Friday, December 24, 2010
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Another Small Treasure
This is the Little Blondie LTD. Another wooden mic.
4 capsules = 1 huge sound!
I'm not going to compare these microphones with another brand out there, that's not what they are about.
I tried it on acoustic piano and vocals today. On the piano, it was absolutely stunning! A very detailed sound, yet because it's an omni directional mic it had a nice space to it as well. On vocals it was equally impressive, with a nice sheen on the top end. I can see how this mic will help vocals sit well in a mix.
I'm really happy with what I can capture now with my "Blondie" collection. A very unique set of little mics that have a huge sound. I'm searching for more!
4 capsules = 1 huge sound!
I'm not going to compare these microphones with another brand out there, that's not what they are about.
I tried it on acoustic piano and vocals today. On the piano, it was absolutely stunning! A very detailed sound, yet because it's an omni directional mic it had a nice space to it as well. On vocals it was equally impressive, with a nice sheen on the top end. I can see how this mic will help vocals sit well in a mix.
I'm really happy with what I can capture now with my "Blondie" collection. A very unique set of little mics that have a huge sound. I'm searching for more!
Friday, December 17, 2010
Finding new microphones
I love finding odd and rare microphones. We can rent the standards from just about any studio. I like having the unusual in my collection. Enter the “Wooden Blondie”.
Hand made by a gentleman in Michigan. The mics are made of aged walnut and lots of magic. No bigger than salt shakers they boast a huge, true sound that is simply amazing to think it’s coming from these little guys.
I recently did a recording of a vocalist and acoustic guitar. I chose to use the Wooden Blondie along with a Royer 121. First, the sound between the two was really close, so close that I think in a blind test it would be hard to tell them apart. The Blondie had a ribbon warmth to it but didn’t sound dull it had a very nice and focused top end, not over the top bright….but “real”.
Honestly I was thinking about selling these but after I heard them, I just couldn’t do it they are now treasures to me.
I’ll be using these more often and on just about anything I can for a very unique but true sound. I’ll post clips soon.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Remixing “101”
No, this is not a tutorial on remixing the latest Lady Gaga song. I’ve been asked by a friend to remix his album entitled “101”. I’m going to attempt to document the journey and my findings out during this process. After all, that’s what this Blog is about.
So first up, the weapon of choice,Steinberg’s Nuendo 5. I really enjoy mixing in Nuendo. It makes me happy and a happy mixer is a productive mixer. I’ve taken the tracks that have been recorded in Pro Tools LE and have started to load them into Nuendo sessions. There are 10 songs in all.
The first song I have opened in Nuendo is “Amazing Grace”. A simple acoustic guitar and single lead vocal. Pretty easy, added a little EQ and compression on the vocal, and a little EQ and stereo imaging on the guitar.
I’m adding a little ambience using Lexicon’s pcm native reverbs. Let me share this with you, never use demo plugs on a session! I love these Lexicon reverbs, but it’s only the demo version so now, I’m either going to have to finish this song really quick or pony up the money to make these a permanent part of my arsenal…which, wouldn’t be so bad if they weren’t over $1,000. Well worth it in my opinion, but not within my operating budget at the moment.
So far, I have a nice scratch mix of this song. Vocals are sitting nice, guitar has a little spread on it. The compression on the vocal gives it an up close and personal feel on this song. I didn’t want to make it feel too big because it’s a very intimate song.
More to come….
So first up, the weapon of choice,Steinberg’s Nuendo 5. I really enjoy mixing in Nuendo. It makes me happy and a happy mixer is a productive mixer. I’ve taken the tracks that have been recorded in Pro Tools LE and have started to load them into Nuendo sessions. There are 10 songs in all.
The first song I have opened in Nuendo is “Amazing Grace”. A simple acoustic guitar and single lead vocal. Pretty easy, added a little EQ and compression on the vocal, and a little EQ and stereo imaging on the guitar.
I’m adding a little ambience using Lexicon’s pcm native reverbs. Let me share this with you, never use demo plugs on a session! I love these Lexicon reverbs, but it’s only the demo version so now, I’m either going to have to finish this song really quick or pony up the money to make these a permanent part of my arsenal…which, wouldn’t be so bad if they weren’t over $1,000. Well worth it in my opinion, but not within my operating budget at the moment.
So far, I have a nice scratch mix of this song. Vocals are sitting nice, guitar has a little spread on it. The compression on the vocal gives it an up close and personal feel on this song. I didn’t want to make it feel too big because it’s a very intimate song.
More to come….
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Keep the practice.
I was looking through an old notebook that I carry around to seminars that are put on by great recording and mixing engineers and found some cool tricks that I had forgotten about.
Note to self….it’s really good to get all of this great information, but if I don’t put it into practice… then all that great info and time it took to get it is wasted.
The key to becoming great is to put what you learn into practice…. until it becomes second nature. If it’s something that doesn’t work for you, then chuck it and work on something else until what you like becomes a habit, at the very least, try the techniques before you put the notebook away.
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