Ask the Audio Engineer/Producer

[cmb737]

From getting your own project studio off the ground to late night studio stories. ProTools or Logic? What really happens...

 

[The_Edge89]

What's a fairly cheap setup for home-recording with your PC?

 

[cmb737]

Depending on your needs and what your goals are I would recommend the following (keep in mind this is without any idea of your knowledge, PC system, or budget)

PreSonus Firebox as a Firewire Audio Interface, using Cakewalk. An external firewire drive is best, a good brand (Glyph if you can afford it...NEVER USE YOUR INTERNAL DRIVE), and near fields are too dependant on your room size. For this budget, you aren't gonna get much of a preamp, but if you are doing a lot of electronic stuff it won't matter.

That is a real basic, but pretty good start.

If you have the budget, I would go with a Digidesign MBox factory bundle instead however. I am a huge ProTools user and I think its ease of use and pro capabilities are unmatched. The MBox gets you in for around $500.00. I run a Digi 002 Rack and I love it.

If you decide to go with ProTools, deal with Sweetwater as they are the largest retailer of ProTools systems and provide great customer support. Digidesign is terrible at support. Not sure what they do if you are an international customer. The exchange rate might be good or bad...not sure.

A good starting mic is any of the KSM 32 from Shure. This is a good condenser that is very versatile. The KSM 44 has more features, but is more expensive. Get some Shure SM57's too. These are the catch all mic. Spend a bit more money on the front end. It doesn't matter what your computer can do if the audio source sounds like crap.

 

[melon]

ProTools is nice, but every computer I've ever used with it seems to be exceptionally fragile. One changed setting, even outside ProTools and nothing to do with it, can make it crash completely and never run again. Someone changed the background of the desktop once and that did it.

But yeah...I know someone with a home studio out in LA. Very cool, once you can get it stable.

Melon

 

[cmb737]

ProTools 6 is very stable. Easily as stable as any other DAW software.

The problem is Windows XP is not that efficient an OS. Digidesign recommends not using ProTools in conjunction with Athalon processors. Most try and run DAW software with WAY too little RAM as well. You need at least a GIG if not more.

Apple is the best option for any creative software.

 

[melon]

Apple is the best option for any creative software.

Yes, but this was an Apple that I was having problems with.

Melon

 

[cmb737]

That sucks, I have a feeling it is most likely related to the buffer settings and his overall memory.

 

[hiphop]

Why never use the internal drive? Its faster than an external one and therefore better for audio (latency time, resources etc.) lots of professional studios use internal drives as well as external ones.

Also, have you heard of the RME interfaces? I think their A/D converters are great, compared to the small Digidesign interfaces.

Would you really recommend Shure SM57 (or 58 for that matter) for recording studio vocals? I tend to use it for live vocals or for guitar amplifiers in the studio (since its dynamic), whereas I would definitely recommend a condensator mic for studio vocals and most acoustic instruments.

 

[cmb737]

The comment about an internal drive was meant for a budget PC recording setup. He probably doesn't have a very high grade computer, with an even lower grade hard drive that may or may not be very reliable. The point of buying an external one (or a second internal one) is to have the CPU running the computer off of one and streaming audio to/from another drive. Not essential, but highly recommended.

Of course I would never recommend 57's for vocals, unless they are being used for an effect. I mentioned the KSM mic for vocals...57's for pretty much anything else. They work well on drums, guitar cabs, rooms, hell there are a lot of records made mostly on 57's. But for vocals/kickdrum/strings/horns...got with a large diaphragm condenser.

RME are good, but not a very budget item. If given an budget I would recommend a much higher converter like an Apogee or something like that, as well as a pro level pre amp.

 

[Se7en]

how long have you been recording?

what % of your income does it account for, if any?

what genres do you work with most frequently?

 

[unosdostres14]

Is Samplitude the best program for home multi-track recording?

 

[trevster2k]

Do you have a nickname? or is it just Colin the audio engineer.

 

[cmb737]

how long have you been recording?

what % of your income does it account for, if any?

what genres do you work with most frequently?

Doing it professionally for 3 years, it is 100% of my income, and I work with a lot of rock, country, and contemporary christian artists. Mostly due to the fact that I started in Nashville and that is the majority of what is done there, hence all my connections/reputation. Currently commuting a fair amount and in the process of starting a production company in New Mexico, a highly under-rated market the southwest.

Is Samplitude the best program for home multi-track recording?

This question is way to open ended. What are your needs, what kind of stuff are you recording in your home, what is your experience/knowledge level, what kind of OS are you running...etc. etc.

Do you have a nickname? or is it just Colin the audio engineer.

Usually people refer to me by, in sequence, my first THEN my last name. Although I have been called Eddie once or twice, but that was in college. Everyone said I look like an Eddie. I would like a nickname like Flood though...sounds cool.

Perhaps a synonym...outpouring, glut, inundation, deluge...

 

[trevster2k]

I was hoping you would be K-dog or Slider or Zengineer.

 

[cmb737]

I was hoping you would be K-dog or Slider or Zengineer.

Maverick or Merlin...maybe Iceman.

 

[Se7en]

Of course I would never recommend 57's for vocals, unless they are being used for an effect.

vertigo, as well as various other u2 songs, have been recorded by bono with a hand-held 87 in the control room. sometimes it's the performance that really counts.

the real question on everyone's mind -

large or small diaphragm condensers for drum oh's?

 

[cmb737]

vertigo, as well as various other u2 songs, have been recorded by bono with a hand-held 87 in the control room. sometimes it's the performance that really counts.

the real question on everyone's mind -

large or small diaphragm condensers for drum oh's?

Yeah, I have seen a lot of Bono with a 57 in the control room, but I would wager he is singing scratch vocal tracks most of the time. I would have a hard time believing he does his vocals unisolated with a 57. They just sound too good...maybe I am wrong...but I don't think so. Maybe backing tracks...

Large or small...really depends on the actual mic. There are a lot of people that use one or the other exclusively. I prefer small diaphragm (KM184, AT4051) as I find the off axis repsonse is better and I don't get as much phasing. There are definitely believers in large condensers as well. I would argue that the difference falls more along how you actually use your drum overheads. Mine are cymbal mics, typically. Many use them for whole kit mics.

I personally like to try sometimes to use the least amount of mics as I can...then I will go for a stereo overhead or some large diaphragm condensors. Really depends on the sound you are going for. Room mic's are really underrated when it comes to mic-ing drums.

Nashville tends to mic (and sometimes double mic) every single drum. You know, top and bottom snare, top and bottom tom..with triggers...blah...I prefer the British approach. More Ringo star for me...including the Lucky Strikes on the snare head.

 

[Se7en]

Room mic's are really underrated when it comes to mic-ing drums.

Nashville tends to mic (and sometimes double mic) every single drum. You know, top and bottom snare, top and bottom tom..with triggers...blah...I prefer the British approach.

i'll take a good roomy drum kit anyday. although i always mic the toms up...there is just something about that thudmp of a 421. i love it.

 

[hiphop]

Yeah, I have seen a lot of Bono with a 57 in the control room, but I would wager he is singing scratch vocal tracks most of the time. I would have a hard time believing he does his vocals unisolated with a 57. They just sound too good...maybe I am wrong...but I don't think so. Maybe backing tracks...

Large or small...really depends on the actual mic. There are a lot of people that use one or the other exclusively. I prefer small diaphragm (KM184, AT4051)

Agreed. The 57 story - in his hand!? - no way.

KM184 is a pretty good mic. Interesting that you prefer small diaphragms. For vocals, I tend to use stuff like U87 or U89 if possible. Don´t like the AKG 414, some prefer it, but I think it sounds too neutral.

Drum techniques.. yeah. KM 184 or the 4051 are good for overheads. I don´t like much room on the drums (depending on the quality of the room and the engineer, but..) so I´m not really a fan of 57s for snare&toms.. sure enough you can use them, but when I produce I like to have kinda "clean" single tracks. I´m more into sampled drums anyway. Create your own kick out of a mix of three! sure that goes more for dance, electro, etc. than for rock. In an acoustic drum environment, D112 are widely used for recording the kick.

As to the Ringo Starr approach: I´ll bite and say that a wellbalanced acoustic drum recording needs at least six microphones. You agree or can you make it with four (kick, snare, overheads...what about the toms then?)

 

[Se7en]

Yeah, I have seen a lot of Bono with a 57 in the control room, but I would wager he is singing scratch vocal tracks most of the time. I would have a hard time believing he does his vocals unisolated with a 57. They just sound too good...maybe I am wrong...but I don't think so. Maybe backing tracks...

to clarify, i read he used an SM58 for most of HTDAAB, not a 57. i'd also like to mention that i think the pre-amp and eq curve ultimately have more to do with how the sound is shaped than the microphone. i'd take a 58 into an avalon or api anyday over a u87 into a mackie.

anyway, i'll try and dig up where i heard this.

 

[cmb737]

Agreed. The 57 story - in his hand!? - no way.

KM184 is a pretty good mic. Interesting that you prefer small diaphragms. For vocals, I tend to use stuff like U87 or U89 if possible. Don´t like the AKG 414, some prefer it, but I think it sounds too neutral.

Drum techniques.. yeah. KM 184 or the 4051 are good for overheads. I don´t like much room on the drums (depending on the quality of the room and the engineer, but..) so I´m not really a fan of 57s for snare&toms.. sure enough you can use them, but when I produce I like to have kinda "clean" single tracks. I´m more into sampled drums anyway. Create your own kick out of a mix of three! sure that goes more for dance, electro, etc. than for rock. In an acoustic drum environment, D112 are widely used for recording the kick.

As to the Ringo Starr approach: I´ll bite and say that a wellbalanced acoustic drum recording needs at least six microphones. You agree or can you make it with four (kick, snare, overheads...what about the toms then?)

Yeah, whenever you are going with the "less is more" technique to drum micing I think you are going for an effect or a particular sound. A older, British sound. Toms were captured through the overheads, but Ringo uses his toms a lot less than a lot of modern drummers (our Mr Mullen for example).

As for the KM 184, I woudn't use that on vocals, unless it was a choral thing and I was using it for high rooms or something like that. I love the 184 on accoustic guitar though...on omni. Weird, but cool sounding. No proximity.

U87 to me is such a cliche mic these days. Everyone has one, but no one really uses them in real pro studios I have worked in in Nashville on vox. These are the drum overheads, or the piano pair, or a second kick mic. They are a brilliant all purpose mic. The 57 of the large diaphragm condenser world.

You mentioned the AKG, yes..that is a mic that is a bit overrated too in my mind (fab on horns though).

Have you tried any of the higher Audiotechnica mics? I like the AT 4050. I know a lot of artists that use this mic, but when the press shots are done they throw up a Telefunken or something like that. Pretty funny actually. It is a real popular mic line in the hip hop/rap world as well.

C12 is my first choice for vocals, but it depends on the singer. Shure SM7 is also kind of interesting...lots of these used too. It is really taste and the singer that matter most.

 

[cmb737]

to clarify, i read he used an SM58 for most of HTDAAB, not a 57. i'd also like to mention that i think the pre-amp and eq curve ultimately have more to do with how the sound is shaped than the microphone. i'd take a 58 into an avalon or api anyday over a u87 into a mackie.

anyway, i'll try and dig up where i heard this.

Man, that would really be cool to find out. I heard that he does a lot of vocals in the control booth without cans, but with a 58? My word, there must be some great engineering going on there. If I remember right the 57 and 58 are basically the same mic just with a different polar pattern. I heard a story once about an engineer that couldn't find a hammer for something, so he used a 57...and then finished the session with it on a guitar amp.

Of course, the vocal chain is as important as the mic, but no matter what you are using as a channel path (api or mackie) there is only so much that you are going to get with a 58. I personally will take an above average mic and an above average pre rather than an either/or of great mic or great pre. As long as Mackie isn't considered above average!

C12 with API 512...

 

[Se7en]

It is a real popular mic line in the hip hop/rap world as well.

this brings up an interesting question - is there a reasonable hip-hop scene in the southwest?

after graduation i will be moving to new york to hopefully get some more experience in a real studio before relocating to a smaller market and running my own. at least for now that's the long term goal.

i'm currently interning at a local studio in harrisburg and 70-80% of its business comes from the local hip-hop scene. these guys come in and spend TONS of cash. hell, one group is paying the head engineer to edit out all of the cusses from a double mix tape (30-40 songs) at $40 an hour! hip-hop is easy money for the studio and since i've got a decent amount of experience with it now, it would be nice to tap into that sort of scene where ever i end up.

to bring this post full circle - i drove across the country in december with 3 of my college buddies and i absolutely fell in love with the american southwest. arizona and southern california are just stunning! unfortunately we missed new mexico (entered at sundown and drove straight through to arizona). so anyway, it is definitely an area i wouldn't mind ending up in.

so - what's the hip hop scene like in the SW?

 

[cmb737]

I am not that plugged into the scene yet as I just moved here in December. I will, however, tell you that the southwest is a unrealized hotbed of talent and artists. In New Mexico alone, there are hundreds of bands, and only 2 or 3 pro level studios. That being said, everybody with an MBox thinks they are a producer (and that is even more common in the hiphop world) but there most certainly is opportunity for do-it-yourselfers. I became disillusioned with the Nashville scene and realized that I was working for pennies when if I spent the same amount of time working for myself that I could probably do better and be happier.

Music is a terrible and wonderful gig.

There is an extensive electronic scene here, as well as a lot of regional southwest only stuff. New Mexico happens to be one of the fastest growing markets for film and that in turn leads to spin off work for us audio professionals.

I am partial to New Mexico over Arizona, much prettier, much more cultural, much less crowded and I lived in San Diego for 10 years so I know what goes on there.

We would live in San Diego in a second, but you need to sell your kidneys to be able to afford a home there. It is just not reasonable, and not worth the lifestyle sacrifices that you are forced to make. I can buy a $39 plane ticket when I miss the beach.

Check out NM. Land of Enchantment.

 

[hiphop]

Have you tried any of the higher Audiotechnica mics?

Could be, in some other studios, can ´t remember, but might give em a shot sometime..

Have you tried the Schoeps microphones for acoustic guitar/ piano? CMC6 with MK4 are my favorites. Totally fucking brilliant microphones. Did a fine Martin acoustic guitar with 2 of them for a blues recording. Just had a little of compression, and send the signal thru a Lexicon 300.. man the sound was RINGING in my ears! One of those wow experiences. That said, the guitar itself was special too.

Last thing I used my 57 for was... for recording a Cello. True dat! lol

 

[cmb737]

I was gonna say...probably the best part of that whole combination was the Martin...almost a shame to make 1's and 0's of it.

 

[Se7en]

I've been told that in the latest edition of Audio Media magazine there is an article about the making of HTDAAB and that the vocal path is described as follows: SM58->Neve 1081->Teletronix LA-2A

I'm going to try and get my hands on the magazine if I can. As I suspected, the rest of the signal chain is to die for.

 

[Macfistowannabe]

Do you have any of your work on mp3 or any other filetype?

 

[cmb737]

Wow..two surprises there..the 58 and a heavy compressor to tape. I could see it on some songs..yeah...but would LOVE to see the article or just about anything else on U2's studio techniques. Good work Se7en.

 

[cmb737]

Do you have any of your work on mp3 or any other filetype?

Well, technically yes, but most of it is copywritten by artists under contract, so I wouldn't feel right about distribuiting it on here.