Any Lo-fi recording people out there?

    I admit....I'm old school, or maybe just lazy. Or both. And music is just a hobby for me. So I write a lot of original music but prefer to record via a Tascam DP008 digital multitrack vs software. And I record live drums on a crappy Simmons electronic set. Yes, the sound is not great. I realize that. But it's good enough for me and it is enjoyable. Just curious if I'm the only one stuck in the stone age?


    My latest creation:

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    My whole crappy soundcloud lineup: http://www.soundcloud.com/natebauer

    • Lol.....That's hilarious and very true on my end! That Korg is a nice looking unit. I was brought up with the mentality that anything worth doing is worth doing right but honestly, no one cares about my music other than me. I'm not trying to write a hit song so I'm totally fine with what I record. Maybe someday....

    And thanks for the complement!

    I think that sounds much better than you give yourself credit for!


    Learning your gear/room is so much more important than having the latest and greatest.

    Disclaimer: When I post demo clips for profiles, there will be some minimal post-processing, unless stated otherwise. I normally double-track hard L/R, and add to the main buss a small amount of EQ and a limiter/comp set pretty light as well. Sometimes I get test profiles in advance of release, though 90% of my clips will be from packs I have purchased.

    Like 1

    No lofi here, except when I need a lofi sound, I just have to turn some knobs here and then to crapify my tone on purpose in my DAW.


    But I'm highly interested in those physical recorders, as I plan to setup a rehearsal & recording studio in my basement. I will need a mixer, so why not use a combo system with digital recording...


    So I've got a question for you , what is the kind of workflow needed to begin recording on these, once you gathered a few friends ? Is it long to setup before hitting the record button ?

    808illest, Locrain, Monkey Man and Sharry.....thank you for the kind words!



    Quote from waraba

    So I've got a question for you , what is the kind of workflow needed to begin recording on these, once you gathered a few friends ? Is it long to setup before hitting the record button ?

    Waraba, I have never uses it to record a live situation. I do it all myself and multitrack all instruments. It's quite easy. Start with a click track and lay down a scratch guitar. Lay down drums, bass. Then go back and redo multiple layers of guitar tracks and vocals. The only downside is that punching in is very cumbersome so I tend to track all the way through or at least until some kind of break. I do know that on mine, you can only record two tracks simultaneously so in a live situation you could not record 8 separate signals.

    I run the drum mics through a Makie mixer into a stereo compressor then out in stereo into a Strymon Blue Sky.
    That goes into the recorder 2 tracks stereo. I run the Kemper in another 2 tracks stereo.
    I live track with either guitar or bass with the drummer. Once we get a good performance I record the other instruments.
    No punch in's for me either. All tracks with FX in stereo, even the Bass.
    My recorder will only record 4 tracks at a time. 8)

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    To be clear: I do not know how to use the gear I have. I just know I'd be a lot better if I did. :D

    Disclaimer: When I post demo clips for profiles, there will be some minimal post-processing, unless stated otherwise. I normally double-track hard L/R, and add to the main buss a small amount of EQ and a limiter/comp set pretty light as well. Sometimes I get test profiles in advance of release, though 90% of my clips will be from packs I have purchased.

    Like 3
    Quote from Southdakota

    Lmao.....exactly why I have the most archaic recording method possible!


    I've always kind of had a rule that if I suck, I am not going to be able to blame it on my gear...I think that was just an excuse to buy expensive kit, but oh well. :D


    I mean, I have a great PC, great DAW, SD3 for drums, faaaar more plugins that I could ever use, Slate, Ozone, Waves, IK, Trilian, etc, etc, but my stuff doesn't sound anywhere close to yours, I just don't know how to use it yet. I've only been at it for a few months so far, I really wish I had started a long time ago.


    Like 10 years ago I had a Presonus interface and used Cubase to do a band demo, but I didn't keep up with it. I just started using Rifftracker. Which is a fantastic value, and a wonderful songwriting tool, but it is very simplistic compared to any other DAW. And that became a kind of crutch, because when I did try using Reaper or Audacity or something, the learning curve was so steep, and I could easily get better results with Rifftracker, I'd just give up. So here I am, ten years later.


    Oh well, the joy is in the journey and not the destination, right? :)

    Disclaimer: When I post demo clips for profiles, there will be some minimal post-processing, unless stated otherwise. I normally double-track hard L/R, and add to the main buss a small amount of EQ and a limiter/comp set pretty light as well. Sometimes I get test profiles in advance of release, though 90% of my clips will be from packs I have purchased.

    Like 2

    I like live tracking with the drummer with the intention that if we get a combined performance together it's a keeper.
    Drummers have less pressure that way. Give us a 4 count and let's make them dance.
    If you fuck up do it twice and I'll go with you on the second one and we'll say it was Jazz. 8)

    Quote from Locrain

    ike 10 years ago I had a Presonus interface and used Cubase to do a band demo, but I didn't keep up with it. I just started using Rifftracker. Which is a fantastic value, and a wonderful songwriting tool, but it is very simplistic compared to any other DAW

    No problem , you should stick to rifftracker , now called riffworks , I'm still a heavy user of this dirty little daw to arrange basic ideas and take all my rushes. Too bad this great tool never gets updated as it is by far the most simple and intuitive tool on the market.


    I often track my takes using this, export in 32 bits to reaper for later mixing & all kind of dubs. Some tracks like this one were fully made with riffworks as the internal drumbox is enough for electro rock and the workflow is soooo fast. Riffworks has also some nice filters to lofi your takes or drums, this is what is used on this track.