1st Piano

By Keith Dean If you're playing a gig on a big stage, outdoor festival, arena, or large venue, you're probably going to be faced with having to run your guitar amp into the PA system. The purpose of this, of course, is so that your guitar will be heard in a situation where the amp alone is not enough. There are also times, even in a smaller, low volume venue, that running the guitar amp through the PA is a good idea, just to add some "presence", and to fill out the overall mix of the band. When you find yourself in this situation, you really have two options. 1. Run a "line out" of the amp to the PA 2. Place a microphone on the amp Line Out Many amplifiers will have an output jack in the back labeled "line out", or something similar. This jack outputs a "line level", non-powered signal that can be fed to a PA system or recording device. This signal is "post" amplifier, but "pre" speaker and, as a r...

Also known as MB or MBC. These divide the incoming audio signal into multiple bands, with each band being compressed independently from the other. The beauty of this is that with full band compressors, that we have been discussing till now, the whole signal is treated, so when a peak is detected, the whole signal is compressed and so other frequencies are also subject to compression. Multiband compression only compresses the frequency bands chosen, so a more fluid and less abrupt result is gained. Instead of having one peak trigger the compressor into compressing the entire signal, the multiband allows for individual bands to be compressed. On some compressors, you even have the option of selecting bands that will not undergo any treatment. In essence, a multi-band compressor comprises a set of filters that splits the audio signal into two or more frequency bands. After passing through the filters, each frequency band is fed into its own compressor, after which the si...

By Bobby Owsinski Vocals are the one instrument in a band that's usually left to chance and luck. While most players spend hours and hours learning their instruments, vocalists and players that sing spend little time developing their instrument. As a result, there are a lot of simple things that can really help your performance, but are usually taken for granted or just overlooked. Here are a few things they don't teach you in singing lessons. The Three P's - Pitch, Pocket, Passion In the studio, the three P's are what a producer lives by. You've got to have all three to have a dynamite vocal. And while Pitch and Pocket problems can be fixed by studio trickery, if you don't have Passion, you don't have a vocal. On stage, the three P's apply maybe even more so, since you don't have any of the advantages of the studio. Let's take a look inside the three P's. Pitch Staying in pitch means singing in tune. And not just some of the n...

By Tony Livonia Karaoke mixers are essential for singers who want to mix their recorded voice with karaoke backgrounds and transfer files to an MP3 in a hurry. MIDI, KAR, MP3 and OGG files can be used as background sound and wav file with recorded voice. Volume, balance, bass and treble can all be changed independently, enabling the most creative mix possible. Users can also change tone for background source, add special audio effects to voice tracks or choose one of 14 predefined sound presets. In addition, they can control over 16 MIDI channels, changing its volume, balance and instrument for all midi and KAR background sources. A standard karaoke sound system often misses the mark, sacrificing sound quality - crisp with treble and thick with bass. Many karaoke system owners have spent lots of money on high-end speakers, only to realize that the sound quality is still simply not there. They could have saved thousands of dollars had they invested in a relatively inexpen...

By Tony Livonia Karaoke mixers are essential for singers who want to mix their recorded voice with karaoke backgrounds and transfer files to an MP3 in a hurry. MIDI, KAR, MP3 and OGG files can be used as background sound and wav file with recorded voice. Volume, balance, bass and treble can all be changed independently, enabling the most creative mix possible. Users can also change tone for background source, add special audio effects to voice tracks or choose one of 14 predefined sound presets. In addition, they can control over 16 MIDI channels, changing its volume, balance and instrument for all midi and KAR background sources. A standard karaoke sound system often misses the mark, sacrificing sound quality - crisp with treble and thick with bass. Many karaoke system owners have spent lots of money on high-end speakers, only to realize that the sound quality is still simply not there. They could have saved thousands of dollars had they invested in a relatively inexpen...

By Sherice Jacob Audio postcards are an innovative way to add a rich layer of interactivity to your website.  With an audio postcard, you can record your greeting, upload a photo, dress up your postcard with numerous styles and colors, and even add a stamp for an extra touch of realism.  You can also use audio postcards in business as well.  Record a special offer for your best customers, give away a freebie to new users, or offer a discount code based on an event or holiday.  Audio postcards are excellent tools for email campaigns and stand out in a way that boring text emails can't beat. To create your postcard, you'll first need to make your recording.  It can start out as a .wav file, as you can use the software tool below to convert it to a much faster-loading version.  Once you have your recording, you'll need to select the photo to go with it.  The software I use, Audio Postcard Creator (link below) lets you instantly add your ph...

Often times what makes the difference between recording studios is not the gear but their service, and the front line of service is their assistant engineers. While a good one might not be enough to keep you coming back to a facility, a bad one could turn a studio with even the latest hi-tech gear into an unpleasant experience that can make you not want to ever see that place again.  So just what makes an assistant engineer not only good, but as professional as you would find at any of the major facilities around the world? The answers are not only for those who want to be assistants but for studio owners and managers who want their studio run like the major facilities. Two incidents prompted this article; a comment from an intern stating that his recording school never taught him how to be an assistant, and some recent experiences that caused me to compare the service (which mostly came down to the assistants) between studios. Since I never worked as ...

By Bobby Owsinski With such a huge variety of microphones currently on the market, it's no wonder that even experienced engineers and musicians sometimes get confused over exactly which mic to use and where to use it when recording. This summery of one of the sections from Chapter 6 of The Recording Engineer's Handbook, 2nd Edition tries to take some of the mystery out of microphone selection. While it's safe to say that most engineers rely on experience when choosing the perfect microphone for recording, some just pick a mic because they've seen others use it in a similar situation. That method frequently works, but if you use some common sense you'll find that picking the mic that gets the best results is easier than you think. Here are a number of things to consider before making a selection. Select a microphone that compliments the instrument that you'll be recording. Of all the considerations for mic selection, this is the biggest. ...

By Bobby Owsinski   One thing frequently overlooked by most recording studio owners (from the smallest home studio to the largest multi-room facility) is how the monitors are positioned. This can make an enormous difference in the frequency balance and stereo field and although it should be the first thing addressed before you get into any serious listening, it's usually left until later when something doesn't sound right. Here are a few things to experiment with that will lead to the exact right placement for your room.  Don't be surprised to find that those speakers that you didn't think sounded very good before suddenly come to life.   A. Check the distance between the monitors.   If the monitors are too close together, the stereo field will be smeared with no clear spatial definition. If the monitors are too far apart, the focal point or "sweet spot" will be too far behind you and you'll hear the left or the right side but not both tog...