My favourite RW mysteries

[redbaron]

I remember when I first started, I thought RW was the most intuitive recording gear ever - anyone who´d ever owned a 4-track would immediately get the gist. However, I have to admit that now, years later, I have the feeling that maybe it´s not THAT easy. Or maybe I´m too dumb to properly read and understand the manuals? In any case, some RW features still remain deeply mysterious to me. So here´s my list of personal (current and historical) RW mysteries:

1. I still have no idea what this "single shot record" feature does.
2. I haven´t worked out how to record anything to the song layer. This one really bugs me.
3. I don´t know what to do with the "Info" button on a riff layer, other than view a sawtoothed wav line.
4. I haven´t found out how to apply effects not only to riff layers, but to an entire song. Can you do that at all?
5. Until 3 months ago I was quite puzzled what these Rex and ReWire players were about. Not being familiar with other recording software, I anguished that those were two essential RW features that I was completely missing out on.
6. Until I found those samples in the forum, it just didn´t occur to me that one could apply sound effects not only to riff layers, but to the drums, too!

I guess it´s a bit like with one´s office software: You´ve been using Word for years and have found ways to deal with your everyday tasks - when all of a sudden someone comes by, does two clicks and makes it happen with half the effort. Or shows you something that you never thought possible with this program. "Hey! I had no idea you could do THAT with Excel!!"

Anyways, be cordially invited to reply if you have solutions to mysteries 1-4, and also if you´d like to share your RW mysteries

[cwight]

Hi Red. Ok I'll try and do my best:

1. I don't use Songlayers myself because it ties what you record there and then if you decide to move riffs around it creates problems. But if you want to record on the songlayer just click the Button to the left of where it says Songlayers, you will see it go black; just like the riffs do. then just hit record and you are away, you can play a solo over a whole song, or across just one or two riffs without having to worry about the transition from riff to riff. It's particularly useful if you have a very structured solo that might be difficult to piece together over two riffs. What I don't know, however, is how you control the volume of the songlayer or add effects (if indeed you can); which is another reason i don't use it.

2. Single shot. Does what it says on the tin. Select single shot record and although the riff will loop as you play along it will only record one take; the first one.

3. The most important. I can't believe you've not fiddled with this; it's an invaluable tool. Open up the info bar and that sawtooth you see is adjustable. Click and hold your right mouse button and you will see that you can pull the wave up and down. This effectively alters the gain for that layer. So for example let's say you record a solo over say 12 bars and you have three goes at it, creating 3 layers. Let's say you like the first 4 bars of take 1, but you have a bum note bars 4-8. well you can mute bars 4-8 in take 1 and use take 2, or take 3, for these bars. So what you would do here is, pull down the wave in take 1 after bar 4, and pull the wave from bars 1-4 in take 2. this way you can create solos as composites over many takes, just picking out the best bits of your takes. Bit like you actually do it in a recording studio. But be careful on public collabs people can come in a fiddle about and alter the info line settings, so you need to let people know if you have done this. Best advice, go play with it. The info button also the easiest way to do a fade in or out. Basically it just controls the gain of a layer.

4. Well you can apply effects to whole riffs, but if you want to apply effects to a whole song, just mix the whole thing down to a riff, then apply the effects you want to that riff. So for example, you can mix to riff then apply a gentle compression to the whole riff, then cast it.

Hope this helps....

[fooks]

hi guys,
i had the same prob with the song layer. i use that now to either play over or sing over the whole song or what i got so far. i do that to feel what kind of flow i have or can get going. then can go back to the individual riffs and put down something. that layer can be "effected" like any other too.

i never use single shot, lol! ya right, 1 pass, lol.

the info is great, i have found out if i am too hot from another asio i can drag the line down to where the part or note sounds normal. or use it to set the guitar to swell or i use it to pan a lead.

my biggest ah ha! was when i found out i could lead into a riff with another riff! instead of metronome. lol, last month or so.

rewire and rex is beyond me, probably for good. audacity mp3 conversion and quick mix is about it for my outside tweeks.

i love this program, i'm always finding out more about it and using line 6 gear and/or my own, it's way more than i need.

[parr]

I like the subject. Here is my personal RW mistery:

I use song layers a lot for a final solo covering several riffs, for instance.
But I cannot understand the logic behind the transport buttons, specially when one uses song layers.
I'm listening the song, I click the riff and the song goes to the riff. I understand that.
But if I click the song layers it starts the song again. I dont know how to relocate the cursor again in the point of the song i want to edit.
In general, I use the buttons in an intuitive way, but many times they do something unexpected.

anyone can give us a tutorial?

juan

[gatorjj]

To move the cursor, simply drag it to where you want in the songbar. If you have songlayer clicked then you can move to the point where you want to edit in the info layer or even start recording. If you want to pause just click on the cursor in the songbar and it will pause.

I put together a quick video clip showing what I'm trying to explain, I hope it helps!

Click here for Video

[cwight]

Gatorjj, is it possible to alter the level of the songlayer, or add effects to it?

[redbaron]

Man, Colin, that info button is indeed a bummer! In effect, it works like the punch in/punch out on my old Fostex X30, only that I can apply it after I´ve played? But there you go: Whatever I´ve recorded so far, whatever you´ve heard in collabs or my casts, I´ve done without these functions. So no cheating anywhere

Coming to think of it - back with the X30 I used the punch function all the time to smoothen out mistakes. But in RW, most riffs you work with are not longer than 4 or 8 bars, so if you´re not happy with what you´ve played, it´s not so much of a hassle to play the whole thing once more.

This issue, anyway, makes me think of a moment of major disappointment a long time ago. When I was 20 or so, I was pretty devoted to Rush and admired Alex Lifeson for his weird soloing. Then one day I read an interview where Alex was asked how he composed his solos. He, as if it was nothing:

"I sit down in the studio, play 10 or 12 solos, then go home. Overnight, our producer pieces together a good one from fragments of all those layers. The next morning I come back to the studio and learn that assembled solo by heart."

Boy, was I disappointed. From that moment on, Gary Moore remained my sole hero.

[cwight]

Ah Red....Gary probably did the same in the studio........It's called technology. Of course, no doubt you don't' need such a thing..., but us mortals....

[gatorjj]

Gatorjj, is it possible to alter the level of the songlayer, or add effects to it?

Sure can! The Song Riff is a riff that overlays the entire song. You can tweak levels, Riff Gain, add effects and use the info button just like any "regular" riff.

[redbaron]

No. Gary is genuine!

[Wedgebill]

Should that say No Gary is genuine ?

[parr]

Thanks a lot for the video, Gator.
Now I know exactly my problem. When I mix, I would like to switch between the song layer view and the riff view *without* interrupting the song.

For instance, suppose tham i'm in the 12 bar of the song, which corresponds to the 2nd riff, and I'm looking at the song layer view (i.e. effects, info, etc, for the song layers). Now I want to change some effect in the riff. I cannot jump to the riff view without interrupting the song. If I clik on riff number 2, the play mode switches to "playing riff 2". If I want to edit the riff whereas I listen the song I have to restart the song from the riff view and move the cursor rto the 12 bar again.

So, switching between song layer view and riff view without interrupting the song is impossible, isnt it?

juan

[gatorjj]

You can do this Juan! When the song is playing, clicking between the play button on the top (Song) panel and the SongLayers riff will switch you between the view of the current riff and the songlayer.

[freakyricky]

I bought riffworks around January '05. Despite not having much information available in the way of reviews or instructions it was a pretty easy sell. I always thought the Junt/Arm thing was pretty genious. Since then, Riffworks has been loaded up with so many more features, I better pick another two. Songlayers & Info (auto gain system)

YAHOO FOR RIFFWORKS!

[parr]

Yeahh!!
Thanks Gator!!
For me it works a little different:

to switch from riff view to songlayer view, as you say: click the little rectangle on the left of the "songlayers". But if you click twice, the song restarts. The solution is:

to switch from songlayer view to riff view: click on the play button of the song.

Great. I still dont inderstand completely the logic behind it. But it is great to have learnt this.

juan