Home Recordings

[Emphyrio]

Time and circumstances being what they are, I'm looking at doing most, if not all, of our future synths/keys recordings myself at home. To wit, I  need to learn about this midi lark. My interface has midi, my keys do too. I'll Youtube how to record midi but my question is, how do I record my keys going through my pedal board?

E.g. if I want to use an effect and record audio, it's straightforward , as your just use normal jacks to connect the keyboard - pedalboard - interface - DAW. But for midi wouldn't I have to put the pedalboard before the keyboard using a jack and connect the Microkorg to the interface? This would be ok but if I was using reverb or delay, shouldn't they be applied after the Korg, in the same way you wouldn't put reverb before distortion?

[mick1sheridan]

how do I record my keys going through my pedal board?

E.g. if I want to use an effect and record audio, it's straightforward , as your just use normal jacks to connect the keyboard - pedalboard - interface - DAW. But for midi wouldn't I have to put the pedalboard before the keyboard using a jack and connect the Microkorg to the interface? This would be ok but if I was using reverb or delay, shouldn't they be applied after the Korg, in the same way you wouldn't put reverb before distortion?

MIDI isn't sound though, it's basically just numbers being sent to the computer, you can't apply any realtime effects like a delay to a MIDI signal. If your Micokorg has a regular jack output, then you could go: Microkorg - Pedals - Instrument input on your interface. 

[Emphyrio]

Thanks for the reply, Mick, that's the way I've been doing it up until now. I only want to get into midi for editing and possibly using VSTs at a later stage. I was hoping midi would allow me keep the audio track but during the recording phase maybe changing patches, if necessary, without having to rerecord loads of layers. 

[The Butcher]

Would it be easier to tab out the songs in Guitar Pro and export the midi, import it into the DAW you are using and then mess with velocities/bends etc etc? I do it that way myself, write everything on GP 5.2 (guitars/bass/drums/synths) and export the synth sections out. Some might find that time consuming and a pain to tab out every instrument  (and painful to listen to) but it's nearly a destresser for me lol.

[blessed1]

Would it be easier to tab out the songs in Guitar Pro and export the midi, import it into the DAW you are using and then mess with velocities/bends etc etc? I do it that way myself, write everything on GP 5.2 (guitars/bass/drums/synths) and export the synth sections out. Some might find that time consuming and a pain to tab out every instrument  (and painful to listen to) but it's nearly a destresser for me lol.

This is how I do it as well. Once you get used to guitar pro it really is the easiest way to do it.

[if6was9]

Thanks for the reply, Mick, that's the way I've been doing it up until now. I only want to get into midi for editing and possibly using VSTs at a later stage. I was hoping midi would allow me keep the audio track but during the recording phase maybe changing patches, if necessary, without having to rerecord loads of layers.

It's as easy as this. Record the audio the way you have been AND simultaneously take the midi out of whatever keyboard you're playing on and record that onto another track in your DAW.

Then if you want to change patch later you just send the midi to a VST in your DAW or out of the box into your hardware synths.

It's an awful lot like taking a clean DI of a guitar and saving it for reamping/editing later. There's no reason to bring it into guitar pro for what you want to do.

[Emphyrio]

Thanks Ciaran, ya I figured it was similar buzz to re-amping. Picked up a GT100 yesterday for a very good price so think that'll cover any pedals I'm selling/sold. That being said I could nearly hang on to a few bits now.

[if6was9]

Yeah recording midi is the simplest way of doing anything in midi. Just set your track to record midi in on all channels and you're set!

Sending it back out to your hardware is easy out too. Just set the track to send out midi from your interface and into the midi in of whatever hardware you want to use and let it play as you mess with sounds. It's pretty good craic!

A ton of more modern stuff will let you do this over USB instead of going out through your interface also.

[Floss]

Midi is so awesome once you get the hang of it, it really is, I use it all the time and would be lost without it. The analogy of recording a DI for re-amping later is spot on.

It does look like the days of dedicated midi interfaces are fading alright... i have drum modules going back years that even had USB out on them then instead of 5pin DIN connectors for Midi... I have an old Lexicon interface that I never use anymore for audio but it had a midi interface and my old midi keyboard is 15yrs old and didnt have USB so its handy for that... but these days id say all midi related hardware directs people more towards USB.

Dead handy too for people that have amps with midi control on them (& who dont want to buy the own-brand expensive foot controller - looking at you Kemper) - buy yourself a generic midi controller for the floor, program it and your off.

[Necro Red]

Anybody have experience with Guitar programs? There are so many to choose from really. I have a guitar rig running through Cubase, but not entirely happy with the tones, even though there is quite a variety on it. Any advice much appreciated.

Red

[Drought]

We recorded a play through of our track "Dismal Grin".

https://www.facebook.com/DroughtEire/videos/2415063928804984/

Signal chain was LTD EC1000 into an AxeFxii on the standard 6505 setting, also used as the audio interface. This was blended with the studio audio which was a dual tracked Triple Rectifier.

[Athereso]

Ah sick!
Did this about a week ago. My friend sent me the raw guitar tracks which he recorded with a pod ux2. He also sent me a midi with the synths, drums and bass tabbed out.
I used cubase to arrange it and add vocals.
Superior drummer 2 for the drum synth. Kontakt Shreddage 3 Abyss for the bass. Omnisphere for the synths.
I got my friend who plays bass to basically (lol) mime playing the bass for the video.
I wrote some lyrics and did a few growls into a cheap condenser mic into a behringer 1820.
Spend a few days making the mix sound nice (to my ears). And then about six hours putting together the video. I had high hopes for it, but at some stage I just got lazy and stuck the video parts together kinda randomly.
We had done another metal song last year together and this is kinda the second song in that cluster of potential music making.
The start of the video is kind of a piss take but if you bear with it, you'll hear the meat of the tune !
Any info about specific mixing etc I'm here now for the explanations

https://youtu.be/QCJjy9uFQMQ

[blessed1]

Ah sick!
Did this about a week ago. My friend sent me the raw guitar tracks which he recorded with a pod ux2. He also sent me a midi with the synths, drums and bass tabbed out.
I used cubase to arrange it and add vocals.
Superior drummer 2 for the drum synth. Kontakt Shreddage 3 Abyss for the bass. Omnisphere for the synths.
I got my friend who plays bass to basically (lol) mime playing the bass for the video.
I wrote some lyrics and did a few growls into a cheap condenser mic into a behringer 1820.
Spend a few days making the mix sound nice (to my ears). And then about six hours putting together the video. I had high hopes for it, but at some stage I just got lazy and stuck the video parts together kinda randomly.
We had done another metal song last year together and this is kinda the second song in that cluster of potential music making.
The start of the video is kind of a piss take but if you bear with it, you'll hear the meat of the tune !
Any info about specific mixing etc I'm here now for the explanations

https://youtu.be/QCJjy9uFQMQ

That's a really cool song

[Athereso]

Ah sick!
Did this about a week ago. My friend sent me the raw guitar tracks which he recorded with a pod ux2. He also sent me a midi with the synths, drums and bass tabbed out.
I used cubase to arrange it and add vocals.
Superior drummer 2 for the drum synth. Kontakt Shreddage 3 Abyss for the bass. Omnisphere for the synths.
I got my friend who plays bass to basically (lol) mime playing the bass for the video.
I wrote some lyrics and did a few growls into a cheap condenser mic into a behringer 1820.
Spend a few days making the mix sound nice (to my ears). And then about six hours putting together the video. I had high hopes for it, but at some stage I just got lazy and stuck the video parts together kinda randomly.
We had done another metal song last year together and this is kinda the second song in that cluster of potential music making.
The start of the video is kind of a piss take but if you bear with it, you'll hear the meat of the tune !
Any info about specific mixing etc I'm here now for the explanations

https://youtu.be/QCJjy9uFQMQ

That's a really cool song

Thanks man!

[TurnTheAirBlue]

Here are my first attempts at home recording. It's not mixed and mastered or any of that fancy stuff, but it came out ok (one take).
The guitar is direct to audio interface. I'm using Amplitube 4 plugin on my MacBook, Mesa Boogie Mark IV amp model, logic pro and final cut.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cm5oBD6VJqs