Convolution reverbs are awesome. They really made mixing inside the box sound as good as using high end outboard gear. But one of my favourite uses for Logic’s convolution reverb, Space Designer, is as a speaker simulator. Take a listen. FYI, this is Fender Jazz Bass played with fingers (no pick), direct into Logic. I’m using the “Speaker 1” preset. No additional EQ or compression was used on either sample. This recording is an out take of Showroom’s The World Is Too Much With Us sessions.
Note: The difference is mostly in the low, low end so you won’t hear much difference listening though built-in computer speakers. Plug in a good pair of headphones or make sure you’re hooked up to some good monitors.
1. Original DI bass guitar
2. Processed bass guitar
The difference maybe subtle, but to me the processed bass has a lot more weight to it. I find it sounds more “real.” Of course, this won’t work in all situations, but if your bass is sounding thin and you’re looking for something phatter, give this a try. It’s usually best to blend the two sounds. Have fun! -mc
Mixers are so 1998. Actually, I don’t really know when they became obsolete, but it has certainly been years. I haven’t used a mixer on a session since 2003 when I moved my studio “inside the box.”
Mic preamps
Of course we need mic preamps. In most situations we only need one or two at a time, and many interfaces come with built in mic preamps. In addition, there are a number of companies that make very nice banks of eight of them, in a convenient rack-mount format. This is necessary when recording a drum kit or a group live-off-the-floor.
When it comes to analogue electronics you want to get the best you can afford. If your budget in $1,000 you could get:
A good mixer with eight mic preamps, 4-band EQ on each channel, four aux sends, four subgroups and 100mm faders on each channel, but how much of that $1,000 is invested in the mic preamp?
On the other hand you could buy a bank of eight mic preamps with a digital output to connect to your interface. With the only extra circuitry being the converters, you’re bound to get a better quality device for the price.
So if you need eight mic preamps, why buy a mixer that also has a lot of stuff you don’t need?
In the photo to the above right, you can see the rig I used to record some of the bedtracks for Showroom’s album. MOTU 828mkII, PreSonus DigiMax and a Line 6 Bass POD Pro. This set up is a a lot more portable than a mixer and a bass rig! And it’s especially important because we did this recording in the drummer’s bedroom.
But mixers look cool
I agree completely. If I had lots of money and lots of space I’d think it would be awesome to have an Audient ASP 8024 or TL Audio VTC. But large format options aren’t realistic for most of us. And the quality we can get from a rack setup will be noticeably better than a mixer based setup on the same budget. If you want the knobs and faders, take a look at Mackie’s MCU or Digidesign’s Command 8. Or have everything you need (and some bells and whistles you don’t) with the M-Audio Project Mix I/O or the Tascam FW1884.
Say good-bye to latency issues
I’ll use MOTU’s interfaces as the example here. They include this great software called CueMix that lets you control all the inputs on your interface before the audio signals make the trip to your computer so you can monitor your inputs with virtually no latency. Amazing. Why do so many people set up complicated systems when once again things can be done inside the box? Other interfaces from PreSonus, Apogee and RME have similar systems.
With MOTU’s system you can set up four completely different stereo mixes so you can have individual mixes for the drummer and the other performers during tracking.
If you have hardware synths or guitar amp modeling modules such as a POD, you can leave these hooked up to the inputs of your interface (like you would a mixer) and they are ready to go when you are.
Why make things complicated?
I see lots of complicated set ups in pro studios and in people’s bedrooms. It can be very frustrating working in larger systems where, by their very nature, there can be so many places for problems to occur. If you’re new to the whole recording business, don’t let someone talk you into buying a mixer. Chances are they’re just conditioned to the mixer being an integral part of the set up. But it’s not anymore. To me it’s like suggesting you should buy a stand alone CD recorder. There was a time when it made sense, but that time has passed. -mc
Doubling is recording a second performance of the same part onto another track in order to “thicken” the sound. This is a technique that’s often used with vocals (i.e. Ozzy Osbourne, Elton John).
Comping is combining the best sections of several different takes of the same part onto one “composite” track to create the best possible performance.
Now go impress your friends at cocktail parties with your new nerdy engineer-speak! -kf
When starting a session I always ask, “do you want to do this to a click?” Most of the time the answer is yes. When recording on a computer it is so tempting to always play to a click so you can have all the parts of your song aligned nicely on the grid. Editing is easier this way. It makes it easy to set up delays or tremolos that sync perfectly with your song. It can also kill the feel of the track if you’re not careful.
Preproduction is important here. Decide weeks (or months) in advance of recording if you want to use a click track. And spend time finding the right tempo for your songs. It’s amazing how much difference there can be between 112 BPM or 113 BPM. Many metronomes, and all DAWs I’m aware of, allow for more tempo detail than that (try 112.6534 BPM, for example).
Now that you’ve got your tempo, make sure everyone in the band practices at that tempo. This will make a world of difference when it’s time to record. It’ll also make a world of difference to your live shows.
Practicing with a click will help you improve your timing in general. This advice doesn’t just apply to drummers. It doesn’t matter what instrument you play, practicing to a click will help you perform better with a click in the studio, or without one at gig.
Electronic music aside, the click should just be a reference. The drummer should choose where the beats actually fall. Without practice playing to a click can be very awkward. You can end up listening to click more than thinking about the song, and that’s not good. Once the drums are recorded, turn off the click, and play to the drummer!
If you chose to forgo the click, practice is just as important, perhaps more so! Choosing to record without a click track is better suited to live-off-floor style recordings, where the band all play together with minimal overdubs.
A third option is to start with a click to get the tempo right off the top, and then turn it off halfway though and let the rest of the song go on feel.
Some bands are so good they don’t need a click. Some bands are so bad they can’t play to a click! Ultimately, it’s up to you. But the key is to decide before you start recording. -mc
Constant listening levels during mixdown is critical, as our perception of frequency changes according to sound pressure levels. In plain English: we hear pitch differently depending on the volume.
For example, at high volume, our perception of sound frequencies may resemble this:
…whereas at lower listening levels, it’s more likely to resemble this:
So when you alter your listening level halfway through mixing, you might inadvertently overcompensate for the “missing” lows and highs. This doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t ever raise/lower the volume when mixing – just be aware! -kf
Here are four points to keep in mind before you start mixing:
What are the acoustic properties of the room you’re mixing in? Surface treatments, walls, etc.? Is the room “live” or “dead”? You’ll need to take this into account when mixing, as it will affect the amount of reverb you’ll add.
Do your monitors (speakers) have a flat frequency response? Are any frequencies being boosted? This will also affect your mixes as you may unknowingly compensate for this in your mix, and end up with a different tonal balance than you had originally intended.
Are there standing waves in the room? Move around the room and use your ears – use a reference CD you’re familiar with and compare the perceived tonal balance at various locations in the room. This also has the potential to affect how you mix your recordings.
Do you have the choice of using several types of monitors (speakers) in order to compare your final mixes? Ideally, you’ll want to monitor your final mix on several types of speakers – including:
Good quality nearfield monitors for a more accurate representation of how your music will sound on regular speakers.
Headphones to verify your stereo imaging.
Cheap car stereo speakers. If your mix sounds good here, it’ll sound good almost anywhere!
Want a clean recording? Start with a clean room. I’m not joking!
It’s not fun to to wade through a mess of cables searching for lost guitar pics, adapters, notebooks or (occasionally) missing musicians. Keep your cables running neatly together. One caveat: make sure power cables don’t run along parallel to audio cables! Run power and audio cables perpendicular when possible to avoid getting hum from the AC into your audio.
I don’t want to sound like a nagging parent telling you to clean your room. I’m just saying I’ve had my share of headaches because of messy cabling situations. Most of these could have been avoided by being more neat and organized. -mc
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Convolution reverbs are awesome. They really made mixing inside the box sound as good as using high end outboard gear. But one of my favourite uses for Logic’s convolution reverb, Space Designer, is as a speaker simulator. Take a listen. FYI, this is Fender Jazz Bass played with fingers (no pick), direct into Logic. I’m using the “Speaker 1” preset. No additional EQ or compression was used on either sample. This recording is an out take of Showroom’s The World Is Too Much With Us sessions.
When starting a session I always ask, “do you want to do this to a click?” Most of the time the answer is yes. When recording on a computer it is so tempting to always play to a click so you can have all the parts of your song aligned nicely on the grid. Editing is easier this way. It makes it easy to set up delays or tremolos that sync perfectly with your song. It can also kill the feel of the track if you’re not careful.
Here are four points to keep in mind before you start mixing:
