Archives for April 2019

Avoid the ‘Loudness Penalty’ with MeterPlugs’ latest plug-in

April 14, 2019 by Elaine Sy Leave a Comment

MeterPlugs has released a plug-in version of its Loudness Penalty web tool, offering a more convenient way to optimize music shared online. The plug-in, when accessed from your DAW, lets you know how much your track will be reduced by the likes of YouTube, Spotify, Tidal, Pandora and Apple’s Sound Check.

If your track is mastered at too high a level, online streaming services will reduce the playback level so the listener does not experience marked changes in loudness from track to track. This reduction is termed by MeterPlugs as a “Loudness Penalty”, and varies between streaming services.

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

April 13, 2019 by Jake Weston Leave a Comment

A reverb has been termed the sound of space, that something extra that magically creates a sound that is enchanting for the listener. But reverbs can be overwhelming with all the options that are available and the variable parameters that are countless which one can choose from. There a lot of things to talk about when it concerns reverbs but the author will concentrate here only on vocals. To create the perfect soundscape for a song one has to consider the following criteria: 1. The emotional intention of the song. It could either be loneliness or joy, reverb can be used to bring this out. 2. The timing of the reverb. This is because a reverb is fundamentally a rhythmical event. 3. And contrast. When there is contrast in a mix, the reverb works best. You can check out the blog to get other considerations for the emotions of a song using reverbs.

Key Takeaways:

Reverb has been termed the sound of space because it involves taking a sound and creating a universe around it with extra special magic.
Because there are a lot of options for reverbs and a lot of variable parameters to choose from within a reverb, creating a magical sound seems overwhelming.
All sound processing is about dealing with the emotions but with reverb, one is dealing with emotions at a deeper level.

“Here are five considerations to take into account in order to craft the perfect soundscape for your vocal.”

Mixing Music 101: The 8 Steps to a Radio-Ready Sound

April 11, 2019 by Elaine Sy Leave a Comment

Irritated that the songs you’re cooking up in your home studio just aren’t sounding that good? You need to learn the art of mixing. And you don’t need an expensive studio to do it.

To make your song ready for the radio, you need to learn how to mix it. Mixing is the process of using tools like volume faders, compressors, EQs, and reverbs to make the individual tracks of a song sound balanced and emotional. In other words, mixing is the process of making your recordings sound like a song instead of a collection of raw tracks.

Read more about this here: https://www.musicianonamission.com/mixing-music/

5 Tips for Achieving the Best Vocal Comp — Pro Audio Files

April 11, 2019 by Jake Weston Leave a Comment

The vocals are what most people pay attention to in most songs. It doesn’t matter how good the music is if the vocals do not fit. There are many tips you can take to improve your vocal comp. Make sure to protect your vocal cords by making sure you take breaks, and make sure you’re singing to the context of the song. No matter how many of these tips you listen to, the vocal performance itself is still the most important part of a vocal arrangement.

Key Takeaways:

The center of attraction in most of the music that is recorded and we listen to are vocals. They can make or break a song.
People will not stick around long enough to listen to your song if the vocals don’t match up to industry standards no matter how professional the instrumentation.
When tracking vocals in the studio, one should be taking notes during the recording within the DAW particularly when something interesting comes up.

“In my experience of comping countless songs, the first couple of takes a vocalist performs in front of a microphone are usually the best of the bunch.”

Pro Tips For Recording Electric Guitar And Bass

April 11, 2019 by Jake Weston Leave a Comment

Although recording guitar and bass are straightforward tasks in the studio, a number of considerations still need to be accounted for. Without these a recordist would get a poor result in the recording session. One choice the recordist has to make is between micing up the cabinet or plugging the instrument directly into interface. Using a mic is more simpler because it doesn’t require anything but to capture the sound of the guitar while plugging the instrument into the interface might involve taking in a different version of the sound. The recordist then has the decision to edit or shape the guitar sound that is captured. When micing the cabinet, another consideration to take into account is the position of the mic and the mic itself. It is recommended for recordists to use a Shure SM57 dynamic mic because it is a solid and professional mic. As for the mic position, it should be placed an inch or two away in front of the cabinet and at the center of the speaker. Other considerations for recordists can be found in the blog.

Key Takeaways:

In order to record an electric guitar or bass in the studio one either mics up the cabinet or directly plugs the instrument straight into the interface.
The easiest way to catch guitar sound in the studio is to mike the guitar amp cabinet because it give one the best sound.
When one is doing direction injection (DI) of guitar recording, it is up to the recordist to shape the guitar tone or make decisions about amp selection.

“Recording electric guitar and bass can be—relatively speaking—one of the more straightforward tasks in the studio, but there are still a number of considerations to be taken into account, and a few pitfalls that could prevent an intrepid recordist from getting the best results.”