As I am sure that most modern recording setups have a computer sitting at its core, keeping that computer happy should be a priority. In last week's Home Recording Show I outlined the problem areas, solutions, and some preventative maintenance to avoid catastrophe.    Among the tips are to backup often, keep off site backups, reformat recording drives every couple months, defragment system drives a couple times a year, and avoid Internet pollution. Take a listen to the show. [audio:http://www.audiogeekzine.com/podcast/hrs.015.mp3] Download Show # 15

Growing up in the late 70's and early 80's put me right in the middle of the pre and post digital age in my formative years.  As a young guitar player I quickly learned that the old tube technology in guitar amplifiers would give me a much better tone than the solid state technology.  The generation just before me did not have to even make a choice, there just was one option. Fast forward to today.  The transistor and digital technology have progressed to a point where a $200 device can come pretty close to emulating every boutique and classic amp that you have ever hear of... let alone could afford. The shift that we are going to see in the next generation should be nothing short of amazing.  Each new breakthrough leads to exponential growth.  I would imagine that in less than a decade even the most discerning guitar amp aficionados will no longer be able to identify the difference between a classic amp side by side against an emulated amp from an affordable device. Where will that then take us?  Will future guitarists be unphased by seeing a Marshall Plexi in the pawn show window?  Will that bring down prices for ...

It has been a long haul to get this studio up and running.  I thought that it would take a month, but it took two and a half.  I have done most of the work myself to save money, but I wouldn't recommend it. There have been a lot of great people that have helped me along the way that I will be sure to thank them on the studio page when it is completely redone with pictures of the completed project. Tomorrow the rest of the paint goes up, the electrical outlets and switches all get wired and powered up, and the snake and headphones panels go up and get soldered together.  There is still plenty to do, but the drywall part is over.  That has been the absolute worst part of the entire project.  I will not take on that amount of drywall work as long as I live.  There will be a lot more to come soon and I will be back to my regular postings on this page. Here is a picture of me getting dirty while painting the live room earlier today.

I have not had any time to write any new posts lately because I have been working on the new studio. I ripped the down the old studio to concrete and studs. The new design is what I have painstakengly put together over the past year and it is finally coming together. The new interior walls are up and wiring, drywall, and finishing touches will be done in the next few weeks and I can get back to my normal schedule. Pictures, what I have learned in the process, and new content to follow. I am however managing to stay current on our podcast at Home Recording Show. Please stop by and take a listen.

Check out the first installment of our weekly show that is all about home recording. I have teamed up with a couple great guys to get this show going. If you have not yet checked out their sites before, Jon Tidey does audiogeekzine.com and Des McKinney does hometracked.com. They are both fantastic points of interest and I am very happy to be working with them. Check out the new podcast at Home Recording Show. You can also subscribe to the feed that is at http://feeds.feedburner.com/homerecordingshow. Please leave us your comments, suggestions, and questions on the new Home Recording Show site.

There has been much debate over how similar or how different the Shure SM57 and SM58 are against the GLS Audio ES-57 and ES-58 series of microphones. I have read several reviews and there seem to be two distinct camps forming. One group that believes that the GLS mics are every bit as good or better than the Shure counterparts and those that scoff at them as even being in the same league. I have worked with both the Shure and GLS microphones at live sound venues. My initial impression was that the GLS mics were terrible. I was expecting to confirm this once I was able to test them side by side in the controlled environment of the studio. I was surprised to find that the GLS mics, while not a Shure replacement, are better than I had previously determined. Here are a the tests that I conducted in the studio: The first pair of audio tracks are the SM57 and ES-57 respectively on a clean guitar track: [audio:Shure.GLS/sm57.clean.mp3] [audio:Shure.GLS/es57.clean.mp3] The second pair of audio tracks are the SM57 and ES-57 respectively on a distorted guitar track: [audio:Shure.GLS/sm57.dist.mp3] [audio:Shure.GLS/es57.dist.mp3] The third group is my voice recorded simultaneously with the SM58, ES-58, and SM58a ...

I always use compression when I am tracking. Be very careful to make sure that you are not using too much from the start because just like salt on food, you can not remove what you have already used and you can always add more later. When you compress a signal, in simplest perceived terms, you are taking the loudest parts and reducing them and boosting the quietest sections of the source material. This can benefit you in many more technical ways beyond the scope of today's show, but it will become obviously useful when it comes time for mix-down. The basic signal chain that I use when tracking most everything is a microphone to a pre-amp to a compressor and then to my digital audio workstation. Once you have your pre-amp level dialed in the compressor's settings are next. Depending on what you are recording and what you want to get out of your overall sound will determine what your settings will be. A good place to start is a 4:1 ratio with a medium to fast attack time and a medium to slow release. Make sure that the signal only engages the compressor at ...

Starting next week I’ll be hosting a weekly podcast along with Jon Tidey (AudioGeekZine) and Des McKinney (Hometracked). We will primarily cover recording techniques, gear, software, and how to really get professional results in your low budget home studio. With such a wealth of information out there, it is hard to filter through all of it to find what you are really looking for. We will try try distill it all down to simple terms and help you get what you really want out of your recordings and equipment. With recording techniques, perspectives, mad scientist ideas, and tips we may help make your experience more about making great sounding music than dedicating your precious time to searching for these answers on your own. Please contact us with your own tips, experiences, and techniques and become part of the community.

With a geographically undesirable partner for your show, traditional methods will certainly limit your ability to get together unless you have both an ISDN line (service and expensive equipment), already own a private jet, or you like spending an obscene amount of time in the car. There is another way. And get ready for this... it is free! You can use Skype in a way that is similar to having your own personal free ISDN line. As I am sure that you already know, Skype is a free computer to computer VOIP system that is really easy to use and gaining quickly in popularity. I was first introduced to using Skype in this way by Leo Laport who has the largest podcasting network and uses this service on his nationally syndicated radio program. There are several ways to capture the conversation either with software or external hardware. The most common would be to use a USB headset that comes equipped with a microphone like the Plantronics DPS 400. This device is great for most podcasters and is certainly be a quick and easy solution with great results. There are several software package that ...

I would have to say that this is one of the worst titles to an article, but it certainly is a question worth asking. I have recently been interested in reamping. What this means is that the original source material, like an electric guitar, would have its pickups recorded directly via a direct box. After this material is recorded and edited, it would be output through another type of DI box that is designed to convert the line level back to an instrument level as so you may plug a 1/4" cable from it directly into an amp. The first few time you do this it seems like the haunted mansion where the amp is seemingly playing itself. I was curious to see if there would be a significant loss in quality in using this method so I have made some examples and I would appreciate your feedback. Why even bother to go through the trouble? This can be a great way as a producer to dial in exactly the sound that you are looking for no matter what rig the session guy shows up with. Lets say you have an important session and the ...

1. Think of each monitor as a separate mix than that of the house mix. If you have four monitors and a house mix, you effectively have 5 separate mixes (4 mono and one stereo). If you are then going to make a recording with a "B" mix... You are then looking at 6 independent mixes. This can all get a bit confusing especially in a hectic environment of 5 bands a night all wanting a sound check and getting to play on time. One thing that should put your mind at ease is that your monitor mixes rarely need to be as complex as the house mix. Usually singers only want to hear themselves, so that is only one source sent to that one monitor. Simple enough, right? This is generally true with most vocalists. Guitars, especially acoustic, are likely to end up in the mix as well. If you have a monitor set up for the drummer, this is usually the most complex stage mix more like that of the house mix. If you think in terms of separate mixes, you are likely to keep this all ...

Recently I was working at a club in Hollywood when I noticed some new labeling on the aux returns of the board. In a very amusing and equally effective conceptualization the reverb and delay were put into stylistic terms that most any music enthusiast would quickly and easily comprehend. The reverb was labeled “Elvis” and the delay was labeled “Lennon”. Anyone who has listened closely to Elvis or the Beatles over the years will know exactly what I what I am getting at. If you still are not quite know sure what I am talking about, check out Elvis singing Fools Rush and John Lennon singing A Day In the Life. They may both sound similar at first, but they are quite different. Not only does this distinction help you you remember which effect is which, but also the ingrains the style and emotion behind the feel of each. These effects can also be used together. Less is certainly more unless you are going for an obviously over the top effect. If you know individually which each one is doing, then combining them can be quite useful if the song or performance call ...

This is a question that seems to have a simple answer at first. The logical conclusion is that there is one microphone for the performer... how hard can it be? If you have ever heard a comedian without an audience, it is a much different experience. In fact, it is almost creepy. You can see now how quickly that conclusion is about to change. The first thing that we need to do is capture the performer's audio to a track that is not mixed with any other audio. This will obviously be the focal point of the recording. Secondly and almost as important is the audience. A good crowd can make or break a show. I recently engineered a comedy night at a local club and the audience did not laugh or participate at all. The acts that night were leaving the stage so quickly the night ended almost an hour early. To get a good audience properly mixed into this project you need to mic them and give them their own track as well. The more mics and separate tracks the better, but one signal path will do as ...

Do you have a band and want to record your band's shows but do not have a way to do it?  Do you work at a venue but the management will not spring for a recording system.  Are you just a regular person, but you just have lots of source material that you want to archive?  Do you want to do a podcast?  Whatever your needs or expertise, if you want to record just about anything and you do not want to spend much or any money to do it, I may be able to help. If you have found your way to my site, you are obviously using a computer and are likely interested in music.  As technology seems to progress at a rate that not even the geekiest of us can keep up with, it is pretty safe to say that you have an old computer in the closet collecting dust or know somebody that does.  If you can get your hands on this old beast, most of the battle will have already been faught.   We do not need the fastest computer because it only will need to do one major task. ...

Equalization is always an interesting topic. I have found it to be completely overused in many cases, completely overlooked in other cases, and completely misunderstood in most cases. To illustrate my point, check the settings in a couple different car radios. The controls are either untouched or the treble and bass are completely cranked. Chances are that somewhere in between, the truth lies. Without getting into the finer points of EQ that may well be debated until the end humanity, I will explain what EQ is, give you a few guidelines on how to use it, and explain the four basic types of equalization that are currently standard issu. The human ear can hear frequencies from 20-20,000 Hz. Within this range are the changes that we make with our EQ devices. Some devices will effect large chunks of the spectrum centered on a specific frequency while others can be quite surgical and exacting. In simplest terms, if you picture all audible sound as a straight dotted line where each dot represents a frequency, equalization is the ability to change the relative volume of the dots individually without affection the others. Below ...