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offline Ceri JC from Jefferson City (United States) on 2002-07-26 09:01 [#00325412]
Points: 23533 Status: Moderator | Show recordbag



1. How do you guys sample from the real world? Can you
recommend a reasonably cheap portable means of sampling?

2. The other day I posted about stumbling across existing
tunes when just messing about on a keyboard. Do you ever
find you just happen to make a synth sound exactly
the same as from an existing tune? Last night I made the
TS404 sound just like one of the drums from leftfield's last
album.

3. Tell me from start to finish the process you go through
to make your music including what equipment/software you
use.


 

offline Zeus from San Francisco (United States) on 2002-07-26 09:06 [#00325423]
Points: 14042 Status: Lurker



1. mini disk w/mic
2. no, and if i did, id quickly get rid of it! dont want to
sound alike!
3. I use reason. for now thats it... currently saving for a
new setup....

um.. as far as making a track... it starts off any number of
ways... a melody idea, or drum idea, or whatever

then i just kinda let it all pour out from there. the tracks
kinda write themselves after i come up with the main
idea...



 

offline w M w from London (United Kingdom) on 2002-07-26 09:07 [#00325427]
Points: 21427 Status: Regular



1. Some markets like costco often allow customers to try
free samples to boost their product sales. You can sample
things we have the delusion of thinking are in infinite
supply, like oxygen, to see if you like it too.
2. other artists inspire me and stuff. culture accumulates.
3. I just use sonic d's fractal incubator software, so all I
do is press one button (enter) and it makes a new song every
time.


 

offline Ceri JC from Jefferson City (United States) on 2002-07-26 09:40 [#00325494]
Points: 23533 Status: Moderator | Followup to Zeus: #00325423 | Show recordbag



I tried minidisk with mic before, I wasn't too impressed.
The mic wasn't "professional" by any means, but it wasn't
cheap tat either. It may be that I was outside so the slight
wind caused an effect similair to someone blowing on the
mic...

Anyone use portable DAT tape recorders?


 

offline Co-existence from Bergen (Norway) on 2002-07-26 10:51 [#00325564]
Points: 3388 Status: Regular



Nice topic, Ceri!

1. I have no means of sampling from the real world at the
moment. I used to sample straight into my software sequencer
using a pc mic, but my current computer has not allowed me
to do so. Its probably a configuration problem, but I'm not
into computers as such so I don't know what to do about
it...

2. We all do! Its unavoidable! Why? Its just the nature of
music!

3. A) If I work alone I use Reason or Fasttracker, and I
record directly to MD. I like to improvise, so I mix
everything live - semi-improv....

B) Me and my brother share a studio at his flat. We use
reason with a midi keyboard (I don't have one at home
yet...), a yamaha rmx1 thingy and we record directly to MD
or harddrive. We work mostly like this: I use reason, he
uses the rmx1, we start recording and do pure improvisation
for the entire length of an MD. When we're done we smoke a
spliff and play it back! Its the most rewarding way to work
for me coz its astonishing what we stumble upon sometimes.
We did such a session yesterday and I think it was bloody
good! Its live, spontaneous and so open for possibilities...


I think we think we are the new Tangerine Dream or
smthng....


 

offline Ceri JC from Jefferson City (United States) on 2002-07-26 11:00 [#00325583]
Points: 23533 Status: Moderator | Followup to Co-existence: #00325564 | Show recordbag



The improve thing sounds a blast. I'm going to do something
similair with one of my mates when I get my laptop.

He'll play decks and drums and I'll use fruity loops
softsynths or maybe rebirth's RB-303 we'll have to record it
to his mac, any ideas on how to get two line ins (one from
the laptop and one from a mic) into one? Can you get
splitters that'll do that sort of connection?


 

offline Chri5py from my Solarbear (United Kingdom) on 2002-07-26 11:01 [#00325584]
Points: 2903 Status: Lurker



1. I'd like to know the best method too...

2. No... sorry. This is turning out to be a really boring
post... :(

3. First, I'll play around with my tiny Casio SA-67. I'll
build up a nice tune and structure to match. Use suitable
sounds from the music 2000 library, I edit the sound using
the very limited editing tool to how I would like it to
sound in realation to the part it's playint in the song.
I'll then place in the melody structure and devise a bass
pattern or various sound effects.

Depending on how I'm feeling, who is about at the time and
what the song is now sounding like, I'll created several
styled drum loops, usually emphisizing (hmm spelling) on a
paticular type of percussion instrument.

Afterall of this I will constantly edit and change (usually
most of the track instruments, effects and tune) for a
period of roughly 3-4 months... whilst working on another
song.

Thats about it



 

offline Ceri JC from Jefferson City (United States) on 2002-07-26 11:09 [#00325589]
Points: 23533 Status: Moderator | Followup to Chri5py: #00325584 | Show recordbag



Good to see you like doing lots of tweaking of a track :)

I usually get bored and shelve 'em after a month or so...


 

offline Chri5py from my Solarbear (United Kingdom) on 2002-07-26 11:11 [#00325592]
Points: 2903 Status: Lurker | Followup to Ceri JC: #00325589



Lol.... I didn't say that didn't happen to some tracks...
nowerdays I just can't get enough.... gotta go back for more
until I ruin it!!! Mwa haa haaaa


 

offline Co-existence from Bergen (Norway) on 2002-07-26 11:15 [#00325599]
Points: 3388 Status: Regular | Followup to Ceri JC: #00325583



Well, my bro has a Soundblaster Live soundcard and it
features a mixer, so he has plugged the rmx1 into the
computer. Alternatively we use an external mixer (my brother
built one himself!). I guess you need a mixer!


 

offline jand from Braintree (United Kingdom) on 2002-07-26 11:16 [#00325601]
Points: 5975 Status: Moderator | Followup to Ceri JC: #00325583 | Show recordbag



yeah...Tandy can sort you out what you need to do that...

But might be worth buying a little mixer for added
control...You can pick up
a simple 2 channel one from Tandy as well...shouldn;t cost
much more than 20 quid...

p.s. Haven't forgotten your CD BTW...it's nearly at the top
of my ever growing todo list at home so should be done
sometime over the next week or so...


 

offline Ceri JC from Jefferson City (United States) on 2002-07-26 11:38 [#00325633]
Points: 23533 Status: Moderator | Followup to Co-existence: #00325599 | Show recordbag



I was thinking of plugging the line out from his 2 way mixer
from the decks into the mac, but I'd still need a way of
plugging the mic & line out into his mixer (both ports of
which are linked to the decks) I suppose he could make do
with one deck, but that's still one port too few :(

I'd actually need a 3 (4?) port mixer- one for line out from
decks, one for the mic and one for the line in from the
laptop. I suppose we could just get by with 2, using just a
mic to pic up the decks & drums...


 

offline Co-existence from Bergen (Norway) on 2002-07-26 11:57 [#00325671]
Points: 3388 Status: Regular | Followup to Ceri JC: #00325633



hmmmm... do you have a tapedeck or some any kind of
additional recording equipment? I've used a tapedeck as
"premixer" with a rather decent result...


 

offline Ceri JC from Jefferson City (United States) on 2002-07-26 12:14 [#00325684]
Points: 23533 Status: Moderator | Followup to Co-existence: #00325671 | Show recordbag



My tape deck is ancient- I used to use it with my spectrum
:)

Still, it might be worth trying :)


 

offline regital from Baltimore (United States) on 2002-07-26 12:19 [#00325687]
Points: 800 Status: Lurker



I use a DAT recorder and it works great. The recorder is
small so I can take it anywhere to sample sounds. The most
important part is the mic. The better the mic the better
your samples will be.


 

offline Chri5py from my Solarbear (United Kingdom) on 2002-07-26 12:21 [#00325689]
Points: 2903 Status: Lurker



Co-existence and regital:
Your tracks on the net at all? I want to have a listen...


 

offline regital from Baltimore (United States) on 2002-07-26 12:23 [#00325691]
Points: 800 Status: Lurker



oh yeah... forgot about question 2 &3

2. Never happened to me

3. I record any samples I want through the DAT recorder.
Create beats and melodies on the Triton and Nord or I'll
have friends that can actually play instruments come and
play. I'm partial to violins and acoustic guitars although I
have a friend who can play the Digerido. Any vocals are
recorded also and then I arrange it all in Protools. Add any
effects etc. and then Compress it all before I burn the
final audio track.


 

offline Co-existence from Bergen (Norway) on 2002-07-26 12:43 [#00325714]
Points: 3388 Status: Regular | Followup to Ceri JC: #00325684



Well, I should be more spesific (its a long timne since I
did stuff like this) You probably need an extra amplifier.
You connect your desired number of lines to the amplifier
(via tapedeck or taperecorder or so ). Then you can connect
the amplifier to the mixer via the amplifiers headphone
outlet. Did that make any sense?


 

offline Co-existence from Bergen (Norway) on 2002-07-26 12:44 [#00325718]
Points: 3388 Status: Regular | Followup to Chri5py: #00325689



I'm afraid not... I'm not to competent with internet
technology....


 

offline Co-existence from Bergen (Norway) on 2002-07-26 12:47 [#00325720]
Points: 3388 Status: Regular



and please exkjuse my spelling today :)


 

offline jonesy from Lisboa (Portugal) on 2002-07-26 12:53 [#00325728]
Points: 6650 Status: Lurker



Can I hook my decks mixer to a four-track?


 

offline Ceri JC from Jefferson City (United States) on 2002-07-26 12:58 [#00325735]
Points: 23533 Status: Moderator | Followup to regital: #00325691 | Show recordbag



re: "real" musician friends. Yes, I've still been meaning to
transpose my piece "vanilla hub" to midi, put it through
cakewalk to get sheet music, then record my mate who is
grade 8 violin playing each of the 3 parts.

Jonesy: From what I understand, yes.

Co-existence: Surely using the headphones as a line out
really messes with the sound quality? I plugged the
headphones of my MP3 player to a hi-fi aux and it sounded
really bad..


 

offline nanotech from Sukavasti Amitaba Pureland (United States) on 2002-07-26 12:59 [#00325736]
Points: 3727 Status: Regular



1. I jacked a 120 min digital recorder from target (dept.
store in the US). It has a decent mic, and in and outs. so i
record the sound, then insert a mini cabel into the comp's
mic, record it, then produce it (edit it/noise
reduction/fx).

2. Yes, and i get very pissed, but it's a sign that i must
be doing somthing progressive.

3.I'd like to rant on this, but it's take me sooo long. so
here's the basics, as dealing with the sound it'sself, not
prewriting with concept/lyrics. Esentially, writing a song
is the same as text. (Prewrite, rough draft, revise/edit,
final copy).

3a. Create a database of samples. (mostly via soft sound
design (mostly done with creating my own ensambles in
reaktor that'll create the sounds i'm looking for + little
glitches of cool sounding shit). (create/edit/process)

3b. create a database of loops

3c. Run loops/samples through acid to create ideas dealing
with direction.

3d. repeate steps a,b,c, plus adding new lines all making a
general blueprint.

3e. make a rough draft.

3f. edit, arrange, etc.

then i throw everying into logic or reason to put in extra
polish/etc.

3g. master (which is a major bitch because i love complex
tracks with over 100 tracks [which a part of me says is a
downfall]) so mastering is a huge stpe in my eyes.

This is how i make the instrumental, i basically repeat the
smae processes for vox, then meld the two, then master, then
final draft, then polish, then final draft, then publish.

heh :) hope that helps.

some programs i use are: soundforge, cool edit, FL, reason,
acid, logic, reaktor, a TON of FX plugs. I can't stress FX
plugins enough, they are a major factor in my music.


 

offline Co-existence from Bergen (Norway) on 2002-07-26 13:03 [#00325741]
Points: 3388 Status: Regular | Followup to Ceri JC: #00325735



I'm into lofi :)


 

offline Ceri JC from Jefferson City (United States) on 2002-07-26 14:36 [#00325818]
Points: 23533 Status: Moderator | Followup to nanotech: #00325736 | Show recordbag



re: FX

I used to think they were overatted, but I'm using them more
and more...


 

offline Ceri JC from Jefferson City (United States) on 2002-07-26 14:48 [#00325829]
Points: 23533 Status: Moderator | Show recordbag



Is it just me or are portable DAT drives ridiculously
expensive?

Looks like I'll have to get a recordable minidisc :(

any alternatives?

What's the big advantage of DAT over MD anyway? I thought
MDs were meant to be cd quality...


 

offline flea from depths of your mind (New Zealand) on 2002-07-26 14:49 [#00325831]
Points: 9083 Status: Regular | Followup to Ceri JC: #00325412



1. I just use the mike on my headset..on the multimedia
head phones..and you can record straight onto the windows
audio recorder...


 

offline nanotech from Sukavasti Amitaba Pureland (United States) on 2002-07-26 14:49 [#00325832]
Points: 3727 Status: Regular | Followup to Ceri JC: #00325829



dat's suck, IMO. i have no idae about mini disc. What are
you trying to do? record samples for your comp? of record
songs from your comp?


 

offline Ceri JC from Jefferson City (United States) on 2002-07-26 14:51 [#00325834]
Points: 23533 Status: Moderator | Followup to nanotech: #00325832 | Show recordbag



I want something portable tha tI can use to sample real
world sounds then put into my PCs line in to use in tracks.


 

offline Co-existence from Bergen (Norway) on 2002-07-26 16:02 [#00325942]
Points: 3388 Status: Regular | Followup to Ceri JC: #00325829



Dat is bloooody expensive! I use to work for this college
radio station and that enabled me to borrow portable DAT
recorders and some decent mics. The sound quality was
stunning. With seperate mics for each channel - and long
cables - I made some really awsome stereo samples. DAT has
the widest frequency range. Minidisc has a frequency range
lower than cd so its not that good...


 

offline Ceri JC from Jefferson City (United States) on 2002-07-26 16:05 [#00325945]
Points: 23533 Status: Moderator | Followup to Co-existence: #00325942 | Show recordbag



If I've got another multimedia module next year I may have
access to Dat recorders, but I want something that'll do the
job myself...

I'd mainly use it outside to capture birdsong/water
running/machinery so I'm not bothered with it being mono.

Would a minidisc with a good mic be the best bet?

Cheers


 

offline Co-existence from Bergen (Norway) on 2002-07-26 16:06 [#00325947]
Points: 3388 Status: Regular | Followup to Ceri JC: #00325945



Sure!


 

offline Ceri JC from Jefferson City (United States) on 2002-07-26 16:20 [#00325965]
Points: 23533 Status: Moderator | Show recordbag



Can anyone recommend any decent "all round" mics/mic
brands?

I've been looking at some "shure" brand mikes, but they seem
v. expensive and quite specialist in that they're each aimed
at being used for a specific purpose.

Ideally I'd like something that I can use to sample drums, a
bass guitar, violin and also ambience. Am I being
unrealistic? Do I need to get 2 or more mics?


 

offline Ceri JC from Jefferson City (United States) on 2002-07-26 16:43 [#00325996]
Points: 23533 Status: Moderator | Followup to Ceri JC: #00325965 | Show recordbag



Okay, let me rephrase that;

Which of you have mics that;
a) are not hideously expensive, and
b) you are happy with the sound quality from.

Please list brands & models...



 

offline Co-existence from Bergen (Norway) on 2002-07-26 16:43 [#00325997]
Points: 3388 Status: Regular



Weekend everyone!


 

offline Ceri JC from Jefferson City (United States) on 2002-07-26 16:45 [#00325999]
Points: 23533 Status: Moderator | Followup to Co-existence: #00325997 | Show recordbag



Tsskk! I'm in work for another 3/4 hours and besides, you
shouldn't make me think someone had posted a serious reply,
then dash my hopes ;-(

What mic do you use, co-ex?


 

offline skodt from Toronto (Canada) on 2002-07-26 20:07 [#00326135]
Points: 672 Status: Regular



i'll let you in on some cool lo-fi recording devices that
are dirt cheap adn sound way better than taking a clean
sample and adding fx.

take an old shitty walkman w/record function and earphones.
put the earphones near the soundsource adn hit rec.
sounds rad!

buy a dictaphone>palm audio reccorder.

old air to air mikes from portable tape decks form the early
80s

i could go on, but i don't want to give away all my secrets!


 

offline Ceri JC from Jefferson City (United States) on 2002-07-29 09:12 [#00328983]
Points: 23533 Status: Moderator | Show recordbag



Surely headphones can't pick sound up?

I did consider a palm audio recorder, but they don't seem
very good for much other than spoken word...

I saw a Roland TB-606 at the weekend for £120. V. tempting,
but my holida yis too near...

I did get a 4 channel mono micro-mixer though. :)


 

offline princo from Shitty City (Geelong) (Australia) on 2002-07-29 09:17 [#00328988]
Points: 13411 Status: Lurker | Followup to Ceri JC: #00328983



TR-606 ?!
heh...clearly a collectors item surely.

theres a TR-505 in a 2nd hand store near me.. going for $120
(aus)...but im not trying to "catch them all" (pokemon). and
no i do NOT like Pokemon :|


 

offline sacharin from New York City, Boston, the Hag (Netherlands, The) on 2002-07-29 09:21 [#00328991]
Points: 113 Status: Lurker



Nanotech... it sounds like a very uninspired way to write.
Don't you have a musical idea before you start a song? Or do
you just screw around with samples until you find something
that sounds tolerable?

Perhaps not.


 

offline Ceri JC from Jefferson City (United States) on 2002-07-29 09:36 [#00328995]
Points: 23533 Status: Moderator | Followup to princo: #00328988 | Show recordbag



I managed to convince myself that the 808 & 909 in Re-birth
are better & I already have them :)


 

offline korben dallas from nz on 2002-07-29 12:51 [#00329115]
Points: 4605 Status: Regular



1. Everynow and then - however far from portable - I use
protools free, as i get some stupid glitchy conflict with
cubase - then chop it up into bits, and export as wav (or
aiff as the case may well be).

2. Mmmhh.. I played around with an array of effects a while
back and got some LP5 sounding stuff . should look it up
again actually

3. It all depends, generally I start playing around with
loops in cubase - generally a simple drum pattern then synth
(or vice versa) - then generally a heap more drums .. then
arrange it .. then deconstruct it .. roughly speaking :)


 

offline od_step_cloak from Pleth (Australia) on 2002-07-29 14:04 [#00329157]
Points: 3803 Status: Regular



1) sorry, never do, only a few vocal samples of myself and
mates done wit ha dodgy old mic (standard pc one) that i use
as background bits n pieces in some tracks.

2) nah dont think ive ever done that, but once i was trying
to write some tunes and i accidentally came up with the
guitar riff from enter sandman. fluke!

3) use fruityloops. and drumsynth to make the sounds (cool
coz you can mod the .DS files in FL without saving
individual samples)
i write tracks left to right almost completely, but i often
start with a theme/idea/texture/riff and work from there.
i dont usually do the drums first but the last one i did
started with those glitch drums.



 

offline Ceri JC from Jefferson City (United States) on 2002-07-30 08:54 [#00330341]
Points: 23533 Status: Moderator | Show recordbag



Okay, a new question:

I know the old "hardware vs. software" debate is one that
has been brought up before, but I was wondering... Those of
you who use both hardware and software- Which on its
own is better and also what ratio of them do you typically
use? E.g 20% hardware 80% software etc.


 

offline nanotech from Sukavasti Amitaba Pureland (United States) on 2002-07-30 09:47 [#00330388]
Points: 3727 Status: Regular | Followup to sacharin: #00328991



those are just basics as to the technical aspects. You can't
teach inspiration, nor can you acuratly describe it in a
moments time over a few sentances on a MB. I assumed that
The reader of that post already had his ideas, and was
curios as to how to manifest these holons into an exsistence
other than their mind.

You want some insiration techniques? why not smoke some
crack? or finger yourself? I mean, come on. Do you really
think you can be-little the whoel MB as to saying no-one
gets that it should be assumed that you ppl already have an
idea as to what you want to make?

Who the hell just fucks with samples? Rephlex records?
Little 11 yr old kiddies with FL? I certianly hope no-one on
this MB.


 

offline nanotech from Sukavasti Amitaba Pureland (United States) on 2002-07-30 10:03 [#00330396]
Points: 3727 Status: Regular



That's a fair question.

With the current trends it's soon going to be that
softsynths will overcome. All you'll need (and this is all i
run) is a digital studio, and a midi controller w/ keys and
knobs.

But since this trend needs a few years to evolve, currently
there are great synths that soft synths, or the thieves at
dash synthesis (the cloners for reaktor), can't fully dup.
And a very strange phenomina; if one was to execute a
triangle wav at 440 hz, on a soft synth, and on a hard
synth, the "sound" is corresponding to the synth. To sum it
up, soft synths sound soft, hard; hard. This is simmular to
vynal/CD.

My theroy is this: the soft synth wavform is at a higher
resolution, and isn't as "gritty" as the low-res, analogue
equipment. (you can find the same in these digital-analogue
synths; where all you would want in them are their
talents.)

As fair as a question this is, it's a very hard one to
answer, because the answers are catered to the person's
needs. It all pretty much depends all on what you want to
do. heh, i get a parelell question like this all the time:
"If I were to punch you like this what would you do? (in
martial arts)" I reply: "It all depends on the cituation,
the surroundings, and on what my intent is on how i wish to
end the conflict."

As for the ratio: it's 90% soft synth "talent," and 10%
midi-controller. I only use the midi controller for tweaking
mulitple effexts/lfos/(etc) in my composing...but i use it
to hell, combined with my firends "wheels of steal," when i
spin. and when i DJ, the ratio is about 30% soft, 70%
hard...the laptop is merely an input itno the tables, an
oscillator if you will.


 

offline Ceri JC from Jefferson City (United States) on 2002-07-30 10:22 [#00330402]
Points: 23533 Status: Moderator | Followup to nanotech: #00330388 | Show recordbag



Ha ha, I thought this was aimed at me till I noticed it was
at sacharin :0)


 

offline nanotech from Sukavasti Amitaba Pureland (United States) on 2002-07-30 10:30 [#00330408]
Points: 3727 Status: Regular | Followup to Ceri JC: #00330402



yeah, man. But i dont' have bad blood with that guy, it's
just that he might have gotten caught up in the "cold' way i
tried to present my way of making music, and assumed that i
had no inspiration, fire, passion, spark, etc. All simply
missunderstandings, but who;s to say i'm not in a place
where i can sharply thrust at him for not thinking with his
whole mind. You see, i'm not upset at him, but upset at the
way he thought. He didnt' think, therefore, he wasn't.

I'm pretty sure (or at least hoped) that you understood what
i wrote, the postes were primarly intended to help you, and
if anyone was able to asimaltie anything from it, i'm even
happier! :).


 

offline Ceri JC from Jefferson City (United States) on 2002-07-30 10:34 [#00330413]
Points: 23533 Status: Moderator | Followup to nanotech: #00330408 | Show recordbag



I understand what you mean- sometimes when you get artistic
block, forcing yourself through it by working in a cold
clinical way often helps.


 

offline nanotech from Sukavasti Amitaba Pureland (United States) on 2002-07-30 10:50 [#00330423]
Points: 3727 Status: Regular



Ok, i'm not upset, and am not tring to say that my opinions
arent' open for interpretation, nor am i tryign to be
condesending.

When i posted the method on how i make music, i tried to
tell it in a way a teacher would teach a student. and i
tried to do that in a way that was so basic, and
cold, that anyone could notice at leat two main ideas: 1.
Making music, is very simular to writng a story. how do you
make music? you write a track. Infact, there are
tracksheets, and other tools to help song writers pre-write
(especially), log, etc. and 2. This is a basic way to make
music, and is my way of making music.

again, i'm not putting anyone down in this post, jsut triend
to shed light.

Ok, about the little triffle against sacharin. I was trying
to give him the binifit of the doubt. I was trying to say
that he was attacking me on false ground, on a
misunderstanding of the way's i wrote music, and i was
attacking him for doing so. I wasn't trying to say that i
use this "cold" approach when i have no spark, or am
suffering writers block, i was just trying to explain how i
write music, and besides, that's only the basics. I just
assumed that everyone picked up on these things. Even
though, "forcing yourself through it by working in a cold
clinical way often helps." holds true for some people, and
even me at times, this is not what i was trying to convey.

get it now? :)


 


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