Good question for thenewgreen, the most prolific songwriter on Hubski or anywhere. ButterflyEffect has been posting covers as he makes them on his home setup, as well. Maybe he has some words?

Curious- what exactly is your setup?

If you hate clicks, you might think of procuring some sequencing software/hardware. Live is expensive, but could probably be snagged by less reputable means (I don't endorse this personally, I like paying for the stuff that I value. But I know people who sidestep that philosophy when it comes to self-actualization). I bought an SP-555 a few years ago- great for shaping beats, although now I wish I'd gone the way of the MPC. Either way, good way to mess with rhythm/tempo until you establish the right space for your song.

Tempo, in my mind, is one of the most vital ingredients to a song. If you have a great melody/chord structure, but it drags or else leaves you jogging to catch up, it can ruin the tone of the song. Likewise, finding the right tempo has in the past afforded me the necessary motivation to get going on the actual recording process. So there's that.

Another trick that's worked for me in the past has been to take a song that I've already set up in my head, pick up an instrument I'm unfamiliar with, and record the song with that instrument as the basis. Each instrument forces kind of its own modal structure/theoretical rules upon the player. Furthermore, instruments with which we're too comfortable provide their own limitations re. how we approach song structure, cadence, emotion. Unfamiliar instruments help break you out of that funk, and maybe reintroduce a certain passion to the songcrafting/recording process.

What kind of stuff have you done in the past? Any recordings to share?

1) DEADLINES. You need them. "By 6pm, I will have a finished demo song. It does not matter if it sucks, because it will be for purposes of creativity only. If I succeed, I get a beer. If I fail, I must clean the kitchen and then watch an episode of Ugly Betty."

2) JUST FUCKING PLAY. Record whatever riffs you've got. Fuck tempo. Tempo can be beaten to fit, painted to match. So can riffs.

3) IF A TREE FALLS IN THE WOODS. Things you record count. Things you don't record never existed in the first place. Hit the fucking record button.

4) FUCK THE CLICK TRACK. If it's a useful exercise, grab some old shitty drum loops and lay them down. Most any sample CD had enough loop construction in it to give you intro/verse/chorus/verse/chorus/bridge/chorus/outtro. Stripe that shit down in any tempo you like and play on top of it. Then play on top of it again. Then play on top of it again and get rid of the shit you don't like.

5) SILENCE YOUR INNER CRITIC. People who play music tend to be erudite consumers of music and well-honed critics. They're used to listening to music that has been refined through several albums' worth of dreck before genius is discovered. You will make dreck. You will not subject your friends to it. Cut an entire album just for you. Then sit on it. Then start recording things that you might make other people listen to. Trust me. Your second "album" will kick the shit out of your first.

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That said, this is my rig:

...and I've composed and recorded exactly 1 song since 1998. So take all that shit with a grain of salt.

I hear you in regards to the click track, it can really ruin some of the more subtle stuff I record. As for how to get motivated, I just sit myself down and force myself to create something. I'll often create the entire song, lyrics everything as I go and have something completed by the end of the night. It's not always great, actually it's not always good or even remotely good, but it's almost always fun.

The other thing I would suggest, and this is something that only in the last year or so I've realized is that recording doesn't need to be for music alone. As you may know I've been doing the Hubski podcast for a little bit now and I use my recording gear for that. You can also create various instrumental soundscapes that are outside of your normal genre etc.

Also, feel free to take a look at the Hubski collaborative music project that we've been doing and add to one of the songs that is still relatively empty, or bare. Go to town.

Also, I definitely look forward to hearing your music. Be sure to share it here and feel free to shout out to me.

Motivation and inspiration can be hard thing to come by naturally. There's one way to build it up naturally tough, and that's to work hard. Even if you're not feeling it, get something down. Because creativity and energy feed of themselves. The more time and effort you put in it, the more you'll find yourself propelled. So just do it. :)

In regards to a click track, there's definitely a knack for using them. Personally, I try not to use it as ruler, but more a reference. Once I'm in the beat of the click I can just check back into it every bar or so to make sure I'm still hitting that first beat. If you try glue quantise your live playing religiously to a click, you'll encounter the problems you do. So let it be a guide. If it's just you and guitar you can often get away without using one anyway. It's mostly important for if you want to noticeable rhythmic elements.

I personally bring inspiration from finding new and interesting music. I love trying to fuse what I find to be the best ideas into my own unique vision. In terms of transferring motivation and energy, don't think about it. If you have it, it will show on its own. If you don't, that will likely show too.

long, torturous bouts of writers block interrupted by sudden and very brief moments of inspiration. For me, nothing really stimulates it, i just wait for a song to come naturally and then pull my hair out for another few months. I still record during that time though, but i don't show anyone the awful things that end up being produced. Even if what you're making now doesn't feel inspired, it's definitely preparing you to take advantage of those moments when you have something really great. So i say keep playing, keep recording, who cares if it sucks.

And try playing without a click track. A lot of great records were done with no click and you can obviously tell but they sound great anyway. I record with one some of the time, but when i want the song to feel more natural i record without it. I completely understand that there's an element of humanity missing when you have every note placed perfectly. Imperfections can be cool, they just make your later tracking efforts a pain in the ass.

Here's my current setup

A lot of times I just sit down and mess around. I'll fashion a chord progression, work on sound synthesis, shape up some custom drum samples, whatever. It's very rare that I'll sit down with the intention of moving in a direction, and it's even more rare that I don't walk away from that mentality frustrated with a lack of results.

If you make your only intention having fun, that's when you'll lay the most golden eggs.

Here's a result, one of my best so far (I think).

I started with a mic, an acoustic guitar, and garage band ~3 years ago. Watch your wallet, these toys can get expensive...

Oh, and playing with a metronome sucks, but I bite the bullet, I hate being off tempo and then trying to clean it up later.

P.S. let me know if you need help deciphering that crappy flow chart.