I have finally pulled the trigger and got some mics...
I made my first pull with my own pair of mics last night at Gov't Mule @ the Cain's Ballroom here in Tulsa.
I have been reading for some time and have slowly worked my way to a (undoubtedly small) understanding of the overall process of taping....
I have now ventured into post production.
I currently run this rig: Mod Nak 300 > PS2> R09
I also have these programs at my disposal, if that helps: CD Wave Editor, FLAC Frontend, Foobar2000, Winamp, MKW Audio Compression, Audacity, Exact Audio Copy, and Sound Forge 7.0.
I find myself wanting to explore common ways of "tweaking"/maybe improving/mainly experimenting with what I am currently capturing.
I, due to my lack of a preamp I assume, seem to have a little bit of a weak signal. I have tried to "boost" this using Audacity and Sound Forge (as of today). So that is a concern I have.
I also have head of some different processes like "normalizing" and so forth, and would like someone to tell me what that, and other similar processes, effect my quality.
That is a common concern I have. I think to myself "well I dont want to even try to normalize this because I don't want to screw up my stuff somehow" Maybe this concern could be summed up by a few things you DO NOT want to do in terms of post and editing and whatnot...
I know I just threw it all out there....if you think you could help with any part of my situation, any help would be much appreciated!
I thought one way to address all the things I need to know/explore/check out would be to see if anyone here has a set system for what they do with their music once it gets home.......
Thanks in advance. :)
my system is simple. back up the files, twice.
then if i am going to do anything to them, including tracking i will import a copy into x___ software and do whatever i am going to do to that leaving the original unmolested.
screw around with stuff. go to the extremes so you can see how they sound then work your way back towards a better sound
Understood.
Do you save your final copies as FLAC?
Do you do any certain operation to every piece of music that comes through? (that you wish to retain and archive/spend the time on)
I think spcyrfc hit the nail on the head. Back up, back up, back up!
I also make a copy of the file when I'm working on it, and then sometimes I even back that copy up. :yack:
My post processing workflow:
01. Transfer via USB to HDD.
02. Do absolutly NO post processing.
03. CDwave: track and convert to flac...
04. Burn to DVD-r
Quote from: Javier Cinakowski on May 01, 2008, 12:52:38 PM
My post processing workflow:
01. Transfer via USB to HDD.
02. Do absolutly NO post processing.
03. CDwave: track and convert to flac...
04. Burn to DVD-r
this is mostly how i roll, except that i'll normalize, add fades to the front and back of each disc, and maybe do some minor EQ work.
beyond that, i leave it untouched.
Quote from: evilchris on May 01, 2008, 01:08:53 PM
Quote from: Javier Cinakowski on May 01, 2008, 12:52:38 PM
My post processing workflow:
01. Transfer via USB to HDD.
02. Do absolutly NO post processing.
03. CDwave: track and convert to flac...
04. Burn to DVD-r
this is mostly how i roll, except that i'll normalize, add fades to the front and back of each disc, and maybe do some minor EQ work.
beyond that, i leave it untouched.
I did the same thing. I then figured out that I could fade in and out before/after each set during the performnace. I also learned to nail my levels so normailzing wasn't nessesary. This came from lazyness as I hated the how slow my computer would normalize and save the new file... In the end I feel very strongly about doing no post processing. I never did EQ, if the show needs some minor EQ I'll do it on the playback equipment. If the recording requireds major EQ, I consider the recording a failure and delete it... I like pure stereo ambient recordings. 2 channels, no processing.
+T to everyone for their quick responses....
I think I agree with keeping my master completely unedited.
I know I do not know what normalizing does/is/is for...something to do with the peaks.
What is the difference between a peak and a clip?
Peaks are just the loud points and clips go past/to 0?
???
As far as EQ, unless there was just a little tweak I thought I could do to make a load of difference, I mainly just EQ on my playback...
Javier, thanks very much for your "processing workflow"... Do you keep any .WAV files?
I guess most people back up onto an external hard drive, as well as a DVD-A....does more fit on the DVD-A, or what is the advantage of that? I guess I would have to get a DVD-A player, or plug a mini from my laptop?
you got the idea regarding peaks and clip.
I do not keep any wav files. I convert to flac and burn those files to a data DVD disc. If I want to listen to the show I put the DVD into my computers drive and listen with Windows Media Player (I installed the flac codec patch).
I don't know any tapers that use DVD-A to put their shows on.
Hmm, yes, no one even posted DVD-A.
I wonder where I got that from...
Most everything has already been well said. Since I do a lot of matrix and 4track ambient stuff, I have a different approach than folks inclined to do no post processing. See this thread for a good discussion hashing out that debate: http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,100697.0/all.html
Here's my workflow:
raw back-up
-create .md5 and text files for each raw file set
-2 back-up copies of the raw files with .md5 and text files (one on data DVD, the other on an external HD)
if 2 track ambient
-EQ (rarely, and generally only a high pass filter)
-peak normalize (no reason not to maximize the headroom on your ultimate playback device/media)
if 4 tracks or more
-EQ as needed to my taste
-light compression and limiting
-peak normalize (again no reason not to maximize the headroom on your ultimate playback device/media)
post back-up
-split tracks and create a 16bit/44.1khz file set (I mostly record @ 24/48) of the final tracks
-make .flac files of the 24bit and 16/44 final tracks, as well as .ffp and .md5 files for each file set
-2 back-up copies of the processed .flac files (one on data DVD, the other on an external HD)
-burn listening copies
Edit to add - good discussion of EQing in this thread: http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,101688.0/all.html
First of all, regarding EQ and whatnot, there is no formula. It is generally better to subtract frequencies than to add, but EQ can make a mess of something really quickly if not used sparingly(and correctly!)
check this thread out for a lot of information regarding recording/post, etc..
http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,58384.0.html
Quote from: Mr.Fantasy on May 01, 2008, 02:55:05 PM
+T to everyone for their quick responses....
I think I agree with keeping my master completely unedited.
I know I do not know what normalizing does/is/is for...something to do with the peaks.
What is the difference between a peak and a clip?
Peaks are just the loud points and clips go past/to 0?
???
As far as EQ, unless there was just a little tweak I thought I could do to make a load of difference, I mainly just EQ on my playback...
Javier, thanks very much for your "processing workflow"... Do you keep any .WAV files?
I guess most people back up onto an external hard drive, as well as a DVD-A....does more fit on the DVD-A, or what is the advantage of that? I guess I would have to get a DVD-A player, or plug a mini from my laptop?
Thanks Teddy...
Thank one link sent me on a few hours worth of wondering around the internet link to link....
+T for the intimidating amount of info....
I am trying to digest....
But in the mean time, I am trying to troubleshoot what is wrong with my dads old Pioneer SX-840 Receiver....
I remember we had some weird problem with it, then today I set it up on a whim......it worked great for awhile, then all of the sudden, I am listening to what I am doing in CD Wave Editor through the mini on my laptop and....SCRAASSSHHHHHHHHHHH....
I quickly paused what I was playing and turned the receiver off....waited and then tried it again, and once I turned it on this time, it was just loud and overdrove my speakers really hard until I could kill it again.....
??? >:( :'( :-\
Fun fun...
*Off-Topic Update*
I switched to a different input and it is working....knock on panels...I mean wood! :laugh:
Bass boost, eh? I recorded Grace Potter and Govt'. Mule at the Cains with the Modded 300's and I found the result to be rather bass(y?) not really what I would call "boomy" or "muddy" but more of an "in your face" kind of bass.
Much more/better than the original for sure in my opinion. Even with the good Mercury Duracell 9v.
I have run into another problem.
I have started to develop an organizational system that will work for me (including an external hard drive for my 21st birthday on Tuesday ;D)....
....but I cannot figure out how to FLAC 24/48 files....
Can anyone point me to a somewhat simple explanation?
It seems like I have done this before, but it seems like simply adding a 24/48 file into FLAC Frontend did not work properly.....
So, do you keep your fingerprints and MD5(s) in a folder along with your flacs?
Like Haveing Music Folder > Data Files Folder > (a folder that has FFP's and MD5's)