I do that all of the time and it is frustrating!
Short of recording every time I play, I have no easy answer.
Yesterday after work I got around to jamming on the LP for awhile. Just destressing from work.
Anyhow, after playing a few covers, I fell into this really cool riff that I know I'll never remember again.
This has happened many times to me on both guitar and bass. I have a cool idea going and ... then as soon as I unplug, it's gone!
I think it would be cool if someone developed an amp with a built-in digital recorder that would turn on everytime with the amp and save everything to some massive storage device. I'd go for that!
Granted, most of what I spew out is crud, sometimes I hit on a gem worth keeping.
I do that all of the time and it is frustrating!
Short of recording every time I play, I have no easy answer.
Guitars: 2008 Gibson SG Classic, 2006 Gibson Les Paul Standard LE, 2002 Gibson SG Supreme, 2001 Gibson Les Paul Studio Plus, 1996 Les Paul Studio Gem, American Deluxe Double Fat Strat, Bluesville "Super" Strat Copy, MIK Fender "Limited Edition" Tele, JD Bluesville "Night Pilot", Yamaha AES 820, Steinberger Spirit GT Pro, Taylor 355CE, Ovation 1897 Adamas, Ovation CC057 Celebrity
Amps: Axe FX centered rack rig, Mesa 4x12 cab. Germino Club 40, Johnson JM150 Millennium, Johnson JM250 Millennium, Gibson Titan Medalist Frankenstein.
Effects: Tonebone Trimode, EH Holy Grail, Boss CH-1, Dunlop Crybaby Classic, Framptone Amp Switcher, THD Hot Plate, Yamaha AG Stomp Acoustic Processor, Boss BCB-60 Pedal Board.
Get a Digitech Jam Man or Line 6 JM4. Easy capture and easy transfer. Well worth the price.Originally Posted by NWBasser
"No Tele For you." - The Tele Nazi
Ha! Tele-ish now inbound.
Get used to it, Jason. This is what happens once you reach the forty-something mark. I'm lucky if I can remember to draw breath on a regular basis.
Try humming it after you play it, until you can hum into some kind of recording device, like your old reel-to-reel.
Welcome to your midlife. Enjoy the ride.
-Sean
Guitars: Lots.
Amphs: More than last year.
Pedals: Many, although I go straight from guitar to amp more often lately.
I record everything on my laptop using audacity. the quality sucks because I don't have any sort of port (line 6, M-audio) but whenever I come up with something cool, that's where I put it until I get a chance to come back to it and write a song around it.
This same thing happened to me over Christmas. I brought my acoustic up to Boston while visiting my relatives and came up with something decent sounding. Now, while I remember the progression, I have no clue what it sounded like and can't recreate it.
I guess I'm not offering solutions as much as I am commiserating. Maybe we should both bring some portable recording with us wherever we go.
Guitars: Gibson LP Studio, MIA Fender Precision, Carvin C350Originally Posted by Spudman
Amps: Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0 + Avatar B212 / Genzler 12-3, Acoustic B20
Pedals: Pod HD500X, Diamond Compressor, Tech 21 VT Bass, Sonic Research Turbo Tuner
I don't think I've ever played anything worth saving.
I actually have Korg D4 Digital multi-track recorder. I'm just too lazy to set it up to record when I'm noodling around.
It's not the easiest device to edit things with and I'm thinking some sort of simple computer program might be a good idea.
Also, when I do set up for recording it seems I can't play anything decent.
The mic is on and I feel I have to do something good rather than just relaxing and letting the music come out.
I'm thinking about buying one of those Zoom portable recorders. They're not huge money, and they record decently - I'm not looking at production values recording a practice session.
Just turn it on and go, upload the recording to your machine when you're done.
Guitars: 2008 Gibson SG Classic, 2006 Gibson Les Paul Standard LE, 2002 Gibson SG Supreme, 2001 Gibson Les Paul Studio Plus, 1996 Les Paul Studio Gem, American Deluxe Double Fat Strat, Bluesville "Super" Strat Copy, MIK Fender "Limited Edition" Tele, JD Bluesville "Night Pilot", Yamaha AES 820, Steinberger Spirit GT Pro, Taylor 355CE, Ovation 1897 Adamas, Ovation CC057 Celebrity
Amps: Axe FX centered rack rig, Mesa 4x12 cab. Germino Club 40, Johnson JM150 Millennium, Johnson JM250 Millennium, Gibson Titan Medalist Frankenstein.
Effects: Tonebone Trimode, EH Holy Grail, Boss CH-1, Dunlop Crybaby Classic, Framptone Amp Switcher, THD Hot Plate, Yamaha AG Stomp Acoustic Processor, Boss BCB-60 Pedal Board.
Ditto. Maybe someday...Originally Posted by Commodore 64
-Sean
Guitars: Lots.
Amphs: More than last year.
Pedals: Many, although I go straight from guitar to amp more often lately.
Here's an interesting (+ pretty cheap) solution - Blue microphones' [make the best mics ever, IMHO] "Mikey". It plugs into your iPod and turns it into a recorder. Here's a link.
Small enough to keep in your pocket, you probably have an iPod anyway, and you can record whatever/whenever. It's a shame to lose those grooves. They run through my head constantly (sometimes like a herd of....)
"Always go heavy on the effects and try to blind the audience with expensive gear." - hubberjub
I mean, no offense, but I don't really see why, like guitar players from Creed, or something like that, are on the cover of guitar magazines. Almost anybody can sit down and learn to play those songs.
Dweezil Zappa
Have you considered one of these?
http://line6.com/backtrack/
Haven't tried one myself, seems like a good idea though.
http://soundcloud.com/tarasque
Guitars: Encore Strat, No-Name Les Paul copy, Cort Acoustic, Vintage VRS100AW, Schecter Tempest Custom, Cort VX-4V, Dean Inferno V.
Amphs: Ashdown Fallen Angel FA 60 DSP, Harley-Benton GA5.
Pedals: Zoom G2.1U, Digitech Screamin' Blues, Electro-Harmonix Stereo Electric Mistress, Dunlop Crybaby 535Q Wah.
Second that. I do not own one, but have the heard solo acoustic stuff and electric bands recorded. Very impressive results.Originally Posted by Plank_Spanker
"The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic
hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs.
There's also a negative side."
--Hunter S. Thompson
Guitars: Dean Sweet Wood 00R, Martin D2R, Guild D60, Guild D35NT, Morgan Monroe M30, OS baritone Uke
My recommendation is the Olympus LS-10. Extremely portable with excellent mics. Just switch it on before your practice. If nothing worth keeping comes out of the session, just delete. Just checked the price at Amazon and was amazed to find it for almost half the price I paid for it when it first came out.
http://www.amazon.com/Olympus-LS-10-.../dp/B0012754UG
It's an exceptional field recorder, great for live events too. Zoom is good but this is really special gear.
Originally Posted by Plank_Spanker
BingO! These seem like a great solution.
"No Tele For you." - The Tele Nazi
Ha! Tele-ish now inbound.
When I jammed I don't remember what I did or how but I didn't worry about it. I'm not trying to make songs but I did have a few that I worked on and memorized. I meant my guitar playing to be spontaneous and hit "wrong" notes that carried well but soon to be forgotten.
I guess that's what keeps the guitar from being boring. 20 minute solos anyone?
_____
GUITARS - Carvin DC127M - Carvin Bolt kit
AMPS - Bogner Alchemist 112 - Blackheart Handsome Devil half stack
FXs - Roger Linn Adrenalinn III - Boss GT-10
_____
They now have one that does video, too.Originally Posted by Spudman
Guitars
Wilburn Versatare, '52 FrankenTele(Fender licensed parts), Fender USA Roadhouse Strat, Fender USA Standard B-bender Telecaster, Agile AL 3000 w/ WCR pickups, Ibanez MIJ V300 Acoustic, Squier Precision Bass,
Amps
Ceriatone Overtone Special, Musicman 212 Sixty-Five, Fender Blues Jr., Peavey Classic 30, Fender Super Reverb, Traynor YCV-40 WR Anniversary w/ matching 1x12 ext. cab, Epiphone SoCal 50w head w/ matching 4x12 cab (Lady Luck speakers), Avatar 2x12 semi-open back cab w/ Celestion speakers
Pedals
Digitech Bad Monkey, Digitech Jamman, DVM's ZYS, Goodrich volume pedal
This seems like a great solution. I've heard very good things about the Zoom and if this is better at a competetive price, then it may be just the ticket.Originally Posted by syo
Thanks much!
Honestly, I tried the Zoom H4 which was almost half the price of the Olympus at the time. It was quite good but still I opted for the Olympus for it's portability, ease of use and what turned out to be superior mics. Really that price is a steal. The Zoom does have XLR connection with phantom power which is a plus but doesn't seem too relevant for what you want to do which is to easily capture ideas.Originally Posted by NWBasser
Either way though, you'll be good. Good luck!