| I am doing this very thing. I've gotten started with this like 10 times in the last 5 years and never made it all the way through. One hat tries to overshadow the other hats while the other hats are trying to overshadow the first hat...if that makes any sense.
Why it rules:
1) Complete control over everything. And I get to play bass!
2) I only have to deal with one ego and its one that I'm fond of.
3) Even though everything is done in overdub, it's all coming from MY internal metronome/swing and the tracks will have an inherent groove even if I don't want them to.
Why it sucks:
1) Complete control over everything. And I have to play drums!
2) When you don't have a band to play with, the writing and arranging process is far more trial and error. You don't REALLY know what that guitar part is going to sound like until you put it on the track with the rest of the tracks. Lots of retracking and overdubbing to work out/rethink arrangement on the fly. This makes the whole process take about 4 times longer than it would if there was 4 guys in the studio. Think of it as having an entire band playing in your head, making mistakes.
3) Moving mics while you're playing is hard, and in most cases impossible. I've taken a liking to recording a minute of direct guitar, and then reamping to move the mic to the right spot. When the mic is where it should be, I plug the guitar in and play it live. With drums I like to have someone else hit them while I work on overhead positioning but alas that can't always happen.
I'll probably start a thread about my whole process soon, as a lot of the basic tracking has come together. Lots of pictures, track sheets, audio, etc.
Is it worth it? I feel like I'm making some of my best music right now and all I'm currently worried about is capturing it immediately. I will more than likely release it through a couple avenues but honestly I'll end up giving most/all of it away for free or through donations. I never intend to play any of this stuff live because I don't want to deal with being in a band anymore and I only have so many limbs. |