e-collaboration on recording projects

Eddie's motivation thread got me to thinking about this: For a year or two now, a few buddies and i have been swapping tracks via email — mostly just for fun. it's pretty cool to say, "man, i need a steel/bass/harmony vocal on this track" and get one back in a couple of days you can fly right into your song file.

a lot of big names have been doing this for years and years (i got the idea from the Hellecasters), and it really takes the pain out of finding session players! i love getting a track via email saying "lay me down some lead guitar" — it pulls me out of my own little world and into approaches i might not have thought of on my own.

do any of you guys engage in similar shenanigans?

No - but I've been thinking about this more and more. Mainly because, I find I do my best recording work when I can work by myself and at my own pace.

Of course the main problem is usually DAW or software platform compatibility. Everyone out there seems to use Pro Tools and I just have never been able to get myself to go down that road. Obviously there's ways around it.....but...

Anyway - I do think this is one of the biggest benefits of modern recording and technology and would like to do more work along these lines.

I've done a whole bunch of them, it's a blast! In fact, I was up late last night working on one.

Platform differences aren't a big problem if everyone uses .wav files. We usually have a common click track, and put four or eight clicks on the front of each track, so they can be lined up easily.

One cool thing I've found is that you can transfer fairly large .wav files pretty quickly via Skype...

Tim

That's how I did the tracks on my page.....except for a couple that still have digital drums on them.

While I have not done it via email, I was given some tracks via a USB jump drive the other day. It's fantastic to be able to work on your own time.

A friend of mine emails tracks back and forth all the time. He collaborates with Eric Johnson and Phil Keaggy, who don't live in the same state, so he emails them the tracks so they can do their thing. They send back their parts and BAM! He has a completed track.

It's a great way to go, since everyone and their uncle has a home studio these days.

Platform differences aren't a big problem if everyone uses .wav files.

yep, or .aif among Mac folks. i started out doing this stuff among a little circle of GarageBand newbies much like myself ... they'd send me an MP3, i'd put my track(s) on, delete the tune file and send back my part only as an MP4. when i graduated to actual production work for other artists' albums, i'd use the same process in ProTools, export as a .wav and upload it to Mediafire, where they could download it. i wish to god this process had existed when i was young, lean and hungry!!! :mrgreen:

Yeah, we use .wav files because everyone can use or convert them...

Tim

The guys in my band aren't very good with the technology. I've been pushing my bassist to buy a cheap recording interface, simply for the purposes of building tunes. Still hasn't done it.

Tim, I agree that .WAV is the easiest way to go. I develop websites and any files that I do transfer I would post in a directory so that they can be pulled down without clogging email.

If anyone is interested, I'm definitely open to collaboration. I can also track drums, sing and play bass if needed.

PM me if int.

Thx,
Joe

I've been doing this with the band I used to play with -- I now live across the country, but still participate in the band's recording process. Using different DAW software hasn't been a big deal for us, because both platforms can handle mp3s or wavs easily.

As other posters have noted, exchanging audio files via email can get a bit unwieldly (file size), so we've been using a simple FTP exchange setup -- they record several tracks on their end, convert to mp3, and store them individually on the file server. At my convenience, I go in and download tracks, dump them into my DAW, mix away, add accompanying tracks, and reverse the process. Pretty smooth, as long as there's some click pattern at the start of all tracks to help with manual syncing of tracks.

While I greatly miss the direct exchange/feedback of hashing out a tune in person during rehearsals, there's also something nice about distance collaboration -- built-in reflection time, I suppose.

- Jay

something nice about distance collaboration -- built-in reflection time, I suppose.


there's that, plus being able to pick your time and procedure in peace! :cool:

Woody I do this a lot !, the producer I work for most lives in London and I just don't want the hassle, expense or anything else to do with driving down there and feeding a parking meter all day so we do it via eMail or more usually CD.
He emails me the backings, usually with a guide vocal and i'll record what he want's (or what I think he wants !) and send him a CD back full of takes that he picks and chooses, yes, it has gone wrong once or twice but he can usually tell me pretty specifically what he wants.
It's a neat way of working, sometimes you miss the interaction other times it's nice to be on your own to concentrate .............. and no worries about anyone seeing my 'guitar face' !! :wink:

So woodman, whatcha got ?

Yeah, are we gonna do something here?

Who's a decent drummer?

Yeah, are we gonna do something here?

Who's a decent drummer?

Joe said he could cover the drums up above a few posts!

I can play bass, or perhaps a little electric 12-string...

Tim

So maybe drums, bass, acoustic, electric 12-string, some guitar, someone to mix and someone to master. Piano, steel, fiddle, dobro, banjo.........accordian?

I've been dabbling and found a couple of useful sites.

http://www.esession.com/?Menu=SignupHome for musicians, producers etc.

and Dropbox for large file exchanges.

So maybe drums, bass, acoustic, electric 12-string, some guitar, someone to mix and someone to master. Piano, steel, fiddle, dobro, banjo.........accordian?

I reckon we also need a song!

:mrgreen:

Tim

Now you're just draggin' yer feet. Song, schmong. We don't need no steenking song. If you don't believe me, turn on the radio......