sweetwater.com
Chris.----- Original Message ----- From: "Stephen Martin" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, October 06, 2011 9:37 PM Subject: Re: Bad quality: I just don't get it!The M=-Audio Fast track, and the Tascam US-122mkII are the to that were recommended I like the tascam stuff for a few reasons, the main one being that after installing the drivers you don't have to worry about loading its control panel software, it can be pretty much controlled in your recording software. As for getting fimiliar with things i buy online. Most if not everything has a PDF manual available online. I send it to a sighted friend and have them use it to go over the layout of the unit with me Evey manual has in it a picture of the item with a clear label and description pointing to each kfnob, button and jack on it. Another trick, if you have an iPhone, Android, or other modern smart phone with a good camera, call a friend on skype from the phone and hold the phone up to the device and have them tell you what each thing is. You could most likely get away with this using the the camera on the macbook as well, but i suggested a phone first since it's a little easier to hold over what you may want them to see.Back to the interfaces, both the mentioned interfaces gets u two ins, two outs and a midi in and out and headphones jack. The knobs are basically the gain for the individual inputs, the master and headphone volume, and on the tascam a knob to set the mix between whats coming in through the inputs, and whats coming back from the recording software. Simple basic and great to learn on to help u get decent recordings.
On Oct 6, 2011, at 3:33 PM, Christopher-Mark Gilland wrote:
My only concern with having a board shipped to me is now I got the board, but I don't know what the different jacks on it are, what the buttons are, what the different dials are, etc. I need someone who can go through the board with me, one on one, and as I am moving my hand around the board, can identify for me what the things are I'm feeling.Not just based on opinion of, it's a good easy board/surface, but also based on the problems I am having, which model from M-Audio or Tascam specifically would you advise I ask for? Remember, I ony have about $320 to work with provided Sam Ash reverses all the funds totally back to my card... which... they better!Chris.----- Original Message ----- From: "Monkey Pusher" <[email protected]>To: <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, October 06, 2011 1:44 PM Subject: Re: Bad quality: I just don't get it! I gotta agree with kevin here, Sonar and Pro tools are both capable of makeing commercials releases and come with great stock plug ins. Yeah they aren't the greatest in the world, but i have heard pro quality stuff done with just the built in plug ins in both. The trick is like its already been said learn the hell ou out of them, put the time in and get better at everything from how u record the source material to what u do with it once its in PT and recorded. Start by getting the best possible sound u can into pro tools, don't think you can fix it later as that will only lead to way more work, and chances are dissappointment. As they say, garbage in, garbage out, and you can't polish a turd. Oh and i was considering the Allen & heath board you got at one point as well. Here are the reasons i didn't go with it. A) the USB out on that board only records the main s stereo outs, you can not send all 10 or however channels on that board to individual channels in Pro Tools. B) it does not work as a control surface. I highly recommend you return that board and get one of the simpler interfaces we recommended. It's simple and will help you learn the basics of getting a source from a mic into protools and sounding good. If sam ash wont sell you w one take your business elsewhere, I know for a fact that sam ash is both a m-audio and tascam dealer. Like i suggested, give www.sweetwater.com a call and they can help u select the right piece of gear, and help uyou if you have any issues setting it up after. On 10/6/11, Gary Readfern-Gray <[email protected]> wrote:Hey Chris, It's difficult to advise you not having your gear and I'm somewhere along the same journey as you but +30db of gain on your mike?? that sounds like it would clip a whole bunch to me, so turn that down and try again. Just a thought. G On 10/6/11, Chris Norman <[email protected]> wrote:If you want a project to play round with for a while, try this. It's one I recorded on my gear at home, using a DI'd faith guitar, a Sure (however you spell it) SM58, all going through a M-Audio Mobile Pree, which cost me £150, into my Macbook Pro 13, using a Euphonix MC2 mixing desk to mix with, and a pair of M-Audio something or others monitors. I got it all from DV247.com, not sure if they apply to America as well, but I'm in England, so hey! :P Anyways, here's th link, and I'm afraid it falls under the catigory of "almost dog crap", and my voice is quite heavily autotuned, because I had a bitch of a sore throat the day I did the vocals. That said, we had fun recording it, and it's the first thing I did in PT, so it's quite close to my heart! LOL. http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4219494/Early%20Morning%20Rain.zip Give it some time to upload, then it'll be there. On 06/10/2011, Christopher-Mark Gilland <[email protected]> wrote:If possible, can you at least have a listen to my version of You Don't countthe Cost I did with my multi-mix? If you know how to get the vocals fora definite! at least slightly more less clippy, that's my main goal right now for starters. The weird thing is, it doesn't sound all that clipity until I mix the track down to either an mp3 or wave. The clipping's there before, but not quite as bad. Chris. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Kevin Reeves" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, October 05, 2011 8:49 PM Subject: Re: Bad quality: I just don't get it! Hey man. It doesn't matter what you use. That record you heard was done on acheap $600 001 interface with a $200 mic. When I cut drums, I hired guyswhowere great engineers. They weren't big names, just some guys from a smalltown in Illinois. However, they knew how to dial the drums in. Then, I had it mixed by our own Slau. He knows how to dial it in. Would he have preferred that my stuff be tracked on better gear so he didn't have todoctor it up as much or do tons of subtractive EQ? Probably. But he tookwhat he had and knew how to make it sound like a million bucks. What makes it sound clear is how you use it. Tons of folks are doing industry standardstuff in Sonar, logic, garageband, etc. It's all 0's and 1's. Obviously a Pro Tools HD rig running at 192 K will sound better than a $200 interfaceat 44.1 16, but that's minor. It's literally how you employ the tools you have. I've spent over 13 years messing with this stuff to get the sounds I want. When I first started out, everything I did sounded like dog crap. The trick, get something that's easy for you to use, learn the hell out of it, and record record record. You'll throw away about 90 percent of what you record.THen 80, 70, etc. As you get better acquainted with your stuff, the moreyou'll like what you record. After 13 years, I know how to dial it in. It's that simple, and hard, all at the same time. Sorry to be such a downer, butI feel bad that someone put it in your head that getting another piece of software would make you sound better. I use Pro Tools because it's my rigof choice. Go listen to stuff by Goldfingas, http://www.goldfingas.com, or have Brian Smart send you something he did in Sonar. That stuff sounds amazing. Hell. I've got stuff I tracked in Sonar while I had that rig. My pro tools rig sounds better to me than my sonar rig did. Not because it's Pro TOols,but because I know how to dial Pro Tools in. That's the ticket. In short,learn your rig. You're jumping from board to board without really learningit. Don't go for bells and whistles. If I were you, I'd get a Mackie Onyxifyou can grab the smaller one. That mixer is so easy to use and integrates right into Pro TOols. No effects, no nothing. Just an analog board with a fully digital back end. Then, open every pro tools plugin and see what itdoes. Move every knob in the window till you figure out how it makes it sound. Use presets if you have to. You'll find what you need after a while. Again, sorry to piss on your parade, but that's the true honest answer. You have to just do it to get through it. Trust me. I've hated stuff I've recorded and wanted to sell everything off. It's just part of this journey. Good luck. Kevin=-- Take care, Chris Norman. <!-- [email protected] -->
