Hot answers tagged home-studio
16
Definitely EQ. if you're not using a super-high quality mic then there's going to be a need for frequency compensation, and a good bit of EQing can make even simply lightly-reverbed vocal tracks sit much nicer in your mix.
Also, don't drown your vocals in FX (unless that's the aim of the track, or you're using a vocoder ;) ). A good plate reverb, maybe a ...
10
I have no experience with those mics that you mentioned, but a common response to this question on other forums is a Shure SM-57. It is a simple dynamic cardioid mic that is very durable and seems to be useful in a wide variety of recording situations, but is particularly useful for recording snare drums and guitar cabinets due to its high tolerance for ...
8
What happened to dynamics?
Depending on the situation, I use the following:
EQ -> A little compression -> [monitor out for singer] -> Multiband compression aka de-esser -> compression -> reverb
Everything pre-fader except for the reverb.
The first compressor is just making things a bit more comfortable for the singer and really shouldn't do much. The ...
8
There's a lot of personal preferences that goes into this decision, but I personally prefer recording acoustic instruments with a large diaphragm condenser microphone. You can position the microphone very closely to the instrument, provided the violinist doesn't move around a lot when playing, and you can experiment with placing the microphone closer to the ...
8
That depends on your goals and ambitions. It will serve all your basic recording, mixing and production needs, and many, many bands and solo musicians are taking their first steps with home recording using Garage Band, or similar software packages on other platforms.
Basic operation:
I spent many hours playing with a Fostex 4-track tape recorder when I was ...
7
I am a lot more dynamic with the control room volume fader. Unless you're producing music for a very specific audience, then you need to make sure the mix is properly balanced at both high and low levels and everything in between.
One of many great lessons I picked on in mixing workshops years ago, was to frequently turn down the music to the barely ...
7
You're really looking at two completely different families of equipment--very rarely do you find situations where home theatre is being mixed with "pro audio".
Home theatre equipment is usually centered around a single viewing screen, and is geared towards very high fidelity audio in multiple channels, as well as surround. It's also easier for the consumer ...
6
You shouldn't have any trouble with this. The voltages coming from microphones are next to nothing, and phantom power is DC and from the same source. Think of a snake cable with 32+ channels in it, running a couple hundred feet.
You only need to be concerned about power cables running in parallel to your microphone cables. Even then, it generally isn't a ...
6
If you have a lisp, then it's a natural part of your speaking voice and you won't be able to get rid of it entirely through processing (and you shouldn't, in my opinion).
That said, the "ess" and "shh" sounds exhibit quite a lot of sibilance, which tends to show up in recordings, like you said, as a burst of volume and noise. It can be very distracting to ...
6
There is no such thing as the audio quality of a MIDI recording, because MIDI contains no audio data. It's just a protocol with the information about when which key was pressed with what velocity. Transforming that data into an actual hearable audio signal requires some kind of MIDI synthesizer/sampler, which is then the only thing that affects the sound. ...
5
I've done almost exclusively mobile recording for the past few years (simply because I have no space where I live to have bands over). It's been mostly rock bans. Here's some general things I've found to be useful:
More smaller racks, rather than fewer huge racks
Rack cases with wheels (SKB makes a great version)
Ability to support multiple headphones ...
5
Absolutely. I use it on my laptop, when I'm traveling and away from my desktop and Logic Pro rig, and it's outstanding.
There are track limits, but they're generous and you can do things like bounce submixes to new projects to get around them. There's less features than Logic but honestly, most people getting started with computer-based recording and trying ...
5
As well as the technical means mentioned in other answers, you should also consider "working the mic" - understand how various syllables produce air out of your mouth. Position yourself slightly off-axis from the mic so the blasts of high frequency sound and high speed exhalations don't hit the mic's diaphragm head-on. 30 or 45 degrees off-axis can produce ...
5
Before you even start recording, there are a few things that you need to understand.
Know what you are recording VERY well
Things will go much smoother and you will be much less frustrated if you can lay down tracks in a couple of takes rather than 20. This includes both knowing the music and knowing your instrument. Guitarists should know their tones ...
4
When ever I've done stereo micing before I've used 2 identical mics. However there is a technique which uses 2 different mics called Middle Side, which then needs to be decoded either through hardware or software to give normal Left-Right signals. It's something I've often thought interesting but never had the opportunity to play with.
4
These days it is often simplest to record into Cubase or a similar DAW as multi tracks as you then have the flexibility to do what you want, such as re-record the vocals or add another guitar layer.
Set up all your inputs individually to make sure none are so high level they distort on recording but are not so low that you can heart mains hum over them.
...
4
An example of a specialized software to record LPs and cassettes
LP Ripper (commercial):
Optional any software that can record the line input will do, for example:
Audacity (free) (see also this link for instructions on how-to)
GoldWave (shareware)
Record the whole side and then go in a chop up into segments, and save out.
3
I'm not sure which model of macbook you have, but most of them have a digital (optical) input built in on the line input. You would just have to grab a mini-toslink adaptor and change it to optical on system preferences > sound.
You could try it by searching apple database or trying to enable this option on your settings?
If I remember correctly I could see ...
3
I can think of three different configurations. Which one you settle on will depend on how often you use the Yamaha and how you use it. Spend a little time searching Google's image search to find some ideas.
Keyboard and mouse in front of the Yamaha on the same surface.
This is a simple and common configuration. It works good if the Yamaha is only ...
3
The SM81 is a classic "small-diaphragm condensor" microphone. Search for this term on Sweetwater or other pro-audio store site and you will find that it is a densely populated space.
The SM81 is a popular mic that has been around a long time, so you can probably find one used for a bit cheaper.
To stay with new mics, you can find something like the ...
3
A microphone that works well for vocals and is in a god price-range yet is good quality is the Shure SM-57. It also has the benefit to be an excellent mic to record electric guitars. As such it is pretty much the first microphone to buy of any kind.
If you want something that has a more transparent top, you probably want a large-diaphragm condensor. There ...
3
Note: I've never used a PCI card, only external hardware....
I hate to say this, but "it depends". What do you want to do? Do you need to record vocals or a full instrument band?
If you're a solo vocalist/podcaster/etc, then you can roll with something like the M-Audio Mobile PRE and a condenser mic (or any other good vocal mic). As for software, you can ...
3
It is a good idea to have a few dynamic mikes, (Shure SM-57 or SM-58, "Beta" models are a lot prettier in my opinion, but also a bit more expensive) My advice: don't save on these mics by buying cheaper alternatives.
In addition, a few SDC (Small Diaphragm Condensor) mikes should also always come in handy. The DPA 4006 and 4011 are very hard to beat, but ...
3
One of my BX5a's had the same issue about a year ago and the culprit ended up being failed capacitors.
You can usually spot them when you open the unit because they're bulging and often leaking dark colored goo.
If you're not experienced and comfortable working inside electronics, you should take them to a shop for repair. This is a potentially dangerous ...
3
Is this really a problem?
I doubt it but you can work this out yourself with a simple experiment. Set up your environment as you would for a real recording session. Record a minute or so of silence with all 10 microphones. Repeat with just 5 connected, then 1, then none. Compare the difference in the "silent" recordings e.g. is the peak amplitude of the ...
3
Sell your Pro Tools license and equipment and buy Reaper.
It's cheap, good and functional.
With whatever left of this trade off you can buy some decent recording equip.
You can also get a UAD soundcard for heavy duty processing and analog emulation.
In short: If you have a limited budget you don't need Pro Tools.
Now, the rest of it - equipment, ...
3
Ideally you want to use a sound absorbing foam on the walls and ceiling - like this. You can buy panels already made, which will look better, but even just attaching foam like this to the wall will help deaden the sound.
Use a carpet on the floor, and have thick curtains or rugs to hang over the windows.
All these things will help absorb sound.
3
You should check out this site. He is very helpful but you must read his requirements for activity on his forum very carefully. http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/index.php. Also this http://www.ethanwiner.com/acoustics.html
Bass trapping is the main place to start. I wont explain bass trapping here as you could spend months studying it but I can tell you ...
3
Well, first of all, you will need a microphone. The cheaper the microphone, the worse you will sound. In the way of software, if you are on Windows, you won't even have to download anything: Just go Start Menu - All Programs - Accessories - Sound Recorder. Or you can use Windows Movie Maker, (NOT Windows Live Movie Maker). For Mac you can use Garage Band, or ...
3
To quantify this problem, you want to know the difference between your recording level ("how high the meters are when you're making sound into your mic") and the noise level ("how loud things are when you aren't making noise"). In simple terms, the difference between these is called signal/noise ratio, or SNR. When you boost the signal, you are also boosting ...
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