Recording is no fun. I need a change. what to do?

[Polarelch]

All this sitting, staring at the screen, mouse-clicking and focussing doesn't do it for me.
Sometimes yes, but mostly it's demanding to do the first steps to get into the flow again, after a break.
I miss the fun part in recording.
I love to play my synths, but what can I do to also love recording?
I'm using Logic, which is already a bit more fun than cubase, but still I get tired after a few minutes. I didn't get on with ableton, my music isn't loop based but very linear.
I don't think changing the DAW would be wise anyway.
And maybe it's just the wrong time of the year.

Anyway, I'd like to ask you what added *fun* into your workflow and studio.
And to make it clear, I'm not a pro, but my aim is to record my songs, and I have loads of song ideas. I just didn't find the right way yet to get them down...

[the donal]

I know how you feel. I find it very hard to motivate myself- therefore my ouput is very, very slow.

I go through more phases of locking up when sit in the studio to start doing something with the ideas I've got.

Is it because you're mainly clicking? Do you have any hardware synths you can jam in? Can you set up any templates with your most inspiring plug-ins so you can pretty much boot up and go?

I also think having a break doesn't help- any workflows you might have built up for programming/recording might get a bit rusty. Maybe you just need to force yourself to crack on sometimes and break through a psychological barrier?

[steelyfan]

I would buy a simple digital 8 track recorder and be done with it.

Music is supposed to be fun, staring at a computer screen is not fun!
Even if folks are using there DAWs as a simple "capture machine", people just get seduced by all the things a computer can do.

If you love synths, you can spend more time fiddling with them than the DAW. Get your recording levels set in the 8 track and make some art!

later,

Steelyfan

[Polarelch]

Yeah. At the moment I have 3 hardware synths, and it's just so much more fun to turn real knobs than to sit on a chair and click click click within a non existing environment representated by a twodimensional field of lights (i.e. the screen).

But it's a bit like cleaning the place, once you are beyond the first minutes, it's not a biggie anymore.

I really hate using the mouse, and especially on a big screen it takes ages to move the cursor from one place to the other, and especially in Logic the clickable fields are quite small.
I had more fun using the sequencer of the Korg Triton, says it all. But the results just weren't as good as the results with a DAW *can be*.

Something like the new Focusrite mixer/controller (the one that caused a political discussion in the new products alert forum) might help my flow but it's so expensive...

[James Meeker]

Try to speed your way through it and just get it done. Don't freak out over precise settings, just get it to sound good. Be minimal. Be quick. Be merry.

Some people don't like recording/mixing. Nothing wrong with that.

The important thing is to stay productive.

[Polarelch]

steelyfan, you were quicker than I replied to the first answer.
Yeah, I thought about that. What about Zoom R16? It looks interesting.

[James Meeker]

I'd stick with the DAW you have and just under-utilize it. With a hard disk type of solution you are eventually going to run out of space, want to "up your game" or something else that will make you regret it.

You have a working system--put it to work. Just don't get lost in the production details.

[cramseur]

Originally Posted by James Meeker

Try to speed your way through it and just get it done. Don't freak out over precise settings, just get it to sound good. Be minimal. Be quick. Be merry.

Some people don't like recording/mixing. Nothing wrong with that.

The important thing is to stay productive.

I think the key is using Logic SOLELY as an audio recorder. Set up the machine to record, hit the button and have at it. Forget about the other stuff, temporarily. In this way it's really just another hard-disk recording system.

Then later, after all of the recording is done, comes mixing, as a separate function.

If this doesn't work for you, then you'll have to add aother recroding machine of some kind.

good luck!

[Whalez]

you can get a higher dpi mouse a lot of gaming mice have adjustable dpi at 3000 dpi you can move the mouse about 5mm and it will span an entire Max resolution 30" screen

[Junket]

Take a break man. Nothing about the music process should be a hassle to you.

I've recently got into a shitty position where I no longer have midi keys, an interface or anything besides my macbook. I don't love programming in everything by hand and using a tiny ass mouse and keyboard.

but I do it because i love music and I still learn ALOT by doing everything slow and methodically.

People who say you need more gear, a change of DAW, etc... aren't looking at the core situation. You have about 30 pieces of more gear than me, and I'M having fun. its your attitude and motivation.

If you wanna get those songs down, and you WANT to progress, you'll do it regardless of your current workflow. You'll make a new workflow.

I say this based on personal experience with one of my good friends by the way. He kept saying he couldn't work on any music until he had an MPC and a midi keyboard. So he sat by idling waiting. I made about 20 tracks "by hand" in that time. Could I of made them faster, better with more equipment? probably. but did I create more music, learn more key commands and learn my DAW inside and out? yep.

[Polarelch]

Yeah, though the break is the problem
I just return from a break. Now I have plenty of time at the moment.

What I just noticed:
I opened a new project, recorded some piano stuff. Then I played around with my favourite free soft synth (Tyrell N6), and I wished to record it on the flow.
I just wished I could press record and it would record what I'm playing... but the barriers were:
If I *just* would have pressed record, it would have jumped back to start cos the thing was in cycle mode with the (more uptempo) piano stuff I played before. Then also the piano stuff would have been played.
So I should have changed the tempo, deactivated cycle, muted the drum part, set the cursor to a point further away on the timeline, etc...
and until then I might not totally have forgotten my new idea, but most likely the feel for it.
Just one example that annoys me.

Anyway, this is about jamming, my plan is to get down my concrete ideas. I guess I just have to get beyond the first steps once returning from a break.

[msl]

Collaborate with someone, its more fun having 4 hands, ears and eyes in the studio.


.

[symmetricalSound]

Originally Posted by Polarelch

Yeah, though the break is the problem
I just return from a break. Now I have plenty of time at the moment.

What I just noticed:
I opened a new project, recorded some piano stuff. Then I played around with my favourite free soft synth (Tyrell N6), and I wished to record it on the flow.
I just wished I could press record and it would record what I'm playing... but the barriers were:
If I *just* would have pressed record, it would have jumped back to start cos the thing was in cycle mode with the (more uptempo) piano stuff I played before. Then also the piano stuff would have been played.
So I should have changed the tempo, deactivated cycle, muted the drum part, set the cursor to a point further away on the timeline, etc...
and until then I might not totally have forgotten my new idea, but most likely the feel for it.
Just one example that annoys me.

Anyway, this is about jamming, my plan is to get down my concrete ideas. I guess I just have to get beyond the first steps once returning from a break.

from what you just described it seems like you would find issues with trying to record your part whatever system you use, tape/hd recorder or computer. what you need is someone to be recording everything without you even knowing so it leaves you free to noodle about.

[Ki-Lab]

I agree with the suggestion to collaborate with someone. Could be a lot of fun. Maybe someone who could complement what you do, but is not an electronic musician. drummer / guitar / singer / bagpiper

[ahmo]

Yes, computers are fiddly, the more complicated the system, the more you need to set up and the harder it can be to switch gears.

I personally use a computer, an 8 track tape machine, and a cassette recorder. I can use the computer as an 8 track as well, but I sequence everything externally with hardware. I think you would gain a great advantage in getting a multitrack recorder that is easy to operate and has a lot of tactile control and little reliance on a screen. Hell, you can even just get a cassette 4 track and play with one to see how you like the feel of using something like it and get a hardware HD recorder later.

I don;t think you will lose anything because you still have the computer and software to record the soul crushing way, you can transfer whatever you record to the computer if need be, but in the heat of the moment you won't need to do that much to get ideas down. I think you should also have a good midi sequencer for the way you said you like to work, the triton one is popular with a lot of folks way back when, so either something in your workstation or an MPC would be the most ideal IMO. for what you describe, I would first go with a multitrack recorder that isn;t your computer, and if you want to sequence midi and don't still have your triton, get an MPC to sequence and ignore or get into the other features if you want to.

In your example, the piano part you recorded on one track, then you came up with something else, you could have just muted the piano (by pushing the button) and recorded the new idea right there, without having to do the housekeeping until later. then separate them later. Or on the four track, just mute or swap out the tape and onto the new idea.

I know exactly how you feel and I don;t always feel it, but I have limited my computer dependence because it doesn't inspire me as much as other aspects of writing music.

[Polarelch]

Yeah cool, I even thought about going back to cassettes as well.
Awkward for 2011, but I am never gonna be mainstream teenie pop anyway.
I fancied the Zoom R16 (whats this R8 thing?) anyway, so might be the time for this one. It would also do as an audio interface for live, and work as a controller if I go back to the computer.

And "yes" as well for the midi sequencer, though I am not keen on the MPCs just by looking at them online.
I feel more like an electribe, and I am already having an offer for a Jomox Xbase 09... other options would be Monomachine or Machinedrum.
Just the MPCs... I dunno if this would really be my thing, as I a) never work with samples and b) prefer something with a running light in a row. Dunno.

[fdegregorio]

This is a great thread. I've been out of it for while and getting back in and I remember that it got tedius after a while. Great suggestions guys, very much appreciated. Not too much software clicking in the work flow.

I have a pro control and that really helps. It controls alot of feature in pro tools, there is alot less clicking.

After reading this thread I'm going to focus on utilizing the pro control as much as possible to reduce burn out.

Time to get out the users manual...I mean pdf...I hate the pdf manuals...lol.

[Whalez]

ehe I am master of the mouse lol its my instrument

[thefunnel]

My solution: hit "record" and start jamming with synth of your choice. 10 min, 30, even an hour. Edit, process, layer as needed, throw some perc on, edit and layer more as needed, mix as you go, bam you've got a track.

No need to overanalyze, just do it.

[steelyfan]

Originally Posted by thefunnel

My solution: hit "record" and start jamming with synth of your choice. 10 min, 30, even an hour. Edit, process, layer as needed, throw some perc on, edit and layer more as needed, mix as you go, bam you've got a track.

No need to overanalyze, just do it.

Great approach. That's mostly how I roll too, just get something going and figure it out as you go. I try and get the sound I dig up front, no much post prodcution for me, I track it how I want it to sound.


to the OP:
Haven't looked at many simple stand alone units in a while, but there is so much on the market these days for simple digital recorders , and most of them sound good. Alot of guys use the Boss stuff, I remember the BR series sounded nice. Plus, you can then use your DAW to master your stuff, a DAW does make a nice mastering machine, that's all I use mine for, if at all.

[ONDRAY]

Originally Posted by Polarelch

All this sitting, staring at the screen, mouse-clicking and focussing doesn't do it for me.
Sometimes yes, but mostly it's demanding to do the first steps to get into the flow again, after a break.
I miss the fun part in recording.
I love to play my synths, but what can I do to also love recording?
I'm using Logic, which is already a bit more fun than cubase, but still I get tired after a few minutes. I didn't get on with ableton, my music isn't loop based but very linear.
I don't think changing the DAW would be wise anyway.
And maybe it's just the wrong time of the year.

Anyway, I'd like to ask you what added *fun* into your workflow and studio.
And to make it clear, I'm not a pro, but my aim is to record my songs, and I have loads of song ideas. I just didn't find the right way yet to get them down...

Rock it out, jump around, really Loud, jamming !
Get it all out of your system.
Do a few takes per synth, enjoy them.
Have copious amounts of coffee, chocolate, beers and whatever else you like in between your takes.....

...Now... More hours of sitting around looking at a screen... lot's of them.

[Morechips]

I was watching something on the idiots lantern a couple of weeks ago.....something about face recognition and disorders relating to this brain function, anyway, there was one statement in that program that really stuck and that was that '40% of brain activity is taken up processing visual information'!!! makes sense, but still thats a lot of processing power going toward one sensory input.

So perhaps this problem with computer based music making is actually all in yer head.

Anyway, set the DAW up with a max recording time of 30 mins, no loop and a metronome (or not!), hang a bit of cloth over the screen, use the keyboard to select tracks and arm record.

[lb00]

start smoking crack

[slojammin]

I often have the same problem. It's pretty hard to have fun without other people sometimes. See if you can find someone else in the same situation and work together on some tracks. You might end up having a laugh and getting through projects a lot quicker. Buying more gear just adds to your guilt when you're unproductive. I've often thought about just giving someone a share of my projects just to hang out in the studio giving me feedback and laughing at my jokes!

[Yoozer]

Originally Posted by steelyfan

I would buy a simple digital 8 track recorder and be done with it.

Music is supposed to be fun, staring at a computer screen is not fun!

Great idea! Let's exchange a big screen for... uh... a tiny screen.

Even if folks are using there DAWs as a simple "capture machine", people just get seduced by all the things a computer can do.

Then the problem is not the computer but a lack of self-discipline.

Since self-discipline is a desirable trait to pick up anyway going back to the computer after the 8 track adventures simply puts you in the same trap all over again because you didn't learn self-discipline; artificial constraints were forced on you.

Polarelch: here's another radical suggestion: get someone else in the studio. While you're playing they can record you - then you both go over them together to review them and pick out the good bits.

A singer is standing in a booth with headphones on. They get a slightly reverberated monitor signal of themselves sent to those headphones; it makes the space bigger than it is and adds a little gloss to their own performance, which will then reinforce their self-confidence. Put a singer behind a computer and let them consciously press the big red RECORD button, then run to the booth - and then they know they're performing and being recorded - they know what's on the line. Which isn't beneficial for their performance. So, with infinite tape available anyway, just hit record before they enter the booth without them seeing so they can warm up and feel better doing it.

Earlier, with live bands doing their thing at the studio and being recorded all at once, that wasn't a problem; they usually performed live a sufficient number of times to not so they didn't have stage fright. When you have to do everything yourself, you might create your own version of stage fright.

[ahmo]

yeah, a tiny screen and more buttons and faders to work with. Throwing a towel over the monitor and using the keyboard doesn't help, you can't quickly see levels, if you hit to wrong keys by accident you can be somewhere else, maybe out of the program, it's just not as straight forward.

Polarelch:
I use the MPC as a midi sequencer and sampler, it sequences everything in my studio quickly and easily, and it is really FUN. I imagine this is how you used the Triton Sequencer, so if you were looking for that, a good midi sequencer can help, MPC is my favorite, but if you like step sequencing then the Cirklon is king right now, or the newer electribe's are a lot of fun but I haven't used them with external gear, that might be limiting.

If you just want to record and that, then a hard disk recorder or 4 track might be more fun, or it might send you screaming back to the computer. The computer isn't going anywhere, so just try some different options, because despite how others like to justify that their way is the best way, it may not be the best way for you, and I find the less I do on the computer the better for me.

[Polarelch]

I kinda agree a bit with everyone here.
I guess an MPC might be a good idea, though Electribes *look* more like I could use them better. I might be wrong though, so I'll consider trying an MPC as well. And I also agree that self discipline is an issue sometimes.
But I didn't start this thread for "how do I get more self discipline", but more "fun"... looking for fun gear, or fun workflows, etc... this, combined with a bit more self discipline, will lead to the right result I guess.
I think it's wrong to force myself to record in certain times - like now - when I kind of don't feel like recording. Then the only thing that might get me willing to work on self discipline is - fun And eventually the will, the urge to *record* will come back anyway, I hope.

I guess it has to do with my plan to get down all my old songs before I do something new, and it's kind of tiring I guess. The song idea archive in my head, disks and wav files is quite big, and I need to get some free space again on my hard drive (my brain). But it's my plan, so I'll try to keep up with the work with my song archive.

Recording new stuff will definitely be more fun after that, when I'm open for new inspiration and so on.

[A Normal Zombie]

Light the lava lamp, spark up some incense, and enjoy a hot cup of tea. Next make a playlist of your favorite music that you have done. Sit back, relax, and listen. This often works for me.
Rather than looking to other people, artists, gear, etc. for inspiration, you may find that your older work re-ignites the excitement that you had before. I'm not sure why this works, but it often does. May not be your thing, but I think it's worth a try.

[ChristianRock]

Turn off the internet in your studio...


...and take a break from forums in general

[seen-da-sizer]

Originally Posted by Yoozer

Earlier, with live bands doing their thing at the studio and being recorded all at once, that wasn't a problem; they usually performed live a sufficient number of times to not so they didn't have stage fright. When you have to do everything yourself, you might create your own version of stage fright.

I like to continue on this thought, as well as others suggesting getting a partner: Start a band! Some music has to be performed in front of an audience before recording it. What I am missing most while working in my bedroom, is direct feedback from listeners. One of these days I got to go back performing live myself...