I was talking with an engineer from a studio and he said that one of his tricks was to take a file like a vocal or bass, and take it outside the system a time or two and bring it back in through the AD converter again. He said it smoothed it out and made it sound much better in a mix. Any truth to that?

Now, I’m sure that this works in studios with incredibly high-end A/D converters but I’m not sure how much it would help in a home studio setting. Please prove me wrong, but I’m doubtful as to how much smoother you can make a track without any more processing.

However, here are some ways you can process your tracks outside the box to make them more interesting.

Tape Effects

Taking a track out of the digital domain to add some processing is definitely a popular tool to enhance your sound. If you have the resources you could even route a track to tape and back into the DAW to get a nice warm analog sound. But not everybody has a tape machine lying around so that might be out of your reach.

Re-Pre-Amping

Another way to add a new dimension to a track is to “re-preamp” a signal. For instance, if you recorded with a pretty bland pre-amp and decide you want a tube sound, you can always route your track through a nice tube pre-amp to add that aspect to your track. Then you can either add in the tube sound underneath the original track, or use the tube track exclusively.

Outboard Processing

Finally, using outboard gear can give your tracks more depth than the average plug-in. Granted, some plug-ins today sound incredible, and they’re always easier to use than outboard gear. However, some of those higher end outboard compressors have that analog warmth that you cannot replicate in the digital domain.

I realize that I might have answered the question by avoiding it altogether. However, there are many uses for taking a track outside the box and then bringing it back in. What sort of techniques do you have for this sort of situation?

Ps.

For diverse, in-depth perspectives on home recording techniques, check out Home Recording Tactics. It’s a collection of great home recording advice from 9 different engineers.

The internet makes everything available, right there at your fingertips. For us engineers, this means we can offer our skill set to anyone around the world. For musicians and bands, this means they’re not limited to the two mixing engineers they know in their hometown. They have the world to choose from.

But whenever a file exchange like an online mixing session happens, there are a few thing to keep in mind.

Same Software – Less Hassle

If you’re both working in the same software, there’ll be less problems. They can simply compress the folder into a .zip or .rar file and send it your way.

Given that all his audio was in the audio folder, everything should open up perfectly. Depending on how much producing the artist did in the DAW, there might be some plug-ins here and there that you should be aware of.

Dealing With Plug-ins – Getting a complete session from someone is a double-edged sword. It’s definitely easier to open everything up and start working, but you also need clean up the session. It’s common for a session to be filled with various plug-ins, aux channels, reverbs and inserts of all kinds.

It’s great because it allows you, the mixer, to hear whatever the band had in mind when they were recording. However, you need to clear up all those plug-ins so that you can hear what you’re really dealing with.

Whenever I get a session from someone else I tend to start from scratch. That means I throw out all the EQ, compression and other processing that’s already in the session.

The only exception is if the artist was going for a specific, produced sound. For instance, I will leave guitar effects and amp simulators alone unless I know I can get a better sound from my own plug-ins. I don’t want to come between a guitarist and his tone, so I’ll leave it alone unless I’m certain I can make it better.

Different Software – Only Audio

If you are working with different software, the best method of exchange is to have the artist consolidate everything so that each audio file starts at 0:00. Then, when you’ve consolidated every file, rename them and export them separately as Kick01.wav, snare01.wav etc, or something that’s easy to figure out for the mixer.

If you have a vocal track that’s broken up into a bunch of regions in the DAW, all those parts will have different audio files in your audio folder. But if you consolidate and rename that one track, you’ve compiled them all together into one, easy to use audio file.

Even if that guitar solo starts at 4:57, you better make sure there’s a big block of silence all the way to the beginning. Because, if all the audio files start at the same time, importing them into your session is easy.

Dealing With Plug-ins – If you’re fixing a session for a mixing engineer then I wouldn’t recommend exporting your audio files with your own processing. We like our audio files to be dry and unprocessed so that we can work with them however we like.

But if you print an audio file that’s already heavily compressed by your own compressor, then there’s nothing we can do to change that. Make sure to deactivate all your plug-ins before you export your audio for someone else.

Conclusion

Online mixing is a great way to take advantage of the global internet. It doesn’t matter where the band is from, as long as both of you have a way to share your files over the internet. It can get you more clients, and allows you work on very diverse stuff.

Communication is easy via e-mail, or even faster through Gchat or Skype if you have any burning questions about the session.

Ps.

Although mixing a session from someone across the world is fun, it’s kind of like hanging out at somebody else’s house. You don’t know where everything is, and you need a minute to figure out where the bathroom is.

If you’re having problems setting up a mixing session and seeing the big picture, check out Mixing Strategies. It was written to help you see the big picture mix.

Image by: gualtiero

You might have heard about Mixing Secrets for the Small Studio by Mike Senior.

It’s a great book that shows you how to create great mixes in even the smallest bedroom studios.

But what you might not know is that his book has an amazing companion site, complete with 50 multitracks available for download and practice.

That’s right, 50 different multi-tracks in genres ranging from Bubblegum Pop to Electronic Punk.

Simply download the files, import them into your DAW of choice and start practicing your mixing skills.

Why Should You Do This?

If you’re starting out, it’s hard to showcase your mixing skills when you haven’t done any work for anyone.

Also, it’s hard to take advantage of all these production tips that you read online when you don’t have any tracks to try them on.

There’s no better way to hone your mixing skills than to work on a wide variety of different projects. With all these different genres, you can try every mixing trick you’ve ever learned or read about.

So take advantage of all these free multi-tracks and really dig into making your mixing skills shine.

Ps.

If you really want to get into mixing, but all the different tracks intimidate you, check out my ebook, Mixing Strategies. It’s written to help you see the big picture, and shows you how to make mixing effortless and easy.

Image by: beyond20khz

Are You Making these Top 10 Mixing Mistakes is a souped up, revamped and totally FREE e-mail course.

I took my old ebook I was offering as a subscription bonus and rewrote it as a killer e-course. It’s got even more information, spaced out over ten days.

And best of all, it’s totally free.

It’s designed to get you to stop making those mixing mistakes that make your music suffer. Learn to avoid all the most common mixing mistakes in music production by signing up below.

Once you sign up you will be sent a confirmation e-mail. Please click on the link in that e-mail to confirm your subscription.

Every day for 10 days you will get short, bite-sized advice on how to avoid the most frequent mixing mistakes you make while producing, with relevant links and recommended resources.

Instead of getting information overload all at once, each e-mail addresses a specific subject. That way you can tackle each mistake separately without going crazy over all the different mistakes.

I’ll explain the following, among other things:

• Why using reverb as an insert is a big no-no?
• Why you should leave enough headroom when you’re mixing?
• What happens when you only use presets on your processors?
• What the difference between sending and routing is?
• How Reverb can kill a mix?

If you want to brush up on what mistakes you should avoid, click here to subscribe to the e-course.

Once you sign up you will be sent a confirmation e-mail. Please click on the link in that e-mail to confirm your subscription.

Image by: nickcummins

The Winners Are:

1. Alianomuzik who said: “Really digging all the audio issues info I’m gonna stay glued…”
2. buzby who said: “jæja ……… hvað segir þu gott ?”
3. Flooraki who said: “Great!”
4. Brendan who said: “I’ve had my eye on quiztones for a while now. Winning this competition would be awesome!”
5. Markus who said: “badly need quiztones for my study”

Congratulations! We’ll be in contact with you shortly with your download codes!

Thanks to everyone who participated. If you didn’t win, you can still get a copy at www.quiztones.net

Hey guys, it’s time to win some free stuff. You’ve probably all heard of Quiztones, but for those who haven’t, check it out here.

It started as an embeddable web app but it has grown to become much more powerful, as both an iOs app for your iPhone as well as a Mac app for OS X.

Good news is, we’re giving five lucky people the chance to win a copy of Quiztones for Mac!

To enter, read the instructions below. Contest ends February 12th at Midnight EST.

Quiztones for Mac

Quiztones ($19.99 value, requires Mac OS X 10.6.8 or later) is a frequency ear trainer for amateur and professional audio engineers, producers, and musicians. Quiztones uses frequency-altered tones, noise, and musical loops to train your ears and help develop more acute listening and frequency recognition skills.

• Sharpen your ears & frequency recognition skills
• Improve your mixing & EQ’ing chops
• Prevent noise & frequency buildup in your mixes & recordings
• Eliminate the need to sweep for frequencies

Quiztones for Mac is available on the Mac App Store or Audiofile Engineering Store.

Quiztones for iOS is available on the iOS App Store.

How to Win

For the chance to win, you need to do 3 things:

1. Leave a comment at the bottom of this page so we can contact you if you win.
2. At the bottom of Quiztones.net, click one of the social sharing buttons (+1, Like or Tweet).
3. Post this tweet or Like Audiofile Engineering and Audio Issues on Facebook.

Five winners will be chosen at random. Make sure to leave a comment before February 12th at Midnight EST.

Rules and Conditions

• To enter, carefully read the instructions above.
• You may only enter once.
• Make sure you use a valid email address when you comment so you can be contacted. Email addresses will not be made public.
• Quiztones for Mac requires Mac OS X 10.6.8 or later. If necessary, you can substitute your prize for a Quiztones iOS app.
• Entries will be accepted until February 12th at Midnight EST.

This competition is sponsored by Audiofile Engineering.

Isn’t it?

All those glossy print ads you see in the magazines or the demos on Youtube. It seems like they’re designed to make your mouth water sometimes.

But do you really need that new gear the moment it’s released? Couldn’t you use that money for something else?

Does the new update or version of your favorite interface or DAW automatically make your current one extinct?

I don’t think so.

Companies constantly update their software or gear. Their advertisements are designed to get you to spend more money. Usually on gear you already have.

If you’re already making decent sounding recordings with the gear you already have, why upgrade?

There are so many other ways you can upgrade your gear without buying the newest versions at full price. 

1. Craigslist – Be on the lookout for locals in musical instrument section selling off their equipment. You can get some of the best deals on Craigslist.
2. Ebay – Similarly, Ebay has second-hand gear that’s just as good as the newest thing on the market.

Usually, new products are just updated products. Unless it’s absolutely unique and innovative, with a patent that can’t be replicated for 17 years, then you don’t need it out of the box. However tempting it might be.

Cheaper and just-as-good-sounding gear is way more desirable to me than something new and shiny out of a box that does exactly the same.

Cost/Benefit Analysis

I’m an Economics major so I like thinking of purchases in terms of utility. Basically, how much “stuff” can I get out of a limited amount of resources, in this case, money.

I like thinking that more gear = better. Obviously, there are flaws in this argument. 5 cheap tube pre-amps are not better than one great one.

But on the whole, if I can get cheaper, but similar sounding gear with less money, I have more money to spend on other stuff.

And that’s where the punchline lies. If you buy the first generation interface that costs 50% less than the brand-new one that sounds almost the same, then you have 50% more money to spend on other stuff.

Instead of buying the newest microphone or pre-amp to make your recordings better, think about investing in your room instead. Think about the intangibles of your recordings. Think about how much better you can make your room sound with all that extra money.

Save your money from those second-hand purchases and invest them in yourself. Learn to make your room sound better.

Any gear will sound amazing in the hands of a skilled engineer working in a treated room.

If you’re struggling to understand acoustic treatment and how to get rid of that “home” sound from your home recordings, check out www.UnderstandingYourRoom.com.

Image by: Michael Holden

Are the knobs too much to handle, and are you ALWAYS unhappy with the result?

Don’t worry, you don’t really need to know how to compress. Especially if you’re happy with your source sounds.

I mean it, don’t worry about it. You can achieve something similar without compression, just with a little more work.

What’s this guy talking about?

Some of you might think I’m crazy. You DON’T have to use compression?!?

I can hear you yelling at me:

What a load of crap! (or you might choose a more expletive exclamation)

Let’s back up for a second…

What Does a Compressor Really Do?

In the simplest of terms, it’s a level controller. It makes the softer signals louder and the louder signals softer.

It manages your signal for you, raising it and lowering it depending on how loud it is.

Sure, there are a bunch of extra buttons that you might want to use, but if you’re happy with your source sound, why bother?

So how do you get great results without using compression?

Here’s What You do…

Use automation. Make the softer parts louder by pushing the levels up yourself.

Similarly, lower the volume of your track when it gets too loud.

Sure, it might take a while to do, but I thought you said you didn’t want to know how to use compression?

Normally, automation is the last step in making a mix sound good. It’s where you take all the elements and automate certain parts so that they pop out in certain areas, or blend in during others.

For instance:

• Lower the level of the rhythmic guitar during a solo section.
• Increase the level of the overall mix during a chorus.
• Mute reverbs during breakdowns to create contrast.
• Automate panning on delays so that they come from different spots in the stereo spectrum.

Automation can really create a more dynamic mix, if you approach it the right way.

And yes, you could even use it instead of a compressor. It just takes more time and effort.

Using compression is just the easier way to go. It takes less time to learn how to effectively use a compressor instead spending hours automating to get the same effect.

Automation is a great way to enhance a mix, but don’t take the long way home just because you’re intimidated by compression.

If you’re ready to learn how to mix WITH compression, check out www.UnderstandingCompression.com

Image by: Mohammed Alnaser

It’s the combination of a great performance as well as great recording skills.

Your voice is also the most intimate musical instrument so it’s necessary to treat it as such, with a comfortable atmosphere and care.

All of these things are equally important, from the technical side of getting a great microphone to coaxing a great performance out of a singer.

In the past year or so, there have been some great articles on vocal recording.  I’ve compiled these articles from the site and posted them on one easy-to-access page.

Similar to my guide on Building Your Home Recording Studio, as well as the Improve Your Recordings series, this page has all the vocal recording articles in one location. Check out the 6 Article Series on Recording Vocals here.

Before you Go, One Question for You?

What do you struggle with most when you’re recording vocals? Let us know in the comments!

Image by:  Magic Photography

You want them to add depth and push to the lead melody, but you need to do so without taking the attention away from the powerful lead vocal.

Here are 4 useful ways to make your backing vocals blend in better.

1. Use Less Volume

This might seem obvious, but are your backup vocals not blending together because they’re too loud? Get the lead vocal to where you want it, pull the faders down on your backup vocals and then slowly bring the faders up until they sit correctly.

Only with the correct levels can you continue blending them in. If they’re too loud to begin with, they’re going to stay that way regardless of what you do.

2. Roll off the Highs

If you want something to blend in, the easiest way is to roll off the high frequencies. They might sound odd when solo’d, but combined with the lead vocal they might blend in perfectly. This also works well when you want to blend in a vocal double that’s singing the same thing. If you want to make the double less noticeable, but still add some thickness and depth to the lead, roll off the highs with a high-shelving EQ.

3. Use Larger Reverbs

Make the lead vocal sound closer with shorter reverbs or delays while you push your backup vocals further away with a larger reverb. Don’t drown them in reverb, but use enough so that you can hear the separation between the two spaces. A short plate or a medium delay on the lead vocal and a hall reverb on the backups creates a nice separation between the two.

4. Use Darker Reverbs

Similar to #2, if you want to make something blend in, make it darker. A darker reverb can do the trick nicely, especially combined with a shorter and brighter plate on the lead vocal.

Separate but Equal

It’s all about creating the separation between the lead vocal and the backups. At the same time you don’t want the backups to take up the space reserved for the lead.

Use correct volume, roll off the highs on the backups and use larger and/or darker reverbs to create separation.

If you’re struggling with mixing backing vocals, or just mixing in general, I encourage you to check out www.MixWithUs.com, a great training course that tackles all the typical problems a mix might face.

Image by: familymwr

Even though it is still in its infancy, the use and demands on the internet has changed a great deal in recent years.

Trends come and go and just when you get used to one way of operating, something new comes along and blows all of your previous ways of working out of the water. It wasn’t that long ago when Myspace was the place to be for up and coming bands but at the moment, Myspace is well past its best and probably needs to be put out of its misery.

Having a website can be good but it can be expensive and a drain on time, money and effort for a band. Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter have probably superseded the need for a website for many new bands but these sites cannot provide everything that a band or act requires.

There is still a need for a place where a band can upload their songs to allow people to check them out. In an era when demo CDs are dying out, having an online presence for your songs is crucial.

Make sure your Music is Heard

This is where Bandcamp and Soundcloud are becoming the important factors for bands online. Using your social networking pages to direct people to your music, which is stored in high quality, is the best way to promote your band, but there are other benefits.

If you tag your music properly, and it is related to other acts, you can have a greater number of people stumble across your music. This is where the presence of these music sharing sites have a greater importance when compared to traditional band websites.

It is likely that people searching for one band will spend time listening to bands who are listed as similar, giving acts a far greater chance of being found.

Share your Presence Online

To say that Bandcamp and Soundcloud is all you need would be wrong but you should not be trying to operate without at least one of these options.

Having social media outlets where you can converse with fans and direct them to your music is still essential but these sites are definitely the best places to display your music online. No matter what sort of promotion you are doing, bear in mind that it is always about the music. So remember to get people to visit the place where your music can be heard.

These sites are simple to use, free to use and more importantly, they can be the portal with which the greatest number of people find your songs. If you make music, you need to have a presence on these sites.

Image by: Jason A. Samfield