Archive for 'March, 2010'

Just before January 1st I wrote a post about setting some New Year’s REVolutions. In that article I suggested you focus on three areas of change this year: not buying gear without writing new music to warrant it, learning to use the bundled plugins in your DAW, and being open to critique. We are now through the first quarter of 2010 so I thought it would be a good time to do a 3 month check up to evaluate how we’re doing with those changes and to offer some encouragement and advice.

What is your Cost Per Song?

Since January 1st, how much of your hard earned cash (you did earn it, right?) have you dropped on recording equipment/software? Did you spend $100? $200? $500? How many songs have you written or produced since January 1st? One? Two? Five? If you spent $100 so far and have written 3 songs, then you’re songs are costing you $33 to write and produce. If you’ve spend $500 and written 2 songs, then you’re spending $250 a song. Big difference.

Granted if the purchases come to a halt and you keep making music, your cost per song goes way down. That is a good thing! But as most of us know, it’s way easier to buy gear than it is to write music so we tend to just spend spend spend, thinking we are working towards growing our studio and hopefully allowing for more music making (and potentially better music making) in the future.

If that sounds like you, stop now. Don’t spend another penny until you can justify it with making more music. You have to break the habit!

How many EQs does it take to mix your songs?

You know the old joke, “How many (fill in the blank) does it take to change a light bulb?” Well 3 months in to music making in 2010, how many EQs and compressors are you using in your mixes? Are you just throwing around plugins left and right? Do you know your stock plugins any better than you did last year? I hope the answer is yes.

The only way to learn your plugins (and to stay away from spending more on additional ones) is to limit how many you reach for in a mix and just use the same few over and over again. Learn each parameter intimately. Tweak and listen. Doesn’t sound good? No problem, just change it and listen some more. Then rinse and repeat. No big secret here. These next 3 months, decide to just use one type EQ and compressor when you mix. 90 days from you will have a much better idea of how they operate and sound in your sessions.

Who has heard your work lately?

Have you shared your latest recordings with someone you trust? If not, what are you afraid of? There’s no reason to make music and not share it, especially if you want to get better at both songwriting and recording. If so, did you take their feedback into consideration? I hope so. I know it’s hard to put your self and your creativity out on the line, but if you never hear that you need improvement, then you’ll never improve and only YOU will think that you’re good.

If you’re reading this blog then you probably want to improve your craft, so I feel it’s safe to assume that you don’t think you’ve “arrived” as an artist or engineer. I know that I sure haven’t. I’m always trying to learn and improve. It’s not being weak, it’s being real. It’s being humble. It’s called caring about good music more than your ego.

How did your check up go?

So how did you do? Can I give you a bill of good health this quarter? Are you sticking to those revolutions? Make this the year that you change. Don’t be another gear junky. Don’t be another brand snob. Don’t be another all talk, no music, home studio owner. Draw a line in the sand and make it happen today!

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While you’re at it, why don’t you try the One Song One Month Challenge. It’s a simple 5 week challenge designed to walk you through building a song from the ground up. Some easy deadlines can go a long way to helping you be productive and creative!

Of all the plugins that musicians and engineers have at their disposal when working in a DAW, the compressor seems to be the most mysterious and misunderstood. I hear it all the time from friends and readers’ emails: What do all the different parameters mean? What should I use a compressor for? Should I use a compressor in my mix at all?

In this 2 part video I want to clear the confusion up. The compressor is a very powerful and useful effect, but only when you understand what it does and how to use that to your advantage. I hope you find this useful!

When it comes to getting your lead vocals to stand out in the mix, nothing could be easier than doubling. You track your main part and then record it again on a separate track, blending the two together. Instant chorus effect.

This technique is used all the time, and it really is cool. But what I’m going to show you today takes that a step further. Let’s look at a simple technique that can make your vocal sound big, wide, and all around the mix!

It seems like the whole world is currently obsessed with Auto Tune. Despite its long history in the audio world (even before it was ever a plugin), Antares Auto Tune seems to be hitting a popularity streak thanks to the likes of T-Pain and his iPhone app. Just type “Auto Tune” into the YouTube search bar and you’ll be entertained for the next week straight!

But as far as what you and I are concerned about (using a pitch correction plugin for audio work), Auto Tune is quietly being out shined by it’s German arch enemy, Melodyne. Made by a company called Celemony, Melodyne is by far the easiest, fastest, most powerful and natural sounding pitch correction software out there.

Melo-what?

Using a simple graphical interface that shows notes as orange blobs, Melodyne lets you easily see your performance, grab a note, and move it somewhere else. This can be a subtle pull sharp or flat, or it can be a complete re-write of the melody. You can even stretch notes out longer or shorter to change timing. In the background Melodyne will adjust the formant of the note along with any cross fading that’s necessary to keep it sounding fluid and natural.

If that weren’t enough you can quickly add or remove vibrato (on a note by note basis if need be), adjust the volume of individual notes, affect the transition or scoop from note to note, and even globally quantize pitch to a scale and timing to a grid of your choice. Pretty dirty stuff if you ask me.

You Won’t Go Back

If you haven’t used Melodyne yet, you really owe it to yourself to play with it. It’s hard to really appreciate how elegant and intuitive this program is until you’ve gotten your hands on it. I starting dabbling with it back in 2005 and now I can’t imagine using anything else. It is more than simple pitch correction, it is performance correction one very level imaginable. This is especially powerful when you only want some subtle tweaks. It is musical and tasteful, and really you don’t hear it doing anything at all. Perfect.

If you bought a Pro Tools system in the last 4 years or so (like the one included in the $500 studio I recommend) then you received a free copy of Melodyne called Melodyne Essential. It is a one track version that lets you do all of the things I mentioned above. Unless you’re doing something crazy you won’t need anything more. You should install that puppy now and get to work. It’s awesome.

And if you don’t have a copy, head over to the Celemony site and give it a good browsing. For under $200 you can access this crazy good software and go buck wild. Again, it’s not a necessity to make great music, but it’s a super powerful tool and those guys at Celemony truly have something amazing going on. Melodyne is a fantastic addition to any DAW as it gets pitch correction right: it simply corrects, not affects the sound.

In case you weren’t aware, I write this blog for musicians and budding audio engineers; including myself! I care about writing, recording, and listening to great music as I’m sure you do as well. The goal of The Recording Revolution is to empower you, the readers, to change your attitude about recording just enough in order to see real productivity and enjoyment. I want you to be creating more music than ever, and to be doing it with quality results!

One of my readers, Daniel, sent me a kind email that totally encouraged me and reminded me of why I do this each and every day. I want you to read it real briefly and I hope that it motivates YOU as you are pursuing your music and studio work in 2010. At the end of this post are some helpful links that I think will get you moving in the right direction. Enjoy!

I enjoyed The #1 Rule of Home Recording very much. The eBook is a big part of what has motivated me to get back to working on my music. In the past week I have accomplished more for my music than in the past six months.

The big difference for me was what you said about working with the tools that you have. Previously I had been thinking that before I could start making recordings that would sound good I would need to finish converting my office into my studio. For this endeavor I still need to fix the sound of my room. While I know this is still important it is not as important as actually working on my music.

Working on music is more important than gear obsession. This is the difference. In the past week I have created a music website, uploaded all of my previous songs (most of which are just scratch tracks and sound like garbage lol) and I am currently working on a new song using what I have learned on your site. (The one song in one month videos are VERY helpful).

-Daniel

Helpful resources on The Recording Revolution:

• The #1 Rule of Home Recording – Free eBook that will save you time and money in your studio.
• The One Song One Month Challenge – 5 part video series designed to walk you through producing a song from start to finish.
• Home Recording Myths – Get your facts straight about home recording and stop letting these myths hold you back.

I hear so often from musicians and bands that they don’t know what they need to do to take their recordings from just demo material to being a legitimate independent studio release. What distinguishes the two? How do you know when your demo is no longer a demo? Well, much of the discussion on this is subjective, but allow me to point out the two biggest areas that separate the millions of demos in the world from “finished” projects.

A Good Arrangement Changes Everything

When recording a demo your goal is usually to capture a quality recording of your song or idea; and that’s about it. Whether you intend to shop it to labels or use it to help you and your band remember songs you’re writing, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel to satisfy the needs of a demo. What usually goes out the window at this point is a well thought out arrangement. And that, my friend, is the first step to a top notch release.

Good arranging is subjective and doesn’t look the same for each genre, but one thing is for certain…your song should stay interesting from each section to the next. Verse 2 should be more interesting than verse 1, and chorus 3 should have slight variation from chorus 1 and 2. The idea is that your song should flow from beginning to end and keep the listener completely engaged. Give them something new as they go along. Examples could be: new instrumentation, rhythmic change, tempo or key change, layered vocals at different points, changing dynamics (loud to soft), etc. The idea here is to not simply settle with the core elements of your song. Rather, push yourself to create tasteful and meaningful sweetening tracks to your song.

Remember, the really good songs in the world (even the simple ones) have a good arrangement. You may not have thought about it, but believe me when I say a lot of thought and time went in to creating a moving, exciting, and fresh arrangement.

Think “Album” Not “Songs”

When recording your songs, have a goal in mind. Whether it’s releasing an album, EP, or live album, you need to have a unifying feel to your songs. Otherwise that’s all they are: a random collection of songs. And typically demos are just that, random. Professional albums aren’t simply the 10 to 12 songs that artist wrote in a given year or two. There were likely another 20 to 100 songs written that were “thrown” out after careful consideration by not only the artist, but their producer, their label, and other close friends.

Why is this relevant? Simply because as I’ve written about before, quality gear and technique alone don’t equate to a great recording. You have to a have a great song. And let’s be honest, not every song we write is great. It’s unfortunate, but true. That’s why we need third parties to listen through and critique our work in order to help us gather together the best of the best. And this happens WAY before any actual recording or arranging takes place.

As you’re picking out your strongest songs, you’ll also want to have a vision for the final product. A complete musical piece from beginning to end. Now, this doesn’t have to be a “concept album” or anything, but at least pick out songs that will compliment each other. Having the end in mind during all phases of recording will be that subtle thing that glues your songs together and help them stand out from your run of the mill 5 song demo.

Get Ready To Work

Taking your demos to the next level involves work. It’s more challenging and time consuming to sit down and sift through your songs (being willing to throw some out) and then come up with creative and interesting arrangements for each. It takes effort to fight against your desire to just “Bounce To Disk” and be done with it. If you want your recordings to move up a notch in professionalism then you my friend need to move up a notch in your work ethic in the studio. It’s the only way!

Ah, mastering. That mystical term that seems to float around internet forums and recording magazines on a regular basis. It has been heralded by some as the savior of your recordings and by others, as completely unnecessary. Many of us acknowledge that something is “missing” with our recordings and mixes when compared to major label productions, but is it mastering? Could that really be what separates your music from being just another demo on myspace? Or is it all smoke and mirrors? I think the answer lies somewhere in between these two extremes.

What IS Mastering Really?

By definition, mastering is simply “the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device (the master); the source from which all copies will be produced (via methods such as pressing, duplication or replication)” (Wikipedia). No magical voodoo there.

In fact, up until the 1940s recordings were “cut” to the master in real time. That’s right, the artist would perform into microphones, which would run through the mixing console, and then run directly to the “master” record. No time to “sweeten” or “enhance” the recording after the fact.

Today, however, mastering is a much different process. It can involve EQ, compression, limiting, stereo widening, noise reduction, ambience tweaking, and matching volume levels among tracks. All of these processes are to help get the best out of the final mixes of course. But in the end…mastering is simply taking the final mixes and making them work as a whole on an album. That is the ultimate goal.

Will Mastering Make My Songs Better?

The short answer to this question is: no. Mastering will not simply make your songs better. It isn’t a magic pill for your mixes or home recordings. It is not this mysterious process that if you invest in it, your once-thought-of “demos” will sound on par with major label talent.

I hate to break it to you, but this is important to understand. Mastering shouldn’t be your crutch or your excuse for why your recordings and mixes haven’t quite turned out the way you would want. If you have an average recording and mix, then you probably need to work on your recording and mixing skills, not shell out more money on mastering in hopes that it will be the solution.

When you send your tracks out for mastering you’re looking for two things: a fresh set of ears and intentional finalizing of your album. By having a mastering engineer listen to your final mixes, you’re getting a huge advantage…honesty. Said engineer isn’t going to lie to himself that the bass sounds better than it does, or that your EQ balance is perfect. Just the opposite; his job is to simply assess the mixes as a whole, and make sure they are balanced just right. If that means he has to adjust some dynamics and EQ, then he’ll do it. And he won’t feel bad about it. This is crucial as we all tend to lie to ourselves about our mixes.

The second major point to mastering is you have someone who takes the process seriously. To the mastering engineer, this is not some quick finishing touches; this is his speciality and his job. He wants to be as intentional as possible about making sure the songs are clear, punchy, translatable onto many systems, and in general just sounding good together as a unified album. If you and I are playing the part of musician, engineer, mixer, and mastering engineer, we’re probably about done with the songs by the time mastering roles around and we won’t take it as seriously.

So What’s The Verdict?

To wrap all this up, here is what you need to know. Mastering is important. You should treat it with respect, even if it’s just you taking your final mixes and making sure they are all the same volume and the EQ is working from song to song. At the same time, mastering isn’t the answer to great tracks. Having a great song, with a great arrangement, played by great musicians, using great instruments, tracked with quality gear, and mixed with a quality ear will get you an awesome song. Mastering will only keep it that way and get it ready for replication and distribution to the world.

Focus on getting better at recording. That is a great starting point. Even if you think you’re advanced. Go back to the first phase in the process and make simple adjustments till you get it right. Get your head out of the “mastering clouds” and come back to earth to where the real “magic” happens: tracking in the studio!

 As a home studio owner/musician one of the biggest challenges we face is capturing clean, clear audio in an acoustic environment not intended for recording. We deal with thin walls, box shaped rooms, and of course outside noise (those darn lawn mowers!). But that shouldn’t stop you from getting fantastic takes even with a minimal $500 setup (or it’s $300 cousin).

As I wrote about before, you can deal with a bad acoustic environment simply by avoiding reflective surfaces and using a close mic technique. But taking a step further, you can always take advantage of today’s affordable (and portable) vocal booths. One such product comes to us from Editors Keys, sepcifically their Portable Vocal Booth Pro Edition.

If you saw last week’s video review of the Editors Keys USB microphone you may have noticed me singing into the vocal booth. I wanted to address it in a separate review so I could point out the key benefits to this awesome piece of gear. Real quickly, here are 3 things I love about this product:

It’s Really Two Products In One

When you get your hands on the Portable Vocal Booth Pro, you realize that it’s actually two things in one: acoustic treatment around your mic AND a microphone stand. This is fantastic for obvious reasons as it means one less thing I have to carry around with me if I’m recording outside of my studio (and one less thing to setup IN my studio), plus it’s basically a custom heavy duty stand that will hold up under pressure.

It’s Easy To Use

They guys at Editors Keys have really made a simple, useable product. The clam shell design allows flexibility in acoustic treatment while the metal bar protruding out of the center will hold either one or two mics securely and perfectly placed. This takes all of the guess work out of the equation. Simply screw in your shockmount and mic of choice and you’ve got perfect acoustics where you need it most: at the source.

It’s Accessible To Real Home Studio Users

When it comes to all the gear being sold to you every day in magazines and on the internet, most if it really isn’t priced right for real home studio owners. That’s why you don’t see me pushing too many products out there other than your basic studio needs because I think a lot of it is over priced (and usually unnecessary). That’s not the case for the Editors Keys Portable Vocal Booth. This thing comes in two flavors: the Home Edition ($150) and the Pro Edition ($233). A definite investment, but compared to the competition a more economical choice.

Do I Need One?

Given most of us record one track at a time in a second bedroom or office, an investment in excellent isolation and sound absorption at and around your mic (like that offered by the Portable Vocal Booth) seems to be a wise move. As in my experience with it, you get excellent recordings quickly and easily, no matter what room you’re in, which microphone you’re using, or which DAW you’re recording into.

To me, after your main studio setup (software, interface, mic, accessories)is in place, acoustic treatment would be the first thing I would really spring for if the money is there. And both of the Editors Keys Portable Vocal Booths are a fantastic option for that.

Mixing bass guitar in your songs can be tricky. You don’t want the low frequencies to overpower the rest of your mix, but at the same time you don’t want a thin wimpy tone. You can EQ all day long and still not find the right setting that gives you bottom end PLUS presence and punch.

One quick trick that can really help you get a nice balance of the two is what I like to call the Bass Fuzz mixing technique. Here’s a quick video demonstration. Enjoy!

Any time you purchase a Pro Tools system you get a whole slew of fantastic plugins bundled in. The included DigiRack effects do more than just get the job done; they sound great! And I should know since I use them every day! One set of plugins that isn’t bundled however, but should be, are those from former Digidesign employee Steve Massey.

Who Is Steve Massey?

Since leaving Digidesign (and working for Trillium Lane Labs), Massey has taken his Pro Tools coding knowledge to new levels by developing his own set of practical and great sounding effect plugins. But instead of offering “trial” versions of his plugins to get you interested, he gives his plugins away free! That’s right, no limited time of use, no noise blasts every few seconds. Just his wonderful plugins, free forever. The catch is, to get access to some additional features like Bypass, Automation, and Session Recall you’ll have to pay for the plug, but if that time comes, he’s graciously priced his product very fair.

Let’s take a quick look at two of the free Massey plugins that I feel truly compliment the DigiRack plugins you already have:

Tape-Head

Massey’s Tape-Head is a saturation plugin meant to add harmonic distortion to the signal it’s affecting. This is great for drums, bass, or guitars. It adds a “warmth” and fullness to the track while at the same time slightly compressing it. Seeing as how Pro Tools doesn’t come with a saturation plugin, Tape-Head brings something unique and helpful to your mixing palette.

L2007 Mastering Limiter

All limiters are not created equal unfortunately. If you find yourself fighting with the Digi limiter trying to push your mix bus a bit hotter without clipping you may benefit from the L2007 from Massey. This plugin couldn’t be simpler to operate, and it takes whatever audio you run through it and tames the peaks perfectly at 4 different modes (Loud, Mellow, Smooth, Vibrant) giving you musical limiting and gain boost. Plus it just looks so darn cool!

The Rest of The Gang

At present, Massey offers 7 plugins total including the two mentioned above and an analog EQ, optical compressor, distortion box, tape delay, and de-esser. Unfortunately these plugins are only coded for Pro Tools’ RTAS format so you can’t use them with anything other than Pro Tools LE, HD, or M-Powered. But if you are a Pro Tools user, you might as well check out Massey’s site, and download a few of his effects. They are a great addition to your arsenal and it won’t cost you a penny.