Your best home recording tips/advice/wisdom...

[KevWind]

There has already been a ton of solid advice . So I will only add some general thoughts. And some personal experiences.

On this forum we have the full gamut of experience and people using the full range of types and price range of equipment. From simple wish to archive using something like a Zoom to working professionals in pro studios and everything in between. With just that many different perspectives and budget abilities.

As far as the beginner is concerned one good tip is first decide what your actual current goal is.
I would venture that there is at least one major distinction in goals.

#1 Simple Archival. ( looking only have a reproducible record of your music) and/or for the more basic publishing, like You Tube, Sound Cloud etc. In which case a simple self contained recording unit may well be adequate.

#2 Looking towards self recording CD or professional grade files. In which while not requisite, a DAW is the more common route.

Once this goal distinction is established it can help determine a more realistic approach towards budget considerations and or logical steps. So one can approach the situation with "I want to do this" "with this much money available" to start.

Understand that learning to record is an ongoing process that takes years to get good at.

One last thought is there are now some great resources available that help speed up the process. From full blown Audio engineering schools to week or week end work shops, Books and YouTube videos, to Web sights and Forums like this one.

One Book I can recommend as being pretty good at explaining some of the more complex technical issues in way the lay person can quickly understand is this :
http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-.../dp/0634009591

[bobby b]

Originally Posted by bobby b

Advice......hmmmm

Dont mix with headphones.

Originally Posted by louparte

Disagree with that tip. Best mix I ever made was on K240's in an airport using Auria on my iPad.
I've made good mixes on HD280's too. But I always A/B'd them w/my monitors. The airport mix I had nothing but the K-240's.

If your mix is intended for playback on HP's only , then .....maybe, but just maybe.
Too each their own, but I will point out that a lot amateur recordists have no concept of headroom, dynamic control, EQ'ing, noise floor, reference level(s) , +4dbu vs -10dbv ( In all cases connecting a -10dBv output to the input of +4dBU gear will increase the noise floor... ), reference levels, gain structure and metering the analog vs digital scales in relation to reference level, proper metering, I mean real true peak vs peak sample metering. Throw some headphones on a turn 'em up to who knows how loud ....or not and IMO.... ya roll the dice.

Without some knowledge of some of these principals then calibration for other playback systems is out the window, mainly the reason that most headphone or home studio mixes plain suck. Plus mixing for hours at a time through headphones will affect how you physically 'hear' things, the mix will suffer as time goes on....as will your hearing. Ya, cant measure SPL's with HP's either.
btw... K240's also have a really uneven ( far from flat ) freq response ( aprox + 8db @ 100Hz , -8db @ 5.5Khz and then a steep 12db/oct rise that ends up being about +5 or 6db @ 10khz )
I would not want to mix anything with them myself..... but yeah, thats me.

[louparte]

Originally Posted by bobby b

Too each their own, but I will point out that a lot amateur recordists have no concept of noise floor , +4dbu vs -10dbv ( In all cases connecting a -10dBv output to the input of +4dBU gear will increase the noise floor... ), gain structure and proper metering, I mean real true peak vs peak sample metering.
Without some knowledge of some of these principals then calibration for other playback systems is out the window, mainly the reason that most headphone or home studio mixes plain suck. Plus mixing for hours at a time through headphones will affect how you physically 'hear' things, the mix will suffer as time goes on....as will your hearing.
btw... K240's also have a really uneven ( far from flat ) freq response ( aprox + 8db @ 100Hz , -8db @ 5.5Khz and then a steep 12db/oct rise that ends up being about +5 or 6db @ 10khz )
I would not want to mix anything with them myself..... but yeah, thats me.

If you know the material and know the equipment, you can mix on almost anything.

I am no engineer. But I think the future will find a lot of engineers mixing on iPads & headphones in airports.

I'm skeptical of the whole 'accuracy' idea some engineers obsess over. Accurate compared to what? The source? What if the source sucks?

Ultimately, I want my mixes to sound good on crap laptop speakers or through iPad speakers. That's what I aim for. If I'm home, I A/B my monitors with cans. If I'm traveling - HD280's or K240's. The K240's are better for traveling. They fold easier and have a detachable cord.

---
FWIW: SF International Airport, K240's. Auria & iPad. I got back home and didn't need to tweak it on my M1Mk2's. I knew the material and I knew the equipment. It's not a bad mix. It sounds fine on the iPad speakers. Mixed on K240's.

http://www.marcellis.net/music/Coffe...t2004-2013.mp3

[Joseph Hanna]

Originally Posted by bobby b

..proper metering, I mean real true peak vs peak sample metering. Throw some headphones on a turn 'em up to who knows how loud ....or not and IMO.... ya roll the dice.

Yea I mean...I think I've got a pretty good grasp on the phenomenon of peak-vs-sample peak metering. All things being equal it's splitting micro hairs for sure. I guess one who insists on skirting the edge of broadcast legal limits would want to know (or meter) those minuscule differences.

However, how this relates to headphone mixes soared way, way over my head.

Could you clarify?

[bobby b]

Peak-vs-sample metering ...ya I went a bit overboard there..lol

Fair enough, splitting hairs with peak sample metering, no relation to HP mixing specifically , I was just going on about many things that people dont know or fully understand when it comes to recording/mixing in general....

With regard to mixing on HP .... a lot of HP mixes dont translate well into real world monitoring , esp low freq content and reverbs etc..

As a rule I would advise that folks not do critical mixes on HP's without at least checking playback on other systems, rough mixes sure ya .. ok ....

[KevWind]

Speaking of metering for those who use Pro Tools, looks like PT 11 will have new improved metering and PTHD 11 will have a number of different selectable metering options.

[Sage97]

Feel your performance and and enjoy the music. One can easily get lost in all the technical components of recording.

[Joseph Hanna]

On second thought....never mind

[louparte]

Ha ha.

I guess I'll add another one. Don't neglect to test your mix on decent headphones.
Remember - a lot of listeners these days are listening with phones & ear buds.
Not only that, flaws are often easier to detect by listening on cans.

I use HD280's which I hate & K240's which I like.
I also have SL440's and a SONY MDR V900.

Of those 4, I rely on the HD280's & K240's.

There is a lot of info out there on using cans for mixing.

[GuitNGood]

I'm enjoying this thread and appreciate everyone's input.

This was an eye opener for me and you may want to try for your next project:

Once you complete the recording of all the parts, do a 1st mix in MONO. The idea is that you will get a more realistic representation of individual instrument volume levels without the stereo image tricking your ears.

Secondly, once the levels are set in your MONO mix then start panning into an LCR mix meaning you should only pan extreme Left, Center, or extreme Right.

If nothing else, these two methods will introduce a fresh approach to thinking about and hearing your mixes.

[bobby b]

Ahhhhh....ok .
The OP asked about home recording tips. Dont know how many folks are doing or are capable of doing LCR music mixes at home though.....I surmise you mean L/R with a center image.....not discreet L C R


http://www.bluebearsound.com/articles/headphones.html

[GuitNGood]

bobby b - as fate would have it...I am the OP!

Please elaborate on the distinction of discreet L C R vs. L/R with center image.

Thanks,

GNG

[bobby b]

fate .... lol..... ok Hello OP

So, discreet LCR would be 3 separate ( discreet ) monitor paths feeding 3 speaker channels L(eft speaker) C(enter speaker) R(ight speaker)

5.1 ...as an example would entail 6 discreet paths/channels/speakers

L R C LFE Ls Rs

Working with a stereo pair of monitors you would have only Left and Right so anything mono that was panned in the center would come out of each L and R speakers but would 'image' in the center. In which case it would be a L/R mix not an LCR mix

hth

BTW..... dig yer user name.

[rockabilly69]

Here's one... have somebody move the mic around in small increments while your playing your guitar and wearing the phones. Keep your eyes closed and listen for the best sound. You may be surprised where the mic is positioned when you open your eyes! Mic positioning can make a huge difference in your recordings, and sometimes, can make as much as a difference as buying expensive gear. Good gear is great, but good recording technique works with all gear!

[bobby b]

Originally Posted by rockabilly69

Here's one... have somebody move the mic around in small increments while your playing your guitar and wearing the phones. Keep your eyes closed and listen for the best sound. You may be surprised where the mic is positioned when you open your eyes! Mic positioning can make a huge difference in your recordings, and sometimes, can make as much as a difference as buying expensive gear. Good gear is great, but good recording technique works with all gear!

So true, mic placement is key. I have mixed some projects that had just stellar recordings. Getting well recorded elements provided, makes the mix fun. Having to deal with lousy recordings just makes the mix process a chore..

OK ,Here is another one .....

A mic, to me, is essentially an 'ear on a stick' . p
Prior to recording an acoustic guitar I usually get the player to play, then I will get my head close to the front of the guitar and listen, usually with my right ear, I move my head around to find the 'sweet spot' and place the mic in that vicinity. Works like a charm, but yes would be impossible to do if yer alone of course.