I've been recording myself at home for many years (I write songs on guitar and sing, and some other instruments), and this really resonates with me.

When I sing and play guitar at the same time (which creates recording challenges with mic bleed and phase cancellation), and especially without a click track, there is an undeniable difference and there is magic in that difference. But the perfectionist in me wants to present a polished recording, so I end up "comping" (recording many times and picking the "best" bits), using a metronome, and a bit of gridifying, although usually just with drums if I played them. I draw the line at vocal tuning, I just can't.

This blog post is nothing new to me, I've had these thoughts a thousand times. But it's a great reminder. Especially in the age of AI. Our imperfection and vulnerability is our gift.