Why I Created This Site
Here is the closest I will ever get to a 12 step speech: My name is Randy and I have a home recording studio [Hi Randy]. I have been writing songs for about 30 years. I have no musical training and no particular ability to play any instrument. That never stopped me from having musical ideas and wanting to hear them. Maybe you are the same way. If so, this web site is for you.
I started putting songs together because I felt that what was in my head could sound as good to me as what I was hearing on the radio. Even though I have accomplished that to my satisfaction, my goal has not been to become the next Stevie Wonder or Diane Warren, as nice as that would be. I was certainly too lazy to put in the time and energy to learn an instrument. My goal was to make my ideas a reality and to hear them out loud.
If I can do it, anyone can!
I do not have to respond to anyone’s deadline. If I want to write a rap song one day and a country song the next, there is no one to tell me my audience won’t accept it. I am my audience. I write songs for the love of it. Thanks to today’s technology I am able to do it.
The purpose of this site is to describe my process so you can see how easy it is for you to do it. Keep track through the blog pages on this site.
My Home Recording Studio
My current setup is totally computer based. I have owned hardware synths, samplers and drum machines, but I have found that I am just a computer type of guy. The centerpiece of my setup is Mark of the Unicorn’s Digital Performer. Not only does that give me one of the best sequencers around, it gives me far more mixer than I would ever be able to afford as hardware.
This is run on an Apple Mac Mini. I have been a Mac owner since the “Fat Mac”, their second model.
For a keyboard I am hunting and pecking on a Yamaha S30. I actually no longer use the excellent sounds of the S30, having migrated entirely to software sound applications. The keyboard is strictly a MIDI controller for me.
The sounds I now use are from a Receptor from Muse Research with Komplete inside. That is a hardware box which hosts VST software sound applications. In this case the Receptor is pre-loaded with Native Instruments Komplete, a compilation of that company’s best sound applications. This gives me a set of sounds so wide ranging that “Komplete” is the only appropriate name for it.
Rounding out the system is a Native Instruments Audio Kontrol 1 audio interface for input and a pair of Event 20/20bas speakers for output.
Your Home Recording Studio
If you want to put together your own home recording studio but don’t know how to, I will try to give you a kick start here. I don’t know all the answers--I am just a non-pro doing my own thing--but I think I can at least point you in a direction.
I am not pushing anything specific, I am just talking about things I know from my own experience. To add value for you as the reader of this blog and to support the site I have put together Net Shop Assistant, an affiliate site which is set up to help find specific instruments online. There are also links at the bottom of each blog post on this site to help find the tools I reference. If you already have a good connection for musical instruments you are one step ahead of the game.
If you are just starting out and you've read this far I will assume you have one of the following two questions:
1) What is the one CHEAP instrument I can buy which will allow me to make my own songs?
2) How can I build a music creation system using my computer?
The answer to the first question can be summed up in three letters: DAW. That is an acronym for digital audio workstation. The hardware version can be a music keyboard which contains all the basics for creating a song, namely multiple types of sounds which can play simultaneously and a sequencer to arrange the parts.
As far as I know, the first significant DAW was the Korg M1 keyboard. That came with a good variety of sampled sounds and set a standard for every DAW keyboard which came after it. They have stood the test of time too; they still do the job.
Remember, if the keyboard you choose does not have built in speakers you would have to have an amplification system to attach it to. Normally that would be an amplifier and monitor speakers but for low budget cases that could be your home stereo or even just an ordinary pair of headphones.
To address the second question, you will need sequencer software. If your sequencer has built in sounds and a built in way to enter notes you have all you need. Whether that is the case or not, a MIDI keyboard can make life easier on those fronts.
MIDI keyboards range from those which create NO sound ( MIDI controllers, which can used control other sound sources or to enter notes into the software sequencer) to DAWs which have their own sequencer included, making them a self contained method of writing songs. There are also external sound modules, which are essentially MIDI keyboards without a keyboard attached. By connecting these to your setup using MIDI cables more sounds can be accessed.
Once you start you can expand through additional hardware and software. Beware though--gear lust is a disease that is almost impossible to avoid.
Having Your Own Say
If you would like to communicate, there are a couple of ways to do it. One way is through the contact email at the bottom of each page. Use it if you want to contact me directly and privately.
Even better, send your comments by posting them on the Feedback Page of this site. I prefer to hear from you in that form. That way your comments can benefit us all.
Where To Get Music Tools Mentioned On This Page
