"Hold Your Breath" and other things... :)

[cassmcentee]

Just want to share a little note that I think is important for all Taxi Collaborators...

I do a ton of mixing these days, half of which are Collaborations with incredible Taxi folks
The problem I face on a daily basis with imported files is that of...
...spending too much time massaging ring-outs and endings because of excess noise...
...mostly coming from artists reaching to hit the "Stop Recording" button too early!

My recommendation (that I use in studios) is to hang on to the note/chord and hold my breath for as long as I can...
...whilst not moving around! It doesn't cost us a cent to let the track run longer. Don't be in a rush to hit Stop!
And I mean it, hold till you have to breath!
You will make your collaborators just that much happier and your music will be that much better!

My thought for the day...
Taxi Rules!
"Cass"

[mojobone]

We could do a series of tips on making your tracks easy to mix, beginning with proper gain-staging, moving on to the concept of signal to noise ratio and its implications for mic placement, to proper use of the lo-cut filter...

[cassmcentee]

We could do a series of tips on making your tracks easy to mix, beginning with proper gain-staging,moving on to the concept of signal to noise ratio and its implications for mic placement, to proper use of the lo-cut filter...

Lester's Post: http://forums.taxi.com/topic135082.html helped me with gain staging but I bet you have good insight for us as well Mojo!
On Your Mark,
Get Set,
Go!

[mojobone]

Yeah, without giving a dissertation, (or discussing pan law and meter ballistics) there IS a simpler way to explain gain staging. Begin by imagining a series of buckets, each with a spout, arranged so that, as each bucket fills to the spout, the water pours into the next bucket. Now, imagine each bucket has a knob controlling the tilt, so that the water in each of the buckets can be poured faster or slower. What happens when you turn one of the knobs too far? Well, of course the water spills from all sides of the overdriven bucket and only a portion of it reaches the next. That's gain staging in er, a series of nutshells.

It's actually pretty easy to maintain proper gain staging as long as you listen while you're turning the knobs, and you know what you're listening for. Gross distortion is easy to identify, but identifying subtle harmonic distortion can require really good monitors/earphones and quite a lot of ear training, cuz, well, it's very subtle. It's also helpful to know where all the gain stages are, in your signal flow; some are kinda hidden, like with EQ. You don't think of it as a gain stage, but it is, whenever you're boosting, as opposed to cutting a range of frequencies. There are many gain stages in a mixer and many in a DAW, maybe moreso, cuz most plugins have a gain trim on both input and output.

Simply put, you just need to make sure each device in the chain doesn't overdrive the next device, giving it more signal than it can handle without becoming nonlinear.

[andygabrys]

Yeah, without giving a dissertation, (or discussing pan law and meter ballistics) there IS a simpler way to explain gain staging. Begin by imagining a series of buckets, each with a spout, arranged so that, as each bucket fills to the spout, the water pours into the next bucket. Now, imagine each bucket has a knob controlling the tilt, so that the water in each of the buckets can be poured faster or slower. What happens when you turn one of the knobs too far? Well, of course the water spills from all sides of the overdriven bucket and only a portion of it reaches the next. That's gain staging in er, a series of nutshells.

It's actually pretty easy to maintain proper gain staging as long as you listen while you're turning the knobs, and you know what you're listening for. Gross distortion is easy to identify, but identifying subtle harmonic distortion can require really good monitors/earphones and quite a lot of ear training, cuz, well, it's very subtle. It's also helpful to know where all the gain stages are, in your signal flow; some are kinda hidden, like with EQ. You don't think of it as a gain stage, but it is, whenever you're boosting, as opposed to cutting a range of frequencies. There are many gain stages in a mixer and many in a DAW, maybe moreso, cuz most plugins have a gain trim on both input and output.

Simply put, you just need to make sure each device in the chain doesn't overdrive the next device, giving it more signal than it can handle without becoming nonlinear.

Nice!!!

good idea with how to make tracks work.

Another way to go is just to sit with the person who is sending you their session and say "hey this would be easier if..... blah blah blah"

[cassmcentee]

Nice!!! good idea with how to make tracks work. Another way to go is just to sit with the person who is sending you their session and say "hey this would be easier if..."

Hey Andy, of course!
The thought came to me when...
I rushed a good take and then had to deal with MY noise...
Thus the post is not directed at anyone, but, for us all
...and I'm sure it is general knowledge
Maybe it will help someone?!?
And please...don't anyone feel offended!
Just blabbering
Sincerely,
Cass

[HenriettaAtkin]

Cass and Mojo,

I think these would be great TAXI TV topics.

I just learned about the concept of gain staging -- that is when you making sure that all your instruments are between a certain dB level and faders in your DAW are at 0 -- so that you can balance the mix?

If the VI is too soft, you add gain utility to the track to get it to the right level.

Am I correct? Please feel free to rewrite this definition!

[cassmcentee]

Henrietta, that's the jist I took away from the idea!
And I'm sure it goes much deeper than that, but for the moment, it is already helping me!

[WeWillWriteUaSong]

Mixing at -18 changed everything for me when I finally understood what was happening. What really helped me was when I started learning/utilizing Nebula in my mixes a few years ago. I opened my studio in 2001 and I didn't come from an analog background. So it took some time for me to really study my craft's analog beginnings to understand how to mix better in the digital world. Also helpful tools like analog metering in my daw and the K-meter system on the master are key for me.

[mojobone]

Mixing at -18 changed everything for me when I finally understood what was happening. What really helped me was when I started learning/utilizing Nebula in my mixes a few years ago. I opened my studio in 2001 and I didn't come from an analog background. So it took some time for me to really study my craft's analog beginnings to understand how to mix better in the digital world. Also helpful tools like analog metering in my daw and the K-meter system on the master are key for me.

Did you mean "-18dB"? Referenced to what? A savvy engineer would assume you meant dBFS, if you're working in the box, but it's not entirely clear, from your post. Any case, most of the differences between DAWs are down to pan law, in my opinion, but feel free to discuss the matter further.