Have You Ever Recorded an Original Over and Over Again for More than Ten Years?

[dhdfoster]

This is probably the more creative or songwriter oriented aspect of recording, but I’m curious if anyone shares this experience. I wrote a song over ten years ago. With each new equipment upgrade or new recording setup, I try recording it again I’ve never once been happy with it. I’ve tried different tempos, keys, arrangements, feels, guitar tones, drum beats, etc. I think it’s a good song, but I’ve never been able to get a clear-cut idea of what it's supposed to sound like. I don’t have this issue with my other tunes, as I usually think I know what they are supposed to *be”.

Anyone else? I'm curious how you approach a song that you feel you could present in many different ways.

[Scott Whigham]

Oooooooooooh this is a topic I can relate to Usually for me I have an opposite issue in that the song sounds good in a many tempos, arrangements, etc and I have to just sort of say, "Okay - this month/year/week I'm going to do this track at 99bpm in a blues/funky vibe but without the wah pedal." I'm fairly ADHD so having options, options, options is a distraction and definitely keeps me from recording more than I otherwise would, I think. Add that to being a perfectionist and I just plain suck at releasing. I'm good at recording but not at releasing lol.

[KCWM]

I run into the same thing. I've lost some of the recordings over the years, but I do think it's interesting to go back and listen to different recordings of a song over the years to see it's growth. If I were to ever release something and got fans, I'd love to include a "timeline" of the songs I have to show the growth, hiccups, and writing process.

I'm definitely guilty of this and Scott summed it up well for me.

[LSchefman]

>>I try recording it again I’ve never once been happy with it.<<

If you've tried lots of things and still aren't happy, and it's been ten years, that kind of tells you something. Either the song isn't that good, or for whatever reason, you can't make it work for you. Walk away from it.

I speak as a guy who's been writing music for ads for the last 20 years. With my stuff, if it isn't working within a short time, I figure maybe it's not that good in the first place. A good piece is often workable and fine in several different arrangements. If I can't make a piece shine after trying a few arrangements, forget it. It's never going to work for me. And I move on.

There are also pieces of music that for various reasons aren't right for me, but might be right for someone else.

[Deville2Rocket]

Have someone else sing it. I wrote a song a couple of months ago, and it needed an R&B feel. I loved the rhythm track, but my very white voice just didn't fit. It was like listening to Ben Folds sing an Usher song.
At first, I was disappointed. But then I thought about it for a bit, and came to the conclusion that my songwriting abilities have extended beyond John Mayer style ballads, blues and country. So now, I'm kinda proud of it. I just need to find a singer who can deliver the soul the song needs.
Good luck!

[CharAznable]

Yes, I've definitely done this. With pretty much any upgrade.

[KCWM]

Originally Posted by LSchefman

>>I try recording it again I’ve never once been happy with it.<<

If you've tried lots of things and still aren't happy, and it's been ten years, that kind of tells you something. Either the song isn't that good, or for whatever reason, you can't make it work for you. Walk away from it.

I speak as a guy who's been writing music for ads for the last 20 years. With my stuff, if it isn't working within a short time, I figure maybe it's not that good in the first place. A good piece is often workable and fine in several different arrangements. If I can't make a piece shine after trying a few arrangements, forget it. It's never going to work for me. And I move on.

There are also pieces of music that for various reasons aren't right for me, but might be right for someone else.

For me, it's a matter of gear. First I was recording with a Squier strat into a peavey something or another. Then I moved to a half stack. Then I got an SM57. Etc and so on. I've always felt somewhat limited by either recording or musical gear. Not that I have top of the line stuff now, but I have the ability to get something I think would be worth releasing.

Then again, I record "songs" as part of my practice and songwriting process, so that's also why I have so many recordings. That being said, I definitely get the point and have jettisoned a fair number of songs via this process.

[Deville2Rocket]

Some of it also comes from recognizing how you've improved as a recording engineer/producer.
I have a few songs from 10 years ago that I just wish I could remix or remaster (alas, the tracks have been lost), because I have gotten a lot better since I first got started. Some of my early work is brickwalled, and just seems to have too many effects. Only in the last couple of years have I developed more of an ear for mixing and mastering.

[dhdfoster]

Glad to see I'm not the only one. I probably shouldn't have said I was never happy with the song. I'm probably more like Scott mentioned. I'll record it, be okay with it, and then later listen to it and think it's too "rock" or too slow, or too folky, or too something or other. I've thought about giving up on it, but it's fun to redo it every couple years and see how it's evolved.

[RocksOff]

I just finished a song with my current group that has been through 3 bands and 10 years. It's just now right. Sometimes it just takes the right guys and the right mindset to make it happen. It's a kick ass song if I do say so myself.

[kenneth]

I generally struggle in the arrangement, progression, and feel of the song, before i get to issues with the gear. Once I am happy with the general arrangement and feel (which, yeah, never happens for a lot of "ideas"), then the gear part has not not been too much of a barrier. So far.

It takes time, but if the feel of the song is right, generally, my experience has been that I can find a combination of gear that generally works.

Although, yeah, I could always continue to work to make it sound better, but I honestly achieve most satisfaction/enjoyment from the songwriting part of the process.

[Dickie Fredericks]

Yes. I swear I have a track on the CD thats coming out that was recorded 10 years ago.

I dont mean track as in song. I mean a single track within a song.

[Nelson89]

Originally Posted by Dickie Fredericks

Yes. I swear I have a track on the CD thats coming out that was recorded 10 years ago.

I dont mean track as in song. I mean a single track within a song.

haha....i got this one song on the radio about a year ago, some unsigned bands thingo, anyway, it was a song i did with my band like 4 years ago and i just pulled the backing vocals from that session and like completely rearranged the song from like classic rock to alternative rock. Everything was different except for some of the backing vocals that i just put in there cause it was still the same tempo...in fact i only stopped working on that track like 6 months ago. Part of it was to do with gear upgrades, other parts were me getting better at certain instruments (like playing the bass guitar for example).

[CharAznable]

A big difference:
Ten years ago, I could only record direct with a J-Station.

Now I can crank amps and record them.

[harvestmark]

I've seen this too often. I agree with the post from Les Schefman. Walk away from it, let it go. Don't keep re-recording something. It's not going to be better; just different. Or, hire a pro to record your song and let him/her bring a professional touch and contemporary arrangement to it. At least then, you'll know you've given it your best shot. If you're doing this on your own, don't.

Mark Miller