Music Recording
Under Construction
My Notes
Recording Computer Software
Recording Computer Hardware
Loops (Drums & Instruments)
- Drum Loop Considerations
- Has the file format that you use with your DAW.
- The loops match the BPM (Beats Per Minute) that you need.
- Most sampled loops can be varied +/- 20bpm and this retain its
original sound.
- If you have just the sampled sound (a hi-hat hit etc...) then
you can make your own loops (in your DAW) at any speed (bpm).
- Use a search engine and search for: "Drum Loops"
- File Formats
- AIF - Apple Loop format for Garageband and Logic on Mac OSX.
- WAV - (Acidized). The industry standard for years. Almost All DAW
applications can handle WAV.
- REX2 - For use in Reason, Cubase, Sonar/Project 5 and many more DAW
applications.
- Vendors
Mastering Software
I'm trying to gather information on mastering software.
- Sound Forge & waves plugins
- Sonar Plugins - an attempt to master.
- Classic Master Limiter - plugin in Sonar
- Sonitus effects suite - Sonitus Multiband limiter - Multiband
Dynamics plugin on the Master fader
- master fx chain within sonar however and yes voxengo is a great
recommendation
- Sonar + Voxengo is what I use. My mastering
chain is Crunchessor -> CurveEQ -> Elephant -> Inspector. Sometimes I
insert Pristine Space Light at the start of the chain to add some
ambience. Sometimes I replace Crunchessor with PSP's Vintage Warmer.
- As a beginner setup, I would suggest mastering
within Sonar using a chain of bundled/free plugins. For example:
Compressor/Saturator -> EQ -> Limiter
Where...
"Compressor/Saturator" may be something like Cakewalk's FX-1 Dynamics
Processor, Digitalfishphones Endorphin or Dominion, Kjaerhus Classic
Compressor, etc.
"EQ" may be Cakewalk's Parametric EQ, DSP-FX Parametric EQ, Nyquist EQ,
etc.
"Limiter" may be Kjaerhus Classic Limiter, 4Front W1... just don't use
Cakewalk's FX-1 Limiter.
The Compressor/Saturator and EQ usually have mild settings (because your
mix should sound good *before* mastering). The
Limiter will do most the squashing so be careful with it. You can add
something like Elemental Audio Inspector to see what's going on but use
your ears first.
Once you learn how to use the mastering tools
(and made a few masters yourself), you can download and try demos of the
commercial stuff: Voxengo, PSP, Kjaerhus, Waves, Elemental Audio,
WaveArts, Ozone, TRacks. You'll make a better decision then than what
you would right now
- You can equally use your Waves plugins to master in Sonar ... the
most commonly used method is to mix your project down to a single stereo
file, then create a new project, import the mix and master it ..
- Sonar is actually very good at master - you can do it all
non-destructively which is uber-important.
-
www.izotope.com Izotope Ozone
- George Yohng's W1 Limiter VST:
http://www.yohng.com/w1limit.html - free
- T-Racks and am looking at Wavelab, Samplitude, Soundforge, and iZotope.
- wavelab
- adobe audition
- Soniformer is also outstanding -
- elephant2.
-
www.whitewatermusic.com - one minute free mastering.
- www.bandinabox.com/
- Band-in-a-Boxby PG Music, software that will create a sound track with a
full band. Just enter the chords in the bars (for timing), melody line
if you choose, and your finished.
- www.soundtrek.com -
Jammer Pro by Soundtrek. List price: $199. Sound trek,
Duluth, GA; 800-778-6859. Software that will create a sound track with
a full band.
- Busker 3.0 - Quote from the site "Copy a song from a songbook by
dragging notes, chords and other symbols to staff lines until you have the
same picture as in the songbook. Choose a style and a melody instrument and
play. Computer aided music arranging was never so simple! "
CD Software (Labels, etc...)
Recording Companies
- www.SongwriterDemoService.com - discounts
for SongU.com students.