best way to learn to record/mix well

  • Thread starter Thread starter musicsdarkangel
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If you are in high school you can run sound for your theater department, if it is available/offered. I took tech theater my senior year of high school and did sound for every event that went on for the first semester, lights and stage crew second semester (teacher thought I should give someone else the chance to learn the audio gear).

And you might be able to take community college courses in your area. See if there is a recording class once or twice a night, preferably with a lab you can do a few projects in.

If you have friends in a band, offer to run sound for them sometime. Or go along with the person who does their sound and offer to help out. Bring a tape recorder and a sheet of paper, play with some EQ/effects/etc real quick during the sound check, and write down what your heard.

Get gear-make noise.

And everything everyone else here said.
 
I just booked 4 hrs. in a studio with someone that knows my equipment well. I got a VS-2480 and it's pretty overwhelming for me as a total newbie. I've done extensive reading about preamps, compression and other dynamics, effects, mics, recording techniques, and I've gained a lot of insight. But it's a whole new ball game when you start pushing buttons.

I booked some time in a studio with an engineer who is familiar with Roland gear, and had bought a 2480 as soon as they hit the shelf. He's been putting the machine through it's paces and posting some good info about it in some of the other forums. It's easily discernible that he really knows his stuff.

I think it will end up being some of the best money I spend. He's gonna let me bring my machine in and we're gonna cover everything from tracking, dynamics, mixing, effects (loop & insert), and all points in between.

Knowing what you want to do and being able to do it are two different things. I want to master my machine as quickly as possible.

I think the beauty of this is that I will be able to immediately put it to use afterwards. Then I can go back in a couple of months and do another 4 hrs. It'll be sort of like school, but I'll be getting only as much as I want, when I want it. Once I master what I learn, I can go back and get some more refinement.

Zeke
 
ahh

Yea, i'm in a few bands, on different instruments and vocals. I write my own music for us.
You know, I must say, there are a lot of big words, and neat sound editing topics in mixing/recording. Wow, it must feel great when you know all of them. I really can't wait till the day I can actually understand half of what i'm doing. Thank you all for your help, you'd actually be surprised how much it did help (a hell of a lot). Well, one thing i've covered in another thread by me, but I think i have more people's attention with this one, well, I was just wondering, what effects do I really need to get started off that will help me clean and make my mix better?? I have the mixing down, i just need to learn effects to clean the overall sound up with. Please help if ya can.
 
ahh

Yea, i'm in a few bands, on different instruments and vocals. I write my own music for us.
You know, I must say, there are a lot of complex effects, and neat sound editing tools in mixing/recording. Wow, it must feel great when you know all of them. I really can't wait till the day I can actually understand half of what i'm doing. Thank you all for your help, you'd actually be surprised how much it did help (a hell of a lot). Well, one thing i've covered in another thread by me, but I think i have more people's attention with this one, well, I was just wondering, what effects do I really need to get started off that will help me clean and make my mix better?? I have the mixing down, i just need to learn effects to clean the overall sound up with. Please help if ya can.:eek: :eek: :cool: ;) :D :( woah cool. nice smileys.
 
quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Don't buy a shitload of equipment, cause once you get better, you will realize how wrong your initial equipment desicions were.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is the best single piece of advice that anyone will ever give you!

As far as how to get better, I agree with most of the posts. Adopting recording and mixing techniques are no different from learing to play guitar (or any other instrument). You can pick up a book and read how to do it, or listen to someone tell you how to do it, but you have to practice with the actual instrument or recording device to make progress.
 
hhmz
too much expirimenting can cost you a lot of money...


An example
A few years ago I tried to use my 80 Watt Roland Speaker as a microphone. Do I have to say more?

And using a mic as a speaker is not too good too, I found out then :D.

Anyway, before starting to expiriment, read the manuals very well.
 
Don't get me wrong, Im not knocking school, Im just saying If you do Go... research and make sure it is a good one, and for christ sake, when you get out, USE IT!.....I was a little harsh, in saying "Stay away from them"....

A big problem with alot of recording schools is, that it is all theory, and little actual recording...... I have seen people come out of recording school, who know intense matematical calulations for acoustics, and know how to solder a patch cable connector,, yet when you sit down and chat with them, they are lost......

"What is Punching-in?"

"What is Bussing or Grouping tracks?"

"Why do I have to soundproof my vox booth?, What if I just point my condensor mic away from the noise source so the noise isn't going directly into it?"


It sounds silly... but I have seen this.
.............

There are no stupid questions, only stupid answers, I agree, but the stupid thing, Is the fact that these people went to recording school.......

Joe
 
Yeah. The problem is setting standards for recording schools. The condensor analogy illustrates that either the graduate slept through the school or that the school didn't teach the graduate properly. Either way, the school shouldn't have graduated the graduate.

However, learning complex algorithms for acoustics and understanding the inner operations of equipment can help lay a foundation for a better recording engineer once the graduate gets hands-on experience.
 
BBB,
What schools and graduate are you refering to? Every school I considered consited of at least 40% of classroom hours be studio workshop time. Just curious though. Some of you sound bitter towards recording schools. Do you have a personal experience that made you that way? I can't stress enough that if people want a career recording that allows them to work in the finest studios need to have a formal education. After that maybe a few years as a intern? Believe me. I know you can have a successful project type of even a small commercial studio after attending the school of hard knocks but you would be one success out of many failures. I just think that no one should discourage a person from bettering themself with a formal audio education.
 
Hiya,

I've recorded nothing, myself, not even the sound
of the toilet flushing for a prank call.

I've been reading a bit on what can be used to interface
pc and recording devices.. direct-line/mic etc..

Your question in regard to equipment/effects to 'clean up'
your sound once recorded etc., is what prompted me to
register & post this reply, with a concept mentioned in
a book i'm reading, with regard to using compression when
implemented in tool fashion, rather than effect.




It was stressed,

A. get a good sound with just the mic
first, the less you have to change,
remove, boost, whatever, after the
track is recorded, the better. Doing
your homework and improving skill
in this area will save you heaps of
effort later on, in other steps of the
recording and mixing processes,


and,

B. use effects sparingly, as in, you can
always add more, but you cant take
it off. Generally, begin with small amounts.

Less is more, in this area. This may also tie
into the One thing people want you
to get into your head most in this thread,
regarding don't go out and buy every
gadget that flashes a wink your way,
even the ones that flash because they
dont have lights.


If I've spoken incorrectly, or applied any terms
out of context, please correct me.
 
nwsoundman said:
Some of you sound bitter towards recording schools. Do you have a personal experience that made you that way
Click to expand...

It's not a fact of being bitter, It's the fact that the quality of education, and subject modules they teach, compared to what you really need in the recording industry.

The other side of the coin is on the students side.... I have seen amazing recording hobbyists go to school, and after all the acoustic, and sound wave theory, they get a tiny bit of hands on, and then come out of school so disillusioned to what the real recording world is, they end up selling strings or picks at the local guitar shop, because they think that it's gonna be alot of theory and calculations.....

This is what im trying to warn against....

It's not that I hate schools, it's that I don't agree with the teaching modules..

Joe
 
nwsoundman said:
I can't stress enough that if people want a career recording that allows them to work in the finest studios need to have a formal education.
Click to expand...


I have seen many, people who haven't been to school, go up through the ranks, from being a floor sweeper, and tape OP...........For instance, Mutt Lange, Bob Rock..... They are probably the 2 most famous rock producers of late....They never went to recording school....and they are people who really matter. They started as reqular kids in rock bands, and slowly developed producing skills through experience, and chose to persue that road of carreer.......

When it came time that they needed a little of that theory, Im sure they bought books and read up on the subject....

Joe
 
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