I bought a usb interface so I could hook up a guitar and synth and record directly into my pc because I have hundreds of little snippets I’d like to try to do something with, and holy shit recording is hard

Not sure if this is just the diy nature of it all but yeah it’s actually pretty disconcerting because I have some friends who do it no problem 🫠 maybe it’s just another thing that will take practice to get good

Anyone have tips? I was thinking of maybe starting with a cover of something

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[–] wild_dog@hexbear.net 3 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

what kind of music are you trying to do? A lot of pro music producers use reference tracks of other people's songs that sound similar to what they want to do and reverse engineer the sound they want based off that. Even if you're just starting out, beginning your project with an idea of what you want the end product to sound like is very helpful. You'll be surprised how much more you'll pick up even from Googling "DIY (genre) recording techniques" vs the more general DIY recording one.

Secondly, bug the shit out of your friends who are better to see what you can learn. I've never met anyone who's into recording that doesn't like nerding out about gear and recording techniques. You're not even really bothering your friends bc they will get to feel smart and talented.

Another thing, are you going direct into the interface with no effects/plugins? If so, then you're probably not hearing something "bad" as much as you're hearing what your guitar sounds like naturally. Guitar is a wimpy instrument on its own so a lot of times people who record direct in will use amp simulators to bring back the guitar tones you're used to hearing. On the flip side, synth can be too loud going in which causes digital distortion that sounds bad, so you might need to turn your volume down. You may already know this stuff but a lot of people don't. Try messing around with the effects in whatever recording app you have as well bc they might help you get a more professional sound.

Honestly being mindful of your volume in general is key to making good sounding recordings. Try to keep your signal from going into the red in your recording app. There's probably a sweet spot for recording volume with your equipment that you can find through experimenting.

Like everyone else says practice recording as much as you can. I'd add to this that you should practice with intention. It's kinda like my point about reference tracks but try going into a project with the mindset of "this song I'm gonna learn to do X" instead of "I'm gonna make something good." Make a bunch of bad stuff while learning and eventually you'll get the hang of it. You'll even be able to revisit your old ideas so you can redo them in a way that sounds good eventually.