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Recording at home


Oedo 808

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Hey guys, I was wondering if anyone could give me any tips on home recording and the like.

So far I've been mucking about with a Yamaha AW1600 digital workstation which is a standalone piece of kit, but I'm thinking of hooking it up to my computer so I can edit sounds on a more visual medium (the small viewing screen is the worst thing about it) but I really don't know anything about this sort of stuff.

Does anyone have any ideas on what I should use? I can transfer files from my aw1600 to my computer without difficulty, but... erm... what now?

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Would need to do a bit more research into what the machine is capable of but it's got a usb which suggests that it can be used as a sound card for your computer. I think I was looking at this or something simliar a while back when I was first getting into recording stuff.

I'd suggest choosing the DAW you want to work with if you haven't already, load in the drivers for your yamaha, set the drivers up in your DAW and see if you can start recording stuff. You'd still have multiple channels for recording and probably all the onboard effects of the mixer if you wanted to use them alongside/instead of plugins.

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Depends on what you want to do, normally I'd say it was an RT(F)M moment, but Yamaha manuals are famously often unfit for purpose, unless you are lighting a fire.* Do you plan to use the Multitrack for the recording bit, and then working up an arrangement with overdubs etc in a DAW, and are you needing to use virtual synths/samplers. In any case, search for specialist forums discussing your specific bits of kit to see other user strategies, there are nearly infinite methods of home recording now, and it can be a headfuck choosing your way.

*Indeed some products are barely fit for purpose, in terms of negotiating menus and deciphering jargon. Sound quality is usually their saving grace. I have always found Roland gear to be much more user friendly, and have used plenty of it.

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Yamaha manuals are famously often unfit for purpose, unless you are lighting a fire.

The manual doesn't even explain how to burn a CD using the built in drive. It's atrocious.

Do you plan to use the Multitrack for the recording bit, and then working up an arrangement with overdubs etc in a DAW, and are you needing to use virtual synths/samplers

Yes to the first bit and the second bit (that seemed reasonable to me) but not really thought about the third. That's a bit beyond my understanding.

In any case, search for specialist forums discussing your specific bits of kit to see other user strategies

I did that but I thought I'd get a wider perspective. I get a feeling from the specialist forums that most people are happy working within the framework of the beast and on an instinctual level I'm not convinced. To me it's not intuitive, it's not counter-intuitive, it's just unintuitive.

Besides, it's always nice to know what other people on this forum are doing.

Would need to do a bit more research into what the machine is capable of but it's got a usb which suggests that it can be used as a sound card for your computer. I think I was looking at this or something simliar a while back when I was first getting into recording stuff.

I'd suggest choosing the DAW you want to work with if you haven't already, load in the drivers for your yamaha, set the drivers up in your DAW and see if you can start recording stuff. You'd still have multiple channels for recording and probably all the onboard effects of the mixer if you wanted to use them alongside/instead of plugins.

I had to read this a few times to follow what you were saying, but thanks, that's really gave me an idea of where to go from here.

P.S. I dunno if I've mentioned this before but I've seen SFH a good few times. You guys are great! ;)

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Or indeed DAWs on and on...

...yes well, anyway, the AW1600 has been around for a while, so I more meant the forums that deal with specific details pertaining to that machine, rather than general recording forums, although there are multitudes of them. I try to avoid giving advice based on what I use, as its only applicable in that setting, the biggest hurdle in my experience of digital music production is that every company has different nomenclature and jargon for similar common functionalities, they probably have to for copyright, but it means that skills are less transferable between platforms than is ideal, this is why it took me 3 days to get my new control surface working, and I've been at this stuff for ages.

There is no substitute for spending days of anguish trying to get shit working, though it used to be even more of a headfuck I think, matching hardware and midi cc commands, taking a Sys Ex dump etc. Ther are loads of old threads recommending gear for start-ups, but the thing you have will do a good job, once you get past its idiosyncracies. One hint might be to make sure all your recorded audio has the same start point, regardless of when phrases/riffs kick in, as it can make it easier when importing audio in to your computer, rather than punching in.

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