diyrecording.com

Music industry alive and well… in Canada

michael — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 12:23:16 +0000

Lots of things are looking good for Canada: Our dollar is at an all time high, and our music industry, too, is doing well. According to this article at the The Globe and Mail: A new reports says Canada’s sound recording and music publishing industries turned a relatively healthy profit in 2005. The Canadian profits come [...]

Taking the Pro out of Pro Tools

michael — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 14:38:48 +0000

I just bought a used Mbox “Classic,” that’s what I call the original vertical Mboxes. It was a total deal. I was so happy that I was about to add Pro Tools compatibility to my rig. It was going to be great. But it was also going to take me hours to get it to [...]

Allen & Heath prove me wrong with new mixer

michael — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 22:43:52 +0000

Maybe I do need a mixer. Or maybe it’s that Allen & Heath’s new ZED14 is the first mixer I’ve seen that is truly flexible enough to fit into a computer-based home studio without too many compromises. The ZED14 offers a USB audio interface to connect directly to your Mac or PC. There are other mixers [...]

Space Designer’s secret identity: Bass Designer!

michael — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 12:05:19 +0000

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 [...]

Logic Studio is here

michael — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 03:53:17 +0000

Well after much speculation, we are now able to see all that Logic Pro 8 has to offer. And perhaps the most surprising part of the announcement is the price: $499 for the full suite, and $199 for the upgrade. I thought it had to be wrong, but it seems Apple has actually cut the [...]

Free resources for SONAR users

kathleen — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 04:28:28 +0000

Michael suggested I put together a list of free online resources for SONAR users. So without further ado… Cakewalk.com: SONAR Support This is the official site for SONAR technical support. It features solutions for common issues, tips, downloads, recommended books and more. SONAR Wiki A comprehensive wiki dedicated to SONAR! Sound on Sound Magazine: Sonar Notes [...]

Chosing DAW software and hardware (part 1)

michael — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 18:19:24 +0000

There are dozens of studio software packages to choose from. These can range from a $10,000+ Pro Tools rig to free open source applications such as Audacity. Your options narrow slightly depending on what operating system you’re running. Still, considering the number of software applications multiplied by the number of audio interfaces available on the [...]

Can’t wait for the update

michael — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 00:49:18 +0000

Do you ever feel like you just can’t wait to get the update to your favourite DAW software? I know many Logic users feel that way right now, but this feeling doesn’t apply to them only! I was reading through some forums the other day and ran across a post criticizing people for dreaming about Logic [...]

How do CDs work?

kathleen — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 01:33:07 +0000

Ah, the ubiquitous CD. I remember my very first CD – Ravel’s Bolero, given to me by my great-aunt Denise. (In the 80s, classical music on CD was big.) I also remember she had thrown away the jewel case, thinking it was just excess packaging. The compact disc recently celebrated its 25th anniversary, [...]

Who needs a mixer? Not me

michael — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 03:14:47 +0000

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, [...]

What’s the difference between doubling and comping?

kathleen — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 02:33:05 +0000

In a nutshell: 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 [...]

To click or not to click

michael — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 14:44:06 +0000

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 [...]

What is mastering?

kathleen — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 22:02:56 +0000

In a nutshell: Mastering is the final stage before manufacturing. It’s done in order to ensure all the tracks on an album have a consistent sound. An important goal of mastering can also be to get your recording in the same “sonic ballpark” as current recordings of the same genre. Typically, the mastering engineer will [...]

Don’t touch the volume when mixing!

kathleen — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 21:10:02 +0000

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 [...]

Ready, set… MIX!

kathleen — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 00:38:36 +0000

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 [...]

Keeping it clean

michael — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 21:38:29 +0000

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 [...]

Pump up the bass… or not

kathleen — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 19:51:13 +0000

Here’s a neat trick for getting more bass out of your speakers at your next party: Place the speakers in the upper corners of the room. First, a micro-lesson in acoustics and sound transmission: Geometrically speaking, each wall and the ceiling in a room is a plane. You get an extra 3dB of perceived bass [...]

Predicting our digital future in 1998

kathleen — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 21:03:53 +0000

I was cleaning out some boxes today and ran across some old exams and assignments from my days at audio engineering school. Apparently in April 1998, I scored 41.5/50 on my Digital Audio Exam. The course was taught by Jim Burgess of Saved by Technology. My favourite part was my answer to the last [...]

Learning to listen: Katmandu by Cat Stevens (1970)

michael — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 01:40:27 +0000

I was going through my record collection today and came across Herb Alpert’s 1971 release, Summertime (not available on CD, argh!) and put it on. Kathleen and I talked about how if we could only have access to one label’s catalogue it would be A&M Records. After all, they had Herb Alpert, The Police, Burt [...]

Three countries, three different guides to DIY recording

kathleen — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 01:20:10 +0000

triple j Unearthed is a gem of a website from Australia. Not content to simply feature terrific new artists from down under, they also offer a free 3-page PDF primer on DIY recording. Three pages is admittedly just a very basic intro to do-it-yourself recording, but it’s surprisingly useful if you’re just getting [...]