Building a Better Home Recording Studio

Building a Better Home Recording Studio

Anybody can throw together a home recording studio these days. But how do you build one that will fit your needs and work well? That's what I want to cover in this quick article. You will find that building a better studio is all about planning. So get into "planning" mode right now, and start reading.

If you happen to be starting from scratch, that's a very good thing. You have a clean slate. That means you can build your studio from the bottom up, and everything will be as you planned it. But usually, you have some equipment lying around or pieced together. That stuff needs to be integrated into your studio somehow, right? Not always. Beware that temptation - building your studio around gear you already have can be frustrating and pointless. Sometimes it's best to just ditch the old stuff and start over. For instance, if you have a 4-track recorder... it's probably time to move on. Sorry!

These days, there really is no excuse for not recording to a computer. Even the big time studios are doing it. So we can start there. Get a newer computer - brand new if possible. Try to make this a dedicated "studio computer." You don't want your girlfriend surfing the web or checking her Facebook on this computer. And you shouldn't be doing your homework on it either. Having a single purpose computer means it will last longer, get fewer viruses, and work better when you are recording. In fact, just get a Mac. Apple makes the perfect computer for running a studio. But if you must stick with Windows, that's okay too. Plenty of studios use Windows for their software. One more tip - it really doesn't matter how fast your computer is. If it was built in the last year, it's fast enough. Recording software and equipment isn't keeping up with the computer manufacturers. You can get a $ 300 computer that will be plenty fast enough for your studio. But you should get a lot of hard drive space. Audio files can be huge, so make sure you have a big hard drive and a big backup hard drive.

Moving on, you need an interface of some sort. This gets the audio into the computer. Go for a USB 2.0 interface (most new interfaces will use USB 2.0 or Firewire - either is okay). You can get them cheap with minimal features, or you can buy the farm and get all the knobs and lights. Start with at least 2 channels, so you can record in stereo. But break the bank and get 8 channels if you can. You'll thank me when you have to mic up the drums. An 8 channel interface can be bought for under $ 500 these days. Oh yeah, and your software will come with the interface.

For microphones, you need a condenser mic and a dynamic mic to start with. That's the bare minimum. Later, you need to have a variety of mics so you can experiment with different sounds and combinations. Spend your money wisely. Sometimes 2 cheap mics is better than 1 expensive mic. Having backup equipment will save you a lot of headaches later on. Trust me - I've seen it all!

What's left?

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Camera And Video Recording On The Blackberry Torch

June 9, 2016 by Shawn Dady in Sunset Blvd. Studios Blog | Comments Off

Camera And Video Recording On The Blackberry Torch
If you are looking for a phone that has superior camera capabilities and video recording, the BlackBerry Torch is the phone for you. With its camera features, you are sure to capture nothing but high-resolution images and quality videos.

With a 5 MP camera, video recording and image capturing will never be a problem. Everything captured or recorded will surely be nothing but high-quality. However, the phone does not only come with a powerful camera. It also comes with other features that are sure to enhance your images and videos even more.

One of these features is continuous auto focus. With this feature, you are sure to always be in focus whenever you take a shot. Images will never be out of focus. You are sure to enjoy every rich detail with continuous auto focus.

Another feature the phone comes with is image stabilization. This will eliminate the possibility of image blur. With ordinary phones, this has always been a problem. Not all of us have steady hands that keep the device from shaking. With this hand feature, your images are sure to be blur-free.

There are a lot of phones that come with powerful cameras. However, these cameras will be ineffective when lighting conditions are poor. The BlackBerry Torch will never have this problem. The phone comes with its own flash. This means that no matter indoors, outdoors, or at night your images will always be of high-quality.

For a lot of people, ordinary shots just will not do. This is why having scene modes are important. With this feature, you will definitely spice up your captured images even more. The phone does not come with just a few modes. It comes with 11 modes to choose from. With these scene modes, you are sure to come up with images that will surely enhance the mood.

Are you looking for a camera phone that can zoom in and zoom out? This is exactly what the BlackBerry Torch can do. The phone comes with 2X digital zoom. This feature will allow you to get more detail and depth in video recordings and captured images.

Do you constantly capture images of the places that you have been to? If this is the case, it is easy to forget where you took a photo. This will never be the case with this cutting edge phone. It comes with geotagging. With this, you will always know where an image was captured.

These are the camera capabilities and video recording on the BlackBerry Torch.

This author writes about the latest mobile phones such as BlackBerry Torch and BlackBerry Bold.

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Using Your DVR Recording System

June 6, 2016 by Shawn Dady in Sunset Blvd. Studios Blog | Comments Off

Using Your DVR Recording System

You may be curious to know what your DVR is capable of doing and how it differs from your standard VCR. A DVR Recording system can be set up to record anything offered over the air via your television set. You can record any of your favorite programs for viewing later at your leisure.

The main difference between a DVR and a VCR is that they are tapeless which make them more flexible and dependable than VCRs. The recording that is done by a DVR goes directly to a hard drive which is similar to the hard drive on your computer. Larger hard drives provide more hours of recorded programming. And, users are generally able to record programs which may not air for days or even weeks. Its possible to record every episode of a television series weeks ahead of time. Lets say youve gone on a trip and dont want to miss your favorite show. All you have to do is set the recording system to record the show while youre away! This pre-programming feature is something that is non-existent in standard VCR systems.

There are many more features and gadgets that are available with a DVR system. It can pause live TV during times when you are suddenly taken away from your favorite program. All you have to do is hit the pause button on your remote control and then resume watching your program when you have taken care of your other business. Its also very easy to fast forward through those irritating commercials or go back and view something that you might want to see again. Even while a show is being programmed, you will have the gear available to rewind and view the entire program again. And, some DVRs let you record while you are watching another program.

Many cable companies, satellite providers and vendors like TiVo provide set top DVRs to their customers. Cable Television companies replace your existing cable box with a set top DVR. Satellite providers use DVRs as receivers along with providing digital recording. The prices on DVRs are dropping at a rapid rate so that they are now available to more consumers. They are also easy to set up and use.

As with any electronic digital equipment, there are a few drawbacks to DVRs. First and foremost, the hard drive space is limited. This means that your hard drive will fill up and you will be unable to record any further until something is erased from the hard drive. All saved programs must be stored on the hard drive or be recorded to a VCR or DVR recorder. And, most companies require that their users subscribe to a service which costs about $ 13 per month or they may charge a one time fee of approximately $ 300.00.

DVR recording is easy and fairly inexpensive. It allows you to have better control over the programs you watch and how you watch them. It allows you the convenience of recording programs that you may for some reason have to miss. They offer many more features than standard VCR systems and will provide you with hours of viewing pleasure.

Matt D Murren owns and operates http://www.dvrrecording.info
Dvr Recording.

Setting Up a Recording Studio For Beginners

June 6, 2016 by Shawn Dady in Sunset Blvd. Studios Blog | Comments Off

Setting Up a Recording Studio For Beginners

A few years ago a person who wanted to record a CD would either pay enormous fees for studio time or need to be picked up by a record label. Nowadays when you are ready to record you simply set up your recording space with the equipment you need and start laying down the tracks for those killer sounds you hear inside your head. It's that simple; but, before you start recording there are few things you'll need for your studio.

#1. A computer and software program. Almost everyone has a computer these days, but not just any computer will do. You need one that is optimized for music with a lot of storage, memory and the power to run your music programs. As for software, there are several options available and only you can decide which is best for your needs. Just remember your software and your computer is the brain power of your recording studio. Definitely get the best equipment and software program you can afford.

#2. Sound proofing is a vital requirement in your recording studio as without it your instruments and voices will bounce off the walls, creating an echo when you record. A good medium for this is recording foam.. as it deadens the sound and allows you to record without the echo effect. Anything that absorbs sound will work; I've known some would-be-stars to use egg cartons!

#3. An audio sound card with adequate inputs and outputs to allow you to record all of the instruments at once. Without an audio sound card there is no way for the sound to get from your instrument into the computer!

#4. Pre-amps give your instruments that extra boost of good sound that you don't get if you simply plug your instruments straight into the mixer. By pre-amping your guitars and basses, you will keep their best sound before they go into the mixing board.

#5. Monitors are special speakers you'll need to make sure that you have everything right. With monitors you will be able to hear the highs and lows of your recording so that you can make sure that it all blends together correctly. Recording head phones can work in this capacity as well if noise becomes an issue in your basement at around midnight. Remember, it's all in the mix.

#6. Recording Microphone Equipment is a must-have. Recording mics are not the same as a regular microphone. These are designed especially to capture all of the sounds from the voice on every side. Attached to the recording microphone should be a pop filter, which will stop the hard consonants and hissing from dirtying up the recording with muffled sounds.

#7. Consider getting a compressor. While this is an optional piece of equipment, don't overlook it. Specifically used for vocals, the compressor prohibits the waves in the voice from reaching certain peaks, putting you in the red zone. It equalizes the waves so that you can adjust the voice to match the other instrumentation as you go.

Setting up your own recording studio can be an exciting challenge. These are the

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Location Recording – Choirs

June 5, 2016 by Shawn Dady in Sunset Blvd. Studios Blog | Comments Off

Location Recording - Choirs

Since the invention of recording software it has never been easier to record on location, many studios are limited by size when it comes to recording choirs, brass bands etc. So my newly founded company are aiming to take the recording studio to the customers.

Having a background in guitar based music, mainly metal and rock music, it comes as a surprise that I record choirs and brass bands. Especially to myself. Last week came the first big recording for my company.

The difficult faced with location recording initially I guess, is the venue. You don't really want something so big that the reverb becomes uncontrollable, and on the flip side, you need enough of a room to capture the power of all those voices together. I know that the famous choirs go into a studio and record each section separate from the other parts of the choir. Such as the bass's will go in together and then the tenors. But in my opinion this defeats the object of the whole performance, and you miss out on the between take banter of the choir members.

The choir I recorded last week were relatively small compared to some you see on TV and others that I have recorded in the past. However, this doesn't harm them in any way. Once they had positioned their staging they stood back to allow our equipment to be put in place.

The placing of the microphones is really the key in all this. Because of the size of the choir I elected to go with 8 microphones, a Rode NT5 at either end (each was part of a matched pair), in from there at either side I had 2 matched pairs of SE1A's and a Rode NT1000 as a centre microphone, then about 6ft further back I had an SE2200A. I would have like to put more microphones further back in the room but I would have had to compete with road noise and the pub next door.

From there, all the microphones went through my Yamaha 01V96 mixing desk, ADAT into my Digidesign 002 rack and on into Pro Tools. Simple.

Sadly I was a little stumped by the piano situation. The choir has brought along a Yamaha electric piano, which had no outputs on it. I looked over the desk several times but nope, no outputs. I had no real option but to mic this keyboard up, so I warmed up a valve condenser and put it over the speaker. To combat the bleed from the choir I made a box from acoustic foam to put round it.

The balance and panning of the mics was key, I had to move the 3 mics close to the bass end back around 3ft because the power from them was overwhelming. Once this was done we just hit record and let the choir do their thing. They had a listen to each take as we went along, and re-did any bits they needed to.

The balance of sound is the main thing to start with, if you can get all the choirs parts to cut through then when it comes to mixing it will make it all the more easy. Each mic adds its own character, the room brings its 2 cents into the sound too.

The worrying thing really is what to do with the piano. How

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USB Microphones For Home Studio Recording

May 31, 2016 by Shawn Dady in Sunset Blvd. Studios Blog | Comments Off

USB Microphones For Home Studio Recording

Why should you have a home studio? If you're a musician and you'd like to make some recordings of your music, maybe a demo, or even an album, you have a few choices. You can go into a professional recording studio, or you can do it yourself at home, or maybe have a friend do it. To me the option of recording at home is the best. You don't have to sit around waiting for someone else to get things ready. You can record any time you want, whenever inspiration hits. You can have your home studio set up, ready to go at any time.

If you've tried making any recordings using your computer microphone, then you know what poor quality "telephone" or VOIP microphones have. They're basically for talking computer to computer, via Skype or something similar. They don't have the quality to reproduce the nuances of a vocal singing performance or guitar. Your microphone is the first link in your home studio recording chain, and you want it to be a good one. You can go out and get a decent microphone for under $ 100, but they how do you get it into your computer? Professional microphones use a connector called an XLR connector, and you can't find them on your average "Sound Blaster" card. In fact none of the Creative Sound Blaster cards offer XLR inputs. You'll need a card like the Delta 44, or a USB or Firewire Digital Audio Workstation (DAW). That means buying another piece of equipment on top of the microphone.

A pro quality USB microphone is the cheapest easiest way to go. Several microphone companies have USB versions of their standard microphones. They plug right into your computers USB port, and need no extra hardware. (Except maybe a good microphone stand). The quality is miles above your typical Logitech headset mic or internet chat type microphone. You might want to upgrade to a DAW and standard microphones in the future but it's still good to have a USB microphone in your arsenal. I have one I use with my laptop for mobile recording all the time (mine is a Sampson C01U). I can just plug it in, and the computer automatically recognizes it as an audio interface. Then I'm ready to go. I can make professional sounding recordings for under $ 100. If you're just getting started in home recording, a USB microphone will allow you to get your feet wet, and make good quality audio recordings without breaking the bank.

David Verde likes to dabble in home recording. While he's got more expensive microphones he still likes to use his under $ 100 USB Microphone for ease of use.

What Is A Multitrack Recording Software?

May 29, 2016 by Shawn Dady in Sunset Blvd. Studios Blog | Comments Off

What Is A Multitrack Recording Software?
If you want to record different types of sounds and instruments in order to produce music, you will need a multitrack recording software. It divides the music track into multiple separated tracks, which, when played together, results in a harmonious music track, however one track at a time might sound not rhythmic or melodic at all. This is the way music is produced today.
You can hear the product everywhere: radio, television, concerts... There is many beat making and instrument recording software out there, but in the end it all comes down to the multitrack recording software to put it all together. In some products, the multitrack recording feature is included, but most of them aren't of good quality. I recommend to use a separate software for multitrack recording to maintain the high quality of your music. You can do many different things with this software:
Mashing up different songs into one, you can see the Djs do it all the time. It's one of the few software programs they use. Take a vocal/acapella sound track and mix it with an instrumental track or your own beat, the result is a remix!
Put effects like echo, distortion or reverb into your music to spice it up without losing the original quality. This way you can also mix up other artists' songs.
Sounds from different sources can be put together. A CD-Track can be mixed with a sound file on your computer for example. Or you can play guitar to a drum beat!
There are so many possibilities and I'm sure you can think of creating something new and cool right now. Lots of features are included, too. For example, you can rip CDs to save them on your PC or cut and edit audio files the way you want.
So now there is a big question: which program is the best to use? Well, it's not easy, every program has its own benefits. A good multitrack recording software is for example Adobe Audition. Maybe you also want to take a look at Pro Tools and Digital Performer. If you are looking for an all-in-one solution, DUBturbo is the right choice.

I hope this article showed you what a multitrack recording software is and maybe you want to find out more about multitrack recording software.

Elinka Professional Condenser Sound Podcast Studio Microphone for PC Laptop Skype MSN Computer Recording Black

May 28, 2016 by Shawn Dady in Sunset Blvd. Studios Blog | Comments Off

Elinka Professional Condenser Sound Podcast Studio Microphone for PC Laptop Skype MSN Computer Recording Black

Special design for chatting over QQ,MSN,SKYPE and singing on the internet,,it's also perfect for voice recording.
Plug and play,no extra gear needed.
3.5mm stereo plug fits for all kinds of PC. 100% brand new. High quality.Noisy cancellation
Conveniently stand with the help of the mini desktop tripod (Included)
You can get Elinka products with manufacturer warranty and superb customer service.If you have any questions,pls feel free to contact Elinka Customer Service First.

Elinka Professional Condenser Sound Podcast Studio Microphone for PC Laptop Skype MSN Computer Recording Product Features: 100% brand new,High quality Special design for chatting over QQ,MSN,SKYPE and singing on the internet,it's also perfect for voice recording. 3.5mm stereo plug fits for all kinds of PC. Plug and play,no extra gear needed. Noisy cancellation. Conveniently stand with the help of the mini desktop tripod (Included). Specification: Model:SF-666 Sensitivity:-55dB±2dB

List Price: $ 12.99

Price: $ 12.99

Home Recording Studio: Build it Like the Pros

May 27, 2016 by Shawn Dady in Sunset Blvd. Studios Blog | Comments Off

Home Recording Studio: Build it Like the Pros

With the advances in digital technology, musicians can now produce their own music. But the gear is only part of the equation when it comes to recording and mixing. The next part is finding a soundproof room that you can produce it in. Unfortunately, any old room in your house will not suffice for a quality recording. Without a decent room, you'll never be able to record a studio-quality recording you'll be proud of and excited to have other people hear. So how do you go about creating a space i

Price:

Make Beats For Free, Music Maker Software, Multitrack Recording Software

May 27, 2016 by Shawn Dady in Sunset Blvd. Studios Blog | Comments Off

Make Beats For Free, Music Maker Software, Multitrack Recording Software
Hip Hop has existed on the radio for many years now. It is defined by the numerous styles it makes use of, such as rapping, sampling, scratching and beat boxing. Given that it got going in the 70s, every year it is much more powerful. This article will offer ideas regarding how to create a hip hop beat.

Hip hop beat is categorized in to two components: the Beat and also the Vocals. The beat in the most basic form stands out as the instrumental which is used through the entire duration. The elements contained in Hip Hop construction are audio drum loops / MIDI drum patterns, bassline, orchestration (possibly synth pads, horns and also strings) and dubs and snips.

Audio drum loops/ MIDI drum patterns would be the primary as well as fundamental foundation of your entire track. You need to be extremely careful whatever you decide to put here. Audio drum loops will be the easiest method to modify the track because you are able to transform it entirely. While MIDI drum patterns tend to be more complex compared to Audio loops, they offer the greatest results.

Basslines on the contrary are hardly ever complicated in hip hop beats, they're essentially heavy and low and often use a sub-bass component that is brought out through filtering and over compression of sound. Any time you're having fun with basslines, keep it simplistic whenever possible.

Finding elements or instruments that will go nicely with each other harmoniously is known as an orchestration. The experimentation rule is applicable here, therefore keep trying till you obtain the perfect symphony that you'd like. The various components that provide highlight and character are called the dubs and snips.

The second component of a hip hop beat will be the vocal which is made up of a main vocal, that's the one which performs the rap. The second vocal is really a guest vocal which could have a verse as well as the background vocals to help you bring all the things together. An overdubbed vocal is the primary vocal which might be doubled, tripled and even quadrupled when there's a desire for emphasis.

In summary, whenever you create a hip hop beat, you need to:

1.Create the beat using drums (4-8 measures long)

2.Include your baseline - the most effective and the most widely used formatting of sound is actually MIDI

3.Create the orchestration

4.Insert the samples

5.Add the effects - Putting in the effects will give character to your beat where you could venture into various styles. Understand that this is your beat- That you can do anything to it! Become your own artist.

Now that you know of the fundamental principles of how you can make a hip hop beat, all you need to do is acquire software to create the actual hip hop beat which matches your style. There's a lot of software programs out there; all you need to do is to look. For example there's Fruity loop

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Archives for Recording

Building a Better Home Recording Studio

Camera And Video Recording On The Blackberry Torch

Using Your DVR Recording System

Setting Up a Recording Studio For Beginners

Location Recording – Choirs

USB Microphones For Home Studio Recording

What Is A Multitrack Recording Software?

Elinka Professional Condenser Sound Podcast Studio Microphone for PC Laptop Skype MSN Computer Recording Black

Elinka Professional Condenser Sound Podcast Studio Microphone for PC Laptop Skype MSN Computer Recording Black

Home Recording Studio: Build it Like the Pros

Home Recording Studio: Build it Like the Pros

Make Beats For Free, Music Maker Software, Multitrack Recording Software

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