Recording Management? Tips & Tricks

[AcousticDreams]

I would love to get any Tips & Tricks advice; on how to best manage all the different areas of the modern Recording world.

* For those of you how record yourself, Is there a way to remote Start your recording?
I face away(opposite direction) from the computer when recording Acoustic guitar. The Same will be true when I start Vocal overdubbing.

I have a second monitor in which I can see the recording levels. I can reach back with one hand and hit the record button, but this causes a slight problem coming back to the exact placement in which my guitar needs to be. minute . We all know, how much an inch can make a big difference in tone. And I have a rather unusual Stereo Mic set up. Very wide and some exacting angles.

Are there remote triggers to start and stop recordings? In the old days we had that. A wired remote going to tape recorder.

** What recording management tools do you use? I have been seeing this SoigMod plug in advertized...designed as a way to help you insert anything you want into to your chain anywhere. It seems like this one in particular really does not do much of anything more than what we can already do in our DAW's...OR does it?

Are there management tools I should be considering?
https://nugenaudio.com/sigmod/?src=sgmon_ad_gs_ad

*** Really enjoying my Symphonic Library & Piano samples.

I wish to add lots more instruments. Exotic sounds, Native flutes, dreamy native drums and even synth programs. It seems like everyday the world of VI's adds new intriquing products. The World of Virtual Instruments is MASSIVE.

It is so overwhelming with all the great marketing, I sometimes do not know where to start and whom to trust. And lots of time after wasting hours of time, I find that the product is not what I was hoping it would be.

Is there Evaluation tips/tricks? Are there Websites or reviewers that we can go to to get an Honest evaluation of what VI's we are considering?
Yes, there are lots and lots of reviewers. But is there not One Hub? One Person? One group of People? Jim1960 and KevWind posted several videos from Specific people on the Mac Studio. Those reviews really helped me in my decision making.

I really like "Produce Like Pro" in some areas. He has some pages listing some of the top plug ins. He gets to the point and lists what the strong points of each are.
https://producelikeapro.com/blog/best-reverb-plugins/

It would be nice to find something in the same vein listing the Pro's and Con's in each category of VI. One page that would at least let me know which ones I should be considering.

But with Virtual Instruments being introduced what seems like on a daily basis..How does one get a truly honest- COMPARISON evaluation? As they have just been introduced.

[Joseph Hanna]

Depending on the DAW there are very full featured remotes available for iPhones and or iPads (or the Android equivalent). Makes things really easy if you're not in front of the computer itself.

[b1j]

Lots to explore here. I’ll address the “remote start” question.

This is not a remote option, but a delayed start. No auxiliary gear required. You can set up a lead-in that plays the click track for however many measures you want. Say you choose four measures. You place the record head where you want to begin playing and hit Record. The lead-in counts out the selected number of beats before actual recording begins, right where you placed the record head. You can then count out four measures to get into the groove while you are turning back around and easing into mic position. I think my DAW calls it pre-count or something. I usually use two measures, but I don’t turn around.

You’d need to practice this rhythmic process of getting into position, but it’s possible it would actually help you start strong once you get used to it. Think of the count-in to I Want to Hold Your Hand.

[runamuck]

I just use a wireless keyboard and can sit anywhere in the room. It's possible to program just about any major DAW with key commands to trigger anything you might want.

[AcousticDreams]

Originally Posted by Joseph Hanna

Depending on the DAW there are very full featured remotes available for iPhones and or iPads (or the Android equivalent). Makes things really easy if you're not in front of the computer itself.

I use Logic Pro.

Amazingly, as I am one of the last people on the planet....ha ha..NOT to use an Iphone, Ipad or Android. I still use a Land line! ( I do have a cell phone, but with no internet connection. Used for only emergencies. )

Well, well, well: This might be the final excuse to ditch the Land Line and switch over. I have had the same phone number for 50 years. People all around the country know and call me on this number. Sometimes I will get a phone call from someone who I have not heard from in 20 years...and they will call out of the blue remembering my old number. In the past, you could not transfer land line number to cell. And there is no way I want to give up my tried and true number. But I believe this has changed. I believe you can now transfer with certain services.

I wish to keep expenses lower if I do switch over. So I will most certainly not be buying an Iphone. Hopefully get a free phone with what ever company I switch to. What do I need to check specifically= on my possible future phone features to make sure it will work remotely with my DAW?

And Is there a voice command to record? Or would I still need to press buttons?

[AcousticDreams]

Originally Posted by runamuck

I just use a wireless keyboard and can sit anywhere in the room. It's possible to program just about any major DAW with key commands to trigger anything you might want.

Yes, I do have a wireless remote Keyboard. I did not realize you do not have to face the computer. I will try this. If it works a very simple and true solution. I know about Stopping with the space bar. And return brings it back. For Mac what button do you use to start recording?

Hopping it is one button. Quick googles and maybe I have to program the Keys to do what I want?

[AcousticDreams]

Originally Posted by runamuck

I just use a wireless keyboard and can sit anywhere in the room. It's possible to program just about any major DAW with key commands to trigger anything you might want.

Thanks so much runamuck! Just tried Stop and Return...and even with Keyboard facing entirely away from computer...it works!
Reading apple support for Logic Pro....I just have to hit the R key for Record function....and it works.

Now the only thing left to do is make a little table to hold my Keyboard when facing the other way. Or possibly a tablet microphone stand holder. Actually I have a really heavy duty sheet music stand. With a little adaptation that might work nice. Big Help. it is all coming together.

Any suggestions on questions 2 & 3? With special emphasis on 3.

[FrankHudson]

I see you found the keyboard start-stop-record things you need.

Now onto VIs. I don't know who's an expert here on these, most of the folks who present the most recording info here are doing recording mostly of "real" instruments with a not unexpected focus on acoustic guitar. I'm not an expert, but I've been mucking about with VIs for several years because I like orchestral and exotic instrument colors.

So, what I'm about to say is not an expert review. It's a review from a guy who wants to get interesting results in a variety of genres quickly. I'm sure there are folks out there who know more and might say "well, of course you didn't get results you wanted, you don't know that you need to do xx or yy to do that."

I started with what Logic gives you for free, which is a lot of you do the complete library download. I have not found Logic to be excellent on orchestral instruments, but they can let one get their feet wet. I've gotten some use out of the string instruments and the woodwinds, but the horns when this guy tries to use them just sound unconvincing to me. The keyboards are OK, and I actually like some of the electric keyboards they supply. The Logic Mellotron is easy to use and functional. The electric guitar effects and amps are decent too. The smart drum set stuff is pretty darn good, though it can't do classic jazz well for me, and most ethnic percussion is hard to trick out of it.

Things I've added and my thoughts on them -- again, not an expert, just someone who want to get interesting results in a variety of genres and who has a limited budget. And this stuff was all accumulated over nearly 7 years, often during sales events.

I love Mellotron and even some cheesy string machine used back midcentury. I started with an old set of electric keyboard emulation from MOTU called "Electronic Keys." I still use it, old as it is. It doesn't have all the "tape banks" that something like M-Tron (dedicated Mellotron/Chamberlin emulator with all the tape banks) has, but it still seems a good way to get common rock-band Mellotron sounds. It's so old I would never expect it to be updated however. M-Tron can probably do more than I've figured out how to get from it.

I also wanted more acoustic piano sounds. I first went with Garritan's CFX with a Yamaha Grand piano VI. It's good, and gives one a lot of realistic grand piano sounds. Because piano is a big tonal color for me I've added Toontrack's EZKeys Upright (very good). I never made much use of EZKeys as a way to create keyboard parts, but the upright instrument is worth it to me. I splurged on Noire, another grand piano VI because it has lots of features to get unusual piano timbre. It's particularly good in softer piano sounds, and it can add "defects" like pedal noise and the like which add realism by inperfection that's startling to me.

Because one of my MIDI guitars has the Fishman Triple Play system pickup I eventually picked up all of their associated MIDI VI packs from East/West. I don't know if their stuff is the best (I haven't generally afforded their competitors) but those Triple Play VIs are essentially well-selected "teaser" examples of some of the best stuff East/West sells in general. I was able to use their orchestral string instruments and many of their "world instrument" from those packs and get very pleasing results right off. I use them with both the guitar MIDI and with a little plastic MIDI keyboard. I added their stand-alone Violin and Cello packages to expand the pleasing results I got from what was in the packs, and those added additional bowing expressions and so forth.

Because of the amount of instruments and low price per instrument I got a number of other packages from Garriton. Their Pipe Organs one is very good. The JABB jazz instrument selection is mediocre, but I've used the vibes and trumpet sounds from there. Their World Instruments pack is a mixed bag, but it has a lot of stuff from various countries that I've used in less than featured tracks for added colors.

Earlier this year I made the biggest VI purchase decision I've made so far: I decided to get the one-year subscription to Composer Cloud which is essentially East/West's entire library which includes Hollywood Orchestra (full orchestral sections and all instruments including orchestral percussion and choir choices) and a great deal of other stuff. I purchased the version that comes with an external drive, because it's huge (like more than 2 TB!). It's too early to review this much stuff. There's a 30 day free trial, a month to month plan currently for $30 a month and a yearly plan (what I signed up for at $200 a year currently).

I'm not a huge fan of software subscriptions. I'd already bought stuff on "permanent license" from East/West after all. My yearly sub cost is a "special" and could be any figure when it comes up for renewal. And that much stuff can cause someone to "drink from the firehose" and not concentrate on what one really needs to learn to use. But the cost to capabilities deal was too tempting. Remember this is more than 2 TB of stuff if you want to have it all on hand (and the download times are not short with my Internet connection) thus I sprang for the extra-cost preloaded external drive). The external drive with all the stuff on it is not hugely marked up from what a bare empty drive would be, and I figure I'll just use it if I abandon the subscription later as just an external hard drive. It took me a couple of times for some of the VIs to recognize that the libraries were there on this external drive already, but eventually I got that working.

The Hollywood stuff goes for the "cinematic sound" and I sometimes want things less "epic" and drier. In my early days I sometimes just turn off the ambience features when I want less of a movie soundtrack impression. The horns are better than what I had. The choirs are intriguing, though getting more than vocalese will require learning the phonetic tricks.

Here's an early-days attempt at using the Hollywood orchestral sections and one of the choirs. The VI stuff comes for the last half of what starts out as just acoustic guitar and voice for the first 1.5 minutes.

EDIT: that won't work as this piece's audio file of my setting of a poem about two roosters uses a common word that the forum "bleeps" If you want to hear it, use your search engine to search for: Parlando ****-Crow using the word that comes before A-Doodle-Do on your Speak'n'Spell. Or just go to frankhudson.org and search for it.

Here's a more thoroughly orchestral setting from a few years back. I don't recall exactly what all instruments I used, but the featured violin top line is East/West's violin.

Fiddler Jones from Spoon River Anthology performed

Hope any of this helps. If anyone here is more experienced with orchestral VIs maybe I'll learn something too.

[johnnydobbers]

What a great subforum we have here. I recently "finished" my meager studio, and ran into the same issue last night. My playing position is away from where I hit "record", and was considering asking what others do.

I currently use a Komplete Kontrol S61 MK2 to control my DAW(Cubase11), and have found that the virtual instruments that Komplete 13 comes with will last me a lifetime. It is such a great controller, and the workflow is seamless. I've never been a fan of too much technology in my musical endeavors, but after watching this video, I couldn't resist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDmF...usicTechnology

It is also a great tool to help learn piano and music theory. Keep in mind the review I posted is a bit old, and they have fixed all the issues Robin has

[jim1960]

I haven't read the entire thread but if this was already suggested, I concur...

I have to think the simplest solution would be to have a wireless keyboard & mouse along with a mirrored monitor with a long cable. Move the monitor into a position where you can easily see it and have a small table or stool for the keyboard and mouse positioned within easy reach.

[Doug Young]

Another option I’ve used is the prosonous FaderPort. Works well, but these days I just use my phone. Alternately, if I’m overdubing or recording to click, I just do what some one suggested, have a long countin. Hit record grab the phones and move to my recording position. I’ll usually be in loop record in that case anyway, so if I miss the first take, I’ll catch it on the repeat.

[FrankHudson]

Besides the computer keyboard, many smallish plastic MIDI keyboards include transport controls, or even ways to adjust settings on a plug in interactively. Even though I'm a hack keyboard player and have a MIDI guitar option in each recording location, these cheap keyboards* are handy for a lot of things.

*Obviously, a real keyboardist will want more than a cheap keyboard to play their main instrument. I'm not that person. The one that sits next to me in a crowded small room as I type this is a Nektar Impact GX Mini, less than $70. It has basic transport controls.

[phcorrigan]

Studio One has a very good free remote that runs on Android and IOS. I have a tablet attached to my mic stand to run that program and software to control my XR18 digital mixer.

There are also remote packages that work with multiple DAWs. You can find them on the Apple and Google stores. If that doesn't work, a remote control program like AnyDesk might do it for you.

[runamuck]

Originally Posted by Knives&Guitars

Yes, I do have a wireless remote Keyboard. I did not realize you do not have to face the computer. I will try this. If it works a very simple and true solution. I know about Stopping with the space bar. And return brings it back. For Mac what button do you use to start recording?

Hopping it is one button. Quick googles and maybe I have to program the Keys to do what I want?

I use a PC so don't know what key commands are on a MAC.

I use Cubase but I know that any major DAW can use key commands. Go to your manual, to the index and then to "key commands" and there should be a list of default commands. But you can assign any key to any function.

And BTW - once you know the key commands there's no need to look at a monitor.

[runamuck]

Originally Posted by Knives&Guitars

Thanks so much runamuck! Just tried Stop and Return...and even with Keyboard facing entirely away from computer...it works!
Reading apple support for Logic Pro....I just have to hit the R key for Record function....and it works.

Now the only thing left to do is make a little table to hold my Keyboard when facing the other way. Or possibly a tablet microphone stand holder. Actually I have a really heavy duty sheet music stand. With a little adaptation that might work nice. Big Help. it is all coming together.

Any suggestions on questions 2 & 3? With special emphasis on 3.

I don't know what you're referring to regarding questions 2 & 3.