Häxprocess: Album #2 Recording, Day 3

Today, with the drum work finalized, we listened back to all the work we'd done Friday and Saturday and spot-checked for errors in the bass and my guitar parts. Since replicating the sounds we were getting on those instruments with different mics and equipment back home would be particularly challenging, they became our final area to focus on here at Rave's. For most of the day, Richmond and I sat in the main recording area, listening back on headphones, in order to punch in fixes on the fly. Joe, Geoff, and Jeff sat in the control room with Rave to observe overall and take production notes.

The note detective process can be tedious and frustrating. In addition to having to zoom in on individual notes being played, you also have to manage a precarious balance between making necessary fixes and getting inside your own head. Live takes have such a distinct character to them, and you don't want to lose the human element in your record. You run the risk of lobotomizing your tracks if you make them too perfect. But, of course, the perfectionist in each of us wants every element of our individual parts to be completely professional and without error!

We started the day listening to the big epic numbers, since they contain some of the most complicated sections. Following that, we took a break to get some drum samples for later editing and production. Joe sampled each one of his drums (including each of the 5 total snare drums he used during different songs over the weekend) so that we can use them for any necessary edits later in the production process.

After a minor heart attack where we thought we'd lost an entire song file (!!!), we packed Joe into his car to head home (he has an early start for work tomorrow), then dove back into the final tracks.

Not all of you will care, but what follows are notes I was taking for my own sake during the production work we did today. Instead of deleting them, here they are, preserved for posterity:

"Timepiece Creator," Part 1 -- several minor bass correction
"Timepiece Creator," Part 2 -- bass correction on the final note to fix a crackle, cleaned up a transition lick, addressed a questionable note
"Timepiece Creator," Part 3a -- re-addressed some of the bass passages on the verses
"Timepiece Creator," Part 3b -- pure awesome, no changes needed
5/4 Monster ("The First Song") Part 1 -- spliced a couple of different takes to get the sustained forward momentum we wanted, and added a sweet bass slide
5/4 Monster Part 2 -- fixed one guitar chord, a few crackles in the bass, and re-tuned a couple notes
5/4 Monster Part 3 -- fixed a few bass notes, added a second sweet bass slide for symmetry
"Embers" -- reworked the first verse on the guitar, and eliminated one noisy crackle on the bass
"Forevermore" -- corrected the pitch on several slightly out-of-tune notes on the bass; lead part, chorus 2
"Robot Death" -- to be addressed later
"Sparks in the Mind (You Wasted Life)" -- bass: a few riff adjustments; guitar 2: first chorus hiccup; second chorus hiccup; bridge hiccup; intro/interlude riff
"Star in the Eye" -- guitar 2 parts will most likely be replaced with acoustic at home; bass is good to go

With our edits completed, we packed the gear while Rave began exporting the files to take home. Homeward bound, we are listening to Kansas, breathing another sigh of relief that Rave found the WAV files for "Embers," and talking guitar tones.

We can't wait to get this album finished and into your hands!

Final quotables:

"Match that same level of depressiveness." - Rave

"Oh, no -- I'm drinking decaf." - Geoff

"Hooray for subtle mistakes." - Richmond

"A drum well-done." - Joe

Scenes from our auditory escapades today: