"jc" wrote in message
newstDYb.212157$U%5.1225630@attbi_s03...
yo,

i'm currently involved in a live recording project with a bluegrass band.
the recording turned out nicely, but now they want to overdub solos.
some
of the solos are improvised, so when i overdub the new solo, it clashes
with
the solo already in the room mics. are there any techniques for
minimizing
this problem?

jc

Ok, what I do is simply state exactly why recording live will not allow
fixing parts. They can either accept what's there, retake the whole song,
or they can add overdubs that are not taking the place of other tracks, but
they can't fix a track. Once you get them used to the idea of retaking a
track they'll be more likely to get it right the first time anyway, cutting
out a lot of retakes and frustration. Always give options and realistic
possibilities up front so they know going in. The more you give them in the
way of explanations on how mic leakage can be their friend if a take is
good, but their mortal enemy if even one instrument gets it wrong and you
try to fix it. This way, they tackle the music, not the technology. And it
allows them to schedule more time in the studio because they'll know they
are going to be going through a song several times. But even on practice
runs keep that damned recorder running.

Sorry I can't offer any concrete advice on how to fix it but that's because
it's not really fixable, just retakeable.

If they want a live sound, but still want to come back and overdub good
solos, then have them run through the song without the breaks, doing their
normal rhythm parts. The problem with this is that a lot of musicians can't
keep the count right and won't know where to come back into the song. But
at least that's fixable.

--


Roger W. Norman
SirMusic Studio