Topic: Help, my tapes suck....

[sygdwm]

too kick drummy i want to take the peaks down and bring the whole thing up.

source: akg460>a60>ck2>acm671@24/48

obviously, this is all i have to work with:

[Brian Skalinder]

Check the stickied post at the top of the forum for threads on limiting and/or compression and/or EQ and/or post-processing generally.

[Shawn]

compression would probably be a big help.

[sygdwm]

i was afraid you guys would say that.

[Gordon]

i was afraid you guys would say that.

it's easy

[sygdwm]

i dont even know what to "click" or "drag". fml.

[Gordon]

process > dynamics

read some of threads in the sticky for a idea how how to set it.  use something like -5db threshold and 10:1 ratio

[sygdwm]

oic. i was using the multiband in the vst folder.

[halleyscomet8]

delete

[sygdwm]

*this* close. but i think the shwoopes from up front suck too.

[halleyscomet8]

*this* close. but i think the shwoopes from up front suck too.

of course they do...

[easy jim]

I see you were using omni caps.  You could also try a high pass filter, maybe in the neighborhood of -12dB/octave @ 80Hz +/- 5-10KHz.  It would take out some of the lower 'thump' of the kick, though it would not address the issue if there's too much 'attack' in the kick drum sound.

[kirk97132]

"Help, my tapes suck...."

You're right I think you should quit taping and give me all your gear so you don't have to suffer any more

[sygdwm]

im currently playing with compression, but its a bitch. what really sucks is my tapes of um, out411, and nms sound great. same stage, same setup.

[kirk97132]

im currently playing with compression, but its a bitch. what really sucks is my tapes of um, out411, and nms sound great. same stage, same setup.

PM sent

[sygdwm]

thanks kirk. trying to digest it.

[kirk97132]

Hit me with any Q's you I'll try to help if I can

[sygdwm]

honestly, im lying. watching the all star game instead.

[Patrick]

Drew, the multiband compressor would be more help than compressing the whole file.  Try setting it to compress attacks with -3dBFS thresholds or so at everything below 160hz. Fairly high ratio, try 5:1 or 7:1.  10:1 depending on how bad it is.  This way, the compressor will get rid of the powerful thumps, but also avoid having the compressor "pump" on the rest of the frequency range when triggered by the kick drum hits.  Leave all the other bands alone and just work on the lower frequencies.  Hope this helps.

[sygdwm]

thanks everybody for making me work less tomorrow.

[unclelouie]

Drew, the multiband compressor would be more help than compressing the whole file.  Try setting it to compress attacks with -3dBFS thresholds or so at everything below 160hz. Fairly high ratio, try 5:1 or 7:1.  10:1 depending on how bad it is.  This way, the compressor will get rid of the powerful thumps, but also avoid having the compressor "pump" on the rest of the frequency range when triggered by the kick drum hits.  Leave all the other bands alone and just work on the lower frequencies.  Hope this helps.

I've done this with success in the past.

You could also try a first- or second-order notch filter, but keep it real narrow.
 

[sygdwm]

update:

i did nothing with compression. instead i used a vst plugin call awinda. its a 31 band eq. in conjunction with the spectrum analyzer, i was able to remove the nasty stuff, while retaining the goods. i polished my turds.

[kirk97132]

Are you going to try and do a compression version and compare to see what you like?

[sygdwm]

if i get some more pot, maybe.

[kirk97132]

if i get some more pot, maybe.

Having brain overload eh?

[Gutbucket]

update:

i did nothing with compression. instead i used a vst plugin call awinda. its a 31 band eq. in conjunction with the spectrum analyzer, i was able to remove the nasty stuff, while retaining the goods. i polished my turds.

Just saw this thread and was going to suggest just that.  Mulit-band graphic eq (easiest) or a parametric (more precise but trickier) is my #1 go-to tool for polishing my recordings. Sometimes takes a good bit of work and time to dial it in right.  Helps to come back to it later with fresh ears to make sure you didn't go overboard.

[bgreen]

Just a side note. Here is a pretty cool lil chart for helping to know where to start when you start eq'ing. Also helps you see the entire range you will affect by dropping frequencies.

http://www.independentrecording.net/irn/resources/freqchart/main_display.htm

comes in real handy at times. You'll also want to become real familiar with your spectral and FFT meters. They really help you pinpoint the parts you really want to focus on

And don't be afraid of compression and limiting. Used correctly, they work wonders. Find a copy of Bob Katz book if you need a jumping in point for editing. If you need to know where to find it, gimme a holler. There are also sme good instruction vids on wavelab if ya need em, and most of the plugs have an info section explaing the basic functions. If you already know the how, these little faq's will get you through the "what to click or drag". Wavelabs Montage is also a great tool. I rarely do anything in the waves screen anymore.

 

[sygdwm]

thanks for the info. i filled my jar today, so ill give it a rip. 

[Brian Skalinder]

Great chart, thanks for posting bgreen.    Added it to the sticky at the top of the forum.

[Gutbucket]

There are similar charts around, but the interactive part of that one is very cool, nice find. 

I second the recommendation of Bob Katz's book on mastering.  It is informative and straight forward about the role of the mastering engineer, what they do and the tools they use.  I was a bit disappointed that it does not better address the correction of common problems in the type of recordings we make, but of course most mastering engineers are working on multi-tracked studio recordings, not ambient audience recordings of live music. The general principles apply, but you won't find much on specifics.  I found the section discussion parallel or bottom-up compression particularly useful for reducing macrodynamics by bringing up the quiet parts instead of squashing the loud parts.  I need to play with it more, but I can get much more transparent compression that way.

[612]

What Bob Katz book/edition would people recommend? Thank you.

[Gutbucket]

(Bob Katz) Mastering Audio - The Art And The Science

I have the second edition, not sure if that's the latest. You can check his website.  There is a lot of good information in his articles and responses in the FAQ section on that site, much of the same basic information as in the book, just less in-depth.

[boojum]

^^^^ About Katz.  He is the current guru on the subject but if you are expecting a cook book explanation of how to make your recordings sound better you will not find it in this book.  It is useful, but I found it a difficult read.  I do not have a technical background.  Ask me something about US History.        Or COBOL  ROTFLMAO    It has some good info. though.

I find that I just have to open up the editor, load the project and I use SAM so in virtual mode I can do all sorts of stuff and do no damage.  I am getting better mixes now than before.  But I am doing it by experiment and peeping over other folks shoulders, like Gutbucket's, by reading this and other boards. 

I just finished the third mix of a local band's gig.  I had to bring the mono vocal track way forward into the mix which started robbing the mix of stereo info.  Where to strike the balance?  Ah, problems, problems, problems.  Ya just never are finished with a mix.  Ya just give up on it.   

[Gutbucket]

^^^^ About Katz.  He is the current guru on the subject but if you are expecting a cook book explanation of how to make your recordings sound better you will not find it in this book..

True.  That book is more of a liberal arts education than a trade school.

It's one of the more common books on mastering, but mostly does a good job of describing in depth what a mastering engineer does, why their role is very different from a recording or mixing engineer, what tools are used and why, how to set things up properly, etc. It helps explain why mastering is a complicated and nit-picky undertaking that perhaps shouldn't be done haphazardly without realizing how things translate out in the real word.  It's an overview to the concerns and processes.  It's not meant to be an instruction manual on what to do to make your recordings sound better.

[Patrick]

It's not meant to be an instruction manual on what to do to make your recordings sound better.

Correct. 

This book was used as a text for a digial audio mastering course that I took last semester.  It was a great resource if for no other reason that it got me really thinking about mastering and listening *very* critically to my recordings.  It also talked a lot about formats through the years and some techniques that were popular in the past.  Katz has a certain writing style that works well for some subjects and not so well for others;  I read his "Basics of Digital Audio" book and it was not very inspiring or helpful at all, whereas I really enjoyed "Mastering Audio."