Balancing studio perfection with live energy: Are you struggling to find the right mix for your music career?

My experience, as both a record producer and artist has given me perspective on both sides. Not just as a performer who's coming into the studio to make a record, but also as a producer who knows what it takes sonically, and a studio pro who, many times has to perform the parts that the artist/band can not. That being said, when applicable, live takes on "scratch tracks" is a great way to capture the organic feel.. as long as your rhythm section has good timing ie playing to a click you should be good to go. This can also be a sticking point as well.. If there is inconsistency , you simply cannot build on it. It can be summed up with one word.. musicianship. Great musicians know how to bring the energy and feel.

In my experience the best recording is with a full band in the studio playing together, the chemistry and feelings can't be replaced by anything. This is music. It is hard to bring full potential to the final song if we are recording band members separately, not feeling, chemistry and energy. From the recording point process it is similar if we record full band or single instruments, this will not degrade the quality of final sonics, but can have huge impact of band members performance. After all, nothing like a group of people performing in unity. Sometimes it can't be done , we just need our best to bring this feeling to life and hope for the best

As a live and studio musician, taking the live element into the studio is a great aim. When playing live, you have one chance in front of that audience to give your best performance. It's easy to become lazy in a studio environment and use unlimited tracks as a safety net. I love editing and comping. Don't get me wrong, but there is nothing like capturing a great emotional performance.

My two major skill sets, string performance and production, help me thrive in an environment with a lot of competition. As for perfectionism, I think there are some things that are general non-negotiables as a string player: out-of-tune or out-of-time playing. My personal non-negotiables in production are phasing issues, harshness, bad mixing. Usually deadlines preclude too much perfectionism, so I try to get the perfection out of the way up front with in-time and in-tune playing, having a template helps streamline production. Finally, learn the difference between excellence and anxiety. Excellence pushes you, then stands back with pride when you feel that magic moment when things are done. If you don't experience that, maybe it's anxiety.

Adding to the conversation a discussion about mastering: for most radio tracks we are slamming everything with so much compression that we lose dynamic range. On one hand, people are listening in the car and in places with loud surroundings, so boxing out the track might be to keep the listening experience consistent. However, I love the "lean in" feeling while listening to live music; I find we're losing dynamic range with our current mixing/mastering style. I try to balance the feeling of live music by adding graded dynamic range. I love the feeling of tension & release, of building intensity beyond rhythmic anticipation of drops using risers. Thankfully "LUFS" is a common term now and most music software allows for quick adjustments.)

I agree with this. Most creative people are highly emotional, which can be both a strength and a weakness. I think the way to capitalize on an emotional performance is in all the hours, days, and years of practice and preparation. The most emotional take is often the first, where you're fishing for parts and performance. However, if you don't build muscle memory through technical practice, you won't get the desired result. Another tip if the first take is not the one is to try to limit the number of takes. Three is a good number. A little pressure is a good thing.

Never trust technology, no matter how small or advanced it is, always will make problems. I never use auto tunes, quantize or try to fix in a mix. Organic sound this what is all about, not artificial robotic lifeless sounds. No song is perfect , but these imperfections are all about art. Try to keep to the minimum all digital fixing processes in your music, if you can hit the note, move to key lower , stay in your vocal range to give best performance and final output without artifact. Try to tune your sound before recording by using compression, equalizer, pedals, after recording your song will be ready in 80% ,rest is just level up instruments and volume , use to minimum digital processing. Keep simple and creative and yet achieve goal

From an audience perspective they like what you play on the show. To give them the best experience , why not record live shows and put on sale, or comeback to the studio and do a live version of your album. Nothing can replace this experience. Just jump to the studio with your band and bring your stage performance to life. Don't worry about any technical concerns, just perform your music and capture this magical feeling of playing with your band. Even if you don't mix after recording, tune your band beforehand and do your best live album yet. Your fans will be great full

Always bring your own ideas to creativity, recording and mixing stage. Don't put yourself in the box , there is not one principal to achieve all goals. Be bold and trust yourself in the process, be the leader, not follower. Experiment, have fun, study your own work and process, develop your craft in any area you think is good for yourself. Don't listen to many people, anyone has a different approach and idea. Stick with people which inspire you and support you in the process.take only part of advice which you think is good for you and twist to your own advantage . Keep an open mind and be innovative,

In studio is where the magic is created organically from within, On stage is where the magic happens. Both are very important, both touch lives by way of frequencies, and vibrations.