Your top tip!

[SouthSIDE Glen]

How does one quantify that

Lacking an actual scientific survey? With a quality estimate based upon good eyes, good ears, and a good brain.

The numbers are actually on the conservative side, IMHO. I could easily have said that twice as good sounds five or six times better and been just as comfortable with the estimate.

The premise is what's important, not the numbers. I could have used more proper and less numerical language like "synergy" or "exponential", but frankly that kind of vocabulary doesn't work well in public discourse - especially in Internet forums; printed media frequented by people who don't like to read.

G.

 

[Flangerhans]

One thing I don't see addressed here is noise. Before worrying about compression, EQ, or anything else on the electronic side of the mics, figure out how to eliminate every bit of extraneous noise you can. Make sure every connection is clean and tight, every bit of gear in the signal path is quiet and the instruments are shielded wherever they can be. Use XLR or TRS cables when ever you can, and find a room that is well-insulated from external noise sources. Flourescent lights should be stomped to death and replaced by incandescent ones, and all equipment needs to be plugged into good quality strips. If you can get a good sounding source onto your media with a nice hot signal and little noise, you are already halfway towards having a good recording.

 

[MessianicDreams]

The most important stage in recording is everything you do before hitting "record".



If it doesn't sound right in the room, or if it doesn't sound right thru the mic, don't record it.

 

[Freudian Slip]

If your not happy with a track, retrack it. little glitches and screw ups have away of bugging the hell out of you down the road.

If it's obvious you used effects you used too much.

Put new heads on the drums.

Read some good books.

Good luck.

F.S.

 

[noisewreck]

Trust your ears not your eyes.

Be sober while recording/performing. Maybe not so much while performing, but most definitely while recording.

Don't be afraid to try things.

If you're tracking distorted guitars, use less distortion than when performing "live".

Gain staging, gain staging, gain staging. Every equipment has it's own sweet spot, find it. Even if the meters on your mixer/DAW don't clip, doesn't necessarily mean everything is hunky-dory. Make sure you're not clipping the mic, mic-pre, if you have some EQ or compressor before the mixer/daw/soundcard/converters make sure these guys don't clip/distort either.

All liquids should be off limits on or near the computer, mixer, keyboard, etc.

 

[TerraMortim]

Ok then... so in a few weeks my band are recording... however, due to our limited funds I am going to be mixing the cd myself...

We are a 5 pieces with drums, keyboard, guitars, bass guitar and vocals... Again due to budget constraints I am using Kristal Audio Engine.

I was just wondering what your top tips are to me to get the most professional sound out of it?

don't mix yourself the loudest! If you're new to mixing, and you're one of the players, ususally you will have a tendancy to put your instrument way louder than everyone else, since when you're playing as a group, you'll be listening mostling to what your doing. Just take a few steps back as a performer and come at it from the standpoint of, how does this work as one big unit, instead of can they hear every note I'm playing? I used to do this, and most people I've seen who are new to mixing their own performances do this as well. Don't be afraid to let your parts go toward the back if the song needs it. Unless your the vocalist, in which case you WOULD want that to be your concern. In the end, the song will dictate what needs emphasis and what should be more for colour or texture, regardless of how wicked this riff is, or how amazing the playing was. We all do it or have done at one time, so just giving you the heads up beforehand.

 

[TerraMortim]

If it's obvious you used effects you used too much.

yes, but this is depending on the genre. Some of the genre's I do music in, often the effects are part of the whole sound of the music. I often have about 10 to 15 different plugins in the chain for vocals for example, and they are all absolutely nessisary to get the exact sound that is required by this type of music. If I was doing something that was more of a purist form, absolutely, but it entirely depends on if realism is the goal, or a hightened or false reality is the goal. So to add to that, if you're doing jazz, or straight ahead rock, things that you want to sound real, as if it's being played by a band in a smokey bar...what freudian slip is the law of the land, but if you're doing something like say, industrial, or something of that sort, where the "sound" design can be part of the writing process even, it's not nessisarily going to give you the best results. Just use your taste is the best thing, really. Think about records that you like and think about the way the different elements sound. However, I think what he was more on about is, don't think it's just clever to throw this effect on or that on just because you can, only use it if the song requires it.

 

[TexRoadkill]

I often have about 10 to 15 different plugins in the chain for vocals for example, and they are all absolutely nessisary to get the exact sound that is required by this type of music.

Why on earth would you need 15 plugins on one track? Is there even that many types of fx?

 

[jabulani jonny]

Trust your ears not your eyes.

Be sober while recording/performing. Maybe not so much while performing, but most definitely while recording.

Don't be afraid to try things.

If you're tracking distorted guitars, use less distortion than when performing "live".

Gain staging, gain staging, gain staging. Every equipment has it's own sweet spot, find it. Even if the meters on your mixer/DAW don't clip, doesn't necessarily mean everything is hunky-dory. Make sure you're not clipping the mic, mic-pre, if you have some EQ or compressor before the mixer/daw/soundcard/converters make sure these guys don't clip/distort either.

All liquids should be off limits on or near the computer, mixer, keyboard, etc.

I'll tag on this a bit. One of the biggest mistakes I made starting out was trying to record everything too hot. For a point of reference, if your watching your DAW for signal level, try to keep your input signal level no higher than -12dbFS. With the recording software that you're using that will still give you plenty of quality and resolution. Don't push 0dbFS on your DAW meters. Follow? If you keep your input signals around -12dbFS everything just sounds a bit cleaner and you leave plenty of headroom for the mix bus.

Also, dynamics (not mics) are your friend. Listen to just about any song out today and you will quickly realize that not every instrument is playing all the way through the song, typically. Add, take away, change the tone, whatever you need to do to the different sections of the song to add dynamics. Maybe in the verse it's just one guitar, bass and drums and the pre-chorus has the organ kicking in, with the full band on the chorus. Maybe the bridge is just organ and an acoustic, with a jaw harp . What I'm saying is make each section interesting.

Also, don't discount the little instruments that can make a big difference, ie. shakers and tamborine. Go to your local music store and pick up one of each. You can add some nice sheen on a chorus with some simple elements.

Just my thoughts. YMMV