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My apologies if you tried to reach Hometracked earlier and saw a 503 error. The site got a little busy – visitors from Digg, Reddit, and the awesome AbsolutePunk – and Dreamhost throttled my bandwidth. (So much for the 10Tb, I guess.) No matter, everything looks to be running again, and the hate-mail from angry […]
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Pitch correction software has applications from restoration and mix-rescue to outright distortion of a voice or instrument. I’ll discuss some of the more tasteful uses of these auto-tune tools (whether the original from Antares, or a variant like the free GSnap) below. But first I thought I’d highlight their misuse to illustrate the effects we […]
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A few Homerecording.com regulars debate the merits of dithering. The conversation could easily have devolved into a flame war, but the participants kept it civil, and offered some great food for thought. Some engineers even argue over which type of dither is best, claiming this algorithm is more airy sounding that that one, and so […]
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As a songwriter I’m (far too) familiar with writer’s block, and when my creative energy wanes, I’m not above using outside help to keep fresh ideas flowing. In particular, I own and love Naomi Epel’s Observation Deck. If I sense a creative lull creeping on, I pull out a card and ponder its message (for […]
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After my discussion of ribbon mic mods, Michael at OktavaMod sent me some pictures of sagging ribbons, something you might encounter while working on your mic. The most common symptoms of a loose ribbon are low output and decreased low-frequency response. With your mic open, it’s easy to see if the ribbon sags. But with […]
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I discussed a simple modification to an Apex 205 ribbon mic, and recorded samples to illustrate the change. Here are some concluding thoughts, and helpful resources for anyone planning to tweak a ribbon mic: Should you do this mod? Whether or not you should modify your own ribbon mic depends largely on your answers to […]
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Yesterday, I described a simple modification on the Apex 205 ribbon mic. To show the results of the mod, I recorded samples using both the modded 205 and a stock version of the same mic. Methodology I recorded each pair of clips below simultaneously, which makes A/B comparison easy: Line up the beginning of both […]
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I have two Apex 205 microphones, the cheap Chinese ribbon mics appearing in amateur mic collections everywhere. Even out of the box, these microphones (and the equivalent mics from Nady, Thomann, SM Pro, et. al.) sound decent. But a DIY’er can easily make 2 changes to improve the sound: Remove unnecessary screening from the mic […]
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In what FutureMusic dubs The Waves Ultimatum, Waves has been spying on studios to gather evidence against software thieves. Complete with hidden cameras. (There’s more on the campaign in this Gearslutz thread: Software Police on Patrol.) Waves is targeting professionals, not home studios. That’s probably a good thing for the dozens of web forum posters […]
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A custom reverb can add a unique signature to your recordings. And since practically every space reverberates, a home made reverb often requires no more than a speaker, and microphone to capture reflected sound. Understandably, then, reverb units are popular do-it-yourself projects for musicians and recording engineers. Spring and plate reverbs are the easiest designs […]
Read the full post ...In audio, a transient is commonly defined as “an abrupt or sudden change in level.” We associate transients with sharp, harsh sounds: Think of cymbal crashes, hard-strummed acoustic guitar, and a singer’s T’s and CH’s. A microphone’s ability to accurately capture these transients is known as transient response, and it’s an important property to consider […]
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From homerecording.com, a collection of approaches to mixing: First thing is to do the faders up listening. If you’re a member of the band, or the engineer, or even worse both (as well as the song writer and the overall aranger of the songs….like I am), then TRY REALLY HARD to forget that. You have […]
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Storm Recording Studio has disappeared off the internet, taking with it the only source of drum sample replacer Drumtrig. I mentioned Drumtrig in the list of drum replacer plugins. It’s a free, dressed-down alternative to Drumagog: Only one sample per track, but incredibly easy to use. As with the similarly-fated Paris EQ, I saved the […]
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(With all due props to Brad, who had the idea first … ) I link to a lot of great home recording sites, so it made sense to combine Hometracked’s outbound links from Live.com with Google’s Custom Search Engine tool. The search includes all the reference sites I’ve ever linked to: Blogs like CDM and […]
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Music sales widgets are the Flash based “mp3 players with built-in music store” we see appearing across the web. SNOCAP is arguably the best known vendor, thanks to high profile deals with EMI and Myspace. But there are at least half a dozen other companies offering similar tools. Why use one of these widgets to […]
Read the full post ...Make a cassette loop for about 6 seconds: As some of the commenters note, this could be used for old school loop-based effects. Exactly HOW you’d do that is not covered, of course. The Time Correction Wiki: Described as a website “dedicated to the study and practice of time correction techniques in audio engineering and […]
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A web search for “best VST EQ” turns up dozens of pages that mention the Paris EQ VST, but for reasons I haven’t been able to figure out, the plugin and its author Matt Craig have dropped off the face of the Internet. That’s a pity, because the plugin is fantastic. Although it’s colorful, so […]
Read the full post ...For those of us on a budget, “cheap” ribbon mics (referenced in the last post) make for a great introduction to recording with ribbons. Most of the cheaper ribbon mics are manufactured in China. Among the most popular: Apex, Shiny Box, and Nady. I have a pair of Apex 210s that make great drum “underheads” […]
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Here are some pages open in my browser that I haven’t had a chance to write up: Backman is a free VST (Windows only) plugin that “Reverses incoming audio signal in sync (it will follow host BPM)… especially useful on live gigs to make that ‘back spin’ effect.“ Grammys exclude popular independent artists. Yet there […]
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Vocal recording and effects chains include, depending on the performance, a de-esser, a noise gate, an equalizer, and a compressor. Frequently, engineers also add effects like chorus, delay, tape saturation (unless recording to tape, of course,) and reverb, to enhance the sound. In a pro studio, most of this treatment is handled by expensive hardware […]
Read the full post ...Brandon at RecordingReview.com has developed the Home Recording Soundcard Wizard, “the easiest way to find a soundcard that is right for you.” As a newbie, it’s tough to get straight answers as to what you really need. You have to do a month of research just to figure out what you need to research. Well […]
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Here are detailed instructions for building your own plate reverb: Typically, the plate is a large sheet of steel suspended in a tubular steel frame. In theory, the plate simulates a large concert hall, or church, with a decay time of approximately five seconds at approximately 500 Hz. A driver attached to the plate excites […]
Read the full post ...Unless your recording room is acoustically treated, you probably capture “room sound” in your recordings. This isn’t necessarily bad: Some rooms have a great ambience which adds natural depth to a mix. But the room sound in smaller spaces, like most bedroom and basement project studios, usually hurts rather helps a track. Ethan Winer outlines […]
Read the full post ...The DAT-Heads Microphone FAQ, while no longer actively maintained, is a great repository of information on microphones. Much of the information targets DAT recording, but the descriptions of mic selection based on venue, microphone response patterns, and stereo miking techniques apply to all mediums.
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Some failed experiments in audio technology, including the head-mounted turntable and the oxygen-free listening room. If oxygen-free copper is a good thing, then clearly oxygen is a bad thing for audio. The largest quantity of oxygen the sound is likely to encounter is in its passage through the air from loudspeakers to listeners. The only […]
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For critical listening, like mixing and mastering, your speakers are obviously important. Often overlooked, however, is the importance of the stands on which the speakers sit. For best performance, monitor and hifi speakers should be level with the listener’s ears. Good speaker stands improve the bass response of just about every speaker, and a good […]
Read the full post ...This graph, developed by Dan Richards of the Listening Sessions, plots the brightness and color characteristics of more than 50 microphones. As noted in the Studio Forums discussion it spawned, the graph says nothing about each microphone’s relative quality (note the proximity of the MXL 603 to the Neumann U87.) However, it’s a useful tool […]
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You generally shouldn’t record vocals without a pop filter (also called a “pop screen,” “pop shield,” or “popstopper.”) The bassy pops that result from plosive sounds are difficult to remove once a track has been recorded. But unlike most studio gear, you don’t have to spend lots of money for a professional quality pop filter. […]
Read the full post ...Drumagog is the granddaddy of drum replacement tools, and it’s certainly hard to beat for quality and features. However it also costs several hundred dollars, which is a deal breaker for many home studios on a budget. But there are some great free alternatives. I’ve listed them here in order of my preference, though several […]
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Musictech Magazine maintains a fairly comprehensive microphone reviews page, with reviews of many popular consumer class mics. The reviews are glossy and informative. (Note that you’ll need a PDF reader like the free Foxit Reader to read the reviews.)
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If you’ve read about Equal Loudness Contours, but have difficulty applying the concept, try out this fantastic application (Flash) from the University of NSW: This site allows you to measure equal loudness contours–the frequency response of your own ears. The flash script allows you to play sound files with a range of frequencies and sound […]
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Elemental Audio offers a free Spectrum Analyzer [Mac/Windows, RTAS/VST/AU]. While you should use your ears to make important mix decisions, a spectrum analyzer is a great tool for finding problem frequencies (for example, where to set a de-esser,) and Elemental Audio’s offering is as straightforward as they come.
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