JARED SCHARFF TONE TIPS FROM THE ROAD
Recording Is a Battlefield, Part 1
The music industry has changed radically
from the days of cassette tapes. We now
download music from the internet, share
music for free, and with the help of any computer, we can have a full-on recording setup
for a few hundred dollars. Everyone and their
mother is making music, playing music, and
downloading music. Because of all this, the
recording industry has changed drastically as
well. Gone are the days when you needed
a major-label recording budget to work in
a world-famous studio. Those studios have
been dying off for the past ten years. What’s
left these days are a few major studios that
can barely afford to stay open and thousands
of personal recording studios: small one-room workstation studios for rent in business
buildings, bedroom studios and laptop studios. My friends, it’s a free for all out there;
recording is a battlefield.
just not something I do. What I would like
to focus on is general session work, ranging
from pop music and singer/songwriters to
commercials and rock. These are the sorts of
things I’ve been called in to do.
(typically my Nash Strat) and something that
has a humbucker pickup for more rock type
stuff. A general rule of thumb: one guitar with
single-coil pickups and one with humbuckers.
That should cover most needs.
Arm Your Weapons
First and foremost, choose your main weapon
carefully. When you bring a guitar, it needs
to be one you’re completely comfortable
with and one that’s in top recording shape.
I’ve had to do sessions where only one of
my guitars was with me, and the producer
didn’t have any other guitars available. At
that point, it’s clutch to know how to coax
If you have a certain style and a certain rig
that you use get your sound, then that may
be all you need. If you were someone like
the Edge, where your schtick is delay ped-
als, chimey guitars, etc., then you should just
bring the guitars you need to achieve your
personal style. If your thing is chicken-pickin’
country licks, and you’re getting hired for just
that, then there’s no need to bring that Les
Personally, I’ve recorded in every environment
from the largest and most expensive rooms
money can buy to just a guitar plugged
straight into a laptop. I started out recording
with a 4-track machine as a kid, worked my
way up to way too many singer/songwriters
sessions (in every studio setting imaginable),
spent almost two months recording a major-
label album (I was the guitarist in the band)
that cost around $500,000. I’ve worked with
other major-label artists as a session guitar-
ist, and done tons of recording at home with
my personal setup. Whether it’s recording
demos in the best studios in the world or
using a Line 6 POD straight into Pro Tools
for Saturday Night Live’s recorded segments,
the place and method don’t matter anymore.
What matters is the product. In order to get
the best product, I’ve found that the keys to
success are: being prepared, having the right
tools for any recording situation, and knowing
how to work in any of these environments.
The guitars you bring to your session are
your weapons. Choose them wisely, for you
will be doing battle with them.
different sounds out of your instrument, how
it will sound best, and how to make it sound
like you have different guitars in the session
if need be. In any session, you must make
sure your guitar is properly setup and well
intonated. If it’s poorly intonated, you have
half a guitar—anything above the 9th fret is
most likely unusable, and you’ll spend half
the session tuning to the notes you’re trying
to play up on the fretboard. This will not only
aggravate and frustrate the producer and the
artist, but you as well, and the vibe (and your
headspace) will be broken.
Paul. I usually need to be a one-man guitar
arsenal, so variety is a necessity. When I can,
I’ll bring one Strat, a Tele and a something
with humbuckers. If you do that, they’ll think
you came prepared and that you have the
tools to give them any style they need. It
goes a long way.
Through the years, I’ve had to figure out
what’s important to bring to any type of ses-
sion. I learned as I went, and each session
taught me more about what was important.
Obviously, there are too many musical styles
and playing styles—not to mention reasons
for being hired—to go into all of these tools.
For example, I wouldn’t be hired to do a
lap steel session for a country artist. That’s
Second, bring two guitars or more whenever
possible. For your second guitar, it’s best to
bring something with a completely different
sound, so you have a variety to choose from.
One thing that has always worked well for me
is to talk to the producer beforehand about
what they’re looking for. If they only want rock
‘n’ roll à la AC/DC, then its more likely you
should bring a Gibson Les Paul or an SG and
leave the Telecaster home. Once you know
the style and sound they’re going for, you can
choose the appropriate instruments. Personally,
I always bring a Stratocaster. That’s what I’m
most comfortable playing and what I know how
to use best. I like to bring one Stratocaster
That is just the tip of the iceberg. The guitars
you bring to your session are your weap-
ons. Choose them wisely, for you will be
doing battle with them. This is a huge part
of recording. Next month, I’ll be address-
ing some of the key accessories you need
to have with you at all times to survive in
the recording battlfield, so stay tuned. It’s a
jungle out there.
Jared Scharff
Jared Scharff has been the house guitarist for the legendary Saturday Night Live band for the last two years. A
Native New Yorker, Jared is also a recording artist, producer, songwriter and highly sought-after session player,
and has shared the stage with Justin Timberlake, Beyonce,
Kid Rock, Rihanna, Mary J. Blige, Pete Seeger, Arlo Guthrie,
Roger McGuinn and Debbie Harry. For more information on
Jared, go to myspace.com/jaredscharffmusic.
