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2.27.2011

5 Tips for a Great Acoustic Guitar Recording

Here are 5 tips for getting great acoustic guitar recordings in your home studio.



1 - Guitar Selection: Every brand and style of guitar has a different sound. Yamaha or Martin, a full size Dreadnaught or a smaller Parlor style. They all sound different, your favorite or most expensive guitar may not be the best for every situation. Having a few choices available will help you get a lot closer to the sound that's right for any song.

2 - Tuning and New strings: It's very simple but often overlooked. Before an important recording session, put new strings on your guitar. Before every take make sure it's perfectly tuned. If you use a capo remember to compensate with your tuning.

3 - Listening: Instead of just putting the mic where you think it will sound good, actually get up and walk around and listen to the tonal changes in each part of the guitar. When you find a favorite spot, put your mic there. This is a great starting point for a mono (single mic) recording as well as a good warm-up for your ears. If the song calls for a stereo acoustic guitar part, you still need to find the sweet spot for the mics. How high or low, close or far, you don't know until you take the time to listen.

4 - Mic Choices and Position: In the studio it is unlikely you will prefer the sound of a dynamic mic on acoustic guitar compared to a condenser, but if you've never heard it, by all means try it, try all your mics. Large diaphragm condensers and small diaphragm condensers are the most common choices for acoustic guitar recording. Again, listen to the differences between mics and where you place them. The closer the mic is to the instrument the more 'Proximity Effect' (an exaggerated low frequency boost in the mic) there will be. Avoid using mics that might exaggerate lows, mids or highs in an already too dark, middy or bright guitar. Pick a mic that complements or balances the sound, dark mic on a too bright guitar for example.

5 - Processing: After you've done your best capturing the guitar right, you still may need to do some work to get it playing nice with all the instruments. In the mix you'll usually need a bit of processing to make room for other instruments, control dynamics, among other things. Generally you need to: cut the very low frequencies, shape the mids to make room for vocals, compress a few dB to even out the performance and add a little reverb to give it space.

2.23.2011

Featured Equipment Of The Week - AKG K240mkII Studio Headphones

AKG K240mkII Studio Headphones
The K 240 MK II is a newly updated version of AKG’s most successful headphones with Varimotion™ technology and XXL transducers. The K 240 MK II’s semi-open ear cups have around-the-ear coupling to deliver solid bass, accurate mids and crystal-clear highs.
Thanks to its lower impedance and improved sensitivity, it can be used with low-output audio sources to deliver its incredible sound.
The detachable OFC cable has gold-plated plugs for optimum audio quality and exceptional ease of service.

Read more about the AKG K240mkII


TOP FEATURES
  • Professional hi-fi stereo studio headphones
  • Semi-open, circumaural design
  • Self-adjusting headband for optimum fit
  • Patented Varimotion speakers
  • Leatherette ear pads and velvet ear pads
  • Single-sided, detachable 3 m cable and additional 5 m coiled cable
Read more about the AKG K240mkII

2.18.2011

XLN Audio Reel Machines ADPack for Addictive Drums

Today I found this great article explaining the creation of the new Reel Machines ADPack of electronic drums for Addictive Drums. XLN Audio Addictive Drums is one of my favorite virtual instruments and gets a lot of use in my personal and professional productions. After reading about all that went into this expansion, I'm really looking forward to trying it.



The Reel Machines ADPack is vintage electronic drums recorded to analog tape along with real room and plate ambience. 
Read all the details on how they created it here: Simmons Museum

2.17.2011

Featured Equipment Of The Week - KOMPLETE 7 ELEMENTS

KOMPLETE 7 ELEMENTS
Your Gateway to professional music production
Packing a comprehensive selection of production-ready sounds and effects, this is the perfect introduction to the world of KOMPLETE. This collection delivers studio quality tools at unbeatable value, and is infinitely expandable with the ever-growing range of KOMPLETE Instruments and Effects.
Read all the details for KOMPLETE 7 ELEMENTS
 

TOP FEATURES
  • The essential selection of premium sounds taken from Native Instruments' award-winning software synthesizers, samplers and effects
  • Your quickest route to professional music production
  • Over 12 GB and 2,000 studio-quality sounds – from VSL strings and GUITAR RIG amps to REAKTOR synths
  • Vast preset library covering the entire musical spectrum
  • Includes the KOMPLETE PLAYERS: The 4 ultimate performance engines to play back all KOMPLETE Instruments and Effects
  • Intuitive user interfaces for fast and efficient workflows
  • All instruments run stand-alone – ideal for live performances on stage
  • Supports all major plug-in formats for perfect integration in professional music production environments
  • Ready for Pro Tools®, Logic®, Cubase®, GarageBand®, Live™, and all other major DAWs
  • Fully expandable with KOMPLETE Instruments and Effects, $60 / 50 € e-voucher included
Read all the details for KOMPLETE 7 ELEMENTS

2.15.2011

Native Instruments Available At Revolution Audio

This week we started adding software and hardware from Native Instruments to our online store.
Native Instruments is the creator of industry standard tools for musicians, composers, producers, and DJs.
See all Native Instruments Products at Revolution Audio


Some of our favorite NI products are:
MASCHINE - The Groove Production Studio. A hybrid hardware/software instrument.
GUITAR RIG MOBILE - Ultra compact USB2 guitar interface with GUITAR RIG ESSENTIAL software included.
KOMPLETE 7 - Software bundle with 24 instruments and effects and massive 90GB content library.

See all Native Instruments Products at Revolution Audio

2.09.2011

Featured Equipment Of The Week - TC Electronic Impact Twin Firewire Audio Interface

TC Electronic Impact Twin Firewire Audio Interface
Impact Twin is a brand new, state of the art audio interface that features ground-breaking technology to ensure that the music you record sounds as good on the inside of your computer as it does on the outside.
Find out all the details of the Impact Twin
 


Top Features
  • Easy to use and loaded with the features you need
  • 24-bit/192kHz conversion quality
  • 14-in/14-out
  • Comes complete with TC plug-ins, easy-access compressor, built-in tuner, and Ableton Live Lite 8 TC Electronic Edition software
  • Direct monitor reverb
  • Sturdy, compact design
  • Two premium TC preamps with Impact III Technology
Find out all the details of the Impact Twin

2.07.2011

Home Studio Tip Of The Month - Power Conditioning

What's the deal with Power Conditioners?

Here's the story of how I improved my home studio with the addition of a power conditioner. A power conditioner is one of those items that's probably pretty low on the things to buy list. If you have a home studio, or especially a live recording set-up, you should definitely consider getting one sooner, rather than later.

So what is power conditioning?

Power conditioning is a kind of vague term to that covers voltage regulation, surge protection, spike protection and noise reduction of the AC power that runs all your equipment.
A power conditioner is a rack that does all this as well as power distribution, a fancy word for multiple outlets.

Samson PS15

The power conditioner I bought is a fairly simple one, nothing fancy. It's the model PS15 from Samson that costs about $75. This is one of the least expensive power conditioners you can get, they can get pretty expensive and have all sorts of features that likely won't help you make music. Mine has Eight outlets on the back, one on the front, basic radio frequency filtering, surge and spike protection and a circuit breaker to reset the system in case of overload. No lights or meters, just a rack with a big red button that no one is allowed to touch (one of my favorite features haha).

Filtering and Noise reduction

On the topic of filtering and noise reduction. I haven't heard a change in sound quality. Unless you have an obvious noise problem do not expect any change. On the other hand, power conditioner will never add noise to the system. The only time you might have noise is if you do something like have one of your speakers on a different outlet, then you might have some nasty ground loop hum.

Using it in the home studio

The way I have it set up is like this:
All my computer equipment, computer, two monitors, modem, router and mouse charger go into a power bar and that takes up 1 outlet on the rack.
My audio gear plugs directly into the rack, that's my two Yamaha monitors, M-Audio Profire 2626 interface and vintage Roland Space Echo.
My hard drives and lighting for behind the desk go into another power bar and then into the rack.The charger for my Macbook Pro goes into the front.
Nine outlets is plenty, I still have two left. The circuit breaker will trip to tell me when I've used to much.

So why would you need a power conditioner?

These are the main factors in my decision to purchase this power conditioner rack.
  • My computer, monitors, speakers, interface, external drives and network take up a lot of outlets, more than is probably safe.
  • I hate cable clutter, I wanted to separate audio and power cables but they'd always seem to cross because everything was going in opposite directions, now with the rack it's much more organized. I added some hooks to the back of the rack to keep the cables separated as much as possible.
  • I'm in an apartment there's a good chance my power is erratic and noisy.
  • I sometimes do mobile recording and this provides great protection for my gear.
  • It was inexpensive.
  • I had extra space in the rack.
  • Rack gear is cool no matter what it does.
Your reasons for getting one might be different. I think everyone can agree it's essential for a live recording rig (who knows what's going on out there). Better blowing up your power conditioner than your much more valuable recording gear.

2.05.2011

The Mobile Music Revolution

The Mobile Music Revolution
 
When the Apple iPad came out last year, the potential of using one as a music production tool was still far off, but in the last couple months things have really gotten exciting. There is now an incredible variety of great, low cost apps: guitar amps, synthesizers, multi-track recorders, voice effects, DAW controllers and more. There are also a few companies coming out with quality accessories to help you get the more from your iDevice in the studio and on stage. This month, why not take a break from playing Angry Birds and Plants vs Zombies to create some music! Check out our new IPHONE / IPAD / IPOD Category. 




2.02.2011

Featured Equipment - Cakewalk SONAR X1

SONAR: Reimagined
SONAR has evolved and so can the way you make music. Imagine the power and maturity of an industry standard DAW combined with the cutting edge creative tools essential for today's music - all wrapped up in one of the most modern and (dare we say) beautiful user interfaces available.


SONAR X1 Essential
SONAR X1 Essential has a completely redesigned user interface that makes creating music faster and easier than ever. Create with cutting edge musical tools like the Step Sequencer and The Matrix. Customize your workspace with the Skylight interface. Get hands on control with Active Controller Technology (ACT). With a powerful collection of effects and instruments to get you started and more available tracks than DAWs costing twice the price, SONAR Essential is the perfect way to get your feet wet and to begin crafting your own masterpiece.
More info: SONAR X1 Essential

SONAR X1 Studio
SONAR X1 Studio contains all the fundamental recording and editing power that has made SONAR such a popular choice amongst musicians and engineers for years. Now, with a completely redesigned user interface, creating music in SONAR is more intuitive and fluid than ever. With all the cutting edge creation tools and core technologies SONAR has to offer, plus an expanded set of professional instruments and effects, SONAR X1 Studio is the ideal choice for just about any studio environment.
More info: SONAR X1 Studio

SONAR X1 Producer
SONAR X1 Producer has everything needed to deliver the polished, “radio-ready” recordings that are expected in today’s music industry – all in one box. Included are all of SONAR’s cutting edge music creation tools plus an unparalleled collection of world-class instruments and effects. From the innovative Skylight interface to the legendary, “big-studio” sound of the ProChannel console strip, SONAR X1 Producer is the ideal choice for anyone serious about music production.  
More info: SONAR X1 Producer


Upgrading?
Contact us for prices sales@revolutionaudio.ca