Riffs

[Dr. Skeeter]

I just got a little high and made, by far, the best riffs i've ever created. Question is: Is this a good thing seeing as I have nothing to record and might now remember? Is the vibe ever the same afterwards if you do? AND what's a good way to record bass? I can't use my cell phone because it doesn't record the low frequency very well and you can barely hear it. WHAT DO?

Will post tommorow fucking pissed if I forget/don't have the vibe.

[chille01]

If you can't record it, just play it a million times in a row until its burned in your brain.  Since you're high, it should be fun anyway.

[Dr. Skeeter]

I did. It was, but ya never know. It's really a question of if it's the marijuana making the vibe or the riff. I just want to know from people who are more experienced in the matter to tell me what it usually is for them, even though I know it won't answer the question of if my riff is good or not.

[chille01]

Sometimes you get high and think a riff is awesome, when maybe it ain't.  But sometimes it is.  So... it depends?

[liquidsmoke]

Some of the riffs I write while stoned don't sound as good the next day whilst sober but some are pretty awesome.

I use a small mid-'80s one speaker cassette 'boom box' to record riffs, it's the same one I used to record my friends and I making weird silly voice sounds on when I was a little kid. I wish I still had those tapes. I have also used a small hand held cassette recorder for recording riffs. These units are far from hi-fi but as long as I can make out the notes I'm good.

Talk the plunge, get a cheap cassette recorder. In a matter of months you might find that you've filled up a whole tape. I have at least 3 or 4 hours of riffs on tapes from the past 6 or 7 years. I do have a little Tascam digital recorder but I use that for band practice.

[Isabellacat]

I remember the best riffs I ever made was when I tripped on acid really hard back in '99. To this day I regret not recording them.

[Dr. Skeeter]

I still remember it. Yeah, I was thinking about getting some cheap tascam. Should be pretty simple.

[clockwork green]

You gotta find a way. I always forget riffs no matter how many times I play them over just like I always forget people's names and yet I have nearly all of Fletch memorized. I use the "memo" button on my phone to record riffs and I now have hundreds of them which I'll scan through when I need one to complete a song or get one started.

[Pundan]

If you guys have smartphones look for an app that can record sound. I use that to record stuff at home. I also have a Tascam recorder that I use from time to time, but the Tascam isn't something you carry with yourself at all times.

[yesca]

getting stoned is like a pregame ritual before me and my bassist jam. i've recorded riffs to my phone or a camera just for memories sake to play it again later and a lot of times the riff is good. a good riff is good if your stoned or not. being stoned only makes everything feel/sound better to ya.

[giantchris]

Start downloading Audacity or Reaper.  Drive to your nearest Radioshack.  Buy a 1/4 to 1/8 adapter for 3-5$.  Drive back home.  Install said program.  Plugin/record.  Probably take all of 25 minutes depending on where you are in relation to a Radioshack or like store.

[Ranbat]

The best thing you can do is buy one of those Zoom or Tascam digital recorders. If cash is tight, go to Radio Shack and pick up a desktop tape recorder for like $30 and some blank tape. Having something with a built in mic is the best idea for saving a riff. You can go all Audacity/digital recording/4-track after you've at least gotten the riff recorded.

[VOLVO)))]

No shit, I'm all over one of those zoom recorders with the mic inputs.

[cat shepard]

I just got a little high and made, by far, the best riffs i've ever created. Question is: Is this a good thing seeing as I have nothing to record and might now remember? Is the vibe ever the same afterwards if you do? AND what's a good way to record bass? I can't use my cell phone because it doesn't record the low frequency very well and you can barely hear it. WHAT DO?

Will post tommorow fucking pissed if I forget/don't have the vibe.

Its a good thing man. The vibe can be the same but no guarantees, vibes are molecules and if they get shifted then it wont be the same, but if you know what created the vibe you can re-create if it's heavy enough. If you must record the bass with your phone then you have to roll the low end out of the bass until it's to a point that the phone can capture it, even if it sounds like shit you will have the moment captured and can ponder over it yourself infinitely.
If you don't have the vibe and or forget, it's no big deal man, I do it all the time and though it sucks to lose riffs and vibes and moments and memories, it's always cool to move on and make new ones and not be so obsessive, and lifes experiences become riff fuel, and vibe nutrients.

[Worthless Willie]

I use my iphone, and an app called gigbaby.

Works real good.

[eyeprod]

my smart phone is a dream come true for capturing ideas. there are several recording apps to choose from. the quality is decent for what it is. it even has a tuner. I could see one of those ipads being awesome for recording.

[BrianDamage]

I have an MBox fast track usb interface that I picked up at a pawn shop to get ideas down. I plug my guitar into the interface and use amp sims when writing so when I get something good I just hit record on reaper. Which is my favorite recording software and it stays the full version even after 30 days so if you can't afford to buy it you can still use it until you come up with the scratch to pay them for it.

[jibberish]

I have an MBox fast track usb interface that I picked up at a pawn shop to get ideas down. I plug my guitar into the interface and use amp sims when writing so when I get something good I just hit record on reaper. Which is my favorite recording software and it stays the full version even after 30 days so if you can't afford to buy it you can still use it until you come up with the scratch to pay them for it.

reaper records 24bit wavefiles.   get wavosaur or another free 24bit wave editor for wavefile editing.
audacity cant do 24bit files.

i have a little behringer mixer that i just go into a line in on my soundcard and record ideas with audacity, then quick export them to mp3's.  audacity has a level meter which is essential to NOT crap out the digital levels. they crap out harsh and will wreck a song.

[khoomeizhi]

i have lots of little pieces of paper that have my personal shithead shorthand tablature for whatever i didn't want to lose. the ones that hold up after forgetting about them a while, where the vibe is still right, get transcribed into a little book. i should probably put it all in the book to start with, but it's not always there.

[BrianDamage]

reaper records 24bit wavefiles.   get wavosaur or another free 24bit wave editor for wavefile editing.
audacity cant do 24bit files.

Why? Reaper edits wav files just fine.

[Volume]

Start downloading Audacity or Reaper.  Drive to your nearest Radioshack.  Buy a 1/4 to 1/8 adapter for 3-5$.  Drive back home.  Install said program.  Plugin/record.  Probably take all of 25 minutes depending on where you are in relation to a Radioshack or like store.

^^This! If you're on a PC.

I have a Mac, so I use Garageband. It's really easy to use and great for making demos.

[jibberish]

reaper records 24bit wavefiles.   get wavosaur or another free 24bit wave editor for wavefile editing.
audacity cant do 24bit files.

Why? Reaper edits wav files just fine.

ahh, i have an older version that doesnt yell at you too much in the beginning and i never go online to get upgraded. sounds like they added the wave editor in a later version because mine needs an auxialliary editor.