Recording Quick Ideas??

[GrooveWarrior]

What do you guys use to quickly record and get ideas down when you are noodling? Not necessarily a full-on recording setup, but what do you do to just get something captured quickly when you stumble upon a good lick.

 

[Roland GR 88]

I use a Tascam DP-32 as a mixer that also records. There are smaller and cheaper options with fewer tracks and features but I needed 8 inputs as I run keys and everything else through it too.
Zoom’s Live Trak 8 and 12 are worth a look especially used as they sold a ton of them and people are replacing them with the 20 track version.
Good luck. I’m sure lots of suggestions will follow.

 

[DirtDog]

I'm almost always plugged into my interface while playing at home, so I'll record noodling in a DAW, usually Logic, when the mood strikes.

Otherwise, if I was playing through an amp and wanted to capture a quick idea, I'd probably use my iPhone.

I do have a couple of handheld recorders (one Zoom, one Tascam) that work well for when I'm prepared and set up, but work less well when doing something on the fly >>> Ooops, batteries dead...SD card full....now where is my microSD adapter - or - where is that mini-USB cable? iPhone, two or three key presses and I'm recording.

 

[Tosh]

iPad running Dolby On. I like this app because it will "master" your recording for you, and the results are pretty good. Good enough that if your idea was a keeper, you'd have no trouble hearing it well enough in playback that you could either: a) use that take as it is, or b) go back and do it again with your regular DAW.

 

[SidNitzerglobin]

Picked up a Zoom H5 several years ago & it's been great for this kind of stuff IMO. If positioned well it works pretty good by itself for recording practice/jams w/ a 3 piece as well w/ the stereo mic holding down drums/room & a mic or DI for guitar & bass.

 

[BaileyMan]

I too often noodle / practice plugged into my interface with a DAW open. I've also used the voice recorder on my phone.

 

[Wood and Wire]

If it's just a case of capturing an idea, so I don't forget it, I just use the Voice Memo recorder on the iPhone.

 

[JRA]

What do you guys use to quickly record and get ideas down when you are noodling? Not necessarily a full-on recording setup, but what do you do to just get something captured quickly when you stumble upon a good lick.

I'm almost always plugged into my interface while playing at home, so I'll record noodling in a DAW

also, OP: if you really like an idea = play it enough (right then and there!) so that you 'can't' forget it!

 

[C Stone]

Iphone for immediate capture or a longer take.

Boss loop station rc-2 for a quick bass part I stumble across.

Also JRA's suggestion of (play it enough right then and there) is usually enough get it in a file folder in my noggin.

 

[DirtDog]

One more thought: If you’re like me (good memory but very short), capturing an idea with video is also helpful (eg which instrument was I playing, what fingering did I use, etc).

I’ve been doing this with an analog synth I’ve been messing around with as well. Good luck re-creating anything without having a visual reference!

 

[Bassaga]

I'm another phone guy. Just put my camera in selfie mode, prop it against a pillow oriented so I can see the fingering I'm using, record, stop, done. Resume noodling. Review when ideas are needed.

 

[DirkP]

The most convenient piece of gear I own is a Tascam Model 12. Just press record. If it is just about recording ideas, I'd use a phone. Or have an audio-interface permanently connected to an iPad.
For me convenience is the most important part: If I want to record, I just press record. Maybe start an app before.

But every setup that demands to make new cable connections or start a computer or take a mouse into my hands for even a second, fails.
Been through that, trying to convince myself that a piece of gear is still convenient and offers other advantages, but it isn't.

Get your usual setup that allows you to make music in a few seconds after grabbing your bass. Get a recording solution that is an integral part of this setup without any need for additional connections or setups that distract you from making music.

 

[jkazam]

I have a looper on my pedal board with 99 save slots. When I come up with something I like, I save it into a slot.

When I have time I go back and play through the loops. If I still like it I’ll record into a DAW and try turning it into a song.

 

[mexicanyella]

I also use the voice memos function in my iPhone for quick idea capture. I’m amazed the recordings sound as good as they do, really. It helps to position the phone in relation to the sound source to get the room ambience you want.

I also use the iPhone, running the free mobile BandLab multitrack recording app, for more detailed recording, so far either with a $40 iRig 2 interface for DI recording, or the phone mic for actual sounds. At some point I’ll get a mic interface too, but in a mix the phone mic tracks work amazingly well...including ones I’ve imported from voice memos.

 

[31HZ]

What do you guys use to quickly record and get ideas down when you are noodling? Not necessarily a full-on recording setup, but what do you do to just get something captured quickly when you stumble upon a good lick.

I keep a handheld digital voice recorder (Olympus WS-853) on my studio desk ready to go, and I have a Zoom for recording rehearsals that I could also use but has to come out of a gear case. The closest and easiest option always wins.

https://www.amazon.com/Olympus-Voice-Recorder-WS-853-Black/dp/B014658DHQ/ref=asc_df_B014658DHQ/

 

[DWBass]

iRig and iPod Touch or iPad.

 

[Clark W]

What do you guys use to quickly record and get ideas down when you are noodling? Not necessarily a full-on recording setup, but what do you do to just get something captured quickly when you stumble upon a good lick.

My phone.

The audio quality is good enough that I can plug into the computer later and drag the audio file over and listen to it through an Altec Lansing sound system or my Yamaha Studio monitors if I want to explore what I played even further. No need to hook up my Focusrite, or my Zoom LiveTrak L-20, just turn on my GK Combo, plug in a bass, and go to town on whatever I feel like doing at the moment. Then I have it later to go back and recall what I did.

The reason I use my phone actually came about back in December during a recording session. We were taking a break and just jamming when the drummer said "You know, we don't need a studio recording of this, just something we can listen to later so we can work on it some in case we want to do something later down the road with it."

And that's when it hit me, we're all sitting there with our phones, most phones are good enough to capture ideas for later. They're not necessarily ideal for playback through the phone's speaker because of the lack of bass, but bluetooth it in the car, or to a home stereo, or pull the audio file over to the computer which I do anyway, and it's good enough to use to learn from.

And I didn't think about this, but @Bassaga talked about also recording their fingering. So now not only do you have the audio for your ears, but your fingering positions for your eyes to take in.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

What do you guys use to quickly record and get ideas down when you are noodling? Not necessarily a full-on recording setup, but what do you do to just get something captured quickly when you stumble upon a good lick.

Phone. Video. Then I not only hear it, but I can also see what I'm playing.

 

[biguglyman]

One of these. I take it to rehearsal too for quick takes on stuff we're working on:

TASCAM DR-05X Stereo Handheld Recorder

 

[Matty Koff]

i've set my smartphone close to an unplugged bass to successfully record ideas... they sound like crap but greatly help me to remember how I was playing something.