Everybody seems to think you can’t get a good vocal recording without a vocal booth.

I say nay.

I’ve sung in many a vocal booth, and while it would be nice to have one, that ain’t gonna happen.

They’re huge.

They’re expensive.

And they’re not the ONLY way to get a great-sounding vocal track.

Here’s what I do.

Being in a home studio, noise is inevitable. Fan noise from your computer or hard drive, air conditioner noise, traffic noise, etc.

Would a professional vocal booth solve a lot of these noise problems?

Yep.

BUT…there’s another way.

And this way doesn’t work every single time, but I’m almost always pleasantly surprised by the results I get.

What’s the secret?

Using gates and/or expanders to create that “vocal booth” sound.

Think about it.

When you’re listening to a vocal track, you generally don’t hear the various noises from the room until the singer stops singing. It’s those spaces between phrases where the noise becomes apparent.

So I slap an expander/gate on there, and it takes care of the noise.

Suddenly the vocal sounds like it was recorded in a nice, quiet booth.

Now, this takes some tweaking, and there’s a right and a wrong way to do it.

One of the new bonus videos I’m adding to Understanding Compression later this week will cover my approach to using gates/expanders.

Just another of many reasons why you should jump on the Understanding Compression bandwagon:

www.UnderstandingCompression.com

Joe Gilder

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If you’ve NEVER used a compressor in your studio, you’re missing out.

If you’ve used one, but you’re really timid about it — scared you’re gonna mess things up — you’re missing out, too.

Just like EQ is an indispensable tool in every home studio, so is compression.

There’s no reason to fear it, and here are 10 reasons why:

1. The worst thing that could happen is you get a bad-sounding mix. (For every bad mix I’ve done, I’ve learned something that has made me better.)
2. Nothing is “permanent” in the studio. You can always undo a plugin setting or simply re-record the track. No biggie.
3. Compression can make for an interesting effect. I’ve stumbled across countless quirky uses for compression, but I would have never found them if I didn’t take the time to experiment.
4. A compressor has never killed anybody (to my knowledge).
5. If you don’t like the sound of compression on a particular track, you DON’T have to use it. Leave it alone. It’s okay.
6. People can’t tell if you didn’t compress every track in your session…but chances are they could tell if you over-compressed every track.
7. Compression exposes weaknesses in your recording techniques. (Problems tend to show themselves when you slap a compressor on a recording. That’s a good thing if you learn from it.)
8. Compression can make a musician with very inconsistent dynamics sound much more “in control.”
9. Every compressor plugin I’ve ever used came with presets. These are great starting points AND learning tools.
10. You’ll never be able to really spot over-compression in your mixes (a valuable skill) if you don’t spend some time deliberately over-compressing things and taking mental notes of the audible results.

See?

It’s not so scary, right?

Frustrating at times? Sure.

Especially if you really don’t know where to start.

Lucky for you, I’ve made that part a lot easier. You just need to watch my Understanding Compression videos:

www.UnderstandingCompression.com

The price is going up to $47 on Friday night at midnight (central time), so grab your copy today.

Happy squashing!

Joe Gilder

P.S. For those of you who are asking, the three new videos that I’m adding to Understanding Compression will be available at the end of the week. Anyone who owns UC will get them for free, even if you buy at the old price.

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I talked last week about how it’s so easy to overdo things in the studio.

‘Tis human nature, after all.

But today I’ve got a quick and easy tip that’ll help you avoid over-compressing your tracks.

If you try this, you’ll find that you can still get your “compression fix” without squashing the living daylights out of your tracks.

(Because remember, compression isn’t bad. It’s awesome…if you don’t overdo it.)

Okay here’s today’s tip:

WORK BACKWARDS.

Most people have a particular order they use for compression.

Let’s use drums as an example.

First they’ll use compression on the individual tracks. Kick, snare, maybe toms. They’ll probably squash the room mic, too.

Next, they’ll compress the drum bus. (Route all the the drums to a stereo bus or aux and add a compressor plugin to that bus.)

Then they’ll compress their entire mix by putting a compressor on the master bus.

So let’s follow our friend, Mr. Snare Drum, on his journey, shall we?

First he runs through his individual compressor and gets squashed pretty heavily. Next he goes through the drum bus compressor, where more squashing happens. Then, if he’s got any strength left, he runs through the mix bus compressor.

Poor little guy. He never had a chance.

If I feel like I’ve over-compressed a track, it’s usually because I haven’t worked backwards.

Rather than starting with the track, start with the mix bus. If you’re going to compress the mix anyway, do it at the beginning.

Next, compress the drum bus.

You may find that simply compressing the drum bus gives you the EXACT snare drum sound you want.

You’d never know that if you compressed the snare track first.

So there you have it. Work backwards.

This works for anything, not just drums. Sometimes I find the lead vocal gets compressed quite a bit at the mix bus compressor, which causes me to use less compression on the vocal itself.

And that, my friend, keeps me from over-compressing things.

Of course, knowing the right order to use compression is helpful, but only if you know how to set up the compressor.

To get a handle on that ever-so-important piece of the puzzle, go here:

www.UnderstandingCompression.com

Joe Gilder

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I used to be that guy.

After using fancy, good-looking compressor plugins in various studios, I would get back to my home studio and stare blankly at the “DigiRack” compressor plugin that comes with Pro Tools.

It’s ugly.

It doesn’t have any fun colors or cute graphics.

It doesn’t look like an awesome piece of vintage gear.

It’s just a few knobs, a volume meter, and a gain reduction meter.

Psshh…

No way that thing could sound good.

And besides, the volume meter acts funny. You have to turn the threshold way down for the compression to kick in, unlike those fancy shmancy plugins I had used in the studio.

But I was wrong. (And you might be wrong, too.)

When I finally took the time to USE the stock Pro Tools compressor plugin…I mean REALLY use it…I found that it sounds just fine.

In fact, it actually sounds pretty good, especially on vocals.

See, I made a classic rookie mistake. I assumed that since something was “free” and kinda ugly it must not be good enough for my mixes.

Don’t get caught in that trap.

If you can’t get your free compressor plugin to sound good, I got news for you, cowboy.

The plugin ain’t the problem.

Sure, fancy plugins are awesome, and I’ve got nothing against ‘em. (I own a few in fact.)

But unless you take the time to learn HOW to use compression, you’ll jump from compressor to compressor, never getting that elusive sound you want.

Speaking of compression, this week I’m adding a bunch of new content to my Understanding Compression series. It’ll be at least 3 brand spankin’ new videos.

BUT…with the new videos comes a price increase.

If you order today you’ll get access to the existing videos PLUS the new videos, all at the old price.

If you already own Understanding Compression, you’ll get the new vids for free. (You knew that’s how I roll, right? No paid updates here.)

That’s all for today. Head over to the site right now before you forget:

www.UnderstandingCompression.com

Joe Gilder

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Okay, so there are a lot of things that make a mix sound amateur.

But you should know there’s absolutely NOTHING wrong with you if you’re not getting amazing mixes.

If you could get great mixes on the first try, then it probably wouldn’t be that satisfying anyway, right?

However, one of my goals is to help you avoid common mistakes.

Mistakes are good.

They help you learn.

But if you pay attention, you can learn a lot from other people’s mistakes, and perhaps even avoid a few of them altogether.

So, what’s the #1 sign of an amateur mix in my opinion?

Reverb Overload

Reverb is SO cool. You can make it sound like you recorded your vocal track in a big cave.

But that’s also the problem.

As we talked about yesterday, too much of a good thing can be a bad thing.

For some reason, this is especially problematic for people who are just learning how to mix.

They’re not super happy with the way their mixes sound, so they start drowning all the tracks in reverb.

In other words, they’re trying to hide their tracks behind a wall of ‘verb.

But that don’t work, pumpkin.

A bad mix will still sound bad with a lot of reverb.

So, the moral of the story?

• Don’t use too much reverb.
• Don’t set your “tail” setting to something super-long. (I normally go for something like a 700ms reverb tail. Longer for ballads. But if you’re doing 8-second reverb tails, you’re in for some trouble.)
• Is the reverb really obvious in the mix? Or is it subtle? Subtle usually wins for me.

A bunch of people asked me to do a tutorial series on reverb and delay, but rather than make it a $27 dollar individual tutorial, I decided to cover reverb and delay on a live training session for my VIP members.

This training went down a couple months ago, and you can watch it right now in the VIP members area.

Become a member today for just 5 smackeroos.

Here’s the link:

www.HomeStudioCorner.com/VIP

Joe Gilder

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It’s a “tale as old as time”…literally.

(But before we move on, take a few seconds to hum a couple lines from the “Beauty and the Beast” song. You know you want to. I’ll wait.)

…

Okay, that’s better.

So the age-old tale is this.

We as humans have a tendency to overdo things.

It’s ingrained in us. We like to take a good thing and take it WAY too far, ruining everything.

Example: Adam and Eve.

Life was just peachy in the garden. But apparently paradise wasn’t good enough.

Out of the bajillion plants they had to eat from, only ONE of them was off limits. But they just HAD to go pushing the envelope.

You and I are the same way.

We think things like:

“If compression sounded good on this lead vocal, it’ll probably sound good on every other track in the session!”

“If a few dB of compression sounded good, then 10 dB of compression will sound so much better!”

“I put compression on every track no matter what.”

‘Tis silly, right?

Compression is an amazing tool.

I absolutely love what it can do on a specific track or to a mix.

I love the way if helps add “beef” to a drum bus or clarity to a lead vocal track.

However, if you overwork your compressors — if you start making that gain reduction light bounce like crazy for no reason — that compressor is gonna make you pay for it.

Like a disgruntled employee who keys his bosses car after getting fired, too much compression will take your mix and reduce it to a lifeless, sterile snooze-fest.

Compression is a fickle beast.

Used the wrong way, it gets angry and makes a mess of things.

Used the right way, it becomes your mix’s best friend. (Awww.)

[Insert another "Beauty and the Beast" reference here.]

To learn the right way to wield thy compressor, go here:

www.UnderstandingCompression.com

Joe Gilder

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We finished up tracking drums yesterday.

(You’ll hear more about that another day.)

My drummer Tim said something interesting towards the end of the day. And it’s something we could all stand to have tattoo’d on our foreheads (at least while we’re working in the studio).

We were changing out some drums for the last two songs.

We had been using this one particular kick drum for most of the songs, but Tim has this big honkin’ 26-inch kick drum he was wanting to use on two of the songs.

So we saved those until last.

While we were changing out the kick, this obviously meant we had to move some mics around, which meant that they would most likely not be in the ideal position once we finished.

SO…we had to essentially re-position the kick drum mics to make sure they weren’t out of phase with each other.

Then, since we had to move one of the toms to make room for the big honkin’ kick drum, we had to re-position the snare and tom mics to makes sure they were all in phase with one another (equidistant from the overheads).

As we were doing all this, that’s when Tim said it:

“If you’re gonna do it, you might as well do it right.”

And I couldn’t agree more.

It would’ve been easier to just keep tracking with the same kick/snare combo we’d been using for the last 10 songs.

It would’ve been easier to just quickly set up the new drums and hit record without checking to make sure the mics were positioned properly.

And it’s the same with ANYTHING you do in the studio.

For example…

- If you’re recording something with a microphone, take the time to make sure you’re using the right mic and putting it in the right place.

- IF you’re recording a bass direct, take the time to make sure you’re using the RIGHT bass with all the right tone settings for that particular song.

- IF you’re recording guitar, take the time to check the tuning on the guitar between takes.

- If you’re mixing, take the time to listen to your mix in mono or on a crappy set of speakers.

And if you’re using EQ, take the time to make sure you’re using it the right way. If not, you could be “undoing” all that hard work you put into the recording process.

It’s all right here:

www.UnderstandingEQ.com

Joe “Getting it Right at the Source” Gilder

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Remember those Junior High dances?

Awkward city, baby.

I was that kid who really only danced on the slow tunes. And by “dance” I mean the awkward swaying back and forth without ever actually making eye contact with the girl.

Then there were the awkward comments from the well-meaning chaperones. If you were dancing a little too close to your date, they’d jokingly say something like “Hey, leave room for the Holy Spirit!”

Ah, adolescence.

So what can we learn from the ever-so-charming, zit-faced, slow-dancing, 13-year-old version of Joe?

Here it is:

Leave room for the creative spirit.

(See what I did there?)

You’ve heard me stress how important planning is to the recording process. We call it “pre-production.”

It’s where you plan out things like song tempo, arrangement, etc.

I’ve explained what pre-production is. Let me tell you what it’s NOT.

Pre-production is NOT an all-inclusive process.

Think of it more as a framework…a foundation.

You don’t have to have every single piece of the recording puzzle mapped out before you start working on a song. Sure, you want to have a direction, and I still think pre-production is muy importante.

But don’t forget to leave room for the creative spirit.

Always be open to new ideas during the recording process. Just because you “planned” everything doesn’t mean the song won’t be screaming to go in a different direction than you first intended.

That’s the fun part.

Have a plan, lay a good foundation.

Then LISTEN to the song, and let it tell you what to do next.

Yesterday my drummer Tim started tracking drums for my upcoming album. I can already tell you that the sound I had in my head for a few of the songs is going to be SO much cooler now that Tim has done his “thing” to them.

Tim’s drum parts are giving the songs shape, and they’ll really affect how I move forward with the rest of the instruments.

So…much…fun.

Are you stifling creativity on your projects?

Don’t do that.

Remember…we’re creating ART.

And as with all things artistic, there are techniques you can learn that allow you to focus MORE on the art and less on the technical stuff.

Compression can be one of those “bogging me down” sort of things on your projects.

Get a handle on it here…

www.UnderstandingCompression.com

…so you can get back to making awesome music.

Joe “Less Awkward Than I Was at 13″ Gilder

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Have I told you about my brother-in-law Joel?

He plays bass on all my projects, which is awesome. But there’s something even cooler you should know about Joel.

Lemme explain.

A few years ago, while I was working up at Sweetwater selling gear, Joel decided he wanted to release an album.

He’s a teacher, so he was planning to record the album over his summer break.

Here’s the catch.

Joel had never owned Pro Tools or Reason. He had dabbled in recording in the past, but most of his recording experience had been from working in studios as a musician.

So did he take a few years to read a bunch of articles and books, watch a bunch of tutorial videos, and “prepare” himself to make an album?

Nope.

He called me up at Sweetwater, bought an Mbox 2 Mini with Pro Tools and made an album in a matter of a few months.

That’s not a typo.

MONTHS.

Like, in the amount of time it takes people to decide what fancy new piece gear to buy, he had learned Pro Tools well enough to record and mix an album.

So this begs the question…what’s your excuse?

What’s my excuse?

Do we get so caught up in technique and gear that we forget that it’s ALL about recording and sharing music?

I know I’m guilty of that at times (which is why I’m stoked that we’re tracking drums for MY next record this week).

What about you?

Stories like Joel’s shouldn’t make you feel bad or guilty. They should INSPIRE you to get crackin’ on your next project.

Life’s too short to sit around and “plan” things.

Go get ‘em, tiger.

And if you need some help along the way, that’s why I’m here. I can’t record the songs for you, but I can help you avoid a bunch of mistakes when it comes time to mix those songs.

And for me it all starts with EQ.

Learn more here:

www.UnderstandingEQ.com

Joe Gilder

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Last night my wife and I celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary.

I bought her some pearl earrings.

At first she said she loved ‘em…you see where this is going.

Later on that night she informed me that she actually doesn’t like pearls.

She was afraid my feelings would be hurt, or that maybe she just shouldn’t say anything and force a smile and where ‘em.

Was she right?

Do I wish she hadn’t told me?

Heck no.

I’m thrilled she told me. I’d much rather she get something she LOVES than pretend to be happy with my silly pearls.

There’s a recording lesson here…can you see it?

It’s simply this — encourage your clients to be honest.

Tell ‘em up front that you’re going to make creative decisions all along the way in the recording process, and that you want their input. Assure them that they can’t hurt your feelings (even if that’s not entirely true), and tell ‘em to be honest with you.

It’ll be worth it.

It reminds me of a project I was mixing last year. The producer sent me the tracks and essentially just said, “Here ya go!”

So I listened to the tracks and started mixing. I had in mind a create direction I was taking the song, and it was sounding pretty cool! So I sent a mix over to her…

And she was honest.

As it turns out, she had a VERY different idea of how she wanted the mix to go. Once we figured that out, I was quickly able to make the right adjustments.

And?

We were both happy. She got the “feel” she was going for, and I made her happy. (And the mix still sounded really cool.)

Win. Win. Win.

I know it can be difficult to hear anything less than absolute praise for your work in the studio, but it’s a heck of a lot better than them lying to your face and never working with you again, right?

Right.

Go forth and let ‘em tell you they don’t like your pearls, then go back and get ‘em something they REALLY love.

Joe “Better Luck Next Time” Gilder

P.S. Getting feedback from your clients is the first step. Knowing how to take that feedback and get the sounds they want is the second (potentially much more challenging) step. They may say, for example, they want the lead vocal to stand out more in the mix. You’ll need to have a good understanding of compression to do that without killing the vocal tone entirely.

Fear not.

I can help you with that.

Go here:

www.UnderstandingCompression.com

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