tenthplanet Posted November 15, 2001 Share Posted November 15, 2001 Did you ever have a day when you just wanted to kick the sequencer into the trashcan and go back to good ole' analog overdubbing. If so, what happened? Bad luck, feeling retro, maybe a full moon. Spill and be heard. Michael Q:What do you call a truck with nothing in the bed,nothing on the hitch, and room for more than three people in the cab? A:"A car".... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbyjoe Posted November 15, 2001 Share Posted November 15, 2001 oh the joys of recording..... thankfully roland put an UNDO button on their XP range of synths (probably a bit earlier too). i had (still have) an MC-300 sequencer that didn't have any undo button. thankfully roland realised we are human. ....i don't think analog overdubs are necessarily error-free, especially when it depends on your ability. (is this on the same topic as this thread???). i'll tell you's something funny. i was working on a vocal track yesterday for a demo of mine for a competition. my voice is out of training (i once had a good voice) and i couldn't get the right tone for my song. Then the phone rang - it was confirming i was starting a new job (in a carpark) this weekend (even though i don't have a job, this one is not the best thing for my performing lifestyle, ie. won't be able to gig). when i got off the phone i was so mad about having to start this job i don't want to that i went downstairs and recorded a vocal take of my song (it's a self-pity song) and did the best take i've done thus far! strange..... but that does go back to michael's comment - recording does have its moments. pray for peace. k "Consider how much coffee you're drinking - it's probably not enough." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobro Posted November 15, 2001 Share Posted November 15, 2001 I had that day a couple of months ago. Since then it's been a midi-free party. Even softsynths get treated as if they were hardware- of course I control Reaktor from a midi keyboard, but as a standalone so it's like playing a rackmounted synth and gets recorded onto the "multitrack tape recorder", Samplitude on the other computer. My two analog synths are gloriously midi-free, it's either play them or they're furniture. I guess the modern method would be to sample them, but it's been a year since using any kind of sampler- never got into samplers anyway. Fortunately my wife loves the idea of old analogs cluttering up the apartment because working this way I need more! more! more! No retro feelings here, it's a matter of working in the most comfortable and productive manner. Today I need some thick layered digital pads though, timbre not orchestration if you know what I mean, that probably means dusting off the midi sequencer, letting it track my playing then assigning more softsynths to the midifile because even with a PIII 1,OOO, playing them all simultaneously isn't going to fly. An unwilling compromise, because feeling out the timbre as you play is the only way to go, which is what makes the old-fashioned way superior IMO. -CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magpel Posted November 15, 2001 Share Posted November 15, 2001 Let's face it: sometimes midi gets weird. Conversations go on underneath the visible interface, and vibrato gets applied to the hi-hat (not even and interesting sound I might add). Yeah, there are times when I fondly recall my four track days, the simplicity and reliability, and even sometimes I suspect that mixes may have sounded better, not in terms of fidelity but that wholesome, hissy analog mesh. When I started four tracking in the mid-80s, I had my guitar, a bass, a Radio Shack reverb unit, and a pair of Venezualan Tourist maracas. The boom box I mixed to had some stupid auto-compression on it that would squelch my mixes horribly every time it felt threatened. Come to think of it, I don't miss those days so much. Check out the Sweet Clementines CD at bandcamp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSears Posted November 15, 2001 Share Posted November 15, 2001 Yep, I quit sequencing about 8 years ago and haven't missed it. I figure the extra bit of time I spend practicing the part so I can just play it to tape saves me from having to fool around with the sequencer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coyote Posted November 15, 2001 Share Posted November 15, 2001 Ummmm.... what's a sequencer? Originally posted by tenthplanet: Did you ever have a day when you just wanted to kick the sequencer into the trashcan and go back to good ole' analog overdubbing. If so, what happened? Bad luck, feeling retro, maybe a full moon. Spill and be heard. Michael I used to think I was Libertarian. Until I saw their platform; now I know I'm no more Libertarian than I am RepubliCrat or neoCON or Liberal or Socialist. This ain't no track meet; this is football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RABid Posted November 15, 2001 Share Posted November 15, 2001 I feel that way every time I sit down with an entire song in my head. Frequently I have 5 to 20 parts going in my head. By the time I get the sequencer ready and appropriate sounds loaded I loose it. Frustration takes over as I try to put in one little part at a time. I cannot get a sound in my head to translate to the computer. My midi interface decides it does not like the computer. There are just so many things that can through the moods. That is the main reason I traded my XP-80 for a Fantom last weekend. I want to change the way I sequence a new song. No more trying to orchestrate something massive on the first pass. Now I just want the quickest way to get an idea down. Simplify it, record it, then move it to Sonar and slowly build up to what I first heard in my mind. This post edited for speling. My Sweetwater Gear Exchange Page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Klopmeyer Posted November 15, 2001 Share Posted November 15, 2001 I switch back and forth like this all the time. It's a matter of what the tune calls for, and also what I can and can't actually play. Some tunes are sequenced start to finish. Some are played into the sequencer, sloppy timing cleaned up and finsihed that way. Some are just straight old multitracking, where (gasp) I actually play the instrument. Remember, I'm a guitarist who plays keys, not the other way around. I'm used to having to track things. There are no rules when I start a new track. - Jeff Marketing Communications for MI/Pro Audio My solo music and stuff They Stole My Crayon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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