Anyone use spreadsheets?

The Lounge General Discussion
#1

Way back in the early 90’s I used to use (hand drawn!) spreadsheets to assist with programming arrangements into hardware sequencers and drum machines, across the top would be the tracks, and the measures would be vertical, the idea being that using a pencil to fill in the cells with what happens, on what measure things could be planned out and fairly easily changed, since using the spreadsheet gave a much clearer overview than the sequencers own small LCD.

Anyway just recently I started to think about using them again, not just for arrangements but also for other tasks such as live use remembering which samples are assigned to which track, on which pattern etc.

Just curious if anyone else uses them, I guess since DAW use became more popular this kind of archaic working method became redundant, and there is no doubt that DAWs were influenced by spreadsheets - I’ve even seen a couple of sequencers and drum machines programmed in excel, full circle :smile:

#2

i used to use excel for setting up drum patterns at work. It looked like i was doing work but in reality i was thinking about music lol

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#3

Not for performance use, but definitely for planning - examples being MIDI setups and audio mixer/patchbay connections, where having a large number of options means that non-destructively cutting and pasting dozens of labels into alternate configurations is a lot better than drawing on paper.

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#4

It sounds like you were using excel in “session” view

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#5

Oh yeah for patchbay and mixer use they are indispensable for sure, also for making midi cc lists and so on.

#6

Post-its are my friends…Post-its, post-its everywhere…

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#7

I do…
I’m using OTs Arranger for like a year now when recording. Makes overdubbing and multitracking much easier.
I write notes for each pattern, transitions, mutes, scenes, performance macros open/close filter, fx and stuff like that.
Basically guidelines for the arrangement so the whole thing doesn’t become semi-random knob twiddling, but I can still do the whole sequencing from hardware.

Also written down is tempo, key, which synths were connected, which tracks were used (smt I keep unused copies of midi tracks on OT or synth tracks on my AK), routing stuff, software configs etc.

Those notes usually exist on paper and in a notepad plugin in my daw.

I’m currently working on cheat sheets for live gigs; plan to print and laminate them.
One sheet of A4 paper for each track.
I came up with a kind of color coding and symbol system which should make reading easier then using plain text.

I also have midi cc lists for my synths, whats connected to computer usb port/usb hub, list of presets for my controllers, list of midi channels used on my synths and quite a few printed notes about synth short cuts, important stuff printed from pdf manuals etc.

I still have my old notes about how dx style fm synthesis works on the wall behind my desk.

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#8

I created one to help me merge md songs into a master song for livesets. It was by far the quickest and easiest way. The Elektron users link appears to be dead now.

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#9

no, i don’t use spreadsheets.
i use squared paper, pencil and text markers. old school :sunglasses:
with hardware rig, spreadsheet is not any faster. moreover, you still can push buttons with pencil in your hand, but not that easy with mouse :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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#10

I thought the thread was gonna be about this :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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