Hello from Heidelberg!

[WhiskeyJack]

try having your avatar set to a maximum of 90pixels x 90 pixels, that'll get you there. to air on the side of discretion and save frustration shoot for 89x89 pixel.

It's worked, thanks so much!

[Alison]

Looks good, @annikajayne ! I had a helluva time trying to fit something in there. . .didn't think to ask So glad you are here!!

[annikajayne]

Anyway @annikajayne post up a recent mix that you're working on in this section:
http://therecordingrebels.com/viewforum.php?f=20
and we'll see what we can do to help... if you need any help.

To be honest, I haven't tried mixing yet. So far, I've only recorded dry takes and given them to someone else to mix. I don't know anything about EQ, for instance - other than it exists and what it looks like. I sometimes add a bit of reverb for my videos and that's it. I can upload one of those tracks to Soundcloud in the next few days and post it in the thread you linked.

[annikajayne]

Looks good, @annikajayne ! I had a helluva time trying to fit something in there. . .didn't think to ask So glad you are here!!

Thanks, Alison! Oh well - you never have anything to lose when you're asking someone!! There's no such thing as a stupid question! And I'll have LOADS of those when it comes to mixing!!

[CrowsofFritz]

Anyway @annikajayne post up a recent mix that you're working on in this section:
http://therecordingrebels.com/viewforum.php?f=20
and we'll see what we can do to help... if you need any help.

To be honest, I haven't tried mixing yet. So far, I've only recorded dry takes and given them to someone else to mix. I don't know anything about EQ, for instance - other than it exists and what it looks like. I sometimes add a bit of reverb for my videos and that's it. I can upload one of those tracks to Soundcloud in the next few days and post it in the thread you linked.

Do you want a concise list of audio terms like compression, EQ, Gates, sends, and all that? I posted one in another forum somewhere. It won’t tell you HOW to do all those terms but it’ll tell you exactly what those terms mean in a simple way. It was one of my early classes when I took a year long course in audio engineering.

[Alison]

@annikajayne you're going to learn a TON from these guys! I'm still learning a lot. . . @CrowsofFritz I could use a list like that!

[CrowsofFritz]

@annikajayne you're going to learn a TON from these guys! I'm still learning a lot. . . @CrowsofFritz I could use a list like that!

Here’s the list!

Pad - Reduces volume by a fixed amount.

Preamp - Amplifier for a microphone or other low level source.

Phase - Inverts the polarity of the signal 180 degrees.

Filters - Attenuate unwanted frequencies. Low cut filters take out lower frequencies and vice versa.

EQ (Equalization) - Selective frequency amplification or attenuation.

Multi-track recorder - The recording device. Can be a tape machine, rackmount recorder, or a computer (DAW & Hardware).

Pan - Used to move the audio to the left or right speaker.

Fader - Volume control for a signal.

Aux (Auxiliary) (Send) - Creates a duplicate copy of the sound to be sent somewhere else (could be a piece of gear [Usually involves time based effects {Reverb, Chorus, Delay, etc.}])

Inserts - Completely replaces original signal with processed signal (Usually involves dynamic effects {EQ, Compression, etc.})

Buss - A pathway for the audio to travel.

Microphone - Transducer - Converts sound waves to a varying voltage which is an analog of the sound wave.
a.) Dynamic - Works by magnetic induction (Uses a diaphragm)
b.) Ribbon - Type of dynamic mic. (Uses a thin ribbon) Is more fragile
c.) Condenser - Work by changing capacity through oppositely charged plates. Requires phantom power (48v)

Cardiod - Mic is most sensitive in the front, least in the rear.

Figure 8 - Sensitive in the front and back, not in the sides.

Omni - Mic hears from all sources.

DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) - Recording solution existing entirely on a computer based system.

Compression - Makes the loud sounds quieter, and the quiet sounds louder.

Expander - Makes loud sounds louder, and quiet sounds quieter.

Gate - Mutes all unwanted sound below a given threshold.

Limiter - Prevents sounds from going over limited threshold.

Reverb - Replicating the sound of a room or a specific place (NO REPEATS)

Echo - Repetition of the dry sound (Usually between 100-500ms).

Delay - Longer, more precise repeats (Over 500ms).

Chorus - Adds a time delayed version to the dry sound

Flanger - Chorus with the output fed back to the input to give spacey effects.

Phaser - Creates a copy, delays it, & sweeps through an LFO (Low frequency oscillator).

MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) - A protocol for electronic instruments, computers and other equipment to communicate.

[WhiskeyJack]

@annikajayne you're going to learn a TON from these guys! I'm still learning a lot. . . @CrowsofFritz I could use a list like that!

Here’s the list!

Pad - Reduces volume by a fixed amount.

Preamp - Amplifier for a microphone or other low level source.

Phase - Inverts the polarity of the signal 180 degrees.

Filters - Attenuate unwanted frequencies. Low cut filters take out lower frequencies and vice versa.

EQ (Equalization) - Selective frequency amplification or attenuation.

Multi-track recorder - The recording device. Can be a tape machine, rackmount recorder, or a computer (DAW & Hardware).

Pan - Used to move the audio to the left or right speaker.

Fader - Volume control for a signal.

Aux (Auxiliary) (Send) - Creates a duplicate copy of the sound to be sent somewhere else (could be a piece of gear [Usually involves time based effects {Reverb, Chorus, Delay, etc.}])

Inserts - Completely replaces original signal with processed signal (Usually involves dynamic effects {EQ, Compression, etc.})

Buss - A pathway for the audio to travel.

Microphone - Transducer - Converts sound waves to a varying voltage which is an analog of the sound wave.
a.) Dynamic - Works by magnetic induction (Uses a diaphragm)
b.) Ribbon - Type of dynamic mic. (Uses a thin ribbon) Is more fragile
c.) Condenser - Work by changing capacity through oppositely charged plates. Requires phantom power (48v)

Cardiod - Mic is most sensitive in the front, least in the rear.

Figure 8 - Sensitive in the front and back, not in the sides.

Omni - Mic hears from all sources.

DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) - Recording solution existing entirely on a computer based system.

Compression - Makes the loud sounds quieter, and the quiet sounds louder.

Expander - Makes loud sounds louder, and quiet sounds quieter.

Gate - Mutes all unwanted sound below a given threshold.

Limiter - Prevents sounds from going over limited threshold.

Reverb - Replicating the sound of a room or a specific place (NO REPEATS)

Echo - Repetition of the dry sound (Usually between 100-500ms).

Delay - Longer, more precise repeats (Over 500ms).

Chorus - Adds a time delayed version to the dry sound

Flanger - Chorus with the output fed back to the input to give spacey effects.

Phaser - Creates a copy, delays it, & sweeps through an LFO (Low frequency oscillator).

MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) - A protocol for electronic instruments, computers and other equipment to communicate.

@CrowsofFritz I feel like this should be it's on thread, stickied in the general newbie area. Call it something like glossary of terms you will see on these forums. Or something?

You put it up as your own thread and post and i'll sticky it and people can continue adding to it.

[Armistice]

"Phase - Inverts the polarity of the signal 180 degrees."

Yeah, not quite.... the polarity button on your device/software will invert the polarity of a track 180 degrees - but that raises the question as to why/when you'd do that and what it actually means ... post recording - as a possible corrective measure when you get things "out of phase" (and that can mean a bunch of things) to some degree... pre-recording / live - to forestall the possibility of mics being out of phase with each other...

There's a whole can of worms there.

If you want to do a noobie list of terms, you might want to address ALL the inbuilt jargon - like the word "threshold" appears in numerous places there, but is your noobie going to understand what a threshold is necessarily?

Reverb is not replicating the sound of a particular space - reverb is reverberation which is the effect of being in particular spaces with the various echoes bouncing of various walls / surfaces - what we're often trying to do here in home recording land is emulate those spaces or more generally, that effect, by use of reverb effect devices / plug ins, or create a specific effect - ie. like an amp's spring reverb, for instance, which is not a natural sound.

Compression doesn't intrinsically make the quiet sounds louder - it's a bit more complex. And why would you want to do that? Compression is also an effect used in more subtle ways than making things louder or softer - why would you want to make the quiet sounds louder?

A pad button on a mic or preamp reduces the input signal by a fixed amount specific to that device - that's not quite the same as volume - but a pad is also a specific type of synthesizer effect - but if you have a mic or preamp with a pad function, are you going to know which one is is... it'll have some funky symbol - not the word "pad" generally.

What I'm saying is it's a good idea, but needs more work on the definitions if you really want to pitch it at complete noobie level - probably it's something everyone could work on if they were interested, then nix the working and arguing bit and post the final effort... I'd be up for it.

[JD01]

Anyway @annikajayne post up a recent mix that you're working on in this section:
http://therecordingrebels.com/viewforum.php?f=20
and we'll see what we can do to help... if you need any help.

To be honest, I haven't tried mixing yet. So far, I've only recorded dry takes and given them to someone else to mix. I don't know anything about EQ, for instance - other than it exists and what it looks like. I sometimes add a bit of reverb for my videos and that's it. I can upload one of those tracks to Soundcloud in the next few days and post it in the thread you linked.

Cool. You don't even need to upload to soundcloud. You can just upload an mp3 to the site directly.
Videos? Do you have a YouTube channel?
Don't worry too much about that huge glossary of terms, just deal with questions as they arise.

[vomitHatSteve]

"Phase - Inverts the polarity of the signal 180 degrees."

Yeah, not quite.... the polarity button on your device/software will invert the polarity of a track 180 degrees - but that raises the question as to why/when you'd do that and what it actually means ... post recording - as a possible corrective measure when you get things "out of phase" (and that can mean a bunch of things) to some degree... pre-recording / live - to forestall the possibility of mics being out of phase with each other...

There's a whole can of worms there.

If you want to do a noobie list of terms, you might want to address ALL the inbuilt jargon - like the word "threshold" appears in numerous places there, but is your noobie going to understand what a threshold is necessarily?

Reverb is not replicating the sound of a particular space - reverb is reverberation which is the effect of being in particular spaces with the various echoes bouncing of various walls / surfaces - what we're often trying to do here in home recording land is emulate those spaces or more generally, that effect, by use of reverb effect devices / plug ins, or create a specific effect - ie. like an amp's spring reverb, for instance, which is not a natural sound.

Compression doesn't intrinsically make the quiet sounds louder - it's a bit more complex. And why would you want to do that? Compression is also an effect used in more subtle ways than making things louder or softer - why would you want to make the quiet sounds louder?

A pad button on a mic or preamp reduces the input signal by a fixed amount specific to that device - that's not quite the same as volume - but a pad is also a specific type of synthesizer effect - but if you have a mic or preamp with a pad function, are you going to know which one is is... it'll have some funky symbol - not the word "pad" generally.

What I'm saying is it's a good idea, but needs more work on the definitions if you really want to pitch it at complete noobie level - probably it's something everyone could work on if they were interested, then nix the working and arguing bit and post the final effort... I'd be up for it.

I think what Armi is saying here is that we need a whole subforum for the glossary. Where we have one sticky thread with the term, and every other thread is just us bickering about what the terms actually mean!

[WhiskeyJack]

"Phase - Inverts the polarity of the signal 180 degrees."

Yeah, not quite.... the polarity button on your device/software will invert the polarity of a track 180 degrees - but that raises the question as to why/when you'd do that and what it actually means ... post recording - as a possible corrective measure when you get things "out of phase" (and that can mean a bunch of things) to some degree... pre-recording / live - to forestall the possibility of mics being out of phase with each other...

There's a whole can of worms there.

If you want to do a noobie list of terms, you might want to address ALL the inbuilt jargon - like the word "threshold" appears in numerous places there, but is your noobie going to understand what a threshold is necessarily?

Reverb is not replicating the sound of a particular space - reverb is reverberation which is the effect of being in particular spaces with the various echoes bouncing of various walls / surfaces - what we're often trying to do here in home recording land is emulate those spaces or more generally, that effect, by use of reverb effect devices / plug ins, or create a specific effect - ie. like an amp's spring reverb, for instance, which is not a natural sound.

Compression doesn't intrinsically make the quiet sounds louder - it's a bit more complex. And why would you want to do that? Compression is also an effect used in more subtle ways than making things louder or softer - why would you want to make the quiet sounds louder?

A pad button on a mic or preamp reduces the input signal by a fixed amount specific to that device - that's not quite the same as volume - but a pad is also a specific type of synthesizer effect - but if you have a mic or preamp with a pad function, are you going to know which one is is... it'll have some funky symbol - not the word "pad" generally.

What I'm saying is it's a good idea, but needs more work on the definitions if you really want to pitch it at complete noobie level - probably it's something everyone could work on if they were interested, then nix the working and arguing bit and post the final effort... I'd be up for it.

I think what Armi is saying here is that we need a whole subforum for the glossary. Where we have one sticky thread with the term, and every other thread is just us bickering about what the terms actually mean!

Content is Content and buzzwords are buzzwords.

[annikajayne]

Thanks so much for that list @CrowsofFritz !! That's veerrrrrry helpful! I know most of the terms and roughly knew what they meant but it's good to have a list that explains everything! And yet - as @JD01 said I'll probably deal with the questions as they arise. That's how I've always done it anyway!

[annikajayne]

To be honest, I haven't tried mixing yet. So far, I've only recorded dry takes and given them to someone else to mix. I don't know anything about EQ, for instance - other than it exists and what it looks like. I sometimes add a bit of reverb for my videos and that's it. I can upload one of those tracks to Soundcloud in the next few days and post it in the thread you linked.

Cool. You don't even need to upload to soundcloud. You can just upload an mp3 to the site directly.
Videos? Do you have a YouTube channel?
Don't worry too much about that huge glossary of terms, just deal with questions as they arise.

Yes, I do have a YouTube channel, thanks so much for asking! I'm not very active over there at the moment, though, as shooting videos stresses me out. I just posted my latest video in the video thread: viewtopic.php?t=3613

[HatfieldCreek]

@CrowsofFritz - I've never worked with anything else but Cubase, so wouldn't have anything to compare it with. Which DAW are you using?

I’ve used most DAWs out there: Pro Tools, Cubase, Studio One, Digital Performer, GarageBand, Logic, etc.

But I’ve settled on Reason. It looks like virtual hardware, which is what I learned on (weird, because it was 2011. I should have learned all in the computer at that point).

Reason is mostly for people doing electronic dance music, so I’m a bit of an outlier using it for indie folk.

*Reason used to be for people doing EDM, it's now used by people making pretty much everything, Herbie Hancock has tracked a few albums with it.

As for Whiskey's earlier post, I use Reason for a lot of my own writing and demoing these days, for the studio work I've gone back to PT just to make life easier, sometimes resolve depending on the project. I'm also using a beefy hackintosh at the moment, at last benchmark it was outperforming the latest M1 systems, as well as 95% of windows based machines, it's a lovely thing.