10 Times that Recording Bands didn't COMPLETELY SUCK 

drummer here. can confirm. i'm single now and the band is doing great.

What you want: One take wonders. What you get: One hit wonders.

You record with even one of the guys from Angra, they can no longer say: "He's never worked with anyone famous", Glenn. Those are the rules.

I remember buying that face down record in high school, wish I still had it.

Great video. I just wanted to chime in on a completely opposite side of this coin. Nightmare engineers bands have to deal with! Back in the mid- 80s my three piece band booked some recording time at a studio called Caliope in NYC. We booked 8 hours of the graveyard shift because it was cheaper. It ran from 12 midnight to 8am. We walked in like a well oiled machine with our 1/4 inch and master tapes in hand. We had already mapped everything out and had rehearsed for weeks to get everything right in the allotted time. The engineer the studio provided seemed like a nice guy. Although a bit hyper. We were about 19 and he was well into his 30s. Long story short? The engineer was coked out of his gourd and was actually doing lines off the soundboard right in front of us. This guy wasted 3 1/2 friggin hours trying to figure out why one of the drum mics wasn’t working which turned out to be something completely stupid (I don’t remember specifically) that a rookie would have figured out. So instead of recording three songs we got to record one. Starting at 4am!! We complained to the studio head about their coked up idiot of an engineer and got another 6 hours free and during daylight hours. Mister coke head engineer got fired. It all worked out in the end. But what a nightmare!

4:50 People on gearslutz: Never boost EQ CLA: So I boosted 50dB at 8k on the snare and 45dB at 12k on the guitars.

"I can play something that easy perfectly in one take too". Try doing it under the scrutiny of microphones in a studio. What you think is "perfect" in your own jam room is very different from what you will hear when you're being close-mic'd and recorded with high quality gear. Also, your mental game when recording is VERY different than practicing or jamming.

RIP David Gold. Woods of Ypres were freaking killer! Can't wait to here more on your recording sessions with those guys. Keep killing it Glenn! 🤘

I never understood the, "...got a girlfriend... so that's the end of the band..." If the woman cares at all about her partner, the band member, even if he sucks or the band sucks, she is supportive of his pursuit of his dreams, or pursuit of his hobby. Even if support is only half-hearted moral support, or smiling and nodding, and not bitching, not standing in the way, or not being a hindrance, to music being played, it's what people who love each other and/or care about each other do for each other. That, having a spine is generally a plus in a band setting, and in life, My wife used to pick up band members and take them to practice when needed, or asked. She bought strings for the broke ass guitar players. She screamed loudly at our gigs. She gave honest, well-informed, and tasteful critiques of music, lyrics, whatever, but waited until she was asked. And she always did so with a smile, because she enjoyed the music and the creative vibe we always had. We wrote songs very organically, and collaboratively, with everyone having an equal voice, everyone free and welcome to bring ideas, and make suggestions, and nobody was touchy or overly sensitive, nobody had a massive but fragile ego, so we were all also equally free to be honest and say something was s*** if we truly felt that it was s***. Our first studio experience we played everything live and nailed four of six songs on the first take, the other two on the second. The only overdubs were vocals, and two guitar solos on our most "mellow" song. Tracking was great, but when we tried to mix down everything in one night, because we were out of money, surprise, and we were there until about 4 in the morning, we crashed and burned. It just didn't sound like it should have or could have. Our second studio experience a few years later we listened to the, "expert," at the recording studio in a school teaching recording engineering, and everything I tried to insist on, or fight for, I was overruled by three band members taking the word of the, "expert," and the recordings had two different kick drum volumes and tones (smh), the bass guitar was barely audible, end in the few spots where you could just barely hear the bass guitar, it was just as muddy and shity sounding as I told the, "expert," it would be. The guitars were thin sounding, and the vocals had so much deep hall reverb that I still laugh about them every time I hear it. My advice to anybody willing to listen, is that if it sounds shity to you, be willing to say that it sounds shity to you, and be specific about why. Just don't be a dick about it, and don't be a condescending prick acting like you know everything, and everyone else knows nothing, even if that's true. Always be of the mindset that you are all there to work together to get the best recordings, of the best performances, of the best music you have to offer. And generally that only happens if you are all working together towards that goal... And, for fucks sake, leave the giant, fragile egos at the door!

I remember recording a guitarist that was really good but very rarely did he get a full take. Every take had a different feel or energy so comping a take was difficult. We got it though. ❤️💯🤘

Reminds me of why I got in as well. While I mostly focused on live sound production, I'm no stranger to the studio. My rates were always rather high so I was only working with bands that didn't have the time to not be on their A-game. Most of the bands gigged heavily so getting things right in minimal takes wasn't a problem. Wow, when those magic moments happen, it's an amazing feeling and vibe that everyone feeds off of. When it comes to live sound, I was also doing multi-track recordings since my analog desk had direct outs on all 44 of the mono input channels, and we'd also record a board mix off the master out tape outputs just as a reference. Getting that magic live on the stage really translated well to the recordings. It's simply music the way it was meant to be played and captured transparently, complete with audience mics to capture the crowd. Yeah, that's when it's good! Being in the middle of the crowd, mixing FOH and a room full of amazing fans listening to an amazing band putting on an amazing show.

I have watched this video 5 times now and have to say this is one of your best videos yet. Hearing all the fine details and stories to go with the members and yourself is a treat. Well done thank you.

Still waiting for you to accept the challenge “ record a band live using only ONE microphone “ the art of Musician placement over mic placement.

We hold the record for a studio in Sydney; 6 song instrumental demo 3 piece band 3 room mics Recorded the full 15 min demo in 37 minutes and 50 seconds.

Glenn I freaking LOVE the first Wood of Ypres record! It inspired me to venture into more black metal and the music I’m writing for my band has taken inspiration from the first and second Woods albums. You should be very proud of your accomplishments!

I really appreciated this video, the look into your career, and your honesty about your own mistakes. Videos like this one are part of the reason I subscribed to you. Thanks Glenn

Awesome video, Glen! Hope to see you streaming live or vids soon!

Real stories about real experiences. Excellent content! Keep this type of stuff coming on the regular.

Gleen, thank you for your years of experience and this entertaining video. Please do more like this

It was a great time working with you on the Vias record, you taught me a lot when it comes to the studio!

Thanks for sharing this Glenn. For one thing it helps people understand that the recording process is difficult and unpredictable. I appreciate you being candid about your development. I think that's encouraging to a lot of us guys out here doing home recordings.

Easily one of your best videos, I like videos like his that go over the history of something, that have b roll footage and cut to images from the time. Great work!

Neato. Was watching one of your older videos then I thought, "Didn't this guy work with Woods of Ypres?" Right after that I seen this video. Clicked it hoping WoY would be mentioned. Sure enough! And YES. PLEASE DO A VIDEO ON YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH WOODS. PLEASE.

The Hellraiser is a great guitar, Schecter gets overlooked by many.

I listened to almost all your projects here and man you are so good! I've been following since you were like 70k followers and your content has been always helpful! The Eagle has Landed is just a fuckin' beast of a track, amazing production!

This is such a great video! That's the content I'm subscribed for - thanks for sharing your experience Glen and best regards from Germany

Brilliant brilliant video. I remember the moon on the water debacle and felt really sad for you at the time

Your dedication to rippin on bass players is amazing. makes me chuckle every time.

glad to see you love your job so much that you came up with 10 whole times you didn’t like it!

Great time to highlight some positive vibes, Glenn. Thanks for continuing in your tradition of high quality content!

I just listened to Woods of Ypres - "A Meeting Place and Time". And man I really liked the production, the kick sounds good to me!

So entertaining. This is the stuff that I subscribe for. Thanks Glenn. I distill so much experience from these videos.

Great video man. More of these!

Cool video with some good behind the scene type stories! Could you do a video in the future telling of times when it started out bad but turned out great or vice versa?

This video both enlightened me and bummed me out at the same time. "There is no destination, there is only the journey." #RIPDavidGold

BRO that eagle has landed demo is so so so good

This is so cool. It's nice seeing that you have had positive experiences and I found a new metalcore band to listen to. Thank you

The bass solo in Awating the Inevitable from Woods of Ypres was Amazing. I didn't Know you did the recordings, Great work!

Incredible vid bro!! 🤘🤘🤘

Hey Glenn. Gotta give you a HUGE thanks for recommending the Guitar Tone Mastery course!! Been stuck with terrible sounding guitar/bass tone and shitty mixes ever since I started recording at home and decided to buy this course to get some clue as to what I was doing wrong. WORTH. EVERY. PENNY. It took me about two days to go through all the material (some several times) and decided to try out a bass line that sounded really meh before and within half an hour of using Scott's method I ended up with something that sounded a hundred times better than anything I had ever done before. Very chuffed. Its not perfect yet but that'll come with practice and ear training. This course was definitely the missing link for me. BUY IT! NOW!

that was great ... watching it brought back a lot of memories , im pretty sure almost most of those issues happened to us all at some point over the years especially mic distance for me with drums! also its amazing to see your face crack a smile !!!! ( I mean a geniune one not something at gunpoint )

I did not expect to like a video of yours without any snark, hostility, or sarcasm. This was GREAT!! Thank you to @zTB for the question. You cracked open a whole new layer we didn't know (or at least expect) Glenn could deliver! Glenn, please do NOT stop with your signature sarcasm, righteous hostility, and black-razor humor (that's my lyric, so don't steal it!), but seriously this "nice" episode was encouraging and inspiring! Maybe this line of work isn't all so bad??

Great video Glenn, one of my favorites I've seen so far. I have a Tempest like the one being played in the video and yes, they really are great guitars.

Great stories and story telling. Love hearing about it.

Haven’t watched you for a few years. Awesome to come back and see how much weight you’ve lost! Nice work man

Dude Anthony Crawford totally inspires me. Looking forward to that!

Did I just see an ad of Glenn on top of this video by Glenn?! I'm so confused. hahaha! great stuff as always.

Here' a story for you, Glenn. I had a band called Facedown. We were transforming ourselves from a Skid Row/GNR type band into a Pantera/Machine Head type band. Fired the singer, I took over vocals, since I wrote most of the lyrics and demoed the vocals for the previous guy all the time anyway. Side note, after we fired him, he became the new bassist/singer for Voivod and we ended up opening for them, so guess he had the last laugh, eh? Anyway, we went through a few different name changes before settling on Facedown. We went into the studio to record our debut (and only) CD and during that recording, a friend of hours from a band called Mundane (Viktor, who also played drums for Monster Voodoo Machine), informed us that he read there is a newly signed band called Facedown about to go in the studio to record their debut. we weren't signed (yet), so we ended up changing the name to Fear Disorder, because we had made a logo, utilizing the F and D from Facedown. We liked the F/D logo enough that we decided to find a name that would allow us to keep the logo, hence Fear Disorder. Ironically, we never used the logo after we bacame Fear Disorder. Fun fact, the 2 inch tape boxes still say Facedown on them!

Holy crap! With Bruno Valverde and Anthony Crawford! Top musicians for sure!!

Yes. Very keen to see a dedicated Woods video about their early days

Thanks for this vid Glenn!

7:05 We had our lead guitar bail on us about two weeks before recording an album. We were pissed of course but the rhythm/second lead stepped up to the plate and carried us over home plate.

PLEASE do that episode dedicated to the first two Woods albums, I'd love to know more

This was a freakin cool vid! Great to kinda hear about Glenns journey like that and the old pics and shit. And to hear "yeah that wasnt my best kick sound...." or "and we got roasted alive in the comments" . Thats why i keep tuning in cause you can honestly look at the flaws of something without your ego getting in the way. Would definitely tune in to the woods of ypres special haha!

Hats off to you Glenn. You're an inspiration to those that want to improve and do good. It takes time, practice, and patience. Today's world is full of "I want instant gratification and talent", and that shit simply does not work. You have to put in the time and keep getting better. We've all watched our own early videos and cringed. Over time though, you can see the improvement and take pride in it. Keep up the good work my man, and thanks for the Cock Blocker. My drummer loved it, my bass player didn't understand it...oh well. Maybe I'll make it on your show some time. Stay safe, stay healthy, and keep kicking ass my man!!

Glenn, that is truly the best, most inspiring video I’ve ever watched when it comes to a home recording studio. And I want to personally thank you because 90% of the recording techniques I use today I’ve learned from you. Glenn Fricker you sir are a hell of a guy.

Looking Good glenn. Loved the vid!

Hurray, this vid reached 100k views, not so long ago. Congratz! Still any chance of getting the full story behind the Woods of Ypres-records?

Still waiting for the dedicated video on the first two Woods of Ypres records! Would love to see that!

I see your flight sim 98 pedals there! Lol I was right there with you

During the early 2010s, I was getting into Woods of Ypres. When I found out that David Gold passed away, I was bummed out that I'll never get to see them live. I did buy some Woods of Ypres CDs from my nearest record store. Then, nearly a decade, while being stuck at home during the pandemic, I was listening to those CDs again. I opened up the booklet to Against the Seasons and I saw that the album was recorded at Spectre Sound. That was one helluva revelation for me. I hope to hear some more Woods of Ypres stories in the near future.

Some really cool stories thanks Glenn!

Love that track by Betrayer ("Beyond the Grave"). Sounds very good! Thanks for the suggestion! (and f*** you, Glenn: love your show!🙂)

Getting the Output Arcade ad mid-Glenn video: priceless.

I remember Assassinate The Following! That album was so awesome and they were great live.

Awesome video as usual!! Thank you. You should do a video on starting/opening a home/project studio. The more mundane stuff like insurance, business license and advertising,. ect. I know it may be different in Canada vs the States but it should translate, I think? Again thank you for your videos and the great information you provide.

At this point I've pretty much put the drum sticks on the shelf. Still come back here now and then to see what more I can learn from all of you

Hey Glenn! Just to remind you about that Woods of Ypres video that you mentioned here. Cheers!

Awesome Vid Glenn!

Very cool that you're associated with the Beck anime, such a fun surprise.

I love that it involves the band pulling off live off the floor performance or one take wonder, with some engineering successes along the way.

Damn I love Woods of Ypres's Against the Season, one of my fav albums of all time. Good job!!!

Man, doing a dedicated episode on the first 2 Woods release would be amazing. That band was is a huge influence on me. RIP David.

Hey Glenn. Loved the video. Just one suggestion if you ever do a video like this one again where you name the bands and then talk them up: maybe have the band name, song, album or whatever appropriate combination on screen while telling the story? Or even just list them in the description with timestamps. I think I watched this video four times over in small loops as I tracked back to catch the name of the band you were talking about again so I could go check out their stuff.

See, now this is necessary for your 300+ videos. In order to get people to produce their best music... they really do need the positive aspects of hard work :) Love it!

I like how we can watch Glenn save our time and cut out his own dead space between mouth riffs by watching the vocal track in the background.

As a bass player, I can 100% confirm that I do not know how to play any of the songs

A Meeting Place and Time, one of my favorite songs and the record is awesome.

Glenn, I'm begging you. Can you please do some further vids on the early Woods of Ypres material? Love the production and songwriting on those albums!

Hey, I've got that Woods of Ypres long sleeve tee! 🤘🏻

That’s so awesome. Recording bands is not easy but so worth it 🤘🏼

Do you have any videos going over your old mixes that you hated? I would find it interesting to learn from mistakes you've made in the past.

GOT A QUESTION PLEASE!! So I'm finally getting the hang of my mixes but there's something that bothers me. Everyone says the kicks should be kept center but yet, they sound super wide in normal mixes, even in the mix for your intro. How do you balance keeping the kicks wide while being center? I use reaper too by the way so you can be specific if you want. Thanks, love your content.

Hey Glenn where can i find that No Better Way demo?? Sounds killer..

Just listening to Betrayer, got a Judas Presit vibe to it.... Sounds awesome mate Greetings from the UK

Hey Glenn, I have an 18 year old Gibson LP faded that has a broken neck repair. It will hold tune fine for noodling around but that’s it. I’m looking into getting a new guitar for home recording. Do you have any personal experience with Dean selects? I’m leaning towards a thoroughbred. If you don’t chime in I’ll just go with whatever my bass player suggests. :)

Thank you for the positive vibes.

Didn't you promise in your production notes for Moon On The Water that no one needed to see the old version?

Hi Glenn, when do you opt to use your EHL guitar tone, I'm sure you wouldn't use it for other genres, but would you also change it if a metal band or guitarist wanted something different? Cheers!

DAMN the drums at 15:00 sound killer. well done to everyone involved there

"Butterfingers", huh? I know a bass player called "Septic Fingers"! Luckily, it's a joke name. He's actually a really good bass player😄

I love to hear your take on the band Alestorm!

Just listened to that Betrayer song. The guitar sound is killer.

What a feel good video. Thanks

gold episode, so much content!

Good episode! My Schecter omen 8 holds tune like nothing iv ever known too.

We did a song called Glass back in 2011 and hired a drummer who did two takes. I'm proud of it considering that I could have kept working on layering stuff.

Working with Valverde? Great guy and astonishing drummer!

Hey Glenn. Can you give us a list of things to give to a band to be prepared?

Hi Glenn, I'm a senior college student from México. I work with theater companys composing, recording and mixing music for their plays. I usually manage to be up to de challenge because their projects don't need anything complex, but lately a lot of groups have come to ask original metal instrumentation and they don't have the money to hire a band so we can record it. The economy on my country is shit and I had to sell my guitar to keep paying rent, ¿what's your advice to give them, if not a real sound, something that won't rise many questions about it?