The Self-Recording Band

APPLY FOR A FREE IN-DEPTH 1-ON-1 COACHING CALL WITH BENEDIKT:
https://theselfrecordingband.com/call

Download the free Ultimate 10 Step Guide To Successful DIY-Recording here: https://theselfrecordingband.com/10stepguide

Join the free Facebook Group ("The Self-Recording Band Community"):
theselfrecordingband.com/community

Benedikt's voice on this episode has been recorded with the Antelope Axino Synergy Core

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Let's talk editing again!

Specifically: Elastic Audio,  Flex Time, Vari Audio, etc.

These are tools that let you stretch or compress time. Not time in general (that would be dope, right?), but the length and tempo of your recordings, without affecting the pitch. Also pretty cool, if you ask me!

This is super useful in cases where slip editing (cutting and moving parts/notes) is just not enough.

Here are some of the things we discuss on the episode:

• Different time stretching algorithms and their different sounds
• When to use it (or not use it)
• Options inside your DAW
• 3rd party options (not built into your DAW)
• Time-aligning tracks
• Super detailed DI fixing
• Tempo shifts
• Some DAW-specific techniques and tricks
• Committing edits (and why you would do that)

Enjoy!

For full show notes go to: theselfrecordingband.com/96

If you have any questions, feedback, topic ideas or want to suggest a guest, email us at: [email protected]

Send us Fan Mail

If you have any questions, feedback, topic ideas or want to suggest a guest, email us at: [email protected]

APPLY FOR A FREE IN-DEPTH 1-ON-1 COACHING CALL WITH BENEDIKT:
https://theselfrecordingband.com/call

Download the free Ultimate 10 Step Guide To Successful DIY-Recording here: https://theselfrecordingband.com/10stepguide

Join the free Facebook Group ("The Self-Recording Band Community"):
theselfrecordingband.com/community

Benedikt's voice on this episode has been recorded with the Antelope Axino Synergy Core

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We said it before and we'll say it again: We LOVE gear!

But, gear is probably not the thing that's holding you back. In fact, researching and buying new gear might actually hold you back get in the way of you reaching your goals.

Here's a couple of reasons why:

• People made great records before the gear you're thinking about buying even existed
• The most valuable skill: How to force your gear to be good
• You might be buying gear because you're worried about what people think of you (We're definitely guilty of that and it's a mindset issue that needs to be addressed if you want to be successful as an artist)
• Buying gear can be a delaying/procrastination tactic and keep you from doing the thing you actually need to do
• The research for new gear comes at a HIGH cost: Time

There are many more reasons, so make sure you listen to this episode, as it will make your future purchase decisions easier and give you more clarity about what (not) to buy and why (not).

For full show notes go to: theselfrecordingband.com/95

If you have any questions, feedback, topic ideas or want to suggest a guest, email us at: [email protected]

Send us Fan Mail

If you have any questions, feedback, topic ideas or want to suggest a guest, email us at: [email protected]

APPLY FOR A FREE IN-DEPTH 1-ON-1 COACHING CALL WITH BENEDIKT:
https://theselfrecordingband.com/call

Download the free Ultimate 10 Step Guide To Successful DIY-Recording here: https://theselfrecordingband.com/10stepguide

Join the free Facebook Group ("The Self-Recording Band Community"):
theselfrecordingband.com/community

Benedikt's voice on this episode has been recorded with the Antelope Axino Synergy Core

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We are lifelong learners and we believe you should never stop educating yourself (hence why we created this podcast). 

However, there is an inherent problem, actually multiple problems, with consuming YouTube channels, blogs, podcasts or any type of information, especially free content.

If you're completely honest, how many hours have you spent on YouTube trying to solve a problem? How many articles have you read? How many other pieces of information did you consume? 

And how much of it was actually what you needed? Did you get side-tracked? Went down an endless rabbit hole? 

What else could you have done in that time that would actually have gotten you results?

• Practice more? Probably. 
• Ask people who've been in your exact situation before? Pretty sure you know someone. 
• Approach education in a more systematic way? Definitely, although you might not know how exactly (yet).

Then, when you've stumbled across something truly useful, how do you make sure you won't forget and remember it when you need it? And how can you be sure this is the only way, or the right way to do it? Is it really the right thing to do in your specific situation? For your specific song? Is there an easier way or a better way to achieve what you want to achieve?

Are you still open for other ideas or are you following blindly because you think that's the way and you're ignoring the context?

What if the person you're following doesn't really have a clue or is giving you bad advice?

And finally, what do you actually apply? And when? Which technique/strategy in which situation? How much of it will never be implemented at all, because you only have so much time and you can't do all the things?

We could go on and on. But enough with the questions for now. Let's give you some answers, show you how we do it and hopefully inspire you to find a good balance between consuming just what you need and taking massive action. 

If you've paid attention, you'll realize that our approach is probably not the only one. But it definitely works for us and maybe it helps you, too.

Here's how to make the most of what you're learning.

For full show notes go to: theselfrecordingband.com/94

If you have any questions, feedback, topic ideas or want to suggest a guest, email us at: [email protected]

Send us Fan Mail

If you have any questions, feedback, topic ideas or want to suggest a guest, email us at: [email protected]

APPLY FOR A FREE IN-DEPTH 1-ON-1 COACHING CALL WITH BENEDIKT:
https://theselfrecordingband.com/call

Download the free Ultimate 10 Step Guide To Successful DIY-Recording here: https://theselfrecordingband.com/10stepguide

Join the free Facebook Group ("The Self-Recording Band Community"):
theselfrecordingband.com/community

Benedikt's voice on this episode has been recorded with the Antelope Axino Synergy Core

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November 2021 - Q&A - Part 3!

These are some of the questions and struggles from our community members that we've covered on the show:

"I think the problem is trying to do a reasonable job on less than ideal equipment and in an untreated space. I’m sure a lot of people are in the same situation… you find a spare corner of the house to put your desk and your gear and your small monitors for recording, but trying to master on small speakers in a weird shaped room is a bit of a nightmare. I always use references and try not to get sidetracked by loudness, but hearing the low end properly on tiny speakers sucks. I mostly use headphones for recording and mixing (rightly or wrongly it’s what works best for me and the rest of my household) but obviously mastering on headphones isn’t really ideal." 
-

"Not a 100% recording related issue, but maybe still OK to be discussed: How do I place and set up an internal kick drum mic for a live (recording) session with sending the mic to the p.a. and preventing it from low frequency feedback? We have this issue in our rehearsal space, that the kick is always close to annoying feedbacks. We record the sessions live while rehearsing. And yes, we are loud and yes, the kick needs balls. But maybe you have some "hacks" (TM) what we can try to reduce that? Mic is a Sennheiser 602. No compressor / gate but semi parametric eq on the mixing desk available, that I already tried noodling around with a lot. And we had the same issues with a D112."
-

"Whats a good way to achieve humbucker style guitar tones with a single coil guitar? (Without buying a humbucker guitar) Ha ha"
-

For full show notes go to: theselfrecordingband.com/93

If you have any questions, feedback, topic ideas or want to suggest a guest, email us at: [email protected]

Send us Fan Mail

If you have any questions, feedback, topic ideas or want to suggest a guest, email us at: [email protected]

APPLY FOR A FREE IN-DEPTH 1-ON-1 COACHING CALL WITH BENEDIKT:
https://theselfrecordingband.com/call

Download the free Ultimate 10 Step Guide To Successful DIY-Recording here: https://theselfrecordingband.com/10stepguide

Download the free Live Recording Setup Guide here:
https://theselfrecordingband.com/live-recording-setup

Join the free Facebook Group ("The Self-Recording Band Community"):
theselfrecordingband.com/community

Benedikt's voice on this episode has been recorded with the Antelope Axino Synergy Core

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November 2021 - Q&A - Part 2!

These are some of the questions and struggles from our community members that we've covered on the show:

"If I’m recording at home, my recordings end up sounding not as “full” as I’d like them to be. Is it because I struggle with using compression properly? Or is it my gear (SM57 + Scarlett interface)? Whatever it is, how do I get the most out of my recorded tracks?"

"What I’m struggling with is the final order of things. I do a static mix, then tweak till I have a better recording. But then what? The final mix-flow plan is what I'm missing. Not sure when it's ready for mastering. I just seem to keep tweaking. Never committing, knowing I can always change it."

"We are recording demos of our next album right now and for some of the songs we have our singer singing into the p.a. and then we mic the p.a.. This results in that "vocal" track being more like a room mic for the drums than the vox. Also because it's recording the speaker it’s incredibly muddy. I know you usually advise against recording vocals live, but for these demos its really helpful to know where the vocals come in and out."

"Why do you double mic the snare? I’ve done it before, but it didn't really work because i don't understand why you would double mic the snare in the first place on a fundamental level."

For full show notes go to: theselfrecordingband.com/92

If you have any questions, feedback, topic ideas or want to suggest a guest, email us at: [email protected]

Send us Fan Mail

If you have any questions, feedback, topic ideas or want to suggest a guest, email us at: [email protected]

APPLY FOR A FREE IN-DEPTH 1-ON-1 COACHING CALL WITH BENEDIKT:
https://theselfrecordingband.com/call

Download the free Ultimate 10 Step Guide To Successful DIY-Recording here: https://theselfrecordingband.com/10stepguide

Download the free Essential Gear Guide here:
https://theselfrecordingband.com/gearguide

Join the free Facebook Group ("The Self-Recording Band Community"):
theselfrecordingband.com/community

Benedikt's voice on this episode has been recorded with the Antelope Axino Synergy Core

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It's time for another Q&A episode!

These are some of the questions and struggles from our community members that we've covered on the show:

"How do you know what decisions to make after you have a basic rough mix?"

"What do you do if you have to work in an untreated room? People have traditionally said to not mix on headphones, but it’s 2021 so maybe that’s not true anymore?"

"I understand some of the basics for balance and gain staging, but I’m sure there's more than just that. I know topics such as “side chain compression” might not be the game changer for a mix, but is there something else people should consider after the balance and gain staging to really make their mix stand out?"

"How do you get the vocals to sit 'in' the mix, but also be clear? And what about the push/pull of compression vs reverb/delay and EQ (I’m using LA2A and 1176 compression as inserts, then reverb and delay as FX channels in Cubase)"

"I'm struggling with getting drum levels right, as I'm not a drummer"

"I have no idea where to start at all, when it comes to mastering. At the moment I just have a mastering vst on the stereo out." 

For full show notes go to: theselfrecordingband.com/91

If you have any questions, feedback, topic ideas or want to suggest a guest, email us at: [email protected]

Send us Fan Mail

If you have any questions, feedback, topic ideas or want to suggest a guest, email us at: [email protected]

APPLY FOR A FREE IN-DEPTH 1-ON-1 COACHING CALL WITH BENEDIKT:
https://theselfrecordingband.com/call

Download the free Ultimate 10 Step Guide To Successful DIY-Recording here: https://theselfrecordingband.com/10stepguide

Download the free Essential Gear Guide here:
https://theselfrecordingband.com/gearguide

Join the free Facebook Group ("The Self-Recording Band Community"):
theselfrecordingband.com/community

Benedikt's voice on this episode has been recorded with the Antelope Axino Synergy Core

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We love simple, classic band arrangements. Some of our favorite bands in rock and heavy music only use drums, bass, guitars and vocals and that's it...or do they really? 

Some of them, sure. But you might be surprised by how many raw and organic sounding bands are actually using additional elements, tastefully added to their arrangements, to create some extra impact, size, excitement or depth.

Then there are the ones who don't even hide it but make it part of their sound, creating a cinematic experience or just massive, larger than life productions. They hit hard and use tension and release, build-ups and breakdowns to keep listeners engaged throughout the songs.

And finally, there are people who don't want to use ready-made samples or synths, but instead create their own unique sounds and special effects, manipulate their instrument recordings in crazy ways to create unique textures or find other ways to enhance the live takes they've recorded.

At the end of the day you have to do whatever it takes to make the song feel right. To make it sound as good and exciting as it can and to get your message across. 

If you're already pulling that off perfectly with just your instruments - great! 
If you're not sure about whether you've maximized your musics potential - go listen to this episode!

For full show notes go to: theselfrecordingband.com/90

If you have any questions, feedback, topic ideas or want to suggest a guest, email us at: [email protected]

Send us Fan Mail

If you have any questions, feedback, topic ideas or want to suggest a guest, email us at: [email protected]

APPLY FOR A FREE IN-DEPTH 1-ON-1 COACHING CALL WITH BENEDIKT:
https://theselfrecordingband.com/call

Download the free Ultimate 10 Step Guide To Successful DIY-Recording here: https://theselfrecordingband.com/10stepguide

Download the free Essential Gear Guide here:
https://theselfrecordingband.com/gearguide

Join the free Facebook Group ("The Self-Recording Band Community"):
theselfrecordingband.com/community

Benedikt's voice on this episode has been recorded with the Antelope Axino Synergy Core

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Hiring amazing session musicians can take your productions to the next level or even save sessions that would otherwise lead to very poor results. 

Also, as a self-recording musician you're in a perfect spot to offer playing on other people's records! If you're a great player AND a skilled recording engineer, maybe a session musician career might be a path you'd want to explore.

Here are some of the things we cover in this episode:

• How to find PRO session musicians
• Best practices for sending them tracks
• Hiring someone to replace a band member (ouch!)
• The importance of having a clear vision 
• In person vs remote
• What to expect from session musicians
• Work for hire vs a feature
• Giving credit
• Communicating terms, expectations and boundaries in advance

For full show notes go to: theselfrecordingband.com/89

If you have any questions, feedback, topic ideas or want to suggest a guest, email us at: [email protected]

Send us Fan Mail

If you have any questions, feedback, topic ideas or want to suggest a guest, email us at: [email protected]

APPLY FOR A FREE IN-DEPTH 1-ON-1 COACHING CALL WITH BENEDIKT:
https://theselfrecordingband.com/call

Download the free Ultimate 10 Step Guide To Successful DIY-Recording here: https://theselfrecordingband.com/10stepguide

Download the free Essential Gear Guide here:
https://theselfrecordingband.com/gearguide

Join the free Facebook Group ("The Self-Recording Band Community"):
theselfrecordingband.com/community

Benedikt's voice on this episode has been recorded with the Antelope Axino Synergy Core

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I get it. You've heard countless times that you should "use your ears", and "not mix with your eyes". And it makes sense. All that matters is what comes out of the speakers.

But are you aware that this well-intended advice might actually be slowing down your progress?

In this episode we discuss why we think that it's not only perfectly fine, but actually a really good idea to use analyzers and other metering tools throughout all the different phases of music production.

We explain how we use them in our mixes, as well as as during recording and even arranging.

Listen now and learn how you can become faster and more confident in your decision making, as well as develop your ears and taste much quicker, if you start using analyzers and certain metering tools the right way. 

For full show notes go to: theselfrecordingband.com/88

If you have any questions, feedback, topic ideas or want to suggest a guest, email us at: [email protected]

Send us Fan Mail

If you have any questions, feedback, topic ideas or want to suggest a guest, email us at: [email protected]

APPLY FOR A FREE IN-DEPTH 1-ON-1 COACHING CALL WITH BENEDIKT:
https://theselfrecordingband.com

Download the free Ultimate 10 Step Guide To Successful DIY-Recording here: https://theselfrecordingband.com/10stepguide

Download the free Essential Gear Guide here:
https://theselfrecordingband.com/gearguide

Join the free Facebook Group ("The Self-Recording Band Community"):
theselfrecordingband.com/community

Benedikt's voice on this episode has been recorded with the Antelope Axino Synergy Core

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• Reason number one for doing this episode series: Malcom wanted to say "SUPER HACKS" on the show. 🤷
• Reason number two for doing this episode: There are a couple of tricks that we've discovered and learned over the years, which we would actually call "super hacks", because they are really useful, sped up our workflow, solved problems for us and increased the quality of our work. Of course we wanted to share those with you!

Part 2 is about mixing "hacks". If you find these helpful and are a sucker for hacks and tricks like we are, we might even do a third one. We'll see. (Hint: Your feedback, reviews, etc. are helpful here. ;-))

Listen now, take notes and use these super hacks in your next session!

For full show notes go to: theselfrecordingband.com/87

If you have any questions, feedback, topic ideas or want to suggest a guest, email us at: [email protected]

Send us Fan Mail

If you have any questions, feedback, topic ideas or want to suggest a guest, email us at: [email protected]