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25 minutes of seeing what happens……

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I bought a USB-C lead for a second hand Shure MV5 microphone I bought off eBay. The microphone cost about the price of a veggie pie and bag of chips. So basically…..nice price. The guy selling it only sent a standard USB lead which wasn’t great for the new Apple Mac system. The new lead bought cost nearly as much as the microphone. Both the microphone and lead price wise together were an absolute bargain though. Plugging the mic in a couple of days ago sounded thin and heartless. Maybe my settings problem. Who knows!

Receiving the USB-C lead this morning, it was plugged into the GarageBand system. I selected an audio drum track and tapped, onto the little square pads on the keyboard, a simple 2 part bass drum, side drum and finger snapping type percussion pattern of few beats onto two tracks. Third track I chose a keyboard piano chord of mood nature and held down some piano chords of who knows what! Then picked up the acoustic and strummed C and F followed by a simple plucked riff into the guitar mode of the MV5. Mistakes didn’t matter. It was a quick first time committed learning exercise.

Took a 30 minute period of one after the other 40 seconds track recording and an inherent mindset of ‘see what happens’. I checked volume overload levels with each stage. This was a fairly basic experiment.

What was surprising is that a tune never existed at all. It was a strange experience of ‘that’ll do’. After playing it back, it was important to see if it transferred by email on a base level. Pressing the share possibility it offered which level to send it by. I chose ‘low’. Base basically and sent it to myself. Listening back was nice. ‘Eureka’ came to mind. The playing is as basic as it comes. But it was that tiny little first step into the unknown.

Little bit of nonsense.

graysummerstwo.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/number-1-18052024-17.24.m4a 

26 thoughts on “25 minutes of seeing what happens……”

    1. Thank you cookie. My grandson was with me for a few days, so I let him play on the Mac keyboard set up. He was loving it. Today, now on my own, I thought I would have a try myself to record something. To mainly see if the MV5 mic was okay for future use. It is fairly easy to add a fair few tracks on GarageBand and choose what to include. The list of possibilities is mind blowing though. I used audio choice to play the bits myself. I just thought ‘that bass drum tap onto the pads’ sounds beefy nice, that moog sound is a bit ‘Yay’, etc. and just shoved a C to F chord twinkle down on top, using the mic, quickly. I used the Guild acoustic to play the chords and then finally added that little bass sounding riff on the Guild too. The aim cookie was to check if I could send it somehow. Especially to my brother by Facebook Messenger. Hey presto…..it worked. So now I have to focus on doing it all properly. Little by little is nicely comforting. Cheers cookie.

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    1. He hasn’t heard it Shep. I was sitting over Monday and Wednesday trying to keep him away from boredom. Kids get so very easily bored nowadays. He brought his gaming ‘thing’ to play on. Nope! So activities were panic organised. He helped me wash the VeeDub, chop vegetables, do a bit of cooking, watched a bit of Disney + Mickey Mouse, build a cardboard cut out of an Old Ford vehicle, etc. What he really enjoyed though was the new Mac music system. Maaaan! The sounds he produced were very, very ‘out there’.

      So today. It was nice to be on my own and turn on the Mac and finally check out a couple of experiments. This little ditty kind of makes me feel that it is going to be okay. Basic, naive, but it seems to work. The learning is going to be a massive future undertaking to get it sounding professional. But it’s good to share each naive step, one at a time, on the blog. Cheers Shep.

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    1. It was a bit of make it up as you go. Over about 30 minutes. Five separate track recordings of such simplicity to layer. Basically, get something simple and short down over about a minute’s length musically to find little bits that either work or fail. Like trying out a fountain pen to see if you like the way it writes. Instead of filling up the pen for long term use, simply dip the nib into a bottle of ink and test it out. If it works and you can see potential, then carry on properly. Cheers for your support as ever Destiny. Much appreciated.

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      2. When I start playing any musical instrument, I can’t avoid trying out writing a tiny off the cuff melody Destiny. Like if you yourself picked up a pen to test it out…..I bet you write a little line of poetry. 😊 All the best. 🙏🏽

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    1. I picked the mic up for about £15 off eBay. A bargain really. The guy selling it only had the standard USB lead though. Hence, used in the Mac it didn’t have real depth. But that may have been my poor abilities in using settings properly. I bought a thunderbolt compatible USB-C lead and it worked miles better. The mic was designed ‘retro’ Sheila.

      That clip is a 40 second muck about to get used to what I had to do to send anything by Airdrop or email. Email worked, but I sent the lowest quality possible. Not a huge file! They take ages at times. And the receiving source has to be able to handle it too.

      The Apple system has huge possibilities and I haven’t even begun to scratch the surface.
      Cheers for your thoughts Sheila.

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      1. Ah, the new lead… yes, that makes sense (that it improved the sound quality).
        The clip was interesting. Yes, I hear what you mean. Testing the output/mail/receive situation is best before you get a whole song and the struggle to move it from point A to point B. File extension and size always factoring in. Good deal, Gray!

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      2. I watched a YouTube video on saving files. And you definitely have to do it on each session in case you lose them. I lost a couple of half way through essays once in nurse training. So have always been spooked with ‘save’. Also, I had one of those external stick things to save on for back up. Ended up saving to that and forgetting to save to the laptop too. Absolutely useless with technology and feel very wary of it at times. That little ditty? Been singing rubbish over it today. What you can do though with layering your voice for harmony’s. I’ve just been in the attic/loft and found another 2 electric guitars too. So may try out those over the coming weeks. Experimenting is key at present. Looking at July for some proper stuff! Cheers Sheila.

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      3. Excellent! You’re already having a great day, finding two guitars upstairs and singing/experimenting with layers over that track!
        Falling asleep last night I came up with a new 6 note riff. I wrote it down and ran it several times in my mind but now to get it back and communicate it to Richard to see if he can figure out which notes. Ha!

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      5. I didn’t want to wake Richard by singing or anything last night. I surprised myself by writing it down and remembering how to write whole/half notes at least though. Ha! I definitely know what you mean about losing it, as in singing it though. Thank you, Gray.

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      6. Same here with disturbing the late night peace. 😊 It’s good you remember your notes. I can’t do that at all. Just been watching a YouTube guy on how to do vocals and layer harmonies into GarageBand. Also, play guitar directly into the Mac computer with an interface. It’s the cost of this stuff though! Decent condenser mics and top quality guitar/vocal interfaces. You could easily get carried away and then only afford to eat tins of baked beans for the rest of your life! 😳 Cheers Sheila.

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    1. My wife Angie loved Pink Floyd back in the 1970s. We have two vinyl albums. Be good to hear them again.

      Technical aspects? I am struggling though Danny. I wish I had your technical mind! The crisp clarity? That’s good to hear. One of the sound aspects that I have read about is what people are actually hearing the sound on. And getting an overall master that levels out on many systems. Way back in the past, there was always the consideration of ‘Will it sound okay on the radio?’. I know you love technical considerations Danny. I found the stuff I have read in considerations of final sound really interesting.

      Bands in my day wanted the song’s mix and Master copy of a ‘master tape’ to be perfect for radio play and vinyl. Nowadays? It has grown into CD, MP3, general computer systems, and of course this type of technical recording on Apple Macs, etc. Also vinyl with it making a comeback has been considered again. It is like a painter. His colour in his presented art will look different on all those billions of individual screens and their settings out there!

      Creating radio-quality and professionally ‘sounding’ the music involves a combination of factors including how you record, mix and master. Here are some key elements to consider. Equipment like mics for crispness and clarity. Mixing is balance of individual instrumental and vocal tracks involving EQ , reverb, delay, etc. Mastering the sound with enhancement of overall sound to work with all the different playback systems we use. And getting your guitar and vocals in tune!

      I remember our single being played on the radio back in the early 1980s. There was a panel of presenters on Radio 1 who listened to new releases and critiqued. One said our saxophonist was out of tune! He wasn’t, but that may well have been the listener’s aural perception. Frequency pick up can be very weird for individual perceptions.

      Long answer Danny. But I have a feeling it’ll spark your interest in how these things work. Hope your vinyl playing has become a chilled affair. The difference between hearing through headphones or speakers though……. 😉. Cheers and all the best. Thanks for your comment as always.

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      1. Not long at all. You are exactly right. I believe it was Aerosmith that would finish an LP, transfer it to a cassette and play it on a portable 2-speaker cassette player. The idea being it needed to sound good THERE as that was the medium the majority of their listeners would use to consume their music. They did not get a lot of radio time.

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      2. I’m currently checking vocal captures which involves how to get the richer tones and atmosphere which microphones have to be of really good quality. Then getting correct dB levels that are great alongside certain types of voices. Live mics are different from condenser mics and of course it’s all about computer connective systems too. XLR are different from the new ports too. That’s interesting about Aerosmith. And thanks for that info. It confirms professional considerations for the public in getting the best listening outcomes.

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      4. I know my vocal sound captured at times over the past few years has had ups and downs. So would love to find a constant ‘go to’ to get a sound here on the M2 system. As you say, I have to be happy with it. Time of day changes vocal cord resonance too. Cheers Danny.

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