http://forum.recordingreview.com/ Discuss audio engineering techniques such as mic placement, technique, and gear selection. Discuss the recording of drums, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, bass, vocals, and more. en Sat, 21 Nov 2009 19:00:59 GMT vBulletin 10 http://forum.recordingreview.com/images/misc/rss.jpg http://forum.recordingreview.com/ http://forum.recordingreview.com/showthread.php?t=24442&goto=newpost Sat, 21 Nov 2009 07:19:49 GMT Hello all! I have some serious questions here that may affect my future and I need some advice from some of you experts that either work in the field of audio recording or that know someone that does. I recently dropped out of the university I was attending, the University of Toronto which is pretty much the canadian equivalent to a college in the United States. I attempted majoring in computer science but I just couldn't keep up partially cause I had absolutely no experience using any programming language from high school but also cause I never got help when I should have gotten it. I am currently gonna try to find a temporary job at a grocery store or some other place to gather up a bit of money. Anyways, I've been looking at enrolling myself into a college or one of those audio engineering institutions. The first I've checked out so far is Metalworks in Mississauga, just outside Toronto. Has anyone heard of it?

Metalworks link: Metalworks Institute of Sound and Music Production - Canada's Elite Entertainment Arts School - Mississauga, Ontario

Another is Fanshawe College in London, Ontario: Next Academic Year, Music Industry Arts, Fanshawe College

Do you guys think these schools are worth it? Metalworks for instance costs about 20,000$ for a one year program and almost 40,000$ for a two year program. Fanshawe on the other hand is much cheaper. Metalworks is a pro studio however and has apparently recorded famous artists, bands and rappers including Our Lady Peace, D12, David Bowie, Alexisonfire and tons of others. They've even done recording for movies like Cars and Chicago. They've got a Neve mixing board that costs 1.2 million dollars I think. In fact, they've got 9 studios all together. I swear I'm not promoting for the company but it is a pretty impressive place. I just don't know if going there will really help to land me a job. They do a good job at talking about things but I just don't know if they'll really help you in the end.

Anyways, I love music and everything that goes with it. Unfortunately, I feel that I'm not the greatest musician but I do have enough musical knowledge to get by since I've studied piano since I was a kid, I've been playing guitar for a good 6 to 7 years and I've been listening to music since I was in my mom's womb. In terms of recording, I've been using Logic Pro for the past year and a half and I've briefly explored Pro Tools, Cubase and Reason 4. I also have experience with my all time favourite plugins Toontrack and Guitar Rig 3. Unfortunately, I'm still a real amateur at compressing and EQing. I've also gone through about 4 different audio interfaces in the past 5 to 6 years starting with an m-audio fast-track usb to an alesis io 14 to a digidesign mbox 2 which I stole from my school cause I was so desperate to try Pro Tools and now an Apogee Duet, which I legally purchased at a local Long and McQuade.

Ok and for my last few questions: Is it actually possible to survive in the music industry today as a recording engineer/artist? And does going to one of those schools help in any way?

If anyone can give me any advice, either post it here in this thread or you can also email me at julienfalcone@hotmail.com

Thanks in advance to anyone that responds,

Julien Falcone

*I'm lost right now man!* ]]> Audio Engineering ratmandtotti http://forum.recordingreview.com/showthread.php?t=24442 http://forum.recordingreview.com/showthread.php?t=24429&goto=newpost Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:15:42 GMT I'm a bit confused about the levels I should be looking for when recording tracks. Here's what I've come to believe/understand so far:

1 - with digital recording, clipping is a major sin, and that should be avoided at all costs.

2 - the level of an individual track should be viewed in context with any other tracks that will be used when the mix happens. The higher the number of tracks involved, the higher the total level will be.

3 - it's better to "play it safe", and record under whatever target value is optimum, rather then flirt with recording over the optimum level

4 - boosting a weak level track is better then reducing an overly high level (without clipping) track

I'm interested in hearing what misconceptions there may be in the above list.

Also, there was a recent thread in which a participant commented:

:"-18 to -24 is the European standard max recording level go closer to zero at risk of distorting clipping etc when you are all done you can push the final master (with a known peak peak value) up to -0.5 if you want."

The way I read this, when recording a track, setting up the equipment so the track levels fall between -18 and -24 is a good thing.

I've also heard that ideally, you should record at as high a level as possible without clipping. Obviously, that runs counter to some of the items above.

So ... what levels should I be looking for in my tracks when hitting the record button?

Nobody said it was gonna be easy, but then again, nobody told me it was gonna be this damn hard, either.

Music Amigo ]]> Audio Engineering musicamigo http://forum.recordingreview.com/showthread.php?t=24429 http://forum.recordingreview.com/showthread.php?t=24428&goto=newpost Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:58:45 GMT sorry for being a thread whore, but you guys are quite good at what you do lol. anywho, ive noticed that when i try to record my guitarist, there is an obnoxious amount of buzz coming from his guitar. ive narrowed it down to be coming from his actual guitar, and is not a cable or computer issue. ive also noticed that if he sits or stands in different positions, it affects the level of buzz. can any of you help me solve this issue? do i need to take the guitar apart and fix a wire? or could it be the pickups themselves? ive tried turning off all sources of interference in the house, monitors,tvs,radios,lights, even ruled out the houses electrical wiring. its driving me crazy! no amount of equing or audio trickery can get around this, and its really making the quality of the mix suffer. sorry for being a thread whore, but you guys are quite good at what you do lol.

anywho, ive noticed that when i try to record my guitarist, there is an obnoxious amount of buzz coming from his guitar. ive narrowed it down to be coming from his actual guitar, and is not a cable or computer issue. ive also noticed that if he sits or stands in different positions, it affects the level of buzz. can any of you help me solve this issue? do i need to take the guitar apart and fix a wire? or could it be the pickups themselves? ive tried turning off all sources of interference in the house, monitors,tvs,radios,lights, even ruled out the houses electrical wiring. its driving me crazy! no amount of equing or audio trickery can get around this, and its really making the quality of the mix suffer. ]]> Audio Engineering arktisk http://forum.recordingreview.com/showthread.php?t=24428 http://forum.recordingreview.com/showthread.php?t=24397&goto=newpost Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:12:25 GMT im coming to the end of a 4 year period of writing an album, and currently in the mixing stage, but im having problems judging the levels of bass on individual tracks and the mix as a whole. i dont have a subwoofer, just a pair of rokit 5 audio monitors and a pair of sennheiser hd 280 pro headphones. on both of these they sound fine, but when played on a high end stereo system its just excessive, while everything else seems to sound fine on it. i tried searching the forums but didnt have any luck. can anyone help me? p.s. if the solution involves buying anything, then it wont help. im a poor broke bastard :( im coming to the end of a 4 year period of writing an album, and currently in the mixing stage, but im having problems judging the levels of bass on individual tracks and the mix as a whole. i dont have a subwoofer, just a pair of rokit 5 audio monitors and a pair of sennheiser hd 280 pro headphones. on both of these they sound fine, but when played on a high end stereo system its just excessive, while everything else seems to sound fine on it. i tried searching the forums but didnt have any luck. can anyone help me?

p.s. if the solution involves buying anything, then it wont help. im a poor broke bastard :( ]]> Audio Engineering arktisk http://forum.recordingreview.com/showthread.php?t=24397 http://forum.recordingreview.com/showthread.php?t=24388&goto=newpost Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:19:56 GMT Hey Gang,

I am looking for some opinions on how to build a choir type sound, using vst instruments.

I have some pretty decent libraries, (EWQL Symphonic Choirs, colossus) , but I haven't found any really good tutorials on how to use them.

I want to build the type of choir sound that's very popular in symphonic metal music or orchestral music.

Here's an example of what I want to create.

YouTube - World Of Warcraft : Wrath Of the Lich King Main Theme

around 1:35 or so.

I've seen a couple of tutorials floating around that show how to make a some harmonies from a single vocal line or several vocal lines, but those are pretty weak in comparison to the "wall of sound" I'd like to build.

Admittedly, I don't have a background in choral arrangements, so perhaps that's part of my problem, not understanding what every person/group should be singing.

If anyone can't point me to some tutorials or whatnot, I'd definitely appreciate it. Also, I'm looking for something a bit more solid than the tip to "just learn wordbuilder". I've tried. It's pretty confusing, and I've had limited success with it.

So I'm hoping there's a better/easier/more documented way to choir building.

thanks! ]]> Audio Engineering midKnight http://forum.recordingreview.com/showthread.php?t=24388 http://forum.recordingreview.com/showthread.php?t=24383&goto=newpost Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:51:28 GMT Hi everyone,

Once again, much respect to everyone who is sending along very valuable pieces of advice to aid me on my home recording quest. I thank you so much. This time, I was wondering if someone could advise me on the optimal basement setup for recording drums and guitar simultaneously. I realize that I won’t be getting super-quality sound isolation for each instrument as if I were recording in a pro studio environment, but I want to make the best of the current space.

Here’s what I’d like to accomplish – to record guitar and drums simultaneously via my Firestudio Project audio interface while eliminating or minimizing the “bleeding” of any sound source (drum kit, powered monitors, guitar amp) into any of the “other” microphones.

Here are the details about my recording space - I have three separate basement rooms, none of which are soundproofed or noise-isolated from each other. Let’s call ‘em rooms 1,2 and 3.

Here’s how I would prefer to record, but I don’t know if it is practical and/or effective –
1.) I’m the guitarist, and ideally, during the recording of drums and guitar simultaneously I would much prefer to be in room 1 and listen to my live guitar signal and the live drum signal through the powered monitors rather than headphones (If necessary though, I will use the headphones during recording). To do this, I was hoping to set up the powered monitors fairly close to me in room 1. Hopefully, doing so won’t create too much of a “double track” effect whereby the sound from the powered monitors will bleed back into the guitar amp microphone.

2.] Then, I was hoping to give the drummer (in room 2) a set of headphones - if he wants them - to hear my guitar parts more clearly. Which brings me to an important question – how crucial is it to have some type of “guitar fort” or enclosure (i.e., rockwall) surrounding the guitar amp during recording? If I do have an enclosure, then I’m assuming that the drummer will more likely need the headphones to hear my guitar. Also, someone mentioned that I should use something called GOBO walls. Can anyone explain what those are?

Any tidbits of advice would be greatly, greatly appreciated. Thanks again guys.

Peace,
RB ]]> Audio Engineering rbracch http://forum.recordingreview.com/showthread.php?t=24383 http://forum.recordingreview.com/showthread.php?t=24374&goto=newpost Thu, 19 Nov 2009 06:14:27 GMT In my lap I have a speaker cable and a instrument cable. I see this,

Similarities:

• Both 1/4 inch jacks
  both un-Balanced
  both have cold and hot (+&-)

Differences:

• one said Profesional low noise speaker cable
  one said VTG audio low noise-instrument cable-made in USA

What is the difference between speaker cable and instrument cable???? ]]> Audio Engineering DCstudio10 http://forum.recordingreview.com/showthread.php?t=24374 http://forum.recordingreview.com/showthread.php?t=24371&goto=newpost Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:20:07 GMT I've been thinking about this a lot. I'd really like to know what are some of your go-to techniques to wet down the vocals without pulling them away from the speakers. I seem stuck in a rut where I just throw on a delay or two and that's it. I know this may be a really ambiguous question.

I'm kinda thinking along the lines of "I sing the verse twice, throw the second take through a chorus, then enigma, then...". I dunno. As I said, I have very few techniques.

Please help!:) ]]> Audio Engineering Jakeman1086 http://forum.recordingreview.com/showthread.php?t=24371 http://forum.recordingreview.com/showthread.php?t=24365&goto=newpost Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:51:26 GMT :beerbangX:Hey All
I was wondering about recording vocals direct to a channel on the presonus firestudio, in mono. I've been doing that and they seem a little dry, plus stress on my voice. Is this the best way? I was wondering about recording vocals through a P.A. system using EQ and added amplification so as not to stress out my voice and setting up a mono Mic infront of the speakers... Has anyone tried this setup?

Also, when setting up Compression channels for Bass, Drums, Guitars and Vocals, is it better to use the Send on the desired channel to an FX Channel,
Or Group the desired Tracks to a Group channel and set up an Insert on the Group Channel???

Also, does anyone use Compression, limiters and/or Maximizers on the Final Stereo Output?? Is this recommended to achieve that loud CD quality sound?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank You
Throwbax ]]> Audio Engineering THROWBAX http://forum.recordingreview.com/showthread.php?t=24365 http://forum.recordingreview.com/showthread.php?t=24358&goto=newpost Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:20:10 GMT Hello,
I've been recording music since the late 90's, but unfortunately I dived into a deep lack of motivation for several years. Recently however, I have found a new drive and really want to get back into the swing of things. One of the things I could never really master is how to create a wall of guitars sound. Thinks Rob Zombie or even Filter.

Here is what I'm working with... some of it is outdated by a long shot and some of it is not:
-Cubase 5.1
-Presonus FireStudio Mobile (this is new to me within the last week. It replaced an old Echo Audio Gina)
-Roland GP16
-Roland GP100
-Beringher Vamp Pro
-Amplitube 2 (both metal and jimi hendrix)
-Guitar Rig 4.0

Now, I do know one thing for sure, and that is you have to layer guitar tracks to get that big wall of guitar sound. But how much is too much.

More specifically, should I record the guitar tracks on mono tracks and pan one left and one righ of the same sound and then take a different distortion sound and do the same thing again? Or do I record them into stereo tracks and pan one left and one right and keep doing the same thing with different sounds to make it thick?

When I used the inboard fx such as Amplitube, I plug the guitar directly into the instrument jack of the Presonus FireStudio Mobile. If I used the outboard gear (which I rarely do) those are plugged into the line inputs of the Presonus FiresStudio Mobile... I assume those are left and right... in other words, the GP100 has to cables coming out of the back and plug into the Presonus. One input I guess can act as left and the other right.

Is that enought info for anyone to help me?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Doug ]]> Audio Engineering dougdude9 http://forum.recordingreview.com/showthread.php?t=24358