Master

I am continuing my obsessive behavior as it relates to music production. I have my new lappy configured and that is what I will be using out in the studio (I use the term studio very loosely) to lay down the track captures.

I figured out how to monitor a track with effects in the mix but still put down a dry take. Using a trick I learned from watching one of Johnny Geib's videos, I used the interface for the 1818VSL to get effects into my headphones while laying down vocals.

The other milestone made today was setting up shares on my network and sending song files back and forth. I can now record with my laptop out in the studio and then move the project to my main production machine. There, I can make use of all the extra goodies I have.

The last sigh of relief came when my Studio One 2 DAW did not crash my laptop due to my not having the third party plugins downloaded. It warns me that they are not there and that is cool yet, the software I have used in the past did not work that way. It just would not work. Again, I have been out of the recording/production gig for a long time. I am so pleased with how software and gear work so well together now. Besides, I plan to use this laptop for tracking and not production. Yes, I can install the third party plugins but most of them only allow two instances. I am going to save the last activations for when I really have an idea of where this whole obsession is heading.

 

When it comes to tracking vocals, getting the best performance from the singer is key. Having an EQ'd send to the headphones with some effects like delay and reverb, go a long way to achieving a good dry capture. I like to add all my effects while in mix down. This set up works very well.

I placed the mic's on the drum kit and will run cables next. Once that is done I will bring the lappy and the 1818VSL out. Then, I am tracking. Digital is so fucking cool. I can take some captures and use them to fine tune the microphone placement on the drums. So much faster than the analog days. This is not a proper studio by any stretch of the imagination.... but shit, I used to build bikes in here too. I already have my eye on some acoustical treatment for the room..... and some room left on my VISA.

The Half-N-Half sessions are coming together and I am laying down vocals. I have done some in the house using the production machine and now will see how things go out in the studio.

So, when I can figure out how to post a song up here I will.


PsychoManifesto

Master

I have been mixing a Half-n-Half song titled "Out of the Bag". I believe it is the first attempt at recording with the Presonus gear and has been very challenging. The captures were not that good with rhythm guitar being the worst and bass guitar a close second. I bought the Slate FG-X compressor plugin which is very sensitive. It brought out the bad in those captures beautifully! So much so I cannot even use this fine plug in the mix.

My digital recording experience in the past was pretty much centered on ADAT's and the old Wave-Pro interfaces. I used a DAW called Sound Forge yet I still relied heavily on using tape machines to get the warmth and sound I wanted.

Although Studio One has a nice selection of native plugins, I needed a set of plugins to warm up the mix so I also picked up the Slate Virtual Tape Machines and the Virtual Console Collection. The latter emulates the old Trident mixing console as one of its settings. Combined they really glued the mix together quite well. The last plugin (for now) that I bought is the Eventide H3000 Factory. I had mentioned in a previous post that many years ago I had sold my beloved Eventide vocal processor. Now, I have it in digital form.... so fucking cool.

In that first take in the sessions with H+H the PA was live and bleeding heavily in the left drum overhead mic. Couple that with me having the mic on the rhythm guitar 180 degrees out. DUMBASS! It took some creative EQ to fix it. I laid down some lead and backing vocals and attempted to blend it in with bleed from the PA. This seems to be working pretty good so far. I am going to lay down some rhythm guitar and accent tracks as well to balance the guitars out.

My little corner of the living room is fast becoming a music production studio. My obsession seems to have no boundaries.

PschoManifesto

Master

I have to apologize.... my OCD behavior has really kicked in with my getting back into the music production world. Almost ten years ago I stopped playing gigs and with that my studio became neglected. At the time ADAT was still a good way to go and I still have my three decks. I also have a collection of real to real recorders in 1/4", 1/2" and 2" formats. Over the years I have sold off most of my processing gear, console, mic's and the like, including my highly coveted Eventide vocal processor.

As my friends on the RTP blog already know, we have an annual music "festival" every year on the Wheeler Ranch to entertain our house bound mother. We call it WheelStock. Over the last four years we have put together a very nice back line at the ranch. A big shout out goes to our friend Tim Fankhouser (Dark Hollow Studio's Medford OR.) for bringing down some monitor gear. and just leaving it there. He contributed some mic's and stands too. Steve donated one of his drum kits, we have two bass rigs and two guitar amps. A full PA system rounds it all out. All in all a decent setup for any one who wants to come jam. When we hold WheelStock, most musicians only have to bring their instruments.

A little over a year ago my long time bud Todd (Bass Guitar) was in a band that needed a drummer. In stepped my brother Steve who is VERY good behind the kit. I met Cliff the songwriter/guitarist and started producing Half-n-Half during rehearsal sessions.

One thing led to another and I found a inexpensive DAW (digital recording hardware/software) that would run well on my Macbook Pro. Mix Pad turned out to be a decent bit of software and was less than a hundred bucks. The limitations came in the form of only being able to record two tracks at a time to my Mac's native sound card. Every mic had to be pre-mixed and bussed down to left and right. We would lay down over dubs for guitar and vocals and hoped for the best in the mix. NOT the optimal setup by any stretch of the imagination. Good news is that today, compared to ten years ago, high quality recording microphones have come down considerably in price.

So began my slow return to audio engineering.

Fast forward to the last trip down to see mom. I had to replace some horn drivers and one 15" speaker in our PA mains. At the music store they had the Presonus 1818VSL on sale.... I could not resist. I did some sessions with Half-n-Half and found Studio One 2 to be very intuitive and easy to use. I could not resist bringing the unit back home with me. My computer workstation is quickly becoming my mastering suite. With the addition of the Mackie MR8/MK2's I can focus on the clarity that is today's digital music production world. My time for sleep has diminished and I am soaking up all I can on recording with this DAW.

My Mix and Master station is gradually coming together. Small changes from my Beer and Black Mackie post but still coming together. All the gear I had used in the past is pretty much sitting right here in front of me. Using one small rack mount unit and my 16 Gig, Quad Core, Windows-7 Pro machine, I can emulate my "old" gear. Gear that takes up most of the space in a large room. I am still trying to wrap my head around this complete and total awesomeness.

Again, I apologize for my lack of posting of late. One cannot build a successful blog without regular posts. I promise to do better.

PsychoManifesto