making ones own backing track

[pacman]

Hi all I've noticed in several posts that members have produced their own backing tracks and I must say they are of excellent quality what is the best way to go without spending a fortune on equipment.I have a couple of numbers of my own that I would like to record sometime in the future Any advice would be welcome

Pacman

[shadfan4]

If you can record your own guitar tracks to BT's then you are not far from recording your own BT's.

I would say to to make the sort of BT's we use here (mainly Shads) and other tunes that make good instro's.

Then good mic's (an excellent all round mic is the AKG c1000s condenser, this will need phantom power 12-52v or 9v batt, an sm57 would be a good mic for recording from an amp with high spl's) and decent pre-amp, Acoustic guitar, 6 string/12 string possibly a nylon strung.

A mixer although not essential, as you can "mix in the box" will be able to make sense of the various connections you will need,

The soundcard will be a very important piece of kit. The more in's/out's you have means you will be able to have "send effects" outs to your external kit such as Magicstomp,zoom,quadraverb, lexicons etc.

To be able to create/adapt midi files will help enormously and some VSTi's (Virtual instruments to include a decent drum VSTI, like Battery or BFD or EZDrummer.

An amp simulator, POD,Tonelab. etc and or the very good software gtr sims like Amplitube, Guitar Rig & Waves GTR.

This coupled with a DAW (Digital audio workstation) like Cubase or Nuendo etc or anything with good midi capability.

Once you have this and its not as daunting as it sounds, is built up over time, and a lot of patience/practice it really will come together and be some of the most satisfying work you will do.

I do spend a lot of time putting together my own BT's even if they are available to me like UBHank etc. It's a challenge I can't resist sometimes.

Good luck with this new venture.

Cheers

Mike.

[asimmd]

Ooh,my favourite topic.

It can be as easy or as difficult as you want it to be,depending how perfect you want to be.

All the things Mike say's are relevant,the easiest way to start, if you have a midi sound source and a DAW,is to download a Midi file and doctor it to make it your own.

Add better sounding instruments - edit the drums - add your own rhythm guitar/fills etc.

Be warned though,it is very time consuming and the better you want it to be,the longer it takes,but it is very satisfying and worth every minute.

Let us know how you get on and if you need any help,just ask.

Alan

[shadowhankron]

Hi

If you can play a Keyboard like the Yamaha Tyros 2 Workstation, you could use the Internal Styles or you can use the Midi Files on Internet and change the Instrument Voices to whatever Band or Group Sound you require,then record from Internal midi /song recorder then transfer over to Computer and make an MP3 file.
You could also use your keyboard direct into a Mixer and add your Guitar backing Rhythm Track along with the Drums and Bass that was recorded on Keyboard.
Hope this is some help

Regards

Ronnie

[pacman]

Hi Mike, Alan, Ron Thanks for your replies they all make interesting reading. Having looked at various magazines it seems that recording is in a field of its own.The recordings I have made of my own numbers have been made using Audacity the interface I was thinking of getting was the M-audio pro that has 4in and 4out. I started to play bass guitar about 9 months ago so hopefully by the time I get round to make my own bt's I should be good enough to record with.Ron's reply is unusual I never thought it possible to get all the sounds drums,bass etc out of an electronic organ. Thanks guys thats certainly given me something to think about.
Regards David ;D

[chinga]

Hello Pacman,

Another simple method is to use a program like Band in a Box which allows you to do the entire production on your PC. You can then add those bits you can play yourself. You can also create the basis of a BT from a MIDI file or even a MP3 file. It's worth a look. Go to pgmusic.com.

Have fun

Chinga

[George Lewis]

Hi David,
I usually have no need for making BT's as Tony Kiek does all the hard work for me. www.turningpointcd.com
However, he has been busy moving and selling house lately and another muso friend suggested "Begin The Beguine" as a tune that would go well for some of the "older" .. and I mean no one under 80 .. except me of course !, charity gigs I do around this time of year. So looked on the web and came up with 3 midi files that all had interesting arrangements.

Converted them to audio using a free prog called "Synthfont" which uses soundfont files instead of a keyboard synth, then edited and mixed the tracks using Audacity to make a BT.
Recorded guitar over the top and this is one of the many, many, results.

www.cirruscomms.com.au/~glew/Beguine.htm

Not strictly Shadows sound, but in the same melodic style ... and interesting to play jazzy phrases using our beloved EFTP echos .. though I can't remember which ones were used !

Just a few ideas for those who don't have a keyboard and can't afford even the basic Band In a Box.

regards
George

[pacman]

Hi chinga
Thanks for your interesting reply never heard of it before I did'nt think it was possible to create a musical track from a computor that is not on a home computor anyway its certainly worth looking into, and may I wish you and your family a Merry Xmas and a Happy New year.

Regards Pacman ;D

[pacman]

Hi George
Thanks for your reply I would'nt attempt to make my own bt of a standerd number as there are so many ready made bt's ,the ones on your links were of excellent quality the reason for wanting to make my own is only for wanting to record a couple of my own numbers that Ive had buzzing around in my head, at least Iv'e now got several choices to choose from.

Regards David
( PS could you send over some of that lovely sunshine its brass monkey over here ;D

[olemuso]

David.
Get hold of some MIDI files and learn how they work. There must be lots of free MIDI software you can use just to learn from.
Once you`ve got the hang of it you`ll realise that you can change the files to suit yourself in several ways; You can change the instruments, the key, individual instrument balance, volume, and effects. You can even change the notes.
In the Nineties I made a BT of Lionel Ritchie`s "Hello" using MIDI. I made it one note at a time and it took me 6 weeks - there was no such thing then as Band In A Box and pro sequencing software was thin on the ground and horrendously expensive.
Nowadays I`d have to be really desperate to go to such lengths, especially when there are plenty of good MIDI files available and (don`t forget) Karaoke tracks.
Good luck in yor quest, you will eventually find which way you`re going to go, and when you do just ask any questions you like and someone will be bound to come up with an answer for you.

[pacman]

Hi Ian Thanks for that, thats another avenue to explore at least I wont be bored over Xmas lots to research I only hope my laptop lasts out its beginning to smell a bit hot.
Regards David

[spikestevens]

Hi Pacman.

Making your own BT's isn't too difficult as long as you have a lot of patience - at least that's what I've found!
If you've got a certain number in mind you should be able to find a free midi file of it somewhere that you can download and edit to taste, if you have decent software, of course. And that's where the crux of the problem lies, having that 'decent software' to begin with.

I think there are many free editing programs about and they will be sufficient for most basic stuff, but if you want to get further and further into making your own BT's it might be worth it in the long run to spend a bit extra and get some good equipment.

I do a lot of my own compositions so obviously I have to create mine from scratch, but I'm using a pretty good quality sequencer (Cubase 5 ) and a Korg X3 synth/workstation for the midi sounds. My BT's are certainly not earth-shatteringly brilliant, but they do the job and help me keep gigging.


Hope this helps.

[pacman]

Hi Spike Welcome to this friendly and informative site. Thanks for your reply I was looking in a magazine today it was called sound on sound and after looking at some of the prices of the mic's I think I'll take the direct recording a knock on the head. As I stated in my opening question it will be only a couple of numbers I want to do so it would'nt be worth spending a lot for just two tracks I think the midi approach will be the best and cheapest way to go.When you get settled in it will be nice to hear some of your BT's and your numbers.
Regards David ;D

[specky]

great info guys -pity I know s.f.a. about midis -
I normally use the Br600 recorder and make my own backing tracks for anything I want to do --I use the preset patches for
rythmn guitar -bass-and A Vox Ad15 directly in for lead
and preset drums patterns -im slightlly different -as I dont set out to try and copy Hank and the Shads -most times Im happy with the finished tune -(well sometimes )for me its a bonus if I get near to Hanks sound ;D ;D

the backing tracks people use here are top class
so congrats to you all

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone

tommy

[pacman]

Hi Tommy Thanks for your reply. Iv'e had a quick look on the internet on the br600 and it looks very interesting I have'nt gone into it in great detail yet but when I get the time I will.I have a Boss pedal a dd-20 and the build quality is top class.At least its another avenue to explore.
As its now Boxing Day may I wish you and your family a Happy New Year and all the best for 2010

Regards David ;D ;D

[wattybluesman]

Hi,
I recently set up a friends computer with a Pod UX1.
He had Cubase installed and all went well.


WattyBluesman.

[pacman]

Hi WattyBluesman Thanks for your reply. I had a quick look on the web it looks like its up to the job the only downside for me is my laptop I dont think my processor is up to the job mines a AMDSempron 3200+ 1.60ghz the system req. for the pod is 54000 min and 72000 recomended its a pity because it looked like it would have fitted the bill.

Regards Pacman