• From: North Carolina
  • Registered: 2007-02-08
  • Posts: 1,914

Topic: Recording question? Russell you out there..lol

Ok a month or so ago I purchased a digital recorder http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/ … sku=241796 and mic http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/ … sku=271593 I've been playing around with some tracks and I think I'm doing this the hard way. I've been laying down my guitar on one track and then laying my drums and vocals on seperate tracks. This works out ok but I'm having trouble keeping it all in sync. I don't know how to use the recorder to move my tracks and lay them in the right position without going through the trouble of syncing it while recording. Would it be best to just record one track at a time and then try to layer them using audacity. Can anyone give me some tips or a quick walk through? Also say I'm doing a song with a constant bongo pattern throughout..can I just record say 30 seconds of it and then loop it to continue for the whole song without having to play it for the entire track myself? Thanks -Pix

Maybe we should consider a recording section to the forum...There seems to be more and more questions coming up about it.

[b][color=#FF0000]If your brain is part of the process, you're missing it. You should play like a drowning man, struggling to reach shore. If you can trap that feeling, then you have something.
[/color][/b]         [b]Peace of mind. That's my piece of mind...[/b]

Guitarpix's Website

2 Reply by Russell_Harding (edited by Russell_Harding 2008-07-01 01:02:10)

  • From: A black hole in deep space
  • Registered: 2007-10-28
  • Posts: 7,865

Re: Recording question? Russell you out there..lol

pix there are several issues you are asking so let me check out the links you provided and see exactly what kind of equipment you are working with i can say quickly it is a lot better to lay the accustic track 1st and as far as looping the percusion it depends on the recorder my br-8 has this feature but i will return and add more after i check out your links so standby.....shall return russ OK i checked out the tascam if it says tascam its gotta be a good product so your off to a good start the microphone is an excellent choice a little pricey for me but still a great find.

1st the recorder like mine has a built in metronome and it will keep time for you and not record on your tracks so keep track of the speed of the metronome (write it down) and when you record additional set the click tract on so whatever instrument you play will be in time

2nd if you record a accustic track 1st to the metronome let it click for 8 beats so each track you record after you will have no problem comming in on time (sync) and you can listen to the first track as you play the next but do this first pan the track you recorded to the left or right of center because all new tracks are automaticley placed in the center and you can pan the tracks where you want later and last looping tracks ,if i understand you correctly you want to play only say 4 bars or so and have the recorder loop this track my br-8 can and im sure theres a funtion for that on the tascam if not you have 2 choices either play the entire song from beginning to end (percussion track) or use a digital rhythem machine like mine it is a alesis sr-16 and it has that funtion of playing 1 or 4 bars and looping this as you add additional rhythem beats just like a loop pedal plays back  each generation of the previous lick or chord sequence  so you will have to dig into the manual and see if looping a recorded segment is included l will keep a eye out for any post by you and give you all the help i can you can also email me  it would help if i could see the manual or at least part of it so...scan and send as attachments the sections on looping tracks or syncronization with recorded tracks and let me scrutinize these puppys smile

"Growing old is not for sissies"

Russell_Harding's Website

3 Reply by Guitarpix (edited by Guitarpix 2008-07-01 00:36:08)

  • From: North Carolina
  • Registered: 2007-02-08
  • Posts: 1,914

Re: Recording question? Russell you out there..lol

Russell_Harding wrote:

pix there are several issues you are asking so let me check out the links you provided and see exactly what kind of equipment you are working with i can say quickly it is a lot better to lay the accustic track 1st and as far as looping the percusion it depends on the recorder my br-8 has this feature but i will return and add more after i check out your links so standby.....shall return russ

Thanks Russ as payment I offer you this http://www.haagendazs.com/img_db/pro/pro_bpi_101.jpg  A large cyber bowl of ice cream smile I believe butter pecan is your favorite. big_smile

I was thinking the looping of percusion could possibly be done on audacity?

[b][color=#FF0000]If your brain is part of the process, you're missing it. You should play like a drowning man, struggling to reach shore. If you can trap that feeling, then you have something.
[/color][/b]         [b]Peace of mind. That's my piece of mind...[/b]

Guitarpix's Website

  • From: A black hole in deep space
  • Registered: 2007-10-28
  • Posts: 7,865

Re: Recording question? Russell you out there..lol

pix that bowl of ice cream looks so tempting lol  and regarding the audacity and the possibility of looping tracks i have the whole manual in a zipped folder and i can look and see if this exists to be honest i dont think so but i will dig into the help tab and see and if that bugger is there i will extract the varmint and give you the secreats of the jedi  lol

Guitarpix wrote:
Russell_Harding wrote:

pix there are several issues you are asking so let me check out the links you provided and see exactly what kind of equipment you are working with i can say quickly it is a lot better to lay the accustic track 1st and as far as looping the percusion it depends on the recorder my br-8 has this feature but i will return and add more after i check out your links so standby.....shall return russ

Thanks Russ as payment I offer you this http://www.haagendazs.com/img_db/pro/pro_bpi_101.jpg  A large cyber bowl of ice cream smile I believe butter pecan is your favorite. big_smile

I was thinking the looping of percusion could possibly be done on audacity?

"Growing old is not for sissies"

Russell_Harding's Website

  • From: North Carolina
  • Registered: 2007-02-08
  • Posts: 1,914

Re: Recording question? Russell you out there..lol

Much appreciated Russ!! The complete manual can be found here as a pdf file http://search.yahoo.com/search?ei=utf-8 … &type= I've played with it some and am slowly figuring it out but any translation to laymans terms would be appreciated!
  The purchase was actually an interesting story. I ordered the recorder, mic, pop filter, a bongo cajun, A marshall AS50d, a cowbell smile, egg shakers and a Guiro at the same time. I know a pretty big order...lol Anyway, I recieve 2 of everything from musicians friend!! I wait a week struggling with my conscience (keep it or return it) and then finally call the company to inform them of their mistake. They are amazed that I reported it and want to return it so I get half off my order for being honest and a $50 store credit towards my next order!! If I'd have known I was going to end up getting half off the order it would have been much larger...lol Just goes to show that honesty does pay! Peace! -Pix

[b][color=#FF0000]If your brain is part of the process, you're missing it. You should play like a drowning man, struggling to reach shore. If you can trap that feeling, then you have something.
[/color][/b]         [b]Peace of mind. That's my piece of mind...[/b]

Guitarpix's Website

  • From: A black hole in deep space
  • Registered: 2007-10-28
  • Posts: 7,865

Re: Recording question? Russell you out there..lol

pix you provide a wealth of information as usual some how i think you lured me in lol soooooo i will see if i can download this manual or find the part you need and take a screen shot or two yes i agree it pays to be honest and you were rewarded for yours, as soon as i have read the section and studied it a bit I will do my best to explain( assuming i can understand it ) lol

Guitarpix wrote:

Much appreciated Russ!! The complete manual can be found here as a pdf file http://search.yahoo.com/search?ei=utf-8 … &type= I've played with it some and am slowly figuring it out but any translation to laymans terms would be appreciated!
  The purchase was actually an interesting story. I ordered the recorder, mic, pop filter, a bongo cajun, A marshall AS50d, a cowbell smile, egg shakers and a Guiro at the same time. I know a pretty big order...lol Anyway, I recieve 2 of everything from musicians friend!! I wait a week struggling with my conscience (keep it or return it) and then finally call the company to inform them of their mistake. They are amazed that I reported it and want to return it so I get half off my order for being honest and a $50 store credit towards my next order!! If I'd have known I was going to end up getting half off the order it would have been much larger...lol Just goes to show that honesty does pay! Peace! -Pix

"Growing old is not for sissies"

Russell_Harding's Website

  • From: A black hole in deep space
  • Registered: 2007-10-28
  • Posts: 7,865

Re: Recording question? Russell you out there..lol

pix I just downloaded the manual and I will get to the juicy part as soon as i have a bowl or two of ICE CREAM!!!!! lol it brings back memories of the vid i made "vanities" thats on utube smile

"Growing old is not for sissies"

Russell_Harding's Website

  • From: North Carolina
  • Registered: 2007-02-08
  • Posts: 1,914

Re: Recording question? Russell you out there..lol

Hey Russ, no hurry at all. Just if you get time.. I get the basic functions. It's just trying to sync everything. This stuff is kinda confusing when your figuring it all out for the first time...lol  Thanks again!

[b][color=#FF0000]If your brain is part of the process, you're missing it. You should play like a drowning man, struggling to reach shore. If you can trap that feeling, then you have something.
[/color][/b]         [b]Peace of mind. That's my piece of mind...[/b]

Guitarpix's Website

  • From: A black hole in deep space
  • Registered: 2007-10-28
  • Posts: 7,865

Re: Recording question? Russell you out there..lol

OK heres the scoop the closest thing i can see in your manual for what may help is "setting the repeat interval" and "drum effects" so it has a built in drum machine and you can set the tempo and drum sounds,the Audacity program has something that may help you. click on the "generate"tab and select "click track" a screen will pop up and you set the tempo and beats per measure and after you enable this a click track will appear in a grey grid and when you press "play" you will hear tic tic tic tic or if you prefer click click click click so depending on the length of the song (and there is a window on your recorder that tells you how many bars or beats or length of the song) all you have to do is set audacity click track for this much time or measures or bars smile 

Guitarpix wrote:

Hey Russ, no hurry at all. Just if you get time.. I get the basic functions. It's just trying to sync everything. This stuff is kinda confusing when your figuring it all out for the first time...lol  Thanks again!

"Growing old is not for sissies"

Russell_Harding's Website

10 Reply by arkady (edited by arkady 2008-07-01 18:09:00)

  • arkady
  • arkady
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  • From: England
  • Registered: 2006-11-23
  • Posts: 2,147

Re: Recording question? Russell you out there..lol

Guitarpix wrote:

Ok a month or so ago I purchased a digital recorder http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/ … sku=241796 and mic http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/ … sku=271593 I've been playing around with some tracks and I think I'm doing this the hard way. I've been laying down my guitar on one track and then laying my drums and vocals on seperate tracks. This works out ok but I'm having trouble keeping it all in sync. I don't know how to use the recorder to move my tracks and lay them in the right position without going through the trouble of syncing it while recording. Would it be best to just record one track at a time and then try to layer them using audacity. Can anyone give me some tips or a quick walk through? Also say I'm doing a song with a constant bongo pattern throughout..can I just record say 30 seconds of it and then loop it to continue for the whole song without having to play it for the entire track myself? Thanks -Pix

Maybe we should consider a recording section to the forum...There seems to be more and more questions coming up about it.

Hey pixs
Sorry to gate crash you and russ here  smile
But I've used audacity to record most of my songs simple tutorials here http://audacityteam.org/wiki/index.php?title=Tutorials
the repeat function on the effects tab creates loops of any length. ( just repeats any number of times what has been recored onto the track)
Tracks can be moved in time using the cursor so track timing can realigned if out to each other. It's all there.
Manuals like all manuals just give to much information.....
Also tutorials on Utube here http://www.youtube.com/results?search_q … q=audacity
Ark

  • From: A black hole in deep space
  • Registered: 2007-10-28
  • Posts: 7,865

Re: Recording question? Russell you out there..lol

Arkady is right i just tried the effect and i think if you record only 4 bars you can loop it till doomsday but theres more to this so i will dig in to it a little because it might me a useful effect for me also thanks ark for enlightning this old dog (me) its not true you cant teach an old dog new tricks I think it depends on the dog! smile

"Growing old is not for sissies"

Russell_Harding's Website

  • From: North Carolina
  • Registered: 2007-02-08
  • Posts: 1,914

Re: Recording question? Russell you out there..lol

Thanks Ark and Russ! I really appreciate the help! -Pix

[b][color=#FF0000]If your brain is part of the process, you're missing it. You should play like a drowning man, struggling to reach shore. If you can trap that feeling, then you have something.
[/color][/b]         [b]Peace of mind. That's my piece of mind...[/b]

Guitarpix's Website