J A M B U Z Z !!!!

Now that you’ve received your raw drum tracks as WAV files from an online studio drummer, how should you proceed when it’s time to mix? In this series of brief tutorials, I will outline several processing concepts. in mind that if you ask 99 Engineers how to mix a drum track, you’ll definitely receive 99 differing opinions on what’s right and what’s wrong. The thing to keep in mind is that if it sounds good, it is good. Anything you have to do to convey the emotion of a performance is the right thing to do with your drum tracks. I will also assume most of you will be using a DAW (Logic, Pro Tools, DP, etc…) of some sort. That said, here are some tips on gating drum tracks.

When you use a sound gate you’re just silencing sections of audio that have no pertinent information (aka bleed) so as to present a more cleanly defined track. For example, you may want to gate the tom tracks so that they are heard only when they are hit, as opposed to howling sympathetically whenever the snare is hit. If you find this annoying, just gate the toms. Through silencing audio on the track when the toms aren’t being struck, you’ll produce a cleaner and tighter drum track overall. You can do this by using a noise gate as an insert (hardware or software plug-in) or by drawing down the volume via automation in a DAW or even muting whole sections in between actual hits. Each technique produces a different effect on the overall sound, so experiment with your drum tracks and see what works for you. Some will gate all drum tracks but the overheads, room, and hi-hat mics. This can be great for Progressive Rock, R and B, and Funk. Experimentation is very important.

Conversely, some engineers feel that drums should ring freely and by gating you run the risk of killing the “vibe” of a drum kit being played by a real drummer in a real room. I won’t argue this point as it’s a valid one, but the decision to gate drum tracks or not depends entirely on the type of material being performed and what you’re going for aesthetically. With that said, I generally wouldn’t gate anything for a traditional Jazz number or anything requiring a Bonham-esque vibe. In this case, the ringing and overtones produced by having all the microphones wide open contribute to the overall presence of the kit and the air that surrounds each element can make for a huge sounding drum track. Although no approach is perfect for all circumstances, this is certainly the most “natural” sounding approach. Think of it this way: not gating is big and airy, while gating is tight and dry. Have fun as you experiment.

Look for more of my drum track processing tutorials in the future. These articles provide a practical and artistic approach to drum track processing.

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You have undoubtedly heard quite a bit with regards to noise cancellation headphones lately and how useful they are at eliminating surrounding noise.  But, have you heard of sound isolating headphones?  A recent report discovered that sound isolating headphones were actually more helpful at reducing surrounding noise than noise canceling headphones.  Portable music players are routinely utilized in noisy environments such as on the bus, at the beach or at the fitness center so screening out the background noise can help to make your music listening experience significantly better.  So, just how do the two distinct models of sound proof headphones work and which design would help you the most?

Noise canceling headphones otherwise known as active noise reduction headphones use electronic circuitry to reduce noise after it has entered the headphone.  You’ll find little microphones inside of each headphone cup that sample the noise field and generate a signal that is the opposite or inverse of the surrounding noise signal therefore canceling it out. Most of these headphones are usually limited in the frequency range that they are able to cancel out.  They have a tendency to not cancel out high frequencies very successfully.  Noise canceling headphones must also have a supply of power and typically make use of batteries which is why they are usually larger than in ear headphones.

Sound isolating earphones run on a much less complicated approach.  A foam, rubber, or plastic sleeve surrounding your phone lets it to fit inside of instead of outside your ear.  The foam or rubber results in a tight fit which helps prevent outside noise from entering the ear canal.  Sound isolating ear phones are passive and don’t require batteries or any kind of special circuitry.

The study revealed that sound isolating earphones may well isolate as much as 44 dB while noise canceling headphones eliminated 26 dB.  It also demonstrated the fact that sound isolating earphones were much more effective at getting rid of high frequency noise.  The evaluation determined that one of the prominent sound isolating earphones blocked 16% more noise than the top noise canceling headphone.  Therefore, if you employ your music player in loud places then you may want to look into purchasing a pair of sound isolating earphones.  They can help to make your music listening experience a lot quieter and far more gratifying.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Chances are you’ve just bought your very first Electric guitar and wish to learn all about guitar amps and other professional audio equipment. Maybe you’re just curious as to how extended amps have been around, how they perform, or which to buy. Whatever the motive, by reading this post, you’ll get answers.

History of the Amplifier

Guitar amplifiers have been around for estimated at 70 years now, having first appeared during the 1930s. The earliest amps had really poor high treble and bass responses. This was improved over time, as amps became better developed. During the ‘60s, the guitar amp greatly evolved to where it can be nowadays when guitar players of that era played around with with intentionally overloading their amp to develop distortion. From that point on, most amps were provided with preamp distortion controls. Playing with distortion has since become an crucial component of electric guitar playing.

Types of Amplifiers

You will find two forms of amps: solid state and vacuum tube amps. Additionally, you can find some amps that combine both solid point out and tube technologies. Most amps, particularly the least expensive ones, are solid state because they’re lighter and less difficult to repair than tube amps are. Plenty of guitarists, nonetheless, choose the tube amp due to the tube amp’s analog sensitivity, which they claim makes tube amps sound much better. Whilst that is possibly the case, most beginners can’t afford to shell out the $500-$1000 it costs to purchase a good tube amp. That’s why solid state amps are actually an excellent buy in some circumstances.

Solid state and vacuum tube amps come in combination (speakers and head) packages or individually. Guitar players who aren’t picky can just purchase the combo, while those who are picky can “mix and match” heads and speakers. This really is helpful for individuals looking to attain a particular tone.

The Hows and Whys of Amps

Without going into a huge, long, technical explanation, amplifiers generally take the vibration sound with the string(s) and enhance it, thereby increasing the sound. Should you desire to get a lot more about the techie side of guitar amps, you will find a number of good books that cover the matter pretty extensively.

Every guitar amplifier has a certain quantity of watts. The higher the number of watts, the louder the sound produced by the amp is. Typically speaking, those who desire to play shows will want to obtain  guitar amplifiers with a minimum of 30 watts, if possible a minimum of 50 watts, especially if they plan on playing at larger locations.

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Some individuals who want to learn playing jazz guitar find themselves wondering the best way to start playing it. Luckily the answer isn’t complex. Just get started. The starting step is the most critical one. The rest follows. Various people presume that mastering jazz guitar is a particularly demanding activity. They find the guitar scales, modes, and chords simply too much to handle. The normal belief is: There may be too much to comprehend. If you entertain such thoughts, they will grown to be a self fulfilling prophecy. So steer clear from them. You bet, there is quite a lot to study, but there is certainly a great deal of help available to ensure that you learn it while having fun. All you need to do is, get into the groove. Incredibly soon you will begin playing with self-assurance, and pizzazz.

Don’t Make Things Complicated

You can find a way of thinking which says that jazz guitar can only be mastered if you are in tune with your inner self. This idea makes jazz learning some type of a magical knowledge, not really possible by all. This way of thinking translates into a block in the mind. If you are serious about trying to learn jazz guitar, then just focus your attention on keeping it simple. Learn the basics well. Get a very good teacher who will share knowledge about guitar scales and chords. This  guitar teacher  will also help you grow self confidence in yourself and your potential by helping you develop your skill and talent. You will need to be a dedicated learner and practice what you learn. These easy steps will make certain continuous advancements in your jazz guitar learning capability.

Here’s The  Starting  Step That You Need To Take…

Making an investment in some jazz guitar classes makes fantastic sense. In actual fact it is the initial step in your learning activity. In order to grow as a learner, you need to find the right guitar instructor who will not try to impress you with his skill, but really fixate on developing your skills. In the starting basic tuition he will teach you the different scales and the chords.

Besides organizing a good guitar tutor , you also should assign some time for your guitar practice schedule. Some guitarists even video tape their playing so that they can investigate it and learn from it. Some people today listen to a recording over and over again till it gets ingrained in their system. Then they recreate the magic on their guitar. Plenty of pupils go through the recently learned lesson for hours together, until they know it inside out. You need to find your own way of practicing guitar, but practice is imperative.

It is straightforward to go out there and splash out on the equipment, jazz guitar amps and stuff. But before you implement that always make sure that you have more than enough time to master the fundamentals of playing jazz guitar. If your studying and practicing routines are in place, no one can prevent you from transforming into a really good jazz guitar player. All the odd harmonies and chords of the jazz style can become second nature for you. So practice increasingly more, until your ears get used to to the unusual sounds of jazz..

A critical part of the learning process is to listen to jazz guitar on a consistent basis. Get totally familiar with your guitar. As they say, be one with it. Look into varied beats coupled with rhythms. And above all have faith in yourself…you’ll be playing cool jazz guitar licks in no time! 

Popularity: 3% [?]

Nowadays, there has been a large growth spurt of musicians. Musicians that has different skill levels, from pros’ to newbies They come from a wide variety of music genres too. Some are fortunate enough to possess the skills while others are just having a hard time learning.  

We express ourselves through music. Music’s companionship with human being is unbeatable. New or old in the industry, we all are going though learning about the basics of music.

Since we are talking about musicians and music, Iet me introduce to you the Focusrite Saffire Pro 24. I am going to tell you more about Focusrite Saffire Pro 24 in case you haven’t heard about it yet.

We are trying our best to make our own identity through our music. Creating a “new style” with our music is of concern since we want to catch the attention of the listeners.  

Now, if you want to make your own music, Focusrite Saffire Pro 24 is perfect for you. One of the market’s leading products and a signature brand as well is Focusrite Saffire Pro 24. In the service for satisfied customers in achieving their own creativity.

When it comes to mixing, Focusrite Saffire Pro 24 is very systematic. This thing can be easily plugged in to you computer through Firewire that is why it is very user-friendly. 

Focusrite Saffire Pro 24 has the features that are competent in the industry. This thing has almost everything that you need for your mixing.  

It has a whole audio interface that is being controlled through Firewire. Availability of studio quality mixing is ready to reach out your own homes. This is ideal for recording artists or even to those who aspire to be one.

One good feature also is that it has pre-amps to avoid an immediate distortion of audio.   With the help of stored-in effects, a very good quality of music is produced by the DSP mixer.   Easy mixing is achievable by using your own computers at home.  Compression, reverb, gating and EQ plug-ins are some of its mixing effects.

We can achieve everything with Focusrite Saffire Pro 24. The right music at hand is for you. Simple or more complex effects are achievable with this.

Focusrite Saffire Pro 24 has a very affordable price yet quality and durability is never compromised.  

This would be good to individuals who have microphones and turntables. This could be your next music recording success partner.

Popularity: 3% [?]