Well just re set up my set up (see my FB page if you like)
Had an easy week at work - next week is going to be a killer - one trustees report - supervising and then going to London once for a forum and another to lobby Chris Grayling MP (Cnt)
Going to sort out some tunes for my show - got a remix to finish off
Well I said I need an xfade at some point and a soundcard with at least 6 ins and a fckn laptop
The Omni is fine for the time being as i can use a mouse as well but had a long chat with someone about getting involved with a soundsystem thats going to be doing the festivals in europe in the summer (Thats if there is going to be a Europe in the summer - lol) so experimenting with stuff
Yeah, I like the options Ableton affords with all the different power settings on the X-fade curves. Interesting nuances with each one. Almost ready to send a tune to you ICN…
Yes, actually! I’ve been studying recordings and working in the studio. I have rediscovered the delight of vinyl and have been absorbing some older techno.
Also built some sand-filled stands for my monitors. Lifted them up off the desk onto the stands and it has cleaned up the sound enormously. I also discovered that stuffing leftover Auralex into the ports of the monitors and the sub has tightened the bass beyond belief. I can actually hear clean pitches right down to A0. Amazing what room treatment and a bit of handy work can do for studio acoustics.
Well, sort of. The reason why the lowest note on the piano is A0 is because anything below that is very difficult to identify by pitch, even if the person listening has acute hearing. I know this because when I was studying at Indiana University in Bloomington, I would often play the Bosendorfer they had in the main auditorium. It had an extended keyboard that went down to C0! Not only was it incredibly disorienting to play, but the sounds down there were almost too loud to control effectively.
Sounds generated electronically down there will be more for “oomph” than for functional pitch or harmonic structure, similar to the extended piano I just mentioned. My monitors and sub can produce pitches a bit lower than A0, especially now that my room is about as acoustically tight as I can get it, but they will only be for open-air speakers and subs that can handle the range. The second I put my headphones on, I lose the low end quite a bit. Even with headphones that extend way down to 20Hz!
Kind of off topic, but I have moved comfortably to exclusively monitor-oriented music making processes, thus getting out of the habit of using the cans all the time. I only put the headphones on when I need surgical like sound assessment, or to A/B what I’m actually hearing on the monitors. Turns out the monitors are the best judge of the sound, and what comes through the headphones tends to sound worse.
I did a comparison of mastered tunes from all sorts of genres and found that the balance of the music on the monitors was “tighter” than the balance found on the headphones, which made the music seem very disjunct. Of course, I’ve learned not to use any dynamics processing until the mixing process is as good as I can get it. I’ve finally arrived at the point in confidence where I am not throwing a compressor on everything right away. Helps keep things organized and it is also easier to keep track of what actually needs a compressor in the first place. I’ve found that the only clue one might get for needing a compressor on a track is if there never seems to be a fader setting that makes you happy. If you’re always jerking that thing around trying to make the sound fit, it probably needs a compressor. If the fader is fine, leave the fkcing compressor in the VST lounge.
Consequently, these are things I’ve been studying the past few months…
J
[quote]ICN (12/11/2011)[hr]A0 - Cool.
Is that the very limit of the speakers Jamie?[/quote]