by Jon Goad
It’s been my experience that many drummers both young and old have a real lack of knowledge when it comes to tuning their drums. A properly-tuned drumset will not only sound good, but it will also motivate the drummer to want to practice and play more. It’s kind of like the difference between driving a old beat-up clunker and racing around in a new sportscar. Read the rest of this entry »
by Jon Goad
When connecting a mixer to a digital audio interface or multi-track recorder, you normally connect the Direct Out jack of each mixer channel to a track’s input on the interface. For example, let’s say your kick drum mic is connected to channel 1 of the mixer. If you wanted to record the kick drum to track 1, you would connect the channel 1 Direct Out to the track 1 input of the interface. You would then connect the channel 2 Direct Out to the track 2 input of the interface, etc. Using the Direct Outs in such a way takes each channel’s signal post-fader and post-EQ and sends it straight to the recording device. This allows you to record that one instrument (and only that instrument) to its corresponding track on the recorder or in your DAW software.
But what if your mixer doesn’t come equipped with Direct Outs? Read the rest of this entry »
by Jon Goad
When you’re ready to do any serious recording, the question inevitably arises: should I, or should I NOT use a click track? If you’re new to the term, a “click track” is a track that is played in a musician’s headphones while they are recording to help them keep in time. Because the drums help to form the foundation or backbone of a rhythm track, the click track is most commonly used when recording the drums.
Read the rest of this entry »
by Jon Goad
For the uninitiated, “plugins” are the software effects that can be plugged in to your DAW recording software to add various effects or virtual MIDI instruments to your recordings. Read the rest of this entry »
by Jon Goad
Playing drums is a physically-demanding activity, perhaps more so than playing any other musical instrument. A drummer will often be seated behind his kit for hours at a time for practicing, rehearsing, and performing. For this reason, it’s especially important to be comfortable when you play. One key that I’ve discovered to setting up my kit to make playing more comfortable is what I’ll call the “offset bass drum position”. Read the rest of this entry »
by Jon Goad
Choosing a studio for your recording project is not a decision to be taken lightly. Choosing the right studio can mean the difference between a shining success and a miserable failure of a project. Following the guidelines below can help you along in this all-too-important process. Read the rest of this entry »
by Jon Goad
Most engineers will agree that the acoustic drumkit is the most difficult instrument to record and get a professional quality sound. It probably doesn’t help matters that I’m also a drummer, so I’m a tough customer to please. My drum recordings have gotten progressively better over time (thanks mostly to some helpful mixing tips and tricks), but I’m always looking for something to help take my recorded drum sounds to that elusive “next level”. Read the rest of this entry »
by Jon Goad
I’ve wanted a new mixer for the last few years to use in my project studio and for occasional live gigs, but I’ve had a hard time choosing one. I wanted at least 16 channels with XLR inputs (on all 16 channels), 4 subgroups, at least 2 pre-fader Aux sends with balanced outputs (for monitor sends), built-in effects for a touch of reverb (so I don’t have to carry an additional rack unit), and at least 8 direct outputs for multi-track recording. And of course, I wanted all of this for a reasonable price (I’m not asking for much, huh?). Read the rest of this entry »
by Jon Goad
Introduction
When dealing with live sound systems, a common question that I have both asked and been asked over the years is, “How much power amp do I need to sufficiently power my speakers?” Read the rest of this entry »
by Jon Goad
If you want to make the most of a recording session, remember these four simple tips: