Jeez, I thought I was off the hook. I was pretty sure I’d talked about everything you would need to know about how to form and play in your own band. But I also said that if you had any questions, I’d be happy to answer them. Apparently I’m going to be doing this for quite some time because the letters and E-mails have been coming in like crazy.
Dear Astro Ink,
I’ve already formed a band, and your column has helped me immensely. It has saved me more than once from finding things out the hard way. A few months ago, you wrote about the differences between digital and analog recording. My band isn’t signed and would like to start recording our own demos instead of paying an arm and a leg for the pro-studio route. What is the most economical way for me to go?
– Elliot Hudson
Kanaga, Canada
Elliot,
The easiest thing to do is to record in your rehearsal room with a boombox that has a built-in mic. First, try to deaden the room by hanging up blankets (you can get ’em cheap at your local Salvation army or U-Haul place) or carpet scraps, or put mattresses up against the wall to help absorb stray sound waves. Then start experimenting with the placement of the amps and drums, and even of the boombox itself. Try recording with it in the middle of the room, near a wall, on top of something, with a blanket over it, etc. You never know; you might be able to get a decent recording this way. I’ve heard several such demos that were pretty good.
If you want to go to the next level, learn recording techniques and put together a basic system that you can build on later. Get a regular consumer-grade two-track (i.e. stereo) cassette deck and a small mixer (Mackie makes a nice one). You can start with one microphone in the middle of the room and pan it to the middle for a mono recording. Add another mic and experiment with stereo recording. Add another and devote it to vocals or drums, and then add another mic every time you get a little money. Before you know it, you’ll have a versatile little demo-recording factory.
After you get six or eight mikes (I recommend Shure SM57’s for guitars and drums and SM58’s for vocals-they’re cheap, can take a beating and are used in many professional recording studios), you can experiment with isolating the amps and drums by pointing them away from each other or building baffles (sound absorbing walls) between them. This will help you get a cleaner recording and have more control over the individual sounds of the instruments.
As you learn about EQ, recording levels and mixing straight to tape, you’ll probably want to start overdubbing. With a four-track cassette recorder (I recommend the Tascam 424), you can make a live two-track recording and then add tracks to it, such as a solo (this is very cool if you’re the only guitar player in the band) or some background vocals. You can also bounce tracks (copy multiple tracks onto one to free up tracks for additional overdubs) to add even more stuff. If you want to make the jump to digital, check out the four-track hard disk and MiniDisc recorders on the market or the modular eight-track digital recorders by Alesis and Tascam. Moving up to this level means spending more money, so see what’s right for your budget, as well as your needs.
J.,
I’ve been reading your column since day one, and I think it’s so cool that somebody is relaying the real-life shit without sugar coating it. My band’s been together for a little over a year, and we’ve played at a few parties. There’s this big “Battle of the Bands” thing coming up, and we really want to sign up for it. A few columns back you said that bands should play anywhere to get used to crowds and their reactions. So, even though we know we’re gonna get our asses kicked up around our ears by those other cool local bands, should we play anyway, just for the hell of it? What would you do?
-Matt Swift
Guitarist with NONOXYNOL-9
Merritt Island, FL
Matt,
Do it! If you really have what it takes to be in a band, you’re going to get your ass kicked (literally and figuratively) every night for many nights to come anyway, so you might as well get used to it. Practicing is good, but you can’t stay in the garage forever. How did it go when you played parties? What do your friends really think?
What I would do is sign up for the battle and start practicing every day. Also, see if you can organize a party to play at with the express purpose of warming up for the “big show.” Listen to tapes of your songs, and really think about making them the best they can be. When you play the gig, look the audience straight in the eye. Oh, and one final piece of advice: never practice the same day you’re performing. It’s bad luck.
Hi J.,
I recently purchased a video with an assortment of White Zombie concert footage on it. On one song, you place your fingers on one of the frets near the nut while you jerk on the whammy bar to produce a high-pitched squeal. I can’t figure out exactly how you do it.
– Mick Ende
Gainesville, TX
Mick,
I have to admit that I copped that trick from one of my favorite guitar players – Dimebag Darrell of Pantera. What we’re talking about here is a natural harmonic-you know, when you place a finger lightly on the strings directly over the 7th or 12th fret and strum the strings and get that chiming sound? This is essentially the same thing, only a little harder to do. You need a high-gain setup and a floating whammy bar (“floating” means you can pull the bar up as well as push it down) to really make it work. Try hitting natural harmonics on all six strings just below the 3rd fret, and then yanking the bar up and down for a rocket ship kind of sound. Then try to pick out individual pitches on the G or B strings anywhere between the 2nd and 3rd frets for that super-high-pitched squealing sound. There are lots of crazy harmonics to be found down towards the nut and they’re naturally kind of soft (i.e. hard to make happen), so it will take a little practice to get them to really pop out. Try stepping on a wah pedal for more high-end scream!
I’m all outta space, so we’ll have to finish “I Am Legend” next month. We’ll also look at some riffs you’ve asked about and answer more of your letters.
