strat0124 Posted June 1, 2001 Share Posted June 1, 2001 When I first started recording myself, I found that I recorded every single day, and every possible idea I could come up with. Though it was a great learning experience, I found that the performance suffered at times, also the songwriting process was hit and miss at best. Since I've "grown up" and moved into suburbia, bought a house, and built a garage studio, I find that though I'm still in there everyday, I don't record as often, and when I do it's alot more thought out, and the end product is a better one. I'm teaching my son to do the tapeop job, semi engineering the thing, freeing me up. My best home recording experience of late was at an old Victorian house in Ghent, as a performer, and I had little or no setup's to do.....not even mic placement. I loved it. I was itching to touch stuff, but it's fun on that end. Any thoughts from La La land? Down like a dollar comin up against a yen, doin pretty good for the shape I'm in Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
- Posted June 1, 2001 Share Posted June 1, 2001 I totally agree. When I started out in my folks' basement with a couple of Casios, a Radio Shack mic, and a Tascam Porta 05 (and spring reverb from an old Fender blackface amp!), I used to record *all* the time. I wrote/recorded at least 200 songs in that period. Of course, in hindsight, 99% of those songs were total rubbish. http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif After going to college and kicking around my local studio/video scene for a few years, I eventually threw all my original basement tapes away out of embarassment. Career-wise, I found that the a/v field wasn't something for me, so I began working as a computer programmer. Now I'm back to working on music for fun in my spare time, and I totally love it, moreso than when I was being paid to do it. I can write songs quickly. However, the production/arrangement end slows me down big time. I can do it, but it just takes *soooooo* long to get it right. It might be because my musical standards are so much higher than they were when I was a kid. Maybe that's one of the disadvantages to developing your ability to listen -- you become *a lot* more critical, which slows things down. http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/eek.gif So I'm moving along, quickly writing songs, slowwwwwwly producing them, and trying to get better at playing my instruments. And to what end? Well, I'll definitely burn some CD-Rs for friends and I'll probably put up a web page with all the mp3s when I'm done... But an album really isn't the goal. I'm simply enjoying the process, and I look at the recording thing as a kind of fun self-enrichment. Y'know how some people go to college to gain the skills they need to get a job, while others go to college to enrich their mind and to learn more about the world around them? Well, I'm like the second type of person when it comes to recording. This message has been edited by popmusic on 06-01-2001 at 11:35 AM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the stranger Posted June 1, 2001 Share Posted June 1, 2001 I eventually threw all my original basement tapes away out of embarassment. http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/eek.gif Holy cow, I could never bring myself to do it. Lo-fi or not, I have a thousand tapes of memories and ideas. I agree that over time, everything gets a lot slower, due to more knowledge of sound, etc. I used to just get shit on tape, now I obsess over things. Back when I had very limited equipment, I just did what I could. Now, more equipment means more choices, and more mistakes that can be made. I used to hear the finished product, but I just did what I could and was happy with it. Now, that I have more gear, I know that my sonic possibilities are a lot better and I have to work a lot harder and think a lot more about the recording process. The more gear I get, the more "work" comes into the process. What has been the most trying is mixing. Recording a good sound is one thing. Recording a whole group of good sounds and getting them to be one cohesive good sound is another. http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GY Posted June 2, 2001 Share Posted June 2, 2001 I recently sent a CD to a high school friend. It's 4 songs we recorded in 1970 on my Ampex 300 4 track in my parents living room. I'm so glad I've kept all my masters. They're priceless. GY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chip McDonald Posted June 2, 2001 Share Posted June 2, 2001 Originally posted by popmusic: I eventually threw all my original basement tapes away out of embarassment. Man, I couldn't do that.... I wouldn't want anyone to hear them, but I still mine them occasionally for the odd idea or two. In fact, I'm going to eventually get around to re-record an instrumental I did that was maybe the 4th or 5th thing I came up with after getting a 4track, 2 years of playing guitar... A bluesy Pink Floyd-ish thing I would write off today for being *too* Floydish (it's actually about an inch away from being Floyd's "Marooned" - but hey, it was about 10 years before that came out!!), but I can use the excuse of "well, I had only started out when I made that up".. ..now, if I could only get rid of the horrible Rockman guitar sounds.... ------------------ New and Improved Music Soon: http://www.mp3.com/chipmcdonald Guitar Lessons in Augusta Georgia: www.chipmcdonald.com Eccentric blog: https://chipmcdonaldblog.blogspot.com/ / "big ass windbag" - Bruce Swedien Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
- Posted June 2, 2001 Share Posted June 2, 2001 Originally posted by Chip McDonald: Man, I couldn't do that.... I wouldn't want anyone to hear them, but I still mine them occasionally for the odd idea or two. Well, that's kind of the kicker. I didn't want anyone to hear them either, but I know how the songs go, and they're in my head if I ever *really* wanted to relive them. ( >shudder< http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/eek.gif ) On the other hand, there's definitely no musical ideas I'd take from any of the stuff I threw out. It felt like it was written by a different person. I got rid of everything which was pre-1991. I'm not sentimental about it. I figured if I kept the tapes around, someone someday would find them and be like, "Oh, these must have been recordings that my great, great, great, great grandfather must have made. Let me put this oddly-shaped plastic thing called a 'cassette' into this antique early 21st century mechanical playback unit and... Aaaaaaaaa! Turn it off! Turn it off!" http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif The basement stuff was fun at the time, and it was *definitely* a learning experience, but I wouldn't want *anyone* to ever hear it. It was really that bad -- trust me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alphajerk Posted June 2, 2001 Share Posted June 2, 2001 little does he know i came upon them in the trash, dumped them into my computer and rip'd mp3's of them... now they are circulating around napster http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/wink.gif i get bored recording myself. i dont have time to write songs. i like to jam with people and record it, improv. ever since e got my first 4 track, its always been about recording other people. its just too tough to record your own stuff, i cant play engineer and musician at the same time. too taxing, and i become too critical. hell, i think my purpose in learning all the different instruments was to be able to communicate with those players better and to understand where they are coming from rather than master them for my own musings. alphajerk FATcompilation "if god is truly just, i tremble for the fate of my country" -thomas jefferson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KBP Posted June 2, 2001 Share Posted June 2, 2001 Man I still got everything from when I first started. I'm like a pack rat. I've got around 3 to 400 cassette tapes (currently packed away) and just yesterday I needed to get an Idea from one of them. I'm slowly but surely burning the best takes on to cd, I'm on cd 10. Personally I find myself every 3 or 4 months going into deep depression cause I don't feel that I write the way I used to (Pre Computer/Pre any type of real production/Pre any type of great sound) My old songs just resonate true. they might not sound good at all, but they still (almost all) kick my ass. I want to re record them but when ever I try, they don't sound the same. Me? I'm on a quest to get back the innocence of creation. I love my old stuff, I like my new stuff. More emotion prior to trying to compete sonically. KBP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
- Posted June 2, 2001 Share Posted June 2, 2001 Originally posted by KBP: Personally I find myself every 3 or 4 months going into deep depression cause I don't feel that I write the way I used to (Pre Computer/Pre any type of real production/Pre any type of great sound) My old songs just resonate true. they might not sound good at all, but they still (almost all) kick my ass. I want to re record them but when ever I try, they don't sound the same. Me? I'm on a quest to get back the innocence of creation. I love my old stuff, I like my new stuff. More emotion prior to trying to compete sonically. If someone would ask me my favorite song I've written, I would say it would be the *next* song -- the one I haven't written yet. I definitely think my early stuff was innocent -- but it was ignorant as well. It was before I was exposed to many of the wonderful artists I now enjoy and before I had enough life experiences to draw on when writing something meaningful. But I know what you mean about the pre computer/pre any type of great sound thing. At times, when I've gotten frustrated, I've considered chucking all of the anal-retentive (and expensive) stuff you need to do to get a good sound and going a deliberately lo-fi route, like Guided By Voices. But then I realize that kind of asthetic requires a certain discipline to sound "good" too. Besides, most of the recordings I really admire are ones which have a "good" sound, not deliberately ugly lo-fi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strat0124 Posted June 2, 2001 Author Share Posted June 2, 2001 Man, I haven't thrown away anything. I've got tapes when I used to bounce between two tape decks. Really rough and raw....but it's mine. Down like a dollar comin up against a yen, doin pretty good for the shape I'm in Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hippie Posted June 2, 2001 Share Posted June 2, 2001 Man, I used to record everything, geez, I'd have a bit of an idea and tape it. I don't do that anymore, but I'm happy if have so much stuff that is mine to use now, as loops or whatever. And it's fun to go back and listen to your old recordings & compare them to what you are doing now. -Hippie In two days, it won't matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tedster Posted June 2, 2001 Share Posted June 2, 2001 Yup, Strat, and when the record company finally gets around to producing "The Moaning Lisas" Anthology Vols. I-III you'll have everything they need! http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gifhttp://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gifhttp://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif I'm still waiting for Mr. Martin from EMI to call me about our anthology series...not GEORGE Martin...Ralph Martin from Earl Morris Insurance... http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gifhttp://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gifhttp://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif "Cisco Kid, was a friend of mine" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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