The 11,426 mile recording session - Day 44ish

This has been a busy week. I've had to squeeze recording in around work and other projects. But thanks to recording to a click track, we've been able to turn around changes to the guide track of the song in next to no time.

Two easy lessons here:

1. ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS use a click track when recording a song with someone on a different continent.  It's essential for programming drums and assembling tracks recorded separately in Protools or Cubase etc. (I know people who say it detroys the feel, but you only really get 'feel' if you're all in the same room and you can work on that in other ways).  And it makes it possible to punch in and out automatically to make changes to the track, which means you don't need five pairs of hands.

2. GET SOMETHING DOWN. Getting versions of the track recorded that you can listen to and then change/edit helps to understand how the song works.  It's a very different way of working and while it may seem a bit clinical (Record - email - edit - email etc.) it's actually organic in it's own way and has the advantage that you can keep all your ideas and versions.

So far we have done 3 complete versions of guide tracks from:
3 rough ideas tracks
2 or 3 vocals tracks with harmonies
4 complete guitar tracks (3 x electric, 1 x 12-string acoustic)
7 guitar overdubs
3 or 4 bass tracks
3 drum tracks

This is my hi-tech reverb shield for recording in a glass conservatory


Here's how it is sounding 

To me it has echoes of The Cure but that is mainly down to the guitar effect preset I chose on the desk. We'll see how it develops...

This week's task is to figure out the middle 8. (It's after the 1st chorus on the track). We've had a few goes at this and now have 5 potential options. And I've just recorded them all back-to-back on iRig on my phone to hear how they work. In 4/4 strum through these to hear the different tension they create

D C D C D Bm Bb A
D C D C D C D Bm Bb
D C D C G Bm Bb A
D C D C D Em Bb A
D C D C Em Bm Bb A

The good thing is that writing/recording this way has highlighted a weak/lazy link in the song. But it's also the first time in the project, that I've felt stuck. I've thought I need Ed here....