New to recording, where to start my project?

[potario]

I have been playing/writing music for a long time, but have never recorded before. Recently I've been asked to contribute a track for a compilation. I have limited equipment, and no budget for new hardware/software. I'm looking for advice on how to approach this and get started.

My recording setup consists of an aging 700 MHz iMac, an Maudio Quattro, and for software I have Ableton live 4, Reaper, and Audacity.

The song is about 7:50 min in length and so far I have recorded 6 drum tracks in both Live and Reaper. The levels are ok going in, but once it's all played together the meter moves into the red.

Reaper seems to be too much for my system to handle. Live 4 runs very well, but I don't know if I can record a full song with this. I never liked the interface and don't have allot of experience with it. It doesn't seem to be the best choice for the type of arrangement I want.

The song has 6 drum tracks that come in and out at various times. Would it be better to use short loops for these rather than the full length? There are also about 6 synth parts. 2 are repeating arpeggios, the rest are long, evolving sequences/sounds some last almost the entire length, and others fade in and out.

Any advice on how to approach this would be very appreciated. I don't know where to start. It's all new to me!

 

[Chibi Nappa]

so far I have recorded 6 drum tracks in both Live and Reaper.

Where to start your project? Sounds like you already started!

But seriously, the first thing to do is to designate a producer. If you are paying money to somebody to be a producer, then it is obvious he is the producer. If you are the only person working on the entire project, then it is obvious you are the producer. If it is you and your buddies... designate a producer.

Next you want a way for the producer to hear the songs front-to-back. If the producer is somebody other than yourself, you can simply sit down with a guitar and play/sing the whole song for the producer to hear. Otherwise, make a super quick-n-dirty no-effort recording (mic in the middle of the floor, maybe?). Point is the guy in charge needs to be able to hear the whole thing before actual work begins.

This is where you decide what everything should sound like, what parts have no guitar and what parts have 8 guitars, when the drummer should hit the ride instead of the hat, etc etc.

Once your path is clear, the next step should present itself. If you still don't know where to go, your path isn't clear yet.

I wish I could give you more info on what to do at this point, but it could really be one of a billion things depending on what you decided to do with the song after meeting and thinking about it.

But above all else, have somebody in charge of making the sonic choices, and listen to the songs several times before you record.

 

[potario]

Thanks for the insight Chibi, I'm the only one involved doing this. Writing, playing, pruducing, it's all down to me. The song is planned out, practiced, sequenced and I know what it's going to sound like, etc. It's more that I don't know the basic mechanics of recording, or how to best use the limited equipment I have. Perhaps best just to keep recording tracks and dive in. People have done more with less.....

 

[Chibi Nappa]

Perhaps best just to keep recording tracks and dive in. People have done more with less.....

There is another method that is valid when it is one person doing everything on a computer:

I think of it as painting an abstract picture. Or maybe musical improvisation "not in real time". It's just what you said. Keep recording. Keep adding. Keep taking away. Keep cutting and pasting. Keep sliding samples around the grid. Listen in the car for a week. See what stays and what needs to go. Get a riff in your head in the middle of work and cross your fingers that it is still there when you get home to record it.

It's the "build as you go" method. Just keep feeding the blob.



Yeah, give it a shot. It works if you got the time. But you never really know where that train is going to stop.

 

[gecko zzed]

I have been playing/writing music for a long time, but have never recorded before. Recently I've been asked to contribute a track for a compilation. I have limited equipment, and no budget for new hardware/software. I'm looking for advice on how to approach this and get started.

My recording setup consists of an aging 700 MHz iMac, an Maudio Quattro, and for software I have Ableton live 4, Reaper, and Audacity.

The song is about 7:50 min in length and so far I have recorded 6 drum tracks in both Live and Reaper. The levels are ok going in, but once it's all played together the meter moves into the red.

Reaper seems to be too much for my system to handle. Live 4 runs very well, but I don't know if I can record a full song with this. I never liked the interface and don't have allot of experience with it. It doesn't seem to be the best choice for the type of arrangement I want.

The song has 6 drum tracks that come in and out at various times. Would it be better to use short loops for these rather than the full length? There are also about 6 synth parts. 2 are repeating arpeggios, the rest are long, evolving sequences/sounds some last almost the entire length, and others fade in and out.

Any advice on how to approach this would be very appreciated. I don't know where to start. It's all new to me!

It seems to me that you have the idea and the arrangement of the song well in hand. I gather that your main problem is how to get those ideas recorded on a system of limited capacity, right?

If your levels are okay going in, but on playback, they hit the red, then you need to drop the playback levels for each track.

As far as minimising the load on your computer, there are things that you can consider.

1 If a track only appears here and there throughout the song, then remove the bits of the track on which there is no signal to prevent the system having to 'look' at the track.

2 If you are happy with the way your six drum tracks sit together, then pre-mix this down into a single stereo track and use this instead.

3 If you are using lots of FX on the tracks, and these FX are common to all tracks (e.g. reverb), make sure you use a bus instead of loading mutliple instances of the FX.

4 Make sure there are no other programs sitting in the background when you work on the project (e.g. virus checkers, screensavers and so on).