| |
Don't
think that you need everything under
the sun to make a great recording...
TEN
WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR HOME RECORDINGS. |
1.)
Quality over quantity:
Focus
on buying the BEST gear for your budget
that allows you to work in the way that
you want to work. Don't think that you
need everything under the sun to make
a great recording. However, what you
do purchase should be of excellent quality.
Now,
chances are you cannot afford top of
the line equipment like a professional
recording studio; however, there are
a number of manufacturers creating equipment
that blurs the line between consumer
and pro gear that the home recordist
can take advantage of. When buying equipment
be realistic about how often you intend
to use it and how important it is to
the finished product. Don't be cheap!
While you may save a few hundred dollars
buying a low end product chances are
that it will be almost useless because
of how much it degrades your audio.
As
a home recordist you should attempt
to do as much as you can in software.
Software offers the most cost effective,
best sounding solution for recordists
on a budget. Hardware, good hardware,
is extremely expensive; don't be confused
by some engineers' insistence that hardware
always lends a superior sound. A 300.00
EQ plugin is going to blow away a 300.00
dollar hardware EQ. Generally speaking,
good hardware tends to start around
1,000 dollars--if that's beyond your
reach, stick to software.
| All
it takes is one poorly set compressor
to ruin an entire mix. |
|
2.)
Best plugins:
Chances
are that if you are involved in home
recording you are doing it digitally,
which means that your audio is going
to live and die by the types of plugins
you have available. Just like hardware,
not all plugins are designed equally.
Also like hardware, some plugins have
a different "flavor" or are
created to meet different needs.
The
backbone of your plugin suite should
be at least one good equalizer, compressor
and reverb. Get the best you can afford
for the types of sounds you prefer.
Don't worry about having every option
under the sun--remember, until a few
years ago most albums were mixed with
fairly basic Eq's found on the console.
Ultimately, the quality of the compression,
equalization and reverb is going to
make the biggest impact on your audio.
Once
you have your basic plugins you can
expand your repertoire. I recommend
focusing on a quality delay and chorus
next, and saving the less often used
effects like phasing, flanging, pitch
shifting and so on for last.
Whenever
possible, take advantage of the sheer
volume of free plugins available on
the Internet. Some are surprisingly
good and rival expensive plugins for
ease of use and quality.
3.) Monitoring:
If
you can't hear it, you can't fix it.
That's the cardinal rule of audio engineering.
You are NOT going to get high quality
sounds with computer speakers or cheap
nearfield monitors. Other than your
basic I/O (converters and preamps) nothing
determines the sound of your audio quality
more than the quality of your monitors!
This is absolutely critical and make
or break for the home recordist.
Nowadays
there is becoming less and less difference
between a professional recording studio
and a well equipped home studio. Prosumer
grade converters and preamps are quickly
approaching a level where you can get
95% of a professional sound at a fraction
of the price. Where a professional studio
usually reigns supreme is in the amount
of options, power (like higher track
counts), convenience and MONITORING
ENVIRONMENT.
See,
the professionals know that monitoring
is critical. The average home recordist
would rather spend their money on something
else like a new guitar or that new-fangled
analog modeling keyboard that just debuted
at NAMM. Most high-end studios have
three or more top end monitors in their
main room!
So
do yourself a favor, even though it
isn't glamorous, and spend some time
and money on your monitors. Expect to
spend at LEAST 1,000 dollars on a nearfield
pair. Don't wimp out--by not having
the best listening environment you are
shortchanging all the money you spent
on your other equipment and you are
stunting your growth as a recording
engineer. Spend some money on room treatments
and acoustic isolators for the monitors.
Read up on proper monitor placement
for your room. Try to tune your room
as best you can. Get familiar with how
your monitors sound by listening to
your favorite albums on them.
Ultimately,
in this business you live and die by
what you can and cannot hear.
4.)
Use reference:
The
single easiest, cheapest and most effective
way to increase the quality of your
music is to use reference music. Reference
music is any professional album that
you happen to admire its sound. Compare
what you are doing to the reference--it
will let you know where you are. Scrutinize
your recordings compared to the reference.
If your material is getting blown away
don't miss the opportunity to improve
your craft by lying to yourself or not
thinking that the difference is significant.
At first it may be ugly--but at least
you will realize how far from the mark
your recordings are.
Use
the reference when you are tracking
to double check that the sounds you
are recording are similar in quality.
Use it during mixing to check the volume,
balance, panning and presence of sounds.
Use it during mastering to see how your
music stands up to a professional grade.
Engineering
without reference is like driving across
the country without a map. Expect to
waste a lot of time getting lost, and
you may never find your end destination.
Don't think that this is wimping out--top
recording engineers use reference ALL
THE TIME.
 |
The
best time to start making an album
sound good is from the very beginning. |
5.)
Aim for final sounds:
The
best time to start making an album sound
good is from the very beginning. The
secret to great sounding albums is that
ALL the components are well thought
out and of the highest caliber. The
do that through a lot of planning (pre-production),
being highly selective for choosing
sounds, and great care for the actual
recording.
When
you are tracking you should aim to for
getting as close to a FINAL sound as
possible. If you want the snare drum
to be tight with a lot of top end you
should record it that way--don't expect
to "fix it in the mix" later--you
need to fix it right now! Take it from
a mixing engineer, there is only so
much that you can do to polish a sound
and make it radically different from
what you recorded. In fact, the less
you HAVE to do as a mixing engineer
the better the end product is.
It
may take hours, or even days, to dial
in these amazing sounds but I can tell
you that it is worth it. No amount of
Eq, compression or prayer is going to
save weak sounds in the mix.... they
may be less weak, but the best they'll
ever get is mediocre. I don't know about
you but I don't aim for mediocre when
I record something.
The
other thing to watch out for is performance
mistakes. Mix time is NOT the time for
fixing little playing errors. GET IT
RIGHT WHEN RECORDING! Aim for the best
sounds that are exactly how they need
to sound on the finished record, and
aim for performances free from error.
Imagine
how simple it will be to mix your material
when everything sounds exactly how it
should and there are no playing errors?
| Having
some outboard hardware to supplement
a DAW setup can be a huge benefit. |
|
6.)
Careful use of outboard gear:
Once
you have your core system up and running
adding some additional outboard gear
is a very good option. Having some outboard
hardware to supplement a DAW setup can
be a huge benefit. Just adding a single
top end stereo preamp can greatly increase
the power of a home recording rig. How
about an external reverb unit? It will
save your host processor some significant
DSP power and, in the case of a high-end
unit, provide a better sounding effect
than a plugin.
Vintage
gear is a good option for outboard equipment.
There are hundreds of excellent choices
out there, and a lot of it is pretty
affordable these days. In my opinion
every good studio needs some kind of
a wild card effects processor--something
that isn't readily available as a plugin
and has a unique sonic signature.
7.) DSP is power:
The
real benefit of digital recording over
analog is the sheer power and number
of options available. With the degree
of automation, higher track counts,
low noise floor and endless array and
flexibility of plugins digital recording
has truly come of age. However, to access
the full range of digital audio you
need to have tons and tons of computer
power.
Of
course you want to have the fastest
processor and RAM that your budget will
allow, but ultimately all native systems
reach a limit to how much they can handle.
Processing time and latency can become
a big issue.... so why not take some
of that load off your main processor
with some additional DSP?
There
are a number of fairly affordable DSP
solutions for today's home recordist.
Some of them can allow a home user almost
all the power and flexibility of a much
more expensive ProTools rig at a vastly
discounted price. Many of these systems
allow the user access to powerful plugins
otherwise unavailable.
Remember
that, in general, some of the best sounding
plugins are extremely processor intensive.
Linear phase equalizers, convolution
reverbs, extremely accurate physical
models of vintage gear and other top
end effects eat up DSP very quickly.
By having more power available you are
better able to use exactly the effects
you want, instead of only the ones your
computer can handle.
8.)
Less is more:
Now
that you have all this power at your
fingertips you're going to want to use
it, right? Well, maybe.... You should
always seek to use the least amount
of processing, whether analog or digital,
on your audio. Keep things simple, but
not so simple that you don't reach your
full audio potential.
Learn
when to use processing and when not
to. If you've already recorded great
sounds chances are you're not going
to need a whole lot of Eq'ing and compression
to get things to sound awesome. Mostly
you're looking to control a few levels,
get the low-end happening and add a
sense of depth to the recording. If
you find yourself having to perform
intensive "Eq surgery" on
the tracks chances are you didn't pay
enough attention to the sounds being
tracked. Perhaps it's time to go back
a few steps and do it right?
By
not over processing your tracks you'll
find that they sound more open and have
better clarity. Also, there's less chance
for operator error--all it takes is
one poorly set compressor to ruin an
entire mix.
 |
If
you are dedicated to making your
home recordings sound great you
should spend a lot of time researching
and refining your methods. |
9.)
Study & practice:
If
you are dedicated to making your home
recordings sound great you should spend
a lot of time researching and refining
your methods. The Internet is a great
tool--everything, and I mean everything,
you could ever possibly want or need
to know on how to make a great recording
is already on the Internet right now.
Do some searches, read some articles,
think about what was said and decide
for yourself if that's the way that
you want to work.
If
you spend an hour or two of daily research
within a year you will have vastly increased
your knowledge store. You'll also be
better aware of the equipment out there,
which will make you a more frugal shopper
when it comes time to upgrade your own
studio.
10.)
Know when to use a pro:
If
you're very serious about your work
and are aiming at making a little money
off of your album, or shooting for a
career as a musician you should be going
to a professional for as much as possible.
The chief advantage of a home studio
is the ability to test and refine one's
material--both from a sonic and songwriting
perspective. The home studio is NOT
the environment to write, record, mix
and master an album that you intend
for commercial release. It's just not
a wise move.
The
important thing is to know your own
limitations of skill and equipment.
Many artists are perfectly skilled to
record their material, but fall short
when it comes to mixing and mastering.
Some artists are better off doing their
entire project in a studio, whereas
some musicians may only need professional
mastering to bring their project to
a high standard.
Know
your limitations. Often going to a professional
is cheaper in both time and money. It
is especially critical when you have
a deadline, or it’s important
that things are just right.
-James Meeker
