Category Archives: Studio

Studio

New Gear New News


I’d like to share that Zinc Media recently acquired a live recording console/mixer. The Allen & Heath Qu-16. This unit is capable of mixing 22 channels of audio with high quality onboard processors. As first of it’s kind, it can record up to 18 separate channels of audio direct to a formatted USB hard drive. We also have the option of running it with ProTools HD.


I’m also pleased to announce that the Film that went to festival earlier this month was well received. “The Wisdom To Know The Difference” sold out it’s first showing at the Manhattan Film Festival and is scheduled for a second showing 7/3/14. This film will also be at the San Antonio Film Festival on August 3rd at CityBase Cinema.


On the music side, Bekah Kelso & The Fellas released a live video from a recent performance at 502Bar. The show was 75% unreleased material we are working up and getting ready for the studio later this summer. This one gem is from Bekah’s second release, “Departures”. Enjoy “Say Something”


Thanks for listening!

Damian

www.zincmediapro.com

Song for Smash

This weekend Bekah Kelso was in recording a song for a special cause.

[bandcamp width=350 height=442 track=1938712493 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 tracklist=false]

PAY WHAT YOU LIKE FOR THIS TRACK – ALL PROCEEDS WILL GO TO THE FAMILY OF ASHLYNN SPENCER TO HELP COVER THE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH HER ONGOING CARE. For more information on Transverse Myeletis and Smash’s journey, visit and join www.facebook.com/hugsforsmash   …MORE

 

Set up was simple, AKG 414 for the Acoustic (Martin) and  Pearlman TM-1 for the vocal. Both were running through Universal Audio’s 4110 into UA Apollo. I used a UAD Fatso for monitoring, recording the clean signal at 24-bit 96k. Equalization was minimal. I used a healthy dose of Slate’s VTM on every track.

Magic is in the performance

Magic is in the performance

Check out www.bekahkelso.com for more music.

Thanks for listening!

 

Eyeless Equalization

This is no surprise to experienced audio engineers. Mixing with our ears should be the only method. Like I tell students,”…nobody watches music.” However, with DAWs, it’s difficult to ignore all the visual data that potentially influences one’s mix decisions.This can be especially overwhelming to amateurs in regards to equalization. Solutions range from closing your eyes to mixing in the analog domain. Digital control surfaces offer compromise. Of course making a conscious decision to acknowledge, sift through, utilize pertinent visual data is possible and should be encouraged.

It applies to equalization because of the proportional properties of frequencies. Once you get passed recognizing Low/Mid/Hi and get into frequencies there’s harmonics. Harmonics are multiples of a fundamental frequency and give instruments their timbre. Timbre is why the same note(fundamental frequency) played on a piano sounds different than  on a trumpet, guitar, etc

.Piano EQ for "What I Know"

      1. Piano Without EQ
      2. Piano with EQ

In this example I used four mics to record this live piano at Windmill Valley Recording played by Ricky Hernandez on Bekah Kelso‘s new album Within the Shifting Shade.

I did some fine EQing on the individual tracks  then routed the four tracks to a stereo bus. This is where this equalizer come in.The goal here was to clean up the piano’s midrange to improve clarity. This all happened intuitively while I avoided looking at the EQ while tweaking. I would bump the gain about 4db and sweep left or right after looking at the band’s original position. So I did not set out to mathematically equalize this track. I did the math after I was satisfied with my eq decisions.

I found 645hz (yellow)for the fundamental.  Here’s where the proportional part of frequencies and harmonics are useful and visual data can be helpful. I went to the 213hz (orange) below the fundamental. After cleaning the mids I used 1.23k(green) to tame the “honky” high mids.

 

The Math:

Fundamental 645hz.

645hz divided by 3 gets you 215hz. I landed on 213hz

645hz multiplied by 2 gets you to 1.29khz. I landed on 1.23khz

There are many ways to understand and utilize equalizers. An Equalizer can be a scalpel or a machete.The most important one is listening to real instruments in person, listen to a lot of music and build your sonic vocabulary.

Happy frequency hunting!

M/S Mic’ing for Drums

With a simple kit set up, a simple mic set-up can be the most rewarding come mix time. The purpose here was to have these drums sound like a cohesive unit. The pattern was simple and as you can see so was the kit.

For the remainder of Bekah Kelso‘s new project I decided to go with a M/S set-up on Ryan Kelso’s great sounding Gretsch kit. A Nuemann TLM 193 cardioid(Mid) and a AKG 414 B-XLS in a figure 8(Side) I added Kick(AKG D112), Snare(Earthworks SR 30HC), Tom(Audix D4) for a little more definition.

This is the sum of all tracks. With a touch of EQ and Compression. The MS was decoded using Waves MS Matrix.

      1. Mid Side Ryan

Stay tuned for more music…

Forced Rewire

My current studio set up will get a rethink/rewire. So as it took me a long time to get here, I will take advantage of this opportunity to maximize my set up.
What will get disconnected? 16 channels I/O, 1 patchbay, 10 channels of mic pres, 6 side-chain connections, 4 channels of compression, and lots of monitors.
The biggest challenge will be hiding the cabling.

20120310-113629.jpg
Looking forward to it and the new floors!

Preamp Choice for Acoustic Guitar

Today we’re listening to a few preamps for Acoustic Guitar (Taylor 414 GC). Digi 002 BLA Signature Mod, Universal Audio 4-710d, Universal Audio 4110, and Noetek Series 1E.

Download 16bit/44.1k files (.wav)

Each track is an individual performance of the same 6 bar riff. Levels were matched as close as possible using Waves’ PAZ-Analyzer so there is no post processing.

Signal chain was kept simple to avoid external factors. The Taylor was recorded using it’s Expression System directly in to the mic pres. Then AD was done by DIGI 002 BLA SigMod.

 

 

The Most Transparent(clean) was the 002. The rest have a “heavier” color giving them more weight.
Now, between the Tube and SolidState on the 4-710 there is a tonal change that is noticeable and can help expand the palette helping elements fit in the mix using the same box. The cool thing about this unit is it’s ability to mix both Tube and SS to make perfect blend for your track. The compressor was not engaged.

The 4110 to me, has a more tangible sound and also offers tonal variances by engaging it’s Shape Control Switch
From The Manual:
Position OFF
This position selects the purest signal path, and is called the Modern position; Clean, clear, full bandwidth that is distortion free.
Position 1
This position selects transformer loading, and is called the Vintage position. This setting changes the loading on the mic/line input transformer to provide more of that “iron” sound popular in vintage transformer-coupled preamps. This could be described as warmer and more present, with increased sensitivity to the microphone’s impedance curve; A bit of harmonic coloration enhancing mid- frequency tone and presence, or a more three dimensional character. Higher Gain settings will increase these characteristics.
Position 2
This position is the same as position 1 with the addition of a soft limiting circuit. We call this position Saturate. This setting uses the same transformer loading as Position 1, but also adds additional loading to the first stage preamp, which is perfect for smoothing out transients without clipping. When using this position the input signal is naturally lowered. Experiment with higher Gain settings to achieve greater “saturation” when using this mode.”

The Neotek sounded full and the closest to the 4110 in Position2.
Please download the files above and give a high quality listen.
I’d like to hear from you!

Pro Tools 10 with Complete Toolkit 2

Pro Tools 9.0.3 to Pro Tools 10, MacPro 2.8 GHz Quad-Core with 10GB RAM
Sure I was upset at the announcement of Pro Tools 10. It hadn’t even been a year since the release of PT9. I bit the bullet and upgraded anyway. I can understand some concerns such as compatibility and the nuances that come with a studio’s DAW and workflow until recently were mostly negative. I fearlessly, without backing up, upgraded. To my surprise the upgrade was painless. It was easy like a CS update. All my 3rd party plug-ins had no issues(Waves, Serato, Sony Oxford, Slate Digital VCC, Trigger, Tonelux). All my settings from PT9 were intact.
My previous sessions opened correctly and sounded good. I was pleased to find the Input Monitor button made available. That was only on HD systems before. Latency has been vastly improved. I was using 256 samples H/W Buffer and could not hear any. Once I tracked, I began to edit. I felt right at home with the gain adjustment from the “clip”(previously “region”). Being able to set”handles” for AudioSuite processing is also a time saver. You can now process and crossfade with out having to see that annoying warning, buh-bye. I used to process more area than I needed. Then I would Trim the region/clip back to the intended section and cross fade. Every second counts.

System 5 EQ is a great channel strip.  I’ll usually boost a shelf gradually from 4k up to see how the highs do. The sound was transparent and smooth. Dynamics section is usable but not what I would call “vibey”.  The gate gives Metric Halo’s Channel Strip a run for it’s money.

Behind the scenes Pro Tools just feels faster and leaner. Delay Compensation has been extended by 4X(16,383 samples@ 48k), making CPU intensive plug-ins like de-noising, easier to set up and not worry about hand aligning regions, oops, I mean clips.

Most non- Pro Tool users can probably say,”oh, my DAW has had that for awhile now.” like the Channel Strip and the Clip gain feature. That’s ok. I’ve been using Pro Tools for a long time and as a professional still see it as one of the most reliable platforms for digital recording. But by all means, don’t let me stop you. We will use the best equipment  we have at hand at the time.

Avid just brought PT9 users closer to HD.

Highlights:

Possible Audio Tracks(48k)- 768
Possible Aux Inputs- 512
In-application web browsers for AVID account, support et al.
New import and export features
New Control surface/worksurface features
Storage and dick performance enhanced
Avid Interoperability- AAF, OMF
Change session settings in the Session Set Up window

Want More Specs

Universal Audio 4-710D Review

It’s in my rack now and will not be going anywhere.

The 4-710D blends tube and solid state signals for”tone-blending” 4 channel microphone preamps with 1176-style compression. This unit also has 8 channels of Analog to Digital(A/D) conversion. 4 Channels of Mic Pres. 4 Line Ins. On every mic channel there are insert points that expand routing capabilities. The Inserts can be engaged from the front panel. Visit Universal Audio for specs and more info.

My go to mic pre, lately, has ben the UA 4110. So I am familiar with Universal Audio’s pedigree. My first concern with an all-in-one box was the A/D converters. My current set up is a Black Lion Audio Signature Mod DIGI 002. I recorded bass and vocals into the 4-710 pre and went out ADAT into the BLA 002 and Line out into the BLA converters. Well, there are no bad guys here. The 4-710D’s sound was “punchy”, “more tangible”, “upfront” while the BLA 002 seemed more open on the top end. I could see both getting used for different tasks. My concerns were immediately quelled. I compared the unit with GENEX and Apogee Rosetta 200 converters. The 4-710D sat nicely between the 2 with “punch” and “clarity”. This makes a great front end for any studio, project or professional.

I also ran a couple of recorded tracks through the 4-710D. I normally run track outs of Pro Tools(9) into hardware for that “special” something. In this regard, the 4-710D offers more still. Just running the track through the Tube side gave the track some depth. Being able to blend the Solid State signal in, I was able to “sit” that track in the mix almost immediately.Tip: a little tube saturation goes a long way when you’re stacking tracks. You should of seen the smile on my face when I realized I now had 4 1176-style compressors in my arsenal for mix-down. Listen To Audio Samples

This is an investment that will serve me well into retirement.

It’s not Neve or API, but nothing else is. It is 100% Universal Audio

Thanks for listening

I’m In the Studio

I totally get a kick from some first time “artists” in the studio. The room is excited. Everyone has done their homework. We are in the process of setting up; making sure the environment is at it’s best. Inevitably, someone’s phone will ring and I’ll hear,”… yeah, I’m in the studio.” Big smirk and a nod of approval. Before I remind everyone to turn off their phones, I remind myself I was once in the studio for the first time and remember my synapses having their own rave party as I walked around trying to take it all in. The idea the energy an artist is putting forth will permanently be captured either on magnetic tape(analog) or a 0’s and 1’s (digital) can seem magical yet daunting. Don’t be scared my friends. Here are a few tips to make your studio experience a positive one.

Do your homework. It’s a recording studio not a practice studio. Knowing what needs to be done allows one to better explore other possibilities efficiently and effectively.

Be on time. Sounds simple enough. In most cases, the studio is paying for the engineers time with or without the artist there.

Respect the control room. The engineer’s job to listen and capture is a critical process. While the engineer is recording, listening, editing he/she is focused and trying to get the best possible sound for you. Talking or noise that has nothing to do with the task at hand can go to the lounge area or another room. It’s like getting in front of a camera while the photographer is taking a picture of something else. It’s your time, your money and I’m sure you want the best for that.

No such thing as a stupid question. Most of us are happy to share our knowledge with anyone who asks. If you want to know more about the process you are undergoing, make a list of questions, wait for a break, and fire away. You might be surprised. We might not shut up.

Have a good time. You’re capturing a moment. Make that moment beautiful and you’ll end up with beautiful music. This is easier said than done. Maintaining positive relationship between two people is difficult enough. I’m sure a five piece band can provide a deterrent for polygamy.

The studio can seem like a microscope exposing all the imperfections. One should use that to improve and grow as an artist. What happens in the studio, stays in the studio… until the CD comes out.

Happy New Year and thanks for listening!