live recording

[ulsterman]

when recording yourself playing various different instruments flutes whistles etc what software does anyone use when doing a recording.

i have listened too various recordings on youtube etc and there seems too be some effects being used like an echo i think it kinda softens the tone which doesnt give the recording such a harsh sound when doing a solo piece.

Thanks.

[ChrisLaughlin]

If you're on a tight budget but still want good sound I highly recommend the Digidesign ICON D-Control ES 32 Bundle. You can get it from Sweetwater Sound with free shipping here: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/DControlES32X/

If you've got a little more money and feel like making a bit of an investment, you might try Audacity: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/, or if you're on a Mac GarageBand works quite well, and comes with the iLife suite.

Also, if you're looking for a cheap but decent microphone, I find the Neumann Solution DS does a good job for quite a reasonable price: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SolutionDS/

Best,
Chris

[Loren]

Also, if you're looking for a cheap but decent microphone, I find the Neumann Solution DS does a good job for quite a reasonable price: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SolutionDS/

Best,
Chris

Dude, you crack me up!

Loren

[Kirk B]

If you're on a tight budget but still want good sound I highly recommend the Digidesign ICON D-Control ES 32 Bundle. You can get it from Sweetwater Sound with free shipping here: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/DControlES32X/

If you've got a little more money and feel like making a bit of an investment, you might try Audacity: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

Best,
Chris

Chris, don't tell me... you're dyslexic, right?

Ulsterman,
As far as software sound editors go I've used everything available for the Mac but haven't found anything I like as much as SounForge (PC app) Thankfully I have dual OS on my Intel Mac.

Audacity is OK and free but crashes alot on my Mac. These apps will let you apply many post effects such as echo, reverb, etc. The acoustics of the recording environment play a huge role as well. If you're not in a studio then using a laptop that travels where the acoustics are good is a good plan.

I have a Blue Snowball USB mic (around $100 USD)
http://www.bluemic.com/products/Snowball

I use it for recording speech and it works great for that but I haven't got the nerve to record my flute playing yet. Maybe after a few more years of practice! I'm sure that someone who has actually recorded lots of music will weight in soon and give you some better advice.

Kirk

[mandoboy]

I think this could be a valuable thread for many of us.

I recently purchased a digital recorder to record music at our sessions and also to do backups for flute practice and to monitor my progress. I find that the recordings sound stark or cold. I know that there are things that recording companies do to improve or warm the sound of live recordings, but I am not sure what they are.

I think this is part of what the op is asking.

I would like to see some discussion about what effects others use to "warm" the sound of live recording (eg. compression, reverb, etc.) in addition to what programs you use.

Thanks.

Jeff

[Kirk B]

OK, I'm really going to hate myself for this (and so are all of you) but if it helps someone then I don't care and it's a worthy cause. I just recorded a two bar sample with the aforementioned Blue snowball mic and then made several versions with varying post production edits using and old version of Sony's SoundForge application.

Remember, I've been playing for three weeks so apart from the fact that:
- It's out of tune
- I'm gasping for air
- I'm really struggling on that last note
- my tone sucks
- my rhythm is off

It ain't too bad. Well, OK yes it is. but nonetheless:

Here's the original out of the box version. All I did was normalize which means to brings up the volume throughout the waveform without going too far and clipping:
http://www.baucomm.com/flute/original.wav

Well, that was awful. Here I removed the gasp for air and smoothed it some to get rid of the edginess wasted air wind sound:
http://www.baucomm.com/flute/smoothed.wav

Now it's time for fun. Here I used a reverb effect with a preset of Long Hall:
http://www.baucomm.com/flute/long_hall.wav

Now I'm in a cathedral:
http://www.baucomm.com/flute/cathedral.wav

Now I'm spelunking and I'm down in a cavern:
http://www.baucomm.com/flute/cavern.wav

You get the idea.

Here a screenshot of the app when I was applying the long hall preset:


None of this can fix my horrible playing. Only time and practice will do that so I hope this causes more good than harm.

Kirk

[MTGuru]

Also, if you're looking for a cheap but decent microphone, I find the Neumann Solution DS does a good job for quite a reasonable price: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SolutionDS/

Does that come with, like, French fries, or a T-shirt? Maybe a bumper sticker: My Other Car is a Neumann. Totally worth it.

But an SM57 is still better for hammering nails.

[ChrisLaughlin]

Right, so....

Seriously, I've recently come across a very nice, full-featured multi-track recording programme called Reaper. You can find it here: http://www.reaper.fm/

Reaper is available for both Mac and Windows as a fully-functional trial version with a 30 day limit. After that it's $60 for a license, which will allow you upgrades through two major version numbers.

The file size for the complete package is about 4 MB. Give it a try!

Best,
Chris

[Ceili_whistle_man]

I use Sonar, (out of the Roland stable, from Cakewalk) it is a fully optioned professional digital recording studio on your computer. I bought my version about 12 years ago and have had no need to upgrade it. It has more features than I will ever use. The beauty of it is, it so simple to use.
Here is something I recorded about ten years ago for a band I was playing in, just to give then a feel for how the song should be played. I played and recorded all the instruments one by one to give the overall sound. There are no effects or anything, just a simple straight take first up.
http://www.box.net/shared/0jx5ui0lhr

I have no financial interest in this product, I just love using it, you can see more for yourself here; http://www.cakewalk.com/Products/HomeSt ... erview.asp
This looks like a pared down version for computer use, it still looks like a good buy at around the $140 mark.