does it ever get to the point where

shucks, and I thought I was on a roll :( :)

Hey - FWIW I thought the rest of it made sense :)

Thanks Teryeah :)


I’ma gonna work on it :)

Mr. Toad said, "We all realize that you can’t polish a turd …"

Lord knows…I try!!! ???

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Does it ever get to the point where, recording consumes less of your life?

No.

I once tried polishing a turd - all I got was a shiny turd. ???

Quote (unclenam @ Sep. 23 2005,11:10)
They go on to talk about methods of focussing your work, writing/arranging/mastering a song over a weekend etc. In fact, their most recent issue talks about The Beatles, Les Paul and others who did not have the luxury of n-track, 20 reverbs, 10 hammond organs and as many audio tracks as your DAW can stand (i.e. more than 4) but still managed, against the odds(!) to write some reasonable tunes....

unclenam

True True True!!!
The convenience is great but the appreciation is something unexplainable. How I remember bouncing down on my 4 track R-R, after about the 3rd generation it became almost unlistenable. More tracks was always the name of the game.
Remember, Les Paul was a huge innovator in the recording world. He kept trying to squeeze more tracks out of his system and actually he and Tom Dowd were the first to get Ampex 8 track machines. It really is a wonderful time we live in :)

unclenam,

Any good stuff on the DVD that came with the Computer Music mag?

Be happy if you can actually PLAY what you mean in one or two (or even three) takes! When I’m recording, I spend most of my time just trying to play the part right. Even though I’ve been recording myself pretty regularly since 1978, I still get that dard blinking-red-light syndrome. In my mind’s ear, the part I can play is the summation of my best performance of every phrase – which is an impossible goal to begin with. To make matters worse, I know how cruel the recorder can be (just as most photographers hate being photgraphed). So I tend to sweat subtleties of articulation that I normally let slide when playing for people. And, as a result, I rarely play half as well as I can ordinarily. These are the hobgoblins of the not-so-technically-gifted musician. (Perhaps they apply at any level, because no matter how good one is, one can always find higher targets of perfection.)

Once I get tolerable tracks in the can, the rest is fun and easy – but still TIME CONSUMING.

You want to write/perform/record/produce and also have a life? C’mon, get real. Play on the weekends? You gotta be kidding. Sleep at night? Gimme a break! :p Keep the job, though … gear doesn’t work so well when they shut off your power.

Another thing to keep in mind. Most of us don’t call a cut done when we’re finally happy with it. We call it done when we’re sick of trying to improve it, basically, when we reach the point of diminishing returns for time spent. Then we call it done!

Don’t forget the occasional roses for your honey, too. A very important trick in the home recordist’s kit! Like Dr. Phil said to some guy whose wife complained that he was spending too much time working out: “It’s not what your DOING that’s causing the problem, it’s what you’re NOT doing.” So make sure the time you spend not recording is real quality time, and that what needs to be done gets done!

Good advice, I better go follow it myself … easier to give than to take! :cool:

Oh yeah – think of a CD as a year’s project. And keep it to about 40 minutes of material. More than that just waters down the effect of the best tunes and makes them all harder for folks to remember. Just like kissing: stop while they’re still interested (that goes for individual songs, too).

Whoa…


Excellent answer there Lear Jeff as always :)

Yeah, I guess it is kinda crazy to think i could do all that and have a life too, hehe. I am just looking for ways to have a little bit of a life left :)


Thanks,

Ted

syn707,

only some tutorial .wav and .midi files - no full articles. I’ll try and paraphrase the articles over the next few weeks…

Quote (learjeff @ Sep. 25 2005,11:26)
Don't forget the occasional roses for your honey, too. A very important trick in the home recordist's kit! Like Dr. Phil said to some guy whose wife complained that he was spending too much time working out: "It's not what your DOING that's causing the problem, it's what you're NOT doing." So make sure the time you spend not recording is real quality time, and that what needs to be done gets done!

Heh, you gotta get yourself a honey just a goofy and into the hobby as you are. There are many nights when Kristi and I are off at separate band practices or sequencing two different things at the same time.

Mr Soul - you’re right. Think I’m going to get a Tascam Porta02 or even a Tascam 414. Nice and easy to get instruments recorded. When I’m happy with an idea or groove I’ll transfer the parts to n-Track and continue tracking / mixing on there. (And I think I’d prefer the warm anaogue sound of tape too, rather then if I bought a digital multitrack machine).

Don’t get too excited about the “warm sound of tape” on a cassette based machine.

And why’s that Bubbagump? :)

I’ve used tape-based and digital-based systems for several years, and can definitely say that the smoothness and warmth of tape is well worth the trouble. I’m a fan of 60s music, and IMO you can’t beat the fuzzy blurriness of of some of those early Beatles and Stones tracks. That’s the only reason why I mentioned getting a new cassette four-tracker, as oppose to a digital one. Not that digital is to be avoided, far from it.

JW

I’m thinking he might be refering to the difference between the reel to reel 1 or 4 inch tape ‘warmth’ vs the sound you can get out of a regular casette four track (with added hiss and other noises).

If I can guess I think what he’s saying is don’t try and use a cheap four track and expect the results of older analogue reel to reel…

W

Yes I’d agree with that. I’m interested in cassette because of the lo-fi fuzziness, which could be used for one or two instruments (e.g drums etc, perhaps with Dolby NR), then the rest of the parts could be recorded in crisp digital (esp. vocals and acoustic guitar)…giving you the best of both worlds, i.e. warmth and sharpness.

Quote (J.W. @ Sep. 26 2005,09:37)
then the rest of the parts could be recorded in crisp digital (esp. vocals and acoustic guitar)...giving you the best of both worlds, i.e. warmth and sharpness.

IMHO - I'd do it the other way around... vocals through the cassette, and drums digital.

I also don't like pineapple on pizza, so what do I know?
:D