The Fundementals !?!@#$%

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themdla

themdla

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I recently joined this forum and wanted to say I am really grateful for all the awesome advice and support I’ve received so far.

One of the things I had unknowingly struggled with for a few years was gain staging. I had read a book about analog recording and mixing before I started using a DAW and had always assumed they were the same....:eek:

Anyway after a few weeks on this forum I had learned that I was way off base and -18dbFS is actually the optimal input level for an incoming source. Instead of shooting for -3db to -6db (on the DAW) when recording I started shooting for -20 to -18db.

This one revelation made all the difference and my recordings have never been better :D

So I guess my questions are....

What things were big "ah-ha" moments for you in recording?

What other "fundamentals" would you suggest?

Anyway thx in advance :cool:
 
themdla said:
I recently joined this forum and wanted to say I am really grateful for all the awesome advice and support I’ve received so far.

One of the things I had unknowingly struggled with for a few years was gain staging. I had read a book about analog recording and mixing before I started using a DAW and had always assumed they were the same....:eek:

Anyway after a few weeks on this forum I had learned that I was way off base and -18dbFS is actually the optimal input level for an incoming source. Instead of shooting for -3db to -6db (on the DAW) when recording I started shooting for -20 to -18db.

This one revelation made all the difference and my recordings have never been better :D

So I guess my questions are....

What things were big "ah-ha" moments for you in recording?

What other "fundamentals" would you suggest?

Anyway thx in advance :cool:
Click to expand...

I remember when I finally figured out how to use a compressor. That was my ah-ha moment. Hahaha
 
1 guy in 6.5B's thoughts:

"The" fundamental, to me, is getting the sound right before you record it.

"The sound" is the drum set, the room, the arrangement, the performance. Get it all great before you record, don't fix it later as much as you can.

Aim for using no eq and then use it if you think it makes things better.

Music isn't about sound, it's about feel. It can have flaws in the sound and be acceptable, but if it's sounds perfect but it doesn't feel right it doesn't fly.
 
express yo self (like the song)

squibble94 said:
... How to use a compressor. What attack and release did, what ratio did, what threshold did, and what knee did.
Click to expand...

see i feel like i understand the function of a compressor in those regards but in specfic applications what did you find that made it click?

were you buss compressing a group of drums tracks and all the sudden?

vox?

you get my drift :D
 
dintymoore said:
1 guy in 6.5B's thoughts:

"The" fundamental, to me, is getting the sound right before you record it.

"The sound" is the drum set, the room, the arrangement, the performance. Get it all great before you record, don't fix it later as much as you can.

Aim for using no eq and then use it if you think it makes things better.

Music isn't about sound, it's about feel. It can have flaws in the sound and be acceptable, but if it's sounds perfect but it doesn't feel right it doesn't fly.
Click to expand...

yeah i've been noticing that also lately... i mean i track in a bedroom so recording quality is not optimal but slowly it seems i get out of my own way.

the best recordings i've ever had were good performances. you can't get around it.

people can say what they want about jack white but that dude gets amazing takes and millions of people love his "lo-fi" sound. i think what makes a song really last isn't the sound but the moment or feeling captured on tape.

:)
 
Wait wait wait. Is it really -18db for input levels? Shoot. When I learned in school, we were always told around -6 or -12. Or at least for bouncing our midi tracks to audio.

No wonder I always feel like everything is fighting it out. I need to go back and remix some stuff.
 
I've had too many "A-ha" moments !
On my Tascam 488, after the first two songs I did on it, I found that following the manual's recommended recording levels was caca, there was hardly any sound. So I started setting my own levels.....I tracked hot ! Learned about that great distorted drum sound and all. But going digital and reading Rami commenting to a few people that they were tracking too hot got me thinking so I don't track hot any longer, well, not clipping hot and it's made a difference.
The one moment I'll never forget was figuring out as I was driving around, how to add effects to a bounce, trying it out at home and finding it worked.
 
clntgn said:
Wait wait wait. Is it really -18db for input levels? Shoot. When I learned in school, we were always told around -6 or -12. Or at least for bouncing our midi tracks to audio.

No wonder I always feel like everything is fighting it out. I need to go back and remix some stuff.
Click to expand...

do you have to turn down track faders a lot to get things to mix well?
 
I think I did on some instruments, but that was after adding effects. I think I may start trying it with a lower input level and using a trim plug in if needed.
 
i learned to push the faders into the red...its the future!
 
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