Archives for December 2018

In The Studio: EQ And Compression Techniques For Vocals, Acoustic Guitar – ProSoundWeb

December 10, 2018 by Jake Weston Leave a Comment

There are a lot of people out there that are really interested in acoustic guitars and these kinds of performances. For the people who are interested in this type of music, there are a bunch of new techniques that are being used by the professionals. Compression is a great technique to enhance the vocals of someone that is singing to a backdrop of an acoustic guitar. It is hard for others to figure out how to get the right sound.

Key Takeaways:

When the author first started out on compression, the technicality of the technique was challenging for him.
Compression makes the volume fader in any mix redundant. It makes the soft spots noticeable and the obscures the really loud spots.
To really mess up a mix, one would need to mess up with the EQ. The author believes that EQ works best with what sound one pulls out.

“The problem, in a nutshell, was getting all the parts of my mix to fit nicely together. What I’ve learned over time and will describe below are a few simple compression and EQ techniques for vocals and the acoustic guitar in your mixes.”

7 Tips to Make Vocals Sound Huge

December 6, 2018 by Elaine Sy Leave a Comment

Let’s learn how to get your vocals to sound big, present, and in-your-face: whether you’re working with a great recording or not. Regardless of the genre, learn to make them sound huge!
First, start at the source. Starting with a very full capture makes this process infinitely easier. It’s possible to get away with cutting corners along any stretch of a production. However, the one place I would not want to do this is vocals. If you don’t have a ninja-warrior home setup, it may be worth renting out a great studio even if just for the vocals alone.
Read more about this here: https://www.waves.com/tips-to-make-vocals-sound-huge

11 Common Vocal Production Mistakes in Home Studios

December 6, 2018 by Jake Weston Leave a Comment

Home studios are a really cool addition to any house. For some, they can stay in their studio for hours. Music is a collaborative experience and in that, people should enjoy the company of others during the creation process. However, you cannot get too caught up or distracted when people are around. This is how vocal production mistakes are made. Taking multiple edits of a recording in a non-conducive environment is a waste of time and it does absolutely no good for anyone.

Key Takeaways:

There are so many people who fulfill their dream of having a home studio as they love music.
For the people that truly love music, they can stay in a studio for hours and hours at a time.
When you are in the studio, you want the ambiance and atmosphere to be calm and quiet during recording.

“Stopping a session multiple times to fix technical issues is a total time and energy waster, especially when a studio guest is present. With a recording space established, there are a few tests you should run to ensure your setup and equipment is operating smoothly.”

10 Tips On Recording Guitars

December 5, 2018 by Elaine Sy Leave a Comment

Are you trying to get the perfect guitar tone? Wonder if you should use more than one mic? And how will the state of your strings affect the sound? You’d better read on for our top ten tips to a top guitar tone.
First, check the strings, cables, and noise. Before you press record, make sure your setup is ready to go. Check your cables and other equipment to make sure nothing is producing crackles and hums. You can reduce noise with plug-ins later, but the better the quality of your signal to start with, the better your end results.
Read more about this here: https://www.musictech.net/2018/11/10-tips-on-recording-guitars/

Recording electric guitar – Pseudo-stereo

December 4, 2018 by Elaine Sy Leave a Comment

I will show you a nifty trick which will allow you to get an quasi-stereo electric guitar sound with two mono takes. You only need to record your guitar amp with two mics simultaneously and send their signals to opposite sides of the stereo field with the pan knobs of your DAW.
For the effect to prove effective, you need to take some precautions. This is the recording that we’ll use a starting point: a simple rhythm guitar recorded with a Shure SM57 almost flush with the speaker of the amp, pointing right at the center.
Read more about this here: https://en.audiofanzine.com/recording-mixing/editorial/articles/recording-electric-guitar-pseudo-stereo.html