Mastering is still an afterthought for many musicians. It’s a critical part to the recording process yet most musicians think they can do it themselves or worse, skip it altogether. Inside Audio Mastering you’ll find lots of information about this mysterious process.
An engineer told me many years ago that if you can recognize the note of a certain frequency then you'll be able to EQ your mixes much faster and with more ease. So if you are mixing a track and hear that there's a hump in the low end brought on by the bass playing a C and you know that this particular C is around 13oHZ (it's actually 131HZ) then you can reach for the low band EQ and cut that frequency. Most engineers will boost the low band at any frequency and start to sweep the band until they find the offending tone then they'll cut it. Don't you think it would be much more efficient to know the note and frequency through ear training so all you have to do is reach for the frequency and cut it? No more sweeping needed. Just know the note, relate that note to the frequency and make your adjustment. This was eye opening to me! Ear opening actually, but you get my point.
Below is a chart that shows the note to frequency relationships as well as the frequency range for the most popular wester musical instrument. [Click the chart to see a larger version]
Great Production Tips from the Universal Audio web site. Having a boatload of UA plugins myself I should review this page more often.
Thunderbolt Explained — What Does it Mean For Your Studio?
Posted by Craig Anderton on October 18, 2012 3:20:58 PM PDTIntel’s new high-speed serial protocol provides ultra-fast data transfers for audio and video data streams. Read on to learn more about this groundbreaking technology and the potential it holds for studio workflow improvements, data transfer, and more.
Ready, Set, Mix! Tips for Prepping Your Mixing Session
Posted by Bobby Owsinski on July 10, 2012 11:45:30 AM PDTIt’s time to mix, so let’s start to move some faders! Well, maybe not right away. If we really want a mix to go quickly and smoothly, there’s some preparation that needs to be done beforehand. Here's a look at the technical prep, session prep, and personal prep needed before diving into your latest mixing session.
Instrument Tuning Tips for Better Recordings
Posted by Daniel Keller on May 18, 2012 3:53:08 PM PDTWhile you’ve been working hard and paying attention to the songs, the parts, the sounds, and all the other big-picture stuff, maybe something’s just ever so slightly out of tune. Tuning is one of the little things that can end up making a huge difference in the final quality of your recordings, so here are some final things to listen for before you start your first take.
I'm a member of a few music production groups on LinkedIn and found that the information being shared over there is really, really good. The title of this article came from a discussion happening in the Small Recording Studio Network. It's a group of highly passionate professional sharing their experiences with recording gear and techniques. This discussion was started by Songwriter and Producer, Mark Moore who was was smart enough to add a poll.
As you can clearly see most production work is being done in-the-box.
As I mentioned the information being shared on LinkedIn is really good. So good that I found this gem of a technique from Producer/Engineer/Mixer, Robert L. Smith.
Multiple de-essers set minimally at specific frequencies, as opposed to one de-esser really digging in. Found this to be the best method. Sometimes this could be up to 5 different de-essers. Some of those new 'bright' microphones can be kind of harsh... Robert L. Smith.
I've never heard nor seen this done before but it makes perfect sense and I'm very excited to try out. If this sounds like something you'd like to contribute to please join us over in the Small Recording Studio Network on LinkedIn or leave a comment below.
On March 15th CrazyEye Music Services mastering client, The Ross Sea Party had their song "Look Out" featured on ABC's hit show, Private Practice.
This is huge for the LA based group of "five friends who wanted to transcend the disconnected and nonsensical nature of life in the city to create something consequential, the band embarked with hollow-body guitars, well-tuned drums, and a glockenspiel."
CrazyEye mastering client, Blackwater Jukebox gets #4 on Berkeley Place Blog for Top 10 Indie EP and Singles for 2011 for the EP Banjos and Breakbeats.
I've done many projects with Geordie McElroy, the leader (and sole member for that matter) for Blackwater Jukebox, but this one was our first together. His style is very unique and extremely interesting. He once told me "It's like electro/funk/banjo mixed with breakbeats", but I think this description from his site sums it up nicely...
"Imagine the sound of Pete Seeger and the RZA in a switchblade fight in the catacombs under a decaying medina."
Yup, that's about right. If you'd like to hear more of Blackwater Jukebox you can head over to his Bandcamp page and listen to Banjos and Breakbeats as well as the Eastside Girl single and the Moonshiner EP. If you're into new music - like really new - both are worth a listen.
By the way, how great is the Banjos and Breakbeats cover art!? How does it relate to the title of the EP? Heck, I don't know. That's something you'll have to ask Geordie.
Show Dates:
If you're in LA you can catch him twice through the end of January. Once on Dec 30 at Lot 1 Cafe and again on Jan 28 at Silverlake Lounge.
I mastered Facts on Files upcoming album back in October with Joseph White (vocals, bass). This was a really fun project to work on. Not only because Joseph is one of the nicest artists out there, but also because the material is exactly as described by the author of the article...
"The trio crafts songs that modernize 60s garage rock and 1970s New York punk, putting a spin on pop structure that draws comparisons to Talking Heads, Gang of Four and The Cars, with hints of Suicide and a synth-free Devo."
This record is really going to make some noise when it's released in March 2012 so keep your ears open for it.
You can read the full article at FilterMagazine.com - Discover The Undiscovered: Facts On File.
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