Home Recording - what's yr process?

[jeifer]

I'm guessing that a fair few of us make some home demos - and those that don't may well want to!
Time to kick off this corner of the forums with discussion of home demo recording...

I've made do with various things, from using two tape recorders as a kid to overdub, then cassette 4-track recorders (Tascam and Yamaha) in the early 90's which taught me the essentials thru trial and error and doing things the hard way.

Obviously now that digital recording is cheap and easy it's all PC action - a mate gave me 'Cool Edit Pro' back in the day, and that program is now really out of date and about 10 years old. I have to say that it does everything I need and using it also taught me heaps about 'sonic real estate', frequencies & eq, arrangement - all that sort of stuff.

At the moment it's Cubase LE and a Zoom H4. The Zoom H4 is the BEST bit of gear I've ever owned, for pure functionality - it's so bloody handy and easy and has a million uses.
You'll see it at the meetings, a handheld unit with stereo mics recording straight to MP3. That's the tip of the iceberg.

Haven't used Cubase yet - and I haven't got any midi shit to use with it, my primitive PC recording habit is just drum machine in mono then layer on the guitars

[Ross Anderson]

I havent experimented a huge amount with my set up yet, but its pretty much as follows
Apple Mac Pro Desktop
Digidesign Mbox2
Novation 61key Midi Keyboard
Rode Nt1a Condensor Mic
Shure Sm57
with Protools LE and Reason.
Reason has some awesome sounds and when i fully get the rewire down to utilize it for recording with protools it should be all sweet. Ive had it working before but only out of trial and error and/or luck. But reason is an incredible bit of software has so many instruments and synths. Ive done a bit of basic recording of guitar parts with just the rode mic but i wanna get another 57 so i can mic up two amps at once.

I had a look at that zoom h4. It looks awesome. Looks the goods for recording jams on the go or spur of the moment ideas.

As for previous experience recording. Ive used a lot of primitive gear ranging back to an old tape stereo deck the on to cool edit pro like yourself and soundforge. I found cool edit a really easy to use and realtivly powerful program. Deffinately a good starting point for people who are new to digital recording to look at rahter than getting overawed at something like Protools, Logic or Cubase. I also like fruity loops just for the ease of making drum loops but unfortunately its not compatible with Apple computers.

If anyone has any experience with reason and/or protools any advice or tips would be great.

[chloexflockart]

I know this post is about how-you-record, so I 'spose this kind of fits; It is directed more at people recording for the purpose of creating sheet music...

When I write songs (for piano and guitar etc) I record them straight onto our piano, and then break out this AMAZING (note use of sarcasm) program called "midi notate composer", basically, you can run any midi file through it and it sorts it into instruments etc, and basically turns your noise into sheet music. Extremely handy if you want to come back to your song in the future and be able to play it , you can also do this at www.8notes.com once a day on their midi converter but this process is less reliable as it has trouble sorting out songs which use triplets and the likes.

[Ross Anderson]

woah thats cool, totally different take on recording, which it deffinately is in a sense. Im a guitarist and like the old joke goes: how do you get a guiarist to stop playing? Put sheet music in front of them. but for a pianist it would be perfect. How does it work? Do you record the song to a midi file then run that file through this program?

[Rogue]

I didn't know you did that chloe.

I have a Apple Macbook, and it came with a really cool program called GarageBand which I have been using to record stuff on. I still haven't quite figured it all out yet, but you can record stuff stright onto the computer and add pre-made beats and things.

Mainly I just record myself playing the acoustic guitar and singing along. I like it alot because it make me sound heaps better then I actually do. =)

[WEBBY]

My new Lexicon Omega is pretty cool. The sound quality and recording is great. But I think it might be a good thing if I lock my self in a room for a couple of weeks so I can learn how it really works. The VST plugins and 570 page manual is going to be the hardest part, but I like every other muso thrive on new stuff and learning. Anyone who wants to check it out copy and paste this www.lexiconpro.com GOOD STUFF.

[Ross Anderson]

Have you got a midi keyboard jess? You should pick one up if not their relatively cheap. It opens up programs like garageband and reason. Im totally converted to macs since getting one.

Yeah webby im a little daunted at all the vst plugins etc. Ive mucked around with them a little via trial and error but would love to understand how it all worked so i knew how to get awesome sounds not jag them

[Rogue]

I don't have a midi keyboard - how to they work? Does it just record what you play straight onto the computer or something?

[Ross Anderson]

nah a midi keyboard is just a controller. It doesnt have any inbuilt sounds or anything but runs via usb into your computer and can trigger the sounds in programs such as garage band and reason. If you create an instrument track in garage band such as a synth or piano you can play the keys on the midi keyboard to trigger the sounds on the computer then record via your chosen software (garageband/protools/cubase et al)

[Ross Anderson]

nah a midi keyboard is just a controller. It doesnt have any inbuilt sounds or anything but runs via usb into your computer and can trigger the sounds in programs such as garage band and reason. If you create an instrument track in garage band such as a synth or piano you can play the keys on the midi keyboard to trigger the sounds on the computer then record via your chosen software (garageband/protools/cubase et al)

[chloexflockart]

In repliance (is that a word?) to ross:

The program converts any created midi file into sheet music by separating all of the different little sound things (you know like 83 is pan flute or something) into separate tracks and then it takes the things that use that same "instrument" and puts them onto the ledger lines as note (music&computer are both mathematics so it is easy for a computer to do) and seperates teh left and right hand by figuring out where middle c is located (this is the generic split point) or if there is an octive between notes (most pianist hands can reach an octive... so it makes that the split point if the song is played an acotive above or below middle c) and it makes sheet music. In about half a second. It is really cool, but a demo version, I tried to transfere it from dads laptop to mine and it ate itself on mine, but works on dads. I also have another that converts .mus files which you can write sheet music on, and I can up grade it free to convert midi files, that program came with my flute. Anyway. I will see if i can copy it to a disc or bring it in and get someone to use their keyboard on it.

[chloexflockart]

none of that made sense in retrospect, perhaps I should jsut bring it in a show you people. Also, If i want to plug a midi keyboard to a computer, which is apparently possibly, what kind of jack/port thingy do i need? I have a sus looking round port on the side of my laptop i was told can be used to plug in things like midi keyboards... but I am not so sure...?

[Ross Anderson]

most new midi keyboards run via usb. If you have a midi socket version youll have to fork out to get a midi to usb adapter or something

[haoliyou080]

discount gucci handbags A contented open-air grilling
Fine time of year regarding the very few close friendsplace on skewer authentic gucci bags, draught beer, soup a great deal of foodstuff discount gucci handbags, time for you to head outdoors to be able to grilling! Weather has become warm, warm. The like Saturday drove everyone in your house traveled to your reservoir part hiking grilling. Following the camp out to arrange for that magnificent lunchtime has been gucci bags outlet.Right now is usually a assurance having a smaller bar-b-q sets is usually word, plenty of for individual use Several,Four, really convenient to carry, use up really is easy gucci factory outlet. Need to state with this in advance to purchase the barbecue intended for and also carbon, compared to the market price with the normal co2 costlier, yet as well functional too effortless, this carbon dioxide roof tiles towards the bottom authentic gucci handbags, a bit for the brighter, it can be Quick flame receded gucci outlet online, not smoke cigarettes, it might be well-prepared foodstuff shelf, in addition to Wow gucci factory store.Viewing the family hectic intended for thirty minutes prior to h2o and key upon, then great smoky, coughing appear and vanish, I'd been secretly take new music. This also time period, the employment of qualified extensive h2o and bar-b-que, a barbecue over 2 hours, just half the particular carbon.