The secrets of recording studios?

[Blacky]

Hi guys!

I record all my tracks through a Voxbox with different mics. I'm happy with my Manley stuff, but when the hole song ended on digital Logic software, it seems to be obtrusive not round sounding, less warmth and not a really compact sound that comes from the middle of the band. It isn't a unity compact sounding! Sorry for my english guys, i try to get the right words!
I tried to get good plugs ( uad1, blue tubes,...) Take out the wrong frequencies and so on, ... Could it be, that i need a good analogous mixer before the signal hits the computer?
Take only the digital EQ-plug ins for frequence attitudes.

What does the studios? It can't be, that the mastering is the hole answer on a good sound quality. What is the secret of any studio production to have this warmth compact sounds on CD?

Have anyone an idea to help me without $50.000?

Next month i should record a live band and a studio CD in summertime, and i wish i have the right idea to get a good CD-sound in my ears !!



Work with Apple G5 2GHz dual, 2MotuMkII, 2Presonus digimax, Voxbox, uad1,



Thanks guys for your help and share your experiences !!

Robert
Jesus loves you!

[daryllh]

Secrets of recording studios?

Get a ping pong table. That will bring in more money than a killer piece of gear. It's amazing how many clients don't bat an eye at the extra 3 hours they spent on a ping pong tourney while they leave you to tweak mixes til your hearts content.

[daryllh]

oh, those secrets. Nevermind then.

[natpub]

The secret is always a thousand tiny parts, of 1% or less of the overall sound. Each 1% of improvement is painstakingly gained through experience, room, gear, proper instruments, mics, etc. I used to WISH so hard that one or two things would give me that album sound, but it actually is a series of degrees, and comes from all the little pieces working to gether. YOu can get close with what you got, if you have the experience, rooms, and players. Oh, you also gotta have very strong ears. I suggest what Jules says, which is hook up several reference mixes, and work towards them. That at least gets you in the ballpark.

[djui5]

sounds to me like your unhappy with mixing ITB, and need to rent a studio with a nice console to mix on, with a good mix engineer (or you, if your good)

[Sizzleboy]

Originally Posted by Blacky

Hi guys!

I record all my tracks through a Voxbox with different mics. I'm happy with my Manley stuff, but when the hole song ended on digital Logic software, it seems to be obtrusive not round sounding, less warmth and not a really compact sound that comes from the middle of the band. It isn't a unity compact sounding!

Try putting the UAD-1 Fairchild across the stereo mix bus. This will "glue" the various tracks together, and should give you the "unity" that you seek.

[u b k]

Originally Posted by Blacky

Could it be, that i need a good analogous mixer before the signal hits the computer?

the secret to the big studio sound is not really a secret: sweet analog gear in the hands of a talented engineer listening to monitors that speak the truth sitting in a room that lets him hear the truth.

regarding the gear, more is generally better, but it's not necessary to have 4 racks full. just a few choice pieces that you know how to use will get you a long way towards a big, wide, coherent sound.


gregoire
del ubik

[espasonico]

I think the secret is the engineer.

[themaidsroom]

people
vibe

[mtstudios@charter]

It is not a secret. It takes thousands of hours of practice and money. Knowing what gear works where, what sounds bad, what sounds good, how to remedy that, and finally when to stop.

www.bluethumbproductions.com

[DrC:Drive]

Secrets

1) Learning how to mike things properly in a decent sounding room, getting depth and ambience
2) Right mike/preamp for each source, this takes years of listening and experimenting. Be prepared to spend time auditioning and listening to stuff and get some great Mikes. My Brauner VMA got me the sound I was looking for
3) ~Good ears and monitors in a well tuned room
4) $50,000 of excellent analogue Eqs and compressors, think Putltec, Massive Passive and Fearn VT4, Avalon, Crane Song
5) Experience with great players with good well tuned gear
6) Reference Cd's

In Summary
If your ears are developing you will be able to hear the sounds and if your monitors can reveal the inner of the music with the right sources, mikes and positions, with great pres and eqs, you will be able to capture the sound you are looking for.

Mixing ITB is not the problem, if you get the sounds right they come together ITB and OTB. If it sounds right it is right.

Good luck

James

[Blacky]

Thanks GUYS for your replies!! It helped me!
Robert

[HDGuru]

Honestly, in order of importance:
1. A Great Voice
2. A Great Booth
3. A Great Mic / Mic Pre / Compressor into an HD192 or other converter of choice.

[vernier]

Thanks guys for your help and share your experiences !!

I had the same problems and went back to using tape recorders. Problem solved, for good.

[StefanColson]

Super secret way to achieve a much better mix:

1) Go and mix 50 tunes in a similar genre.
2) Go back and mix the tune in question.

If you're not much closer to achieving what you want, then it's probably time to start looking for a new job. In all seriousness, gear is not the problem, experience and skill are. You wouldn't pick up a guitar and wonder what the secret is to good guitar playing. It's practice, you've got to learn to be a good engineer in the same way that you have to learn to be a good musician.

[RainbowStorm]

- Great decision making
- Great sound sources
- Great vocals
- Great dimension
- A mix full of life

[dim light]

You need to buy the Auralex suit!

[AcoosticZoo]

Hi, Do you have a link to the song so we can have a listen to what you mean by Un-warm.

regards
www.acoosticzoo.com

[in the red]

first i thought the problem might be a) you, b) the source (and or room) and c) mic choice and placement. then i remembered hearing a recording a friend of mine did using rme converters and the word "hard" comes to mind. so maybe a nice converter might help you.
then again, you could just come by my studio and mix a song on my trident 80b via a radar and tons of nice outboard gear and you´ll if that helps!

[andersmv]

Get a lava lamp...

[Steffmo]

I think the single best thing you could do is find a project with enough budget to TAKE to a studio. Even is you make little ot no money on it.

Go someplace that has made hits, and try to work with someone who has been around hits. I really think its almost impossible to make GREAT records without absorbing some of the techniques, vibe, and talent that has made those kind of records.

Not that you can't get lucky and stumble on it, but its unlikely. I've been lucky enought to be around people that have sold hundred of milions of records, and I thank god every day for giving me that.

[The Private Room]

a good monitoring situation!

[phillysoulman]

Originally Posted by Blacky

Hi guys!

I record all my tracks through a Voxbox with different mics. I'm happy with my Manley stuff, but when the hole song ended on digital Logic software, it seems to be obtrusive not round sounding, less warmth and not a really compact sound that comes from the middle of the band. It isn't a unity compact sounding! Sorry for my english guys, i try to get the right words!
I tried to get good plugs ( uad1, blue tubes,...) Take out the wrong frequencies and so on, ... Could it be, that i need a good analogous mixer before the signal hits the computer?
Take only the digital EQ-plug ins for frequence attitudes.

What does the studios? It can't be, that the mastering is the hole answer on a good sound quality. What is the secret of any studio production to have this warmth compact sounds on CD?

Have anyone an idea to help me without $50.000?

Next month i should record a live band and a studio CD in summertime, and i wish i have the right idea to get a good CD-sound in my ears !!



Work with Apple G5 2GHz dual, 2MotuMkII, 2Presonus digimax, Voxbox, uad1,



Thanks guys for your help and share your experiences !!

Robert
Jesus loves you!

Its 'whole" not hole

[dambro2]

Originally Posted by StefanColson

You wouldn't pick up a guitar and wonder what the secret is to good guitar playing. It's practice, you've got to learn to be a good engineer in the same way that you have to learn to be a good musician.

So well put!

[jindrich]

-big, great sounding rooms
-good instruments
-drum tuner
-piano tuner
-trustable monitoring
-assistant
-engineer
-arranger
-producer
-lounge with PS3 and muffins
-feet-rest (aka SSL)
-sushi breaks
-ping-pong
-table soccer
-mastering engineer


I'm sure I'm still forgetting stuff..

Originally Posted by Blacky

Have anyone an idea to help me without $50.000?

A 7 day week of all that (less the producer and mastering) will cost you around $3,500

[slaphappygarry]

-great sounding rooms
-good instruments
-drum tuner
-piano tuner
-trustable monitoring
-assistant
-engineer
-arranger
-producer
-lounge with PS3 and muffins
-feet-rest (aka SSL)
-sushi breaks
-ping-pong
-table soccer
-mastering engineer


I'm sure I'm still forgetting stuff..

Only the most important part of all. The coffee machine.

You fool you. thumbsup

[Stephen Bennett]

Originally Posted by andersmv

Get a lava lamp...

Why do all studios have one? (I have two )

Regards

Stephen

[carlheinz]

If the performance is you playing one track at a time as the artist and as the engineer no matter how good you are you will come down with the dreaded studioitis and nothing sounds good anymore.

[Bassmec]

Well I just have it hot of the music tech student press, that the way forward today is to get the cheapest eight in box and mic's you can find, mic the drums up in a cupboard or your bedroom use a software DAW with some kind of audio for midi function, preferably serial numbers swapped for a pack of baccy along with a CD of the program and drum samples of the metal moment.
Make the drummer play to a click as well as he can and not concentrate too much on hi hat or cymbals but just get the drum shots in-ish.
During the first year of your degree course, you might get the first song sorted if you learn how to program the kick doubles. Then using 127 velocity only, (saves a bunch on quality compressors gates phase tools reverb's and useless old shit like that) quantize the drums to the click track.
Oh while you do this you can just monitor the guitar amp live via the spill on the drum mikes and open back headphones means you only need one pair, the triggers can isolate a drum shot even with a bit of guitar spill in there.
This year playing the same song for the drummer live has usually taught the guitard to play the song in time-ish to the click. Time to get out the pod and lay down the 1st guitar via the USB, use a preset!. that way it wont sound any worse than any other student record and making decisions about eq means having real monitors, so don't go there!, the bloke who did the preset probably had some.
Year two is all about getting in the college studios with your drum and guitar bounces for the vocals and cymbal/hi hat overdubs
The college has half decent mic's pre's and proper interfaces FX units and compressors.
And even some cymbals that arn't broke!.
Year three is learning all about marketing and making the final decision about the hot new drum samples of the moment on your course work or by now album.
Signed to an independant deal with a record label run by a mate from the music biz module who says "wicked" allot and know what I mean rather too repetitively.
When you leave college don't bother to try to get a job in a real studio, just offer your pod, cupboard and sample library to the band in year one, plus your skills in avoiding hard decision making, or the limitations of your engineering skill and experience, like how to get a real live sound to be proud of. That way by the time you have enough studio less sound engineers educated to degree levels, all the real studios will have been put out of business because the students are doing albums for £350 all in, in their bedrooms and also these tech's are being taught that fraud is everything by lecturers (Loser's who are unable to get a job the music biz proper and are taking us all to hell in a hand cart).
You see the problem for us old Gits is we rely on talented musicians and song writers that can actually perform to a world class standard with a great sound and finely intoned instruments in one or two takes.
This is no longer a priority or in may cases a reality!.
Far to much to learn about multitrack beat detective and elastic time and pitch correction to learn to play an instrument to any standard, in these days of Education, education, education.
Fraud!?
My brand new fake University (after all if you really want to, its less than an hours drive to Cambridge) is now building a government sponsored recession busting 5 brand new recording studios for the use of their students (all locals) in a small town that has only been able to support two proper commercial studios with work at any one time, at the best of times!.
End of Rant!

[AllAboutTone]

Originally Posted by daryllh

Secrets of recording studios?

Get a ping pong table. That will bring in more money than a killer piece of gear. It's amazing how many clients don't bat an eye at the extra 3 hours they spent on a ping pong tourney while they leave you to tweak mixes til your hearts content.

Yep I have a dart board between that and the band smoking can eat up the clock......YUMMY.