Limiting, Compressing and Equalizing

[horacejesse]

A solo instrumental I recorded a while back has some notes that stick out uncomfortably. At low volume they are not disturbing, but as the volume goes up they disrupt the serenity they were meant to serve.This piece is hard for me to perform and I pretty much nailed it on this take except for the notes that stick out. It is played on guitar using artificial harmonics technique, which means looking down steeply at the fretboard at all times. I have a disablity which makes this unpleasant and, after a while, downright painful. To re-record it, I have to re-learn it, reconstructing each step. This takes a while, and so does recording it, since it has to be done in one continuous take, and there are always a lot of non-perfect takes playing guitar harmonics. One ugly click instead of a chime, and it is back to square one.What I mean is, I suspect this track can be made to sound the way I want it to with proper handling.The harmonics are meant to feedback over each other without distortion and sustain a long time. The notes in question simply do their jobs too enthusiastically, peaking offendingly above their communities.Many of you folks on the forum could solve this one. I've got to do it though, so I would appreciate any helpful advice.I understand in theory how I should be able to go after those peaks with a compressor or possibly a limiter on mixdown and squash them back into the mix where I want them, but so far my efforts have not cut them back sufficiently and I can't figure out why.Any suggestions, anyone?

[ernstinen]

Quote:The compressor is already between the HD24 and the Masterlink I mix to.In theory this thing ought to work it seems to me. I own a Masterlink, and it also has a compressor function built in. So it sounds like you have two compressors to experiment with. Why they aren't doing the trick for you has me baffled.How about this --- why don't you hire a recording engineer to come over to your place for a couple of hours and help you figure it out!? That would be the most cost-effective answer, IMHO!Ern

[ernstinen]

Quote:Thanks, Ern. Hey, come on over. You are only 800 miles away, and any guy who works for beef, pork, poulty, lamb & veal is my kind of troubleshooter.I appreciate your sarcasm, but I'm really trying to help!Tell you what --- P.M. me about sending me a CD and I'll master it for you -- no charge!Ern

[hummingbird]

Here's how you sign up for a MUSIC account on MySpace:Go to: http://www.myspace.com/On the blue banner, click on "Music" - 3rd from the end on the Right sideMySpace Music will come up.Now click on "Artist Signup", last thing in the Red banner on the Right side.You may have to delete your current account so you can sign up with the same email address.Don't feel bad, I started with a general account and had to figure this out.... and I've given these instructions to several other musicians.Once you're set up, you go to "edit profile" and click on the "manage songs" tab & upload your music.cheersHummin'bird PS - once you're set-up, send a friend request my way - www.myspace.com/vikkiflawith

[hummingbird]

When you convert your wav file to an mp3, change the settings so the mp3 is 96 kbps instead of 128 kbps (or whatever your default is). That's assuming you've been trying to upload mp3s.Generally speaking, when I have a song I'm uploading, I create two mp3 versions, a 192kbps mp3 for broadjam and a 96 kbps for Myspace or other pages.

[spariam]

Funny how they forgot to tell you when the price went down. I'm sure that wouldn't have happened if the price had gone up OK, I'll have to modify my post - it's been a long time since I've used a dialup. Though my comments on web servers hold true, it's also true that ISPs will time you out as well. It sounds like your ISP has a short time out. I've heard of dialup timeouts of eight hours or so. If the ISP doesn't count the file transer itself as "activity" it may time you out. Some ISPs have a short inactivity time out, like 15 minutes or so.Try uploading a file to yousendit.com - they have an extremely long timeout because they're using form file uploads specifically for large files. If you time out there uploading a mp3, there's a good chance it's your ISP. I would think myspace or broadjam would have a pretty generous timeout for uploads. As I said, I've never had trouble with broadjam, but I've had lots of trouble with myspace, even with a T1.

[og]

If the sample rates don't match (file and audio software), you can get chipmunkitis. Thought I was losing it for a while, 'til I figured that out! Try to play a 48kz file when you are set for 44.1.