So in the past we have done a few cheeky ‘How Tos’ on home recording/ DIY/ Bedroom recording, including (but not limited to) How to Make A Record in Your Own DIY Studio and How to Sample and Remix Legally, but that’s just cause there’s just so much to learn.
From equipment set up, to songwriting, to post production equipment, to mastering and mixing so much goes into making a release, even one done at home in your humble bedroom. That’s why we thought it necessary to chat with local indie rockers Wild Honey who recently unleashed their killer self-titled debut EP which was recoded in a bedroom in their home suburb of Bondi.
Having already garnered a bit of love for their sunny EP including triple j accolades and I Oh You shout-outs the guys took some time out to give us a few important tips they’ve learnt on DIY recording for the first time.
Ebay is a dangerous world
Once you’ve bought and installed your software such as Logic or ProTools, at the very least you will still need to find an interface, microphones, stands, cables etc. Enter Ebay.com, the gear treasure trove aka money pit.
All of a sudden you’ve got 30 tabs up in the one window; comparing one small diaphragm condenser microphone to a dozen others, negotiating with a bible belt church in the states over the price of a pair of Joly Modded Russian Oktava MK-012’s, and wondering whether your cables from Zhejiang Province are gonna make the grade. And that’s just the beginning… Both money and time can disappear in hefty amounts.
The bedroom studio is open 24/7
This isn’t going to be a 9-5 type scenario. Your girlfriend’s not going to be stoked on coming home from work to listen to you recording and re-recording that guitar solo forty times. Neither will your neighbour, who winds up knowing the words to your songs better than you. However, this is the true advantage of recording at home as opposed to a big shot recording studio.
There’s no pressure to get things done in a narrow time window, no engineer or producer on the clock, whose worked the last twenty days straight across a few different projects and at times seems to lose track of whether he’s working with a rock band, an up and coming aussie rapper, or an advertising agency doing a sound-a-like for a brand of dog food. Just like any other bedroom around the world, once you close your door, it’s up to you how you spend time on your tunes.
Mates are your new A&R (Artist and Repertoire)
Your friends are your best bet to help choose the best songs to record and let you know if you’ve managed to capture the vibe of the song in a recording. Play new songs that you’re working on to a bunch of mates whose taste you respect. Most of the time, there’s a connection in the songs you both like.
Sometimes you’ll dodge a bullet thanks to some clever buddy who recognises a melody you’ve pinched from another song already out there. Generally, if their foot begins to tap or the head nod, you know you’re onto something good. On the other hand, if you find yourself trying to explain or rationalise the song, your recording is probably not hitting the nail on the head just yet…
Aim high, but don’t lower yourself to making irrational comparisons
If this is your first foray into the world of music production, it’s probably not going to sound like The Beatles and George Martin at Abbey Rd, or Nirvana and Butch Vig at Sound City Studios. It’s definitely motivating to use such examples as references and inspiration for your recordings, but don’t waste too much time bumming yourself out comparing your first humble bedroom recordings to these opus’.
It’s not 1966 or 1991, it’s 2015 and you gotta get this done the best you can with the resources at your disposal. Interestingly, how many times have you read about a band preferring their demos for the album recorded at home, opposed to the final studio versions.
Know when to play, and when to walk away
[include_post id=”415323″]Every song goes through its own distinct creative evolution. Some arrive fully formed, falling in your lap complete with words and music. On the other hand, a melody or riff will sit around for months (even years) before the words to match turn up. Recording at home and self-producing your work, allows you to document this evolution.
However, in moving forwards you should try to make sure you can return to a previous stage at any time. Each time you make a significant change to the song, just save the session as a new file.
There is a risk with reworking older ideas and songs, that you may stray from what was exciting and unique about the idea to begin with. That said, there doesn’t seem to be any firm rule with revisions, sometimes the first incarnation of a song is the best, sometimes the twenty-seventh version is the winner.
Gotta keep those lovin’ good vibrations a happening’
The most critical, pivotal, deciding influence on the life or death of your recording, is whether you manage to capture the essence, the all important ‘vibe’ of the song.
This can mean tracking that sad ballad about that cheating ex in the early hours of the morning, or recording that bouncy percussion track just before you head out with the new luscious and (seemingly) incorruptible girlfriend.
Without vibe a song is just a bunch of words in a framework of notes set against a progression of chords. Add vibe, and suddenly you’ve got a newly discovered mantra, an up to the minute anthem ready for transmission across the airwaves.
Wild Honey’s self-titled debut is out now via Bandcamp
