Musicians Off-topic Discussion Thread v3 - Now with less dubstep and more trap - General

can anyone help me identify this version of ave maria? i've been searching for it for years, but all i can find is the version used in hitman we sang it for a christmas concert in my choir, if that helps [media]http://soundcloud.com/sharkalarm/help-me-identify-this-version-of-ave-maria[/media]

Don't know if this is the correct place, if it ain't please let me know. A friend of mine is making his debut album, it's kind of a pop-rockish-reggaeish style. I'll leave it here so you all can listen. (We are from argentina so this song is in spanish tho') [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpSQrmBeCbA[/media]

Alright, first off, I don't really know shit about microphones, this is the first studio microphone I've considered getting. I need something better than my current microphone, to use for recording random sounds around the house to use in my music. I've been looking at MXL's MCA SP1, and I think it sounds great and is real affordable, but like I said, I don't know much about microphones, so I need some help. Specs: [t]http://i.imgur.com/vjSQ9vg.png[/t] What is "phantom power", and do I even need to worry about that? Is it possible to connect this to a USB port with an adapter? If so, what type of adapter would I need?

Phantom power is a way of powering Microphones and other audio devices using the same cable that the audio signal uses. In the case of these sort of microphones that would be a Balanced XLR cable such as [url=http://www.thomann.de/gb/the_sssnake_sk23315_xlr_patch.htm]this[/url]. The generally accepted standard is 48V but some older gear will use oddball voltages such at 15V and 18V. Don't worry too much about this anomaly unless you end up buying really old equipment. Typical sources of Phantom power would be Mixing desks, Digital Stage boxes, Audio Interfaces and Phantom Power supplies. To plug that microphone into a computer via usb you will need an audio interface, there's a HUGE amount of choice in this area. My go to recommendation for someone starting out is currently the [url=http://www.thomann.de/gb/focusrite_scarlett_2i2.htm]Focusrite Scarlett 2i2[/url]. The 2i2 and other interfaces like it have the ability to supply phantom power to condenser microphones with a [url=https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/286964/48v.png]push of a button[/url]. The microphone will not work without this power being supplied. This is a typical requirement of all condenser microphones, though some do have the option for battery power (Which can be useful for field work)

Thank you. I'm trying to do this on a budget of around $170-$200, are there any other audio interfaces you'd recommend that are little cheaper?

I wouldn't feel right recommending something I haven't used or sold personally so I'll let someone else chime in on that. I seem to recall someone in this thread had a "Blue Icicle" which is a single input unit, again I can't personally recommend it as such as I've not had one in hand.

I'm going to be teaching myself drums from scratch. I'm aware it's probably easier to pick up terrible habits drumming than most other instruments, so if anyone has any super beginner guides or anything like that it would be much appreciated.

[QUOTE=chaz13;44783317]I'm going to be teaching myself drums from scratch. I'm aware it's probably easier to pick up terrible habits drumming than most other instruments, so if anyone has any super beginner guides or anything like that it would be much appreciated.[/QUOTE] Basic shit: -Sit upright and don't slouch -Learn how to hold sticks correctly on the internet -Use your wrist to perform the motion of the stick hitting the drum instead of your whole arm

Anyone know of some good compression levels for vocals, and what would be recommended to compress them(as in multiband or something)? Also, compression on harmonies/double tracks? Just have vocals left and it'd be greatly appreciated.

I usually compress it 4:1, with the threshhold so that it cuts down the peaks enough to even out the track while still maintaining the dynamics, then throw down some automation on the volume if it turns out to be necessary. Harmonies I haven't worked a lot on, I usually try and keep it as even as possible (lots of compression) to have it act as a backing instrument, whenever I doubletrack I usually do the same with lots of compression to really smash it together, to maintain a sense of dynamics while getting that punch you get from having something compressed. Hope it helps!

[QUOTE=Water-Marine;44790791]Anyone know of some good compression levels for vocals, and what would be recommended to compress them(as in multiband or something)? Also, compression on harmonies/double tracks? Just have vocals left and it'd be greatly appreciated.[/QUOTE] It [B]completely[/B] depends on the sound and the context it's being used in. The way the vocals are recorded is going to make a pretty big difference in how much compression you need. There is no "default". Just use your ears.

Above, There are times when a fairly heavy handed compression is required such as intimate sounding voice overs, conversely I've recorded vocals for acoustic material where automation has been enough. And then there's the creative element to compression, playing with side-chaining etc. Too many people just whack plugins on stuff before they've even [i]listened[/i] to it. Don't forget to fiddle with the bypass button once you're "there". You might find you're processing your way into a mess :v: My recommendation would be to go grab a multitrack from here: [url]http://www.cambridge-mt.com/ms-mtk.htm[/url] Load it into a DAW and have an experiment with the built in plugins, get aquainted with each of the settings and what they do. Don't go hunting for more complex plugins (Multi-bands for example) until you have nailed it down. The [url=http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mixing-Secrets-Small-Studio-Senior/dp/0240815807/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1400007433&sr=8-1&keywords=mixing+secrets+for+the+small+studio]book[/url] that's mentioned on that web page is worth buying too. It's well written and Mike Senior knows his stuff!

Any suggestions on making an old school reese like at 1.26: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UAUDbWrVhA[/media]

[QUOTE=chaz13;44815124]Any suggestions on making an old school reese like at 1.26: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UAUDbWrVhA[/media][/QUOTE] Basic distortion on two detuned (as in, one is standard pitch and the other is the same but pitched up a few cents) saw wave oscillators should do the trick

Hmm, that was my first thought too but it doesn't have quite the same tone to it. I'll try out some different distortions.

Put flangers and phasers before your distortion. You want movement in the reese. Then sample a sweet part, and loop that in a sampler (so it loops faster when playing higher notes and slower vice versa)

[QUOTE=healthpoint;44816303]Put flangers and phasers before your distortion. You want movement in the reese. Then sample a sweet part, and loop that in a sampler (so it loops faster when playing higher notes and slower vice versa)[/QUOTE] This is a cheap way of doing it, sure, but to be honest the most effective way is ring modulation/oscillator pitch phasing

How is it a cheap way of doing it... How does that even work. Since when is there a 'cheap' way to do something when it comes to sound design. It either works, or it doesn't. And it works. And I'm not saying he shouldn't detune the oscillators or their phase from each other. I'm saying he can add a flanger of phaser before a distortion plugin, to get even more movement out of it.

[QUOTE=healthpoint;44817225]How is it a cheap way of doing it... How does that even work. Since when is there a 'cheap' way to do something when it comes to sound design. It either works, or it doesn't. And it works. And I'm not saying he shouldn't detune the oscillators or their phase from each other. I'm saying he can add a flanger of phaser before a distortion plugin, to get even more movement out of it.[/QUOTE] Sorry i meant to say simpler, not cheap, didn't mean to sound like a cunt

[QUOTE=chaz13;44815804]Hmm, that was my first thought too but it doesn't have quite the same tone to it. I'll try out some different distortions.[/QUOTE] You need to process it more. Making good reese basses like this is all about subtle layers of distortion and then phasers/chorus/whatever to smooth things out and give it more character and body. Multiband processing is really helpful for these sounds. Split your lows mids and highs to different channels and process them separately before bussing them back together so you can distort your mids more than everything else and make your highs nice and smooth more easily. Notch filters are also your friend here. Get two notch filters running in parallel with one slowly sweeping around the low mids and the other around the highs and then bus them back together and saturate/compress them a bit and you'll get tons of movement. Phasers with the LFO amount set to 0 so they are totally stationery are great for shaping the sound. Resampling can make a big difference too. Get the rates on your phasers and all that dialed in on one note, then bounce 30 seconds of that and load it up in kontakt or something, then when you play higher notes all the modulation from your phasers speeds up/down with the pitch too. Reeses are all about the processing. The reese in this tune was just two detuned saws at the start: [url]https://soundcloud.com/sonis/movement/s-MQkVp[/url] I would also recommend detuning both saw waves an equal but opposite amount instead of leaving one saw at 0 and only detuning one. If you've got one at -10 cents and one at +10 the combined sound will sound more on key than if you have one at 0 and one at -20. Amp simulators are great too. If you've got guitar rig, abuse it. I'd do that on a send so you can control the wet/dry level a bit more easily though. [editline]15th May 2014[/editline] CAN YOU TELL REESES ARE MY FAVORITE SOUNDS TO MAKE?

[QUOTE=KmartSqrl;44818550]You need to process it more. Making good reese basses like this is all about subtle layers of distortion and then phasers/chorus/whatever to smooth things out and give it more character and body. Multiband processing is really helpful for these sounds. Split your lows mids and highs to different channels and process them separately before bussing them back together so you can distort your mids more than everything else and make your highs nice and smooth more easily. Notch filters are also your friend here. Get two notch filters running in parallel with one slowly sweeping around the low mids and the other around the highs and then bus them back together and saturate/compress them a bit and you'll get tons of movement. Phasers with the LFO amount set to 0 so they are totally stationery are great for shaping the sound. Resampling can make a big difference too. Get the rates on your phasers and all that dialed in on one note, then bounce 30 seconds of that and load it up in kontakt or something, then when you play higher notes all the modulation from your phasers speeds up/down with the pitch too. Reeses are all about the processing. The reese in this tune was just two detuned saws at the start: [url]https://soundcloud.com/sonis/movement/s-MQkVp[/url] I would also recommend detuning both saw waves an equal but opposite amount instead of leaving one saw at 0 and only detuning one. If you've got one at -10 cents and one at +10 the combined sound will sound more on key than if you have one at 0 and one at -20. Amp simulators are great too. If you've got guitar rig, abuse it. I'd do that on a send so you can control the wet/dry level a bit more easily though. [editline]15th May 2014[/editline] CAN YOU TELL REESES ARE MY FAVORITE SOUNDS TO MAKE?[/QUOTE] Awesome info, thanks. That song is glorious.

[QUOTE=chaz13;44823778]Awesome info, thanks. That song is glorious.[/QUOTE] You got FL + Sylenth1 man? I could give it a stab edit: had a go [url]https://soundcloud.com/mhboredom/chazreese/s-TOFsT[/url] My remake, then the original, is that what you're after? Btw please excuse the volume I literally just threw an L1 on it

[QUOTE=Dead Madman;44823974]You got FL + Sylenth1 man? I could give it a stab edit: had a go [url]https://soundcloud.com/mhboredom/chazreese/s-TOFsT[/url] My remake, then the original, is that what you're after? Btw please excuse the volume I literally just threw an L1 on it[/QUOTE] That's really nice! Yeah I do, if you could post it/pm it over I'd really appreciate it. Just started working on a new track that might fit into perfectly. EDIT: In other news, a friend's band has a chance to play at Download festival through red bull studios, if you guys feel benevolent check them out and possibly drop a vote? [url]http://download.redbullstudios.com/band-2014/vanity-draws-blood_top-15/[/url] It's not my kind of music really, but I feel they deserve it as they're a lot better than some of the bands leading at the moment. A lot of those are extremely generic.

dammit i just accidentally bought something titled "Mozart: Complete Works for Solo Piano" normally i wouldn't really care because piano's great and it was only a dollar, but it just so happens that my dad bought the exact same one a few days ago

Tomorrow I'm going to make a Chiptune Musician's Thread. Tomorrow I'm going to make a Chiptune Musician's Thread. Tomorrow I'm going to make a Chiptune Musician's Thread. If I don't make it tomorrow I must be punched.

[QUOTE=wauterboi;44839124]Tomorrow I'm going to make a Chiptune Musician's Thread. Tomorrow I'm going to make a Chiptune Musician's Thread. Tomorrow I'm going to make a Chiptune Musician's Thread. If I don't make it tomorrow I must be punched.[/QUOTE] Please do it, it's one of those genres that's both really niche, but has a lot of people on the internet who are really interested. I can probably name at least 5 people who write chiptune or fakebit on facepunch and I can say that I'd help keep it alive and junk

[video=youtube;C0yy1B2Cpd4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0yy1B2Cpd4[/video] what's the instrument in the very beginning called?

Sorry if this is the wrong topic for this but got 6 old keyboards (2 Casio 4 Bontempi) for £20 today two of them are air organs. Pretty sweet since some of these go for £20 each. [thumb]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/9874138/nexus%207/IMG_20140531_190239.jpg[/thumb] [URL="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/9874138/MusicProjects/Sounds/airorgan.mp3"]and some audio[/URL]

Is [url=http://www.amazon.com/Casio-CTK-2300-Personal-Keyboard-Feature/dp/B008B890VI/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1401303526&sr=8-8&keywords=61+key+keyboard]this[/url] or if I can [URL="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007T8HVLW/ref=cm_cr_asin_lnk"]this[/URL] a good starter keyboard? Never played before but would love to start.

Any Royal Blood fans? They're getting pretty big. Also I can't believe they're only a duo. Drums and a Bass guitar. [url]https://soundcloud.com/royalblooduk/sets/royal-blood[/url]