Lee Bridges is one of my favorite people in the world. We learned to play music together in high school and i dont think we ever imagined that we would end up making a living from it.
Lee’s mixing credits include Phil Whickham, Paul Baloche, Bebo Norman, India Arie and many more. His engineering credits include Mercyme, Superchick, Natalie Grant and tons of other top CCM artists. As you can tell from this list, he is one of the most talented young guys in Nashville. I’m honored to have him as a friend and glad that he would share his wisdom with us.
Here are a few items from our conversation:
-If someone is thinking about making a record, where should they start? Give us some advice on where to even begin.
Write, rewrite, write some more, then practice, practice some more, and then write some more. Seriously, a recording isn’t worth making unless the song is great. It can take years to develop a good writing style…so, don’t give up, and don’t think you’re the bees knees too early. Chances are, you’re not, but you can be…with hard work and perseverance.
Then, you’ve got to be good at playing those songs…otherwise you’ll just end up wasting time sitting in front if a computer screen wondering why the guitars aren’t lining up with the drums.
-If someone is going to do a recording on their own (in moms living room), what kind of advice can you give?
There are tons of records that are recorded in home studios that are sold on a national/international level. Many of the albums I mix started out in a bedroom or living room. So, it’s important not to set up barriers in your mind like “well, it’ll never sound that good because I don’t have the right space or gear”. I know people that could make a killer record using a shure SM57 and Digidesign M-Box.
It’s more about what you have than what you don’t have. Do you have a Fender Strat and a Vox AC30? That’s a great combo of equipment, but it’s never going to sound like the Deftones. So, don’t even try it…leverage the gear you have. If you only have one mic, but you have to record drums, just set the drums up and move the mic around. I’m pretty sure you can make some cool drum tones that way. Some of the early Death Cab For Cutie albums sound like that’s exactly what they did…it’s more important to have a cool song and a cool vibe than to have expensive gear.
Also, make sure your instruments sound the way you want them to before you start recording. If you want a snare like 311, then make sure it sounds that way in the room while you’re tuning it. Then, when you mic it, move the mic around until it picks up just the right tone. If it doesn’t sound right before you record, then it never will after you record. There is no going back.
-What are the pros/cons of recording in Nashville?
The biggest pro is you’ll probably have someone with more experience around to help you make decisions and up the quality of the recording. There’s a lot more to making a record than just getting a good drum tone. You have to decide which kick drum pattern to use, when to put drum fills, which ride cymbal to use, whether to use hi hat or crash on the chorus, and when to just mute the drums all-together.
The con is that you’ll have to give something up for that professional input. Most of the time it’s cash. Cold, hard cash. The amount varies wildly depending on who your working with and what their discography is. Other times, it can be that you give up a piece of your future pie. A producer may agree to work with you if you sign a contract saying they’ll get part of your profit in the future or a payoff if you get signed to a record deal. This requires that the person really believes in you…because they’re betting you’ll succeed and make them money. In rare cases, it might be both cash and a piece of your future.
-Give us that ole Lee Bridges last word.
Why copy other people’s sound? It’s already been done at least once. The world doesn’t need a copy. Do something original. Sometimes limitations like not having many microphones or only having one guitar can lead to some cool/unique sounds. Experiment and embrace what you like. If it’s genuine, people will be able to tell and will relate to it much easier than if your record sounds like a forced mimic of Snow Patrol.
You can find Lee at www.leebridges.com
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