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I promised @Bill-Rosenberg some insights into my approach with producing these tunes, so here's my first installment on the recording process for my first two singles...

I should start off by saying that I have had very little mentoring in this regard - so I've gone in blind to a large degree. My vision was to compose, track and produce at home to the best of my ability . Then to hand an 85% product to an experienced producer who will then hopefully take the tune to the next level. I have not succeeded in that last part yet (a topic on its own), but I am happy with what I've learned and what I can achieve on my own - production-wise. I don't expect my learning curve to slow down anytime soon.

There is a lot to cover, so I'll start by talking about the gear I use. I track at home - in my DIY home studio in my garage.

Recording gear used:
- USB Audio Interface: Roland Rubix 22
I'm a huge Roland fan, so I only have good things to say about the Rubix 22. I'm certainly not the most reliable source on this topic, because I also haven't worked with any other interfaces. The 22 refers to 2 channels In and 2 channels Out. This means that I have two channels available that can record Mic, Guitar or any analog instruments at the same time in addition to the keyboard / controller which records via usb. For solo artist stuff, you don't need anything bigger. Unless you want to record drums - which you shouldn't be doing at home IMO.

  • Carbon 61 midi controller / keyboard
    The Carbon 61 is rather entry level, but it does the job for me. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles, but my Ipad fills that gap with an app called Logic Remote (more about that later if you're interested)

  • Macbook Pro with Garageband as DAW
    Garageband comes free with Apple products, so it isn't exactly the gold standard in DAWs. Plenty people have nevertheless put great music out using GB. My next step is to upgrade to Logic - which is basically GB on steroids. That is a R3k purchase which is still great value compared to the competition. The debate around choice of DAW is also a topic on it's own.

  • Rode NT1-A condensor mic
    Every studio has one.

I think that the above is by any measure the bare minimum you should have if you're serious about recording.

I started out with GB on Ipad - which was a nice simple introduction to the DAW. The upgrade to Macbook was not too tough because the workflow and basic operating principles stay the same. As far as I read, the same can be expected of my transition to Logic Pro - fingers crossed.

I don't want to make this post too long, so I think I'll end it here, for now. Please ask any questions if you have...

Jazzman105 Please ask any questions if you have...

The creative process...how much did working in a DAW change the creative idea's you had?

Tough to put it into words, but let me try :
Did you start with a raw recording (cell phone mic) and then develop it from there in the DW (E.g. a sketch of chorus/verse/etc
or
Idea in head and then use the DAW to sketch it out further.

And did you then re-do the rough sketch in DAW with a click track and then re-record it properly? (I'm guessing yes)

      Each tune is different, but the following is more or less the process for me.

      Right now, there are at least 10 tunes in varied stages of completion that I'm working on. Some of them won't make it to publication and others are planned for release over the following six months. 95% of my tunes start out as chord progressions on an acoustic guitar with me humming the melody over it.

      I then capture the chord progression and song structure on iReal Pro. This gives me a simple, limited but on-the-fly way to create a simple backing track that I can speed up, change the groove / style and even change the key. The song will usually remain in this format for up to a few months. Here is where I fine-tune the melody or lyrics, compare bpm's, perhaps mute the bass so I can write my own bass line, etc. All-in-all, in this stage I make the big-picture changes - with minimal technical effort.

      By the time I open the DAW, I am already done composing. The chord progressions, the melody, lyrics, song structure or form, BPM, bass line - everything is already set.

      I start my Garageband session by setting the BPM, and Key of the song. You want to get that right at the start.
      Knowing my BPM and groove puts me in a position to pull up a preset drumming pattern. This does not have to be the perfect drums. I will have plenty of opportunity to improve on it later.

      After this I lay down the chords using my 61-key midi controller or with my ipad using Logic Remote. I literally just lay down / sustain the chords. I'm not trying to comp or groove in any way. My piano skills are rather limited anyway.
      [      An awesome app that allows me, among other things to programme the chords on a strip and play it by simply pressing the aptly named strip. SO if chords are challenging or changing too fast, I use this.]

      Next, I record the bass line using the Carbon 61 keyboard as well as the melody in a similar fashion. So now I have laid down all the essential tracks in midi [Bass, drums, chords/harmony, Melody] - which is essentially my click-track.

      I do it all in midi first, because midi offers a lot more freedom to manipulate and edit your notes. Everything is cleaner. Another benefit is that I can print a score off the midi tracks. Now I am in a position to share the basic concept of the song accompanied by a score with collaborators or registration bodies, etc.

      Now I'd start "tracking for real"....

      @V8 how much did working in a DAW change the creative idea's you had?
      The DAW does not really influence my ideas that much. I think it is because up till now my ideas are complete by the time I open a DAW session. Perhaps because I am largely still ignorant on all its capabilities. I keep it simple cos I have to.

      Jazzman105 [An awesome app that allows me, among other things to programme the chords on a strip and play it by simply pressing the aptly named strip. SO if chords are challenging or changing too fast, I use this.]

      I thought that a screenshot will be helpful to demonstrate the strips I referred to... If you look at the chord names, you'll see that it doesn't look like easy, straight-forward chords. So, since it's above my skill-level on the piano, I opt for programming the chords and then simply tap the correct strip at the right time.

        Jazzman105 how much did working in a DAW change the creative idea's you had?

        It depends...only last year have I regularly started my own recording sessions with a mostly composed idea. But that's a change of approach in how I develop creative idea's - I did a little write-up on creativity that helped me understand how I developed a different approach (I'd say similar to yours?)

        Historically - I think of a DAW as a musician (or instrument) more than a tool...but then I do like a lot of electronica and in that context a DAW is definitely a musical instrument instead of a recording tool (if that makes sense). E.g. I make a lot of interesting boo-boo's. Staying on target with a initial idea in this approach, is super tricky (ok, darn-near impossible ?)

        Cool thread, gold in here for guys into (or getting into) recording, so little is written over approaching the recording/creative process - keep it coming!

          V8 Staying on target with a initial idea in this approach, is super tricky (ok, darn-near impossible ?)

          Yes, the many options at your disposal can detract from the original idea and progress on the project - and it takes discipline to stay the course once you start playing around with sounds, effects and other things. For this reason, I initially approach the DAW simply as a recording tool. I don't expect it to add any magic to my tracking / recording process. I record as clean and simple as possible - and then worry about tone, plugins, effects, etc in the editing phase (post-recording).

          Having said that, playing around and experimenting is important too. That is how you get to explore your software and find out what it can offer.

          • V8 likes this.
          • V8 replied to this.

              Jazzman105 Having said that, playing around and experimenting is important too.

              Is how I learn - wish I had more focus to sit and work through stuff, but I tend to bang my head till I have to RTFM (read the mucking fanual) ?

              One thing I realllly enjoy about the GT challenges is messing with different genre's - it's helping me develop 'my style' - also useful to have a little bit of experience across genre's, particularly for jams.

              That's probably where we differ a bit - I don't really have a style I default to - I'm as likely to play metal as blues as funk as electronica...where I think you tend to default a bit more to them tasty jazzy vibes?

                Some good stuff in here.

                Is this a general how we approach recording thread.. or is this still the best Christmas thread? Just asking as I dont want to derail Jazz's initial thread.. it is evolving and just wondering if we can all chime in with our approaches?

                V8 Is how I learn - wish I had more focus to sit and work through stuff, but I tend to bang my head till I have to RTFM (read the mucking fanual)

                I turn to Youtube sooner lately. The time I'm prepared to spend figuring something out is becoming less and less... ?

                    V8 That's probably where we differ a bit - I don't really have a style I default to - I'm as likely to play metal as blues as funk as electronica...where I think you tend to default a bit more to them tasty jazzy vibes?

                    I have some different stuff in the bag which I'm hoping to release. I've made a decision to not box myself, so I'm not ignoring the "non-jazzy" song ideas. There are some blues, rock and more commercial pop-ish, radio-friendly tunes in the medium-term pipeline.

                    But as far as my playing goes, yea I have a flavour.

                    • V8 likes this.

                      Perhaps Admin can move the recording posts to a new thread - under a new name perhaps? I would like to expand on the topic, AND hear how other guys approach their process. There is so much to learn for all of us and there's no reason for two of us to pay for the same mistake / lesson learnt.

                      Jazzman105 There is so much to learn for all of us and there's no reason for two of us to pay for the same mistake / lesson learnt.

                      Like the idea of splitting into a new thread (pinned under recording?), I'll get into it - it IS useful info.

                      Particularly for a beginner to read through differing approaches (and seeing that they are fairly similar). What's nice is we all have some results to give peeps an idea of what's achievable in today's home studios - it's insane the quality one can get!

                        Jazzman105 There is so much to learn for all of us and there's no reason for two of us to pay for the same mistake / lesson learnt.

                        Like the idea of splitting into a new thread (pinned under recording?), I'll get into it - it IS useful info.

                        Particularly for a beginner to read through differing approaches (and seeing that they are fairly similar). What's nice is we all have some results to give peeps an idea of what's achievable in today's home studios - it's insane the quality one can get!

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