Topic: post production and sound levels

[phriq]

Hey everyone,
   I had two questions, first i have a sony MD recorder but it doesnt show recording input levels, so i dont know if it will clip or anything. is there any way i can guess as to where to set the recording volume at? also, i was just wondering what everyone else did for post production and editing for live recorded shows. thanks.

[beefstew]

need more info on the first question like...
What model MD are you using? Are you using a battery-box to Line In on the recorder?

mostly for post production, i just do some EQ in Audition 2.0 and make sure my levels are even

[phriq]

i am using a sony net md walkman mz-n505 type-r. i am also using dual binaural mics that are in a 9v battery module with 107 hz bass roll off turned on into my md recorder. .
 
what kind of equalization and stuff do you do in adobe? if its all one track waht can you do to equalize evertying?

[Church-Audio]

i am using a sony net md walkman mz-n505 type-r. i am also using dual binaural mics that are in a 9v battery module with 107 hz bass roll off turned on into my md recorder. .
 
what kind of equalization and stuff do you do in adobe? if its all one track waht can you do to equalize evertying?

Thats a very hard question to answer because you will get a million different responses here.

Most of the guys here have very high end gear and I suspect they don't do much in post in the way of eq..
I think you should take a hard listen to your recordings play around with the file in a sound editing program. Remember to always SAVE A COPY FIRST. Make sure you don't edit the original make a copy and play with that so you will not end up losing your original recording. When I was starting out I used a graphic eq plug in * well to be honest when I started out there were no plug-ins... Anyway when I started out I used a graphic eq I would boost a frequency listen  to it then move the slider to 0 then cut it buy the same amount I just boosted it by, then I would see if I liked it boosted or cut or flat. I then went all the way down the basic 31 band eq until I was satisfied with my end product. Remember with eq its better to think of it as a scalpel use it sparingly the less you use eq the better off you are. Its a very hard subject to teach someone there are a few live sound engineers here and quite a few recording engineers here too. I am a live sound engineer. I started just playing with the eq and getting to know what 100hz sounded like and what 800hz sounded like by boosting them in a recording I made mental notes of what part instruments were really effected by what frequencies. That way when I had a problem I could narrow it down to the guitar or snare drum and I could narrow it down to a small group of frequencies say between 500hz and 1k today I can pretty much say that's 1k that's 2k but it can take a while to get there. Asking questions is great but remember that computer on your desk is a pretty powerful tool play with the on board eq in your software listen to what changes can be made. Good luck I hope I was of some help.

[phriq]

that helps some. thats pretty much what i do most of the time is just fiddle arround and what not. i have been working on (slowly, but its getting there) building my own home studio, that i record my music with and do all my other projects with (though i have no degree or formal training in audio production) but i have thought constantly about getting a degree in it. i was just looking for any tips or normal tricks others do.

[Church-Audio]

that helps some. thats pretty much what i do most of the time is just fiddle arround and what not. i have been working on (slowly, but its getting there) building my own home studio, that i record my music with and do all my other projects with (though i have no degree or formal training in audio production) but i have thought constantly about getting a degree in it. i was just looking for any tips or normal tricks others do.

The first tip is every recording is different. So will require eq some will not. You have to be able to trust your playback gear and know the speakers your making your changes with... VERY WELL. If I ever go into a studio or a live situation where I don't know the speakers or the room the first thing I do before I touch a knob is play a cd of something I know very well.. I use Billy Joel storm front cd. I also use Robbie Robertson somewhere down the crazy river.. With these two Cd's before anything happens I know what the system can and cant do.. Then I mess around with eq if I have too. I am sure you have a few tracks of your favorite band that are mixed well and mastered well that you can use to become tuned in. Once that happens then when I am making changes to a track I know its because its the track no my speakers or my room. Well as long as I have had sleep the night before I know that But you get my point. There are no rules in audio except do what sounds good to your ears try different playback spots keep an old cd radio around with cheap speakers in it so you can listen to your work on something less then stellar. If it sounds good there it will sound good pretty much anywhere.

I normalize for the most part and maybe a touch of eq around -3 db or so around 100 to 160hz maybe -4-5db at 600-800hz I dont like these frequencies very much to begin with.. And then a small cut around 2.4k 2.6k but again that's with my mics and my gear. Your not using what I am so you might have different places to cut. Never let someone tell you ALWAYS take out abit of 100hz lol Or 1k... That's total BS... you dont know what to take out until you hear the track. I hope that helped abit.

[goodcooker]

the record level adjustment on my Sony mz-s1 is :
in rec pause - Menu >>>Rec Vol >> Manual......you can then set the level on the fly with the vol adust...
mine defaults automatically every time to Auto so when you change discs remember to reset to Manual. This has screwed me when I was in a hurry between songs to get discs changed and not make a scene.

In post I capture real time (mine is one of the old ones) in Adobe Audition...MD>presonus firebox>firewire>pcmcia cardbus>Audition.

If I have to I will add some Parametric EQ or 30 band graphic EQ doing pretty much what Chris Church does. Play around with each freq band and get a feel for what sounds right for you and your gear.

and remember the two most important things
1) listen to the "finished" product on different playback equipment (home stero,car stereo in addition to your monitors) I use some 1985 Klipsch Heresy II Pro loudspeakers for my studio monitors and they have a mild but definitely present freq response curve (just like any microphone). Only the most expensive gear is truly flat and you also have the room reflection to consider.

2) after you master in post walk away and don't listen to it for a half a day or overnight, then listen to it again....you might find that you over worked it and find that a more gentle tweaking sounds better after the ear fatigue of a long mix session ( with your ears still ringing from the show anyway cause you prob didn't wear protection, hey I do it too sometimes )....do not trust your final mix to earphones...

Also in Audition you can mix the processed signal with the dry signal as you like in the effect bus mixer....this is very handy to preserve the sound of the original track and get a less "obvious" EQ.

hope this helps