Home Studio Corner

Is Editing Cheating?

Joe Gilder — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 21:59:38 +0000

I released a tutorial video series last month called Understanding Editing. On the order page, I basically talk about how cool I think editing is, and what a big difference it makes on my projects.

I even included a before-and-after audio sample right there on the page.

A few days after launching UE, I got an email from a reader who basically posted a parody of my order page on his website.

He was essentially making fun of the idea that editing is a valuable part of the recording process, emphasizing instead that the musicians should simply practice more.

I completely agree that musicians should practice their craft. If you’re a musician, you really shouldn’t walk into a recording session unless you have properly rehearsed the material you’re about to record.

To me, that’s a given.

As I’ve said a bajillion times, you need to get it right at the source. No amount of editing, EQ, compression, effects, etc. can rescue a bad recording.

If the musician is horrible…the edited tracks will also sound horrible.

If the guitarist’s tone is wretched…the EQ’d and compressed tone will be wretched.

Garbage in. Garbage out. Right?

That said, editing still plays a huge roll in the production process. It’s where you take a great performance and polish it. You tighten up those little spots where the player came in a bit early or late. You’re essentially removing any distracting components to the recording.

You’r not altering the performance, you’re enhancing it. It still sounds like the musician. In fact, if you edit the tracks properly, the musician won’t even know that you changed anything. He’ll just be really impressed with how tight everything sounds.

What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.

Also, tomorrow night at midnight Eastern time, I’m raising the price of Understanding Editing from the introductory price of $37 to $47. Either way, it’s a good value for 3+ hours of videos and practice tracks. You can grab a copy here:

www.UnderstandingEditing.com

[Photo by jaydesphotos]

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Listen to the Artist, Not Just the Music

Joe Gilder — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 15:00:52 +0000

Telling an audio engineer to listen is like telling a doctor to heal. Of course we’re going to listen! How else do we get a great-sounding recording?

You’re good at listening to the music, but how well do you listen to the artist?

I’m producing an EP for a really talented singer-songwriter named Whitney Winkler. She asked me to play acoustic guitar on the project. Once we had the guitar and scratch vocals recorded, she went home and left me to add various elements to the songs to fill them out.

Her songs have a killer groove to them, so I naturally thought some light drums would be perfect. I worked for a couple hours, programming a quirky little drum groove and recording some extra percussion.

She had mentioned that she really liked the song “I Won’t Fly Away,” from my album, which features a very unique blend of acoustic instruments with a hip-hop-sounding drum loop/percussion. So I thought I’d take this song in that direction.

The song quickly took on a very different feel. I kinda liked it, but before I dove in and booked a bass player and really committed to the arrangement, I emailed Whitney a bounce of what I had done so far.

She wrote back that she really wasn’t crazy about it.

As it turns out, she wants the EP to have more of a “coffee-shop” feel than a produced, full-band feel. She didn’t really want drums or lots of extra production. She felt like the songs needed to maintain an acoustic feel.

My response? Did I get all defensive and angry that she would dare to question my production prowess?

Heck no.

These are her songs. I want her to be absolutely THRILLED with the finished recording. The ideas I proposed were fairly over-the-top. I had a feeling she might not like them, but I gave it a shot anyway.

Have I given up all creative input now? No, not at all. In fact, this process really helped us focus.

Up until that point, I hadn’t done a great job of asking her what exactly she was wanting out of this EP. That was my fault. Now that we’ve heard an example of how she doesn’t want it to sound, we’ve been able to hone in on exactly what her goals are, and things are coming together very nicely.

Moral of this story? Be creative. Take chances, but don’t alienate the artists. Including them in the decision-making process is a wise move, and it makes the entire process more productive, more creative, and more fun.

[Photo by striatic]

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How to Record Violin (or ANY new instrument)

Joe Gilder — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 21:14:59 +0000

At various points throughout your recording career, you’ll have chances to record certain instruments for the first time. Maybe you’ve never recorded an actual piano, or a drum kit. Or maybe you’ll need to record an accordion, or a hammer dulcimer, or bagpipes.

Having never done it before, where do you start? I had the pleasure of recording a violinist in my home studio last week. I’ve recorded violin before, but never in my home studio. It’s a lot of fun to mic up a new instrument, but sometimes it’s hard to know where to begin.

You don’t have to re-invent the wheel

Chances are someone else has recorded the instrument you’re about to record. Before your session, take a few minutes to find out as much as you can about recording that particular instrument. Don’t make this a 4-hour research session, though. That’s how people end up researching for years and never actually finishing anything. Ask a friend. Hit up your Twitter/Facebook friends. Post something to a forum. All you’re looking for here is some quick feedback for where to start. I’d also recommend simply doing a Google image search. You can learn a LOT from pictures of recording sessions. (I just googled “violin recording session,” and in about 30 seconds of perusing the image results I had 2 new ideas for recording violin.)

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great idea to try new things. There are no rules, but just because everyone uses an SM57 on a guitar amp doesn’t mean you can’t use it, too.

Keep it simple

For my violin session, I simply used single mic (large-diaphragm condenser) into my Presonus Eureka preamp. I set the mic up about two feet above the violin and about two feet in front of the violinist. Could I have used 2 mics? Sure, but if the violinist moves around (most do), it would’ve caused all sorts of weird phase issues.

Besides, the violin is a small instrument. One microphone tends to capture the sound just fine. I didn’t mic the violin too closely, because violins don’t sound all that pretty from 6 inches. They tend to sound much better from a distance. That’s why I moved the mic back a few feet from the instrument itself. (Having good acoustic treatment in your room REALLY helps when you don’t want to close-mic something.)

When the violinist was warming up, I moved the mic around just a little bit to find a spot that sounded good. I recorded a quick practice take and played it back. It sounded great to me, so we jumped in and started recording. I didn’t waste 45 minutes trying out different techniques. I guessed at one setup, it worked, so we moved forward.

Some Quick Tips

If you’re recording an unfamiliar instrument, here are some things to keep in mind:

If you’re using a directional mic, you can adjust how bass-heavy the signal is by adjusting the distance between the mic and the instrument. The closer the mic is, the more bass it will record (proximity effect).
If the instrument is fairly large (piano, upright bass, orchestra), you’ll want to think about using multiple microphones. Keep in mind that the more mics you use, the more likely you are to have phase problems. (See 3:1 Rule.)
Use your ear FIRST. Stand in front of the instrument and find the spot where it sounds best to your ear, then put the microphone there.
If things aren’t sounding great, try using a different microphone. Changing from a condenser to a dynamic or ribbon can provide a whole new range of tonal options.

Do you have an upcoming session involving a new challenge? Tell us about it by leaving a comment.

*Photo by arquera

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Pre-Order “Out of Indiana”

Joe Gilder — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 21:02:07 +0000

After much scrambling and decision-making, I’ve hit my deadline of pre-releasing my album today. After all, you’re apparently supposed to release new music on Tuesdays and Tuesdays ONLY.

What does “pre-release” mean? Well, since this is obviously an independent release (meaning I’m paying for everything myself and there are no record labels involved), it’s fairly typical to see a pre-release before the album is officially released.

What this means for my album, Out of Indiana, is that the digital download of the full album is available now exclusively at my music website, joegildermusic.com.

On the official release date, September 14, 2010, the album will be available “worldwide” in places like iTunes an Amazon. That’s when the physical CD orders will start shipping, too.

All that to say, if you’d like a copy of my album, which was recorded and mixed entirely by me in my home studio, go grab your copy now and let us know what you think. Here’s the link again:

www.joegildermusic.com

Thanks!

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Win a Copy of “Out of Indiana”

Joe Gilder — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 22:10:53 +0000

Next week you’ll be able to pre-order a copy of my album Out of Indiana. I’ve been so immersed in this record for the last several months, and I’m excited to share it with you.

Want to win a free copy? Head over to joegildermusic.com this weekend and download the 3 songs I’m giving away for free.

After you’ve listened to them, come back here and leave a comment. Your comment should include two things:

Which of the 3 songs was your favorite?
What project are you currently working on (or about to start), and when will it be finished?

I’ll be reading each comment, and will be picking the winner(s) next week.

Have fun!

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7 Tips for Finishing Your Album [Part 2]

Joe Gilder — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 23:29:37 +0000

In the last article, I shared with you the first three tips for finishing your album. Today, let’s look at the last four.

4. Get it right at the source.

I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again many more times I’m sure, but no matter how good your editing and mixing skills are, your mixes will only be as good as the tracks you record. It’s imperative that you place a high level of importance on making your recorded tracks sound as good as possible.

Speaking from experience, I’m really proud of my album, and I’m excited for you to hear it soon. However, I could have done a better job of getting things right at the source. Those of you who joined Mix With Us have heard the raw audio tracks from the album. The acoustic guitars, in particular, could’ve been recorded a little better. The mics were too close to the guitar, so there’s a lot of unnecessary bass in the raw tracks.

I was able to wield some EQ magic to make them sound okay, but all in all I could have done a better job of getting it right at the source.

5. Don’t insist on perfection.

This may seem contradictory to #4 above, but let me explain.

While the guitar parts I recorded weren’t perfect, they still worked. I could have re-recorded everything, but that would’ve taken more time, and would have likely delayed my album by months.

Ask any recording/mix engineer, and he’ll tell you that he never feels finished with a project. There comes a point where you just have to turn it in.

There are plenty of things I could’ve tweaked and changed on my album. There are places where I played out of time. There are a few notes where I sang out of tune, but all in all, I love the feel of the album, and the imperfections are almost endearing to me.

Besides, if I insisted on perfection, and it took me 5 years to finish my album, there’s no guarantee that it would really sound any better, and I could finish 3 albums in that time (which, to me, sounds like more fun).

6. Step Away

This is a really important step. After I had finished mixing the album, I stepped away. I took a few weeks off and didn’t listen to the songs. Then I came back and did a final listen-thru before handing the mixes in to my mastering engineer.

This allowed me to approach the songs with a relatively “fresh” set of ears. It let me make some final obvious tweaks. AND it got me excited about the songs again. If you never step away from the music, you sometimes loose sight of what you’re doing. Stepping away lets you listen to the album as if you’re a new listener for the first time. Pretty fun stuff.

7. Have someone else master it.

I’ve talked about mastering before, and I know some people tend to think mastering is a scam. I disagree.

I disagreed before, and now that I’ve listened to my finished, mastered album, I wholeheartedly disagree. My mixes sound balanced. The bass is consistent from one mix to the other. The songs are louder, punchier, but they still have dynamic range.

In short, they just sound polished, finished, professional. I’m thrilled with it. If you have the means, spend a few hundred bucks on a good mastering engineer. You’ll be glad you did.

What about YOU?

What do you think? Do you have extra tips for us? Leave a comment below.

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7 Tips for Finishing Your Album

Joe Gilder — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 16:00:18 +0000

As I mentioned last week, my album is finished, and I’m getting ready to release it in the next couple of weeks. If you’d like a free sample, head over to JoeGilderMusic.com. I’m giving away 3 songs from the album. These were all recorded and mixed in my home studio.

I’m planning some pretty cool things for the album release, so make sure you’re signed up to my newsletter, or subscribed to the HSC RSS feed. More to come soon.

But first, let me share with you some tips for finishing an album. There are a bajillion steps involved in producing any recording project, and today I want to share with you 7 tips that really helped me as I went from “I’m working on my album” to “I’m finished with my album.” I’ll share these over the course of several articles. Enjoy!

1. Finish writing the songs before you start recording them.

As tempting as it may be to start recording a song as soon as you’ve written it, resist the urge. As you probably know, songs aren’t written, they’re rewritten. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve written a song, started recording it for a few days, then realized that the song needed some major work. Usually that meant scratching everything I’d recorded.

Make sure the lyrics and arrangement are finished before you start recording. You’ll be glad you did.

2. “Chunkify”

I just made up that word, I think.

Whenever there are chores to do around the house, my wife has this habit of saying, “We’ve got a lot to do today.” I always respond with, “What exactly do we have to do?” After she lists out the two or three tasks, it then becomes clear to both of us that it’s not really that much.

It’s the same way with recording. If you speak in terms of “I’m finishing this song” rather than “I’m comping the lead vocals,” you’ll always feel like you have this insurmountable mountain of work to do.

The solution is to divide your projects up into chunks, small individual tasks that, when added up, equal a completed project. For example, rather than saying,

I need to edit all 10 songs.

I would say

I need to edit the acoustic guitars on “No Time” and “Home.”
I need to edit the piano no “Come Quickly.”
I need to edit the bass on “I Won’t Fly Away.”
etc. etc.

Suddenly, I have a list of 100 tasks that I need to complete to finish the album. Sure, 100 tasks is a lot, but it’s measurable. As you chip away at one, you feel a little bit of satisfaction and motivation as you scratch if off your to-do list forever.

[By the way, for more on editing, check out Understanding Editing.]

3. Set deadlines, even if you miss them.

This is nothing new, but it’s worth re-emphasizing. Having a deadline looming in the back of your mind will make you focus more on the task at hand. I missed all sorts of deadlines with my album, but having those deadlines helped me keep moving forward, otherwise, it would’ve turned into one of those 7-year projects that’s always “in the works.”

I would suggest setting deadlines for each of your “chunks.” This will help you with both gaining focus and determining how long it will actually take to finish your album.

Okay, that’s enough for today. I’ll post a few more tips in the next article, but before I do, I need 15 comments on this post. Let me know what you think. What are YOU going to implement today?

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Using Distortion on Vocals [Video]

Joe Gilder — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 18:00:08 +0000

Are you ever mixing a song, and the vocal just won’t cut through? You try to EQ out some lows or boost some highs. Nothing. You try to compress the daylights out of it. Still not cutting through enough. Try using distortion.

I’m not talking about distorted vocals. I’m talking about using distortion to help the vocals cut through. Check out this video, then leave a comment!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpA_cy_1-9c

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FREE Music from Yours Truly

Joe Gilder — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 17:00:53 +0000

I emailed my newsletter subscribers yesterday about some exciting news regarding my upcoming album. As I mentioned the other day, the album is basically finished. I’m just ironing out artwork/CD details.

In the meantime, I want to give away a few tracks from the CD for free.

I’m using Noisetrade.com to distribute these free tracks. Noisetrade is an awesome free service based here in Nashville. I highly recommend it for you musicians out there.

To download your 3 free songs, just drop your email address in the widget below. As a reminder, these songs were all recorded and mixed in my home studio, using the same kind of equipment that you use. I’m really proud of this album, and I can’t wait for you to hear the whole thing.

Until then, enjoy these three freebies:

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Update on My Album

Joe Gilder — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 21:55:51 +0000

Know what that picture is? That’s the master copy of my finished album.

If you’ve been a part of Home Studio Corner for any length of time, you’ve heard me talk about my album for quite some time. And as I mentioned in The Magic of Finishing, it feels amazing to be done with this album.

Granted, the album artwork isn’t quite finished, and I have a handful of things to do now before the release date (TBD), but the audio portion of the album is done.

I’ve got all sorts of ideas for blog posts, podcasts, videos, etc., all dealing with things I’ve learned throughout the process of making this album, but for today I simply want to encourage you. If you’re in the middle of a seemingly endless album project, you WILL get there. Just keep doing the things you know you need to do, and ignore the stuff that doesn’t matter.

Trust me, it feels great to be finished. All the writers block, the song rewrites, pre-production, all the different takes, the editing, the mixing, the re-mixing, and then sending your “baby” to a mastering engineer….it’s all worth it.

I’ll be announcing more details later. If you want to mix this album yourself, you can start TONIGHT by joining MixWithUs.com. You’ll download and mix the multi-track audio files for the entire 10-song album. It’s pretty fun.

Alright, that’s it for now. Talk soon!

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