Audio Issues

Nailing that low end is tricky right? You might be working with many different instruments and they all sound good, but for some reason you can't get that bass guitar to the same level. It's either too muddy, too thick or too weak. It's hard to find that perfect middle ground. There are a variety of fixes when it comes to dealing with low end, as every situation is always a little different. However, there is one crucial processor that is instrumental in getting your bass sounding good. The Equalizer. By using the equalizer you can sculpt the low-end until it's just the right amount of tight bass. But knowing where to look, and knowing what to steer clear of is important to getting your low end right. Let's look at a few quick fixes for the bass guitar. We're working with this easy bass guitar loop. It doesn't sound bad at all, but we can make it sound better. Subtle Filtering It's always a good idea to filter out any unnecessary frequency information. However, be careful when you use that high-pass filter on a low end instrument. Since that's where most of the character of the instrument lies, filtering it out can lead to a thin sounding bass that has lost all of its power. In the following example I've filtered up to 100 Hz, rendering the bass loop pretty thin and lifeless. If you are dealing with similar problems, make sure you aren't filtering out important information. In this case, instead of filtering everything out at 100 Hz, I've decided to cut it back down to 50 Hz or so. Much of the juice is between 50 and 100 Hz so I've thrown out all the extraneous low end and retained the actual character of the instrument. Different scenarios call for different approaches, and that's why you should get over The Fear of Filtering. Subtle EQ Fixes Now, I think the guitar can lose some of its muddiness, but I also think it can be a little beefier. Since muddiness is usually found somewhere in the 200 Hz, I've done a small cut around 192 Hz. Additionally, the thickness of the bass guitar is somewhere from 80 - 100 Hz so I've done a subtle boost at 87 Hz. By cutting the muddiness I've allowed myself to boost the actual bass sound of the bass guitar a little more. To me, this results in a thicker but less boomy sound. Have a listen. Obviously, you can either agree with me or not. This might not be the sound you are looking for. Also, there are things in the higher frequencies that I would take a look at if this were an actual track, but if you have similar problems you can usually look in those areas for the fixes. Where Do You Go From Here? Dealing with low end is just one of the many topics I tackle in my ebook EQ Strategies - The Ultimate Guide to EQ. If you want a broader perspective on the subjective aspects of mixing music then I encourage you to check it out. Image by: Paul J. S.

I've got a really cool thing for you today. I had a chance to interview Matt Ross-Spang, studio engineer over at Sun Studio, arguably the most famous recording studio in the world. In case you didn't know, Sun Studio is where Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, B.B. King and so many other legendary musicians recorded some of their first records. It's literally the birthplace of rock ´n´roll. Matt has been an engineer over at Sun Studio for over 10 years now and brought back a lot of the old-school recording techniques that Sam Phillips pioneered back in the 1950's. In the interview discuss things such as: The way things are recorded at Sun Studio The importance of mic techniques How to ease musicians into a recording session Why you'll have to wait a while to watch Matt EQ'ing anything How to instill confidence in your musicians And a whole lotta other things. I had a a lot of fun talking to Matt and I hope you guys enjoy the interview. Listen below and do me a favor and help spread the word by sharing it on Facebook or Twitter.

In this Audio Issues interview we hear from Pete Weiss. Pete Weiss is a New England-based producer/engineer/mixer/musician. Through his innovative, organic work with artists such as Kingsley Flood, Willard Grant Conspiracy, Two Dollar Pistols, Charlie Chesterman, Bow Thayer & Levon Helm, and Don Lennon, Weiss has developed a reputation as an outstanding producer who can adapt to many musical genres and is unafraid to ignore stylistic convention. He is a Senior Contributor for Tape Op Magazine, writing reviews of audio equipment as well as conducting interviews with recording industry figures. Over the years he has served on many panels & workshops at Tape Op's and Potluck Audio's conferences. Some of his microphone reviews from Tape Op are archived at the Recording Hacks site. During the interview we discuss, among other things: How he got into recording and production. How vocal production sometimes just comes down to the mood and atmosphere. Simple electric guitar miking Dealing with the wall of sound from a 12 string electric guitar Hit the player to take a listen to the interview.

The trick about recording vocals is that it has nothing to do with the gear and everything to do with the performance. So who better to ask about the performance part of the vocal recording session than a seasoned recording artist? This week we finish up our series of interviews from the Potluck Audio Conference with a great interview about vocal production with singer and recording artist Susan Marshall. If you missed the past interviews you can check them out right here: Interview with Producer/Engineer Jeff Powell (Bob Dylan, B.B. King, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Primal Scream) Interview With Producer/Engineer Dusty Wakeman of Mad Dog Studios and Mojave Audio Interview With Recording Engineers and Producers Alex Maiolo and Rob Christensen Interview with Engineer/Producer Andrew Scheps Susan Marshall has worked with many critically acclaimed musicians throughout the years. She began her career Off-Broadway as a leading soprano.  In the mid ’90s, she co-founded rock-soul band The Mother Station (east/west Atlantic Records).  Since then, she’s released three critically praised solo albums — “Susan Marshall Is Honey Mouth”, "Firefly" and “Little Red.” She’s known for her studio and/or stage work with a wide range of artists; Lucinda Williams, Keith Richards, Norah Jones, Lenny Kravitz, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Afghan Whigs, Cat Power & The Memphis Rhythm Band, Hi-Rhythm Section, The Bo-Keys, William Bell, Ann Peebles, North Mississippi Allstars, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Solomon Burke, Jim Lauderdale, Steve Earle, and Kirk Whalum to name a few. She’s also had the good fortune to work alongside legendary producers Tom Dowd, Chips Moman, Willie Mitchell, Jim Dickinson, John Hampton, Dusty Wakeman, Eric Liljestrand, and husband Jeff Powell.  Susan served as President of the Memphis Chapter  of the Recording Academy and currently serves as Memphis Chapter Trustee. During the interview we discuss a number of topics related to vocal recording: How to approach the vocalist to get a better performance The importance of relationships Tricks on getting great backing vocals by using only one mic Horror stories on how NOT to treat the artist in the studio

This week's interview session will be with producer/engineer Jeff Powell: Jeff Powell has been recording, mixing, and producing records for 24 years. He was a staff assistant engineer, then engineer/mixer and finally producer at Ardent Studios from ’89-’97.  He has been independent since then, but still calls Ardent home. Jeff has worked on multiple gold and platinum records, six Grammy award-winning projects, was twice voted Best Engineer for the Premiere Players awards by the Memphis Chapter of NARAS, currently chairs the Producer and Engineering wing for the Memphis Chapter of NARAS, and has been honored as a legendary producer of Memphis at the annual Blues Ball. His credits include such famous acts as:  Bob Dylan, B.B. King, Tonic, Big Star, The Bottle Rockets, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Sharon Jones, Centro-matic, Primal Scream, Lucinda Williams, Ryan Adams, and The Afghan Whigs. Jeff is also now cutting vinyl records on the original STAX lathe at Ardent. His vinyl-cutting business is called take out vinyl. Some of his vinyl cutting credits include The Twilite Singers, Robyn Hitchcock, The North Mississippi All Stars, Margot and the Nuclear So and Sos, Centro-matic, The Mickey Hart Band, Shurman, The City Champs, and Lucero. In July of 2011, Jeff opened a warehouse, no control room style, recording space in the Edge district in Memphis called humongous too. He is also now an adjunct professor in the commercial recording program at his alma mater, the University of Memphis. During the interview we discuss his old-school way of starting in the business, his minimalism approach to recording and his advice to bands wanting to record themselves. Listen to the interview below:

We're back this week with another Potluck Audio Conference interview, this time with Dusty Wakeman of Mojave Audio and Mad Dog Studios. "In his forty years in the music business, Dusty Wakeman has worn a lot of hats: producer, engineer, musician, and owner/manager of Los Angeles based Mad Dog Studios. His work with Dwight Yoakam, Lucinda Williams, Roy Orbison, Jim Lauderdale, Buck Owens, and many other artists has helped generate several multi-platinum and Grammy-winning records. Growing up in Texas, Dusty developed a love of the whole process of making music, from touring in groups to producing and engineering records and designing his own studios. In 1980 he founded Mad Dog Studios, which he owned and operated for 28 years. Dusty discovered Royer mics in 2000, caught ribbon fever, and picked up a number of Royers for Mad Dog Studios, leading to a close relationship with Royer Labs. Looking for a 'lifestyle change' after 25 years of constant engineering, producing records and touring, Dusty came across the prototype for the MA-200. His enthusiasm for the new brand led to Dusty joining Mojave Audio in September of 2005. His in-depth knowledge of recording, understanding of the importance of choosing the right microphone for the job, and ability to share his experience make Dusty an invaluable asset to Mojave Audio. Dusty serves as President of Mojave Audio and continues to record, mix and perform." Check out the short but sweet interview below to hear some of Dusty's thoughts on: How you can reverse transition from a big commercial studio to a smaller home recording studio. The difference in a musician's performance from a big studio to a crammed living room setting. The causation between musician and recording engineer. Important things to think about if you want to record your band.

It's time for another backstage interview with the panelists from the Potluck Audio Conference. This time I interviewed Alex Maiolo and Rob Christensen. Alex Maiolo Alex Maiolo owns Chapel Hill, N.C.'s, Seriously Adequate Studio, which is another way of saying "he took over half of the garage, and filled it with the gear he's amassed over the years." Somewhere between a hobbyist's den, and a proper one-room studio, the space lives up to its name. Everything needed to make a record is contained in the space, and artists can essentially show up empty-handed. While many records have been started and completed at SAS, it has also been nicknamed "The Finisher," owing to the fact that in the past year, Kingsbury Manx, Polvo, Erin McKeown, and Lost In The Trees have wrapped up notable, international releases there. Alex has been recording in some form or another for almost 30 years, starting with the humble, but effective, Fostex X-15. Additionally, he works with The Future of Music Coalition, a DC-based think tank that studies the intersection of law, policy, technology, and music, writes for Premier Guitar, is a Senior Contributor for Tape Op Magazine, and plays guitar in the pop rock staple, Fan Modine. Rob Christensen By day Rob is known as “Mr. C” to his fourth grade students in Orange, Virginia. Evenings, weekends, and summers he’s a DIY home recording hobbyist. Rob came up through the PortaStudio system. In 1989 he purchased a Tascam Porta-One 4-track and began a journey of recording albums at home and releasing them on cassette and later CD-R. He later moved to an 8-track Tascam 488-mkII and then a Tascam digital PortaStudio. He now uses Presonus’s Studio One DAW and is amazed at the unbelievable variety of high quality inexpensive options available to home recordists. Rob records under the project name Saturday’s Radio and has self-released four albums. The last year has seen him remix, remaster, and reissue his catalog, taking advantage of the incredible tools and easy paths of distribution offered by the internet to today’s DIY musicians. In the interview we talk about: Using household items to supplement your home recordings. Working with minimal acoustic treatment. How digital silence just sounds weird (and how tape noise is a creative solution). What the #1 thing a band needs to do when recording themselves. Making artists limit themselves for a better production. Check out the interview below.

Earlier this month I had the opportunity to interview Andrew Scheps at the Potluck Audio Conference. Andrew Scheps has engineered and mixed for some of the biggest rock bands in the world: Black Sabbath, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica, Weezer, Audioslave, Linkin Park, and U2. He's also worked with icons such as Johnny Cash, Neil Diamond, and Iggy Pop, as well as indie artists including Manu Chao, The Duke Spirit, Cass McCombs, and Blood Red Shoes. Having worked with some of the best producers in the business (Rick Rubin, Don Was, and Rob Cavallo among others) Andrew began producing bands including Gogol Bordello, Low Roar, Favez, and The Duke Spirit. During the Potluck conference he was on two different panels. One was called Lost in Translation that discussed the difference in quality between all the different sample rates we hear when we consume music. The difference between an mp3, an AAC and a high resolution, lossless audio file. His panel was interesting because it had two parts. The first part was the really interesting and funny lecture he gave during the day. But the real fun part was getting to sit down with him in his casita suite where you could listen to all the different versions of the same songs at different sample rates. His second panel was the vocal recording and production panel he shared with Pete Weiss, Justin Pizzoferrato, Michael Romanowski, Neal Cappellino and Susan Marshall. I got to sit down with Andrew after the vocal recording panel to pick his brain both on sample rates and vocal production. It was an honor to meet him and he had some really great thoughts that I now get to share with you. Listen to the interview below Image by: smiling_da_vinci

What is mastering? Is it putting every processor on your mixed song and hoping for the best? Is it making it as loud as possible and hoping it will sound louder than anybody else's song? (No, it isn't. Sorry Lars Ulrich...) Well, if that's not what mastering is, what is it really? And more importantly, how can you learn how to do it yourself. Ian Shepherd has been mastering for over 16 years now and he knows the answer to all these questions. So I interviewed him. He should be familiar to most, if not all, of you as the man behind Production Advice and The Home Mastering Masterclass. Here are some of the topics we discussed: The importance of knowing the "how" and "why" of home mastering. The importance of metering. The unimportance of specific DAWs. Why "balance" is more important than "matching." Normalization and the value of headroom during mixing. What to expect in the next weeks of the Home Mastering Masterclass. Ian Shepherd on Home Mastering Click the link above to download the mp3 of our interview. If that doesn't work, right-click the link and save the file to your computer. If you're interested in the class, check it out here: Home Mastering Masterclass.

Recording drums in a living room environment poses some challenges. I recorded 6 tracks for an upcoming EP over the weekend and they came out pretty good if I say so myself. I wanted to keep you in the loop on some of these recordings, so that you can hear how they change over time. The Unmixed Drum Recording Below you can hear a sample of the drums I recorded over the weekend. If you read Friday's post on recording drums then you might know what I was planning on doing. An unmixed, bare bones version of the drums can be heard here below: All the tracks are at unity gain, and no mixing has been done to them so far. How it was Done I tried the recorderman technique but I was having problems with their equidistant kick and snare technique so I ened up with something similar that worked. It was more of a overhead placement exercise than using any one technique. In the end I had something that sounded pretty good to me. The overheads were closer than typical A/B overheads but they were phase coherent with the snare drum, being equidistant from it. The kick was miked with an Audix D6 just inside the kick drum. I had to move it around to get the right amount of click from the beater. I also tried to capture the resonance from the bass drum by draping a blanket over it. The snare was miked in the typical fashion, pointing straight into the center of the snare drum with an Audix i5. I used one room microphone at waist level, pointing at the center of the kit. I put my Reflexion Filter around the microphone to minimize reflections bouncing from the walls. I don't know if it did anything really but the room microphone sounds pretty good to me. Initial Observations Using just five microphones I have plenty to work with. I think I used the resources at my disposal pretty well, and these tracks will definitely lend themselves well to mixing. The kick drum mic is pretty boomy when solo'd. I didn't notice that until I got home since I was checking everything with headphones at the time. It will be easily fixed with some corrective EQ so it's not a big problem. The room mic sounds pretty awesome to me and it really brings out the fullness of the kit. Compare the drum recording both with and without the room microphone below: Drums without room Drums with room It definitely creates that space needed. I don't know if I'll use that mic as the reverb for the drum kit or use it creatively during mixdown but I'm glad I decided to add it. Conclusion Now, I don't know how you feel about the sound of the kit(and please tell what you actually think) but I think I achieved a pretty good drum recording considering the living room feel of it all. With the right amount of mixing I think I'll be able to make these drum tracks sound pretty awesome. What do you guys think? P.S. For practical and easy-to-use recording tips for any instrument, check out Recording Strategies.

There is an incredible change in the sound of the song from the even better. You’ve all heard about getting things great at the source. Record it well and then you might not have to do an awful lot to it in the mixing phase. It will make the mixing process easier if you have... The post What Does Music Mixing Actually do to Recordings? appeared first on Audio Issues.