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I thought I'd open this thread, not because I am an experienced mastering engineer but because I think I have the ears to become one
From my experience, given a good mix the first thing that may need adjusting is tonal/frequency balance. I figure this might be due to the equipment in the original studio maybe being off-key somewhere.
Beyond this there are other problems that may come up, most often I've seen are digital distortion/clipping or microphone abuse.
For these type of problems I have been experimenting with the SPL Qure parametric EQ. It has some kind of inductive/vacuum tube Qure circuit that seems to fill in the missing harmonics to 'complete' the signal. Of course there are some distortions that have defied many attempts. I would have to get into digital notches.
This gets into my whole idea about using transformers and vacuum tubes. And even tape. In my head, my comprehension, these types of devices in some cases translate the signal from electrical to electromagnetic and back and...
UK guitar and bass amp manufacturers Orange have launched a most unusual new product, called the Orange PC (or OPC for short). Effectively a computer built into a guitar cabinet, the OPC boasts 4GB of DDR2 RAM, a 500GB hard drive, and an integrated Nvidia GeForce 9300 graphics card (with the option to get an ATI 5760 GPU fitted, in addition to the onboard Nvidia graphics). No details were given about the specific type of processor, but Orange say that the OPC uses “Intel chips”. [Orange OPC (Click to enlarge)]
Orange OPC
Other features not normally found on a guitar combo include WiFi connectivity, eight USB ports, a PS2 socket, an Ethernet port, and what appears to be an eSATA connector. The top panel of the amp houses some of the more traditional amp adornments, including volume, treble and bass controls, while the audio input socket is described by Orange as a “universal input jack” that allows you to connect a guitar, keyboard,...
All you need to qualify for June is 10 posts during the month and you will be entered into the random drawing for 10 more winners the first of next month.
Herriard, January 2010 – Users of the revolutionary portable signal processing Black Series from Audient can now carry API 500 standard modules in their Black Rack system with the simple addition of the new Black 500 Adapter.
Made up of a neat metalwork caddy which slips neatly into the Black Series BB4 and BR10 racks, it adapts the Black Series power to suit the API specification, so that any single 500-system compatible module can be housed alongside original Black Series modules.
“The Black 500 Adapter gives users more flexibility when using their Black Rack,” explains Sales & Marketing Director, Luke Baldry. “There are numerous manufacturers producing 500 series variants, opening up many more possibilities for their Black Rack system.”
"How hot should my levels be when I'm recording or mixing?" is a question that is asked quite
frequently on all sorts of internet forums and in general conversations with aspiring recording engineers and those new to mixing.
Gain staging refers to one's signal path, going from the source through the microphone pre amps, converters and
finally to your DAW. This is a very critical moment for your signal; the goal is to have the cleanest signal possible.
(also refers to S/N ratio on your mixing console). How you calibrate your converters will play a heavy role in this equation.
Generally, you hear "record as hot as possible without clipping" this is true to a point, what I mean is, yes you want to record
as hot as possible, but that does not necessarily mean being in red/orange!
In the digital realm, one is able to record at 24-bit which offers an astounding amount of headroom (144dB dynamic range to be exact);
as such you do not have to push the signal as hot as...
Pro Audio Shack announces our Grand Opening Giveaway!
We thought you might be interested in a few giveaways we will have to celebrate our grand opening.
Compliments of Pro Audio Shack and Barry Ober of Soundoctor... we will giveaway 10 Soundoctor V1.6.09 Test CDs to 10 members for the next 10 months... 100 CDs total.
Next... (of course that's not all)... we have up for grabs one Aphex Systems 204 Aural Exciter... again, compliment of PAS and Soundoctor.
We thought maybe you might get a little more excited about the Exciter! ...
So, how many people don't have hundreds of dollars to spend on fancy Plug-ins? I am one of those people. However, I have come up with a work around to the multi-band compressor plug-in. For the purposes of this articles and its specific details I will be for the most part speaking relative to Pro Tools but these instructions can easily be applied to other DAWs.
Bussing
Create an aux track for every band of compression you wish to have. In this example I created 3 tracks - 3 band compressor. Set the output of all the tracks you wish send to your "Multi-band Compressor" to the inputs of your aux tracks. All of your tracks' output buses should match your aux input buses.
EQ/Filters
Basically a multi-band compressor simply uses filters to separate frequency bands so that is what we will do here. Just as a base we will use 120Hz and 4kHz as our cross-overs. On your first aux track (the low frequency band) put a HP filter on the first plug-in spot. Set the frequency to 120Hz and apply a 18dB/octave slope. It should be noted that in first experimenting with this I tried using a 24dB/octave slope but found...
In part one of this optimization guide, we focused solely on optimizing for your recording session only.
In part two we will focus on optimizing for mixing and mastering, so sit back, relax and learn!
Optimizing for Mixing and Mastering: If you recall in the last article, the H/W buffer settings and everything
under the "Settings" frame in your Pro Tools "Playback Engine" options, you remember that you wanted the lowest
possible size for recording, now can you guess what you want for mixing and mastering? Did you guess high?
If you did, give yourself a pat on the shoulder!
When you're getting ready to mix a song or an entire album, go ahead and set the H/W Buffer Size to 2048.
Recording latency is not our focus with mixing, plug-in latency is. So we need to make sure your Pro Tools system
won't buckle if you happen to use a lot of plug ins when mixing. Otherwise, leave the other two options as they were
set from the first part...
Optimizing your Pro Tools system is yet another important part of having smooth and stable
recording/mixing/mastering sessions and each particular process requires different configurations.
Optimizing for recording: When recording audio, latency is a big issue, you want the least latency possible
so that there is no lag between the source and what you're capturing, latency issues can cause artifacts in the recording that aren't very pretty!
(Assuming you're already inside PTHD/LE) Go to the "System" Menu and select "Playback Engine" Here, you will see various options, the first one being H/W Buffer Size. This means: "Hardware Buffer size" which
relates to the timing of latency between the hardware and the software. You will notice there are quite a few options in the drop down menu:
One of the biggest factors in recording is your computer, you need the power to run sessions with few to zero hang ups.
In my opinion, this is the fourth most important consideration beside your mixing console, monitors and AD/DA converters.
Luckily, computers are getting cheaper and more powerful, which means great news for you native users that cannot
afford Pro Tools or simply find another DAW comfortable.The rest of my personal background is that of a technical one,
I have been performing PC repair for many years now, have worked for Acer and have pleased many friends and family
with my expertise in troubleshooting and building skills.
This will come down to two simple options: Are you a DIYer or are you not? If you are, then heed my words well, if not, I will give you a list of good manufacturers
to choose from in which you can customize your options to your price margin and...
So, you're new to recording audio be it a band or ADR (automated dialogue replacement) for film or voice over recording,
but you're not too sure how to run your new session effectively? I will give you a few pointers on how to have a successful
recording session with just about anybody!
1. Be set up and ready to go: I prefer to have all microphones selected and on stands before the band or individual arrives, this accomplishes two things:
less set up time
more time to properly mic instruments (especially drums!)
There are other minor things this allots time for such as getting levels and any small EQ adjustments that may be needed.
2. Have your input list created: The input list is your saving grace, second in importance for a smooth and speedy session
(if all your equipment is set up properly and has no issues...
NOVEL PLUG-IN DYNAMICALLY ADJUSTS LEVELS DURING MIXDOWN
Tight budgets or deadlines don’t always allow for the manual line-by-line tweaking of fader levels on a vocal track to perfection at mixdown. Waves’ Vocal Rider automatically rides the vocal’s levels for you, saving time and avoiding tedium.
The cross-platform plug-in comes in two flavors: native (RTAS, Audio Suite, AU and VST formats) and TDM. I tested the AU plug in Digital Performer 6.02 using an 8-core Mac Pro running Mac OS 10.5.4.
Well-Read
Vocal Rider’s controls are novel enough that reading the operating manual is a must. A Rider Fader, positioned at the center of the plug-in, automatically makes level adjustments to the vocal track based on the settings of surrounding controls.
The plug-in’s Vocal Sensitivity control helps Vocal Rider...
Blues Magoos drummer and engineer Geoff Daking has been manufacturing high-end custom recording desks for the pro studio market, as well as outboard microphone preamps, compressors and equalizers, since about 1993. His newest creation is the Mic Pre One, an affordable single-channel microphone preamp and DI box.
I joked with my Associate Editor that I could make this review super short: "This preamp rocks! Check it out! The end"... but he insisted you would most likely want to know why. So here goes.
What it is
The Mic Pre One is a slightly modified single-channel version of Daking's popular Mic Pre IV 1U rack 4-channel preamp. It is about the size of a masonry brick, contained in a sturdy brushed aluminum enclosure with 4 rubber feet. It is small, rugged, and highly portable.
On the back of the unit is a single XLR microphone input and a choice of...
Pro Audio Shack announces our Grand Opening Giveaway!
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