3:22 I used to re-record a whole vocal line when I was a little bit of at a certain point and I can hear it. I don't have perfect pitch, but I can hear when something's even the slightest semi-tone off, but then, back in 2016, I read an interview with Mike Oldfield and he's talking about his album Return To Ommadawn, in which he explained he wanted to go back to the 70's in his mind after he's been quantising; etc everything since the early 2000's and he also used a lot of programmed drums and synthesizers (plugin) and just used to stock presets for most of his works back then. When he made Return To Ommdawn, he still used his Pro Tools HD-X system, but treated it like if it were a 24 track tape machine. He played every instrument by hand again, as he did on Tubular Bells and Ommdawn, for example and even left in some breathiing noises he made while playing the acoustic guitar. "It's part of the performace/emotion" he said. He also said that he didn't care about stuff being slightly out of tune anymore. He did back when he re-recorded Tubular Bells in it's entirety back in 2003 and even though I like both of these versions, the original TB blows the 2003 out of the water (for me!). So, RTO has even got some noise left in at places, which Oldfield said he could've easily get rid of. Also some squeels are left in; etc; etc; etc. He did use plugins (Hammond, Solina, Farfisa, ARP 2600) instead of the real machines, but he played it all by hand. No editing, no quantising, no nothing and I did have to get used to it, but man... that album's easily on my Top 5 Oldfield albums list. Maybe Amarok's better? I don't know. A completely different animal. Anyway, so long stry short: since I read that interview, I don't care about being just slightly off while singing or playing whatever instrument. Okay, of course I'll rerecord anything that's WAY off, but luckily, that usually doesn't happen to me very much. :) If you've never heard Return To Ommadawn before, Devon.... listen to it at least twice, haha. Cheers ps. Sorry for the book. This always happens to me. I start typing and I can't stop and I type way faster than I think I am. :P Back to the video and if I spot something of interest I wanna talk about, I'll try to keep it short, hahaha
Interesting stuff. Actually, I have nothing against instrument plug-ins, synths, orchestral, even piano which I use all the time. They are far better than the Roland and Korg machines we used back in the day (maybe analog synths are better, maybe not) I don't have a real piano in my room, but VSTs are all still played by hand. so it's fine with me. Real drums are very important to me though. Namly a real drummer. Unless it is stylistically appropriate for the genre, rock and metal live and die by their drummers.
Bringing the humanity back to Rock/metal music. Boy I want that so badly! What a great message to send and set forward to young music producers. I love it. Great video. Bring on the human drums please! 🤝☺️
I know that most people use Focusrite but I'm very pleased with Audient id4. As far as I can tell, the sound is much better. I also want to share that for headphones, I'm using Superlux. They are super cheap but the sound quality is surprising very good. My only problem with real drums is that it is not cheap. There's a huge difference between a real drummer and programmed drums, but it's not easy to do so. You need an excellent drummer and a recording studio. What most people are doing is recording on an electronic kit and use samples. I think it's a good alternative, though it's still not ideal. I'm looking foreword to more videos, especially to see what you have to say about drums.
Use what you have and get the most out of it. You are in plenty of good company here. I will do a chapter on Drums including e drums which I do have plenty of experience with.
Love the vids as always. I’m less bothered by software drums and autotune than you, though. I say, if there are tools that make it easier to make the piece of art you’re envisioning, let them rip! Recording professional music used to be reserved for people with huge budgets that could keep recording forever until they got the right take. Even so, they would still splice tapes together to make a good comp of a vocal. People have been using all available tricks and tools since the inception of recording music. Autotune can be used excessively, but it can also just be used to save time and frustration instead of singing the same line for an hour until it’s perfect. I don’t like ‘auto-drummers’ or pre-made drum loops on a real rock record. The stick out like a sore thumb. But there are some awesome VSTi’s with deeply sampled drum kits that produce a sound that is indistinguishable from the real deal. We recorded drum midi on an E-kit and triggered software drums for the last record I worked on and it came out awesome. Check out the ‘Room Sound’ drum libraries for Kontakt player. They are awesome. I think we need to be careful with what we say is cool or not to use for newcomers to the space. We want to encourage any and all to make music if they want to! Do it however you want
Your point is valid. I also used an e kit for a while for my own drumming. It was great for learning. I used a DrumTec diablo shell set with an additional 14" floor tom and a higher end 14" wooden snare which was very nice. I played through a Roland TD12 (I think) which was very nice for practice. I used said module to trigger BFD2, which was a lot of fun. In the end I opted for real cymbals and hihat which certainly made a difference. The only problem was I spent more time editing the velocity to get it to feel more real than I spent playing the part. Previously I had always recorded real drummers with real drums, but the MIDI solution was more suitable for my meager skill level. Since then I took down the e kit and put up the Yamaha Recording custom. When it comes to recording drums, the real kit is far more expressive than any samples are, at least to this point in my experience. I mean infinitely more expressive. However if you are just doing straight back-beat drum parts, e drums with good samples will do in a pinch. I don't intend to alienate people who can't record drums at home, but when I get to that chapter in this series, I will offer some great solutions. Also, keep in mind that a good e kit like mine cost as much as a high end drum set. The sound module cost as much as a decent set of mics. When you are on the e drums side of the fence, it is easy to appreciate all the benefits. but when you use real acoustic drums, there is no going back. But to each his/her/their own. My series has a specific mission which will always emphasise recording as many real instruments as possible. (as possible ;) ) I truly appreciate your comment.
@@devon-graves-studio-D I completely agree that if there is a good and well rehearsed drummer on a decent kit in a decent room, I’m picking that every time. Right now, it’s hard to rehearse or record a loud drum kit in my small home studio. I’m grateful for the software solutions for drums these days! It does take a lot of editing to get it sounding natural though 😅
@@dylanjastle You know Dylan, I get a lot of comments on this particular point. After I do the video on acoustic treatment which should definitely come first. I will cover the topic of drums, ahead of schedule. I will talk about some less expensive solutions, plus, I intend to validate e drums insofar as I can. given my own experience with them. Thanks for your comment!
I completely agree with you here. Autotune and drummachines sound fake. There’s nothing like the real deal. And I also do like the small variations in the chorus. Maybe that’s also why I like to attend live concerts so much. If it would sound exactly the same way as on the CD/LP I wouldn’t have to go to the concert. Surprise me, do something different, even make some “mistakes”. It’s make it all more human and more emotional to listen to.
They also have a multi-pattern version now that might be worth the slightly higher price to the cardioid option. Fantastic mic especially on deep baritone voices. I recorded Eric Clayton with mine and it was stellar.
Devon, thanks for this video! I have an interface that I use to record guitars with, but I record dry and they get re-amped later. My biggest concern are the vocals. I'm using a bedroom to record, and I'm not sure I can audio-treat the room. Is there another way? I considered building a "fort" and singing under a big bed cover. Haha. Thanks!
My next video will cover a lot of options, taking apartments into mind. The "fort" idea is viable. I would use heavy moving blankets and be sure you can stand. Don't bother with those little devices that surround the back and sides of the mic. They don't hurt, but they don't address the side of the mic that is actually picking up most of the sound. I'm shooting this acoustic tratment video today and I will post it tomorrow, Your question will give me your situation to address a bit better.
True. They certainly don't care how it's recorded, or for the most part don't even think about that side of things. But when it comes to organic music styles (not r&b, Hi Hop EDM necissarily) I'm talking about the value of the human performance. But you said my point exactly. The delivery service is thin air. How it's recorded is the subject of interest for those recording. That is who my channel is for.
Exactly, maestro! Reaper is a power
This is very helpful. Thank you.
great info and tips !! Now it's a golden era of self-made music
It certainly is within our grasp. We just have to reach out and take it. :)
3:22 I used to re-record a whole vocal line when I was a little bit of at a certain point and I can hear it. I don't have perfect pitch, but I can hear when something's even the slightest semi-tone off, but then, back in 2016, I read an interview with Mike Oldfield and he's talking about his album Return To Ommadawn, in which he explained he wanted to go back to the 70's in his mind after he's been quantising; etc everything since the early 2000's and he also used a lot of programmed drums and synthesizers (plugin) and just used to stock presets for most of his works back then.
When he made Return To Ommdawn, he still used his Pro Tools HD-X system, but treated it like if it were a 24 track tape machine. He played every instrument by hand again, as he did on Tubular Bells and Ommdawn, for example and even left in some breathiing noises he made while playing the acoustic guitar. "It's part of the performace/emotion" he said. He also said that he didn't care about stuff being slightly out of tune anymore. He did back when he re-recorded Tubular Bells in it's entirety back in 2003 and even though I like both of these versions, the original TB blows the 2003 out of the water (for me!). So, RTO has even got some noise left in at places, which Oldfield said he could've easily get rid of. Also some squeels are left in; etc; etc; etc. He did use plugins (Hammond, Solina, Farfisa, ARP 2600) instead of the real machines, but he played it all by hand. No editing, no quantising, no nothing and I did have to get used to it, but man... that album's easily on my Top 5 Oldfield albums list. Maybe Amarok's better? I don't know. A completely different animal. Anyway, so long stry short: since I read that interview, I don't care about being just slightly off while singing or playing whatever instrument. Okay, of course I'll rerecord anything that's WAY off, but luckily, that usually doesn't happen to me very much. :) If you've never heard Return To Ommadawn before, Devon.... listen to it at least twice, haha. Cheers
ps. Sorry for the book. This always happens to me. I start typing and I can't stop and I type way faster than I think I am. :P Back to the video and if I spot something of interest I wanna talk about, I'll try to keep it short, hahaha
Interesting stuff. Actually, I have nothing against instrument plug-ins, synths, orchestral, even piano which I use all the time. They are far better than the Roland and Korg machines we used back in the day (maybe analog synths are better, maybe not) I don't have a real piano in my room, but VSTs are all still played by hand. so it's fine with me. Real drums are very important to me though. Namly a real drummer. Unless it is stylistically appropriate for the genre, rock and metal live and die by their drummers.
Very informative! Valuable suggestions. Thank you Devon!
Bringing the humanity back to Rock/metal music. Boy I want that so badly! What a great message to send and set forward to young music producers. I love it. Great video. Bring on the human drums please! 🤝☺️
Thanks for the awesome comment, friend!
Also important a good D.I. box 🙂
Good point, I will certainly focus more on that when it comes to recording guitar and bass.
I know that most people use Focusrite but I'm very pleased with Audient id4. As far as I can tell, the sound is much better.
I also want to share that for headphones, I'm using Superlux. They are super cheap but the sound quality is surprising very good.
My only problem with real drums is that it is not cheap. There's a huge difference between a real drummer and programmed drums, but it's not easy to do so. You need an excellent drummer and a recording studio. What most people are doing is recording on an electronic kit and use samples. I think it's a good alternative, though it's still not ideal. I'm looking foreword to more videos, especially to see what you have to say about drums.
Use what you have and get the most out of it. You are in plenty of good company here. I will do a chapter on Drums including e drums which I do have plenty of experience with.
Yeah I love that stuff!
Thanks Yiannis!
Love the vids as always. I’m less bothered by software drums and autotune than you, though. I say, if there are tools that make it easier to make the piece of art you’re envisioning, let them rip!
Recording professional music used to be reserved for people with huge budgets that could keep recording forever until they got the right take. Even so, they would still splice tapes together to make a good comp of a vocal. People have been using all available tricks and tools since the inception of recording music. Autotune can be used excessively, but it can also just be used to save time and frustration instead of singing the same line for an hour until it’s perfect.
I don’t like ‘auto-drummers’ or pre-made drum loops on a real rock record. The stick out like a sore thumb. But there are some awesome VSTi’s with deeply sampled drum kits that produce a sound that is indistinguishable from the real deal. We recorded drum midi on an E-kit and triggered software drums for the last record I worked on and it came out awesome. Check out the ‘Room Sound’ drum libraries for Kontakt player. They are awesome.
I think we need to be careful with what we say is cool or not to use for newcomers to the space. We want to encourage any and all to make music if they want to! Do it however you want
Your point is valid. I also used an e kit for a while for my own drumming. It was great for learning. I used a DrumTec diablo shell set with an additional 14" floor tom and a higher end 14" wooden snare which was very nice. I played through a Roland TD12 (I think) which was very nice for practice. I used said module to trigger BFD2, which was a lot of fun. In the end I opted for real cymbals and hihat which certainly made a difference. The only problem was I spent more time editing the velocity to get it to feel more real than I spent playing the part. Previously I had always recorded real drummers with real drums, but the MIDI solution was more suitable for my meager skill level. Since then I took down the e kit and put up the Yamaha Recording custom. When it comes to recording drums, the real kit is far more expressive than any samples are, at least to this point in my experience. I mean infinitely more expressive. However if you are just doing straight back-beat drum parts, e drums with good samples will do in a pinch. I don't intend to alienate people who can't record drums at home, but when I get to that chapter in this series, I will offer some great solutions. Also, keep in mind that a good e kit like mine cost as much as a high end drum set. The sound module cost as much as a decent set of mics. When you are on the e drums side of the fence, it is easy to appreciate all the benefits. but when you use real acoustic drums, there is no going back. But to each his/her/their own. My series has a specific mission which will always emphasise recording as many real instruments as possible. (as possible ;) ) I truly appreciate your comment.
@@devon-graves-studio-D I completely agree that if there is a good and well rehearsed drummer on a decent kit in a decent room, I’m picking that every time. Right now, it’s hard to rehearse or record a loud drum kit in my small home studio. I’m grateful for the software solutions for drums these days! It does take a lot of editing to get it sounding natural though 😅
@@dylanjastle You know Dylan, I get a lot of comments on this particular point. After I do the video on acoustic treatment which should definitely come first. I will cover the topic of drums, ahead of schedule. I will talk about some less expensive solutions, plus, I intend to validate e drums insofar as I can. given my own experience with them. Thanks for your comment!
Super knowledgeable thanks so much. The chair thing 😂 so true
indeed and I never hear it mentioned. Leaning forward to hit play-record then leaning back "squeeeeeaak" has to be edited out of every track😡😯😷
😅
I completely agree with you here. Autotune and drummachines sound fake. There’s nothing like the real deal. And I also do like the small variations in the chorus. Maybe that’s also why I like to attend live concerts so much. If it would sound exactly the same way as on the CD/LP I wouldn’t have to go to the concert. Surprise me, do something different, even make some “mistakes”. It’s make it all more human and more emotional to listen to.
Good point about live shows.
Telefunken updated the CU29, apprarently. It's now the TF29.
They also have a multi-pattern version now that might be worth the slightly higher price to the cardioid option. Fantastic mic especially on deep baritone voices. I recorded Eric Clayton with mine and it was stellar.
Thanks for the video, I’m covered with guitar, amp and bass but which would be a good snare drum, Im not a drummer :(
Oh Easy. Ludwig Supraphonic 6.5 inch deep, hands down. Sounds amazing and super versatile for just about any genre. Very good question, btw.
Devon, thanks for this video! I have an interface that I use to record guitars with, but I record dry and they get re-amped later. My biggest concern are the vocals. I'm using a bedroom to record, and I'm not sure I can audio-treat the room. Is there another way? I considered building a "fort" and singing under a big bed cover. Haha. Thanks!
My next video will cover a lot of options, taking apartments into mind. The "fort" idea is viable. I would use heavy moving blankets and be sure you can stand. Don't bother with those little devices that surround the back and sides of the mic. They don't hurt, but they don't address the side of the mic that is actually picking up most of the sound. I'm shooting this acoustic tratment video today and I will post it tomorrow, Your question will give me your situation to address a bit better.
@@devon-graves-studio-D Thanks, Devon!
Music has lost it's value becuase of the delivery system. Regular people don't give a shit how a song is recorded, only that it's a dope song.
True. They certainly don't care how it's recorded, or for the most part don't even think about that side of things. But when it comes to organic music styles (not r&b, Hi Hop EDM necissarily) I'm talking about the value of the human performance. But you said my point exactly. The delivery service is thin air. How it's recorded is the subject of interest for those recording. That is who my channel is for.
@@devon-graves-studio-D Fair enough. Liked the video btw. Was just my unsolicited two cents