MIDI clocks are so cool!

[CharlesThomas]

So, for the first time I recorded a demo with my new D-160 deck by slaving my drum machine to the built-in MIDI clock of the deck.

WOW! What a very cool thing that is. The drum machine synchs its tempo and performance to the D-160 and starts playing automatically at the same beat and measure when I start recording. If I start in the middle of the song, the drum machine advanced itself to the correct point in the song and plays perfectly synched.

Now if I decide to change the mix of the toms, or use a different kick drum, or make ANY other changes in the drums once the track is built, I can go back and do it effortlessly.

Previously, once the drums were down, they were down forever, immutably. If I got half-way into the track and realized that the toms were too loud or I was using the wrong snare, for example, I was S.O.L.

Additionally, I can now use the MIDI clock to run a metronome track and use it to put real drums onto backing tracks I recorded to a drum machine at home.

I'm very glad that I took the time to learn to use that feature!

CT

[tutton]

Hi Charles

What is a D-160 deck, and what software do you do this stuff in, and how do you do it, and did you do that Badwolf stuff in a real studio, if you tell me you did that Badwolf stuff at home im just gona CRY...

Im so dumb I cant sync nothing yet...Help

see ya

Tony

[This message has been edited by tutton (edited 06-15-2000).]

[CharlesThomas]

>What is a D-160 deck?

It's a 16-track hard disk recorder made by Fostex. http://www.fostex.com/usa-index.html

>what software do you do this stuff in?

Umm... I don't use any software except for the built-in features of the D-160. I'm still pretty old-fashioned in my studio. I even mix things by hand using outboard effects, patch cords, and everything! I can just see the puzzled looks on all the Cakewalk users faces.

>did you do that Badwolf stuff in a real studio, if you tell me you did that Badwolf stuff at home im just gona CRY...

Umm... well... actually all the Badwolf stuff was recorded in the basement, start to finish on an 8-track reel-to-reel. "Knock It Down" was engineered, mixed, and mastered single-handedly by yours truly. What a nightmare!

The only exception is that the drums on "Sleeping Dogs Lie" (the second Badwolf album) were recorded in a warehouse by our engineer, Tim Woodworth (who is now a sound engineer with the "Nine Inch Nails" tour). Everything else was done in the basement. Tim and I mixed that one cooperatively.

All the "Hotter Than Karl" stuff was done in the basement.

My solo CD was done in my bedroom under even more ridiculous circumstances... but that's another story for another time. Heh.

CT

[MISTERQCUE]

Congrats Charles!
Hey, does Tim Woodworth record using computers and subsequent software,or does he
use an outboard mixer,gear etc.?

[This message has been edited by MISTERQCUE (edited 06-15-2000).]

[CharlesThomas]

>Hey, does Tim Woodworth record using computers and subsequent software,or does he use an outboard mixer,gear etc.?

Actually he works with NIN as a live sound engineer. As far as I know, working on our project is the only studio work he's done (I could be mistaken).

I brought him in on the project because he always gets a great drum sound, and he had access to some better microphones and effects gear than I did at the time. We did all the drums for the CD just like a live gig (outboard mixer, a rack of gates and effects, etc), except that we submixed the drums to two tracks and recorded them to the 8-track reel-to-reel in stereo.

Drums were gated during tracking and drum reverb was printed to tape. Not the optimal setup, but when you only have 8 tracks to record the full band (we wanted to avoid the sound degradation inherent in analog bouncing), it became the best option.

For the most part it worked out ok, but on a couple songs (like the intro to "Richard") you can hear where a loud snare hit would open the gates on the toms and a little extra reverb crept in there.

CT

[This message has been edited by CharlesThomas (edited 06-15-2000).]

[tutton]

>Tim Woodworth (who is now a sound engineer with the "Nine Inch Nails" tour)

Im rackin my brain tryin to thing where ive seen this guy before...Television maybe...

Tony