Guerilla Recording Blog

Given the importance of compression in the recording process, it comes as no surprise to learn that there are a variety of different approaches to applying dynamic control. However, one technique in particular allows you to preserve the dynamics of an audio signal while giving it the body and character of a compressed sound. This technique is known as parallel compression.

If you want to add some punch to your drums without losing dynamic expression, which is so important to the ‘feel’ of a drum sound, then parallel compression is the right technique to use. It refers to mixing a dry signal with a heavily compressed copy of itself. The dynamics in the dry signal are preserved while the compressed signal adds body and character to the overall sound. It works for any instrument, but on drums and vocals in particular, the added character can really bring a track to life.

In older analog recording days, records were generally mixed with the vocals a lot louder than the backing track. They usually put a lot of reverb on the backing track to make it blend more in to the background with the lead vocal dry and upfront. A good example for this is Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presly.  In 1970 Motown invented the Exciter Compression technique which was the very first type of parallel compression. They would split the lead vocals into two different channels in an analog console. Then they added some light EQ and some reverberation in the first channel. On the second channel they compressed the hell out of the vocal signal and added a lot of high end EQ (around 5,000 cycles and up). Now they had two channels of lead vocals; one natural with EQ and reverberation, and one heavily compressed with tons of high end EQ. They then blended the second channel with the original channel just enough so it gave the lead vocal excitement. The end result of this technique was that they ended up with natural sounding vocal, clear and audible at all times with a sparkly and bright touch. Because of this innovative technique from the 70’s, it has paved a way and provided a key factor for bring a brighter sound to your mix. Parallel compression works exactly the same as the Motown Exciter Compression but without the big chunk of EQ settings.

Parallel compression was originally developed by the mix engineers from New York, which is why it is famously called the New York compression. These guys did a good job in bringing the recording and mixing techniques to a new level. This technique has made records sound more clear, lively, and real which is far better than the how they used to do it in the early days.

Parallel Compression’s intention is to maintain the performance characteristics of an instrument or sound source, but with way more and better stabilized dynamics. The compressor settings are set in a way that causes the compressor to pump and breath. Blending both signals will result in a more human than static sounding compressor.

Parallel Compression

http://guerillarecording.wordpress.com/2010/01/25/parallel-compression-aka-new-york-compression/

GLaDOS  or as it may be said as Genetic Life form and Disk Operating System is articulated by Ellen McLain. It is a fiction based computer system which is found in the portals of Valve Software Video Game. GLaDOS was first experienced by the users as a voice which was to guide and help the players throughout the game.

GLaDOS voice can be created by two ways using a Melodyne. They are The Quality Choice: Bob’s System and The Budget Choice: Segfaultii’s Method.

In the Bob’s System there are 4 steps which is to be followed:

1. A sample voice is to be created. This has to be done by typing what has to be said and the audio file has to saved and edited in Sonar 6.
2. A new project is to be shaped, open up sonar 6 and the new audio file just created has to be imported. Then right click on the first track and the V-Vocal has to be opened. The following knobs 100 Vibrato:0 Sense:100 Pitch Follow:100 Shift:10 has to be adjusted and the file can be exported once this is completed.
3. The file once again has to be imported and the melodyne has to be opened up.  Then the entire sound is to be selected by ctrl A. Then the second button at the top has to be clicked, move down one until you see “pitch modulation” and release. Double click on one of the red chunks and you will see almost all of the lines connecting the audio disappear. You can now hit the second button again, and dis select the entire audio clip. Now you have to drag each chunk of voice up and down until you arrive at what sounds exactly like GLaDOS. Once done, export your file.
4. Audacity is to opened up and if felt necessary echo can be added to it as in games. This can be done by selecting the entire audio clip and looking it under effects for “GVerb”. Then it can be finally exported as an MP3.

In Segfaultii’s Method there are 3 steps:

1. A voice sample is to be created.
2. The file has to be imported by selecting the entire sample by pressing Ctrl A. Then the second button at the top is to be clicked, move down one until you see “pitch modulation” and release. Double click on one of the red chunks and you will see almost all of the lines connecting the audio disappear, if not, try another spot. Now select the formant tool next to the one you just selected, and type 150 in the nearby box followed by enter. You can now hit the second button again, and dis select the entire audio clip. Now you have to drag each chunk of voice up and down until you arrive at what sounds exactly like GLaDOS. Once done, export your file.
3. Audacity is to be opened up and if felt necessary echo can be added to it as in games. This can be done by selecting the entire audio clip and looking it under effects for “GVerb”. Then it can be finally exported as an MP3.

Audio- Video Example can be seen in the following link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oQn66gvwKA

A Sub kick is an amazing piece of recording equipment. Using it live or in the recording studio, in grouping with at least one other decent kick mic it produces an incredible sound. If you listen to a soloed sub kick track, it doesn’t show the whole picture of the kick drum sound. But when you add it in with a great kick Mic, or any kick mic for that matter, the results will be awesome

The Sub kick is a large diaphragm microphone (actually, an 8″ speaker wired in reverse) that basically only picks up sounds at about 500Hz and below. Used with a regular kick mic (Beta 52, D112, D6), it can help fill in some additional low end, especially in the 60-120Hz range. It will also pick up some of the low end of 16 & 18 floor toms.

Speakers and microphones are both known as “transducers”, and they work on the same principles. Although one is normally meant to produce sound, and the other captures it. You can actually wire a speaker or microphone in reverse to perform its opposite function, and this is exactly what we’re doing with a sub kick.

We can make one sub kick for about $30 or $50. To build a sub kick, at first you take a speaker, preferably something around 6 – 9″. Then you need to solder the wires to an XLR cable. Take the XLR cable, cut off the end, and wire the positive (+) of the cable to the negative(-) on the speaker. Vice versa for the other wire, and then take the common ground and wire it straight to the speaker chassis.

There are several concepts about using a speaker as a microphone and using this for a kick mic has been done for many years. You will get the best results from a 10″ or 8″ soft mounted (i.e. soft edge, hi-fi, not hard edged guitar) speaker like the bass driver to an NS10 or similar. To make a low-priced sub kick we can use any old 8″ or 10″ speaker.

I’ve only been using this trick for about 5 years or so, but I have been so impressed with the results.  Hope you enjoy!

Reamping is a process used in multitrack recording in which a previously recorded audio track is routed back out of the editing environment and run through external processing, reverb chamber, or amplifier with the intention of adding effects, ambience, or modified tonality. The technique is used mostly for guitars (including bass) because it facilitates a separation of guitar playing from guitar amplifier and effects processing.

***note: This technique also useful for softening stereo drum tracks. By pointing the monitors away from each other and miking each speaker individually, the stereo image can be preserved and a new depth can be added to the track. It’s important to check that the microphones being used are in phase to avoid problems with the mix. I’ve used reamping with drums as an experimental way of beefing a snare track: I routed the output of my recorded snare track and sent it to my practice bass amp.  I tipped the bass amp on it’s back, put a tambourine on the speaker, and mic’d the tamborine with a dynamic mic.  It resulted in a pretty cool and original sounding snare track; not necessarily what I would use for all my recordings, but it was fun, and sometimes whatever makes a recording sound different is good.

How it happens:
A guitarist records a dry, un-processed, un-effected track into the record device. This is usually achieved by connecting the guitar into a DI (direct inject) buffer box fed to a recording device. Many new audio interfaces include HiZ guitar inputs, so if you have one of these you can skip the step of DI’ing. At a later time, the dry, direct, un-processed guitar recording is fed to a reverse DI box and then to a dedicated guitar amplifier and external effects boxes. The guitar amplifier is placed in the live room or isolation booth of the recording studio and is adjusted for desired tonal quality (distortion, room reverberation, etc.). A microphone is placed near the guitar speaker and a new track is recorded, producing the re-amplified, processed track. External effects (stomp boxes, pedals, virtual guitar processors, etc.) can also be added into the re-amping process. Re-amping allows guitarists and other electronic musicians to record their tracks and go home, leaving the engineer and producer to experiment with a range of effects, mic positions, speaker cabinets, amplifiers, effects pedals, and overall tonality – continuously replaying the pre-recorded tracks while experimenting with new settings and tones. When a desired tone is finally achieved, the guitarist’s dry performance is re-recorded, or “re-amped,” with all added effects.

*** note: Often, the guitarist’s signal is sent to both recorder and guitar amp simultaneously, providing the guitarist with a proper amplifier “feel” while also tracking a dry signal. An alternative to this would be to put your recording device in the middle of the chain: guitar -> recording device -> guitar amplifier, and using the amplifier to monitor the guitar.  With a low-latency recording device, you can record your dry guitar signal, monitor through your amplifier, and also take advantage of playback through your amplifier.

More info on DI’s:
Direct inject (DI) is a device or technique for connecting an unbalanced, high-impedance, low-level signal (commonly a guitar pickup) into audio equipment designed for a low-impedance balanced signal (such as a DAW). Reverse-DI means running this same device or technique in reverse – connecting a high-level (typically balanced, low-impedance) signal into audio equipment that was designed for low-level, unbalanced, high-impedance signals, such as a guitar amplifier. Playing back a signal from recording studio equipment directly into a guitar amplifier can cause unwanted side-effects such as input-stage distortion, treble loss or overemphasis, and ground-loop hum; therefor it is important to output your audio signal from your recording equipment as a HiZ output, or buy a reverse DI to convert your line level output to a HiZ guitar output.

I’m writing this blog as a general update of my life as it collides with different styles and genre’s of music.

Since music is usually at the head of my priorities and thoughts, I thought it safe to create a blog about my life, and name it after my music and recording exploits.

Hence,

The Guerilla Recording Blog

For the past two months I have lived in a jam house rented by a Vancouver band called “Tenant”.

Two of the four members live here as well, and they practice fairly regularly on Tuesday and Thursday nights.  The drummer and singer of Tenant have studied music on a professional level for some time, and one of them has attained his Bachelor of Music.  As well, both of them teach music to kids in their spare time. The other two members of the band write and record fairly regularly on their own home digital audio workstations and are constantly striving to discover new bands and new sounds.  Needless to say, any time I come home, there is some form of music being played on the living room speakers, and talk often circles around the subject of new music, or plans for the band.

This is familiar territory for me, and it’s been a common theme for me to be living, working, and playing amongst artists and musicians most of my life.  Only now does it occur to me that a life constantly surrounded by music and it’s creators and contributors is not exactly a common one.  People don’t often get to experience the process of writing and recording music with the intention to release it to the world. I don’t want to sound cliche, but the first time you hear a song after or as it’s being recorded is nothing short of magical.  It’s exciting to be around a musician as he/she is feverishly frankensteining together a piece of music from thin air.  By the time an artist is ready to show even their closest friends anything they’ve put together in a demo recording, they have most likely already poured over it for hours or days. The bags underneath their eyes is always a clear indication of how much effort has already gone in to their latest work.  It’s such an exciting thing and sometimes it’s a struggle for me to find the words to describe it.  As an engineer in a recording studio, when you have a band that has already paid their dues into the writing, arranging, and rehearsing of their songs, the first time you hit the record button and listen to them play… that sound that fills the room for the first time and has a distinctly “live” feel, but a solid polished sonic quality that can only ever be heard in the studio, as the band plays…

That sound and that feel created in the first instant of recording is what I live for.

The never-ending thirst for new music seems to be a little better quenched when I live among people that create it.