tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12011464362635969562011-12-02T08:17:57.423-08:00Computer audio recording advices to help produce quality recordings at home.fp.emersonnoreply@blogger.comBlogger191100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1201146436263596956.post-9000066431787160922009-07-13T05:42:00.000-07:002009-12-15T20:16:53.494-08:00

Selecting a microphone for home recording can be a difficult decision to make. It all depends on the following:a. Budgetb. Your Roomc. Your Recording Commitment and the depth of your projectd. Your existing recording gearsSource: http://flickr.com/photos/michaelrhys/40428909/Basically, there are two types of microphones:a. Dynamic Microphoneb. Condenser MicrophoneThe above microphone photo

fp.emersonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1201146436263596956.post-23530299844050631432009-05-09T06:54:00.000-07:002009-12-15T20:27:09.570-08:00

One of the key elements in rock mix is thick and heavy guitar sound. One of the effective ways to accomplish this sound in the mixing process is through a technique called as "Double Tracking". In this post I will illustrate how to double track guitars in the mix with the objective of making it heavy and thick.Bear in mind there a lot of ways to thicken the guitar sound. Double tracking is one of

fp.emersonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1201146436263596956.post-15656896418965620492009-02-01T05:12:00.000-08:002009-12-15T20:28:58.037-08:00

Mastering process is the last step in any music production process. It is highly recommended to master the tracks before it can be used for any commercial purposes. Why? What are the underlying reasons?:1. Consumer audio player is different than yours, so it can sound different than what you will expect it to be. Any deviation in audio, will annoy normal or average listener.2. In the play list of

fp.emersonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1201146436263596956.post-27230300252994147152008-09-27T23:26:00.000-07:002009-12-15T20:31:03.541-08:00

Vocals is the most important instrument in any audio mixing work. In fact if the vocals are not properly mixed, it will give a serious difference between good and poor audio production work.Mixing vocals is therefore a big priority in the audio mixing session. In this article, I will share my personal techniques when it comes to mixing vocals. I will illustrate those essential principles I have

fp.emersonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1201146436263596956.post-61254190791451682812008-09-07T00:23:00.000-07:002009-12-15T20:43:45.121-08:00

There are a lot of ways to increase volume in audio recording, take note the following before you increase volume:a. Maximizing volume is only done in the mastering process.b. Maximizing volume in the mixing process is not advisable.c. It is not only reaching maximum amplitude but by having a well balance mix.OK.You need to make it loud? In my experience, before you make it loud make it sound

fp.emersonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1201146436263596956.post-9006590620223316472008-08-10T05:41:00.000-07:002009-12-15T20:52:20.300-08:00

Professional sound recording is very easy to spot: it sounds so wide and with great ambiance.Do you think this is a very difficult technique? No, the technique is very easy.Think of live sound recording or a band playing live in front of you. What do you see and feel?Great and wide ambiance, it is because of these following factors:a. The stage is set wide compared to a human listener.b. Stereo

fp.emersonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1201146436263596956.post-55854961840222720652008-07-30T06:31:00.000-07:002009-12-15T20:55:46.245-08:00

Bass Guitar is very hard to mix. It is always the main reason why the mix sounds either dull, thin or mud. The major problem is that all instruments have bass frequencies, but not so heavy as bass guitar and a kick drum. In a mix, all instruments are played together and the primary problem lies in the bass frequencies, it is why every time you heard tracks that are not mix, it sounds mud.I have

fp.emersonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1201146436263596956.post-88846346676636225522008-06-29T00:07:00.000-07:002009-12-15T20:57:29.790-08:00

Recording multi-track is very efficient. It is because it can saved a lot of energy of re-performing tracks to record. Say the song has only one guitar track. Using multi-track techniques will enable you to continue recording tracks of the guitar without repeating the whole recording process again.If you want to play the guitar track from intro to the ending of the song without a mistake ,this is

fp.emersonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1201146436263596956.post-77953188265058201982008-06-09T05:43:00.000-07:002009-12-15T20:59:25.360-08:00

Noise is unwanted in recordings, in fact they do exist and should be removed. Noise in recordings can surely ruin the quality of the mix and decrease the professionalism of the work.This post covers the noise removal procedure using Adobe Audition 1.5 recording software using Edit View (if you are doing multi-track, clicking those tracks in detail brings you to the edit view of the waveform per

fp.emersonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1201146436263596956.post-24085995678121956562008-06-03T08:50:00.000-07:002009-12-15T21:03:58.644-08:00

I have been mixing for quite a time already and I admit reverb settings are the most abused effect in mixing. I can hear this quite often in amateur recordings where the instruments are played like in a football stadium or inside the church.Worst will happen to a rock music with improper use of reverb. It can surely ruin a mix and damage the recording quality of the song. Trends of recording in

fp.emersonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1201146436263596956.post-76657305331444131382008-05-18T06:16:00.000-07:002009-12-15T21:06:01.112-08:00

Professional Audio Mixing is basically two steps: EQ and Compression. Different instruments require different compression scenario. To those that do not know what is compression. It is all about controlling the peaks of recorded signal.The easiest way to understand how compression can be useful to a mix is vocals. Vocalist even professionals have tendency to sing very loud in some portions of the

fp.emersonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1201146436263596956.post-78414010040383791782008-04-09T07:35:00.000-07:002009-12-15T21:08:40.298-08:00

In my recent post "Creating Realistic Stereo Image with Panning",I have mentioned that the whole drum instruments can be panned somewhere -25 to +25 settings.There is a commenter on the post asking how to pan snare in the drums. In this post I will give my approach on how to pan drum instruments and parts (snares, toms, cymbals and hi hats).Panning properly drums can create a very realistic drum

fp.emersonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1201146436263596956.post-85862058173139357292008-03-28T21:22:00.000-07:002009-12-15T21:10:28.184-08:00

This is a basic one.Before you can record sound using a personal computer. You need to have:a. Sound card (decent one at least Soundblaster Audigy)b. Audio mixerc. Studio speakersd. Cables (2)e. Audio editing software( I am using Adobe audition 1.5)Read this page for detailed explanation of PC audio recording factors.Take note there are a lot of ways to record sound. I will show you different

fp.emersonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1201146436263596956.post-20859590699439138462008-03-14T08:04:00.000-07:002009-12-15T21:12:24.138-08:00

Panning is how the instruments are arranged within the stereo image. By properly using this mixing feature can create a very realistic mix. Mixing engineer should mix tracks with a live sound stage/concert stage perspective such as shown below:Vocals is always in the center because the band lead singer is the star of the show. At the back of the vocals is the bass player. Typically at the back of

fp.emersonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1201146436263596956.post-87699924572442411472008-03-09T08:02:00.000-07:002009-12-15T21:14:44.840-08:00

So you think you want to be mixing engineer, mastering engineer or producer at home? As the years go by, I have finally learn the technique to record, mix and master a song production properly using my own personal computer. It may require trial and error on your part but I strongly suggest not to give up and continue to learn.The pre-requisite for learning are the following:a. A fast Windows PC,

fp.emersonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1201146436263596956.post-9147515855473651152008-03-04T06:33:00.000-08:002009-12-15T21:18:29.797-08:00

I have successfully produced drum tracks without a drummer. And the good thing is that the tracks are still playable live with a real drummer. It is just recorded without a drummer. With these type of set-up i get these following benefits:a. No need to spend long hours in recording studio which translates to big recording budget.b. No need to argue with a hard headed drummer.c. No need to risk

fp.emersonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1201146436263596956.post-46530566802560604052008-02-28T07:17:00.000-08:002009-12-31T22:08:46.217-08:00

Mixing is both an art and science. Why?It is an art because there are no limitations in being creative. It is a science because there are methods to be followed.Supposing you have completed the recording and panning process. It is the proper time to start mixing the frequencies of the instruments. A song which is not mixed properly can result to poor quality sound recording.I did myself some

fp.emersonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1201146436263596956.post-38587027977842254922008-02-27T07:13:00.000-08:002009-12-15T21:24:08.308-08:00

Previously, I am recording without a mixer at home and it is just awful. It is because it does not have enough amplification of signals. The signals that were recorded into Adobe audition is very weak and noisy.But successfully I still managed to do it right, listen to one sample song below:"Always thinking of you" by Jeanine ManingoThe problem that I am always facing is the difficulty of the

fp.emersonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1201146436263596956.post-38110309748441090622008-02-14T09:09:00.000-08:002009-12-15T21:26:05.964-08:00

As an Electronics engineer/recording professional, I get to know with various gears. I say quality of your audio recording output will affected by this following components:1. The quality of your Sound card2. The quality of your Audio Mixer3. Speed and Size of the Hard disk4. Speed of your CPU5. Size of your RAM6. The clarity and the response of your studio monitors.7. The noise coming from the

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