WHERE WOULD I BE WITHOUT THIS?

The birth of an idea begins with the
ability to capture and preserve it…

1,200+ files later, the many ideas I have amassed – some of which have gone on to become songs that began as very rough ideas – are playing on my mind. I realise that there is one piece of equipment I simply cannot live without. If I were to take away anything; notebooks, paper, guitars and other instruments or specific pieces of sound equipment I could perhaps live without these, but because the birth of an idea begins with the ability to capture and preserve it, I regard my audio recorder as being the most essential of all things.

I tend to have lots of ideas and they have the potential to get in the way of finishing things as I find myself writing or working on a song only to have more new ideas which randomly happen as I am creating something else. I am yet to meticulously sift through all of the audio files I have recorded (which will be a huge compartmentalisation process in itself). Last year I did this with everything I have ever written on loose paper, it was a huge project and one I’m glad to have completed.

As far as linear PCM recorders go, mine is exceptional. It is a small, portable device and I’ve had the same one for a long time. It has as much storage space as you want to add using an SD card and it can record 24 bit audio. I’m glad that I have been able to capture pretty much every idea that I wanted to keep up to this point. If you are a new artist or performer, or you are starting out writing your own songs I’d definitely recommend that you invest in a portable audio recorder. It will save you so much time in the process of cataloguing your own creations for future reference.
 

Some other pieces of advice I would give:

– Invest in quality notebooks and keep all of your written ideas in the same place

– Put dates on everything you write

– Write and read each day

– Give yourself space and time to create

– Don’t be afraid to write about what you experience or how you experience it
 

I can’t count the number of times I’ve had an idea and used my Olympus LS-11 to capture it. This year, I will make a concerted effort to revisit all of my recorded audio files and because I have compartmentalised everything I’ve ever written on paper I can continue to put major pieces of my creative process together.

My audio recorder is the one thing I can’t live without – Where would I be without this?…

 

Olympus have rebranded to become OM System. Their latest audio recorders – the LS-P5 and LS-P1 – are most definitely worth your time and attention in terms of acquiring a high quality recording device that can capture your best ideas.

[ OM System LS-P5 ] [ OM System LS-P1 ]

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