jon Posted September 6, 2016 Report Share Posted September 6, 2016 Snap! I've finally stumped up the cash for a MacBook Pro (and a Focusrite interface). Getting use out of all my old recording gear again is great. I'm still using Garageband as the recording programme though. Seems to do everything I'm looking for, and even the onboard drum programme is pretty decent. That said, most of my recording is Paper Rifles stuff and so largely acoustic. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colb Posted September 6, 2016 Report Share Posted September 6, 2016 I've never found a free drum plug in that sounded good to my ears without a ton of EQ-ing and mucking about. For recording and live I use Addictve Drums 2, they're not that expensive and it's easy to edit/create patterns in Reaper with them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soda Jerk Posted September 6, 2016 Report Share Posted September 6, 2016 Hydrogen has never steered me wrong. Especially if you take the time to wade through all the user created drum kits. Lots of great sounding kits. I've got one in particular that I use for nearly everything. I normally just add a bit of compression and reverb and it's good to go. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TR!ΔNGL€ T€€TH Posted September 7, 2016 Report Share Posted September 7, 2016 I get the impression that the key to getting the most out of any of these sounds is the compression and reverb. Practice makes perfect and all that. I've already demoed one song and with basically no mixing it already sounds better than my old Tascam 8 track, hooray! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alkaline Posted September 7, 2016 Report Share Posted September 7, 2016 11 hours ago, Hakuba Mountain Wizards said: I get the impression that the key to getting the most out of any of these sounds is the compression and reverb. Practice makes perfect and all that. I've already demoed one song and with basically no mixing it already sounds better than my old Tascam 8 track, hooray! Most sampled drums are compressed already so be careful with that process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TR!ΔNGL€ T€€TH Posted September 9, 2016 Report Share Posted September 9, 2016 Okay, so here is my first attempt with the new setup: What do you guys think? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colb Posted September 9, 2016 Report Share Posted September 9, 2016 (edited) 3 hours ago, Hakuba Mountain Wizards said: Okay, so here is my first attempt with the new setup: What do you guys think? Things I usually do when I'm mixing stuff: compressor/limiter and a stereo spreader on the master track. de-esser on vocals Tiny bit of reverb/delay on drums I like doubling backing vocals and biddlyboos then panning them hard left and right - and sometimes sit a third track right in the middle. It's overkill if you do it all the time but sometimes a bit of budget Queen is mint. You probably did some or all of this already mind you, the track sounds decent. Liked the song, reminded me of Tallulah Gosh. Edited September 9, 2016 by colb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soda Jerk Posted September 9, 2016 Report Share Posted September 9, 2016 It sounds like SUPERCHUNK. And also RVIVR. GOOD. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon Posted September 10, 2016 Report Share Posted September 10, 2016 In the spirit of things, here's my first attempt with the new set-up too: Paper Rifles - Faith Healer (full band home demo) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon Posted September 10, 2016 Report Share Posted September 10, 2016 Oops, I should have said that all guitars and vocals are recorded through a wee Focusrite thing but the drums are Garageband's onboard program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colb Posted September 10, 2016 Report Share Posted September 10, 2016 1 hour ago, jon said: Oops, I should have said that all guitars and vocals are recorded through a wee Focusrite thing but the drums are Garageband's onboard program. Can you programme drums with GarageBand or is it still the random grid thing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon Posted September 10, 2016 Report Share Posted September 10, 2016 (edited) No grid on the version I have. It's actually pretty intuitive, once you get your head around how the different expressions, fills etc sit (and get on top of the general controls - I've been a PC man for years and years). EDIT - Oh wait, do you mean the "loud/simple" thing? In that case, yes! Edited September 10, 2016 by jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soda Jerk Posted September 11, 2016 Report Share Posted September 11, 2016 I am definitely several years/decades late to the party, but I've only just discovered the fun of Audacity converting raw data files into audio. I've never really spent a great deal of time with Audacity anyway, but it's great for making glitchy noise. DLL and EXE files in particular can sound incredibly musical, like malfunctioning synths. Large CSV spreadsheets create neat staccato static. Pretty awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaaakkkeee Posted September 12, 2016 Report Share Posted September 12, 2016 On 11 September 2016 at 3:02 PM, Soda van Jerk said: I am definitely several years/decades late to the party, but I've only just discovered the fun of Audacity converting raw data files into audio. I've never really spent a great deal of time with Audacity anyway, but it's great for making glitchy noise. DLL and EXE files in particular can sound incredibly musical, like malfunctioning synths. Large CSV spreadsheets create neat staccato static. Pretty awesome. Lots of great tools too. Used it for background noise reduction recently. Almost completely got rid of the fan noise from an interview, still had to do some EQing but was great for a one click starting point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TR!ΔNGL€ T€€TH Posted September 13, 2016 Report Share Posted September 13, 2016 I've been using Audacity for mastering for a long time now, I highly recommend it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon Posted September 14, 2016 Report Share Posted September 14, 2016 What sort of settings do people apply to their master track? I'm adding compression and a limiter just now, but leaving a flat EQ. Any tips? J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TR!ΔNGL€ T€€TH Posted September 14, 2016 Report Share Posted September 14, 2016 I use a low pass filter to cut out low frequencies to tighten up the bottom end. I also will use a stereo expander to liven up the mix. Then it is a compressor and a hard limiter at the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaaakkkeee Posted September 17, 2016 Report Share Posted September 17, 2016 On 9/14/2016 at 8:58 AM, jon said: What sort of settings do people apply to their master track? I'm adding compression and a limiter just now, but leaving a flat EQ. Any tips? J I think it really depends. All I put on the master is a time-graph of the peak volume. Then that gets taken off when I export the tracks for mastering. So, while mixing, nothing at all. Mastering I tend to apply a compressor and limiter. I've recently learned the wonderful art of de-essing. multiband compressor, hit the eq button, set it at about 5KHz, and it should only come one when the harsh ssss and ttttttt noises happen. So handy. The things you can learn on youtube eh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon Posted September 17, 2016 Report Share Posted September 17, 2016 I find that a de-esser can sometimes be guilty of giving the vocals a lisp, so I'm pretty careful about my pop shield etc when I record. That way I can usually avoid using the de-esser for the most part. On Faith Healer (my first laptop recording effort mentioned previously), I just ran a compressor, a limiter and and exciter on the master. I've no idea what an exciter is, but I wanted my mix to be exciting so it was a no brainer really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaaakkkeee Posted September 17, 2016 Report Share Posted September 17, 2016 1 hour ago, jon said: I find that a de-esser can sometimes be guilty of giving the vocals a lisp, so I'm pretty careful about my pop shield etc when I record. That way I can usually avoid using the de-esser for the most part. On Faith Healer (my first laptop recording effort mentioned previously), I just ran a compressor, a limiter and and exciter on the master. I've no idea what an exciter is, but I wanted my mix to be exciting so it was a no brainer really. Yeah I see what you're getting at. But it's just about making tiny tweaks and finding what's right really aint it? And if it's making the vocals worse, then don't do it. Got to have the compressor turning on just when the ess sound is super harsh, without compressing it so much it becomes a sh or th. Sounds exciting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alkaline Posted September 17, 2016 Report Share Posted September 17, 2016 A de-esser should always be an absolute last resort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaaakkkeee Posted September 18, 2016 Report Share Posted September 18, 2016 17 hours ago, Alkaline said: A de-esser should always be an absolute last resort. What routes would you go first? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alkaline Posted September 18, 2016 Report Share Posted September 18, 2016 1 hour ago, Jaaakkkeee said: What routes would you go first? Recording it properly in the first place Seriously though, if you're listening back to a vocal take and it's heavy on the sibilants I'd make sure you're micing the vocalist correctly and with a pop shield and maybe a reflection set-up as well. Changing Mic types as well can make a massive difference as some channel sound completely differently and can amplify negative elements of vocals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon Posted September 18, 2016 Report Share Posted September 18, 2016 I always set up a pop shield and sing across the mic at a diagonal angle. That seems to prevent any full on sibilance and means I rarely have to use a de-esser. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaaakkkeee Posted September 18, 2016 Report Share Posted September 18, 2016 3 hours ago, Alkaline said: Recording it properly in the first place Seriously though, if you're listening back to a vocal take and it's heavy on the sibilants I'd make sure you're micing the vocalist correctly and with a pop shield and maybe a reflection set-up as well. Changing Mic types as well can make a massive difference as some channel sound completely differently and can amplify negative elements of vocals. Cheers. Looks like I was at last-resort. No way to really do all this stuff. The tracks are home-recorded by the artist and he's too far away for me to go and double check all these variables. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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