Songwriting/Recording Frustrations. Looking for help

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WhiteShadow

WhiteShadow

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Hey everyone!

I'm new here. This is my first post.

As the title suggests, I'm currently experiencing big frustrations with recording at home, and also with songwriting (which for me are related). I'm using all vsts currently just to try to simplify things as much as possible.

I'm very frustrated because I can never get things to sound good. The guitar sound is never good, the recording itself is never good. I've been working at this off/on for close to 2 years now. Never seem to be able to make something sound right and finish a song. I end up scrapping every project and quitting out of frustration then going back try again later.

I'm starting to get fatigued mentally. I want to figure this out once and for all. I'm looking for someone to help me. Unfortunately I cannot offer to pay you. I would love to, but couldn't unfortunately. I'm play metal/rock genre. I'm looking for someone well versed in recording and audio production who can help set me on the right track.

Thanks!
 
WhiteShadow said:
Hey everyone!

I'm new here. This is my first post.

As the title suggests, I'm currently experiencing big frustrations with recording at home, and also with songwriting (which for me are related). I'm using all vsts currently just to try to simplify things as much as possible.

I'm very frustrated because I can never get things to sound good. The guitar sound is never good, the recording itself is never good. I've been working at this off/on for close to 2 years now. Never seem to be able to make something sound right and finish a song. I end up scrapping every project and quitting out of frustration then going back try again later.

I'm starting to get fatigued mentally. I want to figure this out once and for all. I'm looking for someone to help me. Unfortunately I cannot offer to pay you. I would love to, but couldn't unfortunately. I'm play metal/rock genre. I'm looking for someone well versed in recording and audio production who can help set me on the right track.

Thanks!
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I know this feeling. Solo inspiration is hard enough without things sounding how you want them. You just have to try and not worry about making things sound good. Writing songs with interesting structure and melody is more important. There's plenty of people that can take tracks and make them sound good. It took me many years of mixing to get to a point where I could get my own stuff to sound how I wanted. It's a whole other beast in itself and an expensive venture. We all want to mix our own stuff, but this is why big artists have someone else produce, mix, and master. Writing good songs is hard enough without trying to master the other art of making our songs sound how we want to hear them. I realized I was never going to be in a band again and just started focusing sound design and mixing. Now I can make my shitty songs sound like a million bucks. If you need production and mixing help, I can help you there.
 
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i would just type these questions into youtube, there is endless free info from guys like rick beato and warren huart to name a few who break down everything about songwriting, how to record, interviews with the bands and producers, ect.. recording takes a long while, reaper tracks how much time you spend and i spent over three hours a day for years to get my stuff to be half way decent. once you get there though its a great feeling and makes writing much easier and fun
 
Some of the best advice I’ve ever heard Devin Townsend give was “Finish everything you start, even if you think it sucks. If it’s not finished, how do you know it sucks?”

As soon as I took that approach I had some pretty major changes. While I mostly write heavier music, occasionally a pop-ish tune will fall out and I often don’t dig them as much, but I kept working at them. I started teaching myself how to record/mix about 6 years ago and it wasn’t until last year that I finally got comfortable with my mixes to the point I enjoyed them. Mixing isn’t any different than learning how to play an instrument; there’s a lot to learn and just like music itself; if it sounds good, it is good.

Getting quality gear to deliver the sounds I wanted was a HUGE part of this. I started off with a Macbook/Logic/Focusrite Scarlett Solo/Yamaha HS-5’s and VST’s. I could never find an amp sim that worked right for me. Ampltiube got close with some of the their Mesa stuff and the bust luck I had was with Thermionik’s sims. When I moved into a house I started mic’ing my amp (Peavey XXX at the time) and there was a huge difference in the quality of guitar tones. But I was still missing out on all the tones that can’t be had with an XXX. I went Fractal and solved that problem.

It’s been said for years when it comes to recording, but knowing what you’re going for upfront goes a LONG way. Fixing it in the mix isn’t the way to go and I’ve never once been satisfied with something I figured I’d could EQ into shape later on. But that’s where the process of learning what sounds you‘re going for and getting those sounds at the start comes into play. You can’t really teach that, it has to be learned. Ideally, you shouldn’t have to EQ the hell out of things to get them sitting where you want them.

If you’ve just got a bunch of half-finished projects, you’re never going to get to the end result of mixing them and hearing them how you want to hear them. So start by finishing a song and mixing it the best you can. Then listen to that mix on every system you can and find out what you don’t dig about it. Half of it is learning how the room you’re mixing in sounds and how it’s going to translate outside of that room. It’s a lot of baby steps, but learning anything goes that way.

But start first by finishing the songs. If you don’t like how they sound after, take a stab at re-recording them. While I was teaching myself to mix, I was writing like crazy and now I’m in the process of re-recording all those songs so they sound how I intended them to.

FWIW, I generally start with the drum sounds and build from there. While I write with guitar, everything is just a scratch track/copy and paste until the drums are finished. I use Superior Drummer 3 and man, those kits sound fucking GREAT. I was using EZDrummer 2 at first and those got me covered for a while, but eventually I needed more tweakability. Once I have the drums done and sounding how I want for the song, I’ll generally track the bass and make sure those two are locked in and not fighting each other. From there comes the guitars, then keys then vocals.

A big help for me, and this is kind of controversial in the recording world, but putting a compressor on my master bus (top down mixing) helped a LOT. Getting to hear an idea of what the finish product would sound like went a long way for me. I don’t compress it too hard, just enough to glue everything together. For a while I was using Waves SSL Buss Comp but lately I’ve been using something from Brainworx, I can’t remember the exact plug-in. I just use a factory preset and it does the job pretty well. As long as you don’t go crazy adding stuff to the master bus, you’ll be fine. You don’t want it to add/take away from the overall mix, just glue it together so it sounds cohesive.
 
What DAW are you using?
I would start there. Take some time, step back from what you’re doing and spend some real focused time learning the DAW really well. Use YouTube or even buy a course, but learn how to use it. It’s like an instrument, there’s always more to learn.

When I started out my recordings sounded more like bad garage recordings than a finished product. As I learned more and more about Pro Tools, I got better and better at recording and mixing. Still no pro, but the more I learned how to use pro Tools, the better my recordings got.
 
All of this information is readily available on YouTube as far as sounds and recording.

As far as songwriting, that's a much deeper rabbit hole, without a ton of info online.

I've been writing songs forever, and I just DO it, now. I could describe my process, but that is probably different for every songwriter.
 
My only advice is this: if everything seems overwhelming and you feel blocked...keep it simple. Grab an acoustic and work on a few melodies. I sometimes get overwhelmed with songwriting, especially if I am doing everything myself including drums so...I will just go back to basics. I have found personally that some of the best ideas come out of something simple.
 
Ok, lots of very good and honest advice here.

Let me try this line of thinking.....

Lets say that the home recording thing is too much of a steep learning curve for now. and lets say that my goal is produce at least one good quality finished track by spring/summer. And lets factor in that part of my writing involves recording because I need to hear myself played back in order to write parts to songs, and this is proving very difficult as nothing seems to sound good to my ears when using my DAW and VST plugins.

Given this information, what should I do? Would it be best to find someone near me who is seasoned in recording and audio production who can help me co-write and finish a track?

Because I do get what you guys are saying. Learning these things simply takes time and developing skills and your ear just like instrument playing. But lets say I'm really wanting to make a song happen soon, and get some material out there. Is it too farfetched to think I could team up with someone to make this happen? I would try to offer compensation as best I could.

What ideas do you guys have if I'm looking to try to move forward a little bit quicker?
 
WhiteShadow said:
Ok, lots of very good and honest advice here.

Let me try this line of thinking.....

Lets say that the home recording thing is too much of a steep learning curve for now. and lets say that my goal is produce at least one good quality finished track by spring/summer. And lets factor in that part of my writing involves recording because I need to hear myself played back in order to write parts to songs, and this is proving very difficult as nothing seems to sound good to my ears when using my DAW and VST plugins.

Given this information, what should I do? Would it be best to find someone near me who is seasoned in recording and audio production who can help me co-write and finish a track?

Because I do get what you guys are saying. Learning these things simply takes time and developing skills and your ear just like instrument playing. But lets say I'm really wanting to make a song happen soon, and get some material out there. Is it too farfetched to think I could team up with someone to make this happen? I would try to offer compensation as best I could.

What ideas do you guys have if I'm looking to try to move forward a little bit quicker?
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I know some VERY VERY talented musicians that absolutely want to have nothing to do with recording. I'll give you my honest advice...I don't think home recording is for everyone. I use home recordings to get basically a demo level product. My recording/engineering skills are average at best...any time I have planned to release something commercially, I would recruit the services of a pro who knows how to get it done. There is simply no substitute for a professional engineer that knows how to use the gear he has and what he is doing. That's just speaking from my personal experience. As far as the writing part, maybe you can find a writing partner to work with? Even online, having someone to bounce ideas off of could help. People tend to be hyper critical of themselves, with a second set of ears you may see something from a different point of view. Also, I noticed you said you tend to get projects going and delete out of frustration. Next time, take a step back for a few days and let the project breathe. It's easy to get so involved in something that you start to not see the bigger picture.
 
japetus said:
I know some VERY VERY talented musicians that absolutely want to have nothing to do with recording. I'll give you my honest advice...I don't think home recording is for everyone. I use home recordings to get basically a demo level product. My recording/engineering skills are average at best...if I were going to release something commercially, I would recruit the services of a pro who knows how to get it done. There is simply no substitute for a professional engineer that knows how to use the gear he has and what he is doing. That's just speaking from my personal experience.
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I'm not going to give up on learning home recording, but for now I think you're correct. Realistically how much would a good engineer/producer with a studio cost me for one track?

Also, since I need to hear myself played back to write, how would you recommend me getting my ideas down and writing songs?
 
WhiteShadow said:
I'm not going to give up on learning home recording, but for now I think you're correct. Realistically how much would a good engineer/producer with a studio cost me for one track?

Also, since I need to hear myself played back to write, how would you recommend me getting my ideas down and writing songs?
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For sure don't give up...but even using a very simple interface into Reaper works for me. I think the key is just remember, you are NEVER going to sound like a multi million dollar recording at home. Don't be too hard on yourself. For one track, $50 an hour for a studio is a decent going rate. This will vary WILDLY, obviously. I believe in going into the studio with my shit tight as possible and ready to go, because time is money never applied more.
 
japetus said:
For sure don't give up...but even using a very simple interface into Reaper works for me. I think the key is just remember, you are NEVER going to sound like a multi million dollar recording at home. Don't be too hard on yourself. For one track, $50 an hour for a studio is a decent going rate. This will vary WILDLY, obviously. I believe in going into the studio with my shit tight as possible and ready to go, because time is money never applied more.
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I know what you mean. I'm trying to get better at getting things done in fewer takes too. I think I'm too much of a perfectionist. analysis paralysis
 
WhiteShadow said:
I know what you mean. I'm trying to get better at getting things done in fewer takes too. I think I'm too much of a perfectionist. analysis paralysis
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I have been there man. Really, just don't be so hard on yourself. All those badass tones/tracks you hear on albums? Some guys do it one take....some guys will do 1000 takes. A well written song will shine through even an average recording.
 
All I really want to do is make some decent recordings of one guitar, bass, drums, and lead guitar. This can't be too hard.
 
With the inexpensive Presonus Audiobox two channel interface and a decent daw/ computer you should be able to get a decent demo quailty recording. The learning curve is deep with recording.

A new Mac M1 mini running Logic and that Presonus interface would be great and around a grand. Logic drummer is a good sounding basic drum program you don’t have to program. Its more than enough to write with then replace later.
I think the amp sim stuff sounds not very good, but if its what you have to work with, make it work.

Main thing is write some music then worry about getting a better quailty sound if you need to.
 
Sometimes you just need to walk away from it for a few days and then go back. It really should not be a stressful process but more like something you enjoy.
 
Nobody on this forum should want money and trust me, we have all been there and here to help! My trimmed down, basically advice:
- Start with a drumbeat to inspire, get vibe
- Record one guitar part and pan 100% left. Do another and pan 100% right
- Lay down a bass line right up the middle

Keep it cheap. Reaper DAW $50 for life, EZDrummer, and an interface. You don't need all of the bells and whistles, especially at your stage

Don't beat a dead horse and try too hard. Just lay something down and enjoy it, no matter if it is for you, friends, etc. Some of my best recordings were done in an hour or less.

Watch your levels!!!
 
WhiteShadow said:
Me messing around with mic'ing my DSL40CR
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You are on the right path for sure man! That's a good tone, you are just getting some clipping going on which is leading to that high end distortion. Dial your levels back and I think you are sounding good!
 
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