kidvybes
New member
...c'mon...gotta be more trix out there...some of you guys are holdin' back...give it up...share the knowledge...
...c'mon...gotta be more trix out there...some of you guys are holdin' back...give it up...share the knowledge...
reshp1
New member
These are pretty standard but I like them.
Reverse reverb: reverse an audio track, and send to a long decay reverb (I like hall reverb) and print the reverb return to another track, then reverse that track and mix to taste with the original audio track. It works really well for bringing a song back after a break/pause section, or mixed sparingly with a guitar solo.
Reverb fade out: when fading out ballads I sometimes like to send the entire mix (using a submix stereo track) pre-fader to a reverb. Then fade out the song, but fade the reverb return a slower than the submix. Gives the effect of the song fading off into the distance.
I think Steve Albini came up with this, but I'm not sure... Dumping pocket change into the hi-hats.
Reverse reverb: reverse an audio track, and send to a long decay reverb (I like hall reverb) and print the reverb return to another track, then reverse that track and mix to taste with the original audio track. It works really well for bringing a song back after a break/pause section, or mixed sparingly with a guitar solo.
Reverb fade out: when fading out ballads I sometimes like to send the entire mix (using a submix stereo track) pre-fader to a reverb. Then fade out the song, but fade the reverb return a slower than the submix. Gives the effect of the song fading off into the distance.
I think Steve Albini came up with this, but I'm not sure... Dumping pocket change into the hi-hats.
K
Kasey
New member
hmm...
1. i record in an unfinished room with vents on the ceiling. To get a slightly 'tin-esque' reverb, i stick a mic inside of one of the vents. it sounds really cool and theres absolutely no way that you could ever emulate the sound it makes with effects. I do this a lot for chorus-like background vocals.
2. This one doesnt exactly work if youre going for a traditional sound in any genre... but i record a lot of bands that you might consider "experimental" in their sound. anyways, the trick is to record the drums twice and layer them. It gives a "sloppy" sound to the drums, but at the same time it makes them sound massive.
3. running various things though my guitar effects pedal (i think this one was already mentioned) i love doing things like adding distortion to cellos and violas, and... well, a lot of stuff. distortion is fun. i like to run backup chorus like vocals through a bunch of tape decks.
4. put the mic in a bucket and put a blanket over that bucket, for any kind of ambience type sound.
5. take some of your stuff and record outside. i like to do this when its just a folk styled vocals and guitar. it just adds to the.. emotional effect... to hear soft wind and rustling of leaves and birds chirping here and there. i love the sound of wind especially.
6.lots and lots and lots of hard stereo panning
1. i record in an unfinished room with vents on the ceiling. To get a slightly 'tin-esque' reverb, i stick a mic inside of one of the vents. it sounds really cool and theres absolutely no way that you could ever emulate the sound it makes with effects. I do this a lot for chorus-like background vocals.
2. This one doesnt exactly work if youre going for a traditional sound in any genre... but i record a lot of bands that you might consider "experimental" in their sound. anyways, the trick is to record the drums twice and layer them. It gives a "sloppy" sound to the drums, but at the same time it makes them sound massive.
3. running various things though my guitar effects pedal (i think this one was already mentioned) i love doing things like adding distortion to cellos and violas, and... well, a lot of stuff. distortion is fun. i like to run backup chorus like vocals through a bunch of tape decks.
4. put the mic in a bucket and put a blanket over that bucket, for any kind of ambience type sound.
5. take some of your stuff and record outside. i like to do this when its just a folk styled vocals and guitar. it just adds to the.. emotional effect... to hear soft wind and rustling of leaves and birds chirping here and there. i love the sound of wind especially.
6.lots and lots and lots of hard stereo panning
kidvybes
New member
OneRoomStudios said:
...if anybody else feels that an evergrowing list of "studio tips & tricks" would make a great 'STICKY', please IM/email Dragon or Criper2000 and let them know your support for this thread...
...I'm sure there's hundreds of great ideas out there that would be helpful to all of us on HR.com, so please be generous and share your ideas, tips & tricks right here!...
scrubs
Not of sound mind
I'm definitely not the originator of this one:
When recording guitars in XY stereo, you can invert the polarity of one of the mics. This will give you a very thin, shimmery sound (as most of the body of the sound will be cancelled out) that can work well in a pop mix. Of course, Hendrix did a lot of electric guitar stuff out of phase and that can result in a cool sound, too.
When recording guitars in XY stereo, you can invert the polarity of one of the mics. This will give you a very thin, shimmery sound (as most of the body of the sound will be cancelled out) that can work well in a pop mix. Of course, Hendrix did a lot of electric guitar stuff out of phase and that can result in a cool sound, too.
D
David Katauskas
New member
Not sure if this is even useful, but I'm an adventurer. On my travels within the nTrack software, I discovered this wonderful thing called a Parametric EQ 
.
Anyway, pushing the Left and Right side frequencies opposite each other about 3db, it provides a widening effect. Not sure why. I've used it on individual tracks, and whole mixes. It was added before the actual mixer settings in the chain. See attached image for example.
You can also make variations of this using a range of frequencies.
.Anyway, pushing the Left and Right side frequencies opposite each other about 3db, it provides a widening effect. Not sure why. I've used it on individual tracks, and whole mixes. It was added before the actual mixer settings in the chain. See attached image for example.
You can also make variations of this using a range of frequencies.
Attachments
Q
Quantagee
Banned
My best trick is to record a vocal. Then, record another vocal. Then pan each to one side. After this, I record one more vocal and pan it center. Now you have three vocals giving you a sense of a wider, fuller sound.
You can do the same thing with guitars, keyboards and everything but drums. Drums don't work very well.
Also, you should keep all effects off until the mix stage. It makes for a cleaner mix. Compressing the tracks should also be done in the mix. You can change effects and compression in the mix, but not on the individual tracks. This is a good trick too.
You can do the same thing with guitars, keyboards and everything but drums. Drums don't work very well.
Also, you should keep all effects off until the mix stage. It makes for a cleaner mix. Compressing the tracks should also be done in the mix. You can change effects and compression in the mix, but not on the individual tracks. This is a good trick too.
giraffe
i love negative rep
scrubs-good to mention not to seperate thoes tracks
david-that idea may play hell in mono (some people don't care)
david-that idea may play hell in mono (some people don't care)
kidvybes
New member
My persoanal tip/trick files are few...so here's some easy to follow soundproofing tips (rudimental for some of us, but important for the "newbies") culled from the internet:
"Where in your recording room do need to put absorbing materials?"
This is a question with two answers. Obviously the purpose of absorption is to control reflections in the room. Reflections from flat surfaces are bad because they will be strong reflections and not broken up into different directions. And rooms commonly have large flat reflecting surfaces, commonly known as the walls, ceiling and floor! Worse still, these surfaces are usually parallel, which means that reflections can easily bounce back and forth between each pair of opposing walls, and between the ceiling and the floor.
So where in the room should you put your absorption?
We have two bad features here - walls that are flat, and walls that are parallel. But it gets worse. What if the walls have hard surfaces too? What if the walls are covered only with bare plaster?
Now this really is bad, since all audio frequencies will bounce back and forth causing a particular effect known as flutter echo. The best place to experience flutter echo is outdoors between two parallel hard surfaces. Clap your hands and you will hear a sound not unlike twanging a ruler against the edge of a table (come on - you must have done that at school!). Once you have heard this in conditions that easily promote flutter echo, you will clearly hear it in rooms too. Needless to say, it's bad for recording, and it's bad for monitoring too.
So to combat flutter echo, you need absorption placed on the flat surfaces of the room.
Now, what about that other problem - excessive reflection of bass frequencies? It is always difficult to absorb bass, but it can be done with panel or membrane absorbers. You could distribute the absorption around the room, but if you didn't want to go to that much trouble or expense, where would you put low-frequency absorbers for best effect?
Well, without going into the science this time, it turns out that the worst kind of reflection, the 'standing wave' that prolongs the duration of reflections at certain frequencies, always causes a high-pressure region at the reflecting surface. Put another way, it is loudest near the wall. Also, standing waves will occur readily between pairs of parallel surfaces.
Now, if you can visualize standing waves bouncing back and forth between wall-to-wall, wall-to-wall and floor to ceiling, you just might be in a position to realize that these three pairs of surfaces intersect in the four corners of the room. So if you put absorption in a corner, it will be effective on all three standing waves, between the two wall-to-wall paths, and also the floor to ceiling path.
So this is exactly where your low-frequency absorption should go. Put it in the middle of a wall and it will only be effective for one of the standing wave paths. Put it in the corner and it will be effective for all three.
"Where in your recording room do need to put absorbing materials?"
This is a question with two answers. Obviously the purpose of absorption is to control reflections in the room. Reflections from flat surfaces are bad because they will be strong reflections and not broken up into different directions. And rooms commonly have large flat reflecting surfaces, commonly known as the walls, ceiling and floor! Worse still, these surfaces are usually parallel, which means that reflections can easily bounce back and forth between each pair of opposing walls, and between the ceiling and the floor.
So where in the room should you put your absorption?
We have two bad features here - walls that are flat, and walls that are parallel. But it gets worse. What if the walls have hard surfaces too? What if the walls are covered only with bare plaster?
Now this really is bad, since all audio frequencies will bounce back and forth causing a particular effect known as flutter echo. The best place to experience flutter echo is outdoors between two parallel hard surfaces. Clap your hands and you will hear a sound not unlike twanging a ruler against the edge of a table (come on - you must have done that at school!). Once you have heard this in conditions that easily promote flutter echo, you will clearly hear it in rooms too. Needless to say, it's bad for recording, and it's bad for monitoring too.
So to combat flutter echo, you need absorption placed on the flat surfaces of the room.
Now, what about that other problem - excessive reflection of bass frequencies? It is always difficult to absorb bass, but it can be done with panel or membrane absorbers. You could distribute the absorption around the room, but if you didn't want to go to that much trouble or expense, where would you put low-frequency absorbers for best effect?
Well, without going into the science this time, it turns out that the worst kind of reflection, the 'standing wave' that prolongs the duration of reflections at certain frequencies, always causes a high-pressure region at the reflecting surface. Put another way, it is loudest near the wall. Also, standing waves will occur readily between pairs of parallel surfaces.
Now, if you can visualize standing waves bouncing back and forth between wall-to-wall, wall-to-wall and floor to ceiling, you just might be in a position to realize that these three pairs of surfaces intersect in the four corners of the room. So if you put absorption in a corner, it will be effective on all three standing waves, between the two wall-to-wall paths, and also the floor to ceiling path.
So this is exactly where your low-frequency absorption should go. Put it in the middle of a wall and it will only be effective for one of the standing wave paths. Put it in the corner and it will be effective for all three.
kidvybes
New member
distorted vocals...
...anybody familiar with the Strokes knows their trademark "distorted" vocal sound...here's a trick I ran across in EQ mag that describes how the vocal sound was achieved...we've tried it in our studio (we don't have the Neumann, so we subbed a Rode NTK instead) and the results were pretty cool...the drum kit miking trick is also good for more of that "controlled distortion" effect...
MIKING
That first Strokes recording was done using the minimal gear complement that Gordon Raphael had long worked with. With only a single Digidesign 888 interface, the record was made with eight inputs into Logic: three on the drums, one for Casablancas’ vocals, one each for two guitars and bass, and the remaining one as a room mic input. To further complicate things, Casablancas was obsessed with the idea of singing through a small Peavey amplifier, vocalizing into an Audio-Technica AT4033A while Raphael miked the amp with the Neumann 47 he had tried unsuccessfully to get the singer to use in the first place. The resulting edgy distorted vocals have become a trademark of the Strokes, as well as the ensemble small-room band effect dictated by the limited number of inputs.
When it came time to work on the first LP, Raphael stayed with his minimalist methodology. The kick drum was miked with a Shure Beta 58, with 57s on the snare top and bottom, and another AT4033A placed in front of the kit, a placement Raphael describes as “my secret weapon. You place it in front of the kick high enough to get the drum kit but low enough to avoid getting the wash of the cymbals. Then I run it through the Avalon 737 and compress it heavily and add some [overloading] distortion, then blend it into the overall mix. It adds some nice nastiness to the track and it gives the entire track a sense of emotion.”
...anybody familiar with the Strokes knows their trademark "distorted" vocal sound...here's a trick I ran across in EQ mag that describes how the vocal sound was achieved...we've tried it in our studio (we don't have the Neumann, so we subbed a Rode NTK instead) and the results were pretty cool...the drum kit miking trick is also good for more of that "controlled distortion" effect...
MIKING
That first Strokes recording was done using the minimal gear complement that Gordon Raphael had long worked with. With only a single Digidesign 888 interface, the record was made with eight inputs into Logic: three on the drums, one for Casablancas’ vocals, one each for two guitars and bass, and the remaining one as a room mic input. To further complicate things, Casablancas was obsessed with the idea of singing through a small Peavey amplifier, vocalizing into an Audio-Technica AT4033A while Raphael miked the amp with the Neumann 47 he had tried unsuccessfully to get the singer to use in the first place. The resulting edgy distorted vocals have become a trademark of the Strokes, as well as the ensemble small-room band effect dictated by the limited number of inputs.
When it came time to work on the first LP, Raphael stayed with his minimalist methodology. The kick drum was miked with a Shure Beta 58, with 57s on the snare top and bottom, and another AT4033A placed in front of the kit, a placement Raphael describes as “my secret weapon. You place it in front of the kick high enough to get the drum kit but low enough to avoid getting the wash of the cymbals. Then I run it through the Avalon 737 and compress it heavily and add some [overloading] distortion, then blend it into the overall mix. It adds some nice nastiness to the track and it gives the entire track a sense of emotion.”
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L
lumbago
New member
Chorusing + acoustic piano = honkytonk
Piano - boost 2kHz and 12kHz a couple of dB to make it "sing"
To add vocal intelligibility, drop 2khz-4kHz a couple of dB in a mix wherever the vocal sounds.
Rhodes Electric piano makes a better bass than bass guitar sometimes.
A 29ms single slap digital delay will actually fatten a guitar track and add "sustain"
A 50 ms digital delay with a little mod and feedback is actually a better chorusing effect.
Always find one sharp noise to complement/contrast with one soft noise. Like Square waveform against triangle waveform. Or oboe/soprano sax against strings.
Use a string pad sound doubled with a solo cello sound to give strings both immediacy and depth.
Add 9ths or suspended seconds to string sounds, and remove the tonic.
Always write brass in five parts (each a different note) to thicken up shock notes.
Distortion + snare = better snare.
Hit a down pillow with a mic underneath for a better/optional kick sound.
Vocalists stand up to sing (better pitch).
Never provide electric piano as a guide track for a vocalist - always use acoustic and dub electric piano in later. Vocalists pitch flat with electric pianos.
Reverse the phase on adjacent tom mics.
To mic a grand piano with two mics, put one halfway down the strut at 90 degrees, and one in the "notch" pointing at the middle of the lid.
To mic an upright acoustic piano, point the mic between the pianist's legs, don't place the mic inside the top lid.
Calrec are great mics on brass.
Add kazoo to a sax section for extra "fizz"/"grit".
Always use subtractive EQ.
If a mix is too cluttered, strip it back to the three instruments that convey 80% of the feel of the track and start again. (usually Bass, drums and whatever)
4:1 compression with slow attack on bass is a nice effect to get more punch.
Chorused bass on ballads is a nice effect.
Always retune a guitar down a semitone and score in E rather than having a song played in Eb on guitar.
You can thicken a snare sound on a drum machine by using a concurrent low tom.
Remix without cymbals or even without all drums. Then add them back later once the rest sounds good.
Brass and vocals both have formants around 2Khz - so you need to arrange these parts to be active at different times, never together (unless vocal intelligibility doesn't matter).
Don't put every instrument playing every bar of every song.
Piano - boost 2kHz and 12kHz a couple of dB to make it "sing"
To add vocal intelligibility, drop 2khz-4kHz a couple of dB in a mix wherever the vocal sounds.
Rhodes Electric piano makes a better bass than bass guitar sometimes.
A 29ms single slap digital delay will actually fatten a guitar track and add "sustain"
A 50 ms digital delay with a little mod and feedback is actually a better chorusing effect.
Always find one sharp noise to complement/contrast with one soft noise. Like Square waveform against triangle waveform. Or oboe/soprano sax against strings.
Use a string pad sound doubled with a solo cello sound to give strings both immediacy and depth.
Add 9ths or suspended seconds to string sounds, and remove the tonic.
Always write brass in five parts (each a different note) to thicken up shock notes.
Distortion + snare = better snare.
Hit a down pillow with a mic underneath for a better/optional kick sound.
Vocalists stand up to sing (better pitch).
Never provide electric piano as a guide track for a vocalist - always use acoustic and dub electric piano in later. Vocalists pitch flat with electric pianos.
Reverse the phase on adjacent tom mics.
To mic a grand piano with two mics, put one halfway down the strut at 90 degrees, and one in the "notch" pointing at the middle of the lid.
To mic an upright acoustic piano, point the mic between the pianist's legs, don't place the mic inside the top lid.
Calrec are great mics on brass.
Add kazoo to a sax section for extra "fizz"/"grit".
Always use subtractive EQ.
If a mix is too cluttered, strip it back to the three instruments that convey 80% of the feel of the track and start again. (usually Bass, drums and whatever)
4:1 compression with slow attack on bass is a nice effect to get more punch.
Chorused bass on ballads is a nice effect.
Always retune a guitar down a semitone and score in E rather than having a song played in Eb on guitar.
You can thicken a snare sound on a drum machine by using a concurrent low tom.
Remix without cymbals or even without all drums. Then add them back later once the rest sounds good.
Brass and vocals both have formants around 2Khz - so you need to arrange these parts to be active at different times, never together (unless vocal intelligibility doesn't matter).
Don't put every instrument playing every bar of every song.
F
Fishybob
New member
Lumbago,
Great stuff! Just when I thought the ideas were drying up along came your list... There's a bundle of things for me to try now!!!
Cheers!
Great stuff! Just when I thought the ideas were drying up along came your list... There's a bundle of things for me to try now!!!
Cheers!
E
EleKtriKaz
Home (w)Rec'r
Similar thread over at Gearslutz. Some really cool stuff.
http://gearslutz.com/board/showthread.php3?t=35764
http://gearslutz.com/board/showthread.php3?t=35764
drummerdude666
immature
Nice link EleKtriKaz. Thanks.
bileshake
Member
Anyway, there's this trick to fix a recorded dull snare sound: send the snare sound to a bass amp, put the speaker on the back, speaker facing the ceiling.
Put a snare drum upside down on the speaker and mic the snare bottom, there you have the crisp.[/QUOTE]
thanks Han, that's amazing. I hope I won't need to use this trick, wait a minute... I'm dying to try this out. Gotta go find some old tracks that were wasted due to the snare.
Put a snare drum upside down on the speaker and mic the snare bottom, there you have the crisp.[/QUOTE]
thanks Han, that's amazing. I hope I won't need to use this trick, wait a minute... I'm dying to try this out. Gotta go find some old tracks that were wasted due to the snare.
bileshake
Member
Old digital colour...
I got a trick, use old processors like a yamaha an spx90 on drums. Every company these days is fighting to raise the bar and sterilize everything we track in an attemp to sound more hifi. Gear that was intended to sharpen your sound in 80's can help to regain seriously overdue tone. I know this is not totally original but I feel it's real important. Keep experimenting.
I got a trick, use old processors like a yamaha an spx90 on drums. Every company these days is fighting to raise the bar and sterilize everything we track in an attemp to sound more hifi. Gear that was intended to sharpen your sound in 80's can help to regain seriously overdue tone. I know this is not totally original but I feel it's real important. Keep experimenting.
junplugged
Taking the slow road
mic acoustic normally, also plug in the pickup out to stomp boxes to an amp, mic the amp to another track, blend away.
timboZ
New member
Use the right G-String
scrubs
Not of sound mind
timboZ said:Use the right G-String
Would that be wound or unwound? I prefer a bare g-string, myself.
timboZ
New member
I just got done using a phillips screwdriver as a kick drum beater.