does anyone here make toonz with no pre recorded audio tracks?

like just having a load of stuff sequenced and recording the whole thing live?

i do, most of my hardware based stuff is recorded in this way...like this 'un:

http://soundcloud.com/b-c-m/the-o

Not sure sometimes I make a tune just from the hardware kit I've got. Usually I'll do a combo of the 3 tho - hardware, vst instruments and samples.

Heh, seems like an uninteresting question but.. From what I've noticed much less Watmm producers are sample based than not.

  On 9/1/2011 at 6:16 PM, BCM said:

i do, most of my hardware based stuff is recorded in this way...like this 'un:

 

http://soundcloud.com/b-c-m/the-o

nice n heavy :sup:

I think making a tune without resorting to audio tracks is challenging. I mean I guess for about a year or so I was basically doing that when I just had my Korg module and I was running Cubase via Windows 3 on a Pentium 486 (33mhz) lol. Mind you back then I didn't have a clue so most of it was shit. Still I really miss those days a lot.

+

+

do you mean loops? or samples?

IMO loops are for total noobs unless you are mangling the shit out of it. Samples are a different story though.

that's usually what i do.. have everything live and see what happens. things happen that would have never come about if i had sequenced it all.

The majority of my music is live sequenced synthesizers, for all parts, including drums, with audio effects. The final stages of my process are to bounce it all down to audio, and then do edits, chop things up, sometimes swap in or out elements I like, make edits etc. I try to approach my synths as pieces of an orchestra... actual performers, and work with the ensemble I've put together. That's the composing process... then its like taking that into the studio, and getting all productiony with it. I'd say less than 5% of my palette is prerecorded stuff, during the composing process. these are mainly a library of found sounds that I recorded, edited, and loaded into sampler instruments.

If you listen to Refraction, on my sound cloud page... all of it it live sequenced synths, including the drums. The glitches are almost all real time (ran through the virus TI atomizer effect), I did do some post production on the drums, which required bouncing down multiple takes of them, with different effects, that I then edited together. There are a few post production stutters here and there, but very minimal.

99% of my tracks use only midi sequencing. I use sampled hits for percussion but all of the melodies and stuff are composed, not sampled.

i go through phases that tend to last months/years.

90% of the stuff on my soundcloud for the last ~8months or so is live-recorded hardware jams. i don't actually sequence much -- typically just a 2 or 4 bar loop with a shitload of layers, then i just mix them and work the synths etc.

here are two hardware fings:

http://soundcloud.com/nevenen/acid-stalker

http://soundcloud.com/nevenen/mojave

i just re-installed ableton; perhaps i'm entering a new phase. or perhaps i'll forget about it next week

Up until tomorrow (hopefully), all of my stuff has been recorded live (sequenced externally) in a single take to cassette. I use all hardware and sequence with either an Alesis MMT-8 or an Atari 1040ST running Cubase.

That said, I just bought a soundcard for my PC (that should be here tomorrow) with 8 TRS I/O. Finally being able to record my synths/drum machines/samplers to individual audio tracks, allowing automation, using a single synth for different sounds at once, etc will be incredibly useful. As much as I like recording all at once, the ability to add/fix/subtract from different tracks out of a tune is going to be invaluable.

ya I'd love to have that kind of capability...

  On 9/2/2011 at 6:36 AM, Diao said:

Up until tomorrow (hopefully), all of my stuff has been recorded live (sequenced externally) in a single take to cassette. I use all hardware and sequence with either an Alesis MMT-8 or an Atari 1040ST running Cubase.

 

That said, I just bought a soundcard for my PC (that should be here tomorrow) with 8 TRS I/O. Finally being able to record my synths/drum machines/samplers to individual audio tracks, allowing automation, using a single synth for different sounds at once, etc will be incredibly useful. As much as I like recording all at once, the ability to add/fix/subtract from different tracks out of a tune is going to be invaluable.

You didn't have a computer with a single input that would allow you to record each channel of your sequences individually? I guess you would have to resync them but that wouldn't be that hard. Just trying to understand why you wouldn't have just done that to get the same ability(with a bit more effort) that you get(for what you seem to be doing) with a 8 I/O

You could have put like a single bass drum at the starting of each channels sequences as a sync point for all your tracks. Would take 8 times longer I guess.

I sequence using an MPC 1000 and mix everything with a mixing desk, so I end up recording the two channel stereo output from the desk in just one take. But sometimes if I messed something up I record more takes and chop and change bits in Logic.

ye

http://britishacid.bandcamp.com/track/wagoo

Have done this a few times, it's not my normal working method, but a nice thing to do from time to time.

Would set up a bunch of sequencers in reaktor, route midi clock out of an electribe into my laptop to drive the sequencers, and then midi out to various bits of kit. A couple hardware synths and such, drums coming from the electribe, then a few synths inside reaktor as well.

for acidy techno kinda stuff, it's a cool way of jamming out some ideas, developing some type of arrangement too. Sometimes the jams have served as a basis for developing back into a full track.

have recorded a few things to tape, but it's kinda pointless really, since everything is being mixed on a computer already. If I had a decent sound card with enough outs (or enough hardware) to make use of my mixer I'd love to record to a 1/4 inch.

with proper tracks and projects. I try to work as much as possible with synths and midi rather than samples. At least up until my CPU load gets too high and then I'll render some things to ease the load. Also a good way of drawing a line under something and stopping my constant tweaking and retaking of things.

My first EP was done entirely on gear. Each song was one live take to cassette four-track. It was illuminating in that the simplicity taught me a discipline that I have since carried over to my DAW production.

My normal mode of operation is to sequence the hardware in the DAW, then play and record tweaks for each instrument. All tracks are aligned, EFX are applied and the final mixdown is done ITB.

  On 9/2/2011 at 2:29 PM, TechDiff said:

for acidy techno kinda stuff, it's a cool way of jamming out some ideas, developing some type of arrangement too. Sometimes the jams have served as a basis for developing back into a full track.

1. make bunch of loops 'n' crap in Ableton

2. jam out with them

3. results in skeleton for track

fleshing that skeleton out, though... takes some work

I like to bounce some tracks down from their midi origins otherwise I'll end spending hours tweaking one element and never finish the track.

I like to record the track 'live' from session view in ableton though - and make as few tweaks as possible, to retain as much spontaneity as possible

I've tried it when I had some hardware, ended up having loads of scribbled notes about when to change sequencer patterns and stuff. Didn't really do anything for me, unnecessary restrictions.

I've tried making all the layers of a track and copying everything across so it plays for 5 minutes and then just recording it while changing levels on the mixer to bring layers in and out. Quite a good way of constructing a track when you have a lot of parts but no structure is coming together.

  On 9/6/2011 at 12:47 PM, Squawk2 said:

I like to bounce some tracks down from their midi origins otherwise I'll end spending hours tweaking one element and never finish the track.

Yes I absolutely have to do this too.

  On 9/6/2011 at 3:19 PM, Coalbucket PI said:

I've tried it when I had some hardware, ended up having loads of scribbled notes about when to change sequencer patterns and stuff. Didn't really do anything for me, unnecessary restrictions.

 

I've tried making all the layers of a track and copying everything across so it plays for 5 minutes and then just recording it while changing levels on the mixer to bring layers in and out. Quite a good way of constructing a track when you have a lot of parts but no structure is coming together.

 

  On 9/6/2011 at 12:47 PM, Squawk2 said:

I like to bounce some tracks down from their midi origins otherwise I'll end spending hours tweaking one element and never finish the track.

Yes I absolutely have to do this too.

i'm sure this is how alex patterson did a lot of early orb stuff

90% sample based

I made an album that was all Access Virus TI and Machinedrum that contained no samples. Retrospectively thinking back, samples would have been "cheaper"