Being a Home Recorder, but lacking real talent. (Confessions of a hack)

[RFR]

Every once in a while I go deep

 

[grimtraveller]

not everyone's meant to be a pilot

While that is true, being a pro full-time musician doesn't give that person any greater ability or freedom to write and record songs over someone that does it as a hobby, in the same way a DIY builder can do just as good a job as a professional builder. It just takes longer and is harder work for the hobbyist.

 

[YanKleber]

Here is my 2%...

As you, I am not a great player but I have a creative vein so I like to write songs and I have this need of listening my songs played by a band, so that's why I record. In short I write and record for myself only and whoever wants to listen to it but I really don't care about what others will think about what I do. If one praise me for my stuff it's great, if not I don't mind. But of course I have self-criticism and I know that my work is nothing more than "listenable" as you said, although I think that is hard not to sound listenable nowadays with so many affordable nice tools and hardware around. My personal issue is when it comes the time of mixing and mastering, that, in my opinion is where the tricky part is if you want your albums sound like a PRO. Personally I already gave up of get that sound so all my albums sound like a demo and I am totally OK with this. After all I make music for fun and at the moment it begins to be a suffering for me I sincerely will quit.

Now about your uncertainties. In my opinion you have two options. The first is to relax and accept the quality you get. The second is go after to improve this quality. Now what I absolutely think that is not a good choice is keep suffering and not doing anything about this.

Of course that if you are going for the second choice you need to evaluate the cost-benefit for you. Does it will make a difference for your audience? Do you HAVE an audience? Do you do music as a hobby only? Do you want to become a pro? Do you make money with your music? Do you have a lot of time to put on studying and learning and such? Do you want to spend this time on it?

These are questions (among a ton of others) that you need to answer to yourself.

 

[Mick Doobie]

Pareto principle

 

[TAE]

I have an old school buddy with MS who used to be able to play guitar. Because of paralysis in his right hand...no more. He has to use an electric wheel chair to get around. Other than going out in his chair with about a mile radius he most often is trapped in rest home where at 69 he is one of the younger kids living there. He's just around the block from me and I see him on the street every now and then and I'll take the time to stop and BS with him for a few minutes. I went there to visit him there several months back when he was locked down for Covid. There was a piano in the cafeteria area. I sat down and ripped through a bunch 70's songs and some of my originals for about 45 minutes or so. I was getting ready to head out and my bud was thanking me for coming over and jamming for him and then said...You really made me happy today...That sure put a smile on my face. It's nice when you can do that.

With regard to the OP. Like others have said, you've got a big catalog and what I listened to sounded very good. I know they all didn't come out exactly as you wanted and anything can always be "better". Clearly you enjoy creating and if you're having fun just keep on doing what you love and keep pushing that red button.

 

[TAE]

Pareto principle

I use the 80/20 rule in business all the time and it is rarely proven wrong...I am in the stone business and the competitors have a ton of different colors...
40 colors, 8 of those colors are going to represent 80% of the sales. Crazy but generally very accurate.

 

[60's guy]

I have no doubt that everything I ever recorded could have been better recorded, but recording was simply a hobby, the sole intent of which was to record (solo), record songs with my kids, and occasionally collaborate with a few people here at HR. I always considered it a privilege to be allowed to collaborate with other 'home recordists' here at HR and elsewhere.

Hearing loss is a huge problem these days. I'm sure I could easily ruin a single track mix!

 

[DM60]

Thanks everyone for the conversation. It was also for others on this board, I am sure I am not the only one who has moments of doubt and frustration. If you are one of those as well, please feel free to air it out.

Whether or not I continue is less important than stating, every moment I have spent doing this was more than worth it.

And for those who do question if it is worth the effort, when you grow, you still have grown.

 

[grimtraveller]

when you grow, you still have grown.

I apply that principle to music and life in general. That's partly why I embrace the rough and awful times even though I don't particularly like them. They are a story to tell my kids and if I'm ever alive to get to know them, grandkids.

I have no doubt that everything I ever recorded could have been better recorded

I was very surprised back in the early 80s when I read one of John Lennon's last interviews and he said that he would like to re~mix /re~do every Beatles track, even though he was proud of his work. I wouldn't let him but it was an interesting indication of how even the top artists in their field can view their work that the rest of the world salivates over.
I've been listening to a few of my albums over the last few days and they're not nearly as bad as I sometimes think they are, even though I know they could have been better.

 

[60's guy]

...every moment I have spent doing this was more than worth it.

I hope you continue recording and enjoy the moments that lay ahead.

 

[60's guy]

I was very surprised back in the early 80s when I read one of John Lennon's last interviews and he said that he would like to re~mix /re~do every Beatles track....

I suspect that it's quite fortunate that Lennon wasn't allowed to re-mix Beatles tracks in an attempt to satisfy his own ego.

Perfectly recorded or not, every recorded Beatles song, 60 years later, remains broadcasted by radio stations throughout the world daily.

That's a testament to the importance and the impact the Beatles had made on music history.

IMO, it's impossible that there we'll ever again see a four man band do what they did when they opened the doors for other English musicians to walk through.

 

[grimtraveller]

it's quite fortunate that Lennon wasn't allowed to re-mix Beatles tracks in an attempt to satisfy his own ego.

I agree. Like I said, I wouldn't let him !
But I can also understand where he was coming from. In 1970 when talking about "Ticket to ride" he said something like "if you give me the tracks, I'd remix them and then you can see what the song should really sound like." I've been listening to it a lot this week and for the first time in over 40 years, his 1980 statement that it was one of the first heavy metal songs written doesn't sound like utter stupidity.
I can actually hear it as a heavy rock song if the guitars are up louder and there's more bass content and volume on the drums. So he obviously heard it a certain way and George Martin's production rather emasculated it for him. He was none too complimentary about George Martin as a producer in 1970.
But it does fall broadly in line with some of where DM60 was coming from when he spoke of the gulf between what you hear in your head and what you actually lay down.

Perfectly recorded or not, every recorded Beatles song, 60 years later, remains broadcasted by radio stations throughout the world daily.

I agree.
Quite a few of the early songs ain't all that great when it comes to production though.
But I love them.

That's a testament to the importance and the impact the Beatles had made on music history.

I agree again.
The great thing about the general listening public is that they don't care about the things we recording folk do. At the same time, we have that rare ability to hear things as an ordinary listener and as a recorder.

IMO, it's impossible that there we'll ever again see a four man band do what they did when they opened the doors for other English musicians to walk through.

I agree for the fourth time in a row.
And I agree because the world is so different from the world they were born into, grew up in and met head-on on terms they didn't even have any inkling of until it was nearly over.

 

[60's guy]

I agree. Like I said, I wouldn't let him !
But I can also understand where he was coming from. In 1970 when talking about "Ticket to ride" he said something like "if you give me the tracks, I'd remix them and then you can see what the song should really sound like."

Ticket To Ride is a great tune. I can't possibly imagine that a Lennon remix could be better other than raising Lennon's vocal by 1 or 2 Db.

 

[Mick Doobie]

ah, a 'term espouser'... you love to think you're a real smarty, don't'cha mick turdbie?

Humbled.

Now place one hand on a butt cheek and give yourself a little congratulatory spank, you "term espouser" you.

 

[spantini]

We had Ticket To Ride in rotation with my oldies band. I was on bass and I played it loud with lots of sustain on my Höfner. It was like a carrier wave with the rest of the band floating on it. A favorite. I did something similar with Elvis' Jailhouse Rock.

 

[Mick Doobie]

stop being a weirdo perv, turdbie

Oh, I thought you were female? You know the type, sassy bitch wanna be vixen who pretends to hate your guts but secretly wants to suck your dick. And does, like it's got the fuckin' antidote in it. If that's what you're going for, you're nailing it. If not, I'm sorry.

 

[Mick Doobie]

^^^ reported

 

[TAE]

On the Lennon thing wanting to re-record every Beatle song. Waters is doing that exact thing right now with DSOTM.
I kind of equate it with a married couple who had some kids together and wishing you could go back and have them with someone else.

I do look forward to seeing what he puts out because the dude is a brilliant songwriter, singer and musician.

Maybe I'll like his new versions better...I kind of doubt it but we'll see. For sure I have seen people / bands cover a hit song of times gone by and do it way better than the original. Johnny Cash and Hurt, Trent Reznor's comment on Cash's cover “I wasn't prepared for what I saw, and it really then, wasn't my song"

 

[Mick Doobie]

Listened to Ticket to Ride this morning. Really good tune. I'd never realized or thought of it in that way, but it may be one of the earliest examples of utilizing that drone thing. It's not unlike the latter Tomorrow Never Knows, right down to the drum beat. Is that lead guitar on the outro John? Sounds like him rather than George.

 

[Mick Doobie]

You mad?

You'll be alright. Now behave yourself and stop mucking up someone's thread.