What things have you learned recently?

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apropos of nothing
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Post by apropos of nothing » Fri Jun 08, 2007 11:25 pm

Kasey wrote:
apropos of nothing wrote: * Linear is a freeway. Nonlinear is a country-road.
explain?
If you want to get there (the album/single/recording) quickly and safely (and if your car/band can handle it), you take the freeway (linear recording of as few instruments as are required by the arrangement).
If you have more time, and you'd rather get there in a more scenic fashion, potentially with more stories to tell, you take the country road (not neccesarily linear recordings and mixing).

Sometimes the country road will get you lost ("Was that County 23 back there sweetie?" "Hell if I know -- its darker than hell out here."). On the other hand sometimes you can miss your exit on the freeway ("That was terrific! Can I get a take with a little more 'oomph' on the chorus?")

Ideally one takes a variety of roads as specified by the project.

river
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Post by river » Sat Jun 09, 2007 6:50 am

I've learned that I like a 4 mic drum setup far more than an 8 or 9 mic setup, another example of less being more. I also mixed a song for some friends last night that we used this setup on, and I cloned and parallel compressd the overheads. I just channeled John Bonham.
"Madam, tomorrow I will be sober, but you'll still be ugly" Winston Churchill

japmn
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Post by japmn » Sat Jun 09, 2007 4:25 pm

1. Not to solder tube sockets while a tube is plugged in. CRACK!
2. Too often saving money = spending more time = costing money.
3. Girlfriends never stop being expensive.
4. At the speed I was going, I could not avoid that pothole on my bike.
5. I drink too much beer... but do not care.
6. It is hard to go from a rumba to a 3/4 classic rock guitar ballad chorus.
7. I want a faderport.
8. I hate showtunes.
9. I love Katamari.
10. I have to go back to work.

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trodden
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Post by trodden » Sun Jun 10, 2007 1:00 pm

ipressrecord wrote:
qball wrote:Would this work for monitoring the tracking levels (to keep them at -18dBFS)?
http://www.smproaudio.com/VU8.htm
If you record on a computer use...

FreeG

or...

PSP Vintage Meter

What I do... I usually set up an Aux track for monitoring my input, set the plug-ins on that Aux track in Digital Performer for pre-fader, and turn the fader on the Aux track to zero (So I don't hear latency). I use FreeG and keep the RMS between -12dB and -18dB, and watch my peaks as well. I'll compress if my source material is peaky and needs to be tamed a bit.

Jeff

hmmmm

i always wonder why PT doesn't have any type of dbfs markings on the meters... i wonder if 18dbfs is like when its greenish yellow... or yellowish green? or just green? hmmmm.

Ivon
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Post by Ivon » Sun Jun 10, 2007 3:48 pm

qball wrote:I have learned...
... that the size of the recording space (or amount of sound treatment) is determined by the sound source. The louder or deeper (in frequency) the instrument is, the more air space or sound treatment is needed in a room.

...that I have been recording my tracks too hot. Thanks to this thread, I think that I have discovered a major mistake of mine. I want to read more about this.
I recently came to the exact same conclusions.

1) I can't believe how much difference a space makes in sound...in my case, I discovered it while recording drums. I have been recording drums in a 12x12 room for a few years now. Just recently, I started recording in a bigger room...and the difference is amazing. Before, there was nowhere for that sound to travel, so it ended up...hmm...just flat sounding. Like the soundwaves were competing too much with one another. Now that I'm using a slightly difference space, it's made the drums sound more natural and fuller.

2) Mic types and placement can alter the sound greatly. In my particular case, I'm thinking of placement. I used to place overheads way too close to my kit...the cymbals were alwasy too hot and they all sounded the same...there was no distinction. Just by backing the overheads up, the cymbals are much softer and compliment the track, rather than clash with it.

Probably elementary to most, but it's certainly fun when you discover these things by experience.

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JGriffin
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Post by JGriffin » Sun Jun 10, 2007 10:18 pm

trodden wrote:i always wonder why PT doesn't have any type of dbfs markings on the meters... i wonder if 18dbfs is like when its greenish yellow... or yellowish green? or just green? hmmmm.
That is one of my least favorite things about PT. When I need to meter, I use the Bomb Factory (or Waves on my HD rig) metering plugins--the BF ones were free iirc and may still be downloadable.
"Jeweller, you've failed. Jeweller."

"Lots of people are nostalgic for analog. I suspect they're people who never had to work with it." ? Brian Eno

All the DWLB music is at http://dwlb.bandcamp.com/

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alex matson
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Post by alex matson » Mon Jun 11, 2007 6:36 am

Recently I got a copy of the Pat Metheny Songbook. One song in particular has sort of haunted me for what....23 years? It's called End Of The Game, and it's a breakdown played on piano with an Oberheim 4-voice pad behind it. Full of crazy chords, kind of like Chopin. Intensely, almost unbearably sad lump-in-the-throat stuff. I've been working on it for a week now, and I think I'm starting to see the logic behind the chord progression. What I can say is that I've been amazed to see that what seemed really complicated turns out to be stuff like a Db chord with a D in the bass. There's also an F major over Db and an Ab/D. It's making me realize that there's been a world of sonic possibilities there all along that I've been too blind to see. And the 'sweetness' of a major chord balanced against the 'sour' of a really dissonant chord makes for a really satisfying...meal I guess you could call it.

I don't know if many of you wish you could play or write more like your heroes, but I sure do. This is the first book I've ever had that was written out by the composer, and it's like touring Abbey Road for me.

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Post by amyatt1 » Tue Jun 12, 2007 12:06 am

japmn wrote: 9. I love Katamari.
True that...

squizo
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Post by squizo » Tue Jun 12, 2007 9:20 am

it might seem like a really good idea

but dont ever wipe with a shower curtain

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nick_a
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Post by nick_a » Tue Jun 12, 2007 10:12 am

i've learned that some people really benefit from talking about what they WANT to do in a creative situation, thinking and calculating things through. Other people benefit much more from the simple act of doing until something feels right. Transferrance of emotional material is most important, however it gets across.

Professor T
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Post by Professor T » Tue Jun 12, 2007 10:52 am

I don't like amps with 6V6 tubes.

locosoundman
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Post by locosoundman » Tue Jun 12, 2007 11:19 am

I think the input level on ProTools is something like 0dBu = -14.5 dBfs. It's around the middle of the meter.

A lot of A/D converters are calibrated differently - or can even be calibrated to your liking. -18 dBfs seems a bit low to me, but between -16 and -12 dBfs seems to be the norm.

The best way to check/calibrate your gear is to use a 1 kHz test tone.
"We have met the enemy and he is us"
- Pogo Possum

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akg414
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Post by akg414 » Tue Jun 12, 2007 12:11 pm

I learned that when you track in Pro Tools - and use an ADAT as an IO bridge, make DAMN SURE that Adat is in "8-input" mode, and not in 2, or 4 input mode.

I wasted a whole night trying to figure out why a snare was firing off on 4 other tracks :roll:
- Brad

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wedge
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Post by wedge » Tue Jun 12, 2007 12:17 pm

I learned that the new Tick function in PTs rules... Take a group of songs with slippery groves, create a tempo map to said non-solid groves, slice up all audio to grid (Edit/Separate Region/On Grid), change the mode of each track from Sample to Tick, then delete your hard won tempo map (except for the first measure) and change the first measure to the tempo that you wish the song to be in. Watch in wonder as all the audio bits move in unison perfectly with the new grid.

Play it back. Aside from the pops from some gaps and overlaps that you'll have to spend some time dealing with (Event/Beat Detective/Edit Smoothing to the rescue), you'll be amazed at how effective this technique can be... I've been stunned, actually...

Knights Who Say Neve
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Post by Knights Who Say Neve » Tue Jun 12, 2007 12:25 pm

alex matson wrote:Recently I got a copy of the Pat Metheny Songbook. One song in particular has sort of haunted me for what....23 years? [snip...] Intensely, almost unbearably sad lump-in-the-throat stuff.
I can't hear anything in Metheny but (to borrow a Zappa phrase) "clouds of educated gnat-notes". I'm glad to hear that someone relates to Pat on an emotional level. But I have trouble believing you. I have trouble believing that anyone like Brahms, either. Pardon me, I'm rambling.
"What you're saying is, unlike all the other writers, if it was really new, you'd know it was new when you heard it, and you'd love it. <b>That's a hell of an assumption</b>". -B. Marsalis

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