mmd
Senior Member
- Joined
- Sep 24, 2012
- Messages
- 2,514
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In this new "musical world" we live in it seems YouTube is almost as (if not MORE) important than doing live shows. It has been frustrating for a guy old enough to remember driving to gigs in limos (stupid but true in the late 80s/way early 90s), playing to crowds, selling music, and seeing lots of boobs....
Anyway, as the digital medium has become so incredibly accepted on a daily basis, the excuse for a band/player to NOT create content has become laughable. With a GoPro or a Smart phone, one can create usable video content that has the ability to reach FAR more people than standing on a stage and rocking out. This has been a HARD lesson to learn, but as my band tries to stay "relevant" in the age of YouTube, I have begun recording MANY aspects of what we do in order to build/maintain/excite a fan base.
Through this journey I have learned cool new ways to "produce" content. These two videos represent my latest efforts. They feature two different aspects of my band - the live experience and the studio perspective. Both are centered on me since the other guys aren't too great at recording/developing content.....
The first video is a part of a documentary on my day prepping, travelling to, and performing at the Deland Original Music Festival. I already posted the "performance" aspect of the day - but it will also be included in Part 3 of the documentary.
Funnily enough, while I was recording content for Part One, our very own Frankv and I were engaged in a text conversation regarding the details of the gig. I was hoping to have Frank travel up and check us out, hang a bit prior to our slot, and have a cool time - but, alas, the distance was just enough too great to make the journey not worthwhile on Frank's end (lol, I don't blame him - Deland is far enough away for BOTH of us!!).
Part one was shot on my cell phone. Not my ideal choice, but perfect for the quick, in the moment stuff I needed to do.....
The second video is recording based. My band is in the studio doing the tracks for our new single, "Feeling". We tracked with a click, and added the drums last. This how my drummer and I prefer to work. The reason is that a lot times when tracking together to start with the drums there is "extra" pressure and a lot people choke. Another reason is that it is easier for the drummer to accent cool parts around what the singer is doing - and he never runs over the vocal with a fill. Both Vance and I, as drummers, prefer working with a near complete track - we both play with a click anyway, so it's the best of both worlds for us.
Anyway, Friday night (1/5/18) we tracked the drums. I got them mixed and ready on Saturday - I worked through most of the early morning on the mix, and finished it up around 1pm Saturday. Upon getting the drum sound where I wanted it, I realized my guitars were "too BIG" - they ate up more frequency range than I prefer. Even though I am a guitarist, from a production stand-point I like drums to be the biggest thing, with the bass coming in at a close second. The drive of the groove is important - if people can tap their foot or nod their head to the groove life is good, lol. Because of that, I like my guitars to be a little on the "smaller" side. I tend to utilize tones in the studio that are VERY midrange focused with a slice on the high-end. I play with minimal gain while recording so the sound is clearer. I discovered LONG ago that less is more in regards to drive in the studio. Want a "fuller" tone? Reduce your gain. It DOES require better technique, but isn't that a part of we strive for???
This video was a little more produced. I had more time to stage things. I used a GoPro for video, and the audio was recorded through a ZOOM H6. I set up one of my U87 clones on a boom stand for dialogue, send it to the ZOOM for low cut and light compression, record to the SD card and then also send the signal to the GoPro via the line out.
A NEW discovery was taking the feed from my DAW and sending it to the H6/GoPro. That was pretty cool. My new interface has a ton of 1/4" outs and it has its own "mixing" software. I set up a secondary "mix" from the DAW and sent it a pair of line outs to the H6. It made for a REALLY nice sound of me tracking the guitar.....
Anyway, as the digital medium has become so incredibly accepted on a daily basis, the excuse for a band/player to NOT create content has become laughable. With a GoPro or a Smart phone, one can create usable video content that has the ability to reach FAR more people than standing on a stage and rocking out. This has been a HARD lesson to learn, but as my band tries to stay "relevant" in the age of YouTube, I have begun recording MANY aspects of what we do in order to build/maintain/excite a fan base.
Through this journey I have learned cool new ways to "produce" content. These two videos represent my latest efforts. They feature two different aspects of my band - the live experience and the studio perspective. Both are centered on me since the other guys aren't too great at recording/developing content.....
The first video is a part of a documentary on my day prepping, travelling to, and performing at the Deland Original Music Festival. I already posted the "performance" aspect of the day - but it will also be included in Part 3 of the documentary.
Funnily enough, while I was recording content for Part One, our very own Frankv and I were engaged in a text conversation regarding the details of the gig. I was hoping to have Frank travel up and check us out, hang a bit prior to our slot, and have a cool time - but, alas, the distance was just enough too great to make the journey not worthwhile on Frank's end (lol, I don't blame him - Deland is far enough away for BOTH of us!!).
Part one was shot on my cell phone. Not my ideal choice, but perfect for the quick, in the moment stuff I needed to do.....
The second video is recording based. My band is in the studio doing the tracks for our new single, "Feeling". We tracked with a click, and added the drums last. This how my drummer and I prefer to work. The reason is that a lot times when tracking together to start with the drums there is "extra" pressure and a lot people choke. Another reason is that it is easier for the drummer to accent cool parts around what the singer is doing - and he never runs over the vocal with a fill. Both Vance and I, as drummers, prefer working with a near complete track - we both play with a click anyway, so it's the best of both worlds for us.
Anyway, Friday night (1/5/18) we tracked the drums. I got them mixed and ready on Saturday - I worked through most of the early morning on the mix, and finished it up around 1pm Saturday. Upon getting the drum sound where I wanted it, I realized my guitars were "too BIG" - they ate up more frequency range than I prefer. Even though I am a guitarist, from a production stand-point I like drums to be the biggest thing, with the bass coming in at a close second. The drive of the groove is important - if people can tap their foot or nod their head to the groove life is good, lol. Because of that, I like my guitars to be a little on the "smaller" side. I tend to utilize tones in the studio that are VERY midrange focused with a slice on the high-end. I play with minimal gain while recording so the sound is clearer. I discovered LONG ago that less is more in regards to drive in the studio. Want a "fuller" tone? Reduce your gain. It DOES require better technique, but isn't that a part of we strive for???
This video was a little more produced. I had more time to stage things. I used a GoPro for video, and the audio was recorded through a ZOOM H6. I set up one of my U87 clones on a boom stand for dialogue, send it to the ZOOM for low cut and light compression, record to the SD card and then also send the signal to the GoPro via the line out.
A NEW discovery was taking the feed from my DAW and sending it to the H6/GoPro. That was pretty cool. My new interface has a ton of 1/4" outs and it has its own "mixing" software. I set up a secondary "mix" from the DAW and sent it a pair of line outs to the H6. It made for a REALLY nice sound of me tracking the guitar.....
