Jason Hoyt Posted October 20, 2002 Share Posted October 20, 2002 Political pun intended. Well I got promoted. @$20/hr, I'd be a moron to turn it down. Its 2nd shift though, so I had to break ties with the band I had just joined, and turn down a potentially fun/lucrative offer. Maybe it has something to do with, me getting a $12,000 a year raise and getting bummed out. But, rather than get all bummed, my Fiancee' has been encouraging me to start writing my own originals again. That sounds great to me, so I wanted to ask you all, the best way to record my own demo's. I already can play the drums, and some basic G**tar power chords, but I dont own either a G**tar or a drumset. Is there a way to add either instrument with modern technology? Should I just get a decent keyboard and a good drum machine, with a digital hard disk recorder? I know there are alot of options(like computers), but, what would be the easiest to use? Any ideas? One thing I might want to look at, is the ease with which I will be able to use these recordings to collaborate with other musicians(I.E., could a g**tarista "hear": the guitar part in my keyboard playing?). The only reason I would add "Fake" guitar parts or drums, is to give potential players an idea of the orchestration and song construction. I noticed that w/out those parts added in, I have a more difficult time communicating my "vision"/delusions... Any tips would be much appreciated... Your friend -nosaJ "Suppose you were an idiot ... And suppose you were a member of Congress ... But I repeat myself." -Mark Twain http://artists.mp3s.com/artists/63/condition_1.html (my old band) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wraub Posted October 20, 2002 Share Posted October 20, 2002 Get yourself one of the new digital multitrack recorders. A lot of them even burn internally right to CD, and they are all sufficient for demo purposes. I tend to play all the instruments myself, at least "actual instruments" like bass, guitar, some percussion, horns, vocals, etc. I'm good enough to know how bad I am, but I can at least sell the idea well enough for another person to take off from. I have yet to find a guitar simulation that has the dynamics of the real thing. That said,I will often record a track with the intention of replacing everything, so the instruments do not really matter, as long as the melodies/rhythm are there. Good luck... Peace, wraub I'm a lot more like I am now than I was when I got here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Hoyt Posted October 20, 2002 Author Share Posted October 20, 2002 Yeah, I think my little tape Tascam 414 portastudio, probably wont cut it for my purposes "Suppose you were an idiot ... And suppose you were a member of Congress ... But I repeat myself." -Mark Twain http://artists.mp3s.com/artists/63/condition_1.html (my old band) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudbass Posted October 21, 2002 Share Posted October 21, 2002 I don't know how those digital multitrack gizmos compare to a PC because I haven't used one of them, but a PC with a good studio program can do some pretty amazing stuff. You have everything right at your fingertips like compression, limiting, filtering, EQ and effects like chorus, phase, flange, reverb, echo and if the software you get is VST compatible there are tons of third party effects and utilities availble for purchase, shareware and sometimes even freeware. You might scout around and see if you can find a guitarist or other musicians who would like to do some online collaborating. I found a keyboardist/writer in Sweden and a guitar/keyboard/cello/writer in San Diego to work with and we've been having some fun. Once you get the logistics worked out among the collaborators it's pretty easy. For example, the last song we did, Daniel (in Sweden) sent both Sarah (guitar) and me midi files of a song he wrote. I tracked on the bass and strings while Sarah laid down the guitar, cello and drums on her end. Sarah then sent me a CD of her tracks in wave format via the US Post office and I mixed it all together with Daniel's midi and the tracks I recorded. Have a listen if you care to. It's not Grammy material, but considering how it was done, the end product isn't too shabby I think. http://www.mrbooger.com/index_files/Music/Neverland.mp3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wickerman Posted October 21, 2002 Share Posted October 21, 2002 I find the computer easiest... 10 channel mixer into my soundcard. I can mic two guitars, bass, drums and two mics. Simple enough, sounds better than a multi-track tape recorder and the software and mixer combined was only $350, less than most good recorders anyway. Good stuff if you have a good computer already. A few times I've written a song, recorded the guitar track (metronome for confidence) then track a bass line, maybe add vocals or a lead guitar track, slap a cheap-cheezy drum machine track on it off a computer program and kick it out for my band to get the feel of a song. Easy, fairly cheap and I can have my whole band over to record cheap CDs to pawn off at shows. Buy a 100 pack of CDs for $20, burn some CDs, pass 'em out at shows and music stores with a flyer for our show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fonz Posted October 22, 2002 Share Posted October 22, 2002 recording to pro tools is the best way to go from everything i hear. as for drums, it depends on what sound you want. you can get electronic gadgets that can be "played" and sound real enough, but they are obviously not drums on a recording. depends on the route your taking. if you're just trying to get something general recorded for recruitment porpoises which will then be reproduced incorporating the abilities and influences of other musicians (my strong recommendation) then that is probably the most efficient and expandable route to take. Eeeeeehhhhhhhhh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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