Here you will find home recording news, tips and articles as well as reviews of new recording gear and software. Revolution Audio Canada exists to spark the home studio uprising by any means possible!
Presonus Studio One Artist
Studio One is a groundbreaking music-creation and production application for Mac OS X and Windows XP/Vista that makes audio recording, MIDI sequencing, and audio mastering ridiculously simple right out of the box, yet provides a wealth of professional features.
Fresh code, innovative drag-and-drop MIDI mapping and plug-in management, auto-configuration with PreSonus hardware, insanely good audio quality, unlimited tracks and plug-ins per track, and a powerful, inventive Start page that literally puts the whole project right in your hands are just a few of the compelling features that make Studio One the next generation in audio software. Far from just another music-production program, Studio One changes the rules of the game, giving you a complete, easy-to-use solution from raw tracks to finished master, while supporting the latest standards and technologies. Studio One Artist Studio One Artist is not a dumbed-down, "lite" version of Studio One Pro. Rather, it's just one version of the same creative recording and production platform--with unlimited track count and the same intuitive interface.
Find out more | Presonus Studio One Artist
FEATURES
Elegant single-window work environment
Powerful drag-and-drop functionality
Unlimited audio tracks, MIDI tracks, virtual instruments, buses, and FX channels
Content browser with convenient sort options and preview player
Automatic delay compensation
Advanced automation
32-bit audio processing
Easy-to-use sidechain routing
Stunning virtual instruments
User-friendly sampler
Most intuitive MIDI-mapping system available
Real-time audio timestretching and resampling
K-System metering
Compatible with any ASIO-, Windows Audio-, or Core Audio-compliant audio interface
Works with key commands from Pro Tools, Cubase, and Logic.
Native Effects™ 32-bit effects library with 20 dynamics processors, reverbs, modulations effects, amp simulators, etc.
Four virtual instruments
Native Instruments™ Kore™ Player with 150 instruments
Native Instruments™ Guitar Rig LE
Toontrack™ EZDrummer Lite
Nearly 1,400 drum loops (1.4 GB!) by Bandmate™ Loops
Radial ProRMP
Re-amping has been the 'secret weapon' for countless recordings by the biggest names in the business and the process is often used on guitars, bass, keyboards, percussion and even voice to create new textures! The Radial ProRMP is a 100% passive re-amplifier that lets you to take a pre-recorded track and re-amplify it through a guitar amp or effects pedals to create new and exciting tones.
Plug and play easy to use, the ProRMP connects from the recorder to your amp and effects units and does all the impedance matching for you. Just adjust the level to suit!
Bass doesn't always get the attention it deserves in a recording situation. I see a lot of home recordists rush through bass recording, only to later be frustrated with the bass when it comes time for mixing. It's really too bad because it's the foundation of the song. A great bass will groove tight with the drums and support the guitars. Fitting it in the mix will take minimal effort and you will be loving life.
A great recording starts with a great source. When it comes to tracking bass guitar, the source is comprised of many factors:
Musician:
Technique and playing position - Playing with a pick or with fingers or thumb. Intensity, Playing close to the bridge, in the middle or close to the neck. Choose what is appropriate for the song
What is played - playing bass lines that serve the song and don't clash with the drums or guitars rhythmically or melodically.
Tuning - Check the tuning often
Bass:
Strings - new strings usually sound best and give you the brightest tone to start with.
Electronics (Pickups and EQ) - The pickup selection and tone settings
Wood and construction - The wood used in the neck and body really effect the sound. Maple and Ash are bright and punchy, mahogany is thicker and darker.
Amplification chain:
Cable - debatable how much impact this has, how about just using one that doesn't hum or crackle if you move it.
Pedals - If a particular pedal helps get you the desired tone, go for it. I would hold off on spatial effects (delay, reverb) until mixing as they require their own attention.
Amplifier and EQ settings - tube or solid state. As a starting point put all EQ knobs at 6.
Cabinet - 1x12", 4x10", 1x15"
Cabinet position - where in the room, close to walls, on the floor or elevated
Everything contributes to the sound you'll be recording, do whatever you can to get this close to what you need from the start. It won't be the same for every song so you may want to have a few options for basses, though a Fender Jazz bass or MusicMan is versatile enough to get you what you need 80% of the time. Rent or borrow what you don't own before looking for magical plugins to solve all your bass problems.
In my experience getting good bass gear for recording made my life so much easier further along in my projects. For recording you don't necessarily need a massive bass rig, I use a Sterling Ray 34 (Low-end Music Man. Swamp ash body, maple neck, humbucker pickup with active EQ) into a small Ampeg BX112 solid state combo amp with a single 12" woofer. Greatest bass recording gear ever? Ha, far from it, but it got me so much closer to the sound I was looking for. Prior to that I was fighting with a mahogany bass that was deep but had almost no midrange when recorded making it hard to hear clearly in the mix.
A great bass tone in the room is more likely to inspire a great performance. Now you need to capture and enhance it.
The Recording Chain:
Mic selection - Dynamic mics and large diaphragm condensers are most common for bass amps. Spend some time comparing.
Mic position - distance and angle play a big part as always.
Direct Box (DI) - A direct box allows you to split the signal from the bass, one side continues to the amp, the other goes to a preamp.
Microphone Preamp - Every preamp has its own tone. A pad option may be required.
Compressor - Optional but worth testing if you have the option. Its very common to compress the DI track while recording in pro studios.
Record at a conservative level, if you're really digging in for a grindy tone keep the peaks no higher than -6dBFS (DAW metering). An average of anywhere from -18dB to -12dB is all you need. Dynamics will likely be reduced and additional processing is inevitable by the final mix. A clipped signal is useless.
Can you get a great bass recording with just a DI (or plugging right into the interface)? Yes. Can you get a great bass recording with just an amp? Yes. Splitting the signal with a DI before the amp and recording to two tracks gives you more flexibility when it comes to mixing. You may prefer the sound of one over the other, or a blend of the two.
When you do blend the DI and miked amp signals in your DAW it is very likely that you will hear some phase issues. The problem is caused by the DI signal gets to the interface before the mic signal does causing a slight delay. Try inverting the polarity of one of the tracks. This will usually be a dramatic improvement in the low frequencies. This can further be improved by delaying the DI track, often just by a few milliseconds or even samples. You might find it easiest to start with the tracks 'out of phase' then adjust the delay until you have the most cancelation, and invert the polarity again (now in phase). You may not get it to be absolutely perfect but do try to find the best compromise.
By now you should have a good, very usable, better than average bass track recorded into your DAW. We won't get into processing and mixing bass in this article, if you really need info on that right now, check out the Sept 2011 issue of Sound On Sound, great tips on mixing bass in there.
Have a listen to the audio examples I've prepared. Compare the different playing styles, mic position, mic type. In the delay compensation file, notice how the tone changes quite dramatically just by delaying the DI in increments of 10 samples.
