i'll keep this simple: I use a cheap program to just see how i want a mix arranged. I play it on the fly. I uploaded the version i use.
http://sharebee.com/9f97d6f1 I'll use this to maybe test how my beat sounds sped up or slowed down "time stretched" or just use it to get an idea how my levels should be adjusted. I usually record several different versions of my beat. For instance i might slide in 4 different versions i did of the same beat or 4 different sequences to a single song and use this low memory usage mixer to get an idea of what i want to then do in my audio mastering software. For that you can't be relying on windows sound recorder. There are plenty of free programs you can get that will do what you need them to do. put "free wave editor" in a search engine and download something. you fork up some doe you can get mastering software with functions such as noise reduction, low pass and high pass filters, normalizing, effects, phases, dynamic processing and envelope functions, auto loop finding, time stretching and whatever the audio engineers can conjure up. cut copy and paste the various sequences you recorded to make up one master song. Fix any sequencing glitches.....get comfortable normalizing everything , and often. everytime i sample the first thing i do is normalize. or truncate and then normalize. You'll get in routine habits like this. I'm also not afraid to refer to a manual. I get the pdf manuals and keep them saved and i use them. Some people won't even help you if you ask a simple question that is answered on page 10 of the software/hardware manual.
Clipping. The idea is not to have a recording ever clip in the first place. Monitor your levels! If you have two guys in a session and one raps louder than the other, know this ahead of time. have a different preset for each vocalist or for each instrument. If you are just a kid using fl studio demo, think about getting a cheap midi controller. usb, plugs right in lets you play the keys for the sounds on your computer. Or take the extra step and get a drum machine or synthesizer that is also a sampler and/or sound module as well as a midi controller. I know a lot of you make beats on your PC. i recommend having at least a good sound card, and at least one real peice of hardware or musical instrument beside a pc. but do what you want.
If you are only recording one set of balanced/unbalanced inputs, have each sound within the recording mastered/tweaked FIRST so that the kicks have punch and the snare isn't too loud whatever. You won't be able to change each element later. Other people will track out each instrument in the sequence on a separate line and record so that each instrument is on its own channel. that way you can tweak/master a particular element of the track such as later deciding to turn up the hi hat or the bass drum. But this takes up a lot of RAM memory, you better have a good pc, soundcard, large hd, and software setup to record 8+ channels at the same time.
midi basics. Midi doesn't transfer sound. when i talk about a midi controller, it just tells the computer when to play a certain note. the sound is still coming out of the audio application/computer. You can use different midi devices to control parameters of another midi device. It works out good when you want to use an mpc for the sequencer but a synthesizer/sampler for the sounds. or if you want to use hardware for your sounds but your computer for the sequencer.
My preferred method of transferring audio is sampling. I will sample a sound from one instrument to another instead of wasting time converting files and saving / loading etc. I guess you can get to a point when something sounds oversampled and much of the original audio information is lost. Just depends on what you are trying to do.
The best drumkits are the ones you make yourself. Just wait for a part of the song when only the drummer is playing. Record the whole part. The chop up the drum track so that you have each different drum hit truncated out and assigned to a different key/pad. Downloading drumkits off the internet is usually something only a rookie will even bother to do. I've tried it and rarely do i even find anything good enough to work with. I'd rather just turn my radio on to a soul station and sample the next song that comes on and get some kind of sound out of it. a piano key or a drum hit or guitar note.
Sound bounces around. Thats why people use softening materials like padding around the room or foam, blankets on the wall whatever. people even tried using egg cartons. Mic sounds better in the center of the room. make sure the mic has a good pre-amp going to it and that you've tested the levels. If you are going to record, there is a lot of prep work involved. pops and clicks need to be dealt with in the beginning. the prep work is easier than trying to fix a problem later. I've lost plenty of good beats and songs just because i had a bad recording that was beyond repair later on. Don't put yourself through it.
Originally Posted by Sense-A
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