I've been working with MIDI since 1990. I learned the very basics of multi-track recording from owning a four-track cassette recorder in the early '90s. And since 2005, I've been exploring the world of digital audio workstations and software synthesizers.<\/p>\n
In the last three years, my mind would make a connection between how something is done in a studio and how I do it at home.<\/p>\n
I wondered why my recordings never had the same volume as a professional recording. That's when I learned about compressors and limiters.<\/p>\n
When I started recording vocals, I ran into trouble with clipping. That's when I learned that those same compressors and limiters can be applied on a single track, as well as an entire mix. So I had to buy a hardware compressor and figure out where to plug my auxiliary send and return.<\/p>\n
I wondered why my vocals never really "sat" in the mix with the rest of the instruments. That's when I learned equalization allows instruments to reside in "frequency zones" — guitars don't have much business in the bass frequencies, and a bass doesn't have much business in the middle frequencies, although some high end frequencies are helpful.<\/p>\n
I thought the problem with my vocals — aside from the fact I can't sing — was the fact my microphone is pretty cheap. I considered augmenting the mic with something a bit pricier, in the $300 range thereabouts. Instead, I invested in a plug-in designed to process vocals for $60. The plug-in applied EQ, compression, de-essing, and gate in one fell swoop, letting my vocals sit in an equalized mix much better.<\/p>\n
So I spent two weeks re-recording tracks so I could apply the proper equalization to parts.<\/p>\n
Part of my inability to sing is an inability to stay in tune. When I record vocals, I think I'm mostly in tune, untill I play back the recording and discover I miss notes left and right. The problem was I couldn't hear myself. I have headphones connected to one auxiliary send, a compressor to the other. The vocal channel has only one dial for auxiliary send — one side for post-fader, the other for pre-fader. The compressor was already connected to the post-fader send, and headphones were connected to the pre-fader send. I needed the compression not<\/em> to hog up the auxiliary send.<\/p>\n I thought I needed a new mixer, one with two sends, another item in the $300-$500 range. Then I read the manual of my current mixer and discovered an insert I\/O jack, into which I could plug my compressor. So instead, I bought an $8.50 send\/return cord (tip-ring-sleeve jack on one end, two mono jacks on the other) and connected the compressor there, allowing me to use the auxiliary send to hear myself. Hopefully, that's enough to get my singing in line. Probably not.<\/p>\n Just when I think I'm getting a hang of recording in a home studio, a situation pops up that reminds me I still have a long way to go. And every new thing I learn usually means applying that knowledge to some 80 odd songs. It gets tedious.<\/p>\n New, unguided learning experiences may also lead to questional financial decision. Get a new microphone for $300, or get a plug-in for $60? Get a new mixer for $300 to $500, or invest in a $9 cord.<\/p>\n I don't look forward to the day when I get some gear that I can't use because I made the wrong assumption. I already have plenty I don't use.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I've been working with MIDI since 1990. I learned the very basics of multi-track recording from owning a four-track cassette recorder in the early '90s. And since 2005, I've been exploring the world of digital audio workstations and software synthesizers. In the last three years, my mind would make a connection between how something is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-71","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4Bkgj-19","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregbueno.com\/vexvox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregbueno.com\/vexvox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregbueno.com\/vexvox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregbueno.com\/vexvox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregbueno.com\/vexvox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gregbueno.com\/vexvox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregbueno.com\/vexvox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregbueno.com\/vexvox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregbueno.com\/vexvox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}