On the Spot
Everyone knows I like to record pretty much any performance of any group in which I play. Sometimes, this means I’m sitting in front of the computer working on the recording. By the end of working on the recording, I might be tired of it and not listen to it much. But, I always think, “I’ll be glad I recorded this years from now when I can go back and listen to it again.” Turns out, that’s pretty true. Several times, I’ve pulled out recordings of bands I played with in college and enjoyed listening again (even if my recordings were pretty awful back then).
These days, I’m pretty particular about recordings, so it means I multi-track everything and spend an hour or two mixing & mastering. In my quest to have more free time in my life, I’ve been trying to think of how I can avoid all this time mixing recordings. So, I’m challenging myself.
The new plan is to record everything through a mixer and get a good stereo recording on the spot. It’s interesting because I’m also playing at the same time. But, after a couple of weeks of doing this, my recordings are starting to turn out fairly well. It’s basically just a process of training my ears to learn what a good recording is going to sound like through my in ear monitors. I don’t think they’ll ever be perfect recordings, but if I can leave the performance with a solid recording and not have to do much else to it, I’ll be happy.
This isn’t anything new. Lots of bands that allow fans to tape their concerts, or bands that sell live recordings on their websites have someone that does this for them. They will mix the concert on the spot and get very good recordings. The Dave Matthews Band & Phish used to do this. Umphrey’s McGee does this now. Before the days of multi-track recordings, it was the only way to capture a live recording. The only spin that I put on this idea is that I’m actually one of the musicians as well! I guess I’ve always enjoyed multitasking.
