Which button do I push? (Recording Tips Thread)

[tonetripper]

So, realizing that the Nauster would probably be bummed that his thread has gone into the nether-regions of internet land, I figured I better revise it.

Been lately figuring on which way to go with a lap top computer. I've been involved in the recording industry for some time and want to take a leap into being a portable recording guy. The G4 laptop seems to appeal to me cuz of the need of the industry for me to be (I use this precariously) industry standard which most people in the film and recording industries seem to be (Applized). That and the ability to use my other disc of Cubase without having to use the dongle which I would like to keep with my main recording computer. Just want to get some ideas from any of you cats who might be in the know. My major issue is that the Centrino laptops (everything so far that I've read) beat out the Apple laptops. Until they come out with the G5 I seem to be in limbo with my potential purchase. That, saddled with the concept that I want to stay with Cubase and that PCs are better in the sense of getting cheap software *wink*. Any thoughts?

Also lately I scored a pair of Tannoy speakers that are being run by a very crappy, old, consumer amp that I got about 20 years ago. Doesn't sound bad, but seems as though the Tannoys would be drinking the sound better with a better amp. Any thoughts?

Here is the link to the prior recording thread:
Old Recording Thread Full of Useful Information - Author - Dylan Nau

Cheers!
Pablo

P.S. I love the new format for the forum. Easier to sift through threads with the current format. Thanks administrators.

[Poor June]

know this is about recording... but i've been wonderin'... whatever happened to dylan nau i haven't heard nothin' from him in a long time...

[Sober]

Ken posted an article in IRC that had a shitload of really useful information on recording. I don't remember the link, but I do remember a couple things from the article. Example:

When recording a guitar or similar instrument via microphone, a good rule of thumb as to how to pick it up is: take the length of the sound-producing part of the instrument (i.e. the body of the guitar (approx. 18 inches)) and place the mic that far away. So, with a normal guitar, place the mix 18 inches away. With a mandolin, place the mic maybe a foot away.

That's what I gathered from the article. My own experience is to try different things. Putting a mic right up to the soudn hole over the strings will get a lot of pick noise and will be really bass-heavy.

My #1 bit of advice: experiment.

[c hack]

The G4 laptop seems to appeal to me cuz of the need of the industry for me to be (I use this precariously) industry standard which most people in the film and recording industries seem to be (Applized). That and the ability to use my other disc of Cubase without having to use the dongle which I would like to keep with my main recording computer. Just want to get some ideas from any of you cats who might be in the know. My major issue is that the Centrino laptops (everything so far that I've read) beat out the Apple laptops. Until they come out with the G5 I seem to be in limbo with my potential purchase. That, saddled with the concept that I want to stay with Cubase and that PCs are better in the sense of getting cheap software *wink*. Any thoughts?

Issues:

1) ease of use
There's a reason Apples are industry-standard with creative types. The biggest one being that, like the ads say, they just work. I don't need to figure out how to get rid of spywares that cripple my computer or viruses, because there aren't any. I put in a DVD-R drive in the other day (pioneer dvr-108, iirc), and it just worked. No drivers or nothing. They also look great (LCD is great quality -- playing a DVD on the laptop looks better than on the PCs I've seen), and feel great (I'm typing on one now and really enjoying the feel of the keyboard).

2) software
Sure, it's easier to get "cheap" software on the PC. But it's pretty easy on the Mac too, and once you get it, you're set. So, no big deal. Now, if you want to play the latest games on the platform they're tailored for, or if all your colleagues use PC's and you have to trade powerpoint and excel files with them all day, get a PC.

3) speed
Way I see it, if it's fast enough to do what I want it to do, it's fast enough. I can record several tracks of 24/48 audio and apply a bunch of real-time effects and stay at low latency. I'm happy. If I have to render effects sometimes, no big deal. Sure, the PCs are faster than the g4s, and the g5s are faster than the PCs, but it really just comes down to doing what I need it to do.

4) cost
This is where PCs really shine. Macs and PCs cost about the same when you look at 2 comparable machines, but cheapass <$500 macs don't exist, unless you want to get something a couple years old. Of course, you get what you pay for. More importantly, you can build your own PC. I have a spare hard drive, power supply and DVD drive lying around; I could build a great machine just by buying a mobo and some RAM. Macs, you gotta buy all put together. Of course, for laptops, it's a moot point. You want something solid and reliable. I feel safe recommending the latest powerbooks for that. Just be careful not to block the ventilation for too long on a hot summer day by accident (fux0red my iBook that way). Don't get a Dell or HP laptop -- heard lots of bad stories about them.

I record on a g4/450 tower upgraded to 1.2 ghz. Very happy with it. Roymond records on a powerbook g4 -- you might want to ask him how he likes it.

One thing to plan for when doing laptop recording is to get one with a firewire connection and buy an external hard drive that's 7200 rpm or faster, so you won't have any problems recording to the slow laptop hard drive.

This post brought to you by my boss, who's late for our meeting, and me having nothing to work on.

[HeuristicsInc]

My fiancee's dad works for IBM so we each got an IBM laptop. I like it a lot. I've only had problems once, and that was some nasty timing (live concert on stage)... might have been something weird with the comp "screensaver" sleep mode, which I should probably disable next time I have a concert. In general it's a great machine.
-bill

[Rabid Garfunkel]

I suppose I should fly the flag for my "production" laptop, being a 300MHz G3 Macintosh (the accursed Wallstreet model, no less).

To paraphrase The Graduate, I've got one word for you, Tone...

RAM

[Kamakura]

I scored a pair of Tannoy speakers that are being run by a very crappy, old, consumer amp that I got about 20 years ago. Doesn't sound bad, but seems as though the Tannoys would be drinking the sound better with a better amp. Any thoughts?

I love Tannoys. I worked in a studio that had a pair of Arden's. Huge cabs with 15" dual concentrics. They were designed to be run by Quad amps. Preferably a Quad 405. The result it almost flat, non coloured and excellent.
Failing Quad, I think NAD make some pretty good amps.

[tonetripper]

One thing to plan for when doing laptop recording is to get one with a firewire connection and buy an external hard drive that's 7200 rpm or faster, so you won't have any problems recording to the slow laptop hard drive.

So I am fully aware of the 7200 rpm hard drive. One of the main reasons I didn't go lap top when I bought my pretty powerful PC a year ago, which rocks by the way and rarely have problems with (mostly human error or pushing too hard). I appreciate the advice on the apple.

My other reason for potentially going Apple is to also be able to cross platform between OSs' and programs such as Cubase which I very much like. Although in the film industry almost all post houses are all Pro Tools which just, well, operate way better on a Mac and Final Cut Pro and Photoshop just run way slicker as well.

Cool to hear about the programs. That's been my major beef with the Apples. I have lots of really cheap, really great plug-ins for the PC all thanks to various friends of mine. I'm not a gamer but hoping to use in a professional capacity such as recording location sound, concerts, demo recordings and just portable business stuff. Anyway that's where I am at at this point. Research. I tell you if they came out with a G5 laptop there would never be a question in my mind. The G5 desktop is the bomb!!!!

Been leaning pretty hard to the Apple, but the Centrino's are suppose to be faster and are the only laptops enabled to be outfitted with 7200 rpm hard drives, so no need to get an external one (although I know that it is probably easier on the machine for a number of reasons to have one). I'll check into the IBooks. Thanks C. for the insight. Very informative.

Cheers!!! Big Ears!!!

Oh ya Kamakura I'm gonna check into the NAD amps. Would be suh-weet to have something better matched for these speakers. They've been studio industry standard for as long as I've know about them (which is fairly long), but it's been a long time since I've had any affiliation with them. All I know is they can take it. That makes them rule the most.

..... And Rabid hear you on the Ram. About to update my main recording platform to a Gig. Already with the Hyper Threading the machine smokes. Can't imagine what it'd be like with the Ram. And I am aware that Ram is a major component in the speed of the Macs. Also holds true in PC land.

You guys Rule!!!!!

I love this thread. I never stop sponging info from it.

[jack]

all my recording is completely mac-based. i alternate between my imac (home) and ibook (mobile) and use an mbox/protools setup, which i think is one of the lightest, most portable, pro audio A/D set ups you can get. very happy with it's portability, and it's cross platform (protools). i've talked to dylan a little about the mbox. he doesn't seem to like it so much because of some latency issues i think he was having, but i like it just fine, and i haven't seemed to have any latency issues (they claim zero-latency). i think for me, the biggest drawback by far is the lack of VST plug in support by protools (i think this may have been resolved in the latest version of LE) and the lack of a mac version of fruity loops (dammit!)

but i'm a die hard mac d00d. i've never owned anything else and i've worked both platforms for many years.

[tonetripper]

What about Cubase? I have friends that owned some G4 titaniums and were running Cubase and Reason for music. Just wondering about the plug-in availability for the Cubase in Macs.

Thanks for the insight Jack. You are furthering my cause in moving to Mac for the laptop. Been leaning pretty hard for it's portability as such. The other thing I'm leaning towards is a bigger A to D converter with a mixing platform built in like the FW 1884 made by Tascam. Any thoughts on it's application in Apple land?

[Adam!]

Moved here from another thread

The Landfills are the Buzz Tracker experts around here. I think Buzz is the best tracking-style sequencer/host you can get for zero-dollars (including ProTools Free, which only seems to be good at destroying my PC).

I use retard-simple FruityLoops as a host. FL has a plugin called BuzzEffectsWrapper which lets you use free BuzzMachine plugins and generators (like VSTi's). There are thousands and thousands of plugins here, all being maintained by predominantly open-source zealots. Some I use: BuzzRizer Mastering, the Green Filter, Whitenoise's Fuzzbox, Ryg's AnalogDistortion, Grenick's Gate, and many more. These plugins all fit my budget nicely.

[jeffgowins3]

I'm going to use my Necromancer skills and ressurect this thread!

Some things I've learned over the years:
-Spiking a snare track/drum track/mix around 700 will greatly increase the snare's ability to pull through a thick mix. I've had many songs with a lot of layers and a good mix, just that the snare was a little hard to hear. Doing this to the drum track throws a lot more clarity on the whole thing.
-Try to seperate everything on the spectrum. If you're boosting your bass around 150 then drop your guitars at the same frequency. Simple as it sounds, I went for a few years without knowing this technique.

[the idiot king]

i alternate between my imac (home) and ibook (mobile) and use an mbox/protools setup, which i think is one of the lightest, most portable, pro audio A/D set ups you can get.

it is quite portable, but you'd be amazed at how horrifying it is as an a/d converter when you split the same source into an hd rig and a/b it.

my biggest problem with digi is their fondness for cheaping out on the a/d process. it's not like those are the most integral steps or anything. that and their nigh-micro$oftish hardware monopoly.

that said, i do own pro tools (m-powered, but nonetheless).

as for cubase, it's a great program, but a bit cumbersome to learn and operate. i'm personally a logic guy, and over the last year i've had to use several programs for various courses. the one that i find the best time and time again is always logic; logic 7 pro is quite pricey (i paid about $400 for mine with a MASSIVE student discount), but logic 7 express is much more affordable, and it's not like they skimped out on the program very much. (the main difference is in the amount of included soft synths/plug-ins, surround options, etc) it's sort of the meeting point between logic pro and garageband.

that be my two cents on topics that are probably irrelevant by now.

[the idiot king]

I'm going to use my Necromancer skills and ressurect this thread!

Some things I've learned over the years:
-Spiking a snare track/drum track/mix around 700 will greatly increase the snare's ability to pull through a thick mix. I've had many songs with a lot of layers and a good mix, just that the snare was a little hard to hear. Doing this to the drum track throws a lot more clarity on the whole thing.
-Try to seperate everything on the spectrum. If you're boosting your bass around 150 then drop your guitars at the same frequency. Simple as it sounds, I went for a few years without knowing this technique.

-a good tip for making a snare cut through the mix is to slow the attack of the compressor down a bit (this works well for basically all drums/percussion). the initial crack of the drum will shine through while the resonance is smoothed out.

-also, in addition to spectrum seperation (i refer to it my own head as wrapping, no idea why, but just in case that slips out), a great trick is to eq by octave. to do so, figure out the key of the song. for simplicity's sake, let's say the root note is a.

now, let's say, in theory, that there is a pair of doubled guitars that sound great alone, but slightly muddied and more centered (even after some panning) than you'd like. on the left guitar, try dropping a frequency three or four octaves above the fundamental (220 hz, so try dropping 880 or 1760) by no more than three db. if done properly, you will literally hear the guitars start to shift further in the directions in which you've panned them. it takes some practice, but this simple technique provides an astounding amount of clarity to a mix. it also works well with bass guitar vs. kick drum, bass guitar vs. guitar, etc, etc.