This page was
created back in 1999. So the
information is outdated as well
as the gear, but it brings great
memories of that magic that took
place in that studio.
What I use for
recording is the ProTools
Digi001 by
digidesign. To find out more
visit their site at:
http://www.DigiDesign.com and
order their free introductory
video. Then you be the judge!
Aside from being one of the
industry standard on audio, they
have integrated MIDI and are
always improving it to make sure
they deliver the best of both
worlds. To take a look at the
Digi001
click here.
Now they came up
with the Digi002 which is
firewire.
For me choosing
the computer was easy. I went
with a Macintosh
G4. The Digi001 is
compatible with both, PC and Mac.
So whatever operating system you
have, you can take full advantage
of ProTools.
Before sharing
with you how I ended up choosing
the monitors I have, make sure to
visit the Electronic
Musician
Magazine's site at
: http://www.Emusician.com and
look for their June 2001 issue
which has a whole article on how
to choose monitors entitled
"'Good References'
EM's guide to understanding and
selecting close-field reference
monitors." That
article came to me as a blessing
when I was getting ready to
purchase my monitors. Make sure
you subscribe to their magazine,
the wealth of information is
priceless.
Unless you are
really on a tight budget, the
kind of monitors you may want
are:
Near Field also
referred to as Close-field
reference monitors. The reason
why they are called near-field is
because these monitors are placed
about 3 feet from the studio
engineer's ears. Usually forming
a triangle as shown in the
picture below.
If these monitors
are angled properly and at a
proper high as shown in the
picture below;
what will happen
is, the sound will reach the
engineer's ears for the most part
unaffected by any kind of surface
sound reflections such as the
room, walls, ceiling, including
the console in some cases and any
other kind of disturbances that
could affect the sound frequency.
So once you get your monitors the
pictures above shows you how to
set them up.
Besides being
near-field monitors, depending on
your budget, I suggest to get the
ones that have a built in power
amp. What that means is, the
monitors do not need any kind of
external pre-amp power. The
reason I suggest them is because
not only you would have to deal
with an extra piece of gear in
order to get the sound to your
speakers, but also if the
settings on the pre-amp are
changed, it will change the way
the sound is produced by your
monitors therefore affecting your
final mix.
Remember, your
monitors must remain as
consistent as possible. All
changes made to the sound must be
made in the mix. What the
monitors are doing is reflecting
the sound you have
created.
Next important key
is, your monitors most be as flat
as possible. Meaning that they
are delivering the sound exactly
as you put it in without
enhancing it in any way. That is
the difference between home
stereo system's speakers and
studio monitors. Unlike home
stereo systems where usually the
bass is purposely enhanced,
studio monitors must reflect the
sound without any kind of
coloring otherwise the final mix
will be inaccurate.
Following that,
make sure the monitors are
magnetically shielded. Otherwise
the magnetic field they project
will affect your computer
monitor, erase data storage in
devices such as disc, CD's, etc.,
that are sitting closed to the
monitors, and it could be
damaging to your health.
So what do we got
so far? They are:
- Near-field
monitors
- Built-in
power-amp
- Magnetically
Shield
- Flat
sound
So the question
now is, I cannot tell you which
ones are the best because I don't
thing there is such an answer. It
is only a matter of familiarizing
yourself with the ones you have
chosen so that your final mixes
are consistent. Keep this in
mind, don't think that by
purchasing or changing your
studio monitors often is going to
enhance your mixes. It will do
just the opposite. So the key is,
once you have chose a pair,
get to know them
well.
There are no rules
as to how a mix should sound
since music is an art. Some may
like the way something sounds
while others wont. So here are
the things you certainly want to
keep in mind when choosing your
studio monitors.
- Budget. How
much are you willing to spend?
$200 to $400? $400 to $700?
$1,000? $1,500? $2,000, etc.
This may help you make that
decision. Don't think that the
more expensive ones are the
best. Some of the top studio
engineers have done mixes with
monitors as cheap as $300 such
as the world famous Yamaha
NS-10M or Radio Shack Optimus
7's and the like. But
nowadays, since music systems
are becoming so affordable,
specially in this digital age,
I would not suggest those
kinds of speakers. Maybe back
then they were OK when the
quality of sound was not so
good.
- How does it
sounds to you? This
is crucial because since you
are the one doing the mixes
only you know how would you
like your music to sound. So
here is what you do. Go to the
music store and compare
monitors by listening to music
you are very familiar with.
Bring your CD's and try
different kinds of music. From
top 40 to Rock, Classical,
Rap, Hip Hop, Acoustic,
everything you can and compare
sounds. This is going to be a
pretty time consuming task but
remember, it is going to be
well worth it because as I
said before, your monitors are
your ultimate measure of sound
accuracy. They are your
trusted ears before you get
your music out into the
market. Here is what you are
looking sound wise:
- How the very
high frequencies sound?
Very clear or distorted?
Smooth sound or
Chopped?
- How is the
bass? Does it sound full
and clear or
distorted?
- How low and
how high can you go without
missing any sounds?
- Can you hear
every single instrument?
Even when the sound volume
is really low?
- Listen to
the accuracy of the
midrange sounds. Also see
if any effects are not
omitted or covered like
reverb, etc.
- Ask lots of
questions such
as "Why would you choose 'X'
monitors instead of 'Y'?" What
is the base response on this
monitors as opposed to those?
By comparing notes with the
music store salesman and
others you learn things about
monitors that will help you in
making your final decision.
Off course, make sure the
music store salesperson knows
what she/he is talking about.
And the best way to do so is
by getting second opinions.
There is a great newsgroup I
suggest you to log on to which
helped me immensely when
making my final decision. The
newsgroup is
called:
rec.audio.pro.
So which monitors
did I choose and why? After doing
extensive research and looking at
my budget, there were two
speakers I was going to get. I
will tell you the ones I chose
but not the ones I almost choose
because they are not bad monitors
and I don't want you to think I
am badmouthing them. As a matter
of fact, they are very good for
the price range of $700 a pair.
But here is what happened. After
I thought they were the ones I
was going to obtain and went
ahead and kept asking questions,
the interesting thing about it
was, no matter who I talked to
and who I asked, out of all the
different choices out there, some
from $700 up to $1,700, one pair
remained consistent. The
Mackies
HR824. The challenge
for me was, they run about $1,200
a pair and my budget was only
$700 or so.
So I kept asking
questions and bringing them up
and the answer was the same. "You
can't go wrong with the Mackies."
So here was my final test. I put
the Mackies side by side with the
$700 monitors I was planning on
getting. They both had their
unique distinctive sound and the
truth is, I kind of like the way
the $700 ones sounded. Not that I
didn't like the Mackies, it is
just that to me, I thought the
Mackies had more bass while the
other ones seem to have more high
and midrange so I was concerned
that the bass may overwhelm the
overall sound. So the decision
was difficult. Well, here's what
did it!
I placed a CD by a
Canadian band called "Saga" which
in Puerto Rico where I grew up,
there used to be a music store
called "Stereo Warehouse" and in
their commercial they used a solo
by Saga from the song called
"Humble Stance." It was an
amazing solo by the keyboard and
the guitar simultaneously which
sounded really tight! So when I
placed the CD and kept switching
back and forth the competition
still was close until by mere
chance I noticed that when the
solo was taking place there was a
little guitar riff in the
background that I could not hear
with the $700 but I was able to
hear it with the Mackies.
At that point I
was really able to appreciate the
mid-range capabilities of the
Mackies. And what I noticed was,
the concerned I had before about
the Mackies having a much bass
response and that they may
overwhelm the high which in the
$700 was accentuated was gone.
What I learned instead is that
the Mackies gives you a good
overall sound clarity of every
instruments and by having such a
great bass response it gives your
more range. In other words, they
are great for heavy rock to heavy
bass, house music and everything
else in between such as acoustic,
classical, symphony orchestra,
contemporary and the like. And
now that I own a pair, is one of
the best investments I have ever
made. For more detail information
take a look at their site at:
http://www.mackie.com. To
take a look at a picture for the
Mackies HR824
click here.
Now that I have a
great recording device and a good
set of monitors, the next things
is to get a good microphone.
Microphones, you definitely can't
go cheap here. The one I got was
the Rode
NT-2 which costed me
about $375. Now you can find them
much cheaper. But hey, that;s
life! It is a very good
microphone for the price. Consult
your music dealer but don't get
bogged down with too may
opinions. The truth is, there are
so many microphones on the market
it could be very overwhelming.
All I can say is, for me the Rode
NT-2 certainly deliver the goods.
Also remember that different
microphones are designed for
different tasks.Some are better
suited for vocals while others
are better for acoustic
instruments, live recordings,
drums, etc. So you have to
decide. For me, the microphone I
am using is strictly for vocals.
To find out more about the RODE
mic take a look at their site at:
http://www.rode.com.au. To
take a look at a picture of the
RODE NT-2 Mic
click here.
The second
microphone I use is the "world
famous 'SHURE
SM57'". I say world
famous because even thou the
price is very cost effective,
somewhere in the ball park of
$75, this microphone has a
history for recording guitars,
bass and you name it. I use it
strictly for my guitars and
sometime the bass if I want to
find a more edgy sound by placing
it about 6 inches from the amp.
There are all kinds of gear that
do the same so just ask any music
store salesperson for
suggestions. To find out more
about the SHURE SM57 mic take a
look at their site at:
http://www.shure.com. To
take a look at a picture of the
SHURE SM57 Mic
click here.
Here is an
affordable alternative to
expensive microphones. It is
called the Antares
Microphone
Modeler. Using their
patented Spectral Shaping Tool
(TM) technology,
AnteresTechnoligies has created
digital models of a wide variety
of microphones, from historical
classics to modern exotics, as
well as a selection of
industry-standard workhorses.
Simply tell the Microphone
Modeler software what microphone
you are actually using and what
microphone you'd like it to sound
like. And the software will
replicate the sound. It's as
simple as that. To find out more
about this software visit the
ANTARES site at: http://www.antarestech.com.
Now the next
question is, "How are you
planning to record the sounds?
Will they be entered live into
your system? Are they going to be
generated from a keyboard or
sound devices such as drum
machines, groove boxes, etc? Is
it going to be a combination of
both? Depending on the kind of
music you want to record, that is
a decision you have to make
because the same gear you would
use for house music wont be the
same for contemporary and the
like. Granted that it would be a
great innovation to add some
interesting sounds such as funk
to rock music or "jazzup" a good
R & B, or hey rap to a
Beethoven's tune! Let your
imagination soar. Remember, when
it comes to music, there are not
limits.
In my case all of
the above applies. See, I am a
lead, rhythm guitar player as
well as a bass player. So these
three main instruments are going
to be recorded live as well as
the vocals. The rest such as the
drums, piano, horns, strings,
wind instruments, sound and
special effects are going to be
generated by my drum machine and
my synthetiser module via MIDI.
So I am going to share with you
what I have and why.
The first piece of
gear I bought was my drum
machine. I didn't want something
complicated to use, or that have
additional sounds. All I wanted
was a gear that had pads that are
comfortable to hit and that
created any kind of drum sound I
could think of. The answer? The
BOSS
DR-770. This is a very
simple and compact piece of gear
which all it does is drum,
percussion some bass sounds, but
pretty much is just that, a drum
machine. Very simple to use and
the quality of the sounds are
amazing. As I place more sound
files on this site you'll see the
kind of drum sounds that little
baby can generate. Let's put it
this way, when I play some of my
rock songs to people, they could
not believe that the drums came
out of a drum machine. I have
even fooled drummers! Off course,
it also helps if you know how to
program it so that the feeling of
a drummer is not lost as opposed
to songs where you can tell the
drums are generated by a program
because of how mechanical they
sound. To look at a picture of
the BOSS DR-770 click
here.
Me being a guitar
player, the second piece of gear
I needed was a good amp modeler.
Why? Simple. If I was to buy a
Marshall amp. Peavey, Fender and
every single kind of amp there
is, it would cost me a fortune,
not to mention the fact that I
would have to rent a warehouse
just to store them. So what did I
get? The Line 6
POD 2.0 recording amp.
This is an incredible amp modeler
with not only lots of presets but
you can also create your own. It
has over 32 different amp models
ranging from blues amps, vintage
amps, tube amps, British classic
amps,incredible effects, fuzz,
distortions, grunge, reverb,
delay, chorus plus your bass
settings, gain, effects, delays,
midrange and so much more! All
for under $400. To find out more
about the POD line products visit
their site at: http://www.line6.com. To
take a look at a picture of the
Line 6 POD 2.0
recording amp click
here.
Well, I got the
drums, guitar, bass and vocals
taken care off. How do I managed
to get everything else? Easy! The
ROLAND JV1010.
This is by far an
incredible piece of gear. Besides
the fact that it has more sounds
than you could every use, it also
has an expansion card slot to add
sounds to it such as voices,
strings, drums, bass, special
effects, wind instruments and
more... But believe me, it
already comes with plenty.
Actually, you do not need a drum
machine with the JV1010 because
it has a great range of drums but
since I learned to use my DR-770
and I am very familiar and happy
with it, I stay with that. The
only thing you need aside the
JV1010 is trigger pad such as a
MIDI keyboard. In my studio I use
the KAYSOUND
MK-4902 keyboard for
computer music. Any cheap one
would do since you just want to
use the keys in order to trigger
the sound out of the box. Once it
is in the recording system, you
no longer need the keyboard since
the interaction takes place
between the recording gear and
the JV1010 synthetiser module. To
find out more about roland
products visite their site at:
http://www.rolandus.com. To
take a look at a picture of the
ROLAND JV1010
click here.
Not counting the
instruments my studio consists
of:
- ProTools
Digi001 32 track audio and 64
track MIDI recording
system
- Macintosh
desktop G4 processor. 40gig
HD, additional 30gig internal
HD plus another 40gig external
firewire hard drive. Why?
Rule#1: Always back up! Rule
#2: Always back-up data. And
rule #3: ALWAYS, always back
up your data!
- Mackies HR825
near field studio
monitors
- Rode NT2 studio
microphone
- Shure SM57
microphone
- BOSS DR-770
Drum Machine
- Line 6 POD 2.0
recording amp modeler
- ROLAND JV1010
syntheziser sound
module
- KAYSOUND
MK-4902 keyboard for computer
music
As far as
instruments is concerned:
- Electric Fender
Stratocaster California
- Fender Classic
4 (12 string
acustic/electric)
- Washburn C64CE
(nylon strings
acoustic/electric)
- Washburn XB800
electric bass
- Celebrity by
Ovation nylon strings acustic
with passive pick up
As far as plug-ins
software is concerned the Digi001
comes loaded with great plug-ins
like chorus, reverb, gains, 1, 2,
3 & 4 band EQ's fine toonings
and so much more! But the one
that is a must in any
studio is called Auto-Tone 3 by
ANTARES. Is the most
powerful pitch correction
software ever. It makes any kind
of pitch corrections from vocals
to even instruments. To find out
more about this software visit
the ANTARES site at:
http://www.antarestech.com.
I also have the
Gold Native Bundle by WAVES. This
one has some of the most
powerfull plug-ins which are
currently used in most of the top
of the line studion worldwide. It
contains C4
Multiband Parametric Processor,
Renaissance Compresson, L1
Ultramaximizer, Q10 Paragraphic
Equalizer, C1 Parametric
Compander, Enigma, MondoMod,
Ultra Pitch, TrueVerb Room
Emulator, Audiotrack,Renaissance
Reverberator, Reinaissance
Equalizer, MaxxBass, S1 Stereo
Imager, SuperTap, MetaFlanger,
Doppler, Paz Psychoacustic
Analyzer and DeEsser.
An incredible pack
for the price! To find out more
information regarding
WAVES
softwar, visit their site
at: http://www.waves.com.
Here's another
alternative to outboard gear
should you decided to get any
computer based recording system.
Instead of having a drum machine,
a synthesizer module and an amp
simulator like I have, you can
get software plug-ins such as
"SampleTank"
which is the first
professional software sound
module which combines a
sophisticated sampler/synth
engine with top-class
multisampled sounds, into a
plug-in instrument.
It comes with more
than 2.5 GB of samples: an
extra-large, ready to play
collection of sounds is included,
with more than 450 multisampled
sound banks, comparable only to
top-class sound libraries, and a
variety you won't find anywhere
else. All the
sounds are stored in your
computer hard drive. By having
your drum's sounds, orchestra
sounds, effects and so forth, you
wont have to deal with any
external gear except for a
keyboard, or if you are a guitar
player you can use your guitar to
trigger the notes.
All you will need
is a big enough hard drive and a
fast enough processor with enough
processing power to handle all
the tasks simultaneously. That
set up may save you some money
and space. Well, I hope this
little tour of my studio was of
help to you. Remember, I am not
an expert on anything. I am just
a guy who is living his dream,
doing something I enjoy and
hopefully can touch someone's
life by reminding them that no
matter how tough things may look,
nothing is impossible. All you
need to do is, believe in
yourself! I
do!
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