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Hi Everyone ...

Jim suggested that several folks might be interested in how I record adequately to get airplay or movie acceptance on original songs I’ve written by using only BIAB and Audacity. I’ll do my best to explain. It’s a simple process but not quite so simple to explain.

First, I work out the chords … all of them, not just the basics … on my guitar until I’m satisfied with them. I then enter the chords onto the chord input sheet of BIAB. Then I select a style that might work. Sometimes I have to change styles a time or two in order to get exactly what I want.

Then I select the backing tracks. I usually delete some of the tracks from the selected style and replace them with other RTs. Occasionally I’ll add my own guitar tracks … depends on how much my Focal Dystonia is acting up (A disease that significantly affects the use and coordination of the fingers and hand).

I then use the basic mixer indigenous to BIAB and work my butt off using the panning, volume, tone, etc., as well as the plugins that come with the program. I use the PGDynamics plugin a lot … it’s much like a loudness control on a power amp. Sometimes I spend 2 to 3 hours doing just that. Greg Johnson has seen some of my SGUs and MGUs … I think he could affirm that I do a lot of work behind the scenes on the chord input sheet. The BIAB simple mixer is as far as I go using BIAB.

I also save the individual tracks as wave files and send them over to Audacity. In Audacity, I simply have more finite control over the adjustments I made in the BIAB chord input sheet. In Audacity, I fine-tune the tone, add compression as needed, fade/cut the tracks in and out as necessary.

For vocals, I record them directly into Audacity using an AT 2035 mic. I don’t use a PA type mixer. I use my guitar amp (Peavey Nashville 112) as my power source and then run the vocal from the amp through my TC Helicon VoiceLive/Play for effects. If I need any affects for the vocals, that’s where I get them. I then feed that into my computer’s mic input for recording directly into Audacity. I don’t record the vocals dry … I apply the reverb live from my amp. I much prefer the warmth of spring reverb over any digital reverb I’ve heard.

Once I have all the tracks, including the vocal, loaded in Audacity, I do the fine tuning, as I described above, until I’m satisfied. I then save the final output as both a high-quality MP3 and as a wave file. Some sites only allow MP3s to be loaded … that’s primarily why I do the MP3 save.

I take that final save in Wave format and load it onto Soundcloud and Songtradr. I load the MP3 versions on a couple of other music sites.

I’m done! I’ve received numerous complements on my mixes (thanks folks!), so I guess I’m doing something right.

I’ve tried repeatedly to learn some of the various mixing programs … haven’t a clue what they’re talking about. I still have no clue what an envelope or a buss is. Most of the software makes a lot of assumptions about the users’ basic recording knowledge … I have N-O-N-E! I made a ton of money playing guitar over the years … never once asked about the recording side of it. Setting up the PA was the extent of my knowledge. I’m still not sure what the difference between a parallel and series connection is. I just knew what to plug in and where to make it work.

The money I’ve made (from my original songs) is from a few movies (several in Europe and one in Russia) and overhead music distributors. The overhead is the music you hear from the ceiling speakers at malls and restaurants. Do I make a lot of money? Nope … a hundred or so dollars yearly from the overhead plays and various amounts from the movies (from $400.00 up to $2,000.00). All total, I’ve made about six thousand dollars over the past eight or nine years. It made some of my car payments and a steak dinner here and there.

Yes, my method is primitive ... probably bordering on professionally barbaric. Either I don't need all the other stuff everyone else uses ... or I do and don't realize it.

Regardless of how you record, I wish all of you great success with your music.

For those who haven't heard any of my music, here's a link to my best instrumental (in my opinion) of an instrumental using that method: https://soundcloud.com/alananddi/late-night

And here's a vocal by my wife, Di, again, using the same method: https://soundcloud.com/alananddi/dance-of-love-remix


Alan