Home recording - what's in it for me?

[Greg M]

When I first started recording my own songs, I filmed them "live" with my digital camera on a tripod, with me singing and playing acoustic guitar. Not the best sound in the world, of course. But then I discovered Audacity (a free DAW) and began my upward journey. I knew nothing about recording, or sound cards. I simply plugged a mic directly into my laptop to record guitar and vocals separately. Then I got a lead to plug my semi-acoustic guitar into the laptop. But then I discovered Drooble, and met an number of very helpful songwriters and musicians, who taught me about interfaces, mixing, and DAWs. My sound began to develop. 

So now, I use Reaper as my DAW (which has a lot of Fx), I use an electronic interface, I use an SM58 mic for vocals and an SM57 mic for guitar, i use a Marantz sound barrier, I have sound-proofing for the little bedroom I use, I use Band in a Box to acquire the other instruments I use, my mixing skills are still improving and I use some Mastering software. I'm still improving, or at least I think so

[GregB]

Ahhh, a rhetorical question 👍

 

Audacity is a great free audio utility, but I'd never call it a DAW. Perhaps if they added bpm and bars ... ?

 

For me, home production provides an affordable opportunity for  control, flexibility and polish without having to rely on others. The downside is the never-ending wrestling with hardware and software and the constant learning (and constant re-learning if you don't use the setup every day!).

 

Cheers,

The other Greg

[Clay Anderson Johnson]

On 3/3/2022 at 4:30 PM, Greg M said:

When I first started recording my own songs, I filmed them "live" with my digital camera on a tripod, with me singing and playing acoustic guitar. Not the best sound in the world, of course. But then I discovered Audacity (a free DAW) and began my upward journey. I knew nothing about recording, or sound cards. I simply plugged a mic directly into my laptop to record guitar and vocals separately. Then I got a lead to plug my semi-acoustic guitar into the laptop. But then I discovered Drooble, and met an number of very helpful songwriters and musicians, who taught me about interfaces, mixing, and DAWs. My sound began to develop. 

So now, I use Reaper as my DAW (which has a lot of Fx), I use an electronic interface, I use an SM58 mic for vocals and an SM57 mic for guitar, i use a Marantz sound barrier, I have sound-proofing for the little bedroom I use, I use Band in a Box to acquire the other instruments I use, my mixing skills are still improving and I use some Mastering software. I'm still improving, or at least I think so

 

Up until last July I had only recorded in professional studios.  I bought my first DAW, Logic Pro X, which I find to be great for only $199, although everyone has their own opinions about choices.  The drawback is having to own a Mac which some people don't.  As I have always owned nothing else It works great for me.

Edited March 15, 2022 by Clay Anderson Johnson

[Greg M]

5 hours ago, GregB said:

Ahhh, a rhetorical question 👍

 

Audacity is a great free audio utility, but I'd never call it a DAW. Perhaps if they added bpm and bars ... ?

 

For me, home production provides an affordable opportunity for  control, flexibility and polish without having to rely on others. The downside is the never-ending wrestling with hardware and software and the constant learning (and constant re-learning if you don't use the setup every day!).

 

Cheers,

The other Greg

 

I hear you. I love the creative aspects of writing the lyrics and music, but I di tend to flag a bit when I am struggling to get a balance of all the sounds I am trying to use

[john]

9 hours ago, Greg M said:

 

I hear you. I love the creative aspects of writing the lyrics and music, but I di tend to flag a bit when I am struggling to get a balance of all the sounds I am trying to use

It sounds like you need a process and some things to aim for. Out of interest do you use channel groups? Although not a cure-all, mixing using groups can make a big difference. I also do about 50%-60% of my mixing in mono.

 

It can be useful to identify why you keep chasing your tail. Address that and your mixing should fall into place.

[Greg M]

17 hours ago, john said:

It sounds like you need a process and some things to aim for. Out of interest do you use channel groups? Although not a cure-all, mixing using groups can make a big difference. I also do about 50%-60% of my mixing in mono.

 

It can be useful to identify why you keep chasing your tail. Address that and your mixing should fall into place.

 

I'm not sure what you mean by channel groups. I often work on the tracks individually, doing volume, EQ and effects, and then bring them together. If I have three or four guitars in the mix, I have more recently created a bus for all of them and mix the bus, and then bring other tracks in. When I use EQ, I am usually experimenting with the sound, as I have a limited idea of what I am doing, and I know that compression is useful for the overall sound, but I have very little command over it. Still learning

[Glammerocity]

On 3/16/2022 at 8:05 PM, Greg M said:

When I use EQ, I am usually experimenting with the sound, as I have a limited idea of what I am doing, and I know that compression is useful for the overall sound, but I have very little command over it. Still learning

 

The thing I use most for EQ is cutting 300Hz to get rid of muddiness.

 

Compression is a huge subject. I've been recording for decades and still learning. RecordingRevolution has a handy compression checklist in PDF format on what to do and just as importantly what not to do.

http://Compression7.com 

 

Two really good compression tips worth trying:

Use a multiband compressor to compress the upper and lower mids on your master buss. Reaper's is called ReaXcomp.

Use a delay calculator to work out compression attack and release times to make a track pump in time with your song. It's a good starting point. I use this one: https://github.com/JosephTLyons/GUI-Delay-Time-Calculator/releases/download/1.7.1/The.Lyons.Den.Delay.Time.Calculator.V.1.7.1.zip

Edited March 29, 2022 by Glammerocity

[Greg M]

23 hours ago, Glammerocity said:

 

The thing I use most for EQ is cutting 300Hz to get rid of muddiness.

 

Compression is a huge subject. I've been recording for decades and still learning. RecordingRevolution has a handy compression checklist in PDF format on what to do and just as importantly what not to do.

http://Compression7.com 

 

Two really good compression tips worth trying:

Use a multiband compressor to compress the upper and lower mids on your master buss. Reaper's is called ReaXcomp.

Use a delay calculator to work out compression attack and release times to make a track pump in time with your song. It's a good starting point. I use this one: https://github.com/JosephTLyons/GUI-Delay-Time-Calculator/releases/download/1.7.1/The.Lyons.Den.Delay.Time.Calculator.V.1.7.1.zip

Hey, thanks very much. some of this actually makes sense to me. Cheers

 

[GregB]

On 3/30/2022 at 1:00 AM, Glammerocity said:

RecordingRevolution

 

Graham Cochrane from Recording Revolution is the reason behind my journey in home production, starting in 2015. His YouTube tutorials gave me confidence (in fact, it is his mantra) that budget gear and stock plugins can produce a fantastic result.

[MisterB]

I should follow my own advice here, but I think keeping things in check with reference material is great. I wish I hadn't got rid of all my CD's, because the 16-20kHz would have been useful in checking references.  

 

I wonder if many people have the same problem as I have - objectivity in your own mixing. This is where a mentor is useful. I've never had one, and its the biggest issue I've ever had in music production over the many years that I've been doing it. People are often unwilling to tell you the truth too. When something is bad, it would be great if people would tell you that it is, and what you can do to fix it. Not having this certainly limits your ability to progress with confidence in your own ability. 

[john]

4 hours ago, MisterB said:

I should follow my own advice here, but I think keeping things in check with reference material is great. I wish I hadn't got rid of all my CD's, because the 16-20kHz would have been useful in checking references.  

 

I wonder if many people have the same problem as I have - objectivity in your own mixing. This is where a mentor is useful. I've never had one, and its the biggest issue I've ever had in music production over the many years that I've been doing it. People are often unwilling to tell you the truth too. When something is bad, it would be great if people would tell you that it is, and what you can do to fix it. Not having this certainly limits your ability to progress with confidence in your own ability. 

Interestingly we thought to trial mentorship on Songstuff.

[HoboSage]

On 4/8/2023 at 8:43 AM, MisterB said:

I should follow my own advice here, but I think keeping things in check with reference material is great. I wish I hadn't got rid of all my CD's, because the 16-20kHz would have been useful in checking references.  

 

I wonder if many people have the same problem as I have - objectivity in your own mixing. This is where a mentor is useful. I've never had one, and its the biggest issue I've ever had in music production over the many years that I've been doing it. People are often unwilling to tell you the truth too. When something is bad, it would be great if people would tell you that it is, and what you can do to fix it. Not having this certainly limits your ability to progress with confidence in your own ability. 

 

Your mixes sound damn good, Bro.  You don't need a "mentor" for mixing.  Your ears are all you need.  Trust them.  Your sound choices though are another matter - a B3?  WTF? <heh-heh>  I couldn't resist.    What's next, a Fender Rhodes?  <ducking while yankin' your chain>

 

David

Edited April 11, 2023 by HoboSage

[MisterB]

On 4/11/2023 at 8:17 AM, HoboSage said:

 

Your mixes sound damn good, Bro.  You don't need a "mentor" for mixing.  Your ears are all you need.  Trust them.  Your sound choices though are another matter - a B3?  WTF? <heh-heh>  I couldn't resist.    What's next, a Fender Rhodes?  <ducking while yankin' your chain>

 

David

 

Thanks man.  And yeah we should get rid of all the sounds from the past. Drums, bass, guitars, piano. Synths only right? And not those old analog ones. 🤮 Just PhasePlant. And maybe Serum.  🙄