Archive for 'Gear'

If you’re in a band, you need a home studio. In fact, every musician needs a home studio. But if you are in a band and you’re reading this, then you my friend need to be the “recording guy/gal”.

Every band needs one. That special someone who has some equipment, some knowledge, and drive to organize recording sessions for the band. My guess is that the rest of your bandmates (like most musicians) don’t want to be bogged down with the technical stuff, so that simply leaves you.

Record Your Rehearsals

The best thing you can do is starting this week, record your band’s rehearsals. Whether you multi track it or just get a stereo mix of the band, make sure you get your practices on “tape”. These recordings can be rough of course and will mostly be utilized for arranging, writing, and demoing.

It’s amazing what you hear when you listen back to a “live” recording of yourself. You start to see where a song needs some tweaks or where the band isn’t jiving well. Plus if you happen to play to a click live (many bands do) then your demo can easily be imported into your actual recording session to serve as a guide track.

Think Like a Producer

While the rest of your band will be thinking about playing gigs, writing new music, or something else entirely (like how to pay rent being a musician), you need to start thinking like a producer. Ask yourself these types of questions: What are our best songs? Are we ready to record them? When/where can I get the drummer alone to record some drum tracks? When would we want to release an EP/album? Should we just release digital singles on our website?

Every time you get together with the band is an opportunity to bring your mobile recording rig along and try to potentially work on some recordings. You may never have any actual “sessions” booked, but instead you piece together a killer album over the course of 6 months. The idea is to be thinking about these things enough so you can capitalize on your time together.

Push The Limits

The great thing about recording yourself (if you know how) is that you have no pressure. You can be as creative as you want. You can try crazy weird recording techniques into the wee hours of the night only to realize that they sound horrible, and no money or pride is lost. Only your time.

So go ahead and get your band to try things. Be original. Be creative. Don’t feel pressure, just make music and have fun. Remember…we are living during a great recording revolution where you have access to so much powerful recording equipment and technology that happens to also be super affordable. Grab some gear, grab your band, and be the recording guy that I know you can be!

In Wednesday’s post we took a look at how one can easily expand your interfaces inputs with an ADAT enabled set of mic pres. This is, of course, assuming your audio interface comes with an Optical ADAT connection. If you then go ahead and purchase one of these lightpipe devices, hook it up to your interface, and record enable your tracks you might notice some weird pops and clicks happening that are really annoying. This is the result of confusion on which device (your interface or lightpipe device) is acting as the clock source. Here’s the quick and dirty way to fix things in Pro Tools.

Once your lightpipe device is connected and powered up, go to the Setup menu and choose Hardware

This will open up a box that shows what your current clock source is selected as. Usually “Internal”. Which makes sense, you’re clocking with your audio interface’s internal clock. But if you want multiple digital devices to play nice you’ll need to let this new lightpipe device be the clock source. To do this simply click on the drop down box under Clock Source and choose Optical. Click OK and the problem should be fixed. Easy as pie!

If at some point you power off your lightpipe device, Pro Tools will prompt you that it is reverting back to the internal clock as it no longer sees an external one. You can always switch this back if need be. Enjoy!

Some of you out there may own and use an audio interface that features an optical ADAT input. If you haven’t used it yet you might be wondering what it’s for and how best to take advantage of it. Today I want to briefly go over how great this option is and how to practically use it in your studio.

Do You Lightpipe?

It has a few names, but many audio interfaces include a digital connection called ADAT or lightpipe. Like it sounds, this fiber optic technology can stream up to 8 channels of stable 44.1 or 48 khz 24 bit digital audio between audio hardware. Why is this helpful? Imagine being able to add 8 additional mic pres to your rig with a single cable connection. Simple, clean, and affordable

Many audio interfaces come with this connection on the back. It may be labeled ADAT or Optical in, but it’s all the same. Your total available I/O usually takes this connection into the equation so if you think you’re missing some of the advertised inputs this is probably where they are hiding.

Expanding Your Horizons

Smart as they are, pro audio companies have been manufacturing multi-channel preamps featuring an ADAT connection specifically to be used in conjunction with your lightpipe enabled interface. Popular examples are the M-Audio Octane, Focusrite OctoPre, and the whole line of DigiMax pres from Presonus. Simply hook up your mics to one of these multi-channel pres, connect it to your interface via an optical cable, and BAM! 8 more channels of rock n’ roll bliss with no fuss!

One of the most obvious applications of this is for recording drums. Many interfaces come with only a handful of pres on them, but if you need more than you built in options you can add 8 more with a single cable. In fact that’s how I track drums all the time. My Digi 002 comes with 4 mic pres built in, which is fine in most situations. But when I want to do 8 to 12 channels of drums I simply plug in my trusty Behringer ADA8000 (another great option, and for under $200!) and I’m ready to go. In fact this is the exact setup I used up in this video when tracking a band the other week. And the fact that it’s only a 1U rack space, I’ve got a totally portable studio with 12 mic pres. Nice!

Something To Consider

If you happen to be in the market for an audio interface and plan on recording drums or doing high track count live recording, look for an ADAT (lightpipe) enabled interface. Even if you don’t have the money (or need) to drop on one of the units mentioned above, at least you’ll have the option for expansion.

Today I want to address you new readers…those of you who have started following The Recording Revolution in recent weeks and months. First of all, thank you so much for being a reader, downloading my eBook, commenting on posts, and watching my video tutorials. This site would not have a reason to exist if it weren’t for you keeping up with it.

Secondly, I want to highlight a few posts and videos that might be of use to you as a new reader that perhaps you missed. If you haven’t figured out by now, I firmly believe we are living in a unique era of music and recording. There is a revolution going on regarding how music is made and distributed. You can join this revolution if you like, or you can go on thinking music has to be made the old (and expensive) way. I prefer the former, and these posts will shed some light on the issue. Enjoy!

Home Recording Myths – There are just too many myths floating out there on internet forums. Don’t buy the hype.

Brand Snobbery – No one is truly immune to this time and money wasting disease.

The Best $100 You Will Spend – We love to drop money on microphones…why??

The Complete $300 Starter Studio – Everything you need to make top notch songs right now. This is an INSANELY good deal.

8 Tips To Make Better Music Now – You want your recordings to sound better. 7 of these tips won’t cost you a dime.

Record An Album On Your Phone? – When a band can record a great sounding track with the built in mic on an iPhone, the gear debate goes out the window.

Let me just say this. If you have great ideas for songs and are a talented musician with a desire to make great recordings, then money and gear should not be a road block for you. That part of the equation should be removed. Save up a few hundred bucks, read blogs like this one who won’t sell you a bunch of hype, learn your stuff, and then just go make music!

Oh, and when you’ve got your studio setup, take the One Song One Month Challenge to get you started. It’ll walk you through the basics of song production and motivate you to record and finish a new song in one month just to prove to yourself that you can do this. I want you to succeed at home recording because I know it’s possible. Now get to it!

Do you own a lot of recording equipment? If not, do you wish you did? Do you spend your evenings and time sitting on the John pouring over the latest Sweetwater or Musicians Friend catalog? I know I have. Don’t be ashamed. It all looks so darn cool doesn’t it?! And heck, these days you can actually afford a lot of it thanks to this recording revolution we are living in.

But what of the gear you own (and even use) do you really need to make quality music in your home studio? Do you need all of your microphones? Preamps? Probably not. Now don’t blow me off just yet. I know what you might be thinking. “This question is irrelevant because of course I don’t need everything. It’s just nice to have choice.” Fair enough. But I have a hypothesis. All that gear in your studio might just be weighing you down. The more stuff you have, the less productive you’re bound to become.

If There Were a Fire…

One day when I was young, I remember a friend’s mother telling me how much she loved her photo albums. They were of great value to her as she appreciated all the memories they brought back. She told me something I still remember to this day, “Graham, if there were a fire in our house, my photo albums would be the one thing I’m sure to grab.”

If there were a fire in your house or studio, what of your equipment that you could carry would you grab and run? If you knew you only had a few moments to grab the most important elements of your studio what would they be? Here is what I would grab, in order of importance: my iMac, Digi 002 rack, some AKG headphones, and my trusty Behringer B1.  It would be a heavy handful, but those four items are all I need to make great music.

What You Really Need

Take a closer look at what I chose. My computer (including software, obviously), my audio interface, headphones, and one microphone. Minus some cables and a stand, that is all you need to record great music. I’ve written about it a few times already, but it doesn’t take much to put together a top notch signal chain. If that’s the case, why then do we keep adding to our arsenal? Why do we keep buying stuff if what we have already gets the job done?

There are some legitimate times when we need a certain product or piece of gear to do something that you can’t do with your current setup, no problem. But what I want you and I to be absolutely clear on is knowing what we truly need in our studio and then using it like crazy. Get the most value out of your software, your audio interface, and your microphones. Practically speaking, learn more about your DAW and all the features it offers. Use your interfaces built in mic pres instead of acting like they are garbage. Make sure you actually know good mic placement technique before you accuse your $100 mic of giving you bad recordings.

If you want to make better recordings in your home studio then trust me on this…don’t get caught up in the hype telling you to buy more stuff. Buy what you need, but then get on with what got you into this in the first place, your love for music.

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Interested in more tips on how to mentally approach the art of home recording and get to making better music, faster? Download my free eBook The #1 Rule of Home Recording at the top right of this page!

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.

 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.

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.

My very first post at The Recording Revolution was about having a legitimate home studio for $500. I have recommended this Pro Tools studio configuration to musicians for years now and I am hearing people make killer recordings having only spent that much on gear. It still amazes me what can be done for relatively so little money.

But some of you who are new to this may still be unsure about spending even $500 right now. Or the other reservation maybe committing to a DAW like Pro Tools when you’re still considering other options. I have the solution for you. It’s what I like to call the Complete $300 Starter Studio.

Everything You Need…For Just $300

If you are trying to get started in home recording, here is my recommendation to you. Find $300 and then follow my advice below. What you’ll get is a complete, self-contained, music making machine that can suit you now and even for the future, but is expandable should you need some more features. Let me show you what I mean:

It starts with the M-Audio Fast Track USB audio interface. This little guys is a 2 channel, USB powered box that includes one microphone preamp with 48 volts phantom power, one guitar/bass input, direct zero latency monitoring, headphone and studio monitor outputs. You can pick this puppy up for around $120 easy. This gives you all the connections you need as a singer songwriter or band member to get great audio into your computer.

Pair this interface with the Samson C01 condenser microphone for only $80 and you’ve got one solid signal chain. This mic (just like all the $100 mics I recommend) will be perfect for vocals, acoustic guitars, guitar amps, drum overheads, etc. Then throw in your basic mic cable ($21), mic stand ($30), pop filter ($30), and studio headphones for recording, editing, and mixing ($17) and you’re sitting at just under $300 for all of it.

But what about the recording software you may ask…don’t worry, that’s the best part!

Try Pro Tools…For FREE

As of recently Avid has released an introductory version of Pro Tools called Pro Tools M-Powered Essential that is bundled free with every M-Audio interface, including the Fast Track I recommended above. What is this “essential” version and why should you care? I thought you’d never ask!

Pro Tools M-Powered Essential is a stripped down, focused version of the industry standard software that many of us (myself included) use on a daily basis. What you get is access to all the recording, editing, and mixing power of Pro Tools, including the great plugins and effects, as well as tons of software loops and virtual instrument samples. This isn’t trial software, it’s ready for you to make complete recordings out of the box!

Where it is “limited” is in the total number of audio tracks (16), instrument tracks (8), and sends/buses. It’s also more streamlined relating to editing modes and tools (but nothing is a real deal breaker to making great music). Think of it this way; with this software you can basically test drive Pro Tools for free. You can see how this great software works and thinks (and sounds!) all without paying a penny. If you don’t like it, no sweat. You haven’t locked yourself into Pro Tools. Simply demo some other software until you find something you’re happy with.

But if you do start love it (as you’re making great music with your current version) you can always upgrade to the full version of Pro Tools M-Powered for only $249, putting you at a total studio cost of $549 (just a few bucks more than my original $500 studio suggestion). Not bad at all.

Another “Logical” Option

If you’re a Mac user you have even more options. If you find yourself not digging the Pro Tools that comes with your Fast Track, you can just fire up your free version of Garageband that came with your iLife suite. As you saw the other day, it’s so easy to create great music in this program. If you find yourself getting comfortable with the way Garageband operates, you can then always upgrade to Logic Express (giving you more tracks, effects, editing capabilities, and control over your songs) for only $199, putting just at the $500 mark total. Not a bad options at all.

You Can’t Go Wrong

At only $300 you simply can’t go wrong for a complete studio setup that gives you a free version of Pro Tools 8, allowing you to start making great music right out of the box whether mac or PC. It’s just too good to pass up. Plus if and when you need to upgrade to a full version of the software, it’s right there at a great price for you.

What’s that? You don’t have $300 to spend? I understand completely. But here’s a tip: sell your Xbox 360, Playstation 3, or your Wii (plus all those copies of Madden), buy your mom some flowers, and then actually invest a few bucks in your music. That’ll free up some money and wasted time! Capeesh?

If you’ve been following The Recording Revolution for any length of time now, you may be aware of my stance on music gear: I want value for my money and never want to overpay if something more affordable will get the job done just as well. This is especially true when it comes to microphones. You just don’t need to spend too much to get a great microphone for your home studio. That being said, today’s review of the Editors Keys SL150 only proves my point more as it is a solid offering for today’s home studio owners. Let’s take a look.

Who Is Editors Keys?

Editors Keys is a company based out of England that specializes in adhesive shortcut keyboard sticker sets and Silicone Covers for major software programs like Pro Tools, Logic, Cubase, Final Cut, Photoshop, etc. Basically these keyboard products help you edit faster. Since 2009 they’ve stepped into the home recording realm with their “Studio Series” line of microphones, portable vocal booths, pop filters, and other accessories.

Mark at Editors Keys was kind enough to send me their SL150 microphone so I would have a chance to use it and formulate an opinion. He probably figured my readers would find it a great option for their own studios (He’d be right, by the way). After checking out the review, head over to EditorsKeys.com to see the SL150 and all the other great products they offer.

How I Reviewed It

From the moment I opened up the SL150 I wanted to use it in a “real” setting, so I wrote a song, plugged in the mic, and just sang through it. That’s exactly what I use microphones for and that’s how I wanted to test this thing. How did it hold up compared to what I normally use in my studio? The short answer: beautifully.

Instead of just doing a written review I decided to show you the microphone in action. I want you guys to be able to hear it for yourselves to you can know exactly what I’m hearing and make your own decision. Below is the video review of the SL150. Check it out for yourself.