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Archive for March, 2010
Monday, March 29th, 2010
Another week of twitter activity from @theaudiogeek.
- Pretty happy with my $100 no name tube mic. Very clean, low noise!
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@sonicvalentine I would like Toy Piano samples. Kontakt/esx/structure format?
- Nearly went to an appointment on the wrong day!
- On the other hand, PT, Logic, Cubase, Sonar etc get updated so rarely you have to deal with bugs & broken features for months…
- Getting kind of annoyed that EVERY TIME I open Reaper there’s a new update with new features and preferences that makes it harder to learn.
- Before it gets taken down you need to see the latest Drunk History on Tesla http://trunc.it/6pftw
- New AGZ post: The New Indie – Making A Living Making Music http://cli.gs/RSm45
- I <3 drunk history http://www.youtube.com/user/DrunkHistory#p/u/6/6V_DsL1x1uY
- For bands or managers – Free guide on Tour Management. http://theartistfarm.com/ideas/?page_id=249
- running Autopatcher to get this old XP install shiny again.
- Wavelab for Mac coming soon.
- True story. sd condensers or contact mics didn’t work. This is what doctors use http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doppler_fetal_monitor
- Yesterday my wife was excited she could hear the baby heart beat. I asked what kind of mic was used.
- Another tradeshow and still no sign of FW800 being used for an audio interface.
- The AIR Users Blog has all the details on the Pro Tools Instrument Expansion. http://trunc.it/6lgq2
- at first I was like “what’s up with the rss feeds” Then I remembered it’s Music Messa today and I didn’t read anything yesterday.
- Have you heard the new Home Recording Show episode posted today? http://trunc.it/6meja
- New AGZ post: Pop Filter Shootout http://cli.gs/4Tqd5
- RT @jvaleriote: Gotta love the loudness wars…haha
- It seems the LOUDNESS issue is in effect even when mastering relaxation music.
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Posted in Commentary; Rants and Jokes, Tweetdump | No Comments »
Sunday, March 28th, 2010
What is drum damping?
Damping (or dampening if that’s how you roll) is controlling the decay and overtones of a drum. Damping the drum is NOT a way to deal with a poorly tuned drum. Knowing how to effectively control the sound of the drums through damping is essential for every drummer, producer and recording engineer.
In this article I’ll cover some inexpensive products, some Do-it-yourself options and then some kick drum specific methods. This article is dealing with recording live drums, not damping and muffling for practicing.
Commercial Products
Moongels -These are great inexpensive, reusable jelly pads that stick to the top head of the drum to control the ringing. Super simple to apply. I like these a lot. 2 sets should last you for years. These work best on the top head of a snare or tom and fall off the bottom. MOONGELS
O Rings/ E-Rings - The Evans E-Rings are my favorite method of damping toms. They are thin clear plastic rings that sit on top of the drum head. I love the instant gratification they provide. On snare it’s not always my favorite sound and can get in the way for brush work. These are also inexpensive and should last you a long time unless they get folded or bent. E-RINGS
Do It Yourself options
Gaffer tape or Masking/painter’s tape -NEVER use Duct tape or Electrical tape on drums, it’s just gross. Gaffer (Gaffa), masking tape or painters tape will apply and remove cleanly from the drum. There are a couple techniques for using tape to damp. Try making a loop of gaffer tape sticky side out, stick it about an inch from the rim. With masking or painters tape take a 4 inch strip folded so there is a small ‘handle’ for easy removal. I’ll tend to use tape on the bottom of toms if E-Rings aren’t enough. You can also use tape on cymbals if they’re too ringy/washy.
Reused O-ring made from an old drum head -Next time you change your drum heads cut them into O-Rings. Cut off the outer edge and the center. This costs nothing just some time. Troy made some Zero Rings here.
Cotton Balls – I once heard of putting a few cotton balls inside a tom to very naturally reduce the sustain time of the drum. Sounds like a good trick but I haven’t yet tried it.
Kick Drum Specifics
Pre-damped heads – There are a wide variety of drum heads available with damping built-in. One of the most common is the Evans EMAD 2 which is a normal drum head with a plastic ring and foam damping insert. I really like the sound of these heads. Aquarian and Remo also have nice pre-damped heads.
Inside the kick – From pillows to more advanced systems, there are a lot of options inside the kick drum. IMO all kick drums should have some kind of damping to sound good. You can take a blanket, fold it and place it inside so its just touching the batter head. Place something heavy like a sandbag or cement block on top so it doesn’t slide away during the performance. I’ve read that some people will partially fill their kick with shredded newspaper but that seems really silly to me. A chunk of acoustic foam will work nicely as well.
That’s about all I’ve got to say on this topic. Hope it’s been helpful, let me know if you have some favorite methods not covered here.
Posted in Gear, Tutorial | 3 Comments »
Friday, March 26th, 2010
CIRAA (Canadian Independent Recording Artist Association) has a series of music industry focused discussions (podcasts) called The New Indie.
The New Indie, CIRAA’s flagship educational initiative, is an in-depth audio series featuring interviews with music industry experts discussing the new realities facing today’s independent recording artists. The New Indie was created to help artists navigate this music industry paradigm shift.
Topics:
Money (getting funding for your music)
Promo (coming April 5)
Live (coming May 3)
Labels (features Bob Lefsetz)
Management
Publishing
These are definitely worth checking out if you’re a musician, manager, or even producer as these topics regularly come up (Canadian or not). Music Industry business may not be fun to you but take this opportunity for some free education anyway.
Another great resource from the CIRAA website is the LINKS PAGE which leads you to more information than you can handle.
Posted in Commentary; Rants and Jokes, Interview, Music | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010
Last year JJ Blair posted a shootout of 5 pop filters over on the PSW Acid Test forum. The topic came up in the latest HRS episode, I thought it was interesting as it’s one of those things you don’t really think about. You likely use a pop filter for vocals as a rule without thinking about the effect on the sound. There is a subtle difference in coloration with each one. Download the file to hear for yourself below.
This is a listening test. I used 4 commercial pop filters, and Terry’s foam method. This is a blind listening test for the first number of days. All you need to know is that the first sample of my terrible singing is me, a Manley Gold, a Vac Rac pre, and no filter. The file is 44.1/16 aiff.
The filters used were the Pauly, the Pete’s Place, the Steadman (round one) and the Popper Stopper.
Answers
ɹǝʌoɔ ɯɐoɟ (9#
ʎןnɐd ǝɥʇ (5#
ǝɔɐןd s,ǝʇǝd (4#
ɹǝddoʇs ɹǝddod (3#
uɐɯpɐǝʇs (2#
ɹǝʇןıɟ ou (1#
I for one will not stop using a pop filter (I have far better things to do than edit out pops from vocals) but I’m more aware than ever that this choice affects the sound in a negative way.
What do you guys like for pop filters?
Posted in Accessories, Gear, Microphones, Recording, Shootout, Techniques | 3 Comments »
Monday, March 22nd, 2010
Sorry about the lack of content this week (even this post is late!). I’ve selfishly spent all my free time and energy on Dragon Age. Here’s what’s been going on with me on Twitter.
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@gmgranka LOL me too. The last week was wasted. [in response to:
Shit, I've got to write an article for
@theaudiogeek. Man, this month flew by.]
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SHOUT YOUR SUPPORT FOR DYNAMIC RANGE DAY! #DYNAMICRANGEDAY
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I got a very cheap multi-pattern tube mic today. no name on it, I know nothing about it other than its passing sound clearly.
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@RandyCoppinger the mic has pattern switches but so does the power supply. I also have 4 extra tubes to try out
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8 hours of Sitar is my limit.
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My coke tastes like poison but I’m SO THIRSTY!
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Ryan’s having some tech difficulties tonight but we’re going to record a podcast no matter what.
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Posted in Tweetdump | No Comments »
Monday, March 15th, 2010
Tweetdump time again. A week worth of Twitter activity from @theaudiogeek.
theaudiogeek
- New AGZ post: WARNING!! Using Pro Tools 8.0.3 could be dangerous to your health! http://cli.gs/aMDA6
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listening to UpCDownCLeftCRightCABC+Start
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@SlauBeSharp Royer SF24V Stereo Tube Ribbon mic. You know you want one.
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FFFFFFUUUUUUU Open office has crashed 5 times in under 5 minutes. So what’s the alternative to the alternative?
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I dig Autotune Evo but that latency sucks. Remember to nudge the track back by 1390 samples for inserts and 10 samples for Audiosuite.
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@monkeypusher69 I would check your DAW of choice to see if it compensates correctly.
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fill a bowl with mashed potatoes, chicken, corn and gravy. Call it awesome.
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I think you might be – RT
@nickmeade: Am I am an audio geek for thinking my #GDC pass is too loud???
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Can this day get any better?
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Last night I found a full bottle of Tanqueray in my fridge that I don’t remember buying. Win?
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Doing some backend website changes with the hosting company, expect catastrophe.
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New No-Brainer deal from AudioMIDI
http://trunc.it/63s7r never heard of these plugs before. 2 for $20 worth a look.
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This bus driver talks like Mars Attacks!
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@chuck_russom Can you post a list of resources for field recording/sound design like you mentioned in the lecture?
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Editing the latest Home Recording Show episode.
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Gonna have to get Applecare for my Macbook Pro soon. Anyone know where to get a good deal on that?
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Posted in Commentary; Rants and Jokes, Site News, Tweetdump | No Comments »
