BigBlob: Need Advice Recording My Own Music

BigBlob 08.29.16	im as novice as you can get on this....
BigBlob 08.29.16	yeah I'm just planning very basic stuff to begin with. drums/guitar/ few samples.
bloc 08.29.16	Yeah like Ov said, getting an efficient workflow is probably the hardest and the last thing you will ever achieve
BigBlob 08.29.16	you record bloc?
bnelso55 08.29.16	Bookmarking this page. I've struggled for years to create even a decent recording at home. Hoping for some good suggestions.
bloc 08.29.16	"you record bloc?" Honestly, I just started this year. For all these years I never had an interest in recording but all of a sudden I started to get bored of just shredding in my bedroom all the time and wanted to try something new.
Final Origin 08.29.16	I am very much the reverse of what Ov does, I tend to record the guitar riffs first then do the drums afterwards. I have my weird ways of recording though, I focus solely on the metronome to guide me through timings and riffs and revolve the drums around the riff. I really do not thing there is one actual way of recording your music, just let it come naturally to how you want the track to pan out and I agree that willpower is the main source of overcoming the challenges of recording. You gain a hell of a lot of experience and progress by just going with any creative ideas that pop in your head and putting it down. All of my tracks have literally been just making up on the spot from one riff and progressing from there. Your equipment is more than enough to get you recording some good quality stuff, look forward to hearing it!
Sevengill 08.29.16	"Always lay down rhythm/drums before guitars." You can get around this with a click track, like if you write from the perspective of a guitarist, but generally work from the bottom up. I just recorded a classical album, where having a 12-piece orchestra requires pretty careful layering. Pay close attention to panning and EQ levels -- you want to create a three-dimensional space in the mix. For instance, slight reverb and delay can give the impression of things being distant (reverb = reverberation, sounds bouncing off walls so your ears think it's far away), so you can build around the listener for a more dynamic experience.
DungeonBoy 08.29.16	I focus solely on the metronome to guide me through timings and riffs and revolve the drums around the riff. [2] Input lag is called latency, so use that term to troubleshoot. Oftentimes latency is caused by too high of a buffer size in your DAW (Reaper). Try lowering the buffer size in the properties section and see if that helps with the latency. Direct input with plug-ins is great if you have a computer that can handle them. Good plug-ins will use a ton more processing power than recording with a mic. You can get some incredible amp/cab/effects sounds these days using plug-ins, however they can get really expensive as well. The best free amps/cabs I know of are LePou http://lepouplugins.blogspot.com/ A great place for other free midi plugins like strings, horns, synths, is DSK http://www.dskmusic.com/ so check that out. EDIT (Since I included my other favorite free plug-ins): Forgot to include this as well but this is the best free limiter that I have found https://vladgsound.wordpress.com/plugins/limiter6/ when you are done mixing all of your instruments, you can apply this plugin on the master track, and select "MASTER 1" from the presets in the plug-in. This app does a great job of maximizing the volume of your song and has a lot of features you can adjust. I used this before switching to Izotope's Ozone 6 for mastering. If you have the money, I would absolutely recommend Ozone 6 for mastering, but until then Limiter No. 6 is a great place to start. P.S. make sure when you record your guitars the level is right at the top of the green bar in REAPER (-18 to -14 db range off the top of my head) just before it starts to turn yellow. There is no reason to record louder than this, trust me, and you will be able to adjust everything you need accordingly without clipping.
Sevengill 08.29.16	Some programs have a low-latency monitoring setting, also. I've never used Reaper though so idk if it does.
bloc 08.29.16	If you get a guitar modeller I think that would simplify things a lot too, plus give you way more options and sounds. I am not saying shell out 2000+ on an Axe Fx, but there are many other cheaper alternatives that sound fantastic. And believe me, I am no gear snob whatsoever.
DungeonBoy 08.29.16	@bloc on that note, I record everything with an Line6 Pod HD500 these days and I absolutely love it. It has a bit of a learning curve to squeeze some good sounding tones out of it, but once you figure it out it's so easy to use, and I can record ideas without having to crank up my 100 watt amp.
Final Origin 08.29.16	I use plugins for my guitar also (Guitar Rig), I think they sound great once you modify some things on it. Managed to get my latency down to around 9ms if that is decent enough using my Akai Interface and Ableton Live. Totally agree with using Reverb and Delay to broaden how dynamic your tracks sound, as long they are used sensibly and in moderation.
BigBlob 08.29.16	damn these are great comments... and as for my pc well I just upgraded it so it should be able to handle anything I throw at it. thats why im finally getting round to trying some recording. cheers dudess
bloc 08.29.16	"@bloc on that note, I record everything with an Line6 Pod HD500 these days and I absolutely love it. It has a bit of a learning curve to squeeze some good sounding tones out of it, but once you figure it out it's so easy to use, and I can record ideas without having to crank up my 100 watt amp." Exactly, you can record as cranked as you want without actually being "loud". I had an HD500 and it was awesome. I think it even doubles as an audio interface? Now that the Helix is out, I would think the price for an HD500 has gone down quite a bit.
DungeonBoy 08.29.16	I use it as an interface, and it's better than any mbox I've ever owned. it couldn't be any more plug and play. It changed my life. I paid $309 off some dude on eBay in March 2015 and it was worth every penny.