Have to agree with Johnny, for a cheap fix Reaper is excellent,  I couldnt use Audacity for multitracking, recorded the first Gravemen EP using old Ribbon mics, and old desk, tape echo and Reaper, sounded pretty good. But Tape is still better and if your lucky cheap too! For rock'n'roll Audacity sucks, get Reaper

I found the article kinda peculiar -- went into really deep good detail in some areas but ...a few things really leapt out as bad information ...

a cheap crappy behringer dynamic mic .... monitors don't matter ? .... sure for the type of music here crappy mics are great and I rarely use condensors for vox ... but that behringer is so limited esp. when a sm58 can be found pretty cheap -- and will last.

 

Using hifi speakers for monitoring simply just does not work, it's next to impossible to get a mix that will sound ok on a variety of other systems. the author states she has headphones so maybe they're studio headphones and give the flat response she needs.

 

That behringer powered mixer as a desk ? A much higher quality non-powered mixer for the same price could be had - maybe she uses the mixer for running a band PA -- but in that case having powered speakers for your band PA and a better mixer would suit the dual purpose better.

 

Then it's odd that she states you need a computer with multiple core CPU and a Raid array for multitrack recording, that makes no sense -a stupendous amount of albums recorded in the digital era have been recorded on less.

 

finally -- what's with the no smoking rant? it's my fucking studio and I can fucking smoke if I want to. (I'm not a smoker , just found it a bit offensive when discussing a DIY home setup)

re. audacity, yeah good for podcast and quick and nasty banging something down but for multitrack recording in windows - Reaper ftw, and in Linux - Ardour.

  don't shit me quote, I ain't said  bitch.

 

 The hard nano xray probe says "The song records itself. It plays itself. It simply IS at any given time, IN any given time, wether you want it or not."

 

It has your soul or it doesn't, dig (dug)?

 

My wager?

 

What is a preoccupation with delusion or hallucination?

Just hit record...

Yes, Audacity is a piece of shit but it can be worked with - and it's a free piece of shit! The reverb is a bitch but once you get the hang of it, it's not that big a deal. Also, there are an almost limitless number of plug-ins (you aren't limited to open source plugins or the ones that are built in - I have over 60 different reverb "units' and close to 200 other plugins). Yes, Audacity is a piece of shit but I like it (I also like that it's open source and that you're not supporting a big conglomerate like Sony. I've recorded close to 150 songs using it and everybody thinks they were cut to tape - exactly what I want. Free is not an issue with me (I don't buy software) so I can use pretty much anything. I have used ProTools, Cakewalk, Cool Edit, etc and I return with great frequency to Audacity. I'm used to it and it doesn't make your recordings sound digital and sterile (most of these programs cut too cleanly and you have to use a plugin to get it to sound dirty - cheating in my book). I also like CoolEdit for the fact that it doesn't cut stuuf to cleanly but it can be a beast to use sometimes. I'm fairly new to digital recording (still prefer my tape machines - I have a TEAC 2340 reel-to-reel from '73, a Tascam PortaStudio 4 track and a Yamaha 8 track - and they all still work perfectly) but I have done enough at this point to know what I like - and I like Audacity. The learning curve is way lower than with some of the other software.

I think you missed the point. "On the cheap" it's great. And it works fine for producing podcasts. I used to use it myself, before Apple released GarageBand. Mang.

the Clowns said:

audacity is a piece of shit, mang.

the reverb settings are complicated and still sound terrible....the list can go on....

i mean, it's good for recording in general, but i wouldn't recomend it...at all.

Pretty interesting article, check it out and discuss:

How to Build an Incredible Sound Studio on the Cheap...

The following is a guest post from Carla Schroder, an instrumentalist, recording pro, and Linux wonk.  She just finished The Book of Audacity, which officially gets released on Thursday (pre-order it from Amazon here).  Audacity is a free, open source, cross-platform audio editor that allows anyone to transform their Windows, Mac, or Linux computer into a powerful recording studio.

This is chapter 2 of the book.

http://digitalmusicnews.com/stories/030811studio

Murder City Nights #2 is ready to rock your ass! Featuring cool tunes from Turbonegro, Disguster, OFF!, the Candy Snatchers, the Mono Men, Davila 666, and more! Guaranteed to give you that special funny feeling way deep down inside.

Set List:

• Get It On - Turbonegro 
• Dedication - Sonny Vincent 
• She's Gettin' Loose - The Candy Snatchers 
• Bones by My Bedside - Hexxers 
• Cheap Vodka - Mockba 
• Hate Your Way - Mono Men 
• Silver Jet -The Superbees 
• Baby Please Don't Go - Amboy Dukes 
• She Cracked - Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers 
• Fuck Off - Wayne County & The Electric Chairs 
• White Punks On Dope - The Tubes 
• Babelogue/Rock n Roll N*gger - Patti Smith 
• Rock Your Ass - Supersuckers 
• Maggot - Disguster
• Upside Down - OFF! 
• Please Don't Touch - Motorhead 
• Burn Me Out - The Morlocks 
• 9:36 (Puto) - Davila 666 
• Blow Dumb - Nobunny 

For more info and listen/download links, go to my blog

 

http://garagepunk.ning.com/profiles/blogs/murder-city-nights-2

 

Thanks!!

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
March 11, 2011

On their new album, Brooklyn Sound Solution, those old masters known as The Fleshtones don’t do much but have a great time. No major statement, no great artistic insight, no over- all point. And those who love this basic, unaffected ’60s rock ’n’ soul-drenched guitar rock will have a great time listening to it. It’s scheduled for release on Tuesday.

On this album, the band, fronted by founding members Keith Streng and Peter Zaremba, is joined by Lenny Kaye, guitarist for The Patti Smith Group and compiler of the influential Nuggets collection of 1960s garage-band classics. (Kaye is less known for being the author of a book about crooners, You Call It Madness.) He fits in seamlessly.

I could spend a couple of paragraphs informing the uninitiated about this seminal New York band (which claims to be the only band to debut at CBGB — in 1976 — that never broke up and never had an inactive year). But you can find out about the group for yourselves on the Fleshtones’ bio documentary Pardon Us for Living but the Graveyard Is Full, available in its entirety online HERE.

What sets BSS apart from other Fleshtones albums is that nearly all the songs are instrumentals, covers, or both.

My favorite tunes here are a couple of cranked-up blues covers. There’s the signature tune of Bo Diddley sideman Billy Boy Arnold, “I Wish You Would” (probably best-known for its cover by The Yardbirds). The Fleshtones play it with a fuzzy bass line that can’t help but make you think of The Doors’ “Break on Through.” They could easily make a medley of the two songs.

Even better is “Rats in My Kitchen,” a song originally done by Sleepy John Estes. Estes recorded this for Sun Records in the ’50s. He did it as a slow blues. The Fleshtones transform it into a pounding, menacing song of horror. “You know I came home late last night/Somewhere ’bout half past 10/They stared at me with mean red eyes/I had to go right back out again.”

My only complaint about BSS is that there are too many instrumentals. Are Streng and Zaremba trying to conserve their vocal chords or what? Don’t get me wrong, I like all the songs. Their instrumental cover of “Day Tripper” rocks, and the Kaye composition “Lost in Xandu” sounds like a forgotten surf classic from a parallel universe.

And I’ve always loved the cool, jazzy opening song, “Comin’ Home Baby,” which was done in 1962 by Mel Tormé. Now granted, neither Zaremba nor Streng can sing like the Velvet Fog, but this song would sound even better as a vocal number.

That quibble aside, it’s great just knowing that The Fleshtones are still out there keeping the sound they call “super rock” alive.

Not recommended:

* Party Store by The Dirtbombs. It had been rumored for at least a couple of years that The Dirtbombs’ next project was going to be an album of bubble-gum covers. Head Dirtbomb Mick Collins had even talked about that possibility in interviews .

But while I was hearing, in the jukebox of my mind, Collins growling “Yummy yummy yummy, I’ve got love in my tummy” — with the group’s powerful two-bass, two drummers lineup behind him — The Dirtbombs threw a curveball.

The new album consists of covers of what several writers have called “classic Detroit techno” songs.

Well, burst that gum bubble!

For someone like me who couldn’t tell a classic Detroit techno band from a classic Cincinnati bagpipe ensemble, this is a huge “huh?”

But I’m a Dirtbombs fan, and one of the things I love about the group is its willingness to experiment with various sounds.

Mick Collins  (with The Gories last summer)

Plus, I’m curious. I’ve always associated Detroit with Motown, Mitch Ryder, MC5, and the great neo-garage bands that arose there in the ’90s — groups like The White Stripes and Collins’ first band, The Gories.

But I have to say, this little experiment has left me disappointed. How many other punk bands could cover Lou Rawls, The Bee Gees, and Yoko Ono as this Motor City primitive garage/punk/soul outfit did on its 2006 compilation If You Don’t Already Have a Look?

Party Store starts off strong with a song called “Cosmic Cars.” This might have begun as a techno tune when done in the early ’80s by Cybotron. But here it’s pure Dirtbomb rock ’n’ roll. (They do another Cybotron song here, “Alleys of Your Mind,” which is also one of the best on the album.) But by the second tack, “Sharivari,” the disco drums kick in. And they’re there for most of the rest of the record. Come on, Mick, if you’re going in that direction, at least give us a few Village People covers.

If you can make it through the 21-minute “Bug in the Bass Bin” (the first six minutes or so consist of engine noises), you’re a better Dirtbombs fan than I am.

The Dirtbombs aren’t the first to attempt a fusion of techno and garage or punk or whatever you want to call it. Just a few months ago in this column I reviewed a weird little album called Two-Headed Demon by a one-man band from Switzerland, a guy who calls himself Urban Junior.

UJ’s “Swiss-spankin-electro-trash-garage-boogie-disco-blues-punk,” as he calls it, sounds looser, trashier, and closer to the punk spirit than the stuff on Party Store. And it probably helps that none of the tracks on Two-Headed Demon are more three minutes.

But The Dirtbombs rarely stay in one place. Their next album is bound to be different. Maybe they’ll even give us some bubble gum.

Blog Bonus! Here's a classic Fleshtones video by M. Henry Jones from the late '70s.

how do you like the Blues Jnr?

I had one, sold it because it was a damn pain in the ass to learn how to figure it out haha. Now gone back to a more simpler method...guitar > blues jnr > shure sm57 > maudio interface

Needles for just about any turntable can be found at Garage-A-Records (http://www.garage-a-records.com/). I have been buying from them for years. I buy old turntables at thrift store, flea markets, etc and restore them and re-sell them so I use the guys quite regularly.

My preference is the Dual 1019 with a Shure V-15 II with a JICO stylus (we have 4 turntables in the house and they're all the same set-up except for one that set up exclusively for 78s).

ok, I can't even find needles.  So, where can I go online to buy some?

Hey,

    Sorta picking up an old thread here...   Have you  (or anyone out there )  had any problems with the speed / pitch on the debut III ?  I notice it has no pitch control. 
~T

Alex said:

I bought my first turntable for $500. It's a Pro-Ject Debut III, and I added on the speedbox that lets you switch from 33 to 45 with the touch of a button. It's really about as high quality as you can get for that price. I'd recommend reading some articles on Stereophile Magazine to see what they recommend.

I agree with the guys above, it is better to record one single shot. But if you want to loop it through, just zoom in the wave and cut on the exact spot and you'll have a perfect loop, it's a matter of practice!

I wouldn't waste time with looping, just try to get the whole track in one take man.

Hi.  I hven't used Pro Tools, but I now tried to use a Tempo Matching function on my Studio One for the first time after watchinf this video,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjmXLYM2kcw

and it was very easy, so I guess (hope) it will give you any tip.  (Sorry, I actually don't even understand what he's taliking.:()

yeah i wouldnt waste time on loops. Its probably more time consuming to cut it to exactly the right point so that when you connect it to the next one it syncs perfectly(which it has to) than it is to just play the track over again, at least for me it would be. Then theres punch-ins. I think in any decent recording program you should be able to select the part you screwed up, punch it in and then hit record again and only the part you want to redo is recorded over again. Try to make sure your volume levels havent changed.

From an asthetic standpoint loops will always sound sort of fake because the little imperfections dont change throughout the song.

Agree with Doc. I did an entire album in Audacity, and I'm pretty darn proud of it. I programmed the drums with all the fills and everything to try and make it as realistic as possible. So some of the drumming was "looped", but I spent a lot of time on it. The rest (guitar, bass and organ) was all done in whole takes on separate channels.

Hi Gonzo!

 

I wouldn't use loops (unless for some electro stuff), for I don't even know how to loop. I'd just record the rhythm track in whole, because I think you'll always hear that a loop is a loop.

 

The way I record is to take what I got (in my case just Audacity, or some friends with some machines I don't understand) and record on it. The simpler, the better.

 

Cheers, Doc

Hello fellow lofi punkers. Currently trying to get into recording ..currently using a MAUDIO interface with the inbuild ProTools Essentials software. I've had a play around trying to get a small rythm guitar section to loop but it seems damn hard to get it to sound like a perfect in time progression...despite how fine I manage to play it. Is looping a prefered method of recording or is it pretty common to record one track all in one take ? I need all the help I can get so any friendly pointers or tips are greatly appreciated. thanks.

If you're after a hollow body....I'd look into buying the vintage japanese range...there's a heap of quirky ES335 copies out there that sound just as good and depending on your taste....even better.

You need a bullet mic for Harmonica.

Yep!

Nervous Shakes's the name of my band;

Much Luv'

Ivan

Well oiled machine? I'll tell that to the other members, I guess they'll have a good laugh :)

I should have made myself clear and add: when it works. The songs we tried and tried again to get together for months are now discarded. The only remaining ones are those "spur of the moment" thingies.