Effects for newbies

[theo bee]

Hey all, I am pretty new at this studio deal. So I have a simple setup that seems to record trax great and now only to learn how to bring life into the songs. Any suggestions on what effects or plug-ins to use for vocals, guitars to get me started. I also would like a good book that explains the techniques of mixing and mastering if there are any recomends........Thanks

[grooveboxmusicTony]

"Mixing Audio: Concepts, Practices and Tools" by Roey Izhaki is a good read. Very informative for someone trying to get familiar with the nuts and bolts.

I have "The Mixing Engineers Handbook" by Bobby Owsinski in my collection and I have loaned it to several up and coming audio guru's. They seem to find it helpful, although it does read like a textbook.
Thats why it like it better, but some may want a more fluid read.

[TonyB]

Originally Posted by grooveboxmusicTony

"Mixing Audio: Concepts, Practices and Tools" by Roey Izhaki is a good read. Very informative for someone trying to get familiar with the nuts and bolts.

I have "The Mixing Engineers Handbook" by Bobby Owsinski in my collection and I have loaned it to several up and coming audio guru's. They seem to find it helpful, although it does read like a textbook.
Thats why it like it better, but some may want a more fluid read.

+1 on Owsinski's handbook. The Recording Engineers Handbook is a great supplement too.

I've learned the most from the interviews....practical application.

[garageband]

plug-ins to use for vocals, guitars

Often, the first thing a new engineer does is when sitting down at the DAW is rifle through his plug-ins looking for "the magic". This is funny if you imagine somebody breaking into some well-known producer's house looking in every room to steal the secret formula of his hits.

Learn compression, EQ and reverb. These are the basic parts of speech of mixing, just like nouns, verbs and adjectives are part of linguistic grammar. Certainly there are other essential elements, but get solid on the big three and things will make sense faster.
Please pull around to the second window.

[garww]

Originally Posted by garageband

Often, the first thing a new engineer does is when sitting down at the DAW is rifle through his plug-ins looking for "the magic". This is funny if you imagine somebody breaking into some well-known producer's house looking in every room to steal the secret formula of his hits.

Learn compression, EQ and reverb. These are the basic parts of speech of mixing, just like nouns, verbs and adjectives are part of linguistic grammar. Certainly there are other essential elements, but get solid on the big three and things will make sense faster.
Please pull around to the second window.

In my (fictional) book, i'd recommend studying some old mono recordings to temper todays mindset. Things like Pieces for Viola, or The Criminal Trombone in stereo. etc..