Hexum's Computer Recording (Maximum Guitar)

A lot of bands complain about how difficult it is to write songs on the road, but Nick Hexum has remedied this situation by assembling a portable studio that makes it easy for him to capture his creative ideas. The entire system fits into a small rack that can be wheeled backstage, into a hotel room, or onto the bus.

The core of the system is a Macintosh Powerbook computer loaded with Opcode's Studio Vision sequencing/hard disk recording software. The computer has three gigabytes of internal storage, and Hexum has connected a two gigabyte drive and a CD-ROM burner to the computer for additional storage. Sound sources include an Akai S3000 sampler, and Roland JV-1080 and Waldorf Pulse synth modules. Hexum controls the sound sources either with a Roland PC-160 keyboard controller or with his guitar synth setup. Hexum also uses Steinberg's ReCycle program which changes the temp of the drum loops without changing the pitch.

"The JV-1080 had thousands of patches, including every hip-hop drum sound you could imagine, drum loops and scratch sounds," says Hexum. "I have this sound card for the JV that features a bunch of bass and drum samples done by Abe Laboriel Sr. and Jr. Sometimes I'll extract beats straight from a CD and put it on the hard drive. I also have loads of sampling CDs."

For guitar parts, Hexum plugs his guitar into a Korg Pandora and records direct to hard disk. "I can play anything and get a really good-sounding demo," he comments. "First, I'll sequence everything in MIDI and then I'll record my guitar. Once it's all exactly where I want I’ll record it on the hard drive or burn it on a CD. This system lets me do everything except lay down vocals and live drums. I also use Studio Vision to make continuous dance mixes. I'll have a 30-minute sequence that has seven songs in it, and I'll fade in from one song to the next. I can also make my own custom compilations by extracting songs that I like from CDs and burning them onto a separate CD.

"Now I have something to do while I'm waiting for the show," says Hexum. "It helps me keep the songwriting going. Before I just had a guitar and a tape recorder. Now I can make demos that sound good."