Laying down some tracks

[Not-Too-Late]

I've been out of the scene so long that I'm getting a bit overwhelmed by the latest technology. Since getting back to playing, thanks to my wife, friends are flocking to me for help wanting to teach their kids how to play the guitar. I’m actually excited about that. I’m retired, so this will give me something productive to do. So I figured, why not, I’m already teaching my wife. By the way, I have one student lined up that is buying an Epi LP. Smart kid, or should I say, smart parents.

 

I’ve had some experience with having part ownership of a recording studio with my brother years ago, and I’m beginning to get the itch for laying down a few tracks and mixing them on my PC, or if my brother will allow, go to his place and have him mix it on his system. He still operates the studio in a small way, using Pro Tools. I’m thinking of doing a few recordings so these kids have something to play along with while learning. Nothing too fancy. I could do it at my brother’s place, but I don’t want to have to keep going back and forth all the time, as he lives too far away. So it will have to be a home project . . . on the cheap mind you. I also want to add voice tracks as well (not mine, I'll scare everyone away . . . even the dog ). I was looking at loop pedals, but not quite sure if this idea is doable. Any suggestions please?

 

Thanks guys!

 

Cheers

[brad1]

Man, where do I start.

Well, you have a heck of a lot of options. The loop pedal would work great for instrumentals. You could record all kinds of stuff. But then you would have to transfer it to a computer or some other device. And I don't know how it works with vocals. I guess you could use it.

 

You could do all your recording on a computer. There are tons of free DAW software out there. I have recently been using Reaper, which I think is great. And it's free! But you would have to make sure you had some type of interface device so you can record to the computer. But that would not cost very much.

 

You could get a stand-alone digital recorder. Tascam, Zoom, and many other brands, make inexpensive multi-track recorders. You can record and mixdown on there, or if you want, transfer your music files to your computer and use software there to do your mix.

 

Whatever you decide to do, I think it would be smart to have the music on your computer, in some form. Because then you could always have it there, and send it out to your student at home on there computer (via flashdrive, email, etc.)

 

Perhaps you could record some at home. Then you could send it to your brother at his studio, where he could mix/process it, and send it back to you. That way you you don't have to leave home.

 

Anyway, don't feel bad. I too am learning all kinds of new stuff everyday about recording. I'm 49, and a late-comer to the digital recording world. But I'm learning. And though it can be very frustrating at times. It is also very rewarding at times too.

 

Do a lot of research. And ask a lot of questions.

This place has a lot of members that can help you out a lot. I sure like to say "a lot" a lot. lol

Good luck!

Brad

[Not-Too-Late]

Man, where do I start.

Well, you have a heck of a lot of options. The loop pedal would work great for instrumentals. You could record all kinds of stuff. But then you would have to transfer it to a computer or some other device. And I don't know how it works with vocals. I guess you could use it.

 

You could do all your recording on a computer. There are tons of free DAW software out there. I have recently been using Reaper, which I think is great. And it's free! But you would have to make sure you had some type of interface device so you can record to the computer. But that would not cost very much.

 

You could get a stand-alone digital recorder. Tascam, Zoom, and many other brands, make inexpensive multi-track recorders. You can record and mixdown on there, or if you want, transfer your music files to your computer and use software there to do your mix.

 

Whatever you decide to do, I think it would be smart to have the music on your computer, in some form. Because than you could always have it there, and send it out to your student at home on there computer (via flashdrive, email, etc.)

 

Perhaps you could record some at home. Then you could send it to your brother at his studio, where he could mix/process it, and send it back to you. That way you you don't have to leave home.

 

Anyway, don't feel bad. I too am learning all kinds of new stuff everyday about recording. I'm 49, and a late-comer to the digital recording world. But I'm learning. And though it can be very frustrating at times. It is also very rewarding at times too.

 

Do a lot of research. And ask a lot of questions.

This place has a lot of members that can help you out a lot.

Good luck!

Brad

 

Thanks Brad. Back in my days with my brother, we had a 24 track analog studio. He's recently gone digital with Alesis recorders ($$$). I wish I spent more time with him in the recording end, as I was functioning more in management etc., going after young hopefuls dreaming of a record deal. So a lot of our work was focused on bands putting out demos. We did do some work for theaters, but that was on a very small scale. There were some exciting times as my brother did work with Dan Hill, Ian Hunter, and even Roy Young who was a good friend of the Beatles in the day’s prior to their huge success. My brother has pictures of him on stage with the Beatles playing the keyboard. Those were great days.

 

Like I mentioned, I just want to do it as simple as possible with my limited knowledge of recording, and if the Looping pedal will do it for me great. I want to focus more of my attention to playing then recording, which that in itself can be very time consuming. Then again, my mind is back when . . .

 

Thanks again for your help. I'm sure the kind folks here will offer some additional help.

[Blofeld]

I don't know if you've got an ipod, but I've been using a great 4 track recording app recently. It's called Studio mini. Sound quality is ok from the internal mic actually, but you can get a device to plug in a guitar or proper mic directly. Damon Albarn used it to make a Gorillaz album in an ipad while on tour. You can import the 4 tracks individually into Garageband (and in theory export those back into the ipod as one track, to add 3 more, etc)

 

Not quite 24 tracks(!) but a simple solution I'd recommend. I think it's great.

[Pete B]

Try this for starters http://www.chordpulse.com/lite.html