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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.พ. 2025
- Need Your Song Recorded? You don't need to live in Nashville and it's a no-stress process. Just hit the link! www.nashvillet...
Giant thank you to Darrell Pauls for trusting us with your music. It's truly a pleasure working on songs we can pour our hearts into.
Gear I use five days a week. (if you purchase anything using these links, Sweetwater gives me a small cut)
J Rockett Archer Select Pedal- sweetwater.sjv...
The Dude Overdrive Pedal- sweetwater.sjv...
JHS Fuzz Pedal - sweetwater.sjv...
Nobels ODR-1 - sweetwater.sjv...
J Rockett Uni-Verb - sweetwater.sjv...
J Rockett Clockwork Delay - sweetwater.sjv...
Electro-Harmonix Mel-9- sweetwater.sjv...
Boss EQ- sweetwater.sjv...
Custom Shop Telecaster - sweetwater.sjv...
Custom Shop Stratocaster - sweetwater.sjv...
Gibson 335 - sweetwater.sjv...
Dimarzio Neck Pickup - sweetwater.sjv...
Dimarzio Area T Bridge Pickup - sweetwater.sjv...
Royer 121 Mic - sweetwater.sjv...
Celestion Creamback - sweetwater.sjv...
Mogami Gold Cables - sweetwater.sjv...
Elixir Strings - sweetwater.sjv...
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This is a behind-the-scenes look at how a tracking session works with Nashville's finest studio musicians.
Artist/Writer: Darrel Pauls
Producer/Guitarist: Nicky V
Drums: Steve Brewster
Bass: James Cook
Keys: Tim McDonald
Vocals: Tanner Gomes and Jennafer Russell
Engineers: Greg Collins, Gavin Mellberg, Drew Boals
Thank you all so much for hanging out. Let me know in the comments if you guys are into this kind of stuff!
Please like and subscribe!
-Nicky V
I'm the songwriter in this video (Darrell Pauls) and just wanted to say that working with Nicky and everyone else was such a great experience. Everyone was friendly and so professional and it felt very comfortable. If you're a songwriter and would like to get your songs produced I would definitely recommend that you contact Nicky. The price was less than I expected it to be and I am 100% satisfied with the way the songs turned out. This is the second time I've worked with Nicky and I just sent him 6 more songs to record. Can't wait to hear the new songs!
Very kind of you Darrell. Truly appreciate the kind words and you trusting me and the fellas with your songs. Looking forward to the next six!
I own a studio out in Virginia, and these inside the studio videos are amazing. They're a wealth of knowledge for artists and engineers alike. Thank you :)
Man that makes my day. So glad you enjoy them! Let me know if there's anything else you want me to cover that I'm missing or you think others might find useful/enjoyable.
Oh hey Jacob watches this channel too! What’s up man 😂
@@BrendanMakesMusic Haha got our own little hang here.
@ Richmond/Hampton Roads VA crew representing!
Side note, as someone struggling to break into the session/touring scene, it’s super cool to see your perspective and hear your observations. Thanks for posting these.
Also I will work for coffee at this point if you ever need a guy for a broke-ass client 😂
@@BrendanMakesMusic Bro if we work we get paid haha. Broke clients can find other ways to get their music made. Hope we get to work together down the road at some point...and if we do, lunch on me.
Great Video Nicky! Sorry been out of town, I have some catching up! Grats on the Channel! Keep them coming! 🎸🎸🎸🤘🤘🤘
All good man, looking forward to chatting tomorrow!
Your professionalism and kindness show your character and creates great vibes for the music. You sir, are top notch in my opinion.
Happy birthday, big guy!!!!
Wishing all of y'all the best in 2025!
Very kind of you!
Thanks for checking the video out
Thanks for another great video. It makes me miss the studio for sure. The way that keep things together, organize ahead and "plot" out where the road leads to is so important, Keep up the great work. FYI, BMI guy here, hey wait, where's my 60 cents from them!
Hahaha love it man. Appreciate the kind words and you taking the time to check out the video.
I have written songs since I was twelve (1959). I answered the ad on a matchbook cover that was seeking song poems. If your poem was accepted, a crackerjack team of Nashville pros would set it to music and record it. Nashville has nurtured songwriting for decades.
My personal issue is deciding when it's done. I keep refining it, changing a phrase or nuance, polishing the edge. How do you handle this in your own songwriting and especially the songwriting of others. You continue to amaze and delight me with your sensitivity and professionalism. Kudos from California!
Love that story. Super cool and thank you for sharing.
Knowing when it’s done requires a team. My job as a producer is telling the musicians when it’s done or they will keep going all day as well and sometimes the magic is on take 1 or 2 instead of take 7.
Having a second set of ears is always helpful and if you don’t have that luxury you have to remind yourself that you owe it to yourself to sound as good today as you can at this point in time. And then allow yourself to move on and develop growth in the next project.
Let me know what you guys want me to cover next. Not sure if you are worn out on the session videos...or if you are more into my rants and guitar lessons haha.
More session videos!!! Personally I'd love to see more of your personal production process.
Love the session content. Maybe explain which pedals you were using where in the session and why. Your thought process concerning sound to fit in the mix.
Matjaž
Are you kidding me? Please keep ‘em coming! Love seeing how the pros do their thing
@@EliasThury Right on! Might do a video where I show what the song comes in as and the discussion had with the client on where we want to take it...then how to make it actually happen.
@@000matjaz Nice! This might be easier to do in a home overdub setting...I have a few videos that touch on it but a more in depth video might be nice!
New video from Nicky V., loved every minute (second) of it. Thanks for inviting us to the session. Can't wait to see the first baby arrival video - and then the first song you write to your new baby girl. She will steal your heart. Great to spend a few mins and hang out with busy Nicky V... have a great Nashville day.
You are too cool. Appreciate you hanging for a bit and for the continued support.
We are already working on babies perfect pitch haha
@@NickyV awesome - perfectionist dad
Happy birthday Tim 🥳
A good producer knows not only the music, but also understands the song and meaning. They try to capture what the writer felt when writing those payoff lines and gives the song the best life it can have. After recording with you and watching this short, I feel this is what sets you apart.
Means a lot man. Love how your tunes turned out. Was actually playing “Taking Care Of Me” for the Paw-In-Law a few days ago while we were drinking a few beers
Just watched my first video from your channel, Dial in your Tune, and already subscribed. Love your vibe, so damn authentic, and no BS. Looking to delve into much more of your content. Cheers!
That makes my day. So glad you like it and thank you for the kind words
Few things as fascinating as unearthing and recording a song. Thx for the vid! Inspires me to dig in a bit deeper with folks I get to jam with to spark origanals etc
Love that and agreed. Especially when you can capture some magic.
Love these behind the scenes videos, Nicky. Your engaging interaction with every session member is motivating. Would love to see more on your approach and methods to pre-production. Thanks for what you do 🫡👏
There will definitely be a preproduction video down the road
Thank you for the kind words and so glad you enjoy it.
This is incredibly inspiring! So cool to see BTS in a legit Nashville studio. I absolutely love Nashville but live in South Florida. It would be really cool to work together in the future. I'm glad that Mac from The Sync Opps recommended you. I'd reckon I can learn a ton from your channel.
All the best to you!
So kind of you to say. Had a great conversation with Mac yesterday…an absolute pro and delightful to work with.
Thank you for the kind words and would love to work together down the road!
@@NickyV That's awesome to hear! I'm waiting on the stars to align for my first sync placement, and while I haven't gotten to meet Mac yet, it's awesome to hear such a glowing endorsement. Best to you, man!
@@CalebJeromeMorales Love that and take care man!
Great job bud ⚡️
Thanks man!
Love your content Nicky. Keep ‘em coming 👌 All you guys sound amazing. Kuddos to the engineer. That snare sound through the monitors just sounds fantastic. That amazed me when we tracked in Nashville is how good everything sounds going to “tape”.
Man that’s the truth. Greg is an audio wizard. My favorite engineer in Nashville by a mile.
Really appreciate the kindness and thank you for watching
Having spent a week in Nashville two years ago, I laughed at your reference to the Tennessee state bird. You aren't kidding. Down around the Bridgestone Arena there were cranes everywhere! I wonder if the city will able to support that many new hotels. Love all your videos and always look forward to the next one. I'll never be a professional musician so your TH-cams allow me to be that fly on the wall. Thanks.
Hahaha ya it’s a stolen joke for sure but a good one.
Appreciate the kind words man and so glad you enjoy hanging out with us!
I'm 100 percent on board with never becoming a pro musician - but I love the inside scoops, very inspirational for other things in life. Just great to be that fly on the wall.
Awesome session video. Definitely keep them coming. Seeing these kinds of videos energizes me to get back in the studio and get some recording done. Albeit with Toontrack's help! LOL
Right on man. Appreciate you checking the video out
This is great information and thanks for giving us all of parts and all the people it takes to make the magic of music and how it all comes together.
Man I’m so glad you enjoyed it. Looking forward to working on your next batch of tunes with the fellas!
Nicky, Love this Stuff. Great to see how things work behind the scenes. Waiting to see more.
Killer! So glad you enjoyed it. I'm never sure if people are tired of the session videos or if I need to do more rants or lessons haha.
I love to watch you work. You are so talented!!
Awe thank you
You’d think a bunch of musicians could sing “Happy Birthday “ in tune 😂😂
That’s why we are instrumentalist haha
@ 😂😂
Very cool behind the scenes peak! I know see how string noise does not get into the recording! I also assumed the instruments would be live in the room, it was a surprise just hearing strings and the bridge when you used the whammy bar. Very cool!
Ya man! Everything is very isolated depending on what we are doing. Sometimes it’s cool to have all the bleed if we are doing something throwbackish/old-school.
The ASCAP rant was beautifully snuck in there
Haha my man
Great stuff, love those behind the scenes sessions
You got it man. Thanks for watching!
Really nice songs, and great work in the studio! Greetings from Norway.
Much appreciated! Thank you for taking the time to check it out.
This is a lot of fun, Nicky!
So glad you enjoyed it man! Hope all is well on your end.
@@NickyV It's very possible that i'll be in Nashville in late April.
@@Welcometothewoodshedpodcastmake sure to give me a holler
@@NickyV Will do!
Love it
Thanks for checking the video out man
I love watching cats work in the studio. Keep it coming.
You got it!
1:40 ... YES! Wildly interested in pre-production. Really enjoy your work. Thanks for the insider view. By the way, still a Christian, still come join us... Love the channel
I’ll have to work one of those videos up. Thank you for the kindness and kind words
Nice video. More from this please. Show musicians, drummers, singers, engineers, catering, transport, communication, do's, dont's, recording and song writing proces, protecting copyright, etc., etc. very nice.
Right on! I need to do one on preproduction and what happens after tracking as well.
I’m definitely interested in learning about the pre-production process!
I know...Ill work one of those videos up here in the next few months.
9.8 mill views. Nice. Congrats.
Always interesting and inspiring.
Thank you! I'm just trying to make the videos I wish I would have had before I got into this full time.
The more I watch your videos and similar content on TH-cam, the more I'm struck with how much technology an artist must be comfortable with-- the technology of his instrument, the recording technology, and all the infrastructure behind it. Just having musical chops on your instrument these days won't cut it. Am i wrong? I'd love to see more content that addresses this topic. Thanks so much for this and other great videos.
You are spot on. There are very few guys that only have to worry about playing their instrument. A ton of work is done online/remotely as well. Which is a completely different skill set.
What a great video!
Thanks for watching!
Wham bam thank you ma'am!
I would be super interested to see a video that talks about what pre production actually is!
Definitely have to work one of those up.
My old place of work had an SSL AWS900 like the console in that studio. I upgraded it to a 900+. Great console!
Killer!
Love it- thanks!
You got it!
“Smoking a heater in a Prius”. Say that five times fast. Awesome stuff, Nicki!
I feel very hip using the term "Heater" haha. I'm producing a record for a modern country duo and learned that term from them...the single on that record will in fact be "Heater".
@ Ha! That’s wild!
@@PeteGuitars Dudes are way cooler than me...I feel old and I'm only 31.
@@NickyV Nobody’s cooler than you, man! But if you feel old now, report back after three months of sleeping four hours a night!
@@PeteGuitars Blahaha so true. Cya Thursday man!
That Tele sounds amazing unplugged!
Man it’s a freak. Searched for it for 15 years
Gambled on marketplace and got lucky
@@NickyV Yeah man. It has 'it' for sure! Great to hear that your gamble was so richly rewarded.
@@stephenhoddofficial There were plenty of fails before it haha. Thanks man. Also, thank you for taking the time to comment and check the video out.
What a great video. Ive been recording in my own little home studio but some stuff is just beyond my reach. Subscribed and look forward to exploring the channel and possibly reaching out in the future for some assistance on a project. 12:30 ish reminds me of myself trying to nail my own guitar parts over and over and over.. lol..
Hahaha we were definitely on the struggle bus at 12:30. Looking forward to working together man. Really appreciate the kind words and you checking the video out. So glad you enjoyed it!
Definitely do pre production vid. That'd be real useful
Ok I’ll have to work one up
... even dozens of dollars. Dude, you crack me up!
Haha snuck that one in there
we did each of the Ephemerals albums in 3 or 4 days including rehearsals! was always fun and also scary!
Killer! Thanks for checking the video out
Can you give a range of costs for something like this? Love these kinds of videos. Keep 'em coming.
If you look on my site in the description there is a pricing tab that has everything itemized/ala cart. Typically a song runs around $2500ish depending. (Covers preproduction, drums, bass, keys, acoustic, electric, production, engineer, assistant engineer, studio time, vocal tuning, mix and master)
@@NickyV awesome, thanks!
@@annac3514 You got it!
I really enjoyed this video but would love to hear your guitar's sound as heard in the headphones if not the full mix with everyone else. But great stuff, looking forward to more as a new subscriber. 👍🏻
Ya I know. Unfortunately there’s no way for me to do that without being a major pain/having too much to juggle with producing, playing and filming at the same time. Just the nature of me not being in the control room.
Thanks man 👍🏼😎🇨🇦
You're welcome! Glad you enjoyed it
wonderful.......
Much appreciated!
9:57 "smoking a heater in a Prius" might be a hook. lol
I’m actually producing a song for a duo right now called Heater lol. That’s the only reason I’m barely cool enough to know the term.
@@NickyV very cool!
PLEASE DO PRE PRODUCTION VIDEO
Definitely need to work one up
That tremolo arm on your strat have to be fixed Nick haha. Great job btw
I leave it a few turns loose on purpose. Helps to smooth it out more into bigsby land with the play in it. Doesn’t come through the pickups
ASCAP...sometimes sending out cks for dozens of dollars...LOL GOLD!!
Rolling in it
Hey, I’ve seen you comment on Toms channel❤
Uncle Larry is the gold standard
@@NickyV he’s my favorite guitar player of all time.. some of us fortunate home skoolers just celebrated his birthday with him not even a month ago
What were those "heavy brushes" the drummer brought out on the first day? 9:07
I think that was a homemade Brewster invention
Not sure what they were made of
Man, I’d love to have you produce one of my songs, just to hear what a bunch of pro musicians could do with it but I’m guessing it would cost a fortune!
Would love to help out man. If you look at my website there is a pricing tab that lays everything out depending on what you are needing.
@ awesome. Thank you. I’ll take a look :)
I have a question about capos in a recording session. any times when they should not be used or is it up to the guitarist. i am thinking of course of changing keys to match the vocalist. they are used live all the time by many different artists. your thoughts would be nice. thanks and keep up the good work
I use capos every single day in the studio. Totally depends on the part and key. Anything to make my job easier and cleaner sonically…I’m all for it.
I bet you'd sound good recorded on good ol' fashioned tape!
Actually have a video up from a few months ago when we did a tracking session on tape. Super cool experience
@NickyV I bet it was!
The tremolo on the pink strat drove me nuts...clicking every time it was used...don't know what was causing it, perhaps hitting the deck...just saying... great vid anyway and worth the watch..
I actually run it loose and it makes for a more Bigsby style smoother vibrato...has more give. It doesn’t come through the pickups.
@@NickyV I must give it a try now and see if it works for me...cheers
@@raucousrowdy6540 Haha...right on man. Basically, it gives you a slightly wider sweep with less movement on the bridge so its just a little less violent on the vibrato.
Does it take longer to record on a pink guitar,,,
I think it does. Was on the struggle bus for that track haha
@NickyV spandex,,,
It’s the trem arm knock for me.
Something I’ve noticed about your playing is you play just enough for the song. It’s more than just not overplaying. You actually leave out notes that would complete the phrase like not landing on the root note at the end of a passage. It’s gives a dissonance to the ear. We’re waiting for the root note at the end of a chord progression and you leave it out. Really interesting.
Probably to stay out of the way of the vocal or something else happening musically
Nicky, I have a DAW question that rarely gets asked (because I think the answer is assumed) - are there any studios you’ve worked in where Pro Tools isn’t the primary DAW?
No, in Nashville every studio I’ve worked at is Pro Tools.
I’ve worked at a few in LA where they were on Logic
At home, I use logic. (Went to school in LA)
@@NickyV thanks! I’ve always assumed it was PT but didn’t know if things had changed.
@@natewrightguitar Nashville tends to be set in its ways haha.
Is that studio in the UA building next to Starstruck?
Not it’s at interstate music down on music row. Will be torn down for condos this year though unfortunately
@@NickyV While part of me would like to come back to Nashville to visit, it's changed so much since I was last there in about 2005 that I don't really want to ruin the memories. I was there as Starstruck Studios was being built and while Reba was just passing her peak. It was the pinnacle of my studio career and something that I miss in many ways. Actually, what I miss most was being around all of the talented, creative musicians and engineers every day. I don't miss the long days at work... 12 to 16 hours, six days a week on average... but I loved that studio and all the artists who came through.
Sorry to hear that yet another building is going to be torn down for condos.
Hey... you know the difference between your waiter in LA and your waiter in Nashville? In LA you ask your waiter, "Who's your acting coach?" In Nashville you ask your waiter, "What kind of guitar strings do you use?" LMAO!! Cheers!
@@jimrogers7425 I got here six years ago so it was already pretty well changed by that time I have a feeling. So for me I don't have the brighter days to compare it to and now it still seems amazing. I love it here. Especially compared to LA haha.
And tracking is another word for?
Recording
They seem to be synonymous around here but tracking used more for in studio sessions than home recording
Nicky do things pick up speed once your reach being a level 1 seller on fiverr?
Start your prices off super low and for every five 5 star reviews you get, raise your price $5. That’s what I did before I moved to town and was basically practicing on there. At the time that method kept me towards the top of the search results while getting revenue coming in.
Are you using di and modeling software?
No it’s all tube amp and speakers isolated in another room
Nothing like giving musicians a dopamine hit...lol
Blaha set myself up on that one
Weird to me that it seems like people stopped playing in the same room together, everybody sitting in their own booth seems a bit sad
Three of us are in the same room at this studio. Just have drums and acoustic isolated.
HEATER IN A PRIUS 😂
Solid…I’m producing a song for a duo right now called Heater. That’s the only reason I’m hip enough to know that reference because I’m not hip at all haha.
It's very kind of you to let us amateurs see you not getting everything on the first take! Or maybe you were faking that!?!?!? Hmmmm...... 😇
Hahaha gotta show the struggles to appreciate the nailing it.
Safety first: Please don't film while you are driving... eyes on the road brother!
I know
It’s dumb but that’s rock and roll haha
Very interesting 👍👍
Love it.
Thanks man!