Page 6 • Any musicians here?! • Non-Gaming • Music • Eurogamer.net

BreadBinLidHero 9 Oct 2013 14:50:56 10,801 posts
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Mr_Sleep wrote:

thelzdking wrote:
My mate got given a similar organ by a customer. He never used it and eventually threw it away! I was gutted that he never offered it to me.
He's still a mate? I'd say that is a grounds for divorce!

He's the drummer in my current (though soon to be defunct) band. In fact speaking of tempos he was all 'I don't need a click track' when we last recorded... everything turned into a nightmare from thereon in. Maybe karma's trying to tell me something about him

Anyway, cheers for all the advice guys, I guess I've got some serious reading to do. I reckon another friend has got one of those USB input devices, so I might borrow that off him for a while to get a feel of what I can/can't and do/do not want to achieve.

quadfather 9 Oct 2013 14:53:33 39,069 posts
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@Mr_Sleep - Nice one, I might give it a try. PC is about 3 rooms away from the organ though, so bit of logistics, considering it'd just be for shits and giggles. I'll see though.

Can't find a pic of the outputs, but it's an Elka EP4

And as for that guy lobbing an organ away? Jesus H Christ, doesn't he realise that's no ordinary organ?! It's got a rotating baffle and a leslie speaker for those extra cheesy moments ffs

BreadBinLidHero 9 Oct 2013 14:55:39 10,801 posts
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Yeah, it's a fucking travesty. He let it sit in his damp garage for about a year before chucking it as well. And he got it for free. I would love to get a piece of kit like that for free :cry:

Deleted user 9 October 2013 14:57:19

You don't need a click track if you're a very good drummer with excellent timing, most start up bands are not near that level of competency so a click track is a must. I had the exact same problem with my drummer, although in his case he just wasn't practiced enough to use one and was worse with it. Worst thing was it was for my final project at uni but I just had to live with it.

Also, the way music is created now is very different to the ideals of bands we listen to from years ago, they were highly skilled and given much time in the studio to perfect things but nowadays recording is the quick part and sorting it out in ProTools/Logic is the bit that takes the most time.

Yeah, try your friend's one out and see how it goes, it's a shame there aren't many shops left to cater to the bedroom recorder as almost all have shut down now afaik. You could always try going to a local guitar shop and asking the staff, they'll probably all be able to help I imagine.

BreadBinLidHero 9 Oct 2013 15:01:20 10,801 posts
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Yeah, the problem we had with him not using a click wasn't the physical recording, but the sorting and mixing afterwards. His relentless perfectionism was no help either; spending thirty minutes trying to line up a tom hit that no-one thought was out of time other than him.

Hence why my new project is just me!

Deleted user 9 October 2013 15:02:15

thelzdking wrote:
Yeah, it's a fucking travesty. He let it sit in his damp garage for about a year before chucking it as well. And he got it for free. I would love to get a piece of kit like that for free

I wouldn't be wholly surprised if his partner didn't kick up a fuss, my girlfriend has been trying to get me to get rid of my spare amp for ages. She's right of course, I don't need it but when I start gigging and hit the heights she'll have to accept I was right...or not, ever.

I realise I haven't played using my tube amp and Epi Casino for over a year, this makes me sad, I might go hug my wah wah.

Deleted user 9 October 2013 15:08:33

thelzdking wrote:
Yeah, the problem we had with him not using a click wasn't the physical recording, but the sorting and mixing afterwards. His relentless perfectionism was no help either; spending thirty minutes trying to line up a tom hit that no-one thought was out of time other than him.

Hence why my new project is just me!

The thing is, the mistakes and fuckups are actually part of the charm with some types' of music. Like how Van Morrison's guitar constantly goes out of tune on Astral Weeks; it actually adds depth and colour. It's something that is lost in the hunt for absolute perfection in a mix.

Saying that, if you have to edit constantly fucked up drums as I did then you soon come around to having the drummer play to a click, at least as a reference point if nothing else. Going out of time and swinging for a few bars is fine but being constantly in and out is where the problem is.

As an aside, a producer once told me a story about how he had to individually edit a singer's vowel sounds as all the takes were equally bad but in different places. He spent forty hours editing one song to make the vocals work. Horrible.

quadfather 9 Oct 2013 15:16:59 39,069 posts
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I have to say at this point that I got that elka for 99p off eBay

BreadBinLidHero 9 Oct 2013 15:17:53 10,801 posts
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Mr_Sleep wrote:

thelzdking wrote:
Yeah, the problem we had with him not using a click wasn't the physical recording, but the sorting and mixing afterwards. His relentless perfectionism was no help either; spending thirty minutes trying to line up a tom hit that no-one thought was out of time other than him.

Hence why my new project is just me!
The thing is, the mistakes and fuckups are actually part of the charm with some types' of music. Like how Van Morrison's guitar constantly goes out of tune on Astral Weeks; it actually adds depth and colour. It's something that is lost in the hunt for absolute perfection in a mix.

Saying that, if you have to edit constantly fucked up drums as I did then you soon come around to having the drummer play to a click, at least as a reference point if nothing else. Going out of time and swinging for a few bars is fine but being constantly in and out is where the problem is.

As an aside, a producer once told me a story about how he had to individually edit a singer's vowel sounds as all the takes were equally bad but in different places. He spent forty hours editing one song to make the vocals work. Horrible.

I kept trying to tell him that absolute perfection was neither possible nor desirable, but he wouldn't listen. The thing was that his timing was fine, he just decided that a few bits were off and wanted to fix them, then he thought that a couple of fills were wrong so they needed editing and so on and so on. Gah!

I can't imagine how tedious editing a sessions worth of vowel sounds would be though. When I sing I just go for it, redo any glaring errors and accept the fact that I'm no Kate Bush. Asking someone recording my voice to try and fix it would be like asking David Cameron to bring about world peace.

Deleted user 9 October 2013 15:23:20

@quadfather how much did you pay in postage? ;-)

Indeed, the genre should dictate the amount of perfection, electronic music needs to be as close to perfect as possible, perhaps certain progressive metal too but otherwise, it's fine to have some swing and problems.

It's better to have them than piss everyone in the band off. I came to the conclusion when editing my bands' work that it is better to get someone else to do it, there was an odd moment where I realised that I had subconsciously turned myself up in the mix on ever track, this sort of thing happens all the time. Outsource it to someone for a little money and you save yourself a lot of time and frustration.

Working on your own though is perfect as you get complete control, one thing I will say though is that you need to learn when to stop fiddling and know when to step away and come back later. Sometimes a mix sounds perfect and then two hours later after coming back to it you realise it's actually terrible. Your ears seem to auto correct bad mixes :-D

The vowels things was a pop rnb record for a major label so it was required to be perfect.

RelaxedMikki 9 Oct 2013 15:27:43 3,214 posts
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I used to be a musician.

Then I realised I had crap taste in music and no talent for anything other than ego fueled self delusion.

So I gave up being a musician and now all I have is crap taste in music and no talent for anything.

I miss being a musician.

quadfather 9 Oct 2013 15:31:08 39,069 posts
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@Mr_Sleep - nothing. Mate picked it up in his van as it was only about 10 miles away

well, I bought him a couple of pints so you could say 6 quid.

Agreed on the editing of music though. I just make my own stuff now on my own and whilst you do get a bit critical of hearing the same thing a million times its still better. Course the acid test is getting it mixed into music at a live venue and hoping the floor doesn't die when it comes on.

HelloNo 9 Oct 2013 15:31:58 2,283 posts
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RelaxedMikki wrote:
I used to be a musician.

Then I realised I had crap taste in music and no talent for anything other than ego fueled self delusion.

So I gave up being a musician and now all I have is crap taste in music and no talent for anything.

I miss being a musician.

I dunno you sound overqualified to me.

RelaxedMikki 9 Oct 2013 15:41:43 3,214 posts
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@Kanjin

I am sure I could have overcome the complete lack of talent. But the crap taste in music was a real problem. I was geniuninly convinced the world was waiting for a techno version of Smashing Pumpkins...! That was badly mistaken even in the darkdays of 1992.

Deleted user 9 October 2013 15:44:25

quadfather wrote:
@Mr_Sleep - nothing. Mate picked it up in his van as it was only about 10 miles away well, I bought him a couple of pints so you could say 6 quid.

Agreed on the editing of music though. I just make my own stuff now on my own and whilst you do get a bit critical of hearing the same thing a million times its still better. Course the acid test is getting it mixed into music at a live venue and hoping the floor doesn't die when it comes on.

I am jealous but then I have absolutely nowhere to put such a beast. We have a proper upright piano so I shouldn't complain too much :-)

It's always worth passing your music out to people who understand the music you're aiming for and seeing their reaction and being open to suggestions. It's not always easy but criticism is an important part of creating art. I'm a painter of sorts now and my painting would be much worse if my girlfriend wasn't so critical. Plus she enjoys criticising things so it works well for both of us ;-)

BreadBinLidHero 9 Oct 2013 15:55:00 10,801 posts
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I'd listen to a techno Smashing Pumpkins.

Deleted user 9 October 2013 16:00:05

Me too.

RelaxedMikki 9 Oct 2013 16:02:26 3,214 posts
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Comeback's on!

quadfather 9 Oct 2013 16:08:32 39,069 posts
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Mr_Sleep wrote:

quadfather wrote:
@Mr_Sleep - nothing. Mate picked it up in his van as it was only about 10 miles away well, I bought him a couple of pints so you could say 6 quid.

Agreed on the editing of music though. I just make my own stuff now on my own and whilst you do get a bit critical of hearing the same thing a million times its still better. Course the acid test is getting it mixed into music at a live venue and hoping the floor doesn't die when it comes on.
I am jealous but then I have absolutely nowhere to put such a beast. We have a proper upright piano so I shouldn't complain too much

It's always worth passing your music out to people who understand the music you're aiming for and seeing their reaction and being open to suggestions. It's not always easy but criticism is an important part of creating art. I'm a painter of sorts now and my painting would be much worse if my girlfriend wasn't so critical. Plus she enjoys criticising things so it works well for both of us

I've recently moved and have been lucky with the size of rooms. Had to get rid of my upright piano a while ago though - although it is at a mates house so I still get to play it if I want. And when I saw that organ, I simply had to make space for it, considering it's a quid

Yup, I do music for a company's youtube video's promoting their product and I make sure everyone I know hears it before I send it back to the client. I'd much rather hear my mates say, "That's shit. it doesn't fit at all", then not hear that, send it to the client and hear, "Don't call us, we'll call you".

Personal music is the same, but just not as fussed as much. The thing is, the more you hear your own music over time, the more you accept it for what it is, so you think it's alright. And then if someone else hears it for the first time, it's pantsville time.

And I'd give the techno smashing pumpkins a listen!

Deleted user 11 October 2013 00:35:53

RelaxedMikki wrote:
I used to be a musician.

Then I realised I had crap taste in music and no talent for anything other than ego fueled self delusion.

So I gave up being a musician and now all I have is crap taste in music and no talent for anything.

I miss being a musician.

You sound like the average great/successful musician to me...

quadfather 11 Oct 2013 14:35:56 39,069 posts
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@Mr_Sleep - here are the sockets on the Elka -

quadfather 11 Oct 2013 14:37:23 39,069 posts
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I'm guessing headphones are headphones obviously, then ext. input would be a microphone? And then I guess the small jacks are for an external amp and are Left and Right accordingly.

I wonder how it would sound, connected to an av receiver set in 7.1 all channel audio mode

Humperfunk 11 Oct 2013 14:43:05 8,634 posts
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RelaxedMikki wrote:
I am sure I could have overcome the complete lack of talent. But the crap taste in music was a real problem. I was geniuninly convinced the world was waiting for a techno version of Smashing Pumpkins...! That was badly mistaken even in the darkdays of 1992.

I'd love to hear that! I'm currently attempting to write some Pumpkins-esque songs for my band, massive fan of them.

warlockuk 11 Oct 2013 16:04:15 19,519 posts
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thelzdking wrote:
Does anyone have a home studio of any sort? I want to start doing some recording on my PC, but I don't really know where to start. What hardware do I need? Do I need a posh sound card? Are USB mixers any good? Is all the magic software based now?

I'm only going to be using it for some fairly basic stuff so I only want to spend a maximum of �200-300, although I have no idea if that is a realistic figure (you see the depth of my ignorance).

I also want to get a software synth and one of those keyboard controllers for it. Are they any good? What should I look for?

Depends on the sorta music you make really. I use Reaper and a toneport.

binster 9 Feb 2015 10:18:15 574 posts
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I just put a couple of synthwave-y tracks up on bandcamp which are free to download.

echoHeart

Enjoy!

Luke_Martin_VA 17 Feb 2015 10:55:30 170 posts
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About to launch our debut album. Band's called Redacted. This is our title track Ordinance

Luke_Martin_VA 22 Mar 2015 10:13:47 170 posts
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Album's out now - all proceeds to Comic Relief.

Deleted user 22 August 2015 17:32:20

Looking to finally up my game a little and upgrade from my ol' trusty Micro BR. Anyone got any advice on what set up I should be going for? I expect I'll need a laptop, some form of guitar input, a microphone and the requisite software. Looking to make stuff that sounds a lot more polished than my current demos which are at www.reverbnation.com/adamasunder.

LittleSparra 22 Aug 2015 17:39:08 7,926 posts
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Jive does 'Rank #7' mean you are 7th on Reverbnation for plays? If so, can I have second go on your groupies?

LittleSparra 22 Aug 2015 17:39:38 7,926 posts
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Ah, I see it means Southampton. You can keep them scallies.

Any musicians here?! • Page 6