ADAT Transfer Day

ADAT's were popular back in the 90's. Now-a-days they almost seem as neglected as the Beta home video format.

Last month when I was at Overdub Lane doing some tape transfers, one of the studio managers needed to clear out some storage space. I had a number of projects on the shelf, all of which were in ADAT format. These things are basically digital VHS tapes that allow for multi-track digital recording. Now that everything is either ANALOG TAPE or HARDDISK, this format is mostly extinct. That being the case, if there's something you have on ADAT format, there's no time like the present to transfer it on to a drive.

The one project I really cared about was, of course, my mid-90's album The Lessons of Autumn. So, today, I rented an ADAT machine and transferred the tracks from digital tape to a hard drive, driven by Pro Tools. When you do a transfer like this, it's usually best to listen to everything as it goes in. This was a 24 track album and I only had 8 inputs. So, in a way, I listened to the album three times today...but only 8 tracks at a time. It was pretty neat.

I also happened to have an ADAT with the final mixes of Athenaeum's Overdub Sessions. The only track that has been released from this session is "Paragraph," which appeared on Hourglass, the rarities CD from 2002. The other songs were all re-recorded for other albums. These demos those are quite impeccable. There are moments that rival the big-dollar versions. Anyway, I finally have a copy of these tracks in a digital format. My cassette tape wore out years ago.

EQing Common Sense

On just about every mixing console, digital audio workstation, or sound playback device, there's a function called EQ (short for equilization). This function allows the user to adjust specific frequencies along the sonic spectrum.

On consumer grade devices, these functions are either limited to general "low," "mid," or "high." Some of these devices have genre specific EQ that, generally, help to bring out desired nuances of specific types of music. For example, the EQ curve on urban music generally accentuates the lower frequencies and extreme high frequencies. On my car, my stereo has a "vocal" EQ setting that seems to boost the 1Khz frequency a few dB. I never use these genre specific settings, preferring to keep my EQ flat at all times.

In audio production, the EQ flood gates are wide open. On most mixing consoles, a user can dial in up to 7 different bands of EQ at varying widths. In computer based audio production suites (like Pro Tools) any number of plug-ins can be chained together to produce an nearly infinite combination of EQ. There is no limit to how much you can change a particular sound, for better or for worse.

For the beginner, if EQ adjustments are made haphazardly, these changes are usually for worse. Sure, a plug-in gives you seven bands of EQ to play with but how do you use it?

I consider myself still very much on the beginning side of understanding EQ, but there are a few things that I know now that I wish I knew when I was starting to mess around with EQ.

1. It's generally better to cut a frequency than to boost a frequency.
2. Different instruments have differing levels of information at different areas of the EQ graph. Notching out places in a mix for each instrument to live is a good approach to making a clear mix.
3. The voice has much of it's information at 1kHz.
4. Mixes can generally benefit from a high pass filter set to cut out everything below 50 Hz.
5. Boosting one frequency cuts another frequency. This sympathetic frequency will not show up on your EQ knob, so make sure you hear how one EQ adjustment affects the picture before making a second adjustment.
6. 1.5 kHz and the sibilant frequencies (5 - 8 kHz) are harsh. Notching those out may help a vocal. Cutting too much can also make a vocal dull and lispy.
7. Adding a little air (high shelf above 5 kHz) to a master buss can also help a mix. Too much of this can also ruin a good mix.
8. Acoustic guitars have a lot of information along the entire EQ spectrum. The style of music generally dictates how much to adjust these values. Also, the manner in which the guitar is engineered and the quality of the instrument dictates quite a bit more. Acoustic instruments are tough.
9. Bass guitars generate many different sounds. For most music a good relationship between the extreme low and lower mids is important when adjusting the bass. Bass is an area that I'm hoping to learn more about in the coming year. In general, my mixes can benefit from a slightly clearer bass presence.
10. A properly tuned kick drum can generate tones between 50 Hz and 80 Hz. It's a good idea to decide who's gonna be on the bottom, the kick or the bass. Then, dedicate a section of the mix to both instruments. You'll be groovin' much better then.
    

I could go on and on, but as sure as I make these statements, there really are no hard-fast rules. So much of audio production is mojo, or that which cannot be taught, explained, or even transmitted...it comes from pure instinct.

Happy recording.

Erin White: Anticipation

Erin White & Brian Kennedy (executive producer) contacted me this past summer about making a CD. After a solid month of studio work and a few months at the plant Erin's CD Anticipation is now available. She is selling the CD through her website www.erinwhiteonline.com

This was the first project of mine that required remote recording. If you've been reading any of my posts from the summer, I did quite a bit of tracking in the UNCG recital halls. Brian is a classically trained pianist and had access to impeccably tuned pianos...something that many studios can't even boast. The acoustic piano is an integral part of this album, as you'll certainly hear if you happen to pick up a copy.

This record is also much more of a "pop" oriented project than what I've done in the past. Being so, I mastered it ever so slightly brighter than the other stuff I do. I'm a stickler for mastering volume, so I made it tastefully "loud" without blowing out your eardrums.

The album features three solid originals by Erin. Four songs are tasteful cover songs that were arranged by either Brian or me. And, one of the songs is a version of a song from the talent portion of Erin's Miss North Carolina pageant; she placed in the top five at this very competitive event.

Congratulations, Erin! I hope you sell a gazillion of these CD's. You definitely have a diverse, well paced album that will appeal to a wide variety of people with differing musical tastes.

The Candelabra Sessions, Part Two (Post 2)

Things haven't been going as quickly as I would have liked them to have gone. However, I am happy with the progress that I've made.

I had a good talk with a friend and mentor of mine this past weekend (Wade Baynham, producer at the Second Story in Durham, NC). One of the things we discussed was the relationship of session speed and creativity. In general, the faster the session, the lesser the innovation. The records that are made "assembly line style" aren't usually very ground breaking. If the same presets, licks, chords, changes are used because of a lack of time, there probably won't be much new that the session can possibly offer.

I can think of three albums that were made in just two weeks that were ground breaking, but that had more to do with the players as well as the era (These would be Goodbye Yellow Brick Road by Sir Elton John, Appetite for Destruction by Guns'N'Roses, and Southern Harmony and Musical Companion by the Black Crowes). But, as I write this, I think I may have confused ground breaking with just "good."

The song "Pillar of the Sun" has been giving me trouble for a good two months. The only way for me to figure out which key, which tempo, and which instruments were best for it was take two completely different approaches to it. I've concluded that the slower, lower keyed acoustic rendition is better than the full on version. Both of these took a total of four days to complete. Unlike the last session, this one is going at a slower pace. And still, I've made notes on how to make a better mix of the slower version. I will most likely finish this today and move on to the next song.

On Friday, I had a practice session with Mark. I showed him "Tuesday" and "Pillar of the Sun" and he liked what he heard. Part of me thinks that these will be good songs for him to make additions on over the next few months. Being so, I am considering not posting these demos, as they will most likely change quite a bit with the addition of other players.

The Candelabra Sessions, Part Two

I remember back when I was in high school...and college for that matter...there was always a great rush to get things done by Thanksgiving break. In the spirit of nostalgia, or perhaps just because I need a reason, I've decided to do some "cram-session" recording between now and Thanksgiving.

I have a decent collection of half-written and nearly written songs that could stand to use a proper studio demo. Because the last session worked so well, I hope to record five "normal songs" and three instrumental songs.

Today I recorded an acoustic song called "Tuesday." Using the techniques I've honed this summer on my studio clients, the version I recorded and mixed today sounds really good. There are a few tweaks I'll make later, but generally I'm pleased with it. So, look for some new material soon.

Collapsis Remastering

Recently, I came across two old board tapes: Collapsis--Zoo Bar, 5/3/97 & Collapsis--Coney Island High 8/15/97. After listening to them, I decided it would be a good idea to digitize them and make them as listenable as possible. Collapsis was a band I fronted from 1997 until early 2001. Most fans of the band are only familiar with the version that was out touring in 1998. During the band's first year, the line-up was continually in-flux.

The analog cassette board tapes sound a lot better than I remember the shows being. The set lists are wild, at least from my perspective. At anyrate, the shows have been mastered to CD-R and sound about as good as they can.

Naturally, hearing the band in a live setting made me want to reference what studio demos the band had made during that time. I had a 1/4" analog tape of three songs, a cassette with a handful of 8-track recordings, as well as some digitally archived ADAT recordings. There were 11 songs in all that I found.

I had no way of listening to the 1/4" material, so I booked a half hour at Overdub Lane (where the tracks were mixed) to transfer the material. On the tape was early versions of "Superhero" and "Radio Friendly Girlfriend" as well as a song that was eventually phased out "High Caliber Grease." We did a 88.1 digital hi-res transfer. When I processed the tracks in my mastering suite, they sounded as clean and clear as mechanically possible.

I transferred the analog cassette demos as well as the ADAT stuff via my home cassette recorders. I wish I had the DAT master of these songs, but really, they were eventually recorded so many more times that a little tape hiss is almost welcome. It makes it sound...real.

Currently, I am encoding all three CD's worth of material to mp3 for you to download and enjoy.