It has been a very long six weeks. As I have mentioned in prior postings, I have been hard at work producing my band, Tung N' Groove's promotional CD, which I recorded live at a recent gig.
Now, the recording isn't the only thing that has been occupying my waking hours, but I would think that it is likely one of the more exciting endeavors I have been recently involved in.
The last time I wrote an entry about the recording, I was ranting about a critical mistake I had made in the recording process, rendering the bass drum track unusable. In order to save the recording, I employed a technique called sample replacement, essentially replacing all the bass drum hits with pre-recorded samples. It was an awfully long process, since I did it manually, and took me almost 20 hours to complete. In other words, three full work days.
I spent nearly the same amount of time into editing the audio. This can mean a great many things in the audio production world, but for the most part -- in this recording -- it meant stripping out unnecessary audio regions. This usually means background noise, hums, clicks, and undesirable frequencies can be filtered out before they cause a problem. This in effect can clean up the audio you hear in the end result.
Once the heavy lifting was completed, I began mixing the recording. I explained the process in an earlier post, though it's a little more involved that "making every instrument find its' place in the mix". Entire volumes have been written about the subject, and I hate to bore my readers with theory. In layman's terms: "I just turn the knobs until it sounds good to me."
What sound advice. It's like saying the strategy to winning a hockey game is to score more goals than your opponent.
It took some time, but last weekend, I finally managed to have the album mixed. I promptly moved the project into the mastering phase, where I put the finishing touches on the album. It actually took me two attempts, but I think I got it to a point where I can be happy.
So how does it sound? Have a listen for yourself.
Showing posts with label Recording. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Recording. Show all posts
Friday, May 23, 2008
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Damn Murphy and His Laws
Anything that can go wrong, will.
I have been investing 8 to 12 hours per day working on my recording project, and have successfully managed to fix the errors as indicated in the last post. Amidst editing the audio, I uncovered one other major issue.
I am a singing drummer. It was something that I stumbled upon early in my career, and it has made me more employable than many of my peers because of such. Thus, the tracks that I recorded last weekend had me singling while playing drums.
This is the reason I uncovered another major issue. While listening to my vocal track, I discovered there was a lot of bleed from the snare drum into my vocal microphone. I would usually let this slide, however, the transient of my snare drum was much louder than my vocal, and it was coloring the snare track.
My first thought was to EQ the transient out, but this would have left my vocal track incredibly muddy and useless.
Given the time available to me, I decided on drastic action. I overdubbed my background vocals for about half of the songs in my home studio.
The truth of the matter is, that I'm not exactly happy about the situation. But in the end, I should have a product that will meet or exceed my expectations.
I have been investing 8 to 12 hours per day working on my recording project, and have successfully managed to fix the errors as indicated in the last post. Amidst editing the audio, I uncovered one other major issue.
I am a singing drummer. It was something that I stumbled upon early in my career, and it has made me more employable than many of my peers because of such. Thus, the tracks that I recorded last weekend had me singling while playing drums.
This is the reason I uncovered another major issue. While listening to my vocal track, I discovered there was a lot of bleed from the snare drum into my vocal microphone. I would usually let this slide, however, the transient of my snare drum was much louder than my vocal, and it was coloring the snare track.
My first thought was to EQ the transient out, but this would have left my vocal track incredibly muddy and useless.
Given the time available to me, I decided on drastic action. I overdubbed my background vocals for about half of the songs in my home studio.
The truth of the matter is, that I'm not exactly happy about the situation. But in the end, I should have a product that will meet or exceed my expectations.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
The Recording Process (Case Study: Tung N' Groove)
I am halfway into my third week of "semi-retirement", and contrary to popular belief, I am not going stir-crazy. I have been very busy with a number of personal projects -- one in particular I wished to discuss here.
The Problem
One of the bands, I play in, Tung 'N Groove, is going through some growing pains. We want to expand our "sphere of influence" by playing in a few more clubs than we already do. This essentially means we need a press kit.
Part of the press kit includes a CD which demonstrates the material the band plays during a regular performance. In bands I have formerly played in, this was often a cassette tape, recorded from a board mix. The fidelity of board mixes is mediocre at best, and often doesn't capture the full power of the band in a live situation. Being one who has an interest in recording, mixing and producing, I jumped at the chance to record the band at our performance at the Redcliff Hylton last weekend.
This has not been the first time I attempted this. In January, I lugged all my recording gear to the Redcliff Hylton in an attempt to record the band. MA and I spent the entire Saturday afternoon assembling gear, mounting additional microphones, and soldering cables. Hardware limitations would mean that I was limited to recording 8 tracks at a time, so a few compromises had to be made: The drums had to be submixed to stereo, and the vocals also had to be submixed to stereo as well.
When I got the recording home and listened to it, I realized immediately that the limitations of my recording hardware crippled the recording. There was nothing I could do to save the submixed drums. In addition, the submixed vocals were horrid, due to complexities I do not wish to go into here. The answer was of course, that 8 tracks would not be enough. I would have no choice but to expand the number of inputs my DAW can handle.
Lightning Strikes Twice
Thanks to eBay, I scoffed another recording interface, and integrated it into my hardware rack, bringing the number of inputs I could record at one time to 18. I also had to purchase a couple extra microphones, specifically a pair of Studio Projects C4's. I had the hardware, and with Logic Pro, I should have been able to record the band, with enough separation to create a mix which would meet my standards.
Of course, I would have to test it at home first. This was the first mistake I had made the last time I tried to record the band. I set up a new session in Logic Pro, armed 18 tracks and hit record. It worked beautifully. One other hurdle remained: I couldn't exactly take my 20" iMac to the club in order to run the recording software. I needed to bring my laptop. I have Logic Express 7.2 installed on my core duo laptop, but it's limited to recording 12 tracks at a time. GarageBand is limited to recording 8 tracks at a time, plus you can only record at 16-bit depth, so that option was out. I uninstalled and unregistered Mackie's Tracktion 2. I needed to install Logic Pro on the laptop.
Problem number 2: Logic Pro is a huge install -- a 40-gigabyte install (7 DVD-ROMs). My laptop doesn't have that kind of room anymore. I tried to find a way to do a minimal install, but to no avail. I fought with the damn thing for six hours before giving up.
I had one last option: Reaper. Though Reaper is making waves in the PC market, the Mac Version is in the beta stage. It is buggy and unreliable -- even the forums are dotted with a number of Mac users who have suffered kernel panics during critical recording sessions. Given the fact that I didn't want to use beta software in this session -- especially when I had only one shot at this -- I really didn't want to use Reaper. But it became clear I had no choice.
The Set-Up
Last Saturday, MA and I returned to the Hylton to assemble a huge mess of wires, and microphones for that evening's performance. We took a number of inputs directly from the mixer, though the guitar cabinets were miked individually, overhead mics were placed over the drumkit to capture the cymbals, and the Bass guitar signal was split via a DI box, and recorded direct. To capture the 'roar' of the band, we set up a stereo pair of microphones in the middle of the club, pointed at the stage. To prevent tampering, the microphones were suspended from the ceiling, well out of the public's reach. We set our recording levels, and returned to the club that evening to play the gig.
ThePerformance Session
Reaper worked beautifully. The software, hardware, and computer handled recording 18 tracks simultaneously for nearly three hours of audio without skipping a beat. I was pleased, and I could not wait until the next day when I could load the session and listen to the recording.
The Truth onTape Disc
Listening to the recording the next day, would be comparable to a rude awakening. But then I am my own worst critic. I had to come to terms with the fact that we didn't play all that well, largely due to the fact that we haven't gigged in two months. But I knew there would be diamonds in the rough, and out of the thirty-five songs that were recorded, there might be a dozen that could make the cut.
Back Up Early, Back Up Often
Before I began doing any "destructive editing", I burned a backup of the session -- 7 DVD ROMs' worth. Once I had a permanent backup that I could go back to, in the event I messed something up, I went about chopping up the audio into individual songs. It took me nearly two days to extract 12 songs from the recording session.
A Critical Error Discovered
Now that I had 12 of the better songs extracted, I figured I could get to work mixing the audio. Nearly right away I uncovered a major issue with the bass drum track. During the first song, something came loose or moved on my drumkit, and I found an annoying rattle in the track. Even worse, is that this went unnoticed, and was present in every single song. My first inclination was that perhaps the rattle could be removed though careful EQing, but my attempt at this left me with a bass drum track that sounded terrible.
The solution -- which became immediately clear to me, is a technique called sample replacement. In short, this means replacing the recorded audio with programmed electronic copy. Now, if I had the cash, I would have resorted to an automated program such a Drumagog, which would detect the transients of the bass drum and replace with drum samples automatically. Alas, I am unemployed, and that means I would have to program the bass drum track manually -- and this would take hours to complete.
So yesterday, I began the long drawn-out process of replacing my bass drum track with samples. Recording the samples does not take a lot of time -- about as long as it takes to play the song from start to finish. It is in the editing process (ensuring all the samples are lined up, and in sync with the original track) which takes so much time. I would have sooner resorted to using loops, but we did not record to a click -- so that option was also out.
The first song took me 2 hours to program. And every subsequent song has taken me as long. I have spent the entire day today, and half of yesterday, to program some five songs. I expect to invest another twelve hours into fixing the bass drum tracks before I am ready to move on to the next phase.
The Next Step
I am pleased to say that the remaining tracks are in a position where I should be able to work with them. Everything else recorded well enough that I should be able to produce a recording which will meet my expectations.
I will need to listen to each individual track on each song, and listen for clicks, pops, and even wrong notes. If something can be fixed by editing, or even by overdubbing, I may have to consider that option.
I will have to administer plugins to the individual tracks. This includes EQ, compression, and reverb. Applied properly, this allows the individual tracks to "find their place in the mix". This is an exhaustive process which can take days, but the results are well worth the investment.
The next logical step in the recording process is called mixing -- this is where all the instruments are balanced with respect to one another to produce one cohesive sound coming out of your speakers. The mix is then "bounced down" to 2 tracks -- one file of all the instruments, instead of multiple files being played simultaneously. This is often thought of the format that most people consume music, but this isn't exactly true.
The Master
Before audio is distributed to the masses, a mixed file goes through a process called mastering. The mixed file undergoes a little compression, EQing, and other refinements, which puts a "sheen" or "glitter" to the final mix. It also ensures that there aren't any transients that might potentially blow the speakers out of their cabinets. The master is then burned to a disc conveniently called "the Master", which is the recording from which all subsequent copies are duplicated from.
Status
As you can see, there are 400 things that have to happen in order for me to get the band's demo out to club owners, and I am on number 8. If anything exciting happens in my travels between here and there, I expect to make a note of it here.
If you are still reading this, I sincerely hope that you have found this read to be informative and insightful.
The Problem
One of the bands, I play in, Tung 'N Groove, is going through some growing pains. We want to expand our "sphere of influence" by playing in a few more clubs than we already do. This essentially means we need a press kit.
Part of the press kit includes a CD which demonstrates the material the band plays during a regular performance. In bands I have formerly played in, this was often a cassette tape, recorded from a board mix. The fidelity of board mixes is mediocre at best, and often doesn't capture the full power of the band in a live situation. Being one who has an interest in recording, mixing and producing, I jumped at the chance to record the band at our performance at the Redcliff Hylton last weekend.
This has not been the first time I attempted this. In January, I lugged all my recording gear to the Redcliff Hylton in an attempt to record the band. MA and I spent the entire Saturday afternoon assembling gear, mounting additional microphones, and soldering cables. Hardware limitations would mean that I was limited to recording 8 tracks at a time, so a few compromises had to be made: The drums had to be submixed to stereo, and the vocals also had to be submixed to stereo as well.
When I got the recording home and listened to it, I realized immediately that the limitations of my recording hardware crippled the recording. There was nothing I could do to save the submixed drums. In addition, the submixed vocals were horrid, due to complexities I do not wish to go into here. The answer was of course, that 8 tracks would not be enough. I would have no choice but to expand the number of inputs my DAW can handle.
Lightning Strikes Twice
Thanks to eBay, I scoffed another recording interface, and integrated it into my hardware rack, bringing the number of inputs I could record at one time to 18. I also had to purchase a couple extra microphones, specifically a pair of Studio Projects C4's. I had the hardware, and with Logic Pro, I should have been able to record the band, with enough separation to create a mix which would meet my standards.
Of course, I would have to test it at home first. This was the first mistake I had made the last time I tried to record the band. I set up a new session in Logic Pro, armed 18 tracks and hit record. It worked beautifully. One other hurdle remained: I couldn't exactly take my 20" iMac to the club in order to run the recording software. I needed to bring my laptop. I have Logic Express 7.2 installed on my core duo laptop, but it's limited to recording 12 tracks at a time. GarageBand is limited to recording 8 tracks at a time, plus you can only record at 16-bit depth, so that option was out. I uninstalled and unregistered Mackie's Tracktion 2. I needed to install Logic Pro on the laptop.
Problem number 2: Logic Pro is a huge install -- a 40-gigabyte install (7 DVD-ROMs). My laptop doesn't have that kind of room anymore. I tried to find a way to do a minimal install, but to no avail. I fought with the damn thing for six hours before giving up.
I had one last option: Reaper. Though Reaper is making waves in the PC market, the Mac Version is in the beta stage. It is buggy and unreliable -- even the forums are dotted with a number of Mac users who have suffered kernel panics during critical recording sessions. Given the fact that I didn't want to use beta software in this session -- especially when I had only one shot at this -- I really didn't want to use Reaper. But it became clear I had no choice.
The Set-Up
Last Saturday, MA and I returned to the Hylton to assemble a huge mess of wires, and microphones for that evening's performance. We took a number of inputs directly from the mixer, though the guitar cabinets were miked individually, overhead mics were placed over the drumkit to capture the cymbals, and the Bass guitar signal was split via a DI box, and recorded direct. To capture the 'roar' of the band, we set up a stereo pair of microphones in the middle of the club, pointed at the stage. To prevent tampering, the microphones were suspended from the ceiling, well out of the public's reach. We set our recording levels, and returned to the club that evening to play the gig.
The
Reaper worked beautifully. The software, hardware, and computer handled recording 18 tracks simultaneously for nearly three hours of audio without skipping a beat. I was pleased, and I could not wait until the next day when I could load the session and listen to the recording.
The Truth on
Listening to the recording the next day, would be comparable to a rude awakening. But then I am my own worst critic. I had to come to terms with the fact that we didn't play all that well, largely due to the fact that we haven't gigged in two months. But I knew there would be diamonds in the rough, and out of the thirty-five songs that were recorded, there might be a dozen that could make the cut.
Back Up Early, Back Up Often
Before I began doing any "destructive editing", I burned a backup of the session -- 7 DVD ROMs' worth. Once I had a permanent backup that I could go back to, in the event I messed something up, I went about chopping up the audio into individual songs. It took me nearly two days to extract 12 songs from the recording session.
A Critical Error Discovered
Now that I had 12 of the better songs extracted, I figured I could get to work mixing the audio. Nearly right away I uncovered a major issue with the bass drum track. During the first song, something came loose or moved on my drumkit, and I found an annoying rattle in the track. Even worse, is that this went unnoticed, and was present in every single song. My first inclination was that perhaps the rattle could be removed though careful EQing, but my attempt at this left me with a bass drum track that sounded terrible.
The solution -- which became immediately clear to me, is a technique called sample replacement. In short, this means replacing the recorded audio with programmed electronic copy. Now, if I had the cash, I would have resorted to an automated program such a Drumagog, which would detect the transients of the bass drum and replace with drum samples automatically. Alas, I am unemployed, and that means I would have to program the bass drum track manually -- and this would take hours to complete.
So yesterday, I began the long drawn-out process of replacing my bass drum track with samples. Recording the samples does not take a lot of time -- about as long as it takes to play the song from start to finish. It is in the editing process (ensuring all the samples are lined up, and in sync with the original track) which takes so much time. I would have sooner resorted to using loops, but we did not record to a click -- so that option was also out.
The first song took me 2 hours to program. And every subsequent song has taken me as long. I have spent the entire day today, and half of yesterday, to program some five songs. I expect to invest another twelve hours into fixing the bass drum tracks before I am ready to move on to the next phase.
The Next Step
I am pleased to say that the remaining tracks are in a position where I should be able to work with them. Everything else recorded well enough that I should be able to produce a recording which will meet my expectations.
I will need to listen to each individual track on each song, and listen for clicks, pops, and even wrong notes. If something can be fixed by editing, or even by overdubbing, I may have to consider that option.
I will have to administer plugins to the individual tracks. This includes EQ, compression, and reverb. Applied properly, this allows the individual tracks to "find their place in the mix". This is an exhaustive process which can take days, but the results are well worth the investment.
The next logical step in the recording process is called mixing -- this is where all the instruments are balanced with respect to one another to produce one cohesive sound coming out of your speakers. The mix is then "bounced down" to 2 tracks -- one file of all the instruments, instead of multiple files being played simultaneously. This is often thought of the format that most people consume music, but this isn't exactly true.
The Master
Before audio is distributed to the masses, a mixed file goes through a process called mastering. The mixed file undergoes a little compression, EQing, and other refinements, which puts a "sheen" or "glitter" to the final mix. It also ensures that there aren't any transients that might potentially blow the speakers out of their cabinets. The master is then burned to a disc conveniently called "the Master", which is the recording from which all subsequent copies are duplicated from.
Status
As you can see, there are 400 things that have to happen in order for me to get the band's demo out to club owners, and I am on number 8. If anything exciting happens in my travels between here and there, I expect to make a note of it here.
If you are still reading this, I sincerely hope that you have found this read to be informative and insightful.
Monday, January 01, 2007
2007 Musings
So much for my holidays. Tomorrow, it's back to the rat-race, and I don't feel the least bit rejuvenated. The last ten days has been chock-full of family functions, feeding and watering houseguests, and doing much-needed work around the house.Overall, Christmas was pretty good to me, although I didn't get the super-thin 12" MacBook Pro I asked Steve Jobs... er... Santa Claus for, I did get a video game that paid homage to two of my childhood passions: Lego and Star Wars. In addition to some much-needed clothing, I also got the Complete Calvin and Hobbes Box Set, which I have only managed to read one of the three volumes.
I thought for a while that I would take this post to reflect on the 2006 that was, and what I could expect to see in the next year. That project seemed like far too much work, so I'm not going to do that this year. I can sum up 2006 six in one word: Madness. I really bit off more than I could chew, and by the looks of things 2007 isn't going to be any better -- in fact, it looks like it's going to be even busier -- at the very least, until September.
The MacBook has been in the shop for two weeks. It still is suffering hardware issues, though the "random shut-down" problem had been fixed, there are issues with the battery. The computer kept telling me that there was no battery attached to the computer, even if there was. Thus, the battery never took a charge. A laptop that can't operate on battery charge is no more than a really small desktop computer. I started to miss the MacBook so much, that I decided to pull out the derelict iBook to see if it worked -- and if I could diagnose the problem. It started fine and ran flawlessly for about five minutes. Then out of nowhere, the screen went garbled, then turned black. So that means the video card is gone, and that's soldered onto the Logic board. It's almost not worth fixing, unless I can find another logic board for about 25 dollars -- which translates to not very likely.
I haven't gigged in a few weeks, which is, in a sense welcome. The same goes with teaching. By next week, my schedule is going to fall back into the chaos it usually is.
DH has also taken some time off recording his album for the Holiday season. However, that project will be put back into high gear in a couple days. As far as progress goes, we are in the middle of tracking the seventh song, and drum tracks for three songs have been cut. So, by any estimations, I guess we are about 2/3 finished the album. That could be translated into another three months until I can breathe a sigh of relief. I never thought that it would take us this long to record the album.
Don't ask me what resolutions I made for the New Year. I don't make resolutions.
Saturday, April 16, 2005
How Cool is This?
Nine Inch Nails will be releasing their highly-anticipated album With Teeth on May 3, 2005. The new single The Hand That Feeds has already hit the airwaves worldwide. But the coolest news regarding this release was released today.
The Nine Inch Nails anthology has been notorious for releasing albums that have remixed versions of previously recorded material. First, there was Fixed, which featured remixed songs from the EP Broken, and then there was Further Down The Spiral, which included remixed tracks originally featured on the album The Downward Spiral. This does not include all the remixes that were featured as B-sides on the other halos.
I have known for many years that Trent Reznor was a Mac nut, and the majority of his albums have been recorded digitally using Pro Tools on Mac platforms. Having "worshipped" Trent's music for a large portion of my early adulthood, I was always interested in the recording and production process of his masterpiece works. Today, I got my first glimpse into the layers upon layers of raunchy guitars, screeching keyboards, angst-driven vocals, and loops of static.
Today, Trent Reznor made available to the world, the recording session for The Hand That Feeds as a free download via the NIN website. The song has been encoded in Garageband format, so anybody with a current version of Garageband (i.e. Garageband 2) can import the session, and make their own remixes of The Hand That Feeds. How cool is that? To my knowledge, no recording artist has ever done anything like this before.
Without wasting any time, I downloaded the recording session to my computer. I have an older version of Garageband, so I was unsure if the session would even play on my computer. I did get a great number of errors while the session loaded, but I managed to get the file to play. I also got a number of errors due to the lack of available RAM (I would suggest having a minimum of 1 gigabyte of RAM before you attempt at editing the session), but I was nonetheless ecstatic. I can't wait until I can start messing around with the loops and create my own Nine Inch Nails remix.
This has got to be the coolest thing I have seen in the longest time. Bravo, Trent.
Sunday, April 10, 2005
Booked Solid
The next two weeks of my life are going to busy ones. It is going to be exciting, however at the same time, it's going to be rather stressful, as I have no idea how I am going to get enough sleep.
This week I am going into the recording studio to record an album with one of my associates, SK. I have mentioned him a number of times on this blog, as he has been kind enough to give me a few gigs on the odd occasion. I feel privileged that he asked me to record an album with him. Unfortunately, at this time, I have no idea what we are going to do once I get there. I could end up spending four or more nights in the studio recording drum tracks.
I also have rehearsals with two other bands this week. One of them, is Müle Shöe, whom are writing material for our sophomore album. The other band is the Grease band, from months past, as we have been solicited to do a gig for charity. It sounds like I will have about another dozen songs to learn just for that gig. I am also working with another associate of mine who is putting a recital together for her students. We will be having rehearsals every Saturday afternoon for the next two months to prepare our students for their performances. On top of all this, I have two gigs with SK on the weekends.
After all this, one thing comes to my mind: When the hell am I going to do my tax return?
This week I am going into the recording studio to record an album with one of my associates, SK. I have mentioned him a number of times on this blog, as he has been kind enough to give me a few gigs on the odd occasion. I feel privileged that he asked me to record an album with him. Unfortunately, at this time, I have no idea what we are going to do once I get there. I could end up spending four or more nights in the studio recording drum tracks.
I also have rehearsals with two other bands this week. One of them, is Müle Shöe, whom are writing material for our sophomore album. The other band is the Grease band, from months past, as we have been solicited to do a gig for charity. It sounds like I will have about another dozen songs to learn just for that gig. I am also working with another associate of mine who is putting a recital together for her students. We will be having rehearsals every Saturday afternoon for the next two months to prepare our students for their performances. On top of all this, I have two gigs with SK on the weekends.
After all this, one thing comes to my mind: When the hell am I going to do my tax return?
Saturday, March 12, 2005
I Need a New "Desk"
It is likely that I may have to purchase a sub-mixer during my stint in Müle Shöe, so I was doing some searching online, and I found the coolest desk that would do everything I need it to do, and then some. I cannot belive all the features built-into this little model. I could use it live, and I could plug it into my computer for recording. The price tag is pretty steep though.
I might have to consider buying the 1620. It's a little cheaper. I might miss the extra XLR inputs, and the subgroup section. The 1220 model is a lot cheaper, but I think it won't do everything I need it to.
The firewire card sells separately. That's like another $500 bucks on top of the board, but it would be worth the price of admission -- especially having the ability to plug it into my computer.
How many gigs do I have to play before the thing pays for itself? My guess is at least 10 weekends.
I might have to consider buying the 1620. It's a little cheaper. I might miss the extra XLR inputs, and the subgroup section. The 1220 model is a lot cheaper, but I think it won't do everything I need it to.
The firewire card sells separately. That's like another $500 bucks on top of the board, but it would be worth the price of admission -- especially having the ability to plug it into my computer.
How many gigs do I have to play before the thing pays for itself? My guess is at least 10 weekends.
Sunday, January 16, 2005
From the Garage to the Studio
One thing I did not mention about last week's keynote speech at the Macworld Expo, was the release of iLife '05, Apple's software suite that includes upgraded versions of iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, iTunes, and Garageband. Many of the upgraded versions sport some very exciting features, including Garageband, which is growing from a low-end audio production suite to a powerful application.
Apple is borrowing technology from their high-end production suite Logic, and offering it in Garageband. The most impressive feature with the new version is the ability to multitrack record (record up to 9 inputs at one time), music notation and transcription (most audio production suites shy away from notation), and automatic tuning features for less-than-stellar vocals. For these features alone, it might be worth the $99 upgrade fee.
One thing that makes Garageband worth more than it's weight in gold is the bundle of software instruments and effect plug-ins that come with the program. I discovered (accidentally) that Apple allows the ability to use Audio Units, which are plug-ins designed specifically for Logic. Once I discovered this, I knew that Garageband could be expanded well beyond it's limits. Strangely enough, Apple doesn't tell you how to go about installing these extra packages (likely because they want the user to purchase their Jam Packs instead). I had to resort to finding the answer to my query on the web. I tried using the Audio Units provided in my Garageband package, and I was blown away by the sound quality. My tracks sounded sparkling and full of life. I knew I had to have more.
Last night I was having a conversation with a friend of mine who happens to be a very serious recording engineer. He owns his own recording studio and over the years has probably invested well over six figures into his recording equipment arsenal. He also happens to be a big-time Apple nut. We were talking about the latest releases from Apple, when he suggested I visit a site called KVR Audio. What I found was a site dedicated to the distribution of open-source audio plug-ins for all the major audio-production suites, including Pro Tools, Cubase VST, Logic, and Garageband. I downloaded a couple freeware Audio Units to see if they would work in Garageband. After some fiddling (and a little prayer) I managed to install these plug-ins and had them working in Garageband. Needless to say, I was electrified, and impressed by the sound coming out of my speakers.
If you are into computer-assisted audio recording, you have to check out the KVR Audio site. I have placed a weblink to the site on the sidebar. Once there, you will find links to almost any plug-in imaginable and software is available for nearly every suite, as well as any platform you use (PC, Mac, OSX).
Apple is borrowing technology from their high-end production suite Logic, and offering it in Garageband. The most impressive feature with the new version is the ability to multitrack record (record up to 9 inputs at one time), music notation and transcription (most audio production suites shy away from notation), and automatic tuning features for less-than-stellar vocals. For these features alone, it might be worth the $99 upgrade fee.
One thing that makes Garageband worth more than it's weight in gold is the bundle of software instruments and effect plug-ins that come with the program. I discovered (accidentally) that Apple allows the ability to use Audio Units, which are plug-ins designed specifically for Logic. Once I discovered this, I knew that Garageband could be expanded well beyond it's limits. Strangely enough, Apple doesn't tell you how to go about installing these extra packages (likely because they want the user to purchase their Jam Packs instead). I had to resort to finding the answer to my query on the web. I tried using the Audio Units provided in my Garageband package, and I was blown away by the sound quality. My tracks sounded sparkling and full of life. I knew I had to have more.
Last night I was having a conversation with a friend of mine who happens to be a very serious recording engineer. He owns his own recording studio and over the years has probably invested well over six figures into his recording equipment arsenal. He also happens to be a big-time Apple nut. We were talking about the latest releases from Apple, when he suggested I visit a site called KVR Audio. What I found was a site dedicated to the distribution of open-source audio plug-ins for all the major audio-production suites, including Pro Tools, Cubase VST, Logic, and Garageband. I downloaded a couple freeware Audio Units to see if they would work in Garageband. After some fiddling (and a little prayer) I managed to install these plug-ins and had them working in Garageband. Needless to say, I was electrified, and impressed by the sound coming out of my speakers.
If you are into computer-assisted audio recording, you have to check out the KVR Audio site. I have placed a weblink to the site on the sidebar. Once there, you will find links to almost any plug-in imaginable and software is available for nearly every suite, as well as any platform you use (PC, Mac, OSX).
Thursday, December 30, 2004
The Construction of My DAW Has Begun
Over the Christmas break, I found myself playing with a happy little computer app called Garageband. It's a no-frills Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) designed by Apple. I haven't played much with it in the past, as I have no way of plugging any instruments (or my voice) into the computer. I need a breakout box, and one of the cheapest (that's worth purchasing) is Digidesign's MBox. I'd love to have the Digi 002, but it's a little out of my price range. If recording were my business, than I might be able to justify such a purchase.
One thing I found interesting about Garageband was the integration of loops with digital audio. I honestly am not a fan of loops. I don't like writing songs that sound like someone else's composition. On the other hand, I was blown away by the quality of the "software instruments" that Garageband offers. Once I began using the effects processors, then I really got excited.
I downloaded a MIDI file of a song I enjoy, and imported it into Garageband. The idea was so I could get a feel for the software, while not having to worry too much about creative issues such as songwriting. Users of Garageband will know that it doesn't directly support MIDI files. If you use a program such as Dent Du Midi, it will covert your MIDI files into Garageband files. By the way, Dent Du Midi is an indispensable app if you use Garageband. I highly recommend trying it out.
I ended up having a ball playing with Garageband. Sure, it's not as powerful as Pro Tools, Cubase VST, or Logic, but it is well worth its' price ($0). The idea of me having my own recording studio is festering in my head again, and perhaps the MBox is the way to start. I would love to sink my teeth into Apple's Logic software, but the $1300 price tag is a little tough for me to swallow, especially if it isn't generating me any income.
If you have a chance to play with Garageband, I highly suggest you try it out. You don't even need an instrument (or know how to play one) to start making music. Sadly, it might be only available to Mac users.
One thing I found interesting about Garageband was the integration of loops with digital audio. I honestly am not a fan of loops. I don't like writing songs that sound like someone else's composition. On the other hand, I was blown away by the quality of the "software instruments" that Garageband offers. Once I began using the effects processors, then I really got excited.
I downloaded a MIDI file of a song I enjoy, and imported it into Garageband. The idea was so I could get a feel for the software, while not having to worry too much about creative issues such as songwriting. Users of Garageband will know that it doesn't directly support MIDI files. If you use a program such as Dent Du Midi, it will covert your MIDI files into Garageband files. By the way, Dent Du Midi is an indispensable app if you use Garageband. I highly recommend trying it out.
I ended up having a ball playing with Garageband. Sure, it's not as powerful as Pro Tools, Cubase VST, or Logic, but it is well worth its' price ($0). The idea of me having my own recording studio is festering in my head again, and perhaps the MBox is the way to start. I would love to sink my teeth into Apple's Logic software, but the $1300 price tag is a little tough for me to swallow, especially if it isn't generating me any income.
If you have a chance to play with Garageband, I highly suggest you try it out. You don't even need an instrument (or know how to play one) to start making music. Sadly, it might be only available to Mac users.
Saturday, November 27, 2004
Sometimes the Best Solution is to Use What's Available to You
I shouldn't have to explain to you how much I enjoy my new computer. There is one major problem it has (actually all computers fall into this category), which is inferior sound.
I am a self-admitted audiophile. I like my music crisp, clean, and detailed. I on occasion, like it loud. My new iMac has these tiny little speakers built into the display, but they sure don't put out any volume, nor is the fidelity exceptional. Sure, there is lots of treble, but no bass.
So I was considering investing a lot of money into multimedia speakers for my computer. It has a digital output, so I should be able to run my computer using Dolby Digital 5.1. While doing numerous searches on the web, I just couldn't find any products that were going to satisfy my needs. It wasn't a money issue; I was quite prepared to spend a hefty sum for my ear-candy.
There was one other issue that was eating at me. Many of these 5-speaker (or 6-speaker) systems designed for computers use inferior products. Again, I did not want to front the money for a system I would be unhappy with in the future.
Furthermore, in the near future, I want to be able to do digital recording on my new machine. Mixing an album on little satellite speakers is no way to record. Again, I am faced with having to purchase expensive studio monitors for my workstation. The speakers I am specifically referring to (Mackie HR 824s) run about $2000 per pair.
I wanted to listen to my iTunes the way there were supposed to be listened to -- and I could not wait any longer. I managed to find the solution to my problem with items already in my possession.
A few months ago, while frequenting a few of my favorite pawn shops, I found a pair of Bose 201 bookshelf speakers for about $100. They are high-quality speakers, and studio monitors are similarly designed. In recent months, I haven't been using my fancy speakers. So today, I bought some monster cable, put my Bose speakers on my computer desk, and wired everything into an amplifier. Now I am in musical bliss. The sound quality is exceptional; better than any cheap multimedia speaker system could offer.
The next step will be in invest a few bucks into either an MBox or the Digi 002, both manufactured by Digidesign. Then, I will have my happy little recording studio.
I am a self-admitted audiophile. I like my music crisp, clean, and detailed. I on occasion, like it loud. My new iMac has these tiny little speakers built into the display, but they sure don't put out any volume, nor is the fidelity exceptional. Sure, there is lots of treble, but no bass.
So I was considering investing a lot of money into multimedia speakers for my computer. It has a digital output, so I should be able to run my computer using Dolby Digital 5.1. While doing numerous searches on the web, I just couldn't find any products that were going to satisfy my needs. It wasn't a money issue; I was quite prepared to spend a hefty sum for my ear-candy.
There was one other issue that was eating at me. Many of these 5-speaker (or 6-speaker) systems designed for computers use inferior products. Again, I did not want to front the money for a system I would be unhappy with in the future.
Furthermore, in the near future, I want to be able to do digital recording on my new machine. Mixing an album on little satellite speakers is no way to record. Again, I am faced with having to purchase expensive studio monitors for my workstation. The speakers I am specifically referring to (Mackie HR 824s) run about $2000 per pair.
I wanted to listen to my iTunes the way there were supposed to be listened to -- and I could not wait any longer. I managed to find the solution to my problem with items already in my possession.
A few months ago, while frequenting a few of my favorite pawn shops, I found a pair of Bose 201 bookshelf speakers for about $100. They are high-quality speakers, and studio monitors are similarly designed. In recent months, I haven't been using my fancy speakers. So today, I bought some monster cable, put my Bose speakers on my computer desk, and wired everything into an amplifier. Now I am in musical bliss. The sound quality is exceptional; better than any cheap multimedia speaker system could offer.
The next step will be in invest a few bucks into either an MBox or the Digi 002, both manufactured by Digidesign. Then, I will have my happy little recording studio.
Wednesday, October 13, 2004
No Time For Work; More Music!
My Thanksgiving weekend has been an absolute blur. Friday night was spent in a number of different pubs around town, gigging with a few friends and singing Karaoke. This week's karaoke experience was similar to the previous weeks'; I got a lot of compliments and admiration from the drunks. I went a little out of my element for song selection, as I do not like singing the same songs week after week, so I tried three numbers that I have never done before. I warmed up with CCR's Proud Mary, which I totally nailed. For some reason I thought the vocals were much higher (in pitch) than what it was.
For my second song, I decided I would try one of my favorites: April Wine's Tonite is a Wonderful Time -- which I did very well, except for the last verse. There is a nasty key change, and the vocals go way up there. Sure, it's easy for a female to sing, but a male has got to squeeze those cajones really tight to hit those notes. I managed the best I could, but my voice broke a few times. The karaoke DJ said that she'd drop the song down a key the next time I sing the song. That should help considerably.
I decided to be daring for that last song, and I decided to not give a damn about what anybody else thought of me, so I got up and sang the Eagles' I Can't Tell You Why. This is a particularity challenging song, as the vocals are so high, and much of the song is sung in falsetto. There were a few bad notes, but for the most part I was happy with my performance.
When I had finished the song, the whole bar fell asleep. I guess they wanted to hear something upbeat. I know that some of the songs I have chosen got good responses regardless of how well I sung them. Trooper's Raise A Little Hell comes to mind. I sung the bridge of that song horribly, but the patrons could have cared a less. The entire bar were banging their heads, fists clenched in the air (think Beavis and Butthead), singing along.
We did not stay for me to sing any more numbers, I was expected to make an appearance at another pub that evening. But I may have to return to that karaoke bar in the near future; it appears that I am developing a bit of a fan base there. Too bad I am too old for Canadian Idol. Not like I would ever audition for that show anyway. I will have to provide my reasons in some other post. But if you would like some insight as to why, please view my previous post here.
I managed to stuff myself full of turkey with the family on Sunday, and spent much of the evening trying to install important software on my brand new iMac. There is still a lot of software that I will need to transfer, but since my laptop is completely non-functional, I will have to solicit a computer technician to rip my laptop apart and retrieve the information stored on the hard drive. Sadly, the laptop did not have a CD burner, so there was no way I could back up some 30 gigabytes of data.
My Monday wasn't so much of a holiday, as I spent much of the day in the recording studio. A musical acquaintance of mine is writing an album for submission to the big five record labels: BMG, Sony, Universal, EMI and Warner. This happens to be the bass player I helped play a gig with the past weekend. He sent me some demos of the songs on email, and I was pleasantly surprised at the songwriting. The general sound is reminiscent of Default or Nickelback, but there are differences. I felt the songs were quite marketable, so I told him that I'd help him out and cut the drum tracks for him. Monday afternoon I managed to cut three drum tracks. There are apparently many more to do. At the least, I could get performance credit on a CD that might make it in the hands of some very important people.
Last night I was at Grease rehearsal when the unexpected happened. I have now been cast in the play as Johnny Casino. Now I have lines to learn in addition to my hefty musical responsibilities. Looks like I will have to shave my beard off and cut my hair for the part. Important information regardning Grease tickets have been posted below.
Oh, by the way, I have already been asked to play drums for the next musical theatre production: Anne of Green Gables. I have given them a preliminary "yes".
For my second song, I decided I would try one of my favorites: April Wine's Tonite is a Wonderful Time -- which I did very well, except for the last verse. There is a nasty key change, and the vocals go way up there. Sure, it's easy for a female to sing, but a male has got to squeeze those cajones really tight to hit those notes. I managed the best I could, but my voice broke a few times. The karaoke DJ said that she'd drop the song down a key the next time I sing the song. That should help considerably.
I decided to be daring for that last song, and I decided to not give a damn about what anybody else thought of me, so I got up and sang the Eagles' I Can't Tell You Why. This is a particularity challenging song, as the vocals are so high, and much of the song is sung in falsetto. There were a few bad notes, but for the most part I was happy with my performance.
When I had finished the song, the whole bar fell asleep. I guess they wanted to hear something upbeat. I know that some of the songs I have chosen got good responses regardless of how well I sung them. Trooper's Raise A Little Hell comes to mind. I sung the bridge of that song horribly, but the patrons could have cared a less. The entire bar were banging their heads, fists clenched in the air (think Beavis and Butthead), singing along.
We did not stay for me to sing any more numbers, I was expected to make an appearance at another pub that evening. But I may have to return to that karaoke bar in the near future; it appears that I am developing a bit of a fan base there. Too bad I am too old for Canadian Idol. Not like I would ever audition for that show anyway. I will have to provide my reasons in some other post. But if you would like some insight as to why, please view my previous post here.
I managed to stuff myself full of turkey with the family on Sunday, and spent much of the evening trying to install important software on my brand new iMac. There is still a lot of software that I will need to transfer, but since my laptop is completely non-functional, I will have to solicit a computer technician to rip my laptop apart and retrieve the information stored on the hard drive. Sadly, the laptop did not have a CD burner, so there was no way I could back up some 30 gigabytes of data.
My Monday wasn't so much of a holiday, as I spent much of the day in the recording studio. A musical acquaintance of mine is writing an album for submission to the big five record labels: BMG, Sony, Universal, EMI and Warner. This happens to be the bass player I helped play a gig with the past weekend. He sent me some demos of the songs on email, and I was pleasantly surprised at the songwriting. The general sound is reminiscent of Default or Nickelback, but there are differences. I felt the songs were quite marketable, so I told him that I'd help him out and cut the drum tracks for him. Monday afternoon I managed to cut three drum tracks. There are apparently many more to do. At the least, I could get performance credit on a CD that might make it in the hands of some very important people.
Last night I was at Grease rehearsal when the unexpected happened. I have now been cast in the play as Johnny Casino. Now I have lines to learn in addition to my hefty musical responsibilities. Looks like I will have to shave my beard off and cut my hair for the part. Important information regardning Grease tickets have been posted below.
Oh, by the way, I have already been asked to play drums for the next musical theatre production: Anne of Green Gables. I have given them a preliminary "yes".
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
