MixDown and Mastering - Understanding Studio Monitors and Why You Shouldn't Use Headphones Or Home Stereos

The Skinny on Studio Monitors

Recording music is easier than ever these days (but still not so easy it rivals falling off a log) but the mixdown and mastering still hold a special place in the minds of many home recording engineers - mainly, that they can't do it.

I would never take anything away from a good mastering or recording engineer - they can do things which I still don't understand.

But that is not the be all and end all of making your stereo master tracks and then Mastering them; everyone has an ear, and mixing multiple tracks into a listenable song is a skill like any other. When you start out the results might not be so pretty, but stay at it.

Understanding the Difference

Understanding the difference between mixing your stereo master tracks and Mastering is crucial, but it is something that a lot of aspiring recordists don't fully understand.

For a moment we are going to assume that all the tracks are synced up in time, that there are not any phase issues and everyone has recorded their parts in the right key.

Recording the Stereo Master tracks are where the greatest part of your sound, good or bad, is going to come from. This is where you actually mix all your individual tracks (or stems) into a stereo master track.

Peresonus Studio One has some great mastering tools which make the process much easier!

Mastering, on the other hand, is when you apply a final stage of EQ and compression to the stereo master tracks which you have created during the mixdown process.

This final stage does a couple of things - it ensures that all tracks you are doing have a similar volume setting, and it applies a bit of final compression and EQ to your mix.

Mastering your stereo mix down tracks should not be thought of as a way to 'fix' a poorly mixed stereo track. The stereo track should sound excellent before the final mastering takes place.

WHAT YOU ARE LISTENING THROUGH

This can make a lot of difference. Actual studio monitors are the best thing to use when mixing as most studio monitors add very little shaping to the mixed music. 

It is possible to use home stereos in a pinch, but the problem with home stereos or good consumer headphones is that they shape the music, accentuating the bass and high frequencies and often scooping a bit of the mid frequencies out.

When using such systems to mixdown your tracks, though, this makes it very hard to accurately tell exactly how your music sounds on a base-line level; this results in a mix which might sound very good on a particular system or set of headphones, but when played through other systems you realize the bass is way to heavy or almost non-existent, or some of the instruments or voices are buried in the mix.

Use Different Sized Monitors

I always liked to run at least two different sized monitors; one fairly small set (Like the Presonus Eris 4.5's) and one set with a bigger speaker or a subwoofer.

The Presonus Eris 4.5 monitors are a great deal, just $199.99!

These Behringers are a 6" monitor, and have a good amount of bass response

Switching back and forth between the two different sized monitors will allow you to pinpoint any frequency problems, and it also helps to reduce the risk of tiring out your ears.

Keep in mind, you are trying to get a mix where the song shines - your goal with studio monitors is not to get the best sounding speaker you can afford, but it is to get a good, flat response so that you can actually hear what you are mixing.

An old trick, and one that works great, is to import a stereo track from a similar type of music into your project, and compare your mix to how the imported track sounds. This gives you a direct A/B comparison to music that you sounds great to you.

Reference, Reference, Reference

Once you have a good stereo mix completed, don't pat yourself on the back to quickly. First you will want to listen to it through a number of different systems. When I am mixing, I like listening to a track that we think is ready through at least three things - a small, cruddy boom box or little CD player, a  good quality home stereo, and a car stereo.

When your mix sounds good in all of these amplification sources, you can be assured that it will sound good in just about any listening environment.

Now, on to the next song!

Mastering - The Misunderstood Art

So, if you had eight songs in your project and they are now all mixed to perfection, now is the time for Mastering those tracks. Even if you are sending your mixdown tracks out to be mastered, you should still master your tracks yourself just to see what kind of results you can get.

Keep in mind, the whole point is to get your music in front of people - 
and being proud of it once it is!

Generally, in mastering a track there will be a bit of compression and some very light EQ involved - you SHOULD NOT have to make big adjustments here; if you find yourself doing that, consider remixing the song.

It does help to have a fresh set of ears at this stage of the process; the goal is to put a final polish on the songs, and to make sure all the songs in a project have a similar volume level, and that they have a volume level which is an average for released songs (you don't want your songs appreciably lower than other source material).

Sending your songs out for mastering can be worth the money, but never assume that the person you are using has the sole gateway to good sound. An engineers best piece of equipment is what is between their ears. That being said, a well mixed song that is properly mastered is going to have a bit more 'pop' than one which isn't, and the hardware and software tools and technology you have available can make this section of the process much easier.

For new and used recording equipment in Charlotte and the surrounding area, including Presonus, Apex, Audio Technica and more, come to James House of Deals, the newest music store in Lincoln County!

It's Wintertime - And Time For Some Car Maintenance!

Check these Items To Make Sure Your Car Is Ready For Winter

As winter is finally setting in, there are a few things that everyone should check on their cars. Even a milder winter like we have down here in the south can cause problems to rise to the top, and these problems may make your car quit running for a day or cause serious damage that it would take hundreds or thousands to fix!

The Battery

As temperatures goes down, an older or poorly maintained battery will really be put under pressure, and batteries love a cold snap to simply give up the ghost. If this happens in the morning, it can cause hours of inconvenience and make you miss appointments or work!

There are two types of batteries, maintenance free and standard. Standard batteries will gradually run short on fluid, and as they get low on water they will have  a harder and harder time holding  charge or delivering enough energy to turn the motor over. If your battery is 4 years or older, consider replacing it. If it is not maintenance free and it seems to be sluggish sometimes, check and add distilled water. If you are not sure how to do this, come by Waycaster Tire & Auto or by many auto parts stores and they will check it for you.

This is a maintenance free battery - on batteries where you do need to check the water levels, there will be two caps (usually rectangles) that will cover three cells each. There will be an indicator line where the fluid should be. When refilling the battery cells, be sure to use distilled water!

Check Your Radiator Fluid

If you are driving a used car or if your new car has over 60,000 miles on it, you will want to get the radiator fluid checked and if needed flush and refill your radiator. Auto parts stores can usually help you with this.

As radiator fluid ages, it loses its ability to resist the cold; this can also happen if your radiator has a slow leak and you kept refilling it with water instead of anti-freeze. While we do not have many very cold nights in North Carolina and South Carolina, a heavy freeze can destroy a radiator or an engine if the anti-freeze in your system is not up to snuff.

Top Up With Freeze Prof Windshield Wiper Fluid

This one may seem a bit lightweight compared to the other things we are talking about, but freezing liquids in your car are never good, even if it just keeps you from washing the windshields, and one thing every winter is good at, even a light one like ours, is making our windshields dirty and hard to see through. This can be a safety issue, so get a good freeze-proof windshield washer fluid (I really like the Rain-X Winter formula) and top your washer reservoir up for a worry free, clean windshield experience!

A Great Time To Buy New Tires

Going into the winter is a great time to think about the new tires Lincoln County drivers need. It rains more often than it snows in this area, but winter is a time of bad roads; rain, freezing rain, snow and slush (and good ole North Carolina Winter Mud!) can all be treacherous, and this is made more so by running tires which are getting thin on treads. Waycaster Tires can now supply the new tires Lincolnton and Lincoln County drivers need to make sure their vehicle is as safe as possible. For NC Vehicle Inspections in Lincoln County, oil changes, rotations and of course a wide selection of new and used tires come to Waycaster Tire & Auto!

Waycaster Tire & Auto has New Tire Sets starting as low as $240.00, so call today to see what we can do for you!

New Tire & Wheel Deals At Waycaster Tire & Auto!

Wheel & Tire Specials!

Waycaster Tire & Auto has some great deals on new wheel & tire combos, like the Vision Off Road Warrior 375's pictured here! These wheels can be ordered to fit a variety of pick-ups and SUV's!

For just $999.00 PLUS tax, you get 4 x 18" wheels like the one pictured above, new tires, center caps and mounting kit. We install everything - these are gloss black wheels with a machined aluminum face and are really nice looking wheels - you can see how well they dress up this Ford Explorer.

Other sizes are also available, and we can source different tires such as All Terrain tires or specific brands, though this will affect the price!

Call now to make sure we can get these to fit your vehicle - tires and wheels are special ordered to assure the proper fitting! These wheels come in a number of configurations that fit many pickups and SUVS or crossovers and are also available in 16" wheels.

For new tires in Lincolnton and NC Inspections in Lincoln County come to Waycaster Tire & Auto, and we will get you rolling right! We offer oil changes, NC Vehicle Inspections and more here at Waycaster tire & Auto!

Building Tone - Getting The Guitar Sound That is Right For You

Acoustic Vs. Electric - Tone Considerations

Acoustic Guitars, when it comes to tone, are much more organically arrived at, and it all starts with the sound of the guitar itself, and then playing that guitar through the cleanest PA or amplifier system you can afford - no great mysteries there.

But electric guitars are different; there are too many factors involved in getting a great tone from an electric guitar, and they can be endlessly tweaked and added to. This can be aggravating, but it can also be rewarding, when you have sifted through a myriad of factors and finally achieved the perfect tone for you.

Knowing Your Tone

The first part of getting your perfect tone is having some idea of what that tone is, and this is where the type of guitar you will want to get really comes into play. If you want wide open, airy sounding chords and clean tones it is hard to beat a single coil or strat/tele style guitar. Single coil pickups excel at this type of sound. 

This Washburn Sonamaster is an excellent example of a Strat style single coil guitar!

However, if you want your clean sounds a bit darker and denser, Les Pauls or hollow-body guitars do really well, and they are great when it comes time to pour some distortion on mix!

My personal favorite pickup configuration is a combination of the two; a strat style guitar with a Double Humbucker in the bridge position. This allows me to get the clean, airy sound that I want for chords, and the dirty growl that humbuckers excel at!

A perfect mix of single coil clean clarity and the fat distortion tones possible with a
double humbucker make the double single single configuration of this guitar my favorite!

After The Guitar

Once you have chosen the guitar you want there will be two different things that will allow you to zero in on the exact tone that will make you happy. 

Remember, when it comes to tone, there is no right or wrong answer. Study other people's sounds to see how they do it, but keep in mind that your tone is your own. Try weird things, and don't be afraid to ignore the advice of others - don't be afraid to take it either, sometimes it can save you a lot of time on your journey!

The Amp

The second leg of your tone will be your guitar amp. I personally look for an amp that has a certain clean sound that I am looking for; I can get the distortion I want through a variety of different means.

But some people want a particular amp just because it has a certain sound in the distortion mode. Mesa Bogies spring to mind for this, as well as Marshalls and Orange - note that amps chosen for this reason are usually tube amps. For this reason, this can also be one of the more expensive parts of your tone chain! 

Take your time, and play a lot of different amps, then choose the best one you can afford.

Traynors have a very distinct distortion sound but also possess crystal clear clean tones!

Fenders are workhorses, and while I do not like most of the distortion sounds on Fender Amps
the clean sound is worth it!

A Matter Of Effects

Effects, whether they come in individual effect pedals or in a multi-effect unit are the last leg of your tone, but they can be just as important as the amp and the guitar.

As with everything, getting the really good stuff costs money but keep your mind open when it comes to effects. Some cheap effect pedals are wonderful, but when it comes to music gear including effects you generally get what you pay for.

Multi-Effects and Stomp Boxes

For most of my playing career I have used multi-effect units, like the Boss GT Series or what I am currently using, a Vox Tonelab unit.

You can get some great tones out of multi-effects units, and I love them for their versatility and the fact that one button push can trigger a whole new sound set. The built in expression pedal is great too, for adjusting modulation speeds, acting as a volume or wah pedal, or adjusting many other parameters.

The down side to multi effects units is that they can be a pain in the butt to program, and if you do not have a lot of time they can be very aggravating to work with. There are some amps too that just do not like being hooked up to these units. Usually, the better the clean sound on an amp is, the better it will sound with a multi-effects unit.

Single stomp box effects, on the other hand, generally sound good through just about any amp, and it is very hard to beat the quality levels of individual stomp boxes. 

They are also much easier to adjust to get just the sound you want, but there is some degree of experimentation that you will want to do.

The Robert Keeley pedals are very hard to beat, and while they are a bit more expensive than the average Boss or DOD pedal they are a boutique pedal made in the USA, and they have unrivaled tone and adaptability!

The Vibe-O-Verb is one of my favorites, and is just $149!

Changing the order of the stompboxes can make a big difference in how the sound gets to the amp, so when you are playing with individual effects get deep into the pedal and make big adjustments to see what the pedal can really do. 

Once you are happy with that, try changing the order that the pedals are plugged into each other, and see how much of a difference putting your distortion or reverb in front of or in back of the other pedals. 

The other cool thing about using effect pedals is that it is fun to search for new little gems to fill out your sound - in fact, I am toying with the idea of re-doing my guitar rig one more time, I have found myself inspired by some of the effect pedals I have been trying out to write this piece!

To try out the Robert Keeley pedals, come to the newest music store in Lincolnton James House of Deals!We have got a wide range of guitar effects in Lincolnton and also carry many new and used instruments, strings, accessories and more!

Save Money And Gain Flexibility With your TV Viewing!

TV Your Way - 2nd Tier Providers Offer Savings And Convenience

So called 2nd Tier Providers have been around for almost a decade now (in some cases, anyway), but they now offer more choices than ever - and a way to escape the cable company's price structure, depending on exactly what you want to watch.

Of course, to some people cable is essential. This is especially true if you are a sports fan as there is no realistic way to stream games and matches from many sports, although this is slowly changing - soccer (or football as it is known overseas) is a great example of that.

But, if you are not a sports fan it is possible to save money by combining one or more of the so called 2nd Tier. This includes Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime and some per pay providers like Vudu.

It is true that you can't get everything doing this, but for just over $25.00 a month I have Amazon, Netflix and Hulu, and this covers a lot of bases, providing a large selection of content that is both brand new and (with Netflix) older shows and movies that I can binge watch!

And, for those shows that I have to have, I use Vudu to buy the seasons - the Walking Dead is one I no longer want to wait till it comes on Netflix, but most seasons can be purchased for between $20 - $27 bucks, which is not that much when comparing it to a $70/month TV bill.

And, since everything is streaming there is no need to set a DVR device - you watch it whenever you want to! It would be nice if they start streaming at the same time the episode airs, but there is almost always a 1 day delay. After you get used to it it does not in truth seem like a delay at all.

PS3's make an excellent media entertainment center, giving you the ability to stream, play games and  BluRays!

And, more and more devices enable these services. You do need an internet connection with decent speed, but most modern Blu Ray players, smart TV's, or just about any gaming system has the capability to hook up to any of these services, including a completely free service, YouTube, which is fantastic for concerts and documentaries (not so much for current or past TV shows).

So if you are looking fro a way to save money, consider cutting ties with your cable company as a TV provider, and go to one of your local pawn shops in Lincolnton NC to get good, low cost electronics liker TVs in Lincolnton, game systems, computers and more!