Im a sucker for tech...
but I tend to lay ideas down really quick... my memory sucks so therefore I HAVE to get them sorted before there's any chance that I'll forget them.
It's gashcakes. To be honest all my ideas have been utter shit recently so I can't really moan about forgetting...
im pretty much the same way. if i get an idea for a song, i need to lay down at least an 8 bar loop. if not, im guaranteed to forget it within 5 minutes.
but heres the way i do things:
i'll lay down a drum loop. usually nothing to fancy.
whatever instrument i had in mind (reese, strings, etc)
a couple of background instruments
and usually a hi passed break of some sort.
this will at least give me the basic idea of the song so that i wont forget.
i'll then add in the midi notes that i want, or that are at least close to what i want.
then i adjust levels, eq, add reverb/delay, and basically mix it down while its in its 8 bar loop stage.
then i save and take a break, come back nd adjust as needed.
i find that by doing it this way, i can just let my creative jizz flow and spew out the rest of the track, without having to worry about eq or anything too too much.
of course its not always set in stone. most of the time ill add a new layer of some sort, but by that time the track is already mixed down, and i can just add in whatever i want, and blend it like its second nature.
plz excuse any grammatical errors. im posting from a phone
^_^