Home Recording Tips/tricks and conundrums etc. (1 Viewer)

[Unicron]

Cheers Gaz,

Couple of follow ups if you don't mind.

5.Apply Compression to level out the volume on individual tracks
6.Using EQ,Lo pass all tracks bar kick and bass until they sound a bit shit then back it off a smidge
7.Hi pass everything same as above

You do this with plug-ins on the individual tracks yes? After I've added the compression should I bounce the compressed track to a new one and start again with no compression plug in on the new track or can I go, "right, I'm done with the compression, now I can click add plug in to this same track"? When doing the low/high pass can I use the same plug in or should I use a different plug in, even if it's the same type?

Basically, on the same track do I have my plug ins like this:

Trackname with Reaper compressor -> Reaper EQ (low pass) -> Reaper EQ (high pass)
or even Reaper compressor -> Reaper EQ (high and low both working on the same instance of the plug in)

8.Manually remove noise between vocals(editing)

Roll on and roll off?

13.Brickwall limiter on master bus after compressor,set to -3db max.

This is like a hard limiter yes?

 

[GO]

Don't mind at all man..

Right,yeah I coulda been a bit clearer it was fairly late and the itch was distracting me..anyway..this is
basically what I do and disclaimer here..I didnt learn this outta a book so I may well be making a
mockery of the process.....


On each track I first insert a single instance of ReaEq and use that to high and low pass.This does a number of benificial things like remove any hum and general shite you dont want.
Next up Compressor..set that to taste.Genarrally this should sound "transparent" ie..the listener never even knows its there...unless you are going for a more esoteric hi faluting sound...which I'm unable to guide you on.
I might then insert another instance of EQ when I'm mixing at this stage..to sculpt the tone to fit.
Leave both plugins active on the track and work away,becaue you might find you need to readjust them at any point in the mixdown..
Unless you have cpu issues,then you might need to render(or better yet freeze,but six of one) them to free up cpu cycles..
As for the vocal edits..AFTER you comp your vocal takes(I assume you are going to aim for perfection in this regard,as with everything and will have recorded umpteen vocal takes).I then edit out any long gaps..all that hiss and hum etc eats up headroom and makes things muddy.I'm careful however,and I learned this through trial and error,to leave in important breaths and a bit of a run in on the edits with a comforatble roll on roll off..the lead in is important cos it fucks with the attack on the compressor if you make it too tight.




Mind you,I have rcently gotten my head around using ReaGate,which automates the process.Its actually pretty straightforward really but sometimes the threshold can be tricky to set.Whack that bad boy in second in your fx chain I think..could be first..depends..experiment.

Edit..on a side note seeing as though I'm talking about vocal comping..I choose not to use pitch fixing software unless I'm specifically looking for a particular effect..you are FAR far better redoing takes until you get it right.Its more work but ultimately it'll be more convincing..that is you want to fool the audience into thinking you sang the whole thing bang on perfect in one take.I'm not saying its a bad thing to autocorrect bad tuning artificially..if its only a slight adjustment you'd never even notice it..but I just rather not..YMMV.


As for the limiter..I don't know what a hard limiter is...I just know its like a mad powerful compressor type of yokethat has the power to really make a cunt of your sound...but used anything like approaching correctly can make yer tunes blow the ears off ya...I use the JS.EventHorizon2.


Toptip...put your compressor and limiter on the master buss soon as you have a rough mix and mix into it.That'll make it alot handier.Avoids unwanted pumping etc.Use fairly tame settings to start of with and nudge them up incrementally as you mix..until just before everything turns to mush..then roll em back.


This is the basically OPPOSITE of what you need to do to make a record..and I may well be ridiculed for even encouraging you in this practice..but for Soundcloud bound demos..its the dogs.

The blind leading the blind!

If anyone has any errors they could point out to what I've said here pipe up.I wanna learn too.

 

[GO]

Re: The Reaper Tips / Tricks / Discoveries Thread

I've just discovered a thing called EQ/FX AUTOMATION!

I never even heard of it until about 20 minutes ago.This is FUCKING HUGE!

 

[GO]

Re: The Reaper Tips / Tricks / Discoveries Thread

This site is FULL of good stuff ... http://www.tweakheadz.com/mixing_in_the_sequencer.htm

 

[ann post]

Re: The Reaper Tips / Tricks / Discoveries Thread

I've just discovered a thing called EQ/FX AUTOMATION!

I never even heard of it until about 20 minutes ago.This is FUCKING HUGE!

you have to be joking. tell me you are joking gary. please tell me you are joking.

 

[GO]

Re: The Reaper Tips / Tricks / Discoveries Thread

you have to be joking. tell me you are joking gary. please tell me you are joking.

No..no joke.In hindsight I remember seeing it mentioned alright,but I never bothered investigating what it is or what its implications might be.I think I may have subconsciously blocked it out as production is complicated enough already..but theres no avoiding it now.I have to go over everything again with this new knowledge.I'm kicking myself.My productions..even now are still totally unnecessarily dense and lacking in depth.Gonna sort that out now.


I've never used automation of any kind on the 50 or so tracks I've recorded this last 18 months.Bar drawing in the odd vol/pan envelope.I'm picking up a control surface today off a lad in Kildare town..so I'll have faders to work with from here on out.Which,is kinda amazing..to have discovered such a powerful use for same on the day I get some.€17!

On a totally different note..I just played Yellow Submarine through the monitors for Daisy.

Mindblowing...I cant get over it.Its so simply produced..and not at all loud..and extremely dynamic..and panned ALL over the gaf.

Thats it..I'm gonna spend a lot more time listening to other music in here.I need to burst the Retarded Cop bubble.

 

[Denny Oubidoux]

reaper also has a feature that allows you to use the volume of one track to control any parameter on any plugin on any track so you could use the level of the kick track to control a compressor or the level of a vocal to increase the number of repeats or speed of a delay etc. i forget what its called now

 

[GO]

Yeah..I just saw that about an hour ago.parameter modulation...the mind boggles.I can't wait to get stuck into all these amazing new things.I'm discovering loads of functionality I never even thought of.Exciting times!

I got my fader yoke set up on the lappy here to test it..its a whole new level...jazes..using the mouse to control levels is a disaster in comparison.

 

[Denny Oubidoux]

I used to use the automation all the time in my protools days, since switching to reaper i havent bothered. my mixing now involves setting the fader at the start of the tune and moving it as needed as the song proceeds without recording the movement so that next time i play through i have to prick around with them all again. cant believe i'm realising how silly this is now.

 

[GO]

Aww man....I've been manually drawing envelopes..and doing a half arsed job of it.I dislike it so much sometimes I just split the file and change the gain on the different parts..so stupid.Now its just hit record and do it in one take.You know you can assign any pot on a midi keyboard to control the faders..if you dont have a slider..labour saving

But listen to any of my tunes...nothing changes volume at all..its just monotonous..I'd say the next few are gonna be up and down like a tramps knickers...plus tempo changes...I'm boning up on midi too.

The more I learn to do the more possiblites for invention are occuring to me..any idea you can have is pretty much doable.Its fucking insane.

I remember doing shit on a tascam 4 track..with cubase on an Atari..and I thought that was fairly rad

 

[Denny Oubidoux]

mmm. i've shut up shop for a few months. might get a new computer when i have meself set up with a new gaff again

 

[GO]

Yeah....new computers rock.
But I'm keeping my old one just cos its so dependable

 

[GO]

Reccomended Viewing ... http://therecordingrevolution.com/5minutes/

 

[GO]

Thread full of mostly free plugins reccomended by pro jock knobs HERE

More HERE

These kinda places are fun to snoop around.

 

[GO]

http://www.gearslutz.com/board/showwiki.php?title=Video-Vault:Video-Vault

 

[GO]

The "HUMANIZE" function in the midi editor in Reaper is VERY effective on drums.Just tried it for the first time having heard about it here

Its kinda like the anti quantize.Wish I hadda discovered this earlier.

 

[ann post]

rtfm.

its like my sister learning to drive. 'oh these brakes are great, wish i'd known about them before i planted your car in a hedge'.

 

[GO]

Ahh..I only go to the manual when I cant figure something out .

I rather the hands on approach to learning!

Edit..although you know what,yer dead right Ann..I'm gonna rtfm.

 

[Unicron]

 

[GO]

biggest thing I've learned?

Get the sound you want before using any plugins.