Playing the saxophone A Thoroughly Frustrating Day

[Veggie Dave]

Having spent all week working on a new song, today was the day I'd decided it was finally going to be recorded. It's a little more complex than usual, and with some fast (for me), long passages. I've practised like mad and got it pretty consistent ... right up until I hit 'record'. 😉

I don't know what it is about putting on headphones, but even with one ear uncovered I find I still end up playing harder for no apparent reason. It wasn't too bad with my old mouthpiece but the new one requires a lot more control which is causing me to tire much quicker and squeaking more than I've done since my first few weeks of playing.

In the end I had to walk away because it just wasn't working. I'm guessing it's simply a matter of getting used to playing with headphones but if anyone has any tricks/techniques they use I'd love to hear them.

 

[Adrian63]

Relax

 

[Jeanette]

Perhaps put the headphones on and record something simple first or just some scales before you start the proper recording.

Persevere you will sort it 🙂

Jx

 

[Veggie Dave]

Relax

If only... 😉

Perhaps put the headphones on and record something simple first or just some scales before you start the proper recording.

I was about to say something else, but the more I think about it, the more I think this may be a really bloody good idea! 😀

Let's see how tomorrow goes. 🙂

 

[Colin the Bear]

I can't do headphones. Let it bleed. That record button distracts me. I wish some one could press it, when I wasn't looking and not tell me.

 

[Veggie Dave]

I can't do headphones.

I've never been a fan. Even in my bass days I always preferred to play at the desk rather than in the studio - unless it was to be a complete live band recording, anyway.

Let it bleed.

I just can't do that. My OCD demands that it must be as perfect as I can possibly make it. Well, as perfect as I can make it without resorting to cheating. 😉

That record button distracts me. I wish some one could press it, when I wasn't looking and not tell me.

I used to do that a lot back when I was a budding sound engineer. In fact, we used to do it a lot with the camera on film sets, too. Sadly it's not an option for my bedroom shenanigans. I usually have another instrument starting the song so I can relax in front of the mic before I start recording, but this new one starts with the sax so even with an extended count-in there's no relaxing zone as such. Some parts are rather challenging to play, too, and I'm finding that I'm thinking, and worrying, about those sections long before I get anywhere near them, which then causes me to cock up the simpler section I'm in the middle of playing.

All very frustrating.

 

[Vlad]

Oddly enough I actually like headphones, it somehow ( to me ) puts you in a slightly unreal world, where the music is, and shuts out everything else...
Coincidentally Dave, I was a Bass player too at various times !

 

[Colin the Bear]

If you're finding it hard to come in at the beginning, record a little intro and erase it.

 

[Jeanette]

I was about to say something else, but the more I think about it, the more I think this may be a really bloody good idea! 😀

Let's see how tomorrow goes. 🙂

Let us know and good luck 🙂

Jx

 

[Nick Wyver]

I find it's just a matter of having the right levels for everything in the cans.

 

[Veggie Dave]

What I tried in the end was to turn the volume right down in the cans and playing a few things with them on before I hit record.

I'm still working on the best way to do it, though, as I found keeping in time was really hard as I cold barely hear the track and that I didn't play the louder, more aggressive sections loudly and aggressively because it then drowned out the song in the headphones.

But I'm a lot closer to finding that perfect set-up than I was yesterday, so thanks everyone. 🙂

 

[Colin the Bear]

I've yet to find the button that puts the sax mic through the headphones while you record.

 

[Veggie Dave]

I don't know if you can monitor in Audacity. You can with Reaper but it would seem that you need a really quick PC/laptop to be able to do it without there being a huge time delay, which I don't have.

I wonder if you can add a mixer inbetween the mic and laptop and monitor from that? Hmm, I'll have to look into that.

 

[BigMartin]

I wonder if you can add a mixer inbetween the mic and laptop and monitor from that? Hmm, I'll have to look into that.

I think most audio interfaces will do that (I know mine does). I don't tend to use it, though, as my headphones are cheap enough that I can easily hear through them.

 

[Veggie Dave]

I think most audio interfaces will do that (I know mine does). I don't tend to use it, though, as my headphones are cheap enough that I can easily hear through them.

I popped into my local music shop earlier and a little mixer is only £35. It may be quite a large step towards making recording easier.

 

[BigMartin]

I popped into my local music shop earlier and a little mixer is only £35. It may be quite a large step towards making recording easier.

Will that do the A/D conversion for you though? How are you doing it now?

 

[Veggie Dave]

Will that do the A/D conversion for you though? How are you doing it now?

I'm using the laptop's mic in and headphones sockets and recording using Reaper. It's as basic as it gets really. I dread to think how badly the signal's being ruined by the mic in circuits.

 

[BigMartin]

If you want to use an external mic, I think you need to be looking at audio interfaces rather than mixers, but I'm by no means an expert.

 

[Nick Wyver]

I'm not sure how a mixer would help. You'll still probably get latency issues won't you?

FWIW I use a Zoom R8 (cheap 8 track recorder).

 

[Veggie Dave]

I'm not sure how a mixer would help. You'll still probably get latency issues won't you?

My idea, which I haven't looked further into yet, is to put the sax mic through Ch1 on the mixer and then into the DAW and have the playback from the DAW in Ch2 and then use headphones plugged into the mixer. No latency issues that way as you're not hearing the sax from the DAW.

It all depends on whether or not it's possible to send a dry sax signal to the DAW while still retaining monitor control for the headphones.