So is it complicated

[BlknBeat]

Hi guys, I'm new, Mr BLKNbeats lol.

I wanted to ask, how do I go about recording songs.

Basically I got a bunch of songs written ever since I was younger. Now thinking bout getting a laptop or tablet to have it all neat in one place, and finish up the lyrics where needed. And then making some type of demo. Next step would be paying a producer to professionally make the beat and a studio to record it



Now do producers make beats around already written songs?

Can one or do people record on their laptop their final product. I don't think it's the way to go, a pro studio will have more pro quality.

So I guess I should buy a mid level laptop and mic to create the demo. Maybe just get a drum line to decide and hit the timings of the songs. Then seek out professional producers to make me a beat around it and record it professionally.


So now what do you guys think about this.


And the name BLKN beats is semi random I don't intend on being a producer but songwriter / vocals.


So I guess some mid level laptop and cheaper mic is enough for a demo ?

Make some suggestions on what to buy.


Also you guys think many producers got the skill to build a beat around already written lyrics ?

 

[Slouching Raymond]

Sounds like you are a rap 'singer', if you just need a beat to accompany you.
You can create it all with not much kit.
If you find that is not good enough, you can take what you have made as a demo to a pro studio, so they can see where you're going.
A mid priced laptop, plus a usb mic, plus some cheap or free daw software, would do it for you.
You could make a 'beat' track by clapping, or a bit of vocal 'mmm' - 'ch-ch' - 'dww' creativity,
and beef it up by using several tracks for the 'beat'.
Have I got it all wrong?

 

[mjbphotos]

Before buying anything, read this thread, it's old but still good knowledge: https://homerecording.com/bbs/threa...d-this-the-ultimate-newbie-faq-thread.282550/

 

[TimOD]

Forget about "pro" studios, unless you've made it big time. I'm sure there are plenty of producers who can build a beat around anything. Yes, get a laptop and an interface and a decent mic and some software and go from there.

 

[BlknBeat]

Forget about "pro" studios, unless you've made it big time. I'm sure there are plenty of producers who can build a beat around anything. Yes, get a laptop and an interface and a decent mic and some software and go from there.

Is it good enough or pay to record in a real studio. High end laptop and interface or just for the "demo".

 

[rob aylestone]

How organised are you and how strong is your personality? As a poor customer, you can waste hours in pro studios using you to fund downtime. If you are skilled and organised AND a producer, you can often get a good product quickly and it's cost effective. If much of your composing and arranging is saved for when you record it, studio time is a crazy way to write a song. If you have musicians and a really good plan - studio time is worth considering, but remember they are not being paid by outcome - if it's rubbish, they won't say a thing, but happily let you do take after take with an out of tune guitar.The concepts of demos are totally different now. Quality is not a part of it. Home equipment can often be equally good as a pro studio. Some pro studios have wonderful acoustics, many don't - but are still pro studios. If you need 30 mics and have 12 players, home recording might be out. If it's just a person with a guitar and vocal, home can be perfect.

 

[ecc83]

BandLab - Make Music Online

The cloud platform where musicians and fans create music, collaborate, and engage with each other across the globe

www.bandlab.com

You might find that free software useful for making 'beats'. You don't need a very high performance laptop to use that or you record vocals. Anything that will run Windows 10 should be fine.
You COULD use a USB microphone and the Citronics CCU3 is very good for the money but I strongly suggest you get an Audio Interface and a normal mic. The Behringer UMC204HD is very good value. For a mic the Shure SM58 is the 'old faithful' and none the worse for that but there are other, cheaper dynamic mics now. You will need an XLR to XLR mic cable.

Once you have some equipment and software your problems really start! Cakewalk, called a "DAW" will take you some time to get even basic results setup. All such software does but there is bound to be someone here who can help you.

DO come back when you have some gear! BTW you don't HAVE to get a laptop! If you have an old desktop machine around, even if Widows 7 it will probably work fine with the 204HD and Cakewalk.

I see that link has popped up other 'collaboration' stuff. Just get the DAW for now.

Dave.

 

[BlknBeat]

Sounds like you are a rap 'singer', if you just need a beat to accompany you.
You can create it all with not much kit.
If you find that is not good enough, you can take what you have made as a demo to a pro studio, so they can see where you're going.
A mid priced laptop, plus a usb mic, plus some cheap or free daw software, would do it for you.
You could make a 'beat' track by clapping, or a bit of vocal 'mmm' - 'ch-ch' - 'dww' creativity,
and beef it up by using several tracks for the 'beat'.
Have I got it all wrong?

Would the end results vocals be recorded again in a better sounding studio? Do you make tracks on a USB mic laptop build a beat on a program like fruity loops and then upload it ? How does it stack up sonically to the pros, cause everyone is a click away from any major artists. It's all on the same platform, YouTube.

Can the end result be even good in your own room.

Or is this just to practice and learn. Or is it a hobby.


Is the end goal a good sounding track that will attract listeners.


I meant Demo as in record on laptop then let a producer rework the beat or build the thing alone, and record it at a pro studio just the vocals for audio Quality.


Then I guess someone mixes and masters it.


Welp getting a laptop should be a start. And a mic. And practicing. These so called demos.

 

[ecc83]

If I understand that last post, you want to know if a $100 interface, mic and free software can produce the same sound quality as a professional studio?
Well, not quite but mainly because they will have better microphones, maybe lovely old capacitors but also because their recording space will be much better treated. That is NOT to say their skill and experience should ever be ignored.

However, purely from the technical performance of modern gear there really is nothing in it...WAY better specifications than the kit the Beatles had! So yes, practice. Learn how to use the interface, put the time into the DAW and learn about room treatment and do what you can. If there is one area where the pros will have a technical advantage it is in monitoring. Anything remotely decent in monitor speakers is going to set you back $2000 a pair and really good stuff five times that. Spend as much as you can on headphones.

Dave.

 

[Slouching Raymond]

Can the end result be even good in your own room.

Sure it can.

I've never had a usb mic, because I spent more money on xlr mics.
That doesn't mean usb mics are bad.

Or is this just to practice and learn. Or is it a hobby.

For me it is both of those.

Is the end goal a good sounding track that will attract listeners.

That is what we all strive for.

I meant Demo as in record on laptop then let a producer rework the beat or build the thing alone, and record it at a pro studio just the vocals for audio Quality.

You can take your music all the way at home, on relatively cheap kit. You need to learn to make the most of it, which takes time.
Going to a pro studio costs real money. What you get for that money is use of their expensive kit, and the studio engineer's extensive knowledge
and experience. If you're not much of a musician or singer, you'd be wasting your money in a pro studio.

Then I guess someone mixes and masters it.

That someone could be you.
The best way to understand mixing, is by trial and error. You can retry again and again at home for free.
As for mastering, I've never attempted to master any tracks, but have made some perfectly good tracks for posting online.
DAWs provide some mastering tools, and someday I may even get round to tinkering with them.

Welp getting a laptop should be a start. And a mic. And practicing. These so called demos.

That's where you start!

 

[TalismanRich]

Yeah, you can make professional quality commercial grade recordings at home. It's been done quite often, and with the Covid lockdowns, it was the way artists did a lot of their recording.

For HipHop/Rap beats, you don't even need a good room. Most likely, everything will be done with virtual instruments. Read the article about Billie Eilish/Finneas from MixOnline. He gets everything pretty much mixed, and just sends it to an pro studio for final balancing of the sound, because as he says "everything comes out of my bedroom at my parents’ house with too much bass.

It does help to know what the heck you are doing, and have a good ear. Just plugging in a mic and hitting a record button won't cut it.

 

[LazerBeakShiek]

1. Mixing is an attitude.
2. If the song sucks, the mix is irrelevant.
3. Working the room, keeping people happy and relaxed is half of mixing successfully.
4. Putting everything proportional in a mix is going to make a shitty mix.
5. Gear are tools in a mix that make life either easier or more difficult, they are not what makes a mix good or bad.
6. A mix can be great and not have great sound.
7. If nothing about the mix annoys someone in the room, the mix is often times not done.
8. Mixing can not be taught, it can only be learned.
9. The overall vibe of the track is much more important than any individual element.
10. Just because it was recorded doesn't mean it needs to be in the mix.
11. Be aggressive.

 

[LazerBeakShiek]

The rule is,

"Simply" find the quietest place in the song and note how far down the signal is (in dB). Plug that number into the threshold of your limiter - and you're done.

if you see any dips in the waveform after that, zoom in, find the low spot and repeat.

When the waveform looks like one solid block of color, you have achieved a perfect modern mastering job."

"Low levels are for wimps."

"Dynamic range is way overrated."

"0 dBFS is not a limit, it's a goal."
-Harvey

 

[mark de berard]

not ,much i can recommend thats not already been said but i would probably invest in something to help your hair grow back after youve pulled it all out ;p

 

[BlknBeat]

not ,much i can recommend thats not already been said but i would probably invest in something to help your hair grow back after youve pulled it all out ;p

I'm already bald . Getting some new hair somewhen next year probably in Turkey.

 

[LazerBeakShiek]

Is it complicated?....I think they know, we know now.

It is a real life Children of the Corn.

 

[grimtraveller]

If the song sucks, the mix is irrelevant

I couldn't agree less with this than if you held a gun to my kneecaps. For starters, who is the judge of whether or not the song sucks ? Furthermore, how many thousands of shitty songs {according to my narrow, myopic standard/preference} have actually received good mixes ? Tons of them.
I think these types of generalizations should be consigned to somewhere where they'll never be found again and if they are, it'll be thousands of years into the future when they'll be seen as the errant "wisdom" of an ancient civilization..

Putting everything proportional in a mix is going to make a shitty mix.

What if the song demands this, or more to the point, what if the mixer feels that this is the way to go ?
This is so general, absolute and 'blah' and it actually goes against too many real-life examples to be worthwhile.

If nothing about the mix annoys someone in the room, the mix is often times not done

It seems that when you wrote this, you were an advocate of "dog chasing its tail" mixing.
For me, the reality is that "finished is better than perfect."

Mixing can not be taught, it can only be learned.

Hmmm....
I get what you are saying but in trying to offer a clever soundbite, you're overlooking the symbiotic relationship between teaching and learning. It's true that some people aren't taught mixing, but it's equally true that some people most definitely are taught and then move on in their own direction, armed with what they've been taught and they apply it or not, as the case may be.

 

[BlknBeat]

I couldn't agree less with this than if you held a gun to my kneecaps. For starters, who is the judge of whether or not the song sucks ? Furthermore, how many thousands of shitty songs {according to my narrow, myopic standard/preference} have actually received good mixes ? Tons of them.
I think these types of generalizations should be consigned to somewhere where they'll never be found again and if they are, it'll be thousands of years into the future when they'll be seen as the errant "wisdom" of an ancient civilization..

What if the song demands this, or more to the point, what if the mixer feels that this is the way to go ?
This is so general, absolute and 'blah' and it actually goes against too many real-life examples to be worthwhile.

It seems that when you wrote this, you were an advocate of "dog chasing its tail" mixing.
For me, the reality is that "finished is better than perfect."

Hmmm....
I get what you are saying but in trying to offer a clever soundbite, you're overlooking the symbiotic relationship between teaching and learning. It's true that some people aren't taught mixing, but it's equally true that some people most definitely are taught and then move on in their own direction, armed with what they've been taught and they apply it or not, as the case may be.

Not disrespecting the guy you're "arguing" with just liking many things you said. Arguments aren't bad guys, remember.

Also had to like for "finished is better then perfect". Actually I'd upgrade it to "finished is better then trying to be perfect and not having a product". If it's perfect it's the best actually.

 

[RFR]

Producer is a fancy name that gets randomly thrown around.

That being said there’s plenty of guys that ‘produce’ beats In their bedrooms and sell them to guys like you. I know a guy that that’s all he does. Makes beats for rappers. Charges 200 bucks per song.
Says his clients are always happy.

Lots of rappers out there with no gear and no knowledge of putting together some music. That’s a big market for a home producer to pick up some extra cash.

Anyway, look around on Facebook, forums ect. You’ll find someone you can work with.

 

[BlknBeat]

Producer is a fancy name that gets randomly thrown around.

That being said there’s plenty of guys that ‘produce’ beats In their bedrooms and sell them to guys like you. I know a guy that that’s all he does. Makes beats for rappers. Charges 200 bucks per song.
Says his clients are always happy.

Lots of rappers out there with no gear and no knowledge of putting together some music. That’s a big market for a home producer to pick up some extra cash.

Anyway, look around on Facebook, forums ect. You’ll find someone you can work with.

Mmmmm you're making assumptions about me. I never bought some 200$ beat of Facebook neither do I plan to.

I would buy it if it sounded amazing and I stumbled upon it.


If you re-read my thread it's says I want custom production, not to buy someone's finished 200 buck beat.


Take care