Home Recording Tips And Tricks, A Thread about Home Audio / Video Recording Options

[Todd Simpson]

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

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This post has been edited by Todd Simpson: Jun 28 2010, 11:48 PM

[Saoirse O'Shea]

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.
[attachment=23650:compressor.jpeg][attachment=23652:1066_rear.jpeg]

If you like the DBX type sound then it's fine at what it does but the 1066 is very much a coloured VCA - so don't expect it to be subtle or transparent. It should be fine for drums and vox but I'd think very carefully before using it on the 2 bus. Arguably for a first hardware unit a less coloured box would be much more versatile. Regardless of that make sure you gain stage it properly to your ADC or it'll be a bit of a mixed blessing.

Interested in "Mastering"? Don't know where to start? Using izotope ozone? ....

http://izotope.fileburst.com/guides/Mastering_With_Ozone.pdf

[attachment=25402:mastering.jpg]

It's a start but there is too much emphasis on colouring/processing and making things loud, which is not the main purpose of mastering.

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