making recorded synths sound louder « Industrial Music forum

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making recorded synths sound louder

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Started 1 year ago by Tsarik
Latest reply from soillodge

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Tsarik

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WILL PROBABLY PISS YOU OFF.

whenever i listen to other digital media on my PC everything sounds fine

when i listen to stuff I've recorded i have to really crank the volume for it to sound good.

when recording into reaper i try to keep my levels just around -6db. when i've finished a track i'll use soundforge to limit the entire mix at -6d and maximize.

sometimes things come out loud enough.. and sometimes they don't

i was listening to some of my stuff in winamp and looking at the frequency analyzer and noticed some sounds didn't make any of the different frequency bands go very high... these sounds were recorded with similar setting but different synth patches and both sounded good on my roland kc-550... but one lacked oomph when played on shitty PC speakers and clearly lacked substance as well, I'm assuming, as indicated in the lack of movement to the frequency bands

any thoughts or suggestions?

thanks

Posted 1 year ago #
soillodge

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You need decent studio monitors to get a clear representation of what you are playing and recording. When you sent me stems, they were at a moderate volume. A good amount of headroom to play with, nothing too quiet or out of the ordinary.

My only advice on this subject is, do not worry about where the level caps are until you mixdown your arrangement. Just play it out at a volume that sounds good to you in contrast with the other sounds. Also keep in mind that your amp is mono, raw sound from your instruments is going to sound different on it that what is actually recorded. I would suggest you use headphones to hear more closely what you are dropping down. Maybe you need to get another KC-550? Or near field monitors.

`michael

Posted 1 year ago #
metaball

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clear & flat nearfield monitors
a variety of reference speaker systems
a quiet (preferrably treated) room to hear what you're doing
non lossy signal paths
strong gain staging

Posted 1 year ago #
dodd

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TACOS!

Michael, please check your PM box at subspine :)

Posted 1 year ago #
Tsarik

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looks like monitors are next on the to buy list.

just got new gear and a ton of cables and new studio furniture. i need a cheaper hobby

Posted 1 year ago #
metaball

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financially it's a bottomless pit with little chance of return, take up painting or macramé while you still can.

Posted 1 year ago #
Tsarik

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WILL PROBABLY PISS YOU OFF.

oil painting is a bit cheaper and i enjoy it... but prep and clean up fucking suck!

no prep.. maybe a just a warm up.. for my synthesizers... and clean up is as easy as turning everything off

no need to make a return.. but the more i save today the less i'll need to work tomorrow

Posted 1 year ago #
metaball

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there is also the small matter of hauling a ton of gear around from one place to the next & finding a place suitable for setting it all up as your collection builds over the years.

Posted 1 year ago #
Tsarik

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WILL PROBABLY PISS YOU OFF.

yup.. hence the need for more cables. i had some custom ones made that were short.. went right from the eventide to the mixer for sends and returns

now the mixer isn't close enough and I've had to buy more studio furniture and more cables

Posted 1 year ago #
soillodge

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@Dodd- You know, I get emails when anyone PM's me there ;) i was just at work and did not get the message till i got home. :P

`michael

Posted 1 year ago #
galino

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This is why I think it's better to concentrate on the writing the material and bringing the result to a studio with engineers to get the best sound.

Posted 1 year ago #
soillodge

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Yeah, if you have money to burn or some friends let you use their studio, that is a good way. Otherwise you have a lot more control and ability to experiment in your own studio.

`michael

Posted 1 year ago #
dogmeat

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wtf? not a single recommendation on usage of eq??? i know eq aint sexy at all, especially compared to freq shifters and bitcrushers, but it makes huge difference between a coherent song and middle band hum and mess.
oh, another thing, if you have more than one instrument, it is not necessary for all of them to play at the same time...really

Posted 1 year ago #
soillodge

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EQ is definitely important! But using a mono keyboard amp as a reference, no amount of equalization is going to help. You need a clear representation of what you are hearing in order for you to determine what needs to be done in the mix.

If it was a regular discussion on mixdown techniques we could talk about rolling off any unnecessary low end, tuning your percussion so it does not fight with other frequencies, and using EQ or effects to emphasize certain elements and obscure others. All of these things [and more] will balance the mix and make everything sound louder/clearer.

But right now Josh needs some damn monitors so he can hear that beastly equipment he owns ;)

`michael

Posted 1 year ago #
KryonikMessiah23

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Indeed. I actually come from an engineering background and I agree. This fella at the very least needs some budget monitors. Then we can get into rolling off everything at 27/40 and cutting from some instruments and boosting another in the same area and the semantics of compression and panning :p.

Posted 1 year ago #
dogmeat

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wait...he uses keyboard amp??? fuck, haven't seen that, ok, monitors are mos def a must have

Posted 1 year ago #
Tsarik

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WILL PROBABLY PISS YOU OFF.

thing about the keyboard amp is that i can crank it the fuck up and bring down the walls

i love that.. i love jamming and creating sonic mayhem

i'm going to get a 2nd KC-550 and run em in stereo, but I'm looking at monitors and those will definitely be my next purchase.

i do own and use a software passive EQ. it is Sound Performance Lab's EQ Rangers. its the only one I have so i don't know how it compares to others but it is really easy to use. its pretty fucking neat how you can bring out elements that you didn't even know where there with an EQ

i've been so impressed with the EQ Rangers that I started looking at hardware EQs... i'm thinking the Thermionic Culture Rooster is going be my swiss army knife.. its a pre-amp, EQ, and tube distortion rack.. taking some of the best elements of their other hardware and combining them into one awesome rack. it is pricey so I'm researching it and other solutions further before making any commitment

Posted 1 year ago #
dogmeat

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hm, instead of getting two keyboard amps, maybe you should better find a pair of active PAs, they have decent prices recently, you can crank the shit out of them, and you wouldn't ruin your monitors you actually need for recording, not practicing. they will have better overall sound than keyboard amps, and you can use them if you have some live event and don't want to depend on the clubs PAs

Posted 1 year ago #
soillodge

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Well considering he already has one, getting the second one for his applications should be fine. We do not want our friend going deaf in his house with 2 400 watt PA's bearing down on him. lol and actually the Roland KC550's are really good keyboard amps. Just not for accurate monitoring.

`michael

Posted 1 year ago #
Tsarik

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WILL PROBABLY PISS YOU OFF.

i like the JBL Eons

a question. if PAs like the Eon are so good... why do they even make keyboard amps?

Posted 1 year ago #

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