How do you record your songs (especially if you're mostly OTB)?

The Lounge General Discussion
#1

For a long time (15 years or so), I was pretty much 90% ITB. Over the last few years, I’ve becoming more like 90% OTB. It’s a lot more fun and I’m really enjoying myself immensely. It’s time, now that I feel like I have a good handle on the gear, to start really recording all my tunes. When ITB, it’s easy to separate, route, and mix things to sound fantastic. Now that most of the music is coming out of various hardware, I’m running into issues with how I want to go about recording it.

I’d love to be able to multitrack everything, which I am mostly able to do given my 18i20 interface. The DN and DT could use Overbridge, but honestly, Overbridge is awful for so many reasons (latency, the fact that all the hard work I put into panning and automation on the DT is shot to $hit the minute I try to multitrack, the ridiculously low volume, and other things). The Octatrack also makes it a bit hard sometimes to multitrack just because of the limited output options, but that’s a bit easier to mess with.

I can easily record my 0Coast, Neutron, Norns, Micromonsta2, and Medusa all in one take. The DT/OT usually require a few takes, and the DN is mixed depending on if I feel like suffering through OB.

I tend to arrange my songs “live”, and if I need to do multiple takes they’re not always exactly the same, which can be a bit of a hassle. I’d use the arranger on the OT if Elektron would get their PC issues sorted out so that I can actually use their boxes together (what a groundbreaking idea!). I’ve also tried recording all my parts as loops to arrange in FLStudio, or to try and arrange them live in Ableton session view with a Launchpad, but neither are the same. I even started messing around with Loopy Pro on the iPad, but I really think I prefer using the hardware itself.

I think my best bet is to try and mix everything as good as possible on the DT, including editing samples for proper EQ and such, and record that to stereo. Multitrack the synths that are easy to do, use the main and cue outs for the OT to separate as much as possible, and suck it up with OB for the DN.

How many of you are multitracking things and how are you doing it? Anyone mixing purely on the devices themselves and recording only stereo?

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‘Producing’ with Elektron
#2

That’s how I go about it. All devices (DT, DN, Typhon) into OT, OT main outs into a mixer then I record straight into a Tascam DR-05x to .wav, or straight into the Onkyo dual cassette deck and then into the Tascam for some tape warmth/crappification before going digital. Pop that mess on SoundCloud, call it a day and walk away.
I like this way and it works for me. It helps me keep a performance aspect to the tunes, helps me not get bogged down in mixing/mastering/multitracking and just kinda keeps it light.
Do I produce music that is flawed and has room for improvement? Absolutely!
But that’s okay with me.

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#3

Yes. Straight from the mixer with a crappy little tascam DR05. Sounds brilliant. I prefer it to recordings made with ableton.

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#4

Fuck all you tascam losers.

Zoom H4n Pro for the 2bus connoisseurs.

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#5

Sony style & elegance with the M10 here. :innocent:

#6

Fuck all you Zoom H4N loosers.
Tascam boot up time > 4 seconds.
Tascam has no rubber coating. Fuck that melting shit.

I’m actually upgrading to the bigger DR 40x at some point soon. 2 x 1/4inch/ XLR inputs. 4 track recording etc. My little old DR05 is knackered. Can barely read the screen.

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#7

Used to have a DR40 to be fair, but the headphone input was shit so I returned it and got an h4n Pro. The Tascam has a much better user interface, but the zoom is definitely a bit more solidly put together.

Its oranges and oranges really.

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#8

I mostly record in Ableton, each box has its own stereo track, for now it’s a sufficient balance between the benefits of multi tracking and the hassle of giving each voice of each device its own track.

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#9

Indeed. As a field recorder, the tascam wins purely on speed, and ease of set up. Zooms have a lower noise floor so I understand, but meh, noise floor, I like noise.

Pretty much anything that records 24 bit 44.1khz wavs is a shit ton better than what we had in the days of casette tapes and fourtraks.

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#10

Yeah. I think this may be the way to go, and it may be worth trying to sort out overbridge timing issues so I can multitrack the Digitone, too. Only issue with that will be getting the FX right, but I think that gets sent on a separate channel, yeah?

#11

When using OB, all other separate tracks are dry, which is whyI usually record DN stereo outs only. DN only has 4 tracks, it’s easier to get the mix right IMO.

I’d love to have more separate outs on OT though.
I’ve been using OB a bit, there’s definitely some convenience, but more for separating AR tracks, to me.

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#12

Even with the AR, it still suffers the problem with the panning like the DT. It drives me nuts! I’m hoping that breakout box that guy was working on for the Digisomething comes to light. That’d be so much nicer than OB for me. If I played keys, I’d get a DNK just for the individual outs. Maybe I’ll just buy one and hack of the keyboard. Haha.

#13

Well the OT and my Korg Mini kaosspad 2 are my main, but I also record to cassette.

#14

I don’t actually have a Digitakt anymore, but when I did, I recorded out using the basic 8-tracks-recording app (not OB); I’ve actually forgotten what it’s called. But it was great for recording stems out to mix ITB.

#15

Panning is the one thing I don’t want to carry over to the recorded version. It locks you in, or at least makes it hard to tweak later.

I do often use an LFO to pan hats, but then I just add an LFO in Ableton.

But I’m also looking for a good way to record my boxes. Right now, I usually use Ableton simultaneously with Octatrack, and use it to grab clips into session view. Then I arrange later.

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#16

I’d love to know what that app is!

@Mistercharlie since I’m writing everything in the boxes, I don’t want to have to do any tweaking in the DAW except maybe some eq and compression, but I hear what you’re saying.

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#17

I record entirely in Ableton Live through a Focusrite Clarett 8Pre. More than enough stereo inputs for me. I also route certain things into the MPC Live at times if I want to record loops or one shots in there without booting up the laptop.

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#18

I was debating the Live or the One, but they’re huuuuuuuuuge! Haha. Loopy Pro may actually become my default looper if I can get my head around it.

#19

Stereo one take recording, ALWAYS!

I debate myself on this topic constantly, thinking of getting a tascam model 12 to multitrack everything so that I can clean it up later… but honestly, if I ever purchase an interface like that, I won’t ever go back to a tune and tidy it up. I don’t have the time to do that and i would hate it. This is my hobby it’s supposed to be fun! I record stuff, put it up on YouTube, insta and Bandcamp for free. It is what it is, it’s imperfect and full of flaws, but the music is still there and to me that is all that matters…

Life’s to short to sit in ableton and clean up recordings :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

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#20

Me too, this. Including sometimes wondering if I should try OB some more, or get and audio interface with enough I/O. But I really don’t like the mixing/editing process ITB. I’m sometimes trying some simple editing (for example cutting out some parts of a stereo recording that drag on too long). And I would love to be able to adjust some minor levels afterwards, but until now the hassle of multitracking hasn’t been worth it to me, for my amateur hobby goals.

At some point potentially I might go for a XONE96 as audio interface. Levels and EQ’s would be done already OTB on the mixer during the music making (fun) part, so less work afterwords ITB.

I don’t have issues with Overbridge freezing, but all EQ and mixing I’ve done on my nice mixer (A&H Mixwizard) is gone when I multitrack via OB. And I run individual outs from my Rytm via the mixer, so Overbridge multitracks sound radically different.

So for now, mostly I just record stereo master and call it a day:)

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