My very first 'puter recording ever!

[Lt. Bob]

wait! ..... let me explain before you listen to its imperfectitude .... especially that unfortunate vocal.

I'm only posting this because it is truly and genuinely the very first time I have ever recorded with a 'puter/DAW so it's kinda history for me.
I have never, not ever, so much as downloaded a DAW of any sort ... not the easy beginner programs ... not garageband ... nothing at all.

For 50 years I've always recorded in an analog manner ... no mouse or monitor .... just recorders and mixers and fx units and wires .... so many wires.
But recently my stuff has been getting glitchy and problem-prone .... having to stop and look for bad connections is a major blow to the flow.

So it was time to go modern and Tadpui built me a super 'puter with his name right there where I can see it ( right below the pretty lights ) .... he installed Reaper and such for me.
I got the puter set up with the the Focusrite .... opened Reaper, saw that inputs 1 & 2 were automatically in and I hooked up the keyboard to it .... oh look, signal.
Oh and here's how to add a new track ..... and those are obviously mute and record buttons and a level ... ok, let's record.

That's literally all I know how to do ...... I don't know how to punch in .... well, I do but doing it with the mouse is hard, I'll have to get a footswitch.

But I do NOT know how to play it from anywhere but the beginning ... can't rewind or fast forward or start from 1:12.
So every single track had to start from the beginning all the way thru ... mess up? Start over ......
Want to listen to the outro again? Start from the beginning ..... stop for any reason ...... go to the beginning.

Also that scrolling along with the waveforms and time and grid passing by?
Ain't got that .... just blank ..... but I could record so I threw down some tracks.

This is an original (surprise!) I'm working on and I will do a full scale effort on it down the road .... but I had already been working on the drums in my keyboard so it was on my mind and an easy experiment.
I recorded the drums I had done and the bass is the keyboard also .... then I added 3 guitars and vocals and hey, why not the Aerophone?
So that's the other stuff you're hearing that sounds like it doesn't belong.

The vocal ..... oww, stumbled on some words ... singing's pretty iffy but having to start from the top has me taking the first thing that works .... meh, just an experiment, don't really want to spend much time on anything since it's all gonna be done for real later.
It's good enough to figure out how to work this program a little bit.

Lastly mixing was challenging since I had to turn around to see the monitor and then back towards the speakers. Got a 32" monitor on a stand and that's the only place to put it until I get some kind of articulating arm/mount for it.

But it's not too awful and since it is my very first time to push the record button on a 'puter, here it is.

[Tadpui]

Love it, LT! This is great as a first DAW recording, and that's no empty platitude. It's a whole new universe of features and mice and menus and clicking and installing and configuring. You even got a fade-out at the end! This is all a monumental accomplishment, and you managed it in a week. Hell yeah.

It certainly doesn't hurt that it's a good song and good performances all around. I've been hooked on a couple of reggae-inspired songs lately, so this one hits me in a current soft spot.

We'll get you clicking around Reaper like a pro in no time, so the next project should be considerably less work.

[Manslick]

nice

[JD01]

Bob, this is great. So, are all the percussion effects and stuff from your live rig?

As Tad says, won't be long until all the basic functions are 2nd nature and take no time at all.
Like any other mixing, most of the skill is learning to use your ears, which is a skill you obviously already have.

Aside from that its just learning what buttons to press in the DAW and what knobs to turn on your VSTs.

[CeeBee]

I've been doing this shit for years and can't come up with something as good as this
I guess that's just the difference beteen a real musician and a home recorder.

[CrowsofFritz]

Since nobody has mentioned the starting over fix, I’ve never played around with Reaper, but most DAWs are so similar so...there should be a timeline “ruler” looking thing on the top of your track screen. Click on that ruler where you want to go in the song and a marker should show up there. Then you can press play from that point in time.

[Lt. Bob]

Thanks all ..... this is gonna be fun I think

Bob, this is great. So, are all the percussion effects and stuff from your live rig?

yes ..... it's all the Roland FA-06 which is what I use live for backing tracks.

Since nobody has mentioned the starting over fix, I’ve never played around with Reaper, but most DAWs are so similar so...there should be a timeline “ruler” looking thing on the top of your track screen. Click on that ruler where you want to go in the song and a marker should show up there. Then you can press play from that point in time.

I'll try that but the 'ruler' at this point doesn't move.
I have clicked on it and there is a marker getting placed but it doesn't seem to do anything so far.

I'ma start a 'beginner to Reaper' thread later today ..... may be useful for others since I'm gonna be learning from the very basics!

[JD01]

Bob, with someone as experienced as you there's not much you really need to know how to use with Reaper really.

Just getting your drums synched up with the tempo of your project, using ReaEQ (great plugin), a couple of compressors (Tad will likely have installed the Red compressors/EQ which are bundled with your Focusrite.

Aside from that you'll just have to learn to handle a reverb which is easy in Reaper.... LOL, you'll probably work your reverbs out by standing off your mic!

[WhiskeyJack]

Man for a first kick at the can you don't have much to be ashamed about here at all man. I can tell you it sounds jillion times better than my first digital recording. You will get there no doubt. you know so much more analog fundamentals than probably all of except maybe Ray, that will really help with you with cool stuff like routing and FX routing (to name a couple off the top of my head)

If anything you could go back and play with some compressor settings on your vocal track. I find it comes in and out and it is not quite as full as smooth and level as other songs i have heard of yours.

Just learning curves. Still infinitely better than most digital newbies!

That's literally all I know how to do ...... I don't know how to punch in .... well, I do but doing it with the mouse is hard, I'll have to get a footswitch.

Buddy are in you in for a real treat!!!! You don't need to do either of those with reaper. Ever!!!!

It's literally just a right click on one of the buttons down by "play - record" to toggle to punch in kind of setting, and then highlighting a time selection of the problem area you want to punch in on. that's it. Maybe a little bit of editing on your part on the final clean up but you won't need to be fussing around with mouse clicking or stressing out buying another piece of gear.

Ok so this guy set's up a bit different from how i do it. He sets record mode via the options drop down menu but you can also change that by right clicking the loop button down by the record button. Just follow along with how he does it Lt.

[Lt. Bob]

see all that waveform he's using to decide where to punch in?
I don't have that ..... there is a grid screen ...... and it is divided into the different tracks ...,.. but it does not move and there's no waves on it .... it's blank.

Also at the top it looks like it's divided by measures and counts ...... I would prefer it be divided by time and also I don't need something like BPM=120 ....... so some stuff to learn.
I will watch the vids ..... but I think I'm still at a very basic level here .... prolly stuff you set up in your preferences ..... but I have a big Mardi Gras party next Wed. that's gonna take my time learning a shitload of Mardi Gras songs and I wanted to record something ..... ANYthing!

I'm relaxed and happy as a clam ..... I have the best internet buds available to get me going and then you'll all have to have producer credits on anything I ever do!
..,..... told wifey that in a few weeks, once I have this thing understood a bit, she can expect for me to disappear into my room and please leave food at the door!

[stratmonkee]

yeah man, as others stated, very cool, I like the laid back reggae /Leon Russell/Dr John vibe. Its so fun using Reaper, and the possibilities are endless, that and having great talent like yourself, should lead to some really great music. I look forward to listening!

[Lt. Bob]

If anything you could go back and play with some compressor settings on your vocal track. I find it comes in and out and it is not quite as full as smooth and level as other songs i have heard of yours.

Yeah ..... I wasn't happy about that.
I think I will mostly be using my Art Prochannel which has a comp in it and I have dialed it into sounding fairly decent.

For this time I just plugged into the Focusrite and the levels are all over the place.

I have also already discovered I don't like not having tone controls over the input like I did when I was using a mixer.
I have a hardware stereo parametric and the ART has one too ...... so I imagine I'll often be running thru one of them when running stuff into the Focusrite.

I do have a Presonus Faderport 8 which will take some of these controls off the mouse/keyboard.
Gotta figure that out too ..... oww ..... my brain!

[rayc]

First Daw recording = first WIN.
Excellent.

[Alison]

Wow! Love this! My first time REALLY sucked but, this sounds fantastic. But, then, I love everything you do so. . . looking forward to more!

[musicturtle]

Very nice @Lt. Bob love the sounds and the song.

For what it is worth, I don't even punch in with a DAW. I just make a new track(you now have a plenty) and start recording a bit before I want to "punch in." Then just cut and paste the tracks together.

Have fun, you are gonna love the world that digital recording opens up.

[TripleM]

Yeah it's an excellent first recording. Heck it's an excellent 100th recording.

The guy in Whiskey's posted video has a ton of instructional videos. A lot of them are kind of meh - or not applicable to me. But some of them are really helpful. At least to me.

You can edit together takes as you describe. But it's weird that you don't see waveforms. Could you put up a screenshot so we can see what you're looking at. You ought to be able to see waveforms. They can come in handy for both punching in and editing (as well as other stuff).

Anyway, superb start.

[Lt. Bob]

Thanks to all for the nice compliments ..... very generous of ya'll and I appreciate it.

For what it is worth, I don't even punch in with a DAW. I just make a new track(you now have a plenty) and start recording a bit before I want to "punch in." Then just cut and paste the tracks together.

Nice! I'll definitely do that! ...

it's weird that you don't see waveforms. Could you put up a screenshot so we can see what you're looking at.

I guess it's time to learn how to take screen shots ..... anyways I think Tadpui had it ..... I was scrolled too far out or in .... anyways I now have waveforms. They all look way different from each other though.
the master out looks like a normal wave but a couple are more like yellow lines with bulges along them as the part plays and some of them are more like dark squares with a blue line in the middle .....????

[Armistice]

What's Tad's refund policy? Clearly the computer's broken...

[CrowsofFritz]

Yeah, what the fuck, Tad?!

Just kidding

[TripleM]

What's Tad's refund policy? Clearly the computer's broken...

No good deed goes unpunished!!