When I work with new or inexperienced audio engineers and producers, there is a basic mistake that I see over and over. When we use plugins, we traditionally put them on the track we want to affect. If I want to add EQ or compression to a vocal track, I would simply add the EQ … Continue reading “Using Reverb (Best Practice)”

Learning what different frequencies sound like and the effect they have on the sound of different instruments is an invaluable skill. These are the names we use to classify the bands – the frequencies are approximate, so use your ears! > 20 – 60 Hz – Sub-Bass: Gives boom, depth, and richness – too much … Continue reading “EQ – Different Frequency Bands [20 Hz – 20 kHz]”

Dyn3 7-band EQ (Avid Pro Tools free plugin) If you look toward the bottom of the EQ pictured above, you will notice 5 different bands: 1. LF, low frequency, red; 2. LMF, low-mid frequency, orange; 3. MF, mid frequency, yellow; 4. HMF, high-mid frequency, green; 5. HF, high frequency, blue. In today’s blog I will … Continue reading “The Different EQ bands and What they mean (part 2)”

Introduction to an EQ

How to use an EQ

To wrap things up regarding compressors, I will offer 3 Dos and Don’ts as my final word for now. These are things to always keep in mind when working with compressors. Some may have been previously stated in an earlier blog post. DO Avoid using extreme settings to begin with, if … Continue reading “Compression Dos & Don’ts”

What does the knee do on a compressor?

A compressor has a lot of knobs and settings. They can be confusing at first. In this blog I am going to talk about one of those knobs – Threshold. A compressor is an automatic volume control. We try to make the signal somewhat the same, static. Without a compressor, we would have to do … Continue reading “Compressors 201 – Threshold”

Today I’m going to go a little deeper into how compressors work. But first, I want you to do an experiment. This experiment will allow you to SEE what a compressor does. When I did this, things started to become a lot clearer for me. We have to listen differently when it comes to compressors. … Continue reading “Compressors 103 – Going deeper”

Yes, more organization! 🙂 I think I have always been somewhat organized. But I have learned to be very organized since starting my studio. Things can get very unorganized, confusing and messy very quickly. If you want to save yourself some headaches down the road, grab 20-30 mins to take some time when you’re not … Continue reading “Organize, Organize, Organize! (Sessions, Folders, Files)”

After learning the basics about compressors (see Compressors 101 earlier blog entry), then you can use this general guide of the type of overall effect you are going for. If you want a Natural sound (the compressor is not noticeable): Use a slower attack (longer than 75 ms) and gentle ratios (less than 2:1). Always … Continue reading “Compressors 102 (More of the Basics)”

Using a click track during recording is, of course, imperative. We can’t do our work if we can’t play to the beat! Luckily for us Pro Tools makes it easy to set up a click track! Just simply go to Track on the menu bar, scroll all the way to the bottom and choose Create … Continue reading “Creating a Click Track (in Pro Tools)”

It is hard to learn how to record and mix music today. With so much information available on the web, sometimes it is hard to know if the information is true or not – whether it can be trusted or not. Here are six myths that are not true! Ask anyone who really knows his … Continue reading “6 Recording Myths – Busted!”

Compressors seem to confuse a lot of people in the beginning, they certainly did me! Here is some helpful information concerning using a compressor in your mixing to help get you started. I will have other blogs on compression, so keep a look out! 1. Decide what you want to achieve. There are really only … Continue reading “Compressors 101 – the Basics (part 1)”

Here are ten quick tips to think about the next time you record vocals: 1) Warm Up: Every vocalist needs to warm up. You wouldn’t run a marathon without stretching first, would you? Vocalists should warm up for at least 15 mins. before laying down a great performance. 2) Don’t record vocals in the morning: … Continue reading “10 Tips for a great vocal recording”

So . . . you want to record a song and you’re running out of space on the computer or external hard drive? Wondering if you have enough room? Here’s how to figure out if you do have enough space: The sample rate and bit depth of the audio you record are directly related to … Continue reading “Calculating File Sizes (How much hard drive space does it take to record a song?)”

Patchbays Having a patchbay helps to optimize your signal routing and organization. Even the most modest of studio setups can benefit from the simple addition of a patchbay. Almost any configuration of cable connection – xlr, 1/4″ TRS jack, Cat5, etc. can be connected to a patchbay. And you can make your connections without ever … Continue reading “Organization Pt. 3 (patchbays)”

Group Cabling Keep cables grouped together by type (audio, MIDI, mains, etc.). This makes it easier to find faulty cables, patch equipment quicker and easier, and help reduce cable-borne noise problems. Putting a little distance between different types will reduce the potential for EMI (electromagnetic interference) problems, because mains cables can induce a 50Hz hum … Continue reading “Organization (in your Production Studio) Pt. 2”

In Pro Tools, material (audio or midi) on a track is associated with a type of Time Scale. All track types can be set to either sample-based (for the Sample Time Scale) or tick-based (for the Bars/Beats Time Scale). Different tracks can be set to different timebases as needed. Audio tracks are sample-based by default. … Continue reading “Timebase in Pro Tools”

Did you know that it is important to power up your system and equipment in a certain order? In the early days, for me, I didn’t know that! Because systems are typically composed of both hardware and software, preparing your system for use might involve more than simply turning your computer on and launching your … Continue reading “Powering Up Your Music Production System in the Proper Order”