Brand new here - Should I be here?

[Kolstad]

Welcome Wally, on display here is that your songwriting, arranging and performance chops is good! Don't ever question that again. Carve that in stone, and push forward.

The variables are, dependent on the listings you pursue, that you may need different mixes and vocals for some of your music. So, an important part of your setup should include the ability to remix your material, and work in tracks from other people. That would increase your potentials for forwards imo. I don't know your setup at all, but try to submit for some listings. You will get valuable feedback, and if you can rework your material (and write new) according to that, your setup should be fine. I would just say that flexibility is key.

Nobody will dismiss your music based on how it is produced. If it sounds good, it is good.

[wallypeterson]

Thanks Kolstad, very kind of you to say and I appreciate the advice as well!

[wallypeterson]

Good advice Dean, thanks again.

[GPDoc]

Thanks Dean, that's the same unit I have. I've had it less than a year and am still figuring out how to optimize recording and production with it. Thanks for the encouragement!

Just throwing this info out there in case it might be helpful:

There are plenty of good videos about different aspects of the unit on YouTube, but I used this tutorial and it really helped me: https://www.amazon.com/Tascam-DP-24-Vid ... 008D2VA10/

I also printed off and read the PDF manual from the Tascam website and referred back to it as needed.

Hi Guys, I am learning my way around the Tascam 32, been using it about a year. I have also been told on the one song that I have had mastered for a cd on a different project, that using the normalization in mastering can cut out some of the data that a pro mastering tech would like to have available. Hence, I have been trying to master without using normalization but am having trouble getting enough volume for a cd to play right. Any ideas? (note: I have ordered the Tascam tutorial that Dean recommends, still in the mail. I also give props to Phil Tipping, who put out a fantastic series of video tutorials on utube. Without him, I never would have gotten anywhere.) FYI my skill set so far is that I can create a simple song that, to me is worth listening to, but I still have no idea as to how to make recordings that have the big rich sound that I hear in both of your songs.

[regardner]

Wally,

You've already gotten a lot of great advice from some thoughtful people.

I want to add one thought, though, and it's this: I currently work on an old Lenovo Thinkpad that I bought off of craigslist for $120 a few years back.

Of course, in addition to the computer, one also needs an interface. Over the holidays, my local music store had two or three used Focusrite Scarlett Solo interfaces for sale for $50 or $60.

One also needs a DAW. Someone mentioned earlier in this thread that you can get a license for the Reaper DAW for very little money, and there are other DAWs that are completely free.

Don't think upgrading to a DAW has to be an enormous investment. It could be a huge investment if you choose, but you could also get a functioning system for less than $200.

[wallypeterson]

The problem is I don't have a "computer". I've used a Chromebook for 6-7 years now, which is basically a glorified browser with apps, in that downloading real software isn't a possibility. So I'd have to spend a decent chunk for a computer (with enough power/memory to handle a DAW properly), and that would be the only thin I use it for. Not in the budget at this point unfortunately.

[cosmicdolphin]

The problem is I don't have a "computer". I've used a Chromebook for 6-7 years now, which is basically a glorified browser with apps, in that downloading real software isn't a possibility. So I'd have to spend a decent chunk for a computer (with enough power/memory to handle a DAW properly), and that would be the only thin I use it for. Not in the budget at this point unfortunately.

How have you got on in your first 6/7 months ? Any forwards ? Many listings that were suitable ?

[jdkotaska]

I have also been told on the one song that I have had mastered for a cd on a different project, that using the normalization in mastering can cut out some of the data that a pro mastering tech would like to have available. Hence, I have been trying to master without using normalization but am having trouble getting enough volume for a cd to play right. Any ideas?

If you are having someone else master your track then create the master file and stop. Let the person mastering the track do the rest. If you are going to master the track yourself, then don't skip the normalization step or it will be too quiet. If it is too quiet even after that, then you might need to revisit your compression or go back to your mix and fix your level peaks there.

[GPDoc]

I became concerned about this when reading a post about stems, where there was a suggestion that sometimes it might be necessary to send stems from the mastered track, but I didn't know if having normalized it would interfere with whatever the client might want to do with the stem. Also, on the Tascam it seems that access to the mixdown tracks remains available but once mastered, the mastered tracks don't seem to be accessible. It seems that they may be accessed on a computer after copying the song from SONG folder in audio depot, to the computer. I'm still working on figuring that out for sure. Thanks for the info.

[cosmicdolphin]

I became concerned about this when reading a post about stems, where there was a suggestion that sometimes it might be necessary to send stems from the mastered track, but I didn't know if having normalized it would interfere with whatever the client might want to do with the stem. Also, on the Tascam it seems that access to the mixdown tracks remains available but once mastered, the mastered tracks don't seem to be accessible. It seems that they may be accessed on a computer after copying the song from SONG folder in audio depot, to the computer. I'm still working on figuring that out for sure. Thanks for the info.

Yes some Libraries will ask for stems, it's probably not good practice to be normalizing the stems after you mastered them otherwise if they try to "assemble" their own sub-mix from your stems it will be too loud.

The best practice is to just mute the parts not needed for the Alt mix and run everything through the same mastering chain.

IMHO these things are way easier to get done in a DAW, Libraries may ask for all sorts of Alt Mixes , Edits, Stems and Cutdowns ( i.e 30s - 60s - Stingers ) ..I've had Libraries ask me for 15 or 16 files per cue once you add up the Stems and the Alts etc.