So Mod's..........

[Fumblyfingers]

Hi guys, so a couple of us touched briefly on the idea of having a thread, perhaps a sticky, where we could post links to jam tracks and they could either be used privately or forumites could add a solo or whatever to it and post it back as a link. This would hopefully be for fun and education.

 

I would imagine the tracks would have to be loops that are open to public use, and also perhaps even backing tracks that forum users create. Published works and covers would obviously be a no-no.

 

So what do you guys think? I mean it could be done now just by way of posting a link to one's Soundclick site, but it would be nice if it could be centralized by way of a single thread.

 

This is just an idea for consideration. I know that some other guitar forums do this, do you think it could work here?

[Hardtail]

FF, I'd love to "try" and jam over any rhythm tracks you may put out.

 

The idea sounds good to me.

[Fumblyfingers]

Yeah but I think the Mod's are going to have to discuss this.

 

I mean I don't just have tracks to throw in...I would have to think about it and go record one, but it is not that hard to do. It would be nice to collaborate with others though even if just by way of throwing on a solo to someone's track or if somene wants a rhythm track or some add-on to a song, I mean there are a lot of things that could be done.

 

Anyone else want to weigh in? Do some of you guys have tracks you would want to post that are generic home brewed tracks, not covers?

 

I would not have the time to be the only one doing it, so how about it...would anyone else other than HT and I want to see this idea progress?

[Gruupi]

That would be cool, yeah it couldn't be covers, it would have to be public domain or user created. I know some other guitar site, maybe its Guitars 101 does/did this. I don't really have any backing tracks per se, I guess I could cull some from my last bands recordings, boy that would be alot of work. But if a thread like this catches on I would consider it.

[Dr. Ellwood]

I have some we did I would be glad to donate. Some are generic and a couple of them are cover tracks minus the lead lines.

[Fumblyfingers]

Hi Ell and Gruup's....yeah it cannot be anything published, copyrighted etc. So we could not use the Jamey Aebersold stuff which is a bummer but you got to respect the ownership thereof...he makes $'s off of that.

 

But the generic stuff is good....okay so we are getting somewhere.

 

I mean I KNOW the Griffinator can hit us with some metal type tracks.....we could get a lot of blues and fusion type stuff, we got some great acoustic players here....c'mon!

[musicalhair]

I don't know if a new thread is needed, we have a "share your music" thread already I don't think it would get lost, even though the thread is large we have the ability to link to specific posts within threads.

 

I'm reorganizing my stuff and will kinda soon (I talk long term views of things so "soon" to me is a couple of months) be able to post recorded stuff that I might even be happy with. I'd be down for any thing along these lines once I get my stuff all set up and good to go. I'm all in boxes and piles but my sheet music is back up on a book shelf and my chair is out front and I'm going down stairs in a couple of minutes to clean the dust off the sheet music stand. I'm like really psyched.

 

Tomorrow the drum kit gets set up with a music stand. The recording stuff will take a while to get the room squared away (I mean it is a mountain of boxes).

[Justus A. Picker]

It'd be fun to get a 12 bar thing going someone take the head and have people trade 12's and comp a long "solo" out of everyones parts. Lot's of way to go with something like this.

[Dr. Ellwood]

Ok, well I have four or five varied blues generic tracks minus the guitar player my band worked up. How and where should I upload these? I will have to convert them to MP3 first I guess? or should I upload .WAV?

[Justus A. Picker]

If you register (for free) at http://www.stringdancer.com and click on the "genesis web" link you'll get 100 mb of free space there to do with what you will.

[Dr. Ellwood]

Picker, should they be .WAV or MP3? what do you think?

[Justus A. Picker]

A wav file would be way too big! A three minute tune is gonna run 33mb! If you encode them at 256kps they'll be close enough to cd quality that it'll be hard to tell the difference.

[Dr. Ellwood]

Ok thanks, I will do that and have them ready when we find out where there are to go.

[A String]

Let me run the idea around with the guys up stairs.

[Guitarzan]

if i can click with my buddies schedule i can pop up a few rock/metal/funky etc tracks for ya.

[A String]

Originally posted by Justus A. Picker:

A wav file would be way too big! A three minute tune is gonna run 33mb! If you encode them at 256kps they'll be close enough to cd quality that it'll be hard to tell the difference.

With all due respect, 192Kbps would be better. It is widely considered "Near CD Quality" and would be much easier for us "Dial-up" guys...

[Bbach1]

I currently have no way to record to computer. I tried to get into computer recording and found that it was going to occupy a whole nother chapter in my life to learn how to do it properly and I wasn't willing to learn it, so I sold everything I'd puchased. Sorry I cannot participate.

[A String]

Originally posted by ND Bbach:

I currently have no way to record to computer. I tried to get into computer recording and found that it was going to occupy a whole nother chapter in my life to learn how to do it properly and I wasn't willing to learn it, so I sold everything I'd puchased. Sorry I cannot participate.

If you have a sound card, a 1/4" to 1/8" adaptor and an internet connection (To download the free software), you can record on your computer. It's a lot easier then you think and with help and advice from the guys here, you could be up and running in no time.

 

I'm not sure if you've ever used a four track, but computer recording is way easier then that. ie. none of that panning left for track 1 and 3 and right for 2 and 4. etc.

[Greg B.]

I am totally in on this! But I am completely ignorant about recording to the computer. If some of you more savvy ones are willing to help novices like myself, I will jump right on in! I think its an excellent idea.

[A String]

Originally posted by Greg B.:

I am totally in on this! But I am completely ignorant about recording to the computer. If some of you more savvy ones are willing to help novices like myself, I will jump right on in! I think its an excellent idea.

Certainly Greg. It all depends on how much you want to spend. For $1.00, you can buy a 1/4" to 1/8" adaptor at a dollar store and plug directly into your sound card. You can down load one of the free multi tracking programs and be on your way in no time. If you want to sink money into it, there are many possibilities. First off, how far into it do you want to get and how much are you willing to spend?

[Greg B.]

I'm liking the $1.00 thing alot. I might even have a few of those at home in the junk drawer. I think that my best bet for now is to start out cheap and easy, then build from there. This may be the only thing that I use it for the time being, besides probably messing around a little bit. My wife and I are having another child in September, so my time will be limited for a while once that happens. I really appreciate the help and will definitely participate if this does come around.

 

What are some of the free downloadable multi tracking programs available?

[A String]

Which OS are you using? If you are pre WinXp, you can get a full copy of Pro Tools for free.

 

I use Cakewalk which you have to pay for, but a lot of folks here use free programs. Maybe you could post a "What's the best Freeware, Multitrack Program" thread?

[Guitar55]

How can you get Pro Tools for free? And why does it have to be pre-WInXP?

[A String]

It's the Win 98 version. It's not compatible with WinXp, so they are allowing you to download a copy for free, from their website.

[Bbach1]

Originally posted by A String:

Originally posted by ND Bbach:

I currently have no way to record to computer. I tried to get into computer recording and found that it was going to occupy a whole nother chapter in my life to learn how to do it properly and I wasn't willing to learn it, so I sold everything I'd puchased. Sorry I cannot participate.

If you have a sound card, a 1/4" to 1/8" adaptor and an internet connection (To download the free software), you can record on your computer. It's a lot easier then you think and with help and advice from the guys here, you could be up and running in no time.

 

I'm not sure if you've ever used a four track, but computer recording is way easier then that. ie. none of that panning left for track 1 and 3 and right for 2 and 4. etc.

I just want to hit the "record" button and go. I had invested in a whole setup with an echo layla and some software and realized I wasn't going to take the time to learn how to operate the software. I tried to record with my guitar amp mic'd and plugged into the echo layla and never got the sound to come out. No volume. Drove me nuts. I tried a mixer thinking with actual slide controls I could make it work and still not much for sound quality. I realized I was going to have to study to make it work so I unhooked everything and put it on eBay and sold it all. I don't want to study more stuff than I already have on my plate to study and I think there is an acquired art to this.

Is there an easy interphase? Like I said, I want to hit record and go, maybe a couple volume controls to mess with just like an old radio shack cassette recorder.

[A String]

Sorry. I was wrong. I remembered an old post by Fumbly about it, but when I went back and read it, it turns out it's a "lite" copy. It's only 8 tracks.

 

Pro Tools Free

[stamplicker]

bBach,

with the $1.00 upgrade.. (convertor plug)

 

grab this...

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

free and easy, anyone can use it..

 

this one works well also...

http://www.cockos.com/reaper/download.php

haven't played with it much but looks simple enough

 

all you have to do is plug into your "line in" on your sound card. open your volume properties and turn the "line in" level up.

 

open the program and choose "line in" as your recording source...

 

hit record and start strumming!!!!

 

once done.. highlight the dead areas and delete.

It also offers a number of effects you can muck with as well...

 

with Audacity you can export the file as *.mp3, *.wav, etc...

 

and you can also open any audio file type with it and edit and add to it as well.. really easy and addicting... from there if it doesn't offer enough you can move up to a more rounded program.

 

but for quick and simple I'd recommend the Audacity

[Bbach1]

Thanks Stamp. I actually had a link to Audacity in my favorites folder but have never explored it.

[Fumblyfingers]

This my friends is what I am talking about!! There are going to be some folks that are as yet new to computer recording and this will provide the motivation to get their feet wet.

 

I love it!!

 

The Audacity thing sounds good, quick and easy.You don't have to spend a lot and it is awesome that Audacity has the MP3 export feature.

 

All the stuff I post at Soundclick is 128kbps, I think that's as high as you can go on the free version of Soundclick...it sounds fine for our needs here.

 

Who knows, someone might start small and then get a better soundcard, better software etc etc.

 

I would love to also have a way for bass players to throw on tracks also if they wanted so I would be hip to post a jam sans bass for our low end friends here. All they have to do is ask.

 

Yo.....maybe one of us, or the Forum Admin, could create a "Master" Soundclick site where either the login is one we can all use, or the tracks could go there by way of admin checking them out first and approving of them. You know avoiding covers etc etc .....just thinking aloud here. We post the master jams there and make them available as MP3 downloads and Bob's your Aunty....I wonder if that is possible? We would just post our finished efforts to our own sites and keep the "master" site for the jam masters only

 

Anyway, getting ahead too much as usual...

[A String]

Originally posted by ND Bbach:

Originally posted by A String:

Originally posted by ND Bbach:

I currently have no way to record to computer. I tried to get into computer recording and found that it was going to occupy a whole nother chapter in my life to learn how to do it properly and I wasn't willing to learn it, so I sold everything I'd puchased. Sorry I cannot participate.

If you have a sound card, a 1/4" to 1/8" adaptor and an internet connection (To download the free software), you can record on your computer. It's a lot easier then you think and with help and advice from the guys here, you could be up and running in no time.

 

I'm not sure if you've ever used a four track, but computer recording is way easier then that. ie. none of that panning left for track 1 and 3 and right for 2 and 4. etc.

I just want to hit the "record" button and go. I had invested in a whole setup with an echo layla and some software and realized I wasn't going to take the time to learn how to operate the software. I tried to record with my guitar amp mic'd and plugged into the echo layla and never got the sound to come out. No volume. Drove me nuts. I tried a mixer thinking with actual slide controls I could make it work and still not much for sound quality. I realized I was going to have to study to make it work so I unhooked everything and put it on eBay and sold it all. I don't want to study more stuff than I already have on my plate to study and I think there is an acquired art to this.

Is there an easy interphase? Like I said, I want to hit record and go, maybe a couple volume controls to mess with just like an old radio shack cassette recorder.

Did you set the record selection?

-Double click the speaker icon in the systray.

-Click on "Options", "Properties".

-Select "Recording" and click "OK".

-Make sure the input you are using is selected ("line in", "mic" etc.)

 

Install the recording software. Plug your guitar's output (Whether it be direct from the guitar, from an effect pedal or from an amp) into the sound card (Line in or Mic). Use the direction I posted above so your computer is set to record stuff from the spot you plugged in. Then open the recording software, select the track and click record.

 

Of course there are all sorts of extra editing stuff that can be done in some programs, but you don't "have" to use them. You can just click "record" and go.

 

If you have any problems, just ask us here. We can get you recording in no time.