Month: June 2017

Start Out with Mobile Music Recording

This article contains Amazon affiliate links which help fund the upkeep of DGTRS.

This web site is all about providing alternative ideas to going to an audio recording/music production trade school or college. I imagine many who read this site will wonder how finding the money to lease or build a studio is going to happen.

As stated in a previous article, a business loan from the federal government or a bank is a possibility. But, if you don’t want to take that big of a financial risk then a good alternative is mobile recording.

What is mobile recording? It’s where you bring your audio gear to different locations and record. Whether that be at a musician’s rehearsal space, their home or at a concert venue…you are going to record sound on location. You could also record audio for TV shows/movies but that is a whole other field that is outside of this web site’s scope.

Recording music on location is a good way to get your feet wet. It has its pros and cons. The biggest one being that room acoustics will vary. If you have your own studio, your rooms are under your control. And unless you want them to change, they don’t change. This affects not only what is being recorded but what you hear as well.

That’s why with mobile recording I would recommend a good pair of reference headphones like the Audio-Technica ATH-M70x, Sennheiser HD600/650, Philips SHP9500 or the Oppo PM-3. These aren’t my personal recommendations, they are from Sonarworks’ neutrality test. And if there’s any company I trust when it comes to headphones it is them.

Couple a good pair of headphones with Sonarworks Reference and Waves NX for the complete package.

Headphone amplifier quality matters too…although this is another controversial subject like cable quality. But, if you are serious about fidelity and don’t want to cut corners, check out the Rupert Neve Designs RNHP or the Little Labs Monotor.

If you’re going to record at concert venues then a couple Radial OX8 splitters are essential. You’ll need to buy a small rack too to put them in.

Don’t forget to buy some cases to store all of your gear in! My camera gear goes in waterproof Pelican brand cases. I haven’t checked myself but I’m sure they have many products for safe audio gear storage.

Your Recording Studio is a Rehearsal Space

When you lease a commercial property, you want to maximize that space. Any time paying customers aren’t occupying that space you are losing money. Don’t get into the studio mindset…think outside that box!

Many musicians just want a place where they can practice without neighbors calling the cops for noise disturbances. Provide them that sanctuary at a lower cost than studio time. An added benefit to this is when it comes time for that musician to record their first EP or album, they have already built a relationship with you.

Just be sure to lock the really expensive stuff up! Yeah, I hate to be that guy but gear tends to grow legs as they say when eyes aren’t watching. For this reason, it may also be a good idea to invest in a security camera system. Even if it’s one of those cheap fake ones.

Audio Interface Buffer Size Settings Explained

The buffer size setting is one that will confuse the newbie audio engineer. It determines the rate at which data is sent and received to and from the audio interface. The smaller the latency, the faster the information is sent.

So, why not always keep it at the fastest setting? Data drop outs. Clicks, pops, crackle and sometimes software crashes. Here are a few videos on the topic of buffer sizes:

The key points to remember:

When recording, use the lowest buffer size as possible. When mixing, change it to a higher setting like 1024 or 2048.

The standard buffer sizes are 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024, 2048, 4096 and 8192.

Higher sample rates = lower latency. 128 samples at 44.1 kHz is slower than 128 samples at 96 kHz, for example.

Drivers and how your computer is set up matters. In general, recording with a desktop is preferable to a laptop. PCI/PCIe and Thunderbolt (essentially, external PCIe) interfaces are better than USB.

Speaking of USB, I recently had severe problems after upgrading my USB host controller/hub drivers. Downgrading to the old version fixed that issue.

RME is the best company out there in terms of latency and driver stability. Their interfaces can handle larger amounts of CPU usage than other companies’ interfaces. Latency is always a hot topic of discussion, which explains the 50+ pages on this Gearslutz thread. But, with the information from the above videos you will know all that you need to know.

Must Have Virtual Instruments and Electronic Music Libraries

This article contains Amazon affiliate links that help support DGTRS.

Every professional level studio has the ability to record and mix a large variety of projects. From simple voice overs to modern EDM and pop music. Microphones are to real world instruments as virtual instruments are to electronic music.

Now, virtual instruments doesn’t imply an outer worldly or “futuristic” sound. It just means that instead of playing real instruments, keyboards and controllers with MIDI/USB capability are used. When you use virtual instruments, many more musical possibilities are open to you.

For example, take my first recommended virtual instrument, Komplete Ultimate from Native Instruments. Want the sound of a nice orchestra including strings, wood winds, horns, piano and percussion? Komplete has it. Is EDM more of your or your clients’ flair? Komplete has it. Guitar amp simulation? Komplete has that too. It’s the best all around virtual instrument package that I’m aware of.

Spectrasonics Omnisphere is my next recommendation. If Komplete’s Reaktor doesn’t cover it then Omnisphere can. It is packed full of synth potential. It and Reaktor are the current industry standard virtual instrument synths.

If you only occasionally need virtual instruments then my third recommendation may be perfect. It’s Composer Cloud from EastWest. For $30 per month you get access to a ton of virtual instruments. This is by far the best option for new studios that are on a tight budget.

IK Multimedia have been making some waves recently. Their Sample Tank library was viewed as the red headed step child compared to Native Instruments. But MODO Bass and the upcoming Syntronik are hot products that many composers are keeping a tight eye (ear) on.

Rap and R&B beat makers love Image Line FL Studio. You will too. The Beatskillz Urban Producer Bundle is also quite nice.

Need a virtual hard rock/heavy metal guitar? Look no further than Impact Soundworks Shreddage.

A huge collection of the best keyboards in the world? Keyscape, from the same people who make Omnisphere, is the best one out there.

If you have picky piano players the two best ones I know of are Modartt Pianoteq and Synthogy Ivory II Grand Pianos. With those two, you are covered. Be forewarned though that Ivory II’s library is HUGE! So, if you are limited on hard drive space Pianoteq is where it’s at.

A few more suggestions before this post is wrapped up. Need the best audience/crowd noises? Here you go. Boom have some nice libraries that are suited for movie trailers as well. Need radio station ad sound effects? VideoHelper’s Noise Generator collection is a classic. Still aren’t happy with your synth collection? The Arturia V Collection is another great one. Sound effects and a bunch of other things as well (in case you need them)? Digital Juice is a company I keep going back to.

That’s it. With those virtual instruments/sound libraries. you are set to make virtually any aural creation. Pun intended. You don’t need them all, but if I were to buy a comprehensive set for a new studio those are the ones I would get.