Re: Mainstream Recording?

2012-06-23 Thread Kevin Reeves
The page will just have everything on it. Youtube vids, MP3's, soundcloud 
links, etc.

Kevin


On Jun 22, 2012, at 1:53 PM, Christopher-Mark Gilland wrote:

> Kevin, that's an excellent idea!  Could there be a place too for featured 
> mp3's?  I say this as I have no idea how to do Youtube vids, nor have the 
> camera setup to do it.
> 
> Also again I ask any of you guys, what is the u r l for the p t access site.
> 
> It's obviously not
> 
> ptaccess.com
> 
> Chris.
> 
> - Original Message - From: "Kevin Reeves" 
> To: 
> Sent: Friday, June 22, 2012 10:39 AM
> Subject: Re: Mainstream Recording?
> 
> 
> Good god. That sounds great as well. Man. You people are blowing me away left 
> and right. I think we're gonna put a page on the site showcasing all yall's 
> youtube vids. THis is great.
> 
> Kevin
> On Jun 22, 2012, at 10:34 AM, Scott Chesworth wrote:
> 
>> Hey Brian,
>> 
>> Very cool! Good to know there are brethrin of melodic dark and heavy
>> stuff on the same side of the pond here. Curious to hear more man, I'm
>> heading over to bandcamp to pick up the record when I've finished
>> writing this.
>> 
>> Yeah, point taken about DI not working for everyone, we're lucky in
>> that it caters well to what we do. At the time, it was more of a
>> productivity-based choice than anything else based on the spaces
>> available to write and record in. Album number 3 will likely stay that
>> way for bass and guitars, but suggesting another triggered album to
>> the drummer could well be the last suggestion I'd ever make.
>> 
>> If you're interested in the difference the DI approach made, this was
>> from the first record with live drums and more variation in how
>> guitars were tracked. All in makeshift recording locations again, and
>> it still took some drum reinforcement at mix stage. Who knows, perhaps
>> album 3 might be the one where we actually end up with a decent kit
>> sound to start with LOL!
>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mo9_NYB4AR8
>> 
>> Cheers
>> Scott
>> 
>> On 6/22/12, Brian Casey  wrote:
>>> Scot, fantastic production, and while we're swopping heres my band, an album
>>> 
>>> tracked in about 5 days in a ttics spare bedrooms and a very bad attempt at
>>> 
>>> a drum isolation booth a friend constructed, but that's another days
>>> discussion.
>>> 
>>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFl7vPZTjo8
>>> 
>>> Not as slick as your production but it was my first major mix, and its hit
>>> national radio quite a bit, so its probably close to an acceptable
>>> professional standard.
>>> 
>>> My major point here though is, I mixed this in an attic in my house, but
>>> have since moved into a purpose built studio, with piles of money gone into
>>> 
>>> acoustically treating the rooms, and using the same speakers and same
>>> computer/interface I could definitely say that mixing the album would have
>>> been so much easier in this better room.
>>> 
>>> Also, the drums for this were recorded in a muddy sounding room where
>>> someone thought acoustically treating it meant sucking out all the life out
>>> 
>>> of the room and not treating the bass/low mid frequencies at all, which
>>> seriously restricted mixing options.
>>> 
>>> Having said all this, even if I didn't have the new studio for my next
>>> project, it would be much better than this work I've l inked to here, simply
>>> 
>>> because I've learned quickly from getting deep into one album production,
>>> and have done much more work since.
>>> 
>>> I would say good acoustics/listening environment and the right pair of ears
>>> 
>>> are all that's needed beyond a basic computer and DAW setup these days for
>>> good results.
>>> 
>>> By using D I and triggars, you bypassed that acoustic elements some what,
>>> though you obviously didn't have the ideal mixing environment, but what you
>>> 
>>> did have was the good or great pair of ears and artistic vision.
>>> 
>>> Which brings me to my final point, and this is an important one, your setup
>>> 
>>> got a high budget sound for your band in my opinion at l east and  I think
>>> most would agree with that, however, bring in the Dixy Chicks and they ain't
>>> 
>>> going to sound so good with triggars and D I, well you might get some part
&g

Re: Mainstream Recording?

2012-06-22 Thread Christopher-Mark Gilland
Kevin, that's an excellent idea!  Could there be a place too for featured 
mp3's?  I say this as I have no idea how to do Youtube vids, nor have the 
camera setup to do it.


Also again I ask any of you guys, what is the u r l for the p t access site.

It's obviously not

ptaccess.com

Chris.

- Original Message - 
From: "Kevin Reeves" 

To: 
Sent: Friday, June 22, 2012 10:39 AM
Subject: Re: Mainstream Recording?


Good god. That sounds great as well. Man. You people are blowing me away 
left and right. I think we're gonna put a page on the site showcasing all 
yall's youtube vids. THis is great.


Kevin
On Jun 22, 2012, at 10:34 AM, Scott Chesworth wrote:


Hey Brian,

Very cool! Good to know there are brethrin of melodic dark and heavy
stuff on the same side of the pond here. Curious to hear more man, I'm
heading over to bandcamp to pick up the record when I've finished
writing this.

Yeah, point taken about DI not working for everyone, we're lucky in
that it caters well to what we do. At the time, it was more of a
productivity-based choice than anything else based on the spaces
available to write and record in. Album number 3 will likely stay that
way for bass and guitars, but suggesting another triggered album to
the drummer could well be the last suggestion I'd ever make.

If you're interested in the difference the DI approach made, this was
from the first record with live drums and more variation in how
guitars were tracked. All in makeshift recording locations again, and
it still took some drum reinforcement at mix stage. Who knows, perhaps
album 3 might be the one where we actually end up with a decent kit
sound to start with LOL!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mo9_NYB4AR8

Cheers
Scott

On 6/22/12, Brian Casey  wrote:
Scot, fantastic production, and while we're swopping heres my band, an 
album


tracked in about 5 days in a ttics spare bedrooms and a very bad attempt 
at


a drum isolation booth a friend constructed, but that's another days
discussion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFl7vPZTjo8

Not as slick as your production but it was my first major mix, and its 
hit

national radio quite a bit, so its probably close to an acceptable
professional standard.

My major point here though is, I mixed this in an attic in my house, but
have since moved into a purpose built studio, with piles of money gone 
into


acoustically treating the rooms, and using the same speakers and same
computer/interface I could definitely say that mixing the album would 
have

been so much easier in this better room.

Also, the drums for this were recorded in a muddy sounding room where
someone thought acoustically treating it meant sucking out all the life 
out


of the room and not treating the bass/low mid frequencies at all, which
seriously restricted mixing options.

Having said all this, even if I didn't have the new studio for my next
project, it would be much better than this work I've l inked to here, 
simply


because I've learned quickly from getting deep into one album production,
and have done much more work since.

I would say good acoustics/listening environment and the right pair of 
ears


are all that's needed beyond a basic computer and DAW setup these days 
for

good results.

By using D I and triggars, you bypassed that acoustic elements some what,
though you obviously didn't have the ideal mixing environment, but what 
you


did have was the good or great pair of ears and artistic vision.

Which brings me to my final point, and this is an important one, your 
setup


got a high budget sound for your band in my opinion at l east and  I 
think
most would agree with that, however, bring in the Dixy Chicks and they 
ain't


going to sound so good with triggars and D I, well you might get some 
part

of the way, but commercial recording studios are meant to be able to take
anything thrown at them to a certain extent.

But again I say, the right pair of ears for the project is at least half 
the


battle, and the acoustics is the other half, so that great pair of ears 
can


better t ell what they're actually listening to.

Great stuff again Scot, killer guitar tones and great writing.

Brian.
------
From: "Scott Chesworth" 
Sent: Friday, June 22, 2012 2:18 AM
To: 
Subject: Re: Mainstream Recording?


This is a really interesting thread!

For anyone that might care to listen, my band tracked this tune
entirely in a spare bedroom. Thanks to the modern miracles of DI and
MIDI triggering, the most noisy member was our vocalist. So far, we're
two albums down the line and haven't touched what most people would
consider to be a proper studio yet during tracking and production
stages.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NI8Xrup5akw

Cheers
Scott


On 6/21/12, Chris Norman  wrote:

Please, when you read this, note, I'm not saying anyo

Re: Mainstream Recording?

2012-06-22 Thread Brian Casey

What he said!


--
From: "Scott Chesworth" 
Sent: Friday, June 22, 2012 4:19 PM
To: 
Subject: Re: Mainstream Recording?


I hope not, because the stuff I've posted to it wasn't 100% recorded,
mixed and mastered in PT. Think it's more like a "show and tell" of
what's possible and what we've learned in less than ideal spaces
working on less than ideal gear, right?

Scott

On 6/22/12, Brian Casey  wrote:

Oops, guys I have to clarify, I did my mix on Sonar but that wasn't the
point of this thread in the first place was it?


--
From: "Kevin Reeves" 
Sent: Friday, June 22, 2012 3:39 PM
To: 
Subject: Re: Mainstream Recording?


Good god. That sounds great as well. Man. You people are blowing me away
left and right. I think we're gonna put a page on the site showcasing 
all


yall's youtube vids. THis is great.

Kevin
On Jun 22, 2012, at 10:34 AM, Scott Chesworth wrote:


Hey Brian,

Very cool! Good to know there are brethrin of melodic dark and heavy
stuff on the same side of the pond here. Curious to hear more man, I'm
heading over to bandcamp to pick up the record when I've finished
writing this.

Yeah, point taken about DI not working for everyone, we're lucky in
that it caters well to what we do. At the time, it was more of a
productivity-based choice than anything else based on the spaces
available to write and record in. Album number 3 will likely stay that
way for bass and guitars, but suggesting another triggered album to
the drummer could well be the last suggestion I'd ever make.

If you're interested in the difference the DI approach made, this was
from the first record with live drums and more variation in how
guitars were tracked. All in makeshift recording locations again, and
it still took some drum reinforcement at mix stage. Who knows, perhaps
album 3 might be the one where we actually end up with a decent kit
sound to start with LOL!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mo9_NYB4AR8

Cheers
Scott

On 6/22/12, Brian Casey  wrote:

Scot, fantastic production, and while we're swopping heres my band, an
album

tracked in about 5 days in a ttics spare bedrooms and a very bad 
attempt


at

a drum isolation booth a friend constructed, but that's another days
discussion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFl7vPZTjo8

Not as slick as your production but it was my first major mix, and its
hit
national radio quite a bit, so its probably close to an acceptable
professional standard.

My major point here though is, I mixed this in an attic in my house,
but
have since moved into a purpose built studio, with piles of money gone
into

acoustically treating the rooms, and using the same speakers and same
computer/interface I could definitely say that mixing the album would
have
been so much easier in this better room.

Also, the drums for this were recorded in a muddy sounding room where
someone thought acoustically treating it meant sucking out all the 
life


out

of the room and not treating the bass/low mid frequencies at all, 
which

seriously restricted mixing options.

Having said all this, even if I didn't have the new studio for my next
project, it would be much better than this work I've l inked to here,
simply

because I've learned quickly from getting deep into one album
production,
and have done much more work since.

I would say good acoustics/listening environment and the right pair of
ears

are all that's needed beyond a basic computer and DAW setup these days
for
good results.

By using D I and triggars, you bypassed that acoustic elements some
what,
though you obviously didn't have the ideal mixing environment, but 
what


you

did have was the good or great pair of ears and artistic vision.

Which brings me to my final point, and this is an important one, your
setup

got a high budget sound for your band in my opinion at l east and  I
think
most would agree with that, however, bring in the Dixy Chicks and they
ain't

going to sound so good with triggars and D I, well you might get some
part
of the way, but commercial recording studios are meant to be able to
take
anything thrown at them to a certain extent.

But again I say, the right pair of ears for the project is at least 
half


the

battle, and the acoustics is the other half, so that great pair of 
ears


can

better t ell what they're actually listening to.

Great stuff again Scot, killer guitar tones and great writing.

Brian.
--
From: "Scott Chesworth" 
Sent: Friday, June 22, 2012 2:18 AM
To: 
Subject: Re: Mainstream Recording?


This is a really interesting thread!

For anyone that might care to listen, my band tracked this tune
entirely in a spare bedroom. Thanks to the modern miracles of DI and
MIDI triggering, the most noisy member was ou

Re: Mainstream Recording?

2012-06-22 Thread Scott Chesworth
I hope not, because the stuff I've posted to it wasn't 100% recorded,
mixed and mastered in PT. Think it's more like a "show and tell" of
what's possible and what we've learned in less than ideal spaces
working on less than ideal gear, right?

Scott

On 6/22/12, Brian Casey  wrote:
> Oops, guys I have to clarify, I did my mix on Sonar but that wasn't the
> point of this thread in the first place was it?
>
>
> --
> From: "Kevin Reeves" 
> Sent: Friday, June 22, 2012 3:39 PM
> To: 
> Subject: Re: Mainstream Recording?
>
>> Good god. That sounds great as well. Man. You people are blowing me away
>> left and right. I think we're gonna put a page on the site showcasing all
>>
>> yall's youtube vids. THis is great.
>>
>> Kevin
>> On Jun 22, 2012, at 10:34 AM, Scott Chesworth wrote:
>>
>>> Hey Brian,
>>>
>>> Very cool! Good to know there are brethrin of melodic dark and heavy
>>> stuff on the same side of the pond here. Curious to hear more man, I'm
>>> heading over to bandcamp to pick up the record when I've finished
>>> writing this.
>>>
>>> Yeah, point taken about DI not working for everyone, we're lucky in
>>> that it caters well to what we do. At the time, it was more of a
>>> productivity-based choice than anything else based on the spaces
>>> available to write and record in. Album number 3 will likely stay that
>>> way for bass and guitars, but suggesting another triggered album to
>>> the drummer could well be the last suggestion I'd ever make.
>>>
>>> If you're interested in the difference the DI approach made, this was
>>> from the first record with live drums and more variation in how
>>> guitars were tracked. All in makeshift recording locations again, and
>>> it still took some drum reinforcement at mix stage. Who knows, perhaps
>>> album 3 might be the one where we actually end up with a decent kit
>>> sound to start with LOL!
>>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mo9_NYB4AR8
>>>
>>> Cheers
>>> Scott
>>>
>>> On 6/22/12, Brian Casey  wrote:
>>>> Scot, fantastic production, and while we're swopping heres my band, an
>>>> album
>>>>
>>>> tracked in about 5 days in a ttics spare bedrooms and a very bad attempt
>>>>
>>>> at
>>>>
>>>> a drum isolation booth a friend constructed, but that's another days
>>>> discussion.
>>>>
>>>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFl7vPZTjo8
>>>>
>>>> Not as slick as your production but it was my first major mix, and its
>>>> hit
>>>> national radio quite a bit, so its probably close to an acceptable
>>>> professional standard.
>>>>
>>>> My major point here though is, I mixed this in an attic in my house,
>>>> but
>>>> have since moved into a purpose built studio, with piles of money gone
>>>> into
>>>>
>>>> acoustically treating the rooms, and using the same speakers and same
>>>> computer/interface I could definitely say that mixing the album would
>>>> have
>>>> been so much easier in this better room.
>>>>
>>>> Also, the drums for this were recorded in a muddy sounding room where
>>>> someone thought acoustically treating it meant sucking out all the life
>>>>
>>>> out
>>>>
>>>> of the room and not treating the bass/low mid frequencies at all, which
>>>> seriously restricted mixing options.
>>>>
>>>> Having said all this, even if I didn't have the new studio for my next
>>>> project, it would be much better than this work I've l inked to here,
>>>> simply
>>>>
>>>> because I've learned quickly from getting deep into one album
>>>> production,
>>>> and have done much more work since.
>>>>
>>>> I would say good acoustics/listening environment and the right pair of
>>>> ears
>>>>
>>>> are all that's needed beyond a basic computer and DAW setup these days
>>>> for
>>>> good results.
>>>>
>>>> By using D I and triggars, you bypassed that acoustic elements some
>>>> what,
>>>> though you obviously didn't have the ideal mixing environment, but what
>>>>
>>>&

Re: Mainstream Recording?

2012-06-22 Thread Brian Casey
Oops, guys I have to clarify, I did my mix on Sonar but that wasn't the 
point of this thread in the first place was it?



--
From: "Kevin Reeves" 
Sent: Friday, June 22, 2012 3:39 PM
To: 
Subject: Re: Mainstream Recording?

Good god. That sounds great as well. Man. You people are blowing me away 
left and right. I think we're gonna put a page on the site showcasing all 
yall's youtube vids. THis is great.


Kevin
On Jun 22, 2012, at 10:34 AM, Scott Chesworth wrote:


Hey Brian,

Very cool! Good to know there are brethrin of melodic dark and heavy
stuff on the same side of the pond here. Curious to hear more man, I'm
heading over to bandcamp to pick up the record when I've finished
writing this.

Yeah, point taken about DI not working for everyone, we're lucky in
that it caters well to what we do. At the time, it was more of a
productivity-based choice than anything else based on the spaces
available to write and record in. Album number 3 will likely stay that
way for bass and guitars, but suggesting another triggered album to
the drummer could well be the last suggestion I'd ever make.

If you're interested in the difference the DI approach made, this was
from the first record with live drums and more variation in how
guitars were tracked. All in makeshift recording locations again, and
it still took some drum reinforcement at mix stage. Who knows, perhaps
album 3 might be the one where we actually end up with a decent kit
sound to start with LOL!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mo9_NYB4AR8

Cheers
Scott

On 6/22/12, Brian Casey  wrote:
Scot, fantastic production, and while we're swopping heres my band, an 
album


tracked in about 5 days in a ttics spare bedrooms and a very bad attempt 
at


a drum isolation booth a friend constructed, but that's another days
discussion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFl7vPZTjo8

Not as slick as your production but it was my first major mix, and its 
hit

national radio quite a bit, so its probably close to an acceptable
professional standard.

My major point here though is, I mixed this in an attic in my house, but
have since moved into a purpose built studio, with piles of money gone 
into


acoustically treating the rooms, and using the same speakers and same
computer/interface I could definitely say that mixing the album would 
have

been so much easier in this better room.

Also, the drums for this were recorded in a muddy sounding room where
someone thought acoustically treating it meant sucking out all the life 
out


of the room and not treating the bass/low mid frequencies at all, which
seriously restricted mixing options.

Having said all this, even if I didn't have the new studio for my next
project, it would be much better than this work I've l inked to here, 
simply


because I've learned quickly from getting deep into one album 
production,

and have done much more work since.

I would say good acoustics/listening environment and the right pair of 
ears


are all that's needed beyond a basic computer and DAW setup these days 
for

good results.

By using D I and triggars, you bypassed that acoustic elements some 
what,
though you obviously didn't have the ideal mixing environment, but what 
you


did have was the good or great pair of ears and artistic vision.

Which brings me to my final point, and this is an important one, your 
setup


got a high budget sound for your band in my opinion at l east and  I 
think
most would agree with that, however, bring in the Dixy Chicks and they 
ain't


going to sound so good with triggars and D I, well you might get some 
part
of the way, but commercial recording studios are meant to be able to 
take

anything thrown at them to a certain extent.

But again I say, the right pair of ears for the project is at least half 
the


battle, and the acoustics is the other half, so that great pair of ears 
can


better t ell what they're actually listening to.

Great stuff again Scot, killer guitar tones and great writing.

Brian.
------
From: "Scott Chesworth" 
Sent: Friday, June 22, 2012 2:18 AM
To: 
Subject: Re: Mainstream Recording?


This is a really interesting thread!

For anyone that might care to listen, my band tracked this tune
entirely in a spare bedroom. Thanks to the modern miracles of DI and
MIDI triggering, the most noisy member was our vocalist. So far, we're
two albums down the line and haven't touched what most people would
consider to be a proper studio yet during tracking and production
stages.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NI8Xrup5akw

Cheers
Scott


On 6/21/12, Chris Norman  wrote:

Please, when you read this, note, I'm not saying anyone who's
responded to these messages is wrong, there's some great people who
know infinitely more about what they're talking about than I, but I

Re: Mainstream Recording?

2012-06-22 Thread Brian Casey

Cool Scot, glad it grabs your curiosity! haha.

The D I thing worked really well for you, and I have since got  the Waves 
amp plugs which I quite like, so they'll definitely be in the tool kit for 
future recordings. There was a lot of feedback and stuff with amps on my 
album, so D I wasn't the easiest option, b ut I still didn't have the option 
of letting loose with amps at full volume or anything. The guitar tones are 
something I hope to improve on, but you can't beat a good drum kit and 
drummer. I didn't use any sample replacement or reinorcement, but sample 
reinforcement is definitely something I'll explore in future mixes. It was 
as much to challenge myself that I didn'tuse them, but I kinda regret it 
now.


I can really hear the difference in that earlier track of yours allright on 
all fronts, and the drums of course.


We're a much less developed band than yours at the moment though, and 
Ireland has a very limited market for what we're doing. so we'll actually be 
hoping to hit the UK after the summer when we have some funds together, but 
its hard to know where to startof course, if you feel like hitting me 
offlist with any tips they'd be more than welcome!


Back to the subject of triggars, an often sighted tip is to record real high 
hats or ride cymbal etc to get a more human feel, or even just a more raw 
sound but the triggars sound awesome in your mix.


I think I have the drums very present in my mixes, almost too much so 
compared to yours. One thing that hurt me a lot in themix was that the over 
heads were fine for cymbal information, but I got no room mojo from them 
because as I said it was a small badly treated booth, so I got over board 
with EQ getting the mud out...I also over did gating on the snare a bit too. 
In my new live room I love setting up a room mike back from the kit, 
crushing it with the Waves CLA 1176 and I'm much closer to the drum sound  I 
want straight away usually!


Comparing our two tracks and methods is an interesting example of stuff 
discussed on this thread, and my next recordings with this band whenever 
they come will be in what is essentially a high end project studio and a 
much more skilled me at the helm, so that will be interesting to hear the 
difference.


I would say comparing our tracks presented on this list that my mixing 
skills are very much second best, but the only way is up!


Brian.
--
From: "Scott Chesworth" 
Sent: Friday, June 22, 2012 3:34 PM
To: 
Subject: Re: Mainstream Recording?


Hey Brian,

Very cool! Good to know there are brethrin of melodic dark and heavy
stuff on the same side of the pond here. Curious to hear more man, I'm
heading over to bandcamp to pick up the record when I've finished
writing this.

Yeah, point taken about DI not working for everyone, we're lucky in
that it caters well to what we do. At the time, it was more of a
productivity-based choice than anything else based on the spaces
available to write and record in. Album number 3 will likely stay that
way for bass and guitars, but suggesting another triggered album to
the drummer could well be the last suggestion I'd ever make.

If you're interested in the difference the DI approach made, this was
from the first record with live drums and more variation in how
guitars were tracked. All in makeshift recording locations again, and
it still took some drum reinforcement at mix stage. Who knows, perhaps
album 3 might be the one where we actually end up with a decent kit
sound to start with LOL!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mo9_NYB4AR8

Cheers
Scott

On 6/22/12, Brian Casey  wrote:
Scot, fantastic production, and while we're swopping heres my band, an 
album


tracked in about 5 days in a ttics spare bedrooms and a very bad attempt 
at


a drum isolation booth a friend constructed, but that's another days
discussion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFl7vPZTjo8

Not as slick as your production but it was my first major mix, and its 
hit

national radio quite a bit, so its probably close to an acceptable
professional standard.

My major point here though is, I mixed this in an attic in my house, but
have since moved into a purpose built studio, with piles of money gone 
into


acoustically treating the rooms, and using the same speakers and same
computer/interface I could definitely say that mixing the album would 
have

been so much easier in this better room.

Also, the drums for this were recorded in a muddy sounding room where
someone thought acoustically treating it meant sucking out all the life 
out


of the room and not treating the bass/low mid frequencies at all, which
seriously restricted mixing options.

Having said all this, even if I didn't have the new studio for my next
project, it would be much better than this work I've l inked to here, 
simply


because I've lear

Re: Mainstream Recording?

2012-06-22 Thread Kevin Reeves
Good god. That sounds great as well. Man. You people are blowing me away left 
and right. I think we're gonna put a page on the site showcasing all yall's 
youtube vids. THis is great.

Kevin
On Jun 22, 2012, at 10:34 AM, Scott Chesworth wrote:

> Hey Brian,
> 
> Very cool! Good to know there are brethrin of melodic dark and heavy
> stuff on the same side of the pond here. Curious to hear more man, I'm
> heading over to bandcamp to pick up the record when I've finished
> writing this.
> 
> Yeah, point taken about DI not working for everyone, we're lucky in
> that it caters well to what we do. At the time, it was more of a
> productivity-based choice than anything else based on the spaces
> available to write and record in. Album number 3 will likely stay that
> way for bass and guitars, but suggesting another triggered album to
> the drummer could well be the last suggestion I'd ever make.
> 
> If you're interested in the difference the DI approach made, this was
> from the first record with live drums and more variation in how
> guitars were tracked. All in makeshift recording locations again, and
> it still took some drum reinforcement at mix stage. Who knows, perhaps
> album 3 might be the one where we actually end up with a decent kit
> sound to start with LOL!
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mo9_NYB4AR8
> 
> Cheers
> Scott
> 
> On 6/22/12, Brian Casey  wrote:
>> Scot, fantastic production, and while we're swopping heres my band, an album
>> 
>> tracked in about 5 days in a ttics spare bedrooms and a very bad attempt at
>> 
>> a drum isolation booth a friend constructed, but that's another days
>> discussion.
>> 
>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFl7vPZTjo8
>> 
>> Not as slick as your production but it was my first major mix, and its hit
>> national radio quite a bit, so its probably close to an acceptable
>> professional standard.
>> 
>> My major point here though is, I mixed this in an attic in my house, but
>> have since moved into a purpose built studio, with piles of money gone into
>> 
>> acoustically treating the rooms, and using the same speakers and same
>> computer/interface I could definitely say that mixing the album would have
>> been so much easier in this better room.
>> 
>> Also, the drums for this were recorded in a muddy sounding room where
>> someone thought acoustically treating it meant sucking out all the life out
>> 
>> of the room and not treating the bass/low mid frequencies at all, which
>> seriously restricted mixing options.
>> 
>> Having said all this, even if I didn't have the new studio for my next
>> project, it would be much better than this work I've l inked to here, simply
>> 
>> because I've learned quickly from getting deep into one album production,
>> and have done much more work since.
>> 
>> I would say good acoustics/listening environment and the right pair of ears
>> 
>> are all that's needed beyond a basic computer and DAW setup these days for
>> good results.
>> 
>> By using D I and triggars, you bypassed that acoustic elements some what,
>> though you obviously didn't have the ideal mixing environment, but what you
>> 
>> did have was the good or great pair of ears and artistic vision.
>> 
>> Which brings me to my final point, and this is an important one, your setup
>> 
>> got a high budget sound for your band in my opinion at l east and  I think
>> most would agree with that, however, bring in the Dixy Chicks and they ain't
>> 
>> going to sound so good with triggars and D I, well you might get some part
>> of the way, but commercial recording studios are meant to be able to take
>> anything thrown at them to a certain extent.
>> 
>> But again I say, the right pair of ears for the project is at least half the
>> 
>> battle, and the acoustics is the other half, so that great pair of ears can
>> 
>> better t ell what they're actually listening to.
>> 
>> Great stuff again Scot, killer guitar tones and great writing.
>> 
>> Brian.
>> --
>> From: "Scott Chesworth" 
>> Sent: Friday, June 22, 2012 2:18 AM
>> To: 
>> Subject: Re: Mainstream Recording?
>> 
>>> This is a really interesting thread!
>>> 
>>> For anyone that might care to listen, my band tracked this tune
>>> entirely in a spare bedroom. Thanks to the modern miracles of DI and
>>> MIDI triggering, the most noisy member was our vocalist. So far, we'

Re: Mainstream Recording?

2012-06-22 Thread Scott Chesworth
Hey Brian,

Very cool! Good to know there are brethrin of melodic dark and heavy
stuff on the same side of the pond here. Curious to hear more man, I'm
heading over to bandcamp to pick up the record when I've finished
writing this.

Yeah, point taken about DI not working for everyone, we're lucky in
that it caters well to what we do. At the time, it was more of a
productivity-based choice than anything else based on the spaces
available to write and record in. Album number 3 will likely stay that
way for bass and guitars, but suggesting another triggered album to
the drummer could well be the last suggestion I'd ever make.

If you're interested in the difference the DI approach made, this was
from the first record with live drums and more variation in how
guitars were tracked. All in makeshift recording locations again, and
it still took some drum reinforcement at mix stage. Who knows, perhaps
album 3 might be the one where we actually end up with a decent kit
sound to start with LOL!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mo9_NYB4AR8

Cheers
Scott

On 6/22/12, Brian Casey  wrote:
> Scot, fantastic production, and while we're swopping heres my band, an album
>
> tracked in about 5 days in a ttics spare bedrooms and a very bad attempt at
>
> a drum isolation booth a friend constructed, but that's another days
> discussion.
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFl7vPZTjo8
>
> Not as slick as your production but it was my first major mix, and its hit
> national radio quite a bit, so its probably close to an acceptable
> professional standard.
>
> My major point here though is, I mixed this in an attic in my house, but
> have since moved into a purpose built studio, with piles of money gone into
>
> acoustically treating the rooms, and using the same speakers and same
> computer/interface I could definitely say that mixing the album would have
> been so much easier in this better room.
>
> Also, the drums for this were recorded in a muddy sounding room where
> someone thought acoustically treating it meant sucking out all the life out
>
> of the room and not treating the bass/low mid frequencies at all, which
> seriously restricted mixing options.
>
> Having said all this, even if I didn't have the new studio for my next
> project, it would be much better than this work I've l inked to here, simply
>
> because I've learned quickly from getting deep into one album production,
> and have done much more work since.
>
> I would say good acoustics/listening environment and the right pair of ears
>
> are all that's needed beyond a basic computer and DAW setup these days for
> good results.
>
> By using D I and triggars, you bypassed that acoustic elements some what,
> though you obviously didn't have the ideal mixing environment, but what you
>
> did have was the good or great pair of ears and artistic vision.
>
> Which brings me to my final point, and this is an important one, your setup
>
> got a high budget sound for your band in my opinion at l east and  I think
> most would agree with that, however, bring in the Dixy Chicks and they ain't
>
> going to sound so good with triggars and D I, well you might get some part
> of the way, but commercial recording studios are meant to be able to take
> anything thrown at them to a certain extent.
>
> But again I say, the right pair of ears for the project is at least half the
>
> battle, and the acoustics is the other half, so that great pair of ears can
>
> better t ell what they're actually listening to.
>
> Great stuff again Scot, killer guitar tones and great writing.
>
> Brian.
> --
> From: "Scott Chesworth" 
> Sent: Friday, June 22, 2012 2:18 AM
> To: 
> Subject: Re: Mainstream Recording?
>
>> This is a really interesting thread!
>>
>> For anyone that might care to listen, my band tracked this tune
>> entirely in a spare bedroom. Thanks to the modern miracles of DI and
>> MIDI triggering, the most noisy member was our vocalist. So far, we're
>> two albums down the line and haven't touched what most people would
>> consider to be a proper studio yet during tracking and production
>> stages.
>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NI8Xrup5akw
>>
>> Cheers
>> Scott
>>
>>
>> On 6/21/12, Chris Norman  wrote:
>>> Please, when you read this, note, I'm not saying anyone who's
>>> responded to these messages is wrong, there's some great people who
>>> know infinitely more about what they're talking about than I, but I'd
>>> like to give the view of a hobbiest.
>>>
>>> I have a studio in m

Re: Mainstream Recording?

2012-06-22 Thread Brian Casey
Scot, fantastic production, and while we're swopping heres my band, an album 
tracked in about 5 days in a ttics spare bedrooms and a very bad attempt at 
a drum isolation booth a friend constructed, but that's another days 
discussion.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFl7vPZTjo8

Not as slick as your production but it was my first major mix, and its hit 
national radio quite a bit, so its probably close to an acceptable 
professional standard.


My major point here though is, I mixed this in an attic in my house, but 
have since moved into a purpose built studio, with piles of money gone into 
acoustically treating the rooms, and using the same speakers and same 
computer/interface I could definitely say that mixing the album would have 
been so much easier in this better room.


Also, the drums for this were recorded in a muddy sounding room where 
someone thought acoustically treating it meant sucking out all the life out 
of the room and not treating the bass/low mid frequencies at all, which 
seriously restricted mixing options.


Having said all this, even if I didn't have the new studio for my next 
project, it would be much better than this work I've l inked to here, simply 
because I've learned quickly from getting deep into one album production, 
and have done much more work since.


I would say good acoustics/listening environment and the right pair of ears 
are all that's needed beyond a basic computer and DAW setup these days for 
good results.


By using D I and triggars, you bypassed that acoustic elements some what, 
though you obviously didn't have the ideal mixing environment, but what you 
did have was the good or great pair of ears and artistic vision.


Which brings me to my final point, and this is an important one, your setup 
got a high budget sound for your band in my opinion at l east and  I think 
most would agree with that, however, bring in the Dixy Chicks and they ain't 
going to sound so good with triggars and D I, well you might get some part 
of the way, but commercial recording studios are meant to be able to take 
anything thrown at them to a certain extent.


But again I say, the right pair of ears for the project is at least half the 
battle, and the acoustics is the other half, so that great pair of ears can 
better t ell what they're actually listening to.


Great stuff again Scot, killer guitar tones and great writing.

Brian.
--
From: "Scott Chesworth" 
Sent: Friday, June 22, 2012 2:18 AM
To: 
Subject: Re: Mainstream Recording?


This is a really interesting thread!

For anyone that might care to listen, my band tracked this tune
entirely in a spare bedroom. Thanks to the modern miracles of DI and
MIDI triggering, the most noisy member was our vocalist. So far, we're
two albums down the line and haven't touched what most people would
consider to be a proper studio yet during tracking and production
stages.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NI8Xrup5akw

Cheers
Scott


On 6/21/12, Chris Norman  wrote:

Please, when you read this, note, I'm not saying anyone who's
responded to these messages is wrong, there's some great people who
know infinitely more about what they're talking about than I, but I'd
like to give the view of a hobbiest.

I have a studio in my spare bedroom, it's not professional in any way,
shape or form. I'm sure if anyone who turned up and knew their stuff,
they'd probably leave on a stretcher from laughing so hard, but, the
point is, it works for me.

I have spent a fair amount of money over the last couple of years
getting the stuff I wanted. I do not know what's good or bad, but I
followed the suggestions of people on this list, and others, and got
stuff which was affordable, and good.

With this stuff, I can get the sounds I want and rely upon. They might
not be radio quality, or up to the standard of Lianne Rhymes, or
anyone like that, but they work for me.

Judging by the stuff you've written Christopher, you're in a similar
situation to myself, you're just recording for fun, and you probably
don't want to do it seriously. Even if you do, I see no reason this
stuff, with some modifications, could get you a fairly decent recorded
sound, which you could sell to people.

Below is my gear list, as far as I know it. I'm actually not sure what
my monitors are, but they're MAudio somethings, and they were were
some £300 for the pair.

I'm using Pro Tools 10, running on a MacBook Pro. It's not the latest
one, but the one before that I think. I (stupidly), brought it about a
week before the new MacBook Pro with the Thunderbalt ports came out.
Off course I use a full sized apple keyboard, and, when I've saved up
all the money for my iMac, I'll be using the Magic Trackpad too, so I
can sit of my sofa to record, instead of cluttering up space I don'

Re: Mainstream Recording?

2012-06-22 Thread Kevin Reeves
Great stuff. Let's do some colabo sometime. You guys rock.

Kevin


Re: Mainstream Recording?

2012-06-21 Thread Christopher-Mark Gilland

Even? better!

Chris.

- Original Message - 
From: "Chris Norman" 

To: 
Sent: Thursday, June 21, 2012 9:46 PM
Subject: Re: Mainstream Recording?


OK,
Instead of putting instructions for Harmony engine private, I'll put a
basic outline on a new thread.

HTH.

On 22/06/2012, Poppa Bear  wrote:

Nice stuff Scott.
- Original Message -
From: "Scott Chesworth" 
To: 
Sent: Thursday, June 21, 2012 5:18 PM
Subject: Re: Mainstream Recording?


This is a really interesting thread!

For anyone that might care to listen, my band tracked this tune
entirely in a spare bedroom. Thanks to the modern miracles of DI and
MIDI triggering, the most noisy member was our vocalist. So far, we're
two albums down the line and haven't touched what most people would
consider to be a proper studio yet during tracking and production
stages.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NI8Xrup5akw

Cheers
Scott


On 6/21/12, Chris Norman  wrote:

Please, when you read this, note, I'm not saying anyone who's
responded to these messages is wrong, there's some great people who
know infinitely more about what they're talking about than I, but I'd
like to give the view of a hobbiest.

I have a studio in my spare bedroom, it's not professional in any way,
shape or form. I'm sure if anyone who turned up and knew their stuff,
they'd probably leave on a stretcher from laughing so hard, but, the
point is, it works for me.

I have spent a fair amount of money over the last couple of years
getting the stuff I wanted. I do not know what's good or bad, but I
followed the suggestions of people on this list, and others, and got
stuff which was affordable, and good.

With this stuff, I can get the sounds I want and rely upon. They might
not be radio quality, or up to the standard of Lianne Rhymes, or
anyone like that, but they work for me.

Judging by the stuff you've written Christopher, you're in a similar
situation to myself, you're just recording for fun, and you probably
don't want to do it seriously. Even if you do, I see no reason this
stuff, with some modifications, could get you a fairly decent recorded
sound, which you could sell to people.

Below is my gear list, as far as I know it. I'm actually not sure what
my monitors are, but they're MAudio somethings, and they were were
some £300 for the pair.

I'm using Pro Tools 10, running on a MacBook Pro. It's not the latest
one, but the one before that I think. I (stupidly), brought it about a
week before the new MacBook Pro with the Thunderbalt ports came out.
Off course I use a full sized apple keyboard, and, when I've saved up
all the money for my iMac, I'll be using the Magic Trackpad too, so I
can sit of my sofa to record, instead of cluttering up space I don't
have, with another chair.

I'm using a Euphonix Artist Mix control surface, and an MBox Pro
(which I find quite unstable with Pro Tools and Mac OS X 10.7.whatever
it is).

The monitors, as I said, are MAudio something or others, not really a
clue.

I have 2 Rode NT-1A's, which I use for tracking both acoustic guitar,
and vocals.

For the rare times when I record amped electric guitars, I borrow a
pair of SM57's, which I went halves on with a friend of mine. For the
times I'm feeling lazy, and actually, I still love the sound, I use a
Vox something or other preamp, which my girlfriend and another friend
of mine brought me for my birthday.

My main guitar is a Faith acoustic, again, not sure of the model, but
it was supposed to sell for £512 or so, but I got it for about £400,
because the shop I got it from (Noise Works in Coventry, England), had
an offer on. My electric guitar is a Fender Blacktop, and I have a
Crafter (I think), fretted acoustic bass, and a Spector Electric bass,
which I've had for years, and never changed the strings on, so it's
got a lovely basy sound.

I am using an Axium 49 as my MIDI controler, but for one song, for
which I tracked the MIDI while on the road somewhere, I used an Akai
LPK24 or something, basically, a keyboard with 2 octave, bus powered.

I have no soundproofing of any kind, apart from a bed setty in my
studio (if that counts), and the house is fairly old, so it's got nice
thick walls.

I've also used an MAudio Mobile Pre, which I use to record my band
mate, who plays a Clavia NordStage 88, to save us the ball ache of
carrying the damn thing up the stairs.

I have absolutely no idea what my headphones are, but I brought them
from a PX in Germany, when I was visiting my uncle for like 130 EUR.

I could probably never achieve a totally dry sound in this room, but
luckily, I've never felt the need too. If I did want too however, I
could probably hang a quilt from the wall some how or something.

It is a very basic setup, probably costing somewhere in the region of
5 or 6 grand in total, but, as I said, this stuff 

Re: Mainstream Recording?

2012-06-21 Thread Chris Norman
OK,
Instead of putting instructions for Harmony engine private, I'll put a
basic outline on a new thread.

HTH.

On 22/06/2012, Poppa Bear  wrote:
> Nice stuff Scott.
> - Original Message -
> From: "Scott Chesworth" 
> To: 
> Sent: Thursday, June 21, 2012 5:18 PM
> Subject: Re: Mainstream Recording?
>
>
> This is a really interesting thread!
>
> For anyone that might care to listen, my band tracked this tune
> entirely in a spare bedroom. Thanks to the modern miracles of DI and
> MIDI triggering, the most noisy member was our vocalist. So far, we're
> two albums down the line and haven't touched what most people would
> consider to be a proper studio yet during tracking and production
> stages.
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NI8Xrup5akw
>
> Cheers
> Scott
>
>
> On 6/21/12, Chris Norman  wrote:
>> Please, when you read this, note, I'm not saying anyone who's
>> responded to these messages is wrong, there's some great people who
>> know infinitely more about what they're talking about than I, but I'd
>> like to give the view of a hobbiest.
>>
>> I have a studio in my spare bedroom, it's not professional in any way,
>> shape or form. I'm sure if anyone who turned up and knew their stuff,
>> they'd probably leave on a stretcher from laughing so hard, but, the
>> point is, it works for me.
>>
>> I have spent a fair amount of money over the last couple of years
>> getting the stuff I wanted. I do not know what's good or bad, but I
>> followed the suggestions of people on this list, and others, and got
>> stuff which was affordable, and good.
>>
>> With this stuff, I can get the sounds I want and rely upon. They might
>> not be radio quality, or up to the standard of Lianne Rhymes, or
>> anyone like that, but they work for me.
>>
>> Judging by the stuff you've written Christopher, you're in a similar
>> situation to myself, you're just recording for fun, and you probably
>> don't want to do it seriously. Even if you do, I see no reason this
>> stuff, with some modifications, could get you a fairly decent recorded
>> sound, which you could sell to people.
>>
>> Below is my gear list, as far as I know it. I'm actually not sure what
>> my monitors are, but they're MAudio somethings, and they were were
>> some £300 for the pair.
>>
>> I'm using Pro Tools 10, running on a MacBook Pro. It's not the latest
>> one, but the one before that I think. I (stupidly), brought it about a
>> week before the new MacBook Pro with the Thunderbalt ports came out.
>> Off course I use a full sized apple keyboard, and, when I've saved up
>> all the money for my iMac, I'll be using the Magic Trackpad too, so I
>> can sit of my sofa to record, instead of cluttering up space I don't
>> have, with another chair.
>>
>> I'm using a Euphonix Artist Mix control surface, and an MBox Pro
>> (which I find quite unstable with Pro Tools and Mac OS X 10.7.whatever
>> it is).
>>
>> The monitors, as I said, are MAudio something or others, not really a
>> clue.
>>
>> I have 2 Rode NT-1A's, which I use for tracking both acoustic guitar,
>> and vocals.
>>
>> For the rare times when I record amped electric guitars, I borrow a
>> pair of SM57's, which I went halves on with a friend of mine. For the
>> times I'm feeling lazy, and actually, I still love the sound, I use a
>> Vox something or other preamp, which my girlfriend and another friend
>> of mine brought me for my birthday.
>>
>> My main guitar is a Faith acoustic, again, not sure of the model, but
>> it was supposed to sell for £512 or so, but I got it for about £400,
>> because the shop I got it from (Noise Works in Coventry, England), had
>> an offer on. My electric guitar is a Fender Blacktop, and I have a
>> Crafter (I think), fretted acoustic bass, and a Spector Electric bass,
>> which I've had for years, and never changed the strings on, so it's
>> got a lovely basy sound.
>>
>> I am using an Axium 49 as my MIDI controler, but for one song, for
>> which I tracked the MIDI while on the road somewhere, I used an Akai
>> LPK24 or something, basically, a keyboard with 2 octave, bus powered.
>>
>> I have no soundproofing of any kind, apart from a bed setty in my
>> studio (if that counts), and the house is fairly old, so it's got nice
>> thick walls.
>>
>> I've also used an MAudio Mobile Pre, which I use to record my band
>> mate, who pl

Re: Mainstream Recording?

2012-06-21 Thread Poppa Bear

Nice stuff Scott.
- Original Message - 
From: "Scott Chesworth" 

To: 
Sent: Thursday, June 21, 2012 5:18 PM
Subject: Re: Mainstream Recording?


This is a really interesting thread!

For anyone that might care to listen, my band tracked this tune
entirely in a spare bedroom. Thanks to the modern miracles of DI and
MIDI triggering, the most noisy member was our vocalist. So far, we're
two albums down the line and haven't touched what most people would
consider to be a proper studio yet during tracking and production
stages.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NI8Xrup5akw

Cheers
Scott


On 6/21/12, Chris Norman  wrote:

Please, when you read this, note, I'm not saying anyone who's
responded to these messages is wrong, there's some great people who
know infinitely more about what they're talking about than I, but I'd
like to give the view of a hobbiest.

I have a studio in my spare bedroom, it's not professional in any way,
shape or form. I'm sure if anyone who turned up and knew their stuff,
they'd probably leave on a stretcher from laughing so hard, but, the
point is, it works for me.

I have spent a fair amount of money over the last couple of years
getting the stuff I wanted. I do not know what's good or bad, but I
followed the suggestions of people on this list, and others, and got
stuff which was affordable, and good.

With this stuff, I can get the sounds I want and rely upon. They might
not be radio quality, or up to the standard of Lianne Rhymes, or
anyone like that, but they work for me.

Judging by the stuff you've written Christopher, you're in a similar
situation to myself, you're just recording for fun, and you probably
don't want to do it seriously. Even if you do, I see no reason this
stuff, with some modifications, could get you a fairly decent recorded
sound, which you could sell to people.

Below is my gear list, as far as I know it. I'm actually not sure what
my monitors are, but they're MAudio somethings, and they were were
some £300 for the pair.

I'm using Pro Tools 10, running on a MacBook Pro. It's not the latest
one, but the one before that I think. I (stupidly), brought it about a
week before the new MacBook Pro with the Thunderbalt ports came out.
Off course I use a full sized apple keyboard, and, when I've saved up
all the money for my iMac, I'll be using the Magic Trackpad too, so I
can sit of my sofa to record, instead of cluttering up space I don't
have, with another chair.

I'm using a Euphonix Artist Mix control surface, and an MBox Pro
(which I find quite unstable with Pro Tools and Mac OS X 10.7.whatever
it is).

The monitors, as I said, are MAudio something or others, not really a 
clue.


I have 2 Rode NT-1A's, which I use for tracking both acoustic guitar,
and vocals.

For the rare times when I record amped electric guitars, I borrow a
pair of SM57's, which I went halves on with a friend of mine. For the
times I'm feeling lazy, and actually, I still love the sound, I use a
Vox something or other preamp, which my girlfriend and another friend
of mine brought me for my birthday.

My main guitar is a Faith acoustic, again, not sure of the model, but
it was supposed to sell for £512 or so, but I got it for about £400,
because the shop I got it from (Noise Works in Coventry, England), had
an offer on. My electric guitar is a Fender Blacktop, and I have a
Crafter (I think), fretted acoustic bass, and a Spector Electric bass,
which I've had for years, and never changed the strings on, so it's
got a lovely basy sound.

I am using an Axium 49 as my MIDI controler, but for one song, for
which I tracked the MIDI while on the road somewhere, I used an Akai
LPK24 or something, basically, a keyboard with 2 octave, bus powered.

I have no soundproofing of any kind, apart from a bed setty in my
studio (if that counts), and the house is fairly old, so it's got nice
thick walls.

I've also used an MAudio Mobile Pre, which I use to record my band
mate, who plays a Clavia NordStage 88, to save us the ball ache of
carrying the damn thing up the stairs.

I have absolutely no idea what my headphones are, but I brought them
from a PX in Germany, when I was visiting my uncle for like 130 EUR.

I could probably never achieve a totally dry sound in this room, but
luckily, I've never felt the need too. If I did want too however, I
could probably hang a quilt from the wall some how or something.

It is a very basic setup, probably costing somewhere in the region of
5 or 6 grand in total, but, as I said, this stuff has been collected
over a few years. The desc, the audio interface, my control surface
and monitors were all brought fairly recently, but the guitars I've
collected since I started playing when I was 6.

If you like, I can send you some of the stuff I've done, so you guys
who know you're doing can have a 

Re: Mainstream Recording?

2012-06-21 Thread Scott Chesworth
d monitors were all brought fairly recently, but the guitars I've
> collected since I started playing when I was 6.
>
> If you like, I can send you some of the stuff I've done, so you guys
> who know you're doing can have a laugh at it, but my aim isn't to
> become the next big star, my aim is to make and play music until the
> day I die, and love every minute of it. If I make money off it in
> return, more the better.
>
> As far as setra software goes, I use AutoTune EFX from Antares to
> pitch correct my vocals, as I'm not really a singer, and on the rare
> occasions when I want digital harmonies, I use Harmony Engine EVo,
> also from Antares EFX. I can use the latter to sort of simulate the
> sound of the TC Helicon Voice Live 2 which I use live.
>
> None of the leads are anything special, I'm using the leads which came
> with the monitors, and the XLR's which came with the Rode. The rest of
> the cables are bits I've cobbled together as I've gone along, there's
> a Parana guitar cable which I use some times, and a bunch of standard
> guitar leads, which are by no means anything special.
>
> The only thing which I've done which I do think is quite clever, and I
> would recommend for anyone, is I've partitioned my mac 3 ways.
>
> Partition 1 has the main Studio stuff. Alls that's on there is Pro
> Tools it's self, the plugins I use, and the drivers for my desc and
> audio interface.
> Partition 2 has the main machine, with user accounts for me and my
> girlfriend, my emails, all my apps, etc. I also have Pro Tools on this
> partition, and at the minute, it's almost exactly like the setup on
> the Studio volume, but I use it to test stuff, before I put it on the
> main studio partition, because I've found that Pro Tools becomes very
> slow to load etc, if you leave crap lying around on the machine, not
> sure if that's fact, but it's definitely what I've discovered.
>
> Partition 3 has Windows on it, mainly because I use Vipmud far too
> often, but as far as recording goes, I use QWS to fix all my MIDI
> tracks. I record them in Pro Tools, then export them (right click the
> midi track from the tracks list), and then re-import it (command
> control shift I I think), and send it to the correct place.
>
> As far as fx go, I tend to use presets a lot of the time, because I
> don't really know much about affects and all that, so I only tweek
> something if I'm really not happy with the sound.
>
> There's a couple of semi clever things I do, like before I bounce, I
> make sure the master's not clipping once I've given it it's fx, this
> prevents Winamp's eq from compressing the hell out of it.
>
> I don't drink anymore, so it's probably worth noting that any spare
> money I have goes into buying more music gear. I wouldn't say I have
> no life, but music is definitely one of the things I love most, and
> now I've got my friend playing keyboards, maybe we'll even have a band
> on the go.
>
> And that's about it. I like things simple,,I'm not pro, I don't want
> to be pro, I just want to enjoy myself, and it is my firm belief, that
> if you don't care that your sound isn't perfect, you can get one which
> you equally love with a budget. If you do want that super clean sound,
> as Nick said, go to school, as everyone else says... Well, do whatever
> they said really, spend money, etc.
>
> Sorry for the rambling, but I didn't really plan this message, it's
> just kind of happened LOL.
>
> On 20/06/2012, Nick Gawronski  wrote:
>> Hi, One point I should also make is if at all possible anyone should go
>> to school to learn audio engineering as learning it from a professional
>> in my view is the best method and you can also meet other people who
>> have interests like yourself.  As one of my instructors said in order to
>> know what sounds good and what does not sound good you have to hear what
>> sounds good as if you have never heard what good sounding music sounds
>> like then how can you create this stuff?  Once you hear what good
>> sounding stuff is there are good methods for producing these same types
>> of good sounding audios but you have to listen to the music or audio in
>> an uncompressed format not an mp3 downloaded a raw wav or aif file.  I
>> have done just this listened to two songs the same song one in mp3 and
>> the other off of the original CD and if you are listening to it yes you
>> can totally tell the difference.  I think that learning at home is also
>> great but for those of us like me who want to do this for a living I
>> knew I

Re: Mainstream Recording?

2012-06-21 Thread Karen Lewellen
 QWS to fix all my MIDI
 tracks. I record them in Pro Tools, then export them (right click the
 midi track from the tracks list), and then re-import it (command
 control shift I I think), and send it to the correct place.

 As far as fx go, I tend to use presets a lot of the time, because I
 don't really know much about affects and all that, so I only tweek
 something if I'm really not happy with the sound.

 There's a couple of semi clever things I do, like before I bounce, I
 make sure the master's not clipping once I've given it it's fx, this
 prevents Winamp's eq from compressing the hell out of it.

 I don't drink anymore, so it's probably worth noting that any spare
 money I have goes into buying more music gear. I wouldn't say I have
 no life, but music is definitely one of the things I love most, and
 now I've got my friend playing keyboards, maybe we'll even have a band
 on the go.

 And that's about it. I like things simple,,I'm not pro, I don't want
 to be pro, I just want to enjoy myself, and it is my firm belief, that
 if you don't care that your sound isn't perfect, you can get one which
 you equally love with a budget. If you do want that super clean sound,
 as Nick said, go to school, as everyone else says... Well, do whatever
 they said really, spend money, etc.

 Sorry for the rambling, but I didn't really plan this message, it's
 just kind of happened LOL.

 On 20/06/2012, Nick Gawronski  wrote:

 Hi, One point I should also make is if at all possible anyone should
go
 to school to learn audio engineering as learning it from a
professional
 in my view is the best method and you can also meet other people who
 have interests like yourself.  As one of my instructors said in order
to
 know what sounds good and what does not sound good you have to hear
what
 sounds good as if you have never heard what good sounding music
sounds
 like then how can you create this stuff?  Once you hear what good
 sounding stuff is there are good methods for producing these same
types
 of good sounding audios but you have to listen to the music or audio
in
 an uncompressed format not an mp3 downloaded a raw wav or aif file.
I
 have done just this listened to two songs the same song one in mp3
and
 the other off of the original CD and if you are listening to it yes
you
 can totally tell the difference.  I think that learning at home is
also
 great but for those of us like me who want to do this for a living I
 knew I had to go to school where this stuff is being tought.  Nick
 Gawronski

 On 6/20/2012 6:24 AM, Christopher-Mark Gilland wrote:

 I was about to say.

 Chris.

 - Original Message - From: "Poppa Bear"
 
 To: 
 Sent: Wednesday, June 20, 2012 2:36 AM
 Subject: Re: Mainstream Recording?



 Chris, the tools are so numerous and vast depending on the
recording
 house. First off, no, most grammy recording houses do not just
have
 a
 good Mac with PT, an good control surfase and mic, most big
houses
 have decades worth of outboard equipment that goes back to the
days
 of
 the beetles. Compressers, lunch boxes, equalizers, limmetters,
 exciters and on and on. On top of that, some recording booths run
in
 the 6 to 7 figurs just to construct. Then, you have ingeneers and
 mastering houses that have over 100 combined years of experience
in
 some cases. I am hardly scraching the surfase either. Keep in
mind,
 todays average home recording artust does have much more ability
to
 get a better sound then more than a few studios did just 20 years

 ago
 with a fraction of the investment.
 Adieu
 - Original Message - From: "Christopher-Mark Gilland"
 
 To: 
 Sent: Tuesday, June 19, 2012 5:48 PM
 Subject: Mainstream Recording?



 OK guys, I know this may sound like a dumb question, especially
 coming from a almost considered newby, but I can't help but
ask.

 So many professionals I've talked to have told me that the
 industry
 standard is definitely ProTools.  I always hear people saying if
i
 turn the radio on to any Country music FM radio station now a
 days,
 or say, top 40 station, etc. Everything that I pretty much here

 will
 have been done strictly in ProTools.  nOw, there may be paid
 plugins
 that were used, not just the stocked ones, but then again, some

 times
 it may! just be stocked stuff.  I posed the argument question
of,
 ok,
 now hold on. Who's to say they're not using something like
QBase,
 or
 say Logic, or what not?  I was given the answer of, it's
possible,
 but highly unlikely. MOst likely, you can bet money on 99%
chance,
 everything would be done in ProTools from the actual recording
to
 the
 final master/mixing.  So for instance, let's just take Leann
Rimes
 for instance, with her You Light up my Life Inspirational songs

 disc,
 as that's absolutely by way! far and away one a my favorite
discs
 of
 all times, that I practicly ware

Re: Mainstream Recording?

2012-06-21 Thread Scott Chesworth
f
>>>  the cables are bits I've cobbled together as I've gone along, there's
>>>  a Parana guitar cable which I use some times, and a bunch of standard
>>>  guitar leads, which are by no means anything special.
>>>
>>>  The only thing which I've done which I do think is quite clever, and I
>>>  would recommend for anyone, is I've partitioned my mac 3 ways.
>>>
>>>  Partition 1 has the main Studio stuff. Alls that's on there is Pro
>>>  Tools it's self, the plugins I use, and the drivers for my desc and
>>>  audio interface.
>>>  Partition 2 has the main machine, with user accounts for me and my
>>>  girlfriend, my emails, all my apps, etc. I also have Pro Tools on this
>>>  partition, and at the minute, it's almost exactly like the setup on
>>>  the Studio volume, but I use it to test stuff, before I put it on the
>>>  main studio partition, because I've found that Pro Tools becomes very
>>>  slow to load etc, if you leave crap lying around on the machine, not
>>>  sure if that's fact, but it's definitely what I've discovered.
>>>
>>>  Partition 3 has Windows on it, mainly because I use Vipmud far too
>>>  often, but as far as recording goes, I use QWS to fix all my MIDI
>>>  tracks. I record them in Pro Tools, then export them (right click the
>>>  midi track from the tracks list), and then re-import it (command
>>>  control shift I I think), and send it to the correct place.
>>>
>>>  As far as fx go, I tend to use presets a lot of the time, because I
>>>  don't really know much about affects and all that, so I only tweek
>>>  something if I'm really not happy with the sound.
>>>
>>>  There's a couple of semi clever things I do, like before I bounce, I
>>>  make sure the master's not clipping once I've given it it's fx, this
>>>  prevents Winamp's eq from compressing the hell out of it.
>>>
>>>  I don't drink anymore, so it's probably worth noting that any spare
>>>  money I have goes into buying more music gear. I wouldn't say I have
>>>  no life, but music is definitely one of the things I love most, and
>>>  now I've got my friend playing keyboards, maybe we'll even have a band
>>>  on the go.
>>>
>>>  And that's about it. I like things simple,,I'm not pro, I don't want
>>>  to be pro, I just want to enjoy myself, and it is my firm belief, that
>>>  if you don't care that your sound isn't perfect, you can get one which
>>>  you equally love with a budget. If you do want that super clean sound,
>>>  as Nick said, go to school, as everyone else says... Well, do whatever
>>>  they said really, spend money, etc.
>>>
>>>  Sorry for the rambling, but I didn't really plan this message, it's
>>>  just kind of happened LOL.
>>>
>>>  On 20/06/2012, Nick Gawronski  wrote:
>>> >  Hi, One point I should also make is if at all possible anyone should
>>> > go
>>> >  to school to learn audio engineering as learning it from a
>>> > professional
>>> >  in my view is the best method and you can also meet other people who
>>> >  have interests like yourself.  As one of my instructors said in order
>>> > to
>>> >  know what sounds good and what does not sound good you have to hear
>>> > what
>>> >  sounds good as if you have never heard what good sounding music
>>> > sounds
>>> >  like then how can you create this stuff?  Once you hear what good
>>> >  sounding stuff is there are good methods for producing these same
>>> > types
>>> >  of good sounding audios but you have to listen to the music or audio
>>> > in
>>> >  an uncompressed format not an mp3 downloaded a raw wav or aif file.
>>> > I
>>> >  have done just this listened to two songs the same song one in mp3
>>> > and
>>> >  the other off of the original CD and if you are listening to it yes
>>> > you
>>> >  can totally tell the difference.  I think that learning at home is
>>> > also
>>> >  great but for those of us like me who want to do this for a living I
>>> >  knew I had to go to school where this stuff is being tought.  Nick
>>> >  Gawronski
>>> >
>>> >  On 6/20/2012 6:24 AM, Christopher-Mark Gilland wrote:
>>> > >

Re: Mainstream Recording?

2012-06-21 Thread Poppa Bear
I can appreciate all of the answers given so far and would like to add some 
more thoughts. I have a small recording studio and have various interactions 
with people who have recorded in different places and many have different 
philosophies. I know one guy who feels that you can't get anything quality 
without having at least a fifty thousand dollar set up. Another guy I know 
puts out nice hip-hop tracks with a $300 mic, an outdated version of Adobe 
Audition and a trackmaster compressor strip. Neither of them have put out 
anything that is about to become a Grammy nominee, but both can use the 
tools they have very well. If I get permission I may load a song to drop box 
that a guy recorded completely on a Mack book, using the Mac book mic and 
all. It would blow your mind.


I like listening to some of Jack Johnsons albums and much of the equipment 
they use is vintage and analog, and even though some might criticize some of 
the older gear and techniques they use, I really dig something in the sound 
of many of his tracks even though it is not your contemporary studio per 
say. There are tons of songs in different genres that are recorded in less 
than stellar studios playing on the radio, internet and stored on thousands 
of people's computers and IPods around the world and people don't really 
care what they used to record them. It has to come down to two things for 
the most part, the music, and the ability to use your tools proficiently, I 
didn't say perfectly, but proficiently. There is a balance in those two 
areas, some have to wear both hats of recording engineer and artist, and 
that is a difficult juggling act because there is often a mysterious vale 
that shadows the judgment, sometimes impairing it so that it is hard to 
gauge the quality of our music, or the quality of our recording and we have 
to continually keep coming back to the place where we enjoy the music, don't 
become a slave to perfection, be ready to grow in new ways, developing your 
craft as a person who is comfortable with what they do and why they do it 
and last but not least, keep first things first.


Hope that my soap box spill can bring a little more light and help you to 
have a broader picture of the why and how of recording as a philosophy, a 
gift, and a road, and not some quantifiable answer or a final destination 
that depends on the missing link or a magic formula.




Re: Mainstream Recording?

2012-06-21 Thread Karen Lewellen
d it is my firm belief, that
 if you don't care that your sound isn't perfect, you can get one which
 you equally love with a budget. If you do want that super clean sound,
 as Nick said, go to school, as everyone else says... Well, do whatever
 they said really, spend money, etc.

 Sorry for the rambling, but I didn't really plan this message, it's
 just kind of happened LOL.

 On 20/06/2012, Nick Gawronski  wrote:
>  Hi, One point I should also make is if at all possible anyone should go
>  to school to learn audio engineering as learning it from a professional
>  in my view is the best method and you can also meet other people who
>  have interests like yourself.  As one of my instructors said in order to
>  know what sounds good and what does not sound good you have to hear what
>  sounds good as if you have never heard what good sounding music sounds
>  like then how can you create this stuff?  Once you hear what good
>  sounding stuff is there are good methods for producing these same types
>  of good sounding audios but you have to listen to the music or audio in
>  an uncompressed format not an mp3 downloaded a raw wav or aif file.  I
>  have done just this listened to two songs the same song one in mp3 and
>  the other off of the original CD and if you are listening to it yes you
>  can totally tell the difference.  I think that learning at home is also
>  great but for those of us like me who want to do this for a living I
>  knew I had to go to school where this stuff is being tought.  Nick
>  Gawronski
> 
>  On 6/20/2012 6:24 AM, Christopher-Mark Gilland wrote:

> >  I was about to say.
> > 
> >  Chris.
> > 
> >  - Original Message - From: "Poppa Bear" 
> >  

> >  To: 
> >  Sent: Wednesday, June 20, 2012 2:36 AM
> >  Subject: Re: Mainstream Recording?
> > 
> > 
> > >  Chris, the tools are so numerous and vast depending on the recording
> > >  house. First off, no, most grammy recording houses do not just have 
> > >  a

> > >  good Mac with PT, an good control surfase and mic, most big houses
> > >  have decades worth of outboard equipment that goes back to the days 
> > >  of

> > >  the beetles. Compressers, lunch boxes, equalizers, limmetters,
> > >  exciters and on and on. On top of that, some recording booths run in
> > >  the 6 to 7 figurs just to construct. Then, you have ingeneers and
> > >  mastering houses that have over 100 combined years of experience in
> > >  some cases. I am hardly scraching the surfase either. Keep in mind,
> > >  todays average home recording artust does have much more ability to
> > >  get a better sound then more than a few studios did just 20 years 
> > >  ago

> > >  with a fraction of the investment.
> > >  Adieu
> > >  - Original Message - From: "Christopher-Mark Gilland"
> > >  
> > >  To: 
> > >  Sent: Tuesday, June 19, 2012 5:48 PM
> > >  Subject: Mainstream Recording?
> > > 
> > > 
> > > >  OK guys, I know this may sound like a dumb question, especially

> > > >  coming from a almost considered newby, but I can't help but ask.
> > > > 
> > > >  So many professionals I've talked to have told me that the 
> > > >  industry

> > > >  standard is definitely ProTools.  I always hear people saying if i
> > > >  turn the radio on to any Country music FM radio station now a 
> > > >  days,
> > > >  or say, top 40 station, etc. Everything that I pretty much here 
> > > >  will
> > > >  have been done strictly in ProTools.  nOw, there may be paid 
> > > >  plugins
> > > >  that were used, not just the stocked ones, but then again, some 
> > > >  times
> > > >  it may! just be stocked stuff.  I posed the argument question of, 
> > > >  ok,
> > > >  now hold on. Who's to say they're not using something like QBase, 
> > > >  or

> > > >  say Logic, or what not?  I was given the answer of, it's possible,
> > > >  but highly unlikely. MOst likely, you can bet money on 99% chance,
> > > >  everything would be done in ProTools from the actual recording to 
> > > >  the

> > > >  final master/mixing.  So for instance, let's just take Leann Rimes
> > > >  for instance, with her You Light up my Life Inspirational songs 
> > > >  disc,
> > > >  as that's absolutely by way! far and away one a my favorite discs 
> > > >  of
> > > >  

Re: Mainstream Recording?

2012-06-21 Thread Nick Gawronski
ed since I started playing when I was 6.

If you like, I can send you some of the stuff I've done, so you guys
who know you're doing can have a laugh at it, but my aim isn't to
become the next big star, my aim is to make and play music until the
day I die, and love every minute of it. If I make money off it in
return, more the better.

As far as setra software goes, I use AutoTune EFX from Antares to
pitch correct my vocals, as I'm not really a singer, and on the rare
occasions when I want digital harmonies, I use Harmony Engine EVo,
also from Antares EFX. I can use the latter to sort of simulate the
sound of the TC Helicon Voice Live 2 which I use live.

None of the leads are anything special, I'm using the leads which came
with the monitors, and the XLR's which came with the Rode. The rest of
the cables are bits I've cobbled together as I've gone along, there's
a Parana guitar cable which I use some times, and a bunch of standard
guitar leads, which are by no means anything special.

The only thing which I've done which I do think is quite clever, and I
would recommend for anyone, is I've partitioned my mac 3 ways.

Partition 1 has the main Studio stuff. Alls that's on there is Pro
Tools it's self, the plugins I use, and the drivers for my desc and
audio interface.
Partition 2 has the main machine, with user accounts for me and my
girlfriend, my emails, all my apps, etc. I also have Pro Tools on this
partition, and at the minute, it's almost exactly like the setup on
the Studio volume, but I use it to test stuff, before I put it on the
main studio partition, because I've found that Pro Tools becomes very
slow to load etc, if you leave crap lying around on the machine, not
sure if that's fact, but it's definitely what I've discovered.

Partition 3 has Windows on it, mainly because I use Vipmud far too
often, but as far as recording goes, I use QWS to fix all my MIDI
tracks. I record them in Pro Tools, then export them (right click the
midi track from the tracks list), and then re-import it (command
control shift I I think), and send it to the correct place.

As far as fx go, I tend to use presets a lot of the time, because I
don't really know much about affects and all that, so I only tweek
something if I'm really not happy with the sound.

There's a couple of semi clever things I do, like before I bounce, I
make sure the master's not clipping once I've given it it's fx, this
prevents Winamp's eq from compressing the hell out of it.

I don't drink anymore, so it's probably worth noting that any spare
money I have goes into buying more music gear. I wouldn't say I have
no life, but music is definitely one of the things I love most, and
now I've got my friend playing keyboards, maybe we'll even have a band
on the go.

And that's about it. I like things simple,,I'm not pro, I don't want
to be pro, I just want to enjoy myself, and it is my firm belief, that
if you don't care that your sound isn't perfect, you can get one which
you equally love with a budget. If you do want that super clean sound,
as Nick said, go to school, as everyone else says... Well, do whatever
they said really, spend money, etc.

Sorry for the rambling, but I didn't really plan this message, it's
just kind of happened LOL.

On 20/06/2012, Nick Gawronski  wrote:

Hi, One point I should also make is if at all possible anyone should go
to school to learn audio engineering as learning it from a professional
in my view is the best method and you can also meet other people who
have interests like yourself.  As one of my instructors said in order to
know what sounds good and what does not sound good you have to hear what
sounds good as if you have never heard what good sounding music sounds
like then how can you create this stuff?  Once you hear what good
sounding stuff is there are good methods for producing these same types
of good sounding audios but you have to listen to the music or audio in
an uncompressed format not an mp3 downloaded a raw wav or aif file.  I
have done just this listened to two songs the same song one in mp3 and
the other off of the original CD and if you are listening to it yes you
can totally tell the difference.  I think that learning at home is also
great but for those of us like me who want to do this for a living I
knew I had to go to school where this stuff is being tought.  Nick
Gawronski

On 6/20/2012 6:24 AM, Christopher-Mark Gilland wrote:

I was about to say.

Chris.

- Original Message - From: "Poppa Bear" 
To: 
Sent: Wednesday, June 20, 2012 2:36 AM
Subject: Re: Mainstream Recording?



Chris, the tools are so numerous and vast depending on the recording
house. First off, no, most grammy recording houses do not just have a
good Mac with PT, an good control surfase and mic, most big houses
have decades worth o

Re: Mainstream Recording?

2012-06-21 Thread Christopher-Mark Gilland

Chris.

Get with me off list.

clgillan...@gmail.com

I'd like to talk to you about Harmoney Engine, if that's ok.  I stink at 
doing harmoney, but I can't figure out the plugin with Voiceover.


If you could write me out some steps to at least use the trial version, and 
see if I like it, and if it does what I want...


Basically, I just need to take a vocal track, and I want basically to have 
it make it into 3 part harmoney.


I can get the trial and put the asset on my ilok.  That is absolutely no 
problem.  That'll be a sinch.  I just need some direction on once done, from 
the point I put it on an insert on the audio track, then how do I make it 
work, in general.


I don't expect you to teach me the in and out of the entire plugin.  That's 
what the documentation is for, but if you off list, as this is off topic for 
the p t list, could at least tell me the basics of how at least to get some 
result with it, and hear it on my own vocals to see what it can do, that 
would be great!


Again, my address is:

clgillan...@gmail.com

Also, yeah, why don't you attach an mp3 to an e-mail for me to hear of 
something you've done with your setup?


I'd love to hear what you got.

Chris.

- Original Message - 
From: "Chris Norman" 

To: 
Sent: Thursday, June 21, 2012 9:24 AM
Subject: Re: Mainstream Recording?


Please, when you read this, note, I'm not saying anyone who's
responded to these messages is wrong, there's some great people who
know infinitely more about what they're talking about than I, but I'd
like to give the view of a hobbiest.

I have a studio in my spare bedroom, it's not professional in any way,
shape or form. I'm sure if anyone who turned up and knew their stuff,
they'd probably leave on a stretcher from laughing so hard, but, the
point is, it works for me.

I have spent a fair amount of money over the last couple of years
getting the stuff I wanted. I do not know what's good or bad, but I
followed the suggestions of people on this list, and others, and got
stuff which was affordable, and good.

With this stuff, I can get the sounds I want and rely upon. They might
not be radio quality, or up to the standard of Lianne Rhymes, or
anyone like that, but they work for me.

Judging by the stuff you've written Christopher, you're in a similar
situation to myself, you're just recording for fun, and you probably
don't want to do it seriously. Even if you do, I see no reason this
stuff, with some modifications, could get you a fairly decent recorded
sound, which you could sell to people.

Below is my gear list, as far as I know it. I'm actually not sure what
my monitors are, but they're MAudio somethings, and they were were
some £300 for the pair.

I'm using Pro Tools 10, running on a MacBook Pro. It's not the latest
one, but the one before that I think. I (stupidly), brought it about a
week before the new MacBook Pro with the Thunderbalt ports came out.
Off course I use a full sized apple keyboard, and, when I've saved up
all the money for my iMac, I'll be using the Magic Trackpad too, so I
can sit of my sofa to record, instead of cluttering up space I don't
have, with another chair.

I'm using a Euphonix Artist Mix control surface, and an MBox Pro
(which I find quite unstable with Pro Tools and Mac OS X 10.7.whatever
it is).

The monitors, as I said, are MAudio something or others, not really a clue.

I have 2 Rode NT-1A's, which I use for tracking both acoustic guitar,
and vocals.

For the rare times when I record amped electric guitars, I borrow a
pair of SM57's, which I went halves on with a friend of mine. For the
times I'm feeling lazy, and actually, I still love the sound, I use a
Vox something or other preamp, which my girlfriend and another friend
of mine brought me for my birthday.

My main guitar is a Faith acoustic, again, not sure of the model, but
it was supposed to sell for £512 or so, but I got it for about £400,
because the shop I got it from (Noise Works in Coventry, England), had
an offer on. My electric guitar is a Fender Blacktop, and I have a
Crafter (I think), fretted acoustic bass, and a Spector Electric bass,
which I've had for years, and never changed the strings on, so it's
got a lovely basy sound.

I am using an Axium 49 as my MIDI controler, but for one song, for
which I tracked the MIDI while on the road somewhere, I used an Akai
LPK24 or something, basically, a keyboard with 2 octave, bus powered.

I have no soundproofing of any kind, apart from a bed setty in my
studio (if that counts), and the house is fairly old, so it's got nice
thick walls.

I've also used an MAudio Mobile Pre, which I use to record my band
mate, who plays a Clavia NordStage 88, to save us the ball ache of
carrying the damn thing up the stairs.

I have absolutely no idea what my headphones are, 

Re: Mainstream Recording?

2012-06-21 Thread Chris Norman
 with the Rode. The rest of
the cables are bits I've cobbled together as I've gone along, there's
a Parana guitar cable which I use some times, and a bunch of standard
guitar leads, which are by no means anything special.

The only thing which I've done which I do think is quite clever, and I
would recommend for anyone, is I've partitioned my mac 3 ways.

Partition 1 has the main Studio stuff. Alls that's on there is Pro
Tools it's self, the plugins I use, and the drivers for my desc and
audio interface.
Partition 2 has the main machine, with user accounts for me and my
girlfriend, my emails, all my apps, etc. I also have Pro Tools on this
partition, and at the minute, it's almost exactly like the setup on
the Studio volume, but I use it to test stuff, before I put it on the
main studio partition, because I've found that Pro Tools becomes very
slow to load etc, if you leave crap lying around on the machine, not
sure if that's fact, but it's definitely what I've discovered.

Partition 3 has Windows on it, mainly because I use Vipmud far too
often, but as far as recording goes, I use QWS to fix all my MIDI
tracks. I record them in Pro Tools, then export them (right click the
midi track from the tracks list), and then re-import it (command
control shift I I think), and send it to the correct place.

As far as fx go, I tend to use presets a lot of the time, because I
don't really know much about affects and all that, so I only tweek
something if I'm really not happy with the sound.

There's a couple of semi clever things I do, like before I bounce, I
make sure the master's not clipping once I've given it it's fx, this
prevents Winamp's eq from compressing the hell out of it.

I don't drink anymore, so it's probably worth noting that any spare
money I have goes into buying more music gear. I wouldn't say I have
no life, but music is definitely one of the things I love most, and
now I've got my friend playing keyboards, maybe we'll even have a band
on the go.

And that's about it. I like things simple,,I'm not pro, I don't want
to be pro, I just want to enjoy myself, and it is my firm belief, that
if you don't care that your sound isn't perfect, you can get one which
you equally love with a budget. If you do want that super clean sound,
as Nick said, go to school, as everyone else says... Well, do whatever
they said really, spend money, etc.

Sorry for the rambling, but I didn't really plan this message, it's
just kind of happened LOL.

On 20/06/2012, Nick Gawronski  wrote:
> Hi, One point I should also make is if at all possible anyone should go
> to school to learn audio engineering as learning it from a professional
> in my view is the best method and you can also meet other people who
> have interests like yourself.  As one of my instructors said in order to
> know what sounds good and what does not sound good you have to hear what
> sounds good as if you have never heard what good sounding music sounds
> like then how can you create this stuff?  Once you hear what good
> sounding stuff is there are good methods for producing these same types
> of good sounding audios but you have to listen to the music or audio in
> an uncompressed format not an mp3 downloaded a raw wav or aif file.  I
> have done just this listened to two songs the same song one in mp3 and
> the other off of the original CD and if you are listening to it yes you
> can totally tell the difference.  I think that learning at home is also
> great but for those of us like me who want to do this for a living I
> knew I had to go to school where this stuff is being tought.  Nick
> Gawronski
>
> On 6/20/2012 6:24 AM, Christopher-Mark Gilland wrote:
>> I was about to say.
>>
>> Chris.
>>
>> - Original Message - From: "Poppa Bear" 
>> To: 
>> Sent: Wednesday, June 20, 2012 2:36 AM
>> Subject: Re: Mainstream Recording?
>>
>>
>>> Chris, the tools are so numerous and vast depending on the recording
>>> house. First off, no, most grammy recording houses do not just have a
>>> good Mac with PT, an good control surfase and mic, most big houses
>>> have decades worth of outboard equipment that goes back to the days of
>>> the beetles. Compressers, lunch boxes, equalizers, limmetters,
>>> exciters and on and on. On top of that, some recording booths run in
>>> the 6 to 7 figurs just to construct. Then, you have ingeneers and
>>> mastering houses that have over 100 combined years of experience in
>>> some cases. I am hardly scraching the surfase either. Keep in mind,
>>> todays average home recording artust does have much more ability to
>>> get a better sound then more than a few

Re: Mainstream Recording?

2012-06-20 Thread Nick Gawronski
Hi, One point I should also make is if at all possible anyone should go 
to school to learn audio engineering as learning it from a professional 
in my view is the best method and you can also meet other people who 
have interests like yourself.  As one of my instructors said in order to 
know what sounds good and what does not sound good you have to hear what 
sounds good as if you have never heard what good sounding music sounds 
like then how can you create this stuff?  Once you hear what good 
sounding stuff is there are good methods for producing these same types 
of good sounding audios but you have to listen to the music or audio in 
an uncompressed format not an mp3 downloaded a raw wav or aif file.  I 
have done just this listened to two songs the same song one in mp3 and 
the other off of the original CD and if you are listening to it yes you 
can totally tell the difference.  I think that learning at home is also 
great but for those of us like me who want to do this for a living I 
knew I had to go to school where this stuff is being tought.  Nick Gawronski


On 6/20/2012 6:24 AM, Christopher-Mark Gilland wrote:

I was about to say.

Chris.

- Original Message - From: "Poppa Bear" 
To: 
Sent: Wednesday, June 20, 2012 2:36 AM
Subject: Re: Mainstream Recording?



Chris, the tools are so numerous and vast depending on the recording
house. First off, no, most grammy recording houses do not just have a
good Mac with PT, an good control surfase and mic, most big houses
have decades worth of outboard equipment that goes back to the days of
the beetles. Compressers, lunch boxes, equalizers, limmetters,
exciters and on and on. On top of that, some recording booths run in
the 6 to 7 figurs just to construct. Then, you have ingeneers and
mastering houses that have over 100 combined years of experience in
some cases. I am hardly scraching the surfase either. Keep in mind,
todays average home recording artust does have much more ability to
get a better sound then more than a few studios did just 20 years ago
with a fraction of the investment.
Adieu
- Original Message - From: "Christopher-Mark Gilland"

To: 
Sent: Tuesday, June 19, 2012 5:48 PM
Subject: Mainstream Recording?



OK guys, I know this may sound like a dumb question, especially
coming from a almost considered newby, but I can't help but ask.

So many professionals I've talked to have told me that the industry
standard is definitely ProTools.  I always hear people saying if i
turn the radio on to any Country music FM radio station now a days,
or say, top 40 station, etc. Everything that I pretty much here will
have been done strictly in ProTools.  nOw, there may be paid plugins
that were used, not just the stocked ones, but then again, some times
it may! just be stocked stuff.  I posed the argument question of, ok,
now hold on. Who's to say they're not using something like QBase, or
say Logic, or what not?  I was given the answer of, it's possible,
but highly unlikely. MOst likely, you can bet money on 99% chance,
everything would be done in ProTools from the actual recording to the
final master/mixing.  So for instance, let's just take Leann Rimes
for instance, with her You Light up my Life Inspirational songs disc,
as that's absolutely by way! far and away one a my favorite discs of
all times, that I practicly ware out darn near.  LOL!  Something like
that, you all really mean to tell me a recording that sounds that
good literally can be totally done in nothing more than just P T with
a good interface, microphone, and maybe control surface, with exactly
the same software that I am using?  ProTools 10? That's
unbelievable!  So, granted I have a $300 or so mike, and maybe a $300
or so interface. NOthing fancy.  What she would probably be using, oh
God heavens alive! I'd think the surface alone! would probably be
10's of thousands of bucks, but generally, for a regular recording
artist like her or Randy Travis, Amy Grant, or Steven Curtis Chapman,
or Alan Jackson, etc.  YOu know, basically, the big dogs, does anyone
know exactly down the the make and model what basically a big time
studio like that would consist of for really full grammy based
artists like that using ProTools?

Chris.









Re: Mainstream Recording?

2012-06-20 Thread Brian Casey

Couldn't agree more.

Learn to listen, what your listening for and have a clear vision of what 
your trying to achieve when recording mixing etc.


Another important factor in this ahead of any of the gear however are good 
speakers and good acoustics in the listening environment.


I would say once those elements are in place the next thing are good quality 
microphones and beyond that, analogue gear or no analogue gear its all about 
the person listening and their taste.


Brian.
--
From: "The Oreo Monster" 
Sent: Wednesday, June 20, 2012 12:23 PM
To: 
Subject: Re: Mainstream Recording?

Gear is all good and well, and i agree alot of these places have alot of 
analogue gear. But i have also heard awsome stuff done entirely in the box 
with garage band and pro tools. The most important factor in all this is 
the experience. An experienced  engineer that knows their  gear, has the 
experience with eq and compressors and the like that they know which one 
to reach for and how to  dial  it in, even with plug ins in the box, is 
what really counts here. Any of these guys armed with a $100 Shure SM57 
and a decent quality interface can make a great sounding record. The 
analogue gear is just icing on the cake if you can afford it. So don't let 
any of that discourage you keep learning Pro TOols and understanding how 
things like eq and compressors and other plug ins work and you will be 
well on your way.

The Oreo Monster
monkeypushe...@gmail.com



On Jun 20, 2012, at 2:59 AM, Kevin Reeves  wrote:

Yep. And in Nashville, where most of the artists you mentioned record, 
they're not only using Pro TOols, but they're using analog mixing 
consoles, which run up into the hundreds of thousands. Also, note that 
the session cats they bring in have years of experience with their 
instrument, not only playing it, but knowing how to dial in that right 
tone. A drummer may come in with 8 or 10 snares, so the engineer can hear 
them all. A guitarist may come in with several guitars and even a 
collection of amps. So like he said. The variables are so limitless, that 
we can't even scratch the surface of what these guys are doing.


Kevin





Re: Mainstream Recording?

2012-06-20 Thread Christopher-Mark Gilland

I was about to say.

Chris.

- Original Message - 
From: "Poppa Bear" 

To: 
Sent: Wednesday, June 20, 2012 2:36 AM
Subject: Re: Mainstream Recording?


Chris, the tools are so numerous and vast depending on the recording 
house. First off, no, most grammy recording houses do not just have a good 
Mac with PT, an good control surfase and mic, most big houses have decades 
worth of outboard equipment that goes back to the days of the beetles. 
Compressers, lunch boxes, equalizers, limmetters, exciters and on and on. 
On top of that, some recording booths run in the 6 to 7 figurs just to 
construct. Then, you have ingeneers and mastering houses that have over 
100 combined years of experience in some cases. I am hardly scraching the 
surfase either. Keep in mind, todays average home recording artust does 
have much more ability to get a better sound then more than a few studios 
did just 20 years ago with a fraction of the investment.

Adieu
- Original Message - 
From: "Christopher-Mark Gilland" 

To: 
Sent: Tuesday, June 19, 2012 5:48 PM
Subject: Mainstream Recording?


OK guys, I know this may sound like a dumb question, especially coming 
from a almost considered newby, but I can't help but ask.


So many professionals I've talked to have told me that the industry 
standard is definitely ProTools.  I always hear people saying if i turn 
the radio on to any Country music FM radio station now a days, or say, 
top 40 station, etc. Everything that I pretty much here will have been 
done strictly in ProTools.  nOw, there may be paid plugins that were 
used, not just the stocked ones, but then again, some times it may! just 
be stocked stuff.  I posed the argument question of, ok, now hold on. 
Who's to say they're not using something like QBase, or say Logic, or 
what not?  I was given the answer of, it's possible, but highly unlikely. 
MOst likely, you can bet money on 99% chance, everything would be done in 
ProTools from the actual recording to the final master/mixing.  So for 
instance, let's just take Leann Rimes for instance, with her You Light up 
my Life Inspirational songs disc, as that's absolutely by way! far and 
away one a my favorite discs of all times, that I practicly ware out darn 
near.  LOL!  Something like that, you all really mean to tell me a 
recording that sounds that good literally can be totally done in nothing 
more than just P T with a good interface, microphone, and maybe control 
surface, with exactly the same software that I am using?  ProTools 10? 
That's unbelievable!  So, granted I have a $300 or so mike, and maybe a 
$300 or so interface. NOthing fancy.  What she would probably be using, 
oh God heavens alive! I'd think the surface alone! would probably be 10's 
of thousands of bucks, but generally, for a regular recording artist like 
her or Randy Travis, Amy Grant, or Steven Curtis Chapman, or Alan 
Jackson, etc.  YOu know, basically, the big dogs, does anyone know 
exactly down the the make and model what basically a big time studio like 
that would consist of for really full grammy based artists like that 
using ProTools?


Chris.







Re: Mainstream Recording?

2012-06-20 Thread The Oreo Monster
Gear is all good and well, and i agree alot of these places have alot of 
analogue gear. But i have also heard awsome stuff done entirely in the box with 
garage band and pro tools. The most important factor in all this is the 
experience. An experienced  engineer that knows their  gear, has the experience 
with eq and compressors and the like that they know which one to reach for and 
how to  dial  it in, even with plug ins in the box, is what really counts here. 
Any of these guys armed with a $100 Shure SM57 and a decent quality interface 
can make a great sounding record. The analogue gear is just icing on the cake 
if you can afford it. So don't let any of that discourage you keep learning Pro 
TOols and understanding how things like eq and compressors and other plug ins 
work and you will be  well on your way.
The Oreo Monster
monkeypushe...@gmail.com



On Jun 20, 2012, at 2:59 AM, Kevin Reeves  wrote:

> Yep. And in Nashville, where most of the artists you mentioned record, 
> they're not only using Pro TOols, but they're using analog mixing consoles, 
> which run up into the hundreds of thousands. Also, note that the session cats 
> they bring in have years of experience with their instrument, not only 
> playing it, but knowing how to dial in that right tone. A drummer may come in 
> with 8 or 10 snares, so the engineer can hear them all. A guitarist may come 
> in with several guitars and even a collection of amps. So like he said. The 
> variables are so limitless, that we can't even scratch the surface of what 
> these guys are doing.
> 
> Kevin



Re: Mainstream Recording?

2012-06-19 Thread Kevin Reeves
Yep. And in Nashville, where most of the artists you mentioned record, they're 
not only using Pro TOols, but they're using analog mixing consoles, which run 
up into the hundreds of thousands. Also, note that the session cats they bring 
in have years of experience with their instrument, not only playing it, but 
knowing how to dial in that right tone. A drummer may come in with 8 or 10 
snares, so the engineer can hear them all. A guitarist may come in with several 
guitars and even a collection of amps. So like he said. The variables are so 
limitless, that we can't even scratch the surface of what these guys are doing.

Kevin

Re: Mainstream Recording?

2012-06-19 Thread Poppa Bear
Chris, the tools are so numerous and vast depending on the recording house. 
First off, no, most grammy recording houses do not just have a good Mac with 
PT, an good control surfase and mic, most big houses have decades worth of 
outboard equipment that goes back to the days of the beetles. Compressers, 
lunch boxes, equalizers, limmetters, exciters and on and on. On top of that, 
some recording booths run in the 6 to 7 figurs just to construct. Then, you 
have ingeneers and mastering houses that have over  100 combined years of 
experience in some cases. I am hardly scraching the surfase either. Keep in 
mind, todays average home recording artust does have much more ability to 
get a better sound then more than a few studios did just 20 years ago with a 
fraction of the investment.

Adieu
- Original Message - 
From: "Christopher-Mark Gilland" 

To: 
Sent: Tuesday, June 19, 2012 5:48 PM
Subject: Mainstream Recording?


OK guys, I know this may sound like a dumb question, especially coming 
from a almost considered newby, but I can't help but ask.


So many professionals I've talked to have told me that the industry 
standard is definitely ProTools.  I always hear people saying if i turn 
the radio on to any Country music FM radio station now a days, or say, top 
40 station, etc. Everything that I pretty much here will have been done 
strictly in ProTools.  nOw, there may be paid plugins that were used, not 
just the stocked ones, but then again, some times it may! just be stocked 
stuff.  I posed the argument question of, ok, now hold on.  Who's to say 
they're not using something like QBase, or say Logic, or what not?  I was 
given the answer of, it's possible, but highly unlikely.  MOst likely, you 
can bet money on 99% chance, everything would be done in ProTools from the 
actual recording to the final master/mixing.  So for instance, let's just 
take Leann Rimes for instance, with her You Light up my Life Inspirational 
songs disc, as that's absolutely by way! far and away one a my favorite 
discs of all times, that I practicly ware out darn near.  LOL!  Something 
like that, you all really mean to tell me a recording that sounds that 
good literally can be totally done in nothing more than just P T with a 
good interface, microphone, and maybe control surface, with exactly the 
same software that I am using?  ProTools 10?  That's unbelievable!  So, 
granted I have a $300 or so mike, and maybe a $300 or so interface. 
NOthing fancy.  What she would probably be using, oh God heavens alive! 
I'd think the surface alone! would probably be 10's of thousands of bucks, 
but generally, for a regular recording artist like her or Randy Travis, 
Amy Grant, or Steven Curtis Chapman, or Alan Jackson, etc.  YOu know, 
basically, the big dogs, does anyone know exactly down the the make and 
model what basically a big time studio like that would consist of for 
really full grammy based artists like that using ProTools?


Chris.





Mainstream Recording?

2012-06-19 Thread Christopher-Mark Gilland
OK guys, I know this may sound like a dumb question, especially coming from 
a almost considered newby, but I can't help but ask.


So many professionals I've talked to have told me that the industry standard 
is definitely ProTools.  I always hear people saying if i turn the radio on 
to any Country music FM radio station now a days, or say, top 40 station, 
etc. Everything that I pretty much here will have been done strictly in 
ProTools.  nOw, there may be paid plugins that were used, not just the 
stocked ones, but then again, some times it may! just be stocked stuff.  I 
posed the argument question of, ok, now hold on.  Who's to say they're not 
using something like QBase, or say Logic, or what not?  I was given the 
answer of, it's possible, but highly unlikely.  MOst likely, you can bet 
money on 99% chance, everything would be done in ProTools from the actual 
recording to the final master/mixing.  So for instance, let's just take 
Leann Rimes for instance, with her You Light up my Life Inspirational songs 
disc, as that's absolutely by way! far and away one a my favorite discs of 
all times, that I practicly ware out darn near.  LOL!  Something like that, 
you all really mean to tell me a recording that sounds that good literally 
can be totally done in nothing more than just P T with a good interface, 
microphone, and maybe control surface, with exactly the same software that I 
am using?  ProTools 10?  That's unbelievable!  So, granted I have a $300 or 
so mike, and maybe a $300 or so interface.  NOthing fancy.  What she would 
probably be using, oh God heavens alive!  I'd think the surface alone! would 
probably be 10's of thousands of bucks, but generally, for a regular 
recording artist like her or Randy Travis, Amy Grant, or Steven Curtis 
Chapman, or Alan Jackson, etc.  YOu know, basically, the big dogs, does 
anyone know exactly down the the make and model what basically a big time 
studio like that would consist of for really full grammy based artists like 
that using ProTools?


Chris.