You are currently browsing the category archive for the 'Online discussions' category.
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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From Gearslutz: How can I treat nasty snare drum ringing? usually a “ring” isnt in one frequency…it’s a complex combination of frequencies. so you may need to eq out 2-3 different places. if you find a resonance, and eq it out, but still hear a ring, then repeat the process till all rings are gone. […]
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Steve Albini (yes, that Steve Albini) hangs out on the 2+2 poker forums, and decided to entertain music questions from the poker community. It seems an odd location for that discussion, but the thread has some great Albini quotes: Well, mixing isn’t the magic bullet it’s purported to be. A recording is about 90 percent […]
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As an amateur recording engineer, you’ll likely run into the name Recorderman when learning how to mic a drum kit. Recorderman’s approach to placing overhead drum microphones is recommended for beginners because it’s easy to set up, and yields good, sometimes great, results in practically every situation. The name “Recorderman” comes from a user on […]
Read the full post ...What are some reasons that a mix collapses when summed to mono? It sounds like you are not switching back and forth often enough. Don’t wait until you are committed to a balance to check mono. Make it an every-five-minute-auto button-push thing. After a while, you will get the hang of it. Things to watch […]
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The cheap ribbon mic thread on Gearslutz features recorded samples from a few of the different “cheap” ribbon mics that have appeared recently: There are three main things that make a ribbon mic sound good or bad – The ribbon motor – The housing – The transformer With a cheap ribbon, you can easily alter […]
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Here’s a collection of web forum topics related to recording drums. Many of the tips apply to mixing, however, and you’ll find them useful even if you’re working with a drum machine or drum samples. First, some drum recording suggestions from ProSound: here are some of the few really useful things I can tell you: […]
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William Whittman (who produced and engineered the track) discusses the recording of Cyndi Laupers’ Time After Time: IN the mix I took the shaker (I just realised we always CALLED it a shaker, but actually it’s the Linn Cabasa), through an Eventide Flanger to make it dance around in stereo a bit and get it […]
Read the full post ...A poster on Gearslutz asked the pros to share demos of hit songs. The Killers demo (on page 2) is a study in the role played by a great producer. a VERY VERY old demo of the Matchbox Twenty song “3 AM”. This was recorded around ’93-94 and is from the Tabitha Secret days, which […]
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Some thoughts on double-tracking vocals for a better vocal sound: Also, there is a whole LOT of room between center and hard pan. Many a hit has had vocals panned just to one side of center or another – perhaps 30% or so – in order to balance a call and response with a guitar […]
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How can I give my mixes that organic ABBA sound? ABBA is not an organic sound. Quite the contrary. Their sound relied heavily on layered vocal tracks, heavy use of digital verbs, and lots of synths. What do we know about getting that Big Star drum sound? The earliest Big Star tracks were recorded for […]
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Hometracked’s most-visited pages in January: Great FREE vocal plugin chain 10 hallmarks of amateur recordings Gert’s process for online musical collaboration DIY portable vocal booth The importance of checking a reference while mixing
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Recording violin and fiddle is both art and science: In almost every situation, I would be at LEAST 4 feet further away with the mic than in those pictures. the harshness comes from the fact that the instrument was never designed to be heard from that close. Do you need your ears cleaned? An audiologist […]
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This thread on homerecording.com has some good advice on finding inspiration to finish writing a song. I think you’re stuck on a mental fixation. Perhaps the anxiety of creating a good song is getting in your way. The difference between a veteran songwriter and begining songwriter is that the veteran has developed his own system […]
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What is “harmonic balancing” and why should I care? (Or more appropriately, why should I ignore the hype?): Peaks and valleys in your spectrum don’t determine what’s “good” or “bad,” your ears do… And what causes records to sound different in different listening environments is a poorly balanced mix, again something you fix with your […]
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Recording harmonica: i’ve also had decent results with the harmonica player playing straight into an sm58/vocal mic, and driving (overdriving?) the preamp a little/lot. it’s an entirely different sound–more immediate and “direct” sounding (and can get brittle if you don’t watch out)……but one that may work depending on what the song/production calls for. Some thoughts […]
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What is parallel compression and when should I use it?: parralell[sic] compression is when you double a track and compress one copy very hard, and mix it under the original. It preserves the dynamics of the instrument but makes it sound more solid. Help me learn to properly mix tracks. The key lesson I learned […]
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Tips and suggestions for faking the sound of an upright bass with an electric bass: You’re probably not going to fool anyone but it might be enough to imply the sound of an upright by having (or exaggerating) a few of its distinguishing traits. I think the decay is important. Uprights seem to have less […]
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One thing unites engineers of all skills and backgrounds: The need to show off our gear. Here are some threads from gearslutz and hr.com with pictures of: studios drum setups miked guitar cabs It’s pure studioporn, but you’ll probably see some things that make your 2 mics and 4-track look like Abbey Road. Previously: Home […]
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Some treatment ideas for a mono overhead drum kit mic: I drive it hard at the preamp ( I usually use an old Trident Preamp for this) and then Nuke it with a Distressor. It all depends on the feel of each individual song as to how much if any of it gets used in […]
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There’s lots of chatter in this discussion about whether or not matched mic pairs are worthwhile, but lots of great information too. Keep in mind that, if the mic’s specifications are +/- 2dB, that means that there’s a possibility you will find two mics that are 4dB apart at some point in their frequency response. […]
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A short thread discussing some approaches to “over the shoulder” mic techniques: What is happening when you put a mic ‘over the shoulder’ is that the mic is hearing pretty much what the ear is hearing… except that the ear is able to distinguish between reflections as distinct events and a microphone does not have […]
Read the full post ...The Home Recording Pool on photo-sharing site Flickr has great shots of home recording setups all over the Internet.
Read the full post ...Some of the mastering engineers on homerecording.com discuss their approaches to mastering: One reason to use EQ post compression is so that you don’t have to keep re-adjusting the threshold of the compressor when making EQ changes. This insightful thread on ProSound addresses the consequences of mixing and mastering in the same room: Bob Ludwig […]
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Ronan Chris Murphy thinks home studios are killing music: … I have seen home studios wreck a lot of people’s careers. For the most part, if you are a performing songwriter that puts a fancy studio in your home, if that does not stop your career dead in its tracks you are the exception and […]
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On homerecording.com, some tips for getting the kick drum to stand out in a mix. Make sure your bass and kik drum center on two different notes on the bottom. Often I’ll like my kik to center at around 80Hz and the bass at either 60ish or 100-125ish. See also this related thread with some […]
Read the full post ...This thread on hr.com is packed with information about the business of running a small studio. Slapping up a web page and hope people come is not going to benefit you short term, don’t let your ISP fool ya Word of mouth is by far the best method in which to acquire new customers, because […]
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On the Songfight discussion forum, I posted a before & after mastering comparison for some tracks on Waking Up In August the difference in the mastered tracks is most obvious in the extreme low and high frequencies. Listen to the bass guitar in the High Enough extro, and the string noises at the start of […]
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Terry Manning (yes, that Terry Manning,) posted a great breakdown of his vocal tracking and mixing technique on ProSoundWeb: I like to build a special area for the singer, moving tall baffles into a “squared-off U shape” behind and to the sides of the singing area, not only for the purpose of controlling unwanted reflections, […]
Read the full post ...An hr.com user gives a detailed description of his vocal “sweetening” technique, complete with examples: So, what is this “effect”? Simply, it is a stereo effect that pitch shifts one channel up 12 cents, and pitch shifts the other other channel down 12 cents, then uses a delay of about 25ms. The effect, again, is […]
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