[Jambrains]

I curious to hear about your “secret weapon” i.e. a tool or technique that have had (or still have) a major impact on your songwriting, recordings, productions or whatever. Let’s try to keep the principle one post – one secret weapon. I’ll start…

I hate drums. I can’t play them. They’re too big for my room. Too noisy.
I love drums. A good sounding kit with a great drummer (e.g. Niel Peart or Mike Portnoy) is among the best things in life and (for me) can lift a song tremendously.

Over the years I’ve been using a number of different drum plugins in my DAW, all of them based around a collection of midi files and I was never really pleased with any of them. Most importantly, they never surprised me like a real drummer would (for good or bad).

A few years back I discovered Jamstix (www. rayzoon.com) that take a completely different approach.  Jamstix is a “simulation” of a drummer, instead of using midi files it has a number of style i.e. 8th Rock, 16th Rock etc and number of drummer models. Each model emulates typical features of that particular drummer. So you select a style and a drummer and voila, Jamstix will generate the drums! Don’t like it? Regenerate all of it or just some parts.

There is a number of drummer independent parameter to play with like “pocket” i.e. if the drummer is pushing slightly ahead or slightly behind (layback). The different drummers also have additional unique parameters. In many ways, Jamstix actually behave like a real drummer so if you lower the velocity he will eventually switch from snare to side stick or if you increase the velocity he will switch from hihat to ride. There is also “limb control” which will prevent you from programming beats (yes you can do that as well) that would require four arms. There is also transition logic that will prevent beats where the transition time from e.g. hihat to a crash that would simply be too short for a human to handle. Jamstix is even smart enough to take into account the placement of the pieces within the kit so if you rearrange the pieces something that was not playable before can suddenly work and vice versa.

All this (and much more I have not covered) gives you a drummer just about as unpredictable as the real thing. Sometimes he will drive you crazy when you simply cannot make him play what you would want him to. Other times he will surprise you with wonderful stuff you could never have imagine. The included drum kits are really good but are pretty “raw” so they will require more work in the mix to get a polished result (if that is what you are after) compared to e.g. EZDrummer where the drum sound are more “mix ready” from the start. The price is very also reasonable and the support is top notch. However, the learning curve is pretty steep and the interface somewhat cluttered and not that intuitive so if you download the demo you will probably be a bit disappointed at first before you start to get the hang of it.

Sorry for a long post but hopefully some of you will find it useful.
So, who is next? What is Your secret weapon?

[Neil C]

Its a stereo plug-in. Great for acoustic guitars and backing vocals and its FREE

http://www.vescofx.com/vfxFreeHaas

 
Neil

[Gallowglass]

I curious to hear about your “secret weapon” i.e. a tool or technique that have had (or still have) a major impact on your songwriting, recordings, productions or whatever. Let’s try to keep the principle one post – one secret weapon

Anger.

Learn to channel it effectively (i.e. focus while angry) and it's great fuel. It doesn't even need to produce angry songs: it's just that being in touch with raw emotions, uninhibited, and uncritical of yourself allows you to work to the max.

[PopTodd]

I write on guitar.
My "secret weapon" as far as songwriting goes, is the ability to look as the fingerboard as a grid. I see where the notes are in each chord, and I can see where those notes overlap, and use those connections to move my chord changes along. Also helps me to create new chord shapes, for more interesting flavors.

[GTB]

Hey PopTodd I've just been using that technique to find the best vocal melody that fits over some chord progressions. I have an invisible 'red zone' where I know my voice doesn't reach.
My secret weapon? Occasionally, to get out of a rut I will leave the music room and just hum my ideas into my phone until my brain thinks I've resolved the problem. Then back to the guitar to work out how to play it.

[tone]

My secret weapon ain't a secret, it's this forum! Without the amazing ears and feedback of the members here, I'd still be dribbling into a mono mic input with a sea of reverb all over it.

[arteg]

My secret weapon is to wait for a melody. Then it comes upon me and I use it for a song no matter how bad or how good it is. I believe that we must use what we have and then we will be given much more.
It is not just a theory, it works for me.

[Neil C]

In terms of writing i often swap between guitar and piano and vice versa to get different ideas around chords and keys, the different instruments sometimes naturally take me to different melodies and chords and indeed styles. Its quiet a neat way to try things out and move songs forward.
 
neil

[jamieF]

My secret weapons? My life (it's a strange but well lived one) and my pencil.

[Wicked Deeds]

Surely, everyone's secret weapon is their life experiences which are drawn upon to convey emotion in everything they write. Musical skill gained through practice and dedication, combined with  the ability to communicate the true depth of our feelings

Paul

[Mystic Dreamer]

I wish I had a secret weapon.

I have great difficulty in making recordings of multiple tracks (all recorded live by me) that sound really tight in terms of groove and pocket.  I've considered possible latency problems with the recording software.  And I looked into that.  I now have my DAW set up with absolute perfect latency.   And I check it often.  So the I can't blame the recording software for things being out of alignment.

It's got to be me.   In fact, right now I'm trying to lay down 4 tracks.  Rhythm guitar, lead guitar, vocals, and bongos.   In fact, I was hoping to post the result in the Finished Songs forum.  But thus far I haven't been able to create a recording I'm happy with.   It always sounds to me like four different musicians playing their own thing.  It's doesn't seem to want to gel together into a really nice music groove.

I'm never happy with multiple track recordings.  And like I say, it not a DAW latency issue.  I've checked that, and double and triple checked it.  The latency is right on the money.  I check it by creating a click track in the software, then playing that click out the speakers into a microphone and back into the DAW.  Then adjust the latency so these clicks are perfectly aligned.  And I have that set to perfection.  You can't here any difference between the generated click and the recorded click.   They are audible and visually precisely on top of each other.   So the DAW is recording in perfect time.

It's got to be ME!  Ouch!

I don't have a timing problem when I play live with other people.  But for some reason I can't seem to get in the pocket when I'm playing with myself.   Maybe I should just quit playing with myself and that will solve all my problems. 

Maybe that's the secret.

[Wicked Deeds]

Ah Mystic Dreamer, I feel your pain jumping off the page. I must listen to some of your recordings - maybe discover what it is that irks you so. Might this be a panning issue? Each instrument needs it's own space. Each part has to compliment the rest to allow everything to fit together. Mostly, you must have fun recording regardless of the outcome!

Paul

[montydog]

I guess my secret weapon is having been listening to music since I was first aware - around 45 years ago. All those songwriters, singers, melodies, lyrics and instrumentations have been subconsciously absorbed and been there to call on for ideas. Only started playing guitar & writing 3 years ago so I have to keep it simple - which is a good thing - and I haven't exhausted my sources yet!

M

[Boydie]

I don't have a timing problem when I play live with other people.  But for some reason I can't seem to get in the pocket when I'm playing with myself.

Have you tried laying down an audio drum loop first and then playing to this

This will have a much more natural "groove" to it and will be more like playing with a drummer (but without the dribble  )

Once you have your guitars, vocals and bongos recorded you can remove the original drum groove but everything else will retain the "feel"

It also important to get your monitoring right to get the right "feel" recorded

Some of my best takes often come when I forget to enable monitoring for the track I am recording

[tone]

Some of my best takes often come when I forget to enable monitoring for the track I am recording

+1

In general, I find the less monitoring the better. Hearing something back through headphones while you're playing/ singing is a real concentration/ feel killer for me. If I'm recording anything that doesn't require a mic, I always just use my speakers instead - I wish I could record vocals this way!