Tag: home recording

Amp Sim

The RPM Challenge opened for sign ups for 2025 today. That seems a smidge early, but who cares. I haven’t signed up yet but I will. Soon. I am starting to feel the pull. I am starting to feel the anticipation. I am starting to look at my pedal board and recording setup at home and think about things I might want to change for this February’s challenge.

Last year I went entirely direct input into my USB audio interface. I have two amps with cab sim line outs and I used them both. Over the course of the last year or so there have been a ton of very good amp simulation pedals released into the world. Most are grossly expensive. TC Electronics has a series that is reasonably priced. Do I want to try one? They have one the sims a Fender Deluxe Reverb. I went looking for one on amazon the other day and they appeared to be out of stock. I checked again today at a couple of music vendor sites and they are definitely available. I must have misread the amazonian’s site somehow.

I would only ever want to use a device like this for home recording when there are people in the house. Otherwise I am playing through a real amp and just try to stop me. The demos for these pedals make it seem like they sound pretty good. Should I try one out? Should I take the amp sim plunge?

Or should I just splurge on an expensive new guitar? Or, should I splurge on an expensive new guitar?

November is Coming

November is almost upon us.  You know what that means, right?

NAtional SOlo ALbum MOnth, or as the cool kids call it, NaSoAlMo.

I signed up today, but I am not feeling it at all.  I don’t know if I’ll bother following through.  It’s not like February, where RPM is like a moral imperative.  The world will tilt off it’s axis without RPM.  NaSoAlMo… it’s just kinda… there.

Given how little time I have to spend on music, I should probably spend it all on the band.  However, if I should stumble on a decent song idea the band could always play it after the recording project is done, right?  Right?

New Song that is Actually New

Here’s a song from the aborted album in a day I tried on the day that the bathroom remodeling project started. I mixed it with ear buds so I’m sure it sounds like dung.

I don’t like the lyrics and I don’t like the melody in the verses. What do you think, is the rest of it worthy of bringing to the band? I’m undecided.

Prep Time

I just put new strings on the ES 335. I cleared a bit of space off of the MacBook Pro. All I have to do is clip my fingernails and then I’ll be ready for band practice.

For tonight’s recording, I need to lower the vocals on channel five, raise my mic on the PA, lower Mike’s bass on channel three, and raise Kevin’s drums WAY up on channels one and two. I think I’ll give the bass end on the drums a bit of a boost too. If all works well I’ll be sharing some music later this week.

More likely I’ll be listening to a recording with pretty much nothing but boomy drums.

NaSoAlMo Song #1

Hello and welcome to the first song finished for the 2014 NaSoAlMo. Aren’t you excited?? It’s more than seven minutes long and it’s got lots of 12-string guitar. It fits both of my mini-goals for the month. Hooray!

Not sure about the mix. It’s very late and I am 90% asleep, so who knows if it sounds good or not. Surely not me!

The Final RPM Challenge Post of 2014

Here it is kids, the (now) annual last official RPM Challenge post of the year.  I have uploaded this year’s stuff to my official RPM jukebox page.

Robert Parker’s RPM Challenge Music.

So there it is folks.  That page has three little flash playlists that contain my three officially submitted RPM Challenge projects.  This closes the book on February 2014.  I had a good time, despite being less than pleased with the end results.  There are a couple of decent moments.  One of the songs that I was really disappointed with is actually getting some love on alonetone.  I find that very weird.  Oh well.

I will keep plugging on more album-in-a-month zaniness, but RPM itself is over until next year.

RPM Challenge – Day 27

Something happened last night that sort of sums up this year’s challenge for me.  I went to bed after finishing the lead guitars on the last two songs.  While sleeping, I had a dream.  I was digging around in my ear for ear wax.  I found something else though.  I was able to grab it and pull.  What came out?  Dust.  A dust bunny about the size of a quarter.  When I woke up my first thought was, so that’s why everything sounds like crap this year.

I mixed two more songs before work this morning.  There are only two left.  I will finish them both tonight if it kills me.  Then I need to figure out a running order, burn a CD, and mail it off.

Here is one of this morning’s mixes. It’s the 7/8 rocker with the terrible leads.
http://alonetone.com/robertjames1971/tracks/bad-guy.mp3%20

The other song is in 6/8. It was an eighth note kinda morning. It was supposed to be the big quiet/loud/quiet thing but the loud parts are kinda pointless.
http://alonetone.com/robertjames1971/tracks/that-certain-someone.mp3%20

It is February 27th. The end is upon us.

RPM Challenge – Day 26

I have finished recording all of the parts I need. I have four more songs to mix. I’m going to finish on time and have something in the mail by noon on Saturday. It just won’t be all that good.

The music is repetitive and clunky, the lyrics are crap as usual, the singing is worse than ever, and the lead guitar playing (which is normally weak at best) has been at times dreadful. I just don’t have it in me this month. I could probably take four or five of these and combine them with three or for from November and end up with a decent collection of songs, but this one on its own is pretty pathetic.

I mixed two more last night, for a total of 10 finished songs. I’m not going to post one of them because the vocal performance is the worst of my life, and despite recording the whole thing multiple times (dumbing down the melody each time) I still can’t pull it off.

The second mix from last night is better though.

http://alonetone.com/robertjames1971/tracks/yes.mp3%20

My hands are too tired to perform, my voice is too tired to perform, and I think my ears are too tired to perform too. Everything just sounds sort of… mushy.

20140226-223015.jpg

RPM Challenge – Day 22 Again

I mixed two songs tonight. The first of the two is just a terrible song that I really hope I’ll be able to drop. I need lyrics for at least one more song in order to do that. I think I really must get at least one more done. This song just sucks.

http://alonetone.com/robertjames1971/tracks/forced.mp3%20

The other song is okay, but it is really similar to another song that I’ve already finished. Big chunks of both songs were actually written in one sitting. That might explain it. Ya think?

http://alonetone.com/robertjames1971/tracks/not-if-i-see-you-first.mp3%20

I hope to be able to record more vocals tomorrow. I’ve got two more ready to go. I’ve got another song ready to mix, and another song that only needs leads. It would be nice if I could get through all of them tomorrow. Then I would have telecommuting on Monday and Thursday to finish up any additional vocals I might get to before the deadline. The goal is still to record 14 songs. It’s getting near the end, and I have a lot left to do.

RPM Challenge – Day 22

We are going for a drive today in the hopes of getting desks and desk chairs for the kids.  When we woke up we had a very small window of time for anything other than getting ready to go.  I used that time wisely and recorded the leads for song #5.  It was far from perfect, but far from my usual terrible.  What was weird was that I nailed each part on the first take.  Woah!  I must be in the groove.  (that is sarcasm, the groove and I never see eye to eye, let alone meet up)

Even weirder is that I recorded a 16 bar guitar riff that will become song #15.  Now that is weird!  Here I am convinced I won’t have time to finish 14 songs and I go and start a 15th.  Somebody stop me!