Music The RedCafe "Original Songwriter's" Music Thread

RamblingRebel

Hitler dead!
Joined
Jan 8, 2014
Messages
1,429
Location
Ireland
Supports
Burnley
Here's one of my attempts! It's a palindrome/ambiagram or whatever the word is for sound. I did this years ago when I was a heavy smoker of the herb.

Here's one I sketched out today, (no point listening after 1.46 it's just a loop) inspired by United's build up play and attack. It starts out kinda promising, but it's slow and ponderous and ultimately leads to nothing. Any advice on recording tips n technique and mixing/mastering would be appreciated. A lot of your lots work is fantastic!
 

RamblingRebel

Hitler dead!
Joined
Jan 8, 2014
Messages
1,429
Location
Ireland
Supports
Burnley
Come on lads, need some tips for recording/mixing. Had a little noodle this afternoon with a new lapsteel (never played one before today, and it shows! :lol: so buried it under a load of reverb) Kinda inspired by Khruangbin style of groove.


Will upgrading my soundcard make a difference? Using a Behringer U-Phoria UMC22 at the moment. Kinda has an MP3 quality to it. This one below was done years ago going straight of my preamp's headphone socket into the line input on my laptop and the quality and clarity seems so much better.

 

RamblingRebel

Hitler dead!
Joined
Jan 8, 2014
Messages
1,429
Location
Ireland
Supports
Burnley
:lol: that must've been some pretty good herb.
An immense trip! :lol: Getting stoned when you have a bunch of effects and a guitar is one of the best things ever! Who cares what it sounds like, its about getting lost in the moment and feeeeeling....or at least thats my excuse! :lol:
 

Jaqen H'ghar

I can't drive...55
Joined
Aug 26, 2015
Messages
1,409
An immense trip! :lol: Getting stoned when you have a bunch of effects and a guitar is one of the best things ever! Who cares what it sounds like, its about getting lost in the moment and feeeeeling....or at least thats my excuse! :lol:
I liked it, and it really did capture the motion of our build up play. Kudos.
 

amolbhatia50k

Sneaky bum time - Vaccination status: dozed off
Joined
Nov 8, 2002
Messages
95,336
Location
india
Do you use any plugins with it? I don't use a Mac or iPad.
I just use the basic garage band app. And record my singing and limited guitar play on top. Beyond that I'll sometimes use a loop here and there to fill in the sound but I try to keep that to the mare minimum/mosy inconsequential sounds as it's borrowed, really.

To be honest, my set up is a bit average. iPad (not the most realistic sounding instruments set), no proper microphone, etc but my aim is to give as much life to my tunes. Looking forward to getting an iMac set up. Logic Pro used to be the best, not sure about now.
 

RedPed

Whatabouter.
Joined
Jun 24, 2015
Messages
14,558
I just use the basic garage band app. And record my singing and limited guitar play on top. Beyond that I'll sometimes use a loop here and there to fill in the sound but I try to keep that to the mare minimum/mosy inconsequential sounds as it's borrowed, really.

To be honest, my set up is a bit average. iPad (not the most realistic sounding instruments set), no proper microphone, etc but my aim is to give as much life to my tunes. Looking forward to getting an iMac set up. Logic Pro used to be the best, not sure about now.
Ah ok, cheers. Am trialling Pro Tools 12 and Mixcraft 9.0 at the mo. I'm relatively new to the DAW game as I mainly used hardware in the past but sold most of my gear a few years back. Wish I hadn't now. :(
 

amolbhatia50k

Sneaky bum time - Vaccination status: dozed off
Joined
Nov 8, 2002
Messages
95,336
Location
india
Ah ok, cheers. Am trialling Pro Tools 12 and Mixcraft 9.0 at the mo. I'm relatively new to the DAW game as I mainly used hardware in the past but sold most of my gear a few years back. Wish I hadn't now. :(
I imagine your hardware produced much more realistic and authentic sounds than any of this stuff. My garage band is fine, but even compared to logic on the Mac, the sounds are a little basic.
 
Last edited:

RedPed

Whatabouter.
Joined
Jun 24, 2015
Messages
14,558
I imagine your hardware produced much more realistic and authentic sounds than any of this stuff. My garage band is fine, but even compared to logic on the Mac, the sounds are a little basic.
Yeah, I had a Yamaha SY85 synth (which I've still got), the Korg NX5R and X5DR synth modules, Korg Triton Rack, Alesis DM5, Casio RZ-1and Roland TR707 drum machines, Akai S6000 sampler, Roland MC-80 sequencer and a few other bits and bobs. I stupidly sold the lot as I was so busy at the time. One of my biggest regrets. :mad: I'm gonna build up my studio again though. I'm just waiting for my audio interface to arrive but the Mixcraft 9.0 DAW seems pretty cool. I got 30-day trial use at the mo and I will wait to see how the SY85 works with it but it looks like I will be buying the full product.
 

noodlehair

"It's like..."
Joined
Apr 1, 2004
Messages
16,180
Location
Flagg
I'm going to try and turn some of my song ideas into actual songs at some point while we're not allowed to do anything else...I have literally thousands of (probably terrible) bits of songs.





This one's a cover so kind of cheating...
 

OnlyTwoDaSilvas

Gullible
Joined
Feb 4, 2013
Messages
21,623
Location
The Mathews Bridge
Ah ok, cheers. Am trialling Pro Tools 12 and Mixcraft 9.0 at the mo. I'm relatively new to the DAW game as I mainly used hardware in the past but sold most of my gear a few years back. Wish I hadn't now. :(
Nice, I've been using Mixcraft since MX5 back when it was super basic. I imagine it pales in comparison to the power of Pro Tools, but it's just so easy to use. It's come a long way since version 5. MX9 was a huge upgrade from 8 too. Underrated DAW. I keep trying other ones, but I keep coming back to MX, it just makes the most sense to me. How are you finding it?
 

RedPed

Whatabouter.
Joined
Jun 24, 2015
Messages
14,558
Nice, I've been using Mixcraft since MX5 back when it was super basic. I imagine it pales in comparison to the power of Pro Tools, but it's just so easy to use. It's come a long way since version 5. MX9 was a huge upgrade from 8 too. Underrated DAW. I keep trying other ones, but I keep coming back to MX, it just makes the most sense to me. How are you finding it?
Yeah it's ok. I got nothing to compare it to as like I said I was always into the hardware with synths, sequencers, drum machines etc., so I'm just navigating the DAW world and just exploring at the moment. The only thing I don't like about it is that it is making me lazy so I'm looking at getting an Audio/MIDI interface to connect with my SY85. I can't get my head around Pro Tools. It's not very user friendly whereas MIxcraft is great. I've learnt so much already. I'm not sure what high end things Pro Tools does that Mixcraft can't. I'm not a professional producer by any means so it doesn't make sense to shell out hundreds on a top spec DAW. But you're right Mixcraft is pretty comprehensive and it's got plenty of good reviews. For the price I'll probably upgrade when my trial is up.
 

OnlyTwoDaSilvas

Gullible
Joined
Feb 4, 2013
Messages
21,623
Location
The Mathews Bridge
Yeah it's ok. I got nothing to compare it to as like I said I was always into the hardware with synths, sequencers, drum machines etc., so I'm just navigating the DAW world and just exploring at the moment. The only thing I don't like about it is that it is making me lazy so I'm looking at getting an Audio/MIDI interface to connect with my SY85. I can't get my head around Pro Tools. It's not very user friendly whereas MIxcraft is great. I've learnt so much already. I'm not sure what high end things Pro Tools does that Mixcraft can't. I'm not a professional producer by any means so it doesn't make sense to shell out hundreds on a top spec DAW. But you're right Mixcraft is pretty comprehensive and it's got plenty of good reviews. For the price I'll probably upgrade when my trial is up.
Worth it IMO. Once you've got a foot in the door, when Mixcraft 10 comes out in a couple of years, you can upgrade for something like £20 which is pretty great. The upgrades are usually pretty huge too.
 

The Cat

Will drink milk from your hands
Joined
May 18, 2017
Messages
12,108
Location
Feet up at home.
Yeah it's ok. I got nothing to compare it to as like I said I was always into the hardware with synths, sequencers, drum machines etc., so I'm just navigating the DAW world and just exploring at the moment. The only thing I don't like about it is that it is making me lazy so I'm looking at getting an Audio/MIDI interface to connect with my SY85. I can't get my head around Pro Tools. It's not very user friendly whereas MIxcraft is great. I've learnt so much already. I'm not sure what high end things Pro Tools does that Mixcraft can't. I'm not a professional producer by any means so it doesn't make sense to shell out hundreds on a top spec DAW. But you're right Mixcraft is pretty comprehensive and it's got plenty of good reviews. For the price I'll probably upgrade when my trial is up.
I had a SY35 years ago when I was in a band. Tremendous keyboard. I just got back into it with a MOXF6 and it is taking time to get to grips with the thousands of things on there to play with. Got a Native Instruments Komplete Audio interface arriving any day and have some guitar vst programs all set.
 

RedPed

Whatabouter.
Joined
Jun 24, 2015
Messages
14,558
Worth it IMO. Once you've got a foot in the door, when Mixcraft 10 comes out in a couple of years, you can upgrade for something like £20 which is pretty great. The upgrades are usually pretty huge too.
Yeah I think I'm all in with Acoustica. It's on offer as well so I'd be stupid not to. Just need the other bits to go with it now. Been very impressed so far.

I had a SY35 years ago when I was in a band. Tremendous keyboard. I just got back into it with a MOXF6 and it is taking time to get to grips with the thousands of things on there to play with. Got a Native Instruments Komplete Audio interface arriving any day and have some guitar vst programs all set.
I've always loved Yamaha's gear. Over the years I've had the DX7/11/21, V50, TX81Z, RX7, RX11, QX5, MD8. I'm looking out for a cheap SY99 but nobody will part with those if they have any sense. I sold all my gear years ago but couldn't part with the SY85. What's the MOXF6 like?
 

The Cat

Will drink milk from your hands
Joined
May 18, 2017
Messages
12,108
Location
Feet up at home.
Yeah I think I'm all in with Acoustica. It's on offer as well so I'd be stupid not to. Just need the other bits to go with it now. Been very impressed so far.



I've always loved Yamaha's gear. Over the years I've had the DX7/11/21, V50, TX81Z, RX7, RX11, QX5, MD8. I'm looking out for a cheap SY99 but nobody will part with those if they have any sense. I sold all my gear years ago but couldn't part with the SY85. What's the MOXF6 like?
First impressions were what a sound and number of voices but also I found the menus difficult to navigate especially trying to load and save recorded samples or purchased voices onto it. I got there in the end but it took a few visits to youtube.

Now I am able to move all the voices I want into playlists I am super happy with it. You can split the keyboard up into different voices and do all the important stuff you need for playing live as well. The only criticism I would make is I don't think they key action is the same as when they made those 35s and from what I have read this is common across other companies. It doesn't bother me though and when you conisder I impulse bought it when I saw one locally going for £500 at 2 weeks old and including the flash memory I would make a profit on it were I to sell it.

I don't think I would sell it though as I still get a hankering for the old 35 and this can do so much more especially with a DAW.
 

noodlehair

"It's like..."
Joined
Apr 1, 2004
Messages
16,180
Location
Flagg
I use some free software, a microphone I got for half price in Maplin once and a 6 year old laptop...I should probably look into these things a bit more...


This is 4 years old but I just found it on said laptop.
 

amolbhatia50k

Sneaky bum time - Vaccination status: dozed off
Joined
Nov 8, 2002
Messages
95,336
Location
india
I use some free software, a microphone I got for half price in Maplin once and a 6 year old laptop...I should probably look into these things a bit more...


This is 4 years old but I just found it on said laptop.
Like it. This tune has potential.
 

noodlehair

"It's like..."
Joined
Apr 1, 2004
Messages
16,180
Location
Flagg

I will also actually listen to the other stuff in here when I next get a chance so I'm not just being completely self serving :lol:
 

The Cat

Will drink milk from your hands
Joined
May 18, 2017
Messages
12,108
Location
Feet up at home.
I have 10 days off on about a fortnight - gonna try and record 3 songs I've meant to do for ages. Will probably take me all 10 days to do it.