Home Recording Tips And Tricks, A Thread about Home Audio / Video Recording |
|
Home Recording Tips And Tricks, A Thread about Home Audio / Video Recording |
|
|
|
|
Jun 7 2010, 06:20 AM |
As hardware and software get cheaper and cheaper, more and more is available at a very reasonable cost. This thread will talk about various techniques and tips for getting the best possible sound out of your home recording gear.
Todd MIXING AND MASTERING: Some of you may notice that your recordings don't seem loud enough. This is something every musician has to work through when doing their own production. The secret is in mixing and mastering. Once you have done your initial "mix" it's time to master! What is mastering? It's the final step in the mix down process before "Authoring" or burning, uploading etc. Here is a link to a great Wiki article on Mastering WIKI- WHAT IS "MASTERING" IN AUDIO? Here is a spiff graphic to illustrate the audio meter bridge you typically see in your DAW or Editing Software You want to try to get close to "Unity Gain" or 0 DB without going over and creating clipping or distortion in the overall signal. One way of doing this is to use a "Mastering Plugin" there are many available. I really like the IZOTOP OZONE plugin. It sounds great and has a tone of useful presets. The presets are not perfect but are a great place to start tweaking from. Here is a look at the Ozone Interface. Here is a link to download the demo. It is cross platform and works in most software as a plugin. Give it a try just starting with some of the presets You'll be shocked at how much it can improve your overall mix especially at first. Be careful not to overuse it though as you will compress your sound too much and crush it. LINK TO DOWNLOAD OZONE Todd This post has been edited by Todd Simpson: Jun 28 2010, 11:48 PM |
|
|
||
|
|
|
Jun 7 2010, 07:28 AM |
MY GUITAR LEVEL/VOLUME SEEMS TOO LOW WHEN I'M MIXING?
Once you run out of "head room" you have to start pulling tricks out the bag if you want to keep using that track. However, at that point you are going to be pulling the noise floor up as well so if it's just to quite you may not have gotten a good track and it may be a good idea to re record it and try and get more level as you go in. However, if that's not an option, it's time for the trick bag. 1.)Compression-Most audio software supporst some type of per track compression. This can be used to bump up the gain of a signal and keep it from over modulating. Compression is an art unto itself and take time to master. 2.)Double the track- you can copy and paste the track in to another empty track, then off set it just slightly in the timeline, just a few milliseconds, and pan each 15 degrees from center. One left, one right. This will give you a fuller sound as well as louder. Demo: Guitar Track Doubled (Same Part Played Twice) GuitarsDoubled.mp3 ( 358.08K ) Number of downloads: 536 Demo: Guitar Track Quadrupled (Same Part Played Four Times) Guitards_Quadrupled.mp3 ( 209.02K ) Number of downloads: 465 3.)Re-Amping - you can use an amp modeling plugin to simulate "Re-Amping" or going out of your computer, in to an Amp/cab re recording the signal and bringing it back in. Each of this will bring up the noise floor so you will need to use a noise gate, and some eq. If you consistenly don't get enough level on your guitar tracks, it may be a good idea to look at your input chain. Getting god levels going in is critical. This post has been edited by Todd Simpson: Sep 21 2010, 02:58 PM |
|
|
||
|
|
|
Jun 7 2010, 08:00 AM |
Great thread -> looking for more q/a around this topic! I'm assuming then that the best level for guitar in is going to follow the same rule as Master Out in terms of correct volume level ? that is, as close to 0db as possible w/o clipping? I recall someone saying it's much better to come in with a lower volume because that can always be boosted per your tips, but if you're too hot, not much (if anything) can be done? Also, that plugin I thought I had isn't Ozone, but is called "Apogee (UV22)". I think it's a mastering plugin of some sort, but not sure. Ever use it? [attachment=21060:apogee.gif] Christian A. Its for dithering, not really a mastering issue - eg. if You have Your material in 16 bits 44,1 kHZ, You might wanna convert it to another format and do the mastering. Or the other way round, if You recorded at 96 kHz and 24 bit, the output for a CD shall be 44.1 and 16 bit. Its really for converting and resampling the recorded material. //Staffay -------------------- Guitars: Ibanez AM-200, Ibanez GB-10, Fender Stratocaster Classic Player, Warmouth Custom Built, Suhr Classic Strat, Gibson Les Paul Standard 2003, Ibanez steel-string Amps: Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, Marshall JMP 2103, AER 60 Effects: BOSS DD-20, Danelectro Trans. Overdrive, TC-Electronics G-Major, Dunlop Wah-wah, Original SansAmp, BOSS DD-2 Music by Staffy can be found at: Staffay at MySpace |
|
|
||
|
|
|
Jun 7 2010, 10:28 AM |
By FAR a real noob regarding mixing & mastering I just want to add that I start using these plugins with Cubase:
http://www.bbesound.com/products/sonic-max...onic-sweet.aspx They are really great and easy to use as you can determine loudness/tone/compression and last but def. not least the max output db. Might be of use to some of you as well. Cheers l This post has been edited by Berglmir: Jun 7 2010, 10:29 AM |
|
|
||
|
|
|
Jun 8 2010, 07:38 AM |
Some useful information here. I am more concerned about my actual playing which is a struggle but I am constantly trying to record myself just to see what it sounds like. I picked up a few tips I can use already. I'm finding that recording myself is an invaluable tool for improving my playing because when I record myself - I can then close my eyes and listen carefully thru headphones to what I recorded using a critical ear - one that is separated from the effort of playing. It's when I hear myself recorded that I hear all the little mistakes I make - everything from strings not quite bent enough to sloppy string noise or runs where I didn't realize I skipped a note - if you can't hear it, you can't correct it! It's really forcing me to hear those areas where I need to concentrate the most in my practice. I think recording ones-self is an essential part of practice. Christian A. -- I need speeeling classes to reduce the number of post-edits in a day -- This post has been edited by SirJamsalot: Jun 8 2010, 07:43 AM -------------------- The more I practice, the more I wish I had time to practice!
My Band Forum: http://passionfly.site/chat |
|
|
||
|
|
|
Jun 8 2010, 10:30 AM |
TONY: Regarding Levels at "0". I think you may have misread. The question was about recording and getting good levels. So I suggested "unity gain". What you are talking about is mixing level, not recording level. Separate issue entirely. Of course, in the mix, the guitars should be in context. But when recording, unity gain is good idea. The BBE plugins are among those I'd mentioned in another post. They are a great set! Very easy to work with and provide lots of help putting life in to mixes. I use a hardware BBE rack in my studio and love it as well. Thanks for the link! Todd Happy to help It's an old trick but a good one. Doubling the guitars gives a sense of space and depth that might otherwise be missing. Another thing to try is actually doing a second recording of the guitar part and doing doing the same thing. Your playing will be just a bit different and can also help add to the depth. However, if your playing is too far off in each version is will kinda fall apart in the mix. Give it a shot and see what you think. Todd I will also add that if You use Cubase 5, You can fine-tune the tracks also. (it can probably been done in all DAW's) Eg. if You copy the original track twice, pan them left/right and set the delay to about -12 in left channel, then -24 in the right and at the same time fine-tune one track +10% and the other -10%, it will sound FAT. It will also help to route the copied channels to a separate bus and slowly raise the volume until it just gets noticed. The trick here is to just add a little - otherwise it will sound too processed.... //Staffay -------------------- Guitars: Ibanez AM-200, Ibanez GB-10, Fender Stratocaster Classic Player, Warmouth Custom Built, Suhr Classic Strat, Gibson Les Paul Standard 2003, Ibanez steel-string Amps: Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, Marshall JMP 2103, AER 60 Effects: BOSS DD-20, Danelectro Trans. Overdrive, TC-Electronics G-Major, Dunlop Wah-wah, Original SansAmp, BOSS DD-2 Music by Staffy can be found at: Staffay at MySpace |
|
|
||
|
|
|
Jun 15 2010, 02:42 PM |
Here are some quick tips to get more out of your home recording mix!
Tip 1: Rest Your Ears If you’re mixing for a long amount of time you may be thinking your mix is going well when in reality it’s not. This can be a problem for people who refuse to stop until they are 100% happy with their results. I do this sometimes myself. But your ears will eventually begin to get tired and you start hearing things that aren’t really there. That awesome guitar you’ve spent hours mixing will end up sound like crap the next morning when you listen back to it. Your ears can neglect certain frequencies when your ears get tired and you pay too much attention to specific frequency ranges you lose sight of the bigger picture. Tip 2: Mix At Lower Levels This is very important. I think most of us know that loud music always sounds better because it allows the frequencies to spread out more. Our ears are most sensitive to mid frequencies, but by playing music louder it evens everything out making high and low frequencies stand out more. This is why loud music is more appealing. Why do you think venues play music so loud? It’s not always so everyone can hear. They sometimes keep the master volume down 5 dB until the last song then put it up, so the last song sounds better making the audience leave with a more positive opinion on the show. So which is the best level to mix? You should usually check your mix in different levels to make sure it sounds fairly level-proof. A multi-band compressor on the master track can also help compensate for this. Usually mix at about conversation level – if you mix sounds well at a quiet level it should sound amazing at a high level. Tip 3: Mono Listening Checking a mix in mono is very important to make sure everything is sounding balanced. You may notice holes in a mono mix that you might not hear in stereo. This may seem pointless as most things are now stereo but a lot of places still use mono. AM radio stations broadcast in mono. Cheap TV’s with 1 speaker and so on. If you hear very little difference between switching from stereo and mono you might want to consider more panning. Source: Tutorial site with some killer audio tutorials. This post has been edited by Todd Simpson: Jun 15 2010, 02:43 PM |
|
|
||
|
|
|
Jun 16 2010, 01:59 PM |
Here is a nice online magazine about home/studio recording but concentrated on bass:
http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/newbay/bp_sessionlegends/#/0 -------------------- For GMC support please email support (at) guitarmasterclass.net
Check out my lessons and my instructor board. Check out my beginner guitar lessons course! ; Take a bass course now! |
|
|
||
|
|
|
Sep 6 2010, 12:09 PM |
This thread is so helpful
I added it to the knowledge base Todd, let me know if you wish to add/change anything there https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/wiki/inde...Tips_And_Tricks -------------------- Guitars:
Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster, Ibanez RG2570MZ, Epiphone SG G-400 Amp: Vox AC4TVH head + V112TV cab Effects: Vox Satchurator, Vox Time Machine, Dunlop CryBaby, Boss MT-2, Boss CE-5, Boss TU-2, Boss ME-70 Recording: Line-6 POD X3 + FBV-Express, Pandora PX5D GMC wants YOU to take part in our Guitar-Wikipedia! Have a good time reading great articles and writing your own with us in our GUITAR WIKI! Share your playing and get Pro-advice from our Instructors: Join REC |
|
|
||
|
|
|
Sep 21 2010, 02:45 PM |
This thread is so helpful I added it to the knowledge base Todd, let me know if you wish to add/change anything there https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/wiki/inde...Tips_And_Tricks Thanks Fran I made a bitly link directly to it as well. http://bit.ly/projectstudio Also, I did a demonstration recording to illustrate how doubling and quadrupling guitar tracks can impact the sound. Here are the files. I'll put them in the post about this as well. Demo : Doubling Your Guitar Tracks GuitarsDoubled.mp3 ( 358.08K ) Number of downloads: 284 Demo : Quadrupling Your Guitar Tracks Guitards_Quadrupled.mp3 ( 209.02K ) Number of downloads: 281 This post has been edited by Todd Simpson: Sep 21 2010, 03:00 PM |
|
|
||
|
|
|
Nov 16 2010, 02:01 AM |
HOME RECORDING TIPS AND TRICKS (Now in easy to read/navigate GMC Wikki!)
Special Thanks goes to Fran for taking all this information and making it much easier to take it all in and sift through it. He's taken it from a wad of varying posts to an organized, structured Wikki entry. Well done! Here is a preview pic and link. https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/wiki/inde...Tips_And_Tricks Todd |
|
|
||
|
|
|
Apr 28 2011, 01:12 AM |
I get a lot of questions about Home Recording, this is a subject near and dear to me so I"m happy to help . One I get most often is "Where do I place my Microphone near my amp/cab to get good sound?"
1.)In the Middle of the cone? 2.)Behind the amp to increase bass? 3.)Way back in the room to get room tone? None of the above IMHO. The traditional way to do it is to stick the mic in the middle of the speaker cone. This works. It brings out the presence frequencies the guitar is famous for. However, it doesn't work for everything. If you have several mics, one can go there. If you have one mic, it depends on the sound you are going for. Standard rock tone? Stick it in the middle. Done. Metal/Thrash/Death Tone, especially for chunky parts? Here is the secret sauce. Take a look at this pic and listen to the example. I've placed the mic "Off Axis" several inches away from the center of the cone and towards the edge of the speaker. Example1.mp3 ( 727.47K ) Number of downloads: 396 Now take a look at this pic and listen to this example. I've got the mic in the center in "Standard" placement. Example2.mp3 ( 583.59K ) Number of downloads: 372 Just a little thing like where you put the mic has a MASSIVE impact on your "sound" Experiment with mic placement and find what works best for you. Lead guitar parts do tend to work better closer to the center as they cut through the mix more. For Rythm Guitar Parts, especially for Heavy music, experiment with "Off Axis" mic placment. Your mixes will thank you Todd This post has been edited by Todd Simpson: Apr 30 2011, 06:44 PM |
|
|
||
|
|
|
Apr 30 2011, 06:44 PM |
I"m using my RAVEN microphone on this. The Raven is a Killer Mic for Rock/Metal and it's cheap! Here is the link to a full review.https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/wiki/inde...aven_Mic_Review
I get a lot of questions about Home Recording, this is a subject near and dear to me so I"m happy to help . One I get most often is "Where do I place my Microphone near my amp/cab to get good sound?" 1.)In the Middle of the cone? 2.)Behind the amp to increase bass? 3.)Way back in the room to get room tone? None of the above IMHO. The traditional way to do it is to stick the mic in the middle of the speaker cone. This works. It brings out the presence frequencies the guitar is famous for. However, it doesn't work for everything. If you have several mics, one can go there. If you have one mic, it depends on the sound you are going for. Standard rock tone? Stick it in the middle. Done. Metal/Thrash/Death Tone, especially for chunky parts? Here is the secret sauce. Take a look at this pic and listen to the example. I've placed the mic "Off Axis" several inches away from the center of the cone and towards the edge of the speaker. Example1.mp3 ( 727.47K ) Number of downloads: 396 Now take a look at this pic and listen to this example. I've got the mic in the center in "Standard" placement. Example2.mp3 ( 583.59K ) Number of downloads: 372 Just a little thing like where you put the mic has a MASSIVE impact on your "sound" Experiment with mic placement and find what works best for you. Lead guitar parts do tend to work better closer to the center as they cut through the mix more. For Rythm Guitar Parts, especially for Heavy music, experiment with "Off Axis" mic placment. Your mixes will thank you Todd |
|
|
||
|
|
|
May 29 2011, 10:25 PM |
WHAT IS A SUB-WOOFER AND DO I REALLY NEED ONE?
A "Sub-Woofer" or "Sub" is typically a single speaker enclosure containing one or more drivers/cones whose job it is to reproduce low frequency sounds. (E.g. Bass guitar, Kick Drum, Drop D tuning). Without a "Sub", you may not be hearing everything happening in your mix. If you take your mix to a friends house and they have a sub, your mix may sound too bassy. Here is a great Wiki Entry on what a sub is and does. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subwoofer *DO I REALLY NEED ONE? Yes. You really do. Your speakers that you use for mixing probably are not letting you hear the deep end of your mixes. So you probably mixing blind. Guessing, essentially what is going on down there. You can work around this with various EQ techniques. But it's often simpler just to add the sub and be able to hear and mix the low stuff. The good news is. A "decent" sub can be had pretty cheap. You don't need to buy them in pairs as low frequency sounds don't "localize" which means it's hard to tell where they are coming from. So one sub will do you in most cases. Here are some pics of my home studio sub which I FINALLY got hooked up after the move. (need to find a new place for my xbox now) This unit was about 75 EURO and has really been AMAZING in terms of letting me hear whats going on in the dep end of my mixes. Get a sub. You'll be glad you did. Here is a great chart to show you where various sounds fall in the range of human hearing. Your desktop monitors/speakers are probably effective down to 100HZ or maybe 60Hz. But you can hear almost down to 20 HZ. So that gap is what your sub helps with. Even if it only goes to 30 or 40 HZ. This post has been edited by Todd Simpson: May 29 2011, 10:25 PM |
|
|
||
|
|
|
May 30 2011, 06:12 PM |
NEW GEAR IN THE STUDIO!
I just got a DBX COMPRESSOR (DBX 1066) http://www.dbxpro.com/1066/ That I"m integrating in to my home studio. It's my first "Hardware" Compressor ever. I"ve always relied on Software Compressors. A producer buddy of mine (Matt Rowles from indieatl.com) suggested it as a way to improve the tone of my direct recordings with GUITAR RIG and for using on vocals during my Vid Chat. Review to follow! Here is a pic. These are about $400 each which is probably why I never used one before I"m curious to see if I like it better than software. This post has been edited by Todd Simpson: May 30 2011, 06:13 PM
Attached image(s)
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
May 31 2011, 09:59 AM |
Just added the sub info at the tips and tricks wiki entry:
https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/wiki/inde...Tips_And_Tricks Looking forward to that compressor review! -------------------- Guitars:
Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster, Ibanez RG2570MZ, Epiphone SG G-400 Amp: Vox AC4TVH head + V112TV cab Effects: Vox Satchurator, Vox Time Machine, Dunlop CryBaby, Boss MT-2, Boss CE-5, Boss TU-2, Boss ME-70 Recording: Line-6 POD X3 + FBV-Express, Pandora PX5D GMC wants YOU to take part in our Guitar-Wikipedia! Have a good time reading great articles and writing your own with us in our GUITAR WIKI! Share your playing and get Pro-advice from our Instructors: Join REC |
|
|
||
|
|
|
Nov 17 2011, 10:58 PM |
Interested in "Mastering"? Don't know where to start? Using izotope ozone? (For the home recordist it's a killer tool, download the demo if you have not ever used it, here is the link https://www.izotope.com/products/audio/ozone/download.asp) The nice folks at OZONE have released a great tutorial/document on Mastering with OZONE. For those working in a home recording set, (like me) this is a great way to make your demos/backing tracks/collab tracks sound AWESOME! They should give me something for pimping them but sadly they don't. But despite that, I still love this plugin.
http://izotope.fileburst.com/guides/Mastering_With_Ozone.pdf This post has been edited by Todd Simpson: Nov 17 2011, 11:07 PM |
|
|
||
|
|
|
Apr 6 2012, 06:11 AM |
A great video from the Legend of the frozen North OLA ENGLUND on recording METAL guitars.
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
Apr 6 2012, 06:28 AM |
Thank you Todd !
|
|
|
||