I have been merely sitting behind a wall, listening, critiquing, and suggesting. This was the first day that I actually recorded my OWN playing. These next two days of acoustic guitar were completely dependent on my ability to play guitar. The pressure is on!

I didn't get as many pictures in these sessions since most of my concentration and attention were on the task at hand: getting a flawless acoustic guitar recording.

BUT 

Here is the lovely view from my seat. Now that I look at this picture again, it reminds me of those wire-track toys that are always in the kids section at the doctor's office. You know, the thick, colored wires that had trains of wooden beads you had to slide until you reached the other end of the wire...

I'll be honest here: this was WORK. 
It was very tiring sitting in the same seat for 4-5 hours at a time, playing the same thing over and over. I would equate this to the work that anyone rarely sees--the writing process and the practice process that happens behind the walls of my apartment. It's not glamorous--but it's inspiring when you finish the day and you listen to what you've pieced together from the day's work.

Microphones, Microphones, and more Microphones!

Again, there were over 7 different microphones that were aimed somewhere near me, and they all had to be placed where they could pick up the "sweet spot" sound of my guitar. 

Dave took masking tape and taped the floor around my feet, (like you would a body at a crime scene) marking where I was to sit for the duration of the session to keep the recording sounds consistent. If I were to move even an inch to the right, the sound could be compromised and we would have to re-record.

The guitar sound that Dave was able to achieve with his trusty microphones sounded even better than my guitar does live!

Each song we recorded took about 1.5 hours to finish, but it felt a lot longer than that. Some songs, depending on their picking/strumming pattern took a bit more time, but hey--I'm no machine! (yet)

The sun was setting outside (and in the studio, it looks like!).

I'm not sure all of you know that I am a finger-picking guitarist as well as a strummer. I grow my right-hand nails out in order to achieve a consistent, strong pluck on each string. Wellllll, I ended up playing frisbee the other week and I broke a nail! I never thought I'd ever say that phrase seriously... So I was playing with a slight handicap, which wasn't optimal.

I intended to play "Sailing" with this  nylon string guitar that I borrowed from a friend, but the inconsistency of the pluck with my handicapped middle finger left us no alternative but to stop for the day and return at a later date to record the nylon string. I'll be back.




This recording experience was quite an eye-opener. 
The level of perfectionism and mastery one must have in order to make a great record astounded me. With a live show, you can afford to slow down, speed up, or fudge a strum or two, but with a record (something that will be crystallized on record forever), things must be nearly flawless.

I learned a big lesson in these two days: I am definitely more of a stage performer than a studio performer :)

Overall, it was a successful couple days of recording. Soon, we'll track the electric guitar!