Frugal Producer Vol. 2: Plug-ins for your DAW February 19, 2008
Posted by ConnorSmith in : Digital home recording studios, plugins (plug-ins), Project Studio , 4commentsDamon just posted some great links, so I will post some more. These are my top 5 favorite free plug-ins. More to come in the future, but these are all really awesome. Download them and give them a try.
The Frugal Producer: get these tools for free! February 19, 2008
Posted by Damon Sink in : Digital home recording studios, plugins (plug-ins), Project Studio , add a commentEven veteran composers and producers like to find tools that work and that don’t cost an arm and a leg. Below is a quick excerpt from a thread at one of the best forums around. Take some time to check out a few of these gems and peruse the rest of the list. (more…)
Build a Home Studio for Under $1500 February 17, 2008
Posted by ConnorSmith in : Logic Studio 8, Project Studio, Studio Setup , add a commentRound 2 of suggestions for equipping a home studio! This time, I am going to work with a little bigger budget. We will assume, as in the earlier post that you already have a computer (PC or Mac) to record with. But, if you are looking for a great computer for this type of studio, check out the Apple iMac . Whichever model you get, be sure to snag a RAM upgrade. I would also suggest an external firewire hard drive to use to record. While you can use the system drive, you will get much better performance by dedicating an external drive for audio. On to the studio! This setup, like the last one, will have everything you need to record music, create songs and beats with MIDI, and mix your projects.
Project Studio: Affordable Preamps February 15, 2008
Posted by ConnorSmith in : Digital Audio Workstations, Preamp, Project Studio , 15commentsAh, another great debate. There are so many different preamps to choose from, and so many different sources on which we use them. What is there to look for in a preamp? Honestly, the first thing I look at is price… Doesn’t matter how good something is if you can’t afford it.
Nevertheless, sonic quality and character are very important things to consider. Some preamps are intended to be super “clean”, with the goal of not coloring the sound at all. Others are intentionally “colored”, developing a ‘warmth’ to the sound via EQ or distortion. (yes! ‘warmth’ is actually just a nice word for distortion). There are hundreds preamps to choose from, but I am going to highlight a few that would be great additions to any digital audio workstation setup and available at a project studio price.
DAW Comparison February 14, 2008
Posted by ConnorSmith in : Digital Audio Workstations, Project Studio, Studio Setup , 22commentsWhich DAW is best for me?
With so many high quality choices in Digital Audio Workstations these days, sometimes its hard to pick. Gone are the days of any one company having “the best product” out there for everyone. Many companies are really releasing solid programs, with “pro” features and sound made available to consumers. I am comparing 4 different DAWs: Logic Studio, Pro Tools LE, Digital Performer, and Cubase 4. Honestly, I don’t think any of these would be a poor choice for any studio. But, while they are all great, they all do have their advantages and disadvantages. I am just going to list some general characteristics of each, and then a small paragraph about the DAW. It should give you some insight as to which DAW will best suit your needs.
Studio Pro Files: Babblefish Studios February 13, 2008
Posted by Ben Rivet in : Digital home recording studios, Project Studio, Studio Profiles , 2commentsBen here. Your man about town, giving you all the latest on artists and studios that are making it happen in the biz. The Studio Files team is going to begin traveling the globe to find and showcase musicans, engineers, and producers that are creating great music. Today we are heading out to Franklin, Ohio, (in between Dayton and Cincinnati) the home of Babblefish Studios. Check back to read more about our interview and watch the webisode.
If you have ideas for recording studios or artists we should check out, please drop a comment and let us know about them. We especially want to hear about talented artists who are accomplishing high quality production independently. Let us know who we should be talking to, we love hearing from you.
BJSR
The Studio FIles
A home studio setup you can take on the road February 12, 2008
Posted by ConnorSmith in : Computers, Project Studio, Studio Setup , 7commentsI just got an email from Aaron S. asking about putting together a home studio that he could also take to do live stereo recordings. This is a very common setup, and for a reasonable price, you can get excellent sound quality. Aaron said he had about $2000 to work with, including the purchase of a computer.
Setting up the mix February 11, 2008
Posted by ConnorSmith in : Mixing, Project Studio , 1 comment so farNow, there are many many different techniques people like to employ when working a mix in their DAW of choice. I am going to show you my favorite. This method routes all of your audio to a bus, which then gets processing via an aux track, and then is directed to an audio track for printing. This is a great way of mixing in a DAW because of two main things:
1) You can apply effects to the “master bus”, and then actually see the resulting waveform
2) You can compare mixes/progress from day to day with a click of a button (as well as keep track of vocal up/down or other alternate mixes with ease) (more…)
Drum Editing: part 1 February 9, 2008
Posted by ConnorSmith in : Editing, Project Studio , 9commentsTo see our recent video on drum editing in Logic, click here.
To see our recent video on drum editing in Pro Tools, click here.
I received a question from Alex H. via email. Lets try to get it answered:
I recorded a song last weekend, and I laid down the drums for each part, because we wanted an improv feel to a few parts, so we could choose takes. Now, I’m familiar with blending different takes with crossfading, but that doesn’t work here. For example, I need the end of the verse to completely finish playing, while at the same time, the chorus begins. Crossfading doesn’t work because it’s cutting off what would be the natural sound of the drums, were I to have played both parts on one take. I know I can always make two tracks, and have one end as another begins, but that will double my track load. In DP, if you layer the tracks, it only plays the one on top. Any ideas? Ideally, I’d just place the end and start of the tracks over each other, and DP would play both.
Let’s talk through some possibilities.
EDIT: Expect a video to be posted on this soon. Its really really hard to explain without some quality visuals.
What to look for when buying a computer for audio production January 29, 2008
Posted by ConnorSmith in : Apple, Computers, Project Studio , 8commentsWHAT COMPUTER SHOULD I BUY TO MAKE MUSIC?
Wow, what a big question. There are so many options. When you install software for editing and manipulating audio onto a computer equipped with audio input/output hardware, you have what is called a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW)
As in my post about building a home studio, you need to ask yourself some questions:
1) Would an upgrade to my current computer be sufficient?
2) What would I like to be able to accomplish with my computer DAW?
3) What is my budget?
4) Do I want to use a Mac or a Windows PC?
Build a Home Studio for under $650 January 29, 2008
Posted by ConnorSmith in : Project Studio, Studio Setup , 2commentsI get a lot of questions via email and forums about buying equipment to setup a small home studio. Many people will say “I have X dollars, what should I buy??”. Well, here it is, the first installment of the “Build a Home Studio” posts. This particular post is all under the assumption that you have a computer (either Mac or PC, desktop or laptop) that you will be using to record. For studios with a little bigger budget, I will make recommendations on computers.
I give two examples for audio interfaces in this sample setup. This is simply because one is FireWire and one is USB (and also because they are bundled with different DAWs). They are both great devices, just choose the one that suits you better. This setup will include an audio interface, recording software, studio monitors, a MIDI keyboard, a condenser microphone and the necessary cables to hook everything up.
“The $650 Studio”
Creating Your Home Studio January 29, 2008
Posted by ConnorSmith in : Project Studio, Studio Setup, Troubleshooting , 2commentsWhen putting together home studios, many people consult forums and other sources about equipment purchases and setup. If you are starting to put together a recording setup, I would suggest asking yourself these questions first:
1) When all is said and done, what would I like to be able to accomplish in this studio? (i.e. tracking full bands, tracking solo artists and rappers, composing beats and loops, film scoring, mixing… etc etc.)
2) Do I have any equipment now that could be incorporated into the new setup?
3) Do I have any preferences? (Such as, Mac vs. Windows, Computer Recording vs. Multitrack recorder, etc.)
4) What sort of room will I setup in? What are the dimensions?
5) What is my budget?