Home Recording

Started by rory, October 08, 2014, 06:12:52 PM

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rory

So since being involved with playing music with other people, I've been doing it in the context of DIY. Basically, the concept of shoddy home demos/basement tracking/releasing a tape that is much too quiet is definitely something I've worked with and been around. But the thing is, I've always done this in the context of another band. Either a bandmate or a friend has been the mastermind behind actually recording the sounds, while I usually function in the ways of dubbing tapes/copying CDs and creating packaging - stuff that I feel pretty well-versed in. I've always just been a bassist, never the head of a band, so I've never needed to bottom line anything unless I volunteered it.

But recently I bought a baritone guitar, which I've been playing a lot every day, and I'm having quite a bit of fun. I bought a TASCAM DP-004 a couple of years ago for attempting to demo some ukulele stuff (all of which I scrapped, and I have now forgotten how to play ukulele for the most part), which actually seems to be a pretty handly little digital 4-track. I have also now dug up a little Behringer mixing board out of my basement, and in a couple of days my Roland sp-808 groove sampler will be arriving. I'm looking to create beats/loops/sounds/noise/background stuff to go with guitar and bass, primarily.

I guess I'm diving really head-first into this bedroom recording stuff. I'm really liking it so far, but there's definitely a lot that I feel like I don't know. I imagine a few people here have some experience doing similar projects. I'd like to hear about what you're doing and what your processes are, and how you keep focused/organized/motivated.

If I make anything halfway decent I'll share it here too, y'all could do the same.
Quote from: Winged Killick
I'm an anarchist, but I'm not going to drive ninety-five miles an hour down the road tossing illegal, invasive species of snakes from my car while texting and fraudulently doing my taxes.

michaelcopeland

That's really neat. I can't wait to hear what kind of stuff you end up recording!

I recorded my last album on a zoom R8 multitrack recorder. It was the first time I ever recorded anything with multiple tracks, so I was afraid of getting anything too fancy. I'll attach the link to my album. The song Andy is probably the best example of what it is capible of, that was the last one I recorded and I kind of got the hang of it. The drums are loops and stuff I made.

http://hoverhands.bandcamp.com/

rory

Yr stuff is cool! Reminds me of Walter Millty & His Makeshift Orchestra in your songwriting/structuring/voice. Sounding pretty good.

My Roland SP-808 has arrived, and I have already figured out how to record and clean up samples. This piece of equipment is 16 years old and uses zipdiscs, but thus far I am completely satisfied with it's capabilities and it's usability. I'm not looking to make hiphop stuff right now, just noise tracks or interesting rhythm tracking that do not sound canned/are difficult to pick out how they were created - and I think my little bedroom set up is going to work out for this.

This is a small bit of what I recorded yesterday using baritone guitar, bass, and a 4 step sequencer run though a lot of delay. I'm pretty happy with how it sounds with the extraneous noise from the sequencer. This is mostly just a test of my ability to throw stuff together my my 4 track recorder.

http://www.mediafire.com/view/bi8x8itrxpt9yvy/testofstuff.mp3
Quote from: Winged Killick
I'm an anarchist, but I'm not going to drive ninety-five miles an hour down the road tossing illegal, invasive species of snakes from my car while texting and fraudulently doing my taxes.

michaelcopeland

Thanks! I'm actually playing a show with those guys in a couple weeks. I realm like the way that sequencer sounds! I found an old tape recorder at my grandma's the other day and I've been messing around with it a little bit.

AaronTheCabe

i have been using the free program audacity for most of my music recording. I'd prefer to use the below and have an analog sound but i'm not sure if i'm using it wrong or if its broken cause there's a whisp type sound that comes and goes on it for no reason i can find and when its on you can barely hear the recordings





obviously from the dust you can tell i haven't used it in a while. but this thread has renewed my interest in recording and i have a song in DADGAd that i recently have been working on so it'd be fun to get back to recording and making music instead of smoking meth and writing indivudal letters to everyone for post suicide information
Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back breakfast

AaronTheCabe

Quote from: rory on October 09, 2014, 12:29:16 PM
Yr stuff is cool! Reminds me of Walter Millty & His Makeshift Orchestra in your songwriting/structuring/voice. Sounding pretty good.

checking out now cause i love love LVOE WAlter Mitty & his makeshift orchestra. i like to thing Ben Stiller did that wanted to do a film rendition of the secret life of walter mitty cause he heard the band and loved the inspiration
Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back breakfast

AaronTheCabe

Michael copeland, dude i am LOVING your music. I joined bandcamp so i could follow you and didn't realize it had to be a "fan account" and still haven't figured out how to make that but since th is is a music thread and specifically about home recordings, here's my new bandcamp account with the one song i have just uploaded (i guess more to come?) how do you get unlimited free listens for folks, this 200 listens max sucks.

https://flywheelshyster.bandcamp.com/track/it-wasnt-me

https://flywheelshyster.bandcamp.com/releases
Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back breakfast

michaelcopeland

Thanks bud! I love your stuff as well. I can't wait to hear what else you record. As for the free listens thing I'm not sure, I'm fairly new to bandcamp myself.

Audacity is a good program. I also am learning to use Cubase because it came free with my recorder, it seems really easy to get used to.

rory

Aaron, I think my Tascam thing is essentially a non-tape version of what you have. All the same function, but on an SD card, which is handy. Maybe you can get it working and make the weird sounds work your favor!
Quote from: Winged Killick
I'm an anarchist, but I'm not going to drive ninety-five miles an hour down the road tossing illegal, invasive species of snakes from my car while texting and fraudulently doing my taxes.