[realmusicians] Re: howdy

  • From: "Chris Belle" <cb1963@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <realmusicians@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Thu, 20 Sep 2012 13:57:57 -0500

Well, maybe backward is too stron and negative a term, but you know what I mean.

You'll have a well trodden path with the sonar thing, and more readily 
available plugs, eq, mastering, multiband, reverbs, etc.

and better access to them.

and a more straight forward intuitive deal with bussing and signal flow, reaper 
is kind of strange when it comes to that.

But it holds lots of promise for a possible future good daw choice for us.

I just don't have time to fiddle fart around with interfaces, and such, i want 
to record, not but my head against obstacles.

Unless you get some serious room treatment, i wouldn't bother with really nice 
mics.

Your 57 is just fine, learn to use eq, and compression, and micing techniques, 
perhaps we need to get together and go over some basics about mic placement, 
and eq, and such.

I know times are tough right now, so don't think I'm tryin to hussle you for 
work or anything.

But it won't mater if your recording with sonar or reaper, the sound your 
getting is in how well you play, your input techniques, what you do during the 
processing, and how you approach it.

Doing something like just rolling off the high end, or low end is a very heavy 
handed way to aproach it, are you using your mid sweeps with your parametrics 
properly, finding where you have too much of a certain frequency and dipping it 
down?

Where are you micing your guitar?

If your doin it on the usual place on the neck and body, that will give you a 
boomy sound, I like to use the hotspot on the guitar, near the bridge, you'll 
have to listen for it, but it's usually right between the tail and where your 
lap is, kind of imagine a half circle,
between 12 and 3 oclock, anywhere in that area.

Move your mic around, and put on headphones, and when the guitar sounds, good, 
you got the hotspot.

I like to stero mic a guitar sometimes, put one in the traditional place on the 
neck and body joint, or around there, and then one on the hotspot.

There's a lot to getting that modern sound, for one thing, they probably spent 
millions to get the room dead quiet, and also to control frequencys, 
reflections, diffusion, etc, and then having the best of everything, 
there's no way we can compete, but with the gear we have, if we do it right, we 
can get a long way there.

I'm pretty happy wit hthe sound I'm getting in our high grade home studio, and 
clients are happy.

Don't give up, hey, maybe just for fun sometimes, you can send me a project you 
did that your not happy with the sound of, and I'll mix it for you, and see if 
it's in the micing, or in the eq and processing.

YOu know how to make bundle files right?

I also use some nice software plugs, the wavs ssl stuff, sonar's own linear 
phase eq, I also have a pretty decent board with a nice warm sound, and mackie 
onyx I'm always bragging about,
 if you like the sound I'm geting, I don't use fancy mics most of the time, I 
mostly record guitar with a knock off 57 it's an audix i5, has a hotter output 
than a 57 but about the same thing, I run it through ssl400 plug-in, and tweak 
the parameters a bit, I do roll off the low end, but I spend a lot of time 
tayloring the mid range frequencies and giving it shimmer by makin the high end 
do just right,
and sometimes I like to multilayer guitars for a rhythm track, put capos in 
different position, and pan things, to get that cool 70s thing going on, 
there's so much you can do.

For all your audio production needs and technology training, visit us at

www.affordablestudioservices.com

or contact

Chris Belle

cb1963@xxxxxxxxxxxxx

or

Stephie Belle

sdb1961@xxxxxxxxxxxxx

for customized web design

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Dave 
  To: realmusicians@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
  Sent: Thursday, September 20, 2012 10:58 AM
  Subject: [realmusicians] Re: howdy


  Hi Chris,

  Thanks for the Reaper run down.  So I am taking a Step backward?  

  Guess I was starting to suspect that too, after playing around with it some.  
  I kept thinking I just needed to press on and learn a bit more and perhaps I 
would find a Break Through.  

  I was thinking my needs are small, and that Sonar was Over Kill.  I just 
record Acoustic guitar, Mandolin, and some crude vocals.    Have no need or 
even any interest in the latest Synth, which is where Sonar seems to 
specialize.  

  I thought Reaper might be easier to do the basic project, but I too am 
bumping my head into places that so far seem a bit odd, or strange.  

  I still have Sonar, and if I don't get some better recordings with Reaper, I 
can always reinstall Sonar.  

  Is there a Cheaper Mic that will record Acoustic instruments better than my 
Shur 57's or 58's?
   
  I know I am a floundering pathetic mess when it comes to Recording, but I 
would still like to learn to make at least a clean recording.  

  At 05:08 AM 9/20/2012, you wrote:

    There are a lot of factors that go in to making a recording, microphones 
are part of it,
    how processing is used, or not used, and recording techniques.
     
    You can achieve very good results with the humble 57 or 58 they aren't the 
best mics in the world but they are still considered an industry standard and 
will do any job passably, where some specialty mics won't do everything 
decently.
     
    As for reaper, well, though it holds great promise, you've taken a step 
backwards in some ways.
     
    A couple folks like our Roy, and maybe Gord to some extent have persisted 
with it and managed to get something done with it, it's a very geeky favorite, 
open ended and such, but there is no really good development continuing on it 
for now as far as access,
    some russian guy did that reaccess plug, but it has some issues with 
screen-readers.
     
    As far as porting plugs, all the hsc and ahk work that's been done for 
sonar plugs won't translate, because the vst plugs show up different with 
reaper.
     
    Reaper does have the generic more for plugs where all the parameters show 
up, much like the inspector does in sonar, but only 4 parameters at a time, 
there, but you still won't get important things like loading and saving and 
other things.
     
    So you in the wild wild west with reaper.
     
    If it came down to get work done, and especially with midi editing, I'd 
take even a older version of sonar over reaper.
     
    But that's just my humble oppinion.
     
    If cakewalk doesn't work with us anymore as far as access, reaper may be 
the daw of choice for us for years to come, it certainly is the best bang for 
the buck.
     
    But it desperately needs some work, and good documentation, and well, you 
get to be a pioneer 'grin'.
     
    I have used reaper and frankly, it frustrated me to no end.
     
    But Roy over there has done complete projects with it.
     
    But you have to remember there has been 10 years of work from two different 
packages done with sonar.
     
    Sonar comes with good mastering plugs, and lots of instruments, you get a 
few nice things with reaper, but if you need professional tools, with reaper, 
you'll have to go buy them or yes you can use reaper's vst rapper to make 
sonar's plugs work with reaper, but access is your own baby, no work has been 
done.
     
    If enough of my students start using reaper, I may start doing some ahk 
scripts for it, but for now, that's not happening.
     
    and the studio is starting to get really busy.
     
    Good luck.
     
     
    For all your audio production needs and technology training, visit us at
     
    www.affordablestudioservices.com
     
    or contact
     
    Chris Belle
     
    cb1963@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
     
    or
     
    Stephie Belle
     
    sdb1961@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
     
    for customized web design

      ----- Original Message ----- 

      From: Dave 

      To: realmusicians@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 

      Sent: Wednesday, September 19, 2012 8:10 PM

      Subject: [realmusicians] Re: howdy


      Hello to the List,


      Chris and Stephie, thanks for letting me Subscribe.  I'll make a big 
effort to keep myself under control.  


      I have just installed Reaper a few days ago and have successfully 
recorded some audio.    Still over coming my memory of Sonar, and am attempting 
to find the same features and effects in Reaper.  


      Is there a way to harvest all of those Plug Ins found in Sonar 8.5 and 
bring them into Reaper?


      Also, so I stop chasing this so far elusive goal, when using Sonar, or 
now Reaper, it is possible to make a recording sound like some good clean 
Country found on the FM Radio?


      Equipment has a large impact upon what can be done, especially 
Microphones.  


      My humble  studio does not have $1500 microphones, more like the Shur 57 
and 58, which makes all of my recordings sound like something from the 60's, or 
early 70's.  


      Just recently, I've found filtering out the Highs, or Lows, can improve 
things, but it still has some serious Old Fashioned sound.  


      Is there a less expensive way to cure this, or am I doomed to always 
sounding like  Herman's Hermits?  



      Easily Amused Dave


      At 05:30 PM 9/19/2012, you wrote:

        Oh great I managed to fix my subscription too smiles.



        Welcome Dave from me also.



        Steph

          
          ----- Original Message ----- 
          From: Chris Belle 
          To: realmusicians@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
          Sent: Wednesday, September 19, 2012 5:00 PM 
          Subject: [realmusicians] howdy


          Welcoming you Dave, hope you get this. 
           

           
          For all your audio production needs and technology training, visit us 
at 
           
          www.affordablestudioservices.com 
           
          or contact 
           
          Chris Belle 
           
          cb1963@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
           
          or 
           
          Stephie Belle 
           
          sdb1961@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
           
          for customized web design

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