Extremely important and certainly should be discussed more. So many people just walk in and hit record. No mic shootouts, no testing of different placements, no rhyme or reason for the musicians and/or singers they choose. All these things compound into tons of editing and still not having something easy to mix. Bravo.
Yes, absolutely - more about the industry and how its processes work would be fabulous. There are a zillion reviews of gear (and I love that stuff) but far fewer videos that help those of us getting into this as a possible business. Sitting on the outside, I hadn't realized that to run a studio effectively you need to be able to produce, have session player contacts, be able to play on tracks sometimes, and a host of other things that I'm learning from watching your videos. Thanks for the education Jeremy!
I have been recording and producing records for 21 years and the moment to switch my focus from gear and ideal locations to good musicians, good arrangements, and great lyrics took me to the next level.
Power of life is in the tongue- I totally understand branding, and all that.. but I think you should be called “ Recording Studio Genius!! I think you’re absolutely wonderful! God bless you and your work! 🙏🏼🐊💥🇺🇸💥
Yes! Yes I'm interested in these topics as it helps me as a beginner in mixing and mastering my own music and wanting to move into mixing and mastering others as well. Sooo...please don't stop making these topical videos.
As someone who is in the process of opening his own studio, I'd love to hear other's take on when and how you go about finding the right outside players for the job. So...emphatically YES!! More of this type of content please!
So So True. With all the moving parts during a session, it is so so easy to loss focus on the big picture and get dragged into the items that only make up a few percentage of the project. Always eye opening content.
great video. I'm finally getting my studio business off the ground and this year is the first year it became my main source of income. I never thought about how much time I'm taking to play all the instruments myself, but you're right. it would be cheaper and quicker, and better to hire session musicians who specialize and aren't so zoomed in. thanks for this!
Yes! More of this, please! I recently moved out to Los Angeles and shocked at the dearth of studios of the past. They are all closing down, the Record Plant the most recent one. Like your studio, these were the ones that required the proper space, performances, arrangements, and gear to produce top-grade music. However, not all of them are gone. There are still some around. Mostly, the dozens and dozens of studios of LA today have only a vocal iso booth because they only produce "hyper-pop" songs. I've made contact with sessions players here and my fantasy is to assemble a new "Wrecking Crew", to keep the old way alive. I'd love to hear about your experience and your thoughts on this. How do you structure this?
Yes!! This is also why i left LA, I’m in Portland now and it’s so lush with live music. I was walking around town with a friend putting up flyers for my studio and him for band mates. We came across 2 live shows playing DURING THE AFTERNOON. And people showed up for it. It’s a massively different vibe than LA where i feel like it’s all about making music for an audience than for yourself. It’s too business like and not enough art. I got into this industry to capture moments in time not construct something someone else will like.
Loved the content. Great players make everything easier from Getting It Right at the Source to Balancing faders when starting the mix. Push the faders & already sounds like a record. That’s what great players give you.
I'm a sax player with decades of experience and training, excellent sightreader, etc. Nothing makes my life easier in the studio than well written charts. If it's just me or if I'm a part of a horn section, taking the time to learn licks by ear, and then harmonize or arrange is a waste of everybody's time. The more prep work done before the session, the better. Like you say, the money and effort invested up front makes for a MUCH better result and that homework pays for itself on the back end.
I grew up in LA back in the day when the studio were all busy and studio musicians were the big dogs of music. Back then you'd talk to young musician they either wanted to be a Rock star or a studio musician. I was also interested in audio and got a job in a studio and one of the regular clients was a major jingle house in Texas. I had seen pictures of the jingle house's Texas studio and they had amazing gear and facilities so I wondered with that great studio why do they come to LA to record. It was for the LA studio musicians and singers. They said there are good studio musicians in Texas, but they can't work as fast to get the same results and time is money. They would come to LA for two days and day one would studio musician some were part of the Wrecking Crew of LA cats. They would lay down the full length version of the jingle in one or two takes then the producer would give them instructions on where to jump around the chart and make the shorter versions of the jingle. Boom, boom, boom, they'd track a stack of jingles and usually be done in the afternoon. After we'd sit with the producer and make the master reel of takes to use the next day. Day two the studio singer would show up. They'd nail the part, but then have to sing the jingle hook with a radio station call letters. They would have long lists of radio station ID's to sing. Then on to another jingle and so on. Two days and they tracked and put vocals on multiple jingles with long lists of station IDs. Then the producer would take his tapes and head back to their Texas studio to mix, package, and distribute to their clients all over the country. So yes using good studio musician saves time and money especially when they all recorded with each other before.
I spent 13 years as an engineer at a commercial studio. Performance almost always trumps everything. When you have a song with a good arrangement and a good performance all we have to do is stay out of the way.
@@RecordingStudioLoser ways to find the right people, things to look for with the right people, etc. I could make a detailed list of all of these too, I’m just curious about what you do :). I got talented folks rn I could call up if I need something done, but a band/group that plays together and stuff is even better. Assembling a group where the personalities will mesh is probably where I’d fail 😂. Also curious how much it costs to do have the musicians in. If assume 500 to 1k for a couple of hours of their time. Personally I don’t have projects with budgets at that scale (where I’d still be able to get paid a fair amount of money).
@@RecordingStudioLoser ok that’s pretty cheap compared to people I know and what they charge (then again LA pricing 😂)! Still costs in that time are about what I was thinking. I gotta scope out my new city more and see the rates. All the session players I know aren’t local (well I know a couple but not enough for a group).
Hi Jeremy, Awesome video! Thank you. When I was watching this I was thinking about the flip-side to this. A lot of people record bands or are recording their own band (I've done both in the past) and what really matters is the arrangement! If the songs are really worked on and practiced a lot before the recording session then it usuallly sounds better, takes less time and is easier to mix. I don't know how many bands you get where there's no session players but it'd be interesting to hear your thoughts on this.
For sure. With bands they can end up with demo-itis a lot. So any change from the band or me is often met with pushback because “that’s how we do it” and not -that’s what’s best for the song. This was just the easiest way to demonstrate that idea at the time. Some bands do a fantastic job of arranging. Some are an exercise in what not to do.
Never commented on a video of yours, but I would be completely into building and maintaining a team of players that you can reliably come back to for new songs/albums. I'm currently working for a studio owner who writes his own songs, but has me take his barebones demos, recorded off of his phone, and turn them into fully arranged and produced songs. Currently, I am the main engineer, arranger, producer, performer(vocals and guitar). Doing it alone is tiring and you can certainly fall into little rabbit holes of things that don't matter as much as big picture stuff. I'm rambling. Please do make the content you're thinking about. I find that if you do the work that you're more engaged in, it tends to show. You may lose the crowd of "mixing tips and tricks", but you'll gain more loyal followers who don't have many more places to go to find this kind of content. Love your videos either way. Cheers
that music is awesome, where can i buy it..? I think we hit a sweet spot in the control when while one is tracking a session and feeling the benevolence of hearing an amazing piece unfold realtime and I feel almost guilty for being the only one witnessing it like that.... Live takes of epic musicians +++
Hire session players? That's a good luxury to have. As a drummer dabbling into recording, I can't find musicians locally who are into a similar style of music, let alone want to collaborate. I know many that want to get together and learn a bunch of covers and play out, but forget getting creative and creating together.
I have that exact same problem. I simply do everything myself, including releases, so that I don’t end up with hundreds of unreleased songs on a hard drive somewhere. Music must be out there, not forgotten. But it’s funny how nobody wants to cowrite and be creative together. Coverbands are plenty! I never understood why it’s only fun to play other people’s songs!
![Seungmin "그렇게, 천천히, 우리(As we are)" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/kAzmhLHePqU/mqdefault.jpg)
Extremely important and certainly should be discussed more. So many people just walk in and hit record. No mic shootouts, no testing of different placements, no rhyme or reason for the musicians and/or singers they choose. All these things compound into tons of editing and still not having something easy to mix.
Bravo.
So so true. If you capture a fantastic performance, that is the mix and we just have to level it.
👆🤌🤌
Yes, absolutely - more about the industry and how its processes work would be fabulous. There are a zillion reviews of gear (and I love that stuff) but far fewer videos that help those of us getting into this as a possible business. Sitting on the outside, I hadn't realized that to run a studio effectively you need to be able to produce, have session player contacts, be able to play on tracks sometimes, and a host of other things that I'm learning from watching your videos. Thanks for the education Jeremy!
I have been recording and producing records for 21 years and the moment to switch my focus from gear and ideal locations to good musicians, good arrangements, and great lyrics took me to the next level.
Power of life is in the tongue- I totally understand branding, and all that.. but I think you should be called “ Recording Studio Genius!! I think you’re absolutely wonderful! God bless you and your work! 🙏🏼🐊💥🇺🇸💥
Haha. I don’t know ifninagree with the name change. But I can get behind the rest. 😂 💪
Yes, more! Your take on this situation was helpful, and a good reminder that nothing replaces good session people.
Absolutely!!
Yes! Yes I'm interested in these topics as it helps me as a beginner in mixing and mastering my own music and wanting to move into mixing and mastering others as well. Sooo...please don't stop making these topical videos.
Top musician w/top gear = killer source material ----- > fast, solid mixes
As someone who is in the process of opening his own studio, I'd love to hear other's take on when and how you go about finding the right outside players for the job. So...emphatically YES!! More of this type of content please!
So So True. With all the moving parts during a session, it is so so easy to loss focus on the big picture and get dragged into the items that only make up a few percentage of the project. Always eye opening content.
Would love more videos of this kind.
same
i got some work to do
great video. I'm finally getting my studio business off the ground and this year is the first year it became my main source of income. I never thought about how much time I'm taking to play all the instruments myself, but you're right. it would be cheaper and quicker, and better to hire session musicians who specialize and aren't so zoomed in. thanks for this!
Yes! More of this, please! I recently moved out to Los Angeles and shocked at the dearth of studios of the past. They are all closing down, the Record Plant the most recent one. Like your studio, these were the ones that required the proper space, performances, arrangements, and gear to produce top-grade music. However, not all of them are gone. There are still some around. Mostly, the dozens and dozens of studios of LA today have only a vocal iso booth because they only produce "hyper-pop" songs. I've made contact with sessions players here and my fantasy is to assemble a new "Wrecking Crew", to keep the old way alive. I'd love to hear about your experience and your thoughts on this. How do you structure this?
Yes!! This is also why i left LA, I’m in Portland now and it’s so lush with live music. I was walking around town with a friend putting up flyers for my studio and him for band mates. We came across 2 live shows playing DURING THE AFTERNOON. And people showed up for it. It’s a massively different vibe than LA where i feel like it’s all about making music for an audience than for yourself. It’s too business like and not enough art. I got into this industry to capture moments in time not construct something someone else will like.
What a blast from the past! Love it and love the retrospective insight.
Right?! Still slaps!
Loved the content. Great players make everything easier from Getting It Right at the Source to Balancing faders when starting the mix. Push the faders & already sounds like a record. That’s what great players give you.
The human aspect of it all is always welcome! Thanks for your insights :)
I am so glad I'm not the only one who thinks like this!
I'm a sax player with decades of experience and training, excellent sightreader, etc. Nothing makes my life easier in the studio than well written charts. If it's just me or if I'm a part of a horn section, taking the time to learn licks by ear, and then harmonize or arrange is a waste of everybody's time. The more prep work done before the session, the better. Like you say, the money and effort invested up front makes for a MUCH better result and that homework pays for itself on the back end.
I grew up in LA back in the day when the studio were all busy and studio musicians were the big dogs of music. Back then you'd talk to young musician they either wanted to be a Rock star or a studio musician. I was also interested in audio and got a job in a studio and one of the regular clients was a major jingle house in Texas. I had seen pictures of the jingle house's Texas studio and they had amazing gear and facilities so I wondered with that great studio why do they come to LA to record. It was for the LA studio musicians and singers. They said there are good studio musicians in Texas, but they can't work as fast to get the same results and time is money. They would come to LA for two days and day one would studio musician some were part of the Wrecking Crew of LA cats. They would lay down the full length version of the jingle in one or two takes then the producer would give them instructions on where to jump around the chart and make the shorter versions of the jingle. Boom, boom, boom, they'd track a stack of jingles and usually be done in the afternoon. After we'd sit with the producer and make the master reel of takes to use the next day. Day two the studio singer would show up. They'd nail the part, but then have to sing the jingle hook with a radio station call letters. They would have long lists of radio station ID's to sing. Then on to another jingle and so on. Two days and they tracked and put vocals on multiple jingles with long lists of station IDs. Then the producer would take his tapes and head back to their Texas studio to mix, package, and distribute to their clients all over the country. So yes using good studio musician saves time and money especially when they all recorded with each other before.
I love how we're the only ones who still call them "records"
showing our age i guess haha
Good video! Just keep going with these kind of videos too
I spent 13 years as an engineer at a commercial studio. Performance almost always trumps everything.
When you have a song with a good arrangement and a good performance all we have to do is stay out of the way.
Definitely wanna learn how to build a team like that! I got some go to people but not a crew that could play live in a room together.
i have to thinking about how to put a video together bout it
@@RecordingStudioLoser ways to find the right people, things to look for with the right people, etc. I could make a detailed list of all of these too, I’m just curious about what you do :).
I got talented folks rn I could call up if I need something done, but a band/group that plays together and stuff is even better. Assembling a group where the personalities will mesh is probably where I’d fail 😂. Also curious how much it costs to do have the musicians in. If assume 500 to 1k for a couple of hours of their time. Personally I don’t have projects with budgets at that scale (where I’d still be able to get paid a fair amount of money).
It’s about 800-1k for 4 players for a full 8hrs
@@RecordingStudioLoser ok that’s pretty cheap compared to people I know and what they charge (then again LA pricing 😂)! Still costs in that time are about what I was thinking. I gotta scope out my new city more and see the rates. All the session players I know aren’t local (well I know a couple but not enough for a group).
Great video, thanks and yes, I'm interested in what you're talking about here. BTW - You're looking good bro.
Thanks man. Putting in some work. Getting there.
Hi Jeremy,
Awesome video! Thank you. When I was watching this I was thinking about the flip-side to this. A lot of people record bands or are recording their own band (I've done both in the past) and what really matters is the arrangement!
If the songs are really worked on and practiced a lot before the recording session then it usuallly sounds better, takes less time and is easier to mix.
I don't know how many bands you get where there's no session players but it'd be interesting to hear your thoughts on this.
For sure. With bands they can end up with demo-itis a lot. So any change from the band or me is often met with pushback because “that’s how we do it” and not -that’s what’s best for the song.
This was just the easiest way to demonstrate that idea at the time.
Some bands do a fantastic job of arranging. Some are an exercise in what not to do.
Session players tend to do this more easily. Because there’s no ego involved. It’s most often just the goal of making the coolest music.
Never commented on a video of yours, but I would be completely into building and maintaining a team of players that you can reliably come back to for new songs/albums. I'm currently working for a studio owner who writes his own songs, but has me take his barebones demos, recorded off of his phone, and turn them into fully arranged and produced songs. Currently, I am the main engineer, arranger, producer, performer(vocals and guitar). Doing it alone is tiring and you can certainly fall into little rabbit holes of things that don't matter as much as big picture stuff.
I'm rambling.
Please do make the content you're thinking about. I find that if you do the work that you're more engaged in, it tends to show. You may lose the crowd of "mixing tips and tricks", but you'll gain more loyal followers who don't have many more places to go to find this kind of content.
Love your videos either way. Cheers
I would love to hear how to build a team of musicians for sessions.
Players > Gear. All day every day. 🏆
Great musicians will always outshine expensive recording gear!
Would love to go down the rabbit hole.
that music is awesome, where can i buy it..? I think we hit a sweet spot in the control when while one is tracking a session and feeling the benevolence of hearing an amazing piece unfold realtime and I feel almost guilty for being the only one witnessing it like that.... Live takes of epic musicians +++
It’s not out yet. I’ll update when it is
I would love to hear how you build a team - espicaly if you live in the middle of nowhere! Also what do you pay them? That would be very helpful!
Hire session players? That's a good luxury to have. As a drummer dabbling into recording, I can't find musicians locally who are into a similar style of music, let alone want to collaborate. I know many that want to get together and learn a bunch of covers and play out, but forget getting creative and creating together.
What kinds of music are you interested in making?
I have that exact same problem. I simply do everything myself, including releases, so that I don’t end up with hundreds of unreleased songs on a hard drive somewhere. Music must be out there, not forgotten. But it’s funny how nobody wants to cowrite and be creative together. Coverbands are plenty! I never understood why it’s only fun to play other people’s songs!
Yep same here. Blues rock or Top 40 is what bands do round my way. So I work remote with some great session guys. I can’t even hold a drum stick :-)
@@AndersJensenthreeonthego I wish I could play guitar well but it's too late in life fore me to go there. Lol.
@@stuperprohero have you tried Rick Beato and his guitar lessons? Find him here on RUclips! He is really, really good!
Great content
thanks for sharing the journey .
Is this song / album available for purchase ?
Not yet! But I’ll update when it is
This could have been a 5 minute video, but yeah agree on all points.
yes, you can only talk about gear so much. This is a good topic to change things up a bit.
I can't afford to hire a session player.
Wearing Bluetooths and your door dude… wd40 lmao 😂
I’m building a team like this as well… I think it’s critical. I could even lay out why. Hope you’re doing well friend! Stay in touch!
Garbage in garbage out. And the opposite is true as you said....