Rich's 10 recording tips to get songs done fast
Next week I plan on releasing another song. The rough draft is already online, and the finalized version of that should be done before the tail of next week. The only reason it hasn't been done sooner is because I've been dealing with some computer issues (stupid power supply crap), but I'll have that all taken care of next week.
Releasing a song really fast is easy. You don't need a bunch of expensive gear, but rather just the basics to get your production efficiency ramped up.
(Note: I may do a video series on this later, but for now here's the blog version of it.)
1. Learn how to get drums done fast
A bunch of guitar players don't release songs mainly for the reason they can never get the drums done. You've got the riffs, the verse-chorus-verse stuff and the solo all in order, but.. no drums. This is why I bought the BOSS DR-3. Should you buy one of those? That's up to you, but my recommendation is to buy any drum synthesizer whether new or used. If you don't have a lot of cash to spend, grab a cheap Alesis SR-16. Those things are everywhere. Get one, learn how to make your drum patterns and go for it.
Just do whatever it takes to get your drums done so you don't have to worry about it.
One song I made has a really simple drum pattern, but that was the whole point. I did the drums then finished and released the song.
2. Buy a bass guitar
Get one. Don't do that tuning-down-the-guitar thing because it will sound awful. You'll probably only play your bass when in the recording stages. That's fine. Just have a bass so it's one less thing you have to worry about.
3. Doubling-up tracks is not a sin. Do it.
This adds a fullness to the sound and is a standard recording technique that's been done ever since the early 1960s.
Doubling-up works for guitars and vocals - but not bass or drums as with those instruments you can "mud out" too quickly.
4. Three to four-minute songs are the standard
A common mistake a lot of guitar players make is to produce songs that are way too short or way too long. The "happy medium" is 3 to 4 minutes; this is a formula still followed today by mainstream artists across all music genres.
Seven-minute "epics" are usually not something most people would want to listen to, so stay away from those.
5. It is okay to sound "fake"
Ask yourself a question. Are you making music for other musicians or for people? The answer, obviously, is people, as in non-musicians.
There are some uppity guitar player "purists" out there who think that in order to record a guitar, it must be through an amp, must be done using expensive microphones, must be recorded through an expensive mixing board and blah blah blah.
Screw all that.
Just grab a drum synthesizer, your guitar, your bass guitar, something with some decent amp modeling in it (even a cheap multi-effects pedal will get the job done), a cheap mixing board to feed into your computer's sound card, use free multi-track software like Audacity and just do it.
And if you get any complaints from the uppity guitar purists that say "I can tell that's an effects pedal!", whatever. You're making music getting songs done faster while all they're doing is being annoying whiners. Let them complain. Just keep making music.
6. Simplify your hardware so you can produce music the fastest possible way
Some guitar players have piles of gear where it takes them a half-hour before they're even ready to start recording, and that's stupid.
Ideally, you should be able to start up your computer, power on your mixer, power on your effects, plug in, start your multi-track software and be ready to record in less than 2 minutes.
Guitar snobs say this isn't possible. I say b.s. to that because I do it now. Whenever I have an idea for a riff, I can plug in and record a rough track very quickly. While other guys are fumbling around with pedals, knobs, wires, switches, microphones and other crap, I'm recording and they're not.
7. Simplify your songwriting style
The more complicated your songs are, the longer they'll take to record. It's not a sin to do your standard "three chord song" if you want to. As long as you're relatively sure what you wrote isn't ripping off someone else, just get it done and release it.
8. Just got a riff but no song? Record it anyway, because you can use it later
That song I just released recently? That was something I recorded in 2007, five years ago. Yes, really.
Always record any song idea you have, even if it's just a riff. Chances are really good you'll come back to it later (even years later) and make a song out of it.
9. Need an idea for a song? Play a song you like backwards
Many famous guitar players get their ideas from simply taking a song they like by someone else and reversing it. This is not plagiarism since the chord progression will be completely different, and obviously your style will make the song unique to you.
For whatever song you like, just write down the chords it uses and flip them around. You may find some great songs of your own by doing this. For example, if a riff in a song is E D A, flip it to A D E and see if it works. If it does (and you're sure it doesn't sound like any other song you know), use it.
10. Think less like a guitar player and more like a producer
Don't think about guitar gear. Don't think about how many other guitar players you will impress, because you play for people and not for musicians. Just get the stuff you need to record, record quickly, bang out songs and release them.
You can start by making simple goals, such as "I will release one song per month". Anyone can do that. Could you do 2, 3 or even 4 songs a month? You probably could - although I wouldn't suggest doing more than 4 in a month because that's a bit too much.
The point is that as long as you have what's needed (guitar, bass guitar, drum synth, mixer, multi-track software), and you train your brain to start producing more, you will.
Now go write a song.
Banana does not wish to be modified
(For those who don't know, Banana is my 2010 Squier Bullet Strat. I call her Banana because she's banana-colored.)
I am a believer in the cosmic forces that keep this wacky world of ours put together, and yes this does extend to guitars.
I know a guitar is an inanimate object. I know it does not have feelings or desires. I understand all that. However there are certain times when a guitar will 'say' to you, "don't modify me". So you don't, otherwise the guitar will somehow ruin itself.
I just said recently that I bought a prewired HSS pick guard and an additional replacement humbucker for Banana.
Then I get this email (the parts with X's are things I commented out for security reasons):
Subject: Backorder Notice from GF Sales ********
*******,
Thank you for your order *****.
We are emailing you to inform you that the item you ordered "Alnico Fat Pat Boutique Humbucker Chrome Bridge Position - H14" is currently out of stock. Your order must have gotten through before the system took them down.
We can help you out in a few ways.
- You can exchange to a different item if you would like.
- We can place you on a backorder list, we will ship any other items on your order and ship the backordered item when it comes back into stock.
- We can also cancel the backordered item, or your order, and refund you.
Please advise on how you would like to proceed. We apologize for any inconvenience, and we appreciate your assistance.
-GFS Support Staff
First I'm going to say it was very cool the way GFS handled this. Instead of just blindly shipping out half the order and leaving me hanging out to dry wondering where the other half is while it was on backorder, they stopped the order, emailed me and waited for my reply before doing anything.
That's awesome customer service. Truly. Vendors ordinarily never do anything that would "break the sales chain" so to speak, but GFS actually cares about the customer and puts him first, so good on them.
My reply was simply this:
If none of the order has shipped yet, cancel the whole thing and please refund, thank you.
I didn't know at the time I sent the reply whether they'd gone ahead and shipped half the order out. I went on the assumption they did, so I mentioned that if none of it shipped, then cancel the whole thing, and if not, they would have emailed me back and said "HSS pick guard already shipped out but we can refund you the backordered part if you want", and go from there. Fortunately they did put a stop on the order and waited for my reply before doing anything, which again is great customer service.
Today I received the email that I was refunded in full. After a few days I should get my money back (it takes a day or so before the processing completes on a refund).
Anyway..
The message sent to me here by the cosmic forces that be is, "Don't modify Banana. Don't do it." So I'm not.
In my experience, whenever you buy hardware specifically to modify a guitar and have a really hard time getting the stuff you want, cosmic forces are telling you not to do it, and that you should listen. The last time I didn't listen, I ended up with the Surf Strat and hated the pickups in it. When you don't listen, that's what happens.
The same thing happens in reverse, by the way. If you walk into a guitar store one day, pick up a guitar that for some strange reason "called out" to you, play it and it's the best freakin' thing you've ever played, you should buy it. Right there, right then. If you can't afford it, put it on layaway. Do whatever you have to do. Just get the thing. If you say to yourself, "Well, I can't afford it now but another one will come along and I'll get it then when I have the money", that's a mistake. The next one won't play or sound the same.
Many guitar players buy guitars this way, and the story is always the same. "I went in to buy strings but I saw [insert guitar here], played it and just had to have it because it played so awesome."
The 'magic' of any guitar can be wrecked by modifying it. Some guitars are made to be modded and this is true. But others for whatever weird wacky reason just absolutely do not want to be modified. Whenever you go to buy stuff to mod the guitar, you'll always have a difficult time. Something happens that prevents you from going to the music shop that day. On an online order, something like what I described above happens. On the way to the music store you get a flat tire. Any number of things can happen. Again, that's the cosmic forces telling you not to mod the guitar.
Banana spoke, and said she wants to stay as is, so she will.
star trek
Oddly enough, I've never written a post exclusively about Star Trek, so I figured it's about time I did.
I have a confession to make. I liked ST:TNG a lot, but I hated ST:TOS for the longest time because I thought it was just stupid - and that's the one I'm going to talk about.
I decided to start watching this because it's a 1960s television show that doesn't outright suck.
The only things I really knew about the original 'Trek before watching it were the technical TV aspects of it. I do hold a college degree in TV & Radio Production and know quite a bit about television history. The entire reason everyone wears brightly colored uniforms on 'Trek was specifically to promote color television. It's the same reason sportscasters of the era wore very loud yellow jackets and had microphone socks that were oversized and in red, yellow, blue or green.
The television industry wanted people to buy color TVs to see the colors, and did everything they could to promote it, right down to what people wore. And it worked. Star Trek was no exception.
I've almost made it through season 1 of 'Trek, and I've learned on Netflix what you see is the remastered series. Any time you see an image of space, ship or planets, that's all CGI - but I have to admit it's very tastefully done.
This is one of those ultra-rare instances where I actually prefer the remastered over the original. The ship models used and the space scenes created back in the 60s for 'Trek were awful and this is a well known fact. The technology was primitive and the budget simply not there, so they had to make do with what they had. That being said, I have no problem at all watching the remastered version.
Only in very tiny instances did they throw CGI into the live action scenes, but I can tell whoever did the remastering was really careful about it. It's obvious that great care was taken not to tick off the fan base by "pulling a Lucas", so to speak.
I watch 'Trek for what it is - a 1960s sci-fi show. Since budget was at a minimum for effects, concentration was placed on making good stories. And for the most part they are.
The thing that strikes me most about 'Trek is the obvious 60s influence, because that's when the show was made. 1966 thru 1969 to be exact. That's before my time and it was a very different world back then. As cliché as this sounds, men were men, women were women, each knew their roles and everyone was okay with that. You also see several instances of the show taking potshots at hippie culture of the time and showing a resounding disapproval of it. Whether that was Gene Roddenberry's (the show's creator) idea or not I don't know.
Star Trek is just a quirky 1960s television show. Visionary to some, groundbreaking to others, but to me it's just good television. I feel for some reason that I owe it to myself to watch it through, so I'll do it. Yeah, there are some scenes that are just beyond stupid (like Kirk vs. Gorn), but with sci-fi sometimes you get that. It's okay, I can deal with it. :)
brain candy
Brain Candy is a movie from 1996 that came about as the result of The Kids In The Hall television show. This is one of those movies that has cult status to it and nothing more, because in all honesty, it's terrible.
The first reaction to this movie is usually, "KITH made a movie?" Yep. It's that forgettable.
There are many problems with this movie. It was scripted like a TV show, you can tell it was rushed, there are things in it that just shouldn't be there, and the list goes on and on. And as is the case with most TV-to-movie films, television actors usually don't translate well to the silver screen. This is not to say they can't act because they can - but there is a huge difference between TV acting and movie acting, and what works on the small screen usually doesn't on the big screen.
When watching this you're waiting for the funny to happen, and it just doesn't. Well, almost doesn't. Just about all of Scott Thompson's scenes are funny at least for a moment. But those happen really early in the movie and the rest of it just drags along until the dumb ending.
A lot of times this movie tries way too hard to be funny and you can totally see right through it. And then the movie just does weird things that make no sense. Like in the beginning, you think the entire movie is going to be narrated by the cab driver, but that doesn't happen. He's there, then not there for a really long time, then there, then he's at the end again. There's many areas where things are just really disconnected, because like I said, it's scripted like a TV show with a weak movie plot thrown in.
Some people swear this movie is very funny. I don't think so. It has awkward humor that doesn't work, plot holes everywhere, almost zero pacing and it's a chore to get through it.
Give this one a pass. You won't be missing anything.
Guitars and synths don't mix, but I do both
I posted a video an hour or so ago on the used BOSS DR-3 I just received. The first rating on the video was a thumbs-down, so I disabled ratings because there will be a bunch of negative ones, and I know exactly why - because my guitar fans will go "Eww!" and the synth fans who are into Roland drum machines will also go "Eww!" all at once.
I was a synth player way before I was a guitar player. It started with cheesy Casio keyboards as a kid, then up to a Roland Juno-60 (the heaviest synth I ever owned), then to an Ensoniq SQ-1 Plus, then a very brief stint with a Korg N364 (which I hated and got rid of quickly), then the purchase of another Ensoniq SQ-1 Plus which I still own, and then an Alesis Fusion 6HD - also which I still own.
I am an Ensoniq guy primarily, and I was never one of those dance/house/trance guys. I'll put it another way in a term synth guys would understand. You have no idea how bad I wanted a Yamaha DX7 because I thought it was the coolest thing ever. I never got one because after a while I realized how inferior it was compared to the Ensoniq. But there's still a little part of me that even now still wants a DX7. Even the name of it just sounds cool.
There are synth guys out there to this day that wish I would go back to producing synth music and making synth videos, because I can tear it up on the keys quite well. However I find the electric guitar simply a cooler instrument to play. It's much more physical, much more "earthy" as your hands are on steel and wood instead of nothing but plastic, and I genuinely get more enjoyment out of it.
On my YouTube channel, almost every single video you see - or should I say hear - that has backing music, that was composed on my Ensoniq. Just bass and drums in all their FM synthesis glory and nothing more.
The reason I haven't been using the Ensoniq lately is just from the fact it's suffering from the ravages of old age. The sensors on the keys are simply wearing out, and missed noted happen a lot. And I'm pretty sure the circuitry is two steps away from total failure because the indicator lights are doing weird things, and the synth is crashing a lot. Synths just don't work too well after 20 years I guess (it was made in 1990 originally). Yeah, I could take it to a guy for it to be repaired - but guess what - try finding the electronics schematic for an SQ-1 Plus.
I basically only needed a synth with an on-board sequencer that could do drums and bass. Well, that's the DR-3. I hate software-based sequencing/composition and absolutely won't go anywhere near it. Way too much hassle.
The DR-3 basically operates just like an old-school synth workstation, and that's exactly how I like it. If you know older style pattern sequencing at all, the DR-3 is a breeze to use because it is a synth workstation in the form of a drum machine. Very cool little device, I must say.
Sometime in the future I plan on purchasing another synth, but it's going to be funny how I'm going to go about it.
All the expensive workstation synths are basically nothing but overkill and designed to connect to computers. I don't want that. All I want is something with a simple on-board pattern-based sequencer where I can string sequences into songs - just like on my old Ensoniq.
Synth guys will laugh their asses off at this one, but the Casio CTK-7000 works. To "serious synth guys", this thing is a joke, because no "true" synth would ever have on-board speakers, but it gets the job done.
It has an pattern-based sequencer capable of 16 tracks in song mode (8 in pattern mode). Oh yes it does. And you can use it just like the old-school workstations where you can do everything manually without any auto-accompaniment.
You'll be amazed how cheap it is. It's a basic workstation cleverly disguised as a portable piano, and I could do some seriously amazing things with it.
The unfortunate part is that is has full-weighted keys, and I can't stand those - BUT - I'd deal with it just to get what the CTK-7000 has to offer. And if I hated the key feel, I'd just hook up a MIDI controller.
Get this - it has the ability to record songs digitally to an SD/SDHC memory card. HOW COOL IS THAT on a synth priced this low? Seriously, it's frickin' awesome.
And get THIS - there's an arpeggiator in it too! This Casio is LOADED with synth goodness!
Guitarists hate synths - and that's okay
Guitar players are not synth guys - yet I am, and I know I'm a rare breed. I know my DR-3 video won't get anything for views because it's not the normal type of guitar video I post. And I'm not even going to post a link to this post on my Facebook page either because I know all the guitar guys there will hate it. The attitude will be "STOP TALKING ABOUT THOSE GEEKY SYNTHS, MENGA.. PLAY YER FRICKIN' GUITAR!", so I'm not even going to bother.
Many guitarists out there are secretly synth guys also. They have to keep it secret because otherwise two worlds collide - electronics + programming vs. wood + steel. Both guitar guys and synth guys are of the attitude "PICK ONE OR THE OTHER!" No, and screw you. I do both. Deal with it.