Archives for March 2019

How to Use Reverb on Vocals in a Mix — Pro Audio Files

March 21, 2019 by Elaine Sy Leave a Comment

Ah, reverb, the sound of space — the extra special magic that takes a sound and creates a universe around it. But how do you get that perfect extra special magical magic that takes the listener’s breath away? Here, I’m just going to focus on the star of the show: vocals.

Reverb is quintessentially tied to emotion. Mixing is like sailing a ship on the ocean. Emotion is the beacon that tells us where to steer. So before even thinking about what types of reverb to pick and how to set it, we need to be thinking about what feelings we are trying to augment.

Read more about this here: https://theproaudiofiles.com/vocal-reverb/

Six of the Best: Interfaces

March 20, 2019 by Elaine Sy Leave a Comment

One of the most important devices in your studio setup is the interface between the real recording world and your virtual one. Here are six of the best interfaces we’ve looked at recently.

iD4 may be small but Audient have taken care to ensure the sound quality is still excellent. It is buss powered making it easy to take on the road if you’re a traveling music maker or find yourself on tour. Sound Devices MixPre-6M is a mixer, recorder, hardware DAW and interface. Yep, this beauty – and it is quite stunning in looks – does pretty much everything.

The Top 5 Mastering Plugins

March 19, 2019 by Elaine Sy Leave a Comment

Producer Tim Cant runs through 5 of the most popular, some might say best, Mastering Plugins / Software (VST/AU) money can buy.

Barricade 4’s compressor and peak limiter is an especially transparent model that takes care of a signal’s highest peaks with an easy set of controls. It is great for anyone who’s not faint-hearted to get started with mixing through a limiter. With Magic AB 2, you can load up to nine reference tracks straight into the plugin and flick between these and your own track, comparing the lot in terms of level, loudness, and dynamic range.

Spitfire Audio Eric Whitacre Choir Review

March 18, 2019 by Jake Weston Leave a Comment

Spitfire is one of the leading software modules that offers listening samples of renowned bands and artists. Eric Whitacre has produced samplings of his beloved choir that offers 22 different voices that each present their own unique tone and depth. The software is available for anyone that has an up-to-date Windows or Mac operating system and gives you the option of sampling altos, tenors, sopranos, and bass tones. Eric Whitacre is most known for his note clusters which this sampling is full of.

Key Takeaways:

The Eric Whitacre Choir offers a large amount of variety with over 22 different singers displaying their unique voices.
As long as you have an updated Mac or Windows device and 170GB of available disk space, the software should be compatible with your device.
Spitfire has its own plugin that allows the Eric Whitacre Choir to be played on once it is downloaded.

“Spitfire’s latest sample library strikes right to the heart of the human spirit, while enlisting a Grammy-winning choral phenomenon.”

5 Simple EQ Tips That Work On Just About Anything

March 17, 2019 by Elaine Sy Leave a Comment

Equalization is one of the most difficult parts of recording to get the hang of since there’s literally almost an infinite number of possibilities. Most of us learn by experience and usually massive amounts of trial and error. But there are some very simple general guidelines that can be an enormous help for those new to the process.

If it sounds muddy, cut (decrease the level) at around 250Hz. Although you can get that muddy sound from other lower frequencies (especially anything added below 100Hz), start here first. If it sounds honky or veiled, cut at around 500Hz.

Read more about this here: https://bobbyowsinskiblog.com/2018/04/11/simple-eq-tips/