Home Studio Simplified

Whether you are a budding audio engineer or a serious musician looking for simple answers to the complex questions of the audio world, Home Studio Simplified is here to help. This podcast is hosted by an audio engineer and multi-instrumentalist with over 20 years of experience. From gear reviews, to practical application training, interviews, and much more, you are sure to learn something useful. #musicproduction #cakewalk #mixing #mastering

HSS Episode 054-8 Vocal Tips for Better Performances 12/27/2023

HSS Episode 054-8 Vocal Tips for Better Performances ANNOUNCEMENTS The August Edition of the HSS Song Contest is over with Mark George coming out on top as the winner. Although it was incredibly hard to choose a winner, Mark’s song, “The Other Side of Sound” was picked due to its arrangement, it’s clarity and balance, as well as the interest it generated even as an instrumental piece. You can hear the song and listen to my comments on it here: () The September Edition of the HSS Song Contest is on! Here are the guidelines for the contest. Original non-copyrighted work No lewd lyrics or vulgarity One submission per entrant File submission in WAV or MP3 Deadline September 25th Upload your songs here: Why would you want to upload your song? The main purpose I started the song contest was to inspire musicians to release more music and to generate interest in others music, while providing insight and constructive dialogue from a professional standpoint on how to improve the song submitted. Now, a few months into the HSS Song Contest routine, this segment of the channel has taken on a life of its own! The community it has created and the feedback that has been generated from within the community is amazing! There have been collaborations, friendships, and professional connections made as a result of the contest and so many have claimed that they are learning more and more every single time around. The song that is chosen as the winner receives a free mix/master of the winning entry from yours truly and the results are shared on the channel to help everyone benefit from knowing what went into it. Wanna join the HSS Session Players? () From time to time I am asked to help out on a project or need some instrumentation for personal client work. While I can play a Bass, I am not a Bassist. That said, I am creating a list of Session Players that I can call on to work on projects. If you’d like the opportunity to work on some projects and collaborate with other like minded musicians. Sign up! EAR TO THE GROUND Every guitarist knows that becoming a better player takes lots and lots of practice. Positive Grid’s “Spark” amplifier is a Bluetooth-connected practice amp/speaker packed with features including tons of onboard effects, a nice assortment of I/O ports, dual speakers, and a wealth of panel controls and presets. It gets better: With the Spark’s free companion app, you can play along with tunes that you stream through the amp and have your mobile device display which chords to play as you go. Or, you can have the app lay down an accompanying drum and bass track for you to jam along to. The Spark mobile app (for Android and iOS) gives you access to a massive library of amp models and effects that let you emulate the sound you get from classic tube amps, acoustic amps, bass amps, and other types of amplifiers. You can also create customized effects using virtual pedals for Overdrive, Noise Gate, Delay, Modulation, and Reverb, or you can access Positive Grid’s BIAS-powered tone library that contains more than 10,000 amp and effects presets that let you mimic the guitar sounds of your favorite players such as Jimi Hendrix, BB King, Stevie Ray Vaughn, and many others. If you’re a guitarist and you’re looking for an affordable mobile rig to practice with at home, at work, or even on your commute, the Spark may be the solution you;re looking for.. -This months 3 FREE Plugins- 1. Temper is a modern digital distortion plugin featuring a rich saturation stage and a unique phase distortion. Use the variable saturation curve to add warmth and edge to your sound, and let the phase distortion bring character and clarity through your mix. Temper also features a simple resonant lowpass filter and a feedback path to drive the intensity of the tone. Watch the demo here. 2. Alter/Ego is based on the award winning technology featured in chipspeech but instead of targeting Vintage voice technology, it focuses on more ‘modern’ (1990+) singing synthesis algorithms and research. It is specially tailored for musical needs – simply type in your lyrics, and then play on your MIDI keyboard. It’s a true synthesizer, the sound can be extensively modified for easy and expressive performances. 3. Driftmaker is a delay disintegration device that parses incoming audio, recalls certain parts and adds analog deterioration to the signal. MAIN THOUGHT 1. Consider Using Auto-Tune The name “autotune” can have what some people would consider to be negative connotations. The artificial, robot-voice style that is popular in some genres is wildly unpopular with other people. But the truth is that modern auto tuning software is capable of far more subtle vocal correction than simply turning your voice into a robot. For a start, it’s variable, meaning you can apply a little or a lot. And then there’s micro pitch controls, formants and other smaller tweaks that can take individual notes or whole clips and pull them to where they need to be without sounding like they have been processed. Antares is at the forefront of these kinds of tools but there’s also Melodyne, and DAWs like Cubase (VariAudio) and Logic (Flex Pitch) have very powerful tools built-in. Used with care, they can rescue almost any vocal. 2. Warm Up This is something you can do to help your performance at the source, regardless of any processing that may come later in the chain. Professional singers have all kinds of techniques and routines they use to keep their voices in shape and prepare before recording takes. You don’t necessarily have to go as far as copying them, but singing a few scales, regulating your breathing and making sure you are hydrated before starting will all help you to nail a better performance than if you just turn up and begin. 3. Generate Harmonies You can bolster a vocal performance by adding harmonies, but you may not be confident in singing them yourself. The good news is that there are several ways to do it in software. Cakewalk is one DAW that has a tool for doing just this, and any tool or plug-in that lets you pitch shift audio without changing its speed (i.e. most DAWs these days) can be utilised to create harmonies on a new audio track. However, simply pitch shifting a clip to use as a harmony may not always sound great, and it’s better to get access to individual notes so you can truly control the way they interact with your main vocal melody. SynchroArts Revoice Pro 4 is another very powerful tool for working with the pitch and timing of vocals. 4. Use Dedicated Vocal Plug-Ins Recording while monitoring through software insert effects is much less of a hassle these days, with computers powerful enough to operate at very low latency, or indeed interfaces with onboard DSP and direct monitoring available. But it’s usually advisable to record a vocal clean and then add processing afterwards so that it can be tweaked and edited in the most flexible way possible. Specialist tools like iZotope’s Nectar provide a multitude of controls tailored specially to vocals like breath control, saturation, de-essing and more. Waves also makes some excellent vocal processors and if you don’t want to spend too much, you can use your DAW’s bundled plugs in a chain to combine things like EQ, compression, de-essing and saturation into a ready-to-use preset to apply to your vocals. 5. Consider Software-Generated Accompaniment If you’re not happy with your own performance it’s always an option to get someone else in to sing for you. But if that is not a possibility, you could look at software-generated backing or even lead vocals. Instruments like EastWest’s Symphonic Choirs, Hollywood Backup Singers, Voices of Soul and Voices of Opera use something called WordBuilder, a technology that lets you type in text and then has the instrument recreate it using its sample library. Yamaha’s Vocaloid is another “virtual singer” that lets you build up authentic sounding vocal parts from a large library, bypassing the need to sing for yourself. 6. Process More Not necessarily just the kinds of processing that you would ordinarily do like adding compression and reverb, but consider more weird and wonderful options. A vocal that is perhaps lacking in body can be run through all kinds of effects to change the way it sounds including guitar fx, delays, lo-fi effects and much more. It’s true that this approach might not suit a pop single for example, but for many other genres of music it can help to blend a vocal into a track in interesting and unusual ways. Since plug-ins are all virtual, you can always experiment and try a few things, undoing them later if you decide down the line that they aren’t right. 7. Learn Mic Technique The way you interact with a microphone can have a big impact on the way a vocal is recorded. Obviously to begin with you’ll need a decent quality studio mic and a recording environment that’s as soundproofed as you can reasonably make it. If you find it necessary to move closer to the mic because your vocal projection isn’t so strong, you need to mitigate the proximity effect by making sure you have at least one pop shield, and possibly even two if you are very close to the mic. Some mics also have internal popshields, though every vocalist should really own an external one as well. It’s also vital to maintain a consistent distance from the mic while singing - around 6-8 inches is recommended but this will depend on the power of your voice. Moving around while singing will affect the recording level, so is to be avoided if at all possible. 8. Sing Like Nobody’s Watching For a less experienced vocalist, singing live into a mic, even in a studio, can make them self-conscious. It’s natural to be a little nervous but it can also affect the quality of a performance. You might find that clearing the room of people - the control room if you’re in a studio - can help with this. You may need to keep the engineer around to stop and start recording, but they could also set a loop around the track, activate recording and then you could try several takes in a row, all without anyone else around. Home Studio Simplified exists to simplify the complexities of the Home Studio and to help you make professional music in a less than professional space. We can Dream alone. We can Create alone. But Together we can achieve so much more. /episode/index/show/homestudiosimplified/id/23039060

HSS Episode 063-Interview with Rich Steve Beck 12/27/2023

HSS Episode 057-Interview with AudiosErgeon 12/27/2023

HSS Episode 064-Interview with Mohamad Faor (MOB) 12/27/2023

HSS Episode 067 - Interview with Kris Bradley - Produce Like A Boss 12/27/2023

HSS Episode 078 - Interview with Matthew Weiss 02/01/2023

HSS Episode 077 - Interview with Mike Senior 02/01/2023

HSS Episode 076 - Interview with Brian Wampler 12/23/2022

HSS Episode 075 - Interview with Spencer Gibb 08/07/2022

HSS Episode 074 - Interview with Jason Gibbins of JMG Sound 07/08/2022

HSS Episode 073 - Interview with Vojtech of Melda Production 07/01/2022

HSS Episode 072 - Interview with Brandon Stone 04/12/2022

HSS Episode 071 - Two Must Have Tools For The Home Studio 04/05/2022

HSS Episode 070 - Interview with Sara Carter 04/02/2022

HSS Episode 069 - Interview with Dave Kerzner 03/15/2022

HSS Episode 068 - Interview with Mark Lettieri 02/01/2022

HSS Episode 066-Interview with Gary Thompson 11/21/2021

HSS Episode 065-Interview with David Glenn 10/15/2021

HSS Episode 062-Interview with Ady from Hit The Road Music 07/08/2021

HSS Episode 062-Interview with Ady from Hit The Road Music Here's the video form of this podcast: 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗔𝗱𝘆 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲: 17 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒙 𝑨𝒄𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒚 𝑴𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒄 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝑻𝒖𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒍𝒔: 👉https://transactions.sendowl.com/stores/14509/212520 𝒀𝒐𝒖𝑻𝒖𝒃𝒆 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒍 + 𝑷𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔: 👉https://youtu.be/Q4RJYBa0huY 𝑾𝒆𝒃𝒑𝒂𝒈𝒆: 👉www.hit-the-road-music.com 𝑰𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒎: 👉www.instagram.com/hittherodamusic 𝑭𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌: 👉https://www.facebook.com/HitTheRoadMusicPl ______________________________________________________________________ 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵𝗹𝘆 𝗦𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁: 👉https://linktr.ee/HSSimplified 𝗠𝗶𝘅 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘀: 👉https://transactions.sendowl.com/stores/5349/205312 𝗝𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹 - 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗸𝘀: 👉https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsnKIsNrvYP4gU92qx22M3g/join 𝗪𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗧𝗼 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 👉https://www.patreon.com/homestudiosimplified 👉https://PayPal.me/HomeStudioSimplified 👉Merch-https://hss.threadless.com/ 👉https://www.homestudiosimplified.com/p/products.html 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗼: 👉The Podcast: http://bit.ly/HSS_Podcast 𝗚𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗜 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱: 👉http://bit.ly/Best-Vocal-Tuning-Plugin 👉http://bit.ly/My_Recommendations 👉https://www.amazon.com/shop/homestudiosimplified 👉https://kit.co/HSSimplified/hss-podcasting-kit 👉hhttps://kit.co/HSSimplified 👉https://bit.ly/Ghostfire_Guitar_Gear 𝗧𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀 𝗜 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱: 👉Tube Buddy - https://www.tubebuddy.com/HSS 👉Distrokid with 7% off: https://distrokid.com/vip/seven/613476 👉PC Optimizer: https://bit.ly/PC-Driver-Tool 👉Evernote: https://bit.ly/Best-Note-App 👉Thinkific: https://bit.ly/HSS-Thinkific 👉Production Crate: https://bit.ly/HSS-Video-Visuals 👉Promo: https://bit.ly/HSS-Promo-Vids /episode/index/show/homestudiosimplified/id/19749410

HSS Episode 060-Production Tips (Mindsets and Practical Applications) 05/27/2021

HSS Episode 059-New Cakewalk by BandLab Features 04/30/2021

HSS Episode 059-New Cakewalk by BandLab Features Be sure to subscribe to the channel to stay up to date on the latest Cakewalk by BandLab feature updates and release info! Here's the full list of updates and bug fixes for Cakewalk here: 👉https://www.homestudiosimplified.com/ Here is a link to the forum where you can give your input for new Cakewalk by BandLab features in the future: 👉https://discuss.cakewalk.com/ 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵𝗹𝘆 𝗦𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁: 👉https://linktr.ee/HSSimplified 𝗠𝗶𝘅 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘀: 👉https://transactions.sendowl.com/stores/5349/205312 𝗝𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹 - 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗸𝘀: 👉https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsnKIsNrvYP4gU92qx22M3g/join 𝗪𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗧𝗼 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 👉https://www.patreon.com/homestudiosimplified 👉https://PayPal.me/HomeStudioSimplified 👉Merch-https://hss.threadless.com/ 👉https://www.homestudiosimplified.com/p/products.html 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗼: 👉The Podcast: 𝗚𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗜 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱: 👉http://bit.ly/My_Recommendations 👉https://www.amazon.com/shop/homestudiosimplified 👉https://kit.co/HSSimplified/hss-podcasting-kit 👉hhttps://kit.co/HSSimplified 👉https://bit.ly/Ghostfire_Guitar_Gear 𝗧𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀 𝗜 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱: 👉Tube Buddy - https://www.tubebuddy.com/HSS 👉Distrokid with 7% off: https://distrokid.com/vip/seven/613476 👉PC Optimizer: https://bit.ly/PC-Driver-Tool 👉Evernote: https://bit.ly/Best-Note-App 👉Thinkific: https://bit.ly/HSS-Thinkific 👉Production Crate: https://bit.ly/HSS-Video-Visuals 👉Promo: https://bit.ly/HSS-Promo-Vids #Cakewalk #BandLab #EarlyRelease /episode/index/show/homestudiosimplified/id/18932057

HSS Episode 058-Interview with Jesse Josefsson 03/01/2021

HSS Episode 056-Musicians and Depression 12/29/2020

HSS Episode 056-Musicians and Depression ANNOUNCEMENTS Live Mix of Mark George's song "Ghost Dance" as well as Marcel Walden's Mix break down of "Out of the Blue" Sign up for Membership of $9.99 a month and receive every tutorial I have made and any I will make in the future so long as you are still a member! EAR TO THE GROUND Whether for work, school or doctor's appointments, almost everyone has used Zoom. But for musicians who want to play together online during the pandemic, the popular conference call platform doesn't cut it. Musicians and scientists on opposite coasts have been trying to find solutions. Fortunately, Audio Movers and Jack Trip software. The Internet is widely used for audio communications. Numerous collaboration applications exist that make it trivial to carry on a conversation with almost anyone, worldwide. Likely, you already use these applications regularly. What is thought of as traditional phone lines have even largely migrated towards running over the Internet. So, why is performing music any different? The answer lies in the problem of trying to keep a common rhythm going between remote musicians. Maintaining a shared beat or sense of pulse is difficult if it takes too long for one musician's sound to reach another's ears. There can be drastic consequences. The "Happy Birthday" effect is familiar from family video conferences. The length of time for sound to get between individuals makes it impossible for the group to sing together. Singers find themselves in a situation of "I'm waiting for you and you're waiting for me" and that's the problem. Video calls are engineered for turn taking in conversation. Music is different because it involves simultaneous coordinated activity rather than alternation. Tightly synchronized performance only works over the Internet with extremely low-latency audio applications like JackTrip. A group’s ability to maintain a steady pulse is heavily impacted by what is known as latency. This is a term which refers to how long it takes for one performer's sound to reach the another's ears. It is typically measured in milliseconds (msec), or 1/1000 of a second. Research has found that the ability to perform syncronized rhythms together requires a latency below 25-30 msec one way. There isn’t a hard and fast number for this because everyone is different and musical situations differ. Particularly important in this regard is the speed or tempo of a piece (measured in beats-per-minute). Slower tempo can tolerate relatively longer Internet latencies. To help put this into perspective, sounds traveling through air 25 feet (roughly 8 meters) take about 25 msec. We're comfortable playing or singing together at distances within this range. As a group spreads out, say across a football field, the ability to keep a coordinated rhythm becomes increasingly difficult. This is why minimizing latency is so important. Here's a seemingly simple question: Can musicians in quarantine play music together over an Internet connection? We've migrated birthday parties, happy hours and church services to video calls these days, so couldn't we do the same with band practice? Across ubiquitous video conferencing tools like Zoom, FaceTime and Skype, it takes time for audio data to travel from person to person. That small delay, called latency, is mostly tolerable in conversation — save for a few overlapping stutters — but when it comes to playing music online with any kind of rhythmic integrity, latency quickly becomes a total dealbreaker. This video follows pianist and composer Dan Tepfer down the rabbit hole. Tepfer often occupies the intersection of music and innovative technology (just check out his ), and by proxy has served his fellow musicians as a tech support line of sorts. A public inquiry on Twitter led him to jazz trombonist Michael Dessen, also a researcher at the University of California Irvine, who has centered his work around networked performances for . The solution: an open-source software called , developed by Stanford University researchers Chris Chafe and Juan-Pablo Cáceres over a decade ago, that can transfer high quality audio data across the Internet at low enough latencies, within a geographic radius, to mimic someone playing music roughly 30 feet away; that's the threshold at which most musicians can still play together in sync. It takes a bit of hardware and a strong Internet connection, but the setup has enabled near instantaneous latencies for musicians who want to improvise together online. Tepfer has spent some of the last few months building a community of musicians using JackTrip at home, so they can practice together, work on new music, and even perform live-streamed concerts to fans as a revenue source while music venues remain closed in the pandemic. And while it's not nearly the same as playing in the same physical space, it's a close second in the era of social distancing. 3 FREE PLUGINS - AdHd Leveling Tool is a Tube Leveling Amplifier inspired by the legends and carefully crafted to meet your compression needs. The ideal compressor for vocals. Perfect for giving character and taming the peaks on any track in the mix. " - Ace is a true to life emulation of a legendary 1950s, American, all tube, 5W, tweed amp. For added versatility they have added to the model two of the most common amplifier mods: adjustment of the amount of feedback and addition of grid stopper resistors. To complete the picture they even included impulse response based speaker emulation. Simple controls and a conservative CPU usage make ACE easy to use in live settings as well as for re-amping. - Is a Vocal plugin that brings a world of possibilities right into your DAW, with carefully designed features. The Pitch-Tracking Modulation, unique to Graillon, changes the type of speakers, generates throat sounds, creates choruses, make octaver sounds, enriches a voice to make it more masculine. The Pitch Shifter cleanly transposes a voice up and down, and has been optimized for voice. The Pitch Correction module brings an immediate robotic sound, while the Bitcrusher addition softly add sparkles to the mix. Main Thought Being highly creative is a double edged sword. Gifted musicians are prone to periods of depression and high levels of melancholy. In fact, from my experience and observations, I would suggest that many if not most musicians go through a low period of life that they just barely survive at times. Now, while it’s easy to say that during these times “I write my best songs, born out of these griefs.” (Yes, that’s an actual quote I have used) The good news is that with insight comes power. Becoming aware of depression is the first step towards being able to change it. The second step is to get to the source of the problem. This however can be harder for creatives because we are emotionally driven by everything around us and look into things deeper, ponder longer, and brood over every detail of seemingly meaningless aspects of life to others. So, how does one combat the perils and pitfalls of this roller coaster of emotions that plagues us all to often? Well first. let's discuss what can be some causes of depression. There are many reasons for depression, from physical issues like brain chemistry and hormone imbalances other underlying health disorders and diseases nutritional deficiencies to mental and emotional issues like overly critical thinking dysfunctional coping behavior habits and real or perceived traumatic life events There are many levels of depression. The low feelings can be “acute”- a temporary condition tied to some life event- or “chronic”, which is an invasive, lasting condition that is sometimes triggered by a life event or an underlying physiological problem such as a simple thyroid imbalance. The condition can run from a little moping to clinical depression- a life threatening mental and emotional state. DO NOT IGNORE CLINICAL DEPRESSION. It can become a soul abscess, robbing you of the joy of your music… and of your life. If you think you could have it, get professional help, and don’t wait one more day to do it. Among the multiple causes of depression, there are triggers that can begin a downward spiral in the brain. Trigger 1: A high in your musical career Trigger 2: Too Much Sensory Input/ Too Little Self Care Trigger 3: Bitterness and Resentment “If you play music with passion and love and honesty, then it will nourish your soul, heal your wounds and make your life worth living. Music is it’s own reward.” ~Sting To Sting’s thought, I would add that music is not enough… we must find a spiritual connection to the master creator who gives us music and “in whom we live and move and have our being”. In my life, God has turned my lows turn into depth of understanding… to trusting that the lows are temporary – and that if they last too long, help can be found. Lastly, I would like to publicly extend my hand to you. If you are in need of an ear or even a shoulder to lean on. I am here. I have been there and know what it feels like to be so down that you don't ever think you'll get back up. I am willing to help if you're willing to talk. You can always email me at homestudiosimplified dot com. /episode/index/show/homestudiosimplified/id/23039051

HSS Episode 055-The Black Friday Battle Plan 11/26/2020

HSS Episode 055-The Black Friday Battle Plan ANNOUNCEMENTS Both the September and the October edition of the HSS Song Contest is over, and the submissions for the contest just keep getting better! September Winner - Micheal Reynolds - Grey October Winner - Mark George - The Other Side of Sound If you'd like to get involved in the next song contest be sure to click the link in the show notes, or if you're watching on YouTube check the description of this video for any applicable links. The November Edition of the song contest is soon coming to a close and the deadline for this one is the 30th There will be a December Song Contest as well! r The Ultimate Cakewalk Course is going to be available soon! This is a 6 hour course complete with PDF guides for every Module as well as a set of Multi-Tracks to mix along with. This course will have you up and running with everything Cakewalk has to offer in the shortest amount of time possible, and give you a mix you can add to your portfolio as well. EAR TO THE GROUND BOSS Pocket GT- Combining premium BOSS guitar tones with integrated YouTube learning, this pocket-size amp/effects processor pairs with your smartphone or tablet to create the ultimate go-everywhere lesson studio. Watch YouTube content in the companion BOSS Tone Studio app and create song lists, set loop markers, and more. Access deep editing tools to emulate the tones of famous players or craft new sounds all your own. And with automatic user memory switching, you can change up sounds as a YouTube video plays! Adding in other great features like Bluetooth music streaming, USB audio interface capability, and more. Get yours here and help out the show at no extra cost to you with the affiliate link: Strymon Nightsky- NightSky is a reverberant synthesis workstation, and a powerful, hands-on experimental sound design platform. NightSky gives you real-time continuous control of reverb, pitch/processing, rate/core size, harmonics, and even a synth-like resonant filter with multiple modulation waveshapes, plus a step sequencer with variable glide. You haven’t heard a pedal like this before. Create vast soundscapes with just a few notes from your instrument. Apply mind-bending pitch and harmonic manipulation to your reverb tails, with synth-like filter sweeps. Enter a world of new sounds that blow away the boundaries of what is possible with reverb. With pioneers and adventurous sonic explorers in mind we created a reverb pedal that can go where none have gone before. Get yours here and help out the show at no extra cost to you with the affiliate link: Izotope NeoVerb Reverb Plugin- From the minds behind Ozone and Nectar, and powered by legendary Exponential Audio technology, iZotope Neoverb is the most intelligent reverb plug-in for music producers. With built-in presets you can save time and leave the trial and error behind, allowing room for creativity. Design unique spaces for vocals and instruments in seconds, without muddying the mix, and use its complete arsenal of tools for defining the perfect sound that doesn't get in the way. 3 FREE PLUGINS - FREEWARE SYNTH OB-Xd is based on the . It attempts to recreate its sound and behavior, but as the original was very limited in some important ways a number of things were added or altered to the original design. OB-Xd was designed to sound as good and as rich as the original. It implements micro random detuning which is a big part of that sound. Now, while not copying originals, some of the features were taken to a better point. Continuous blendable multimode filter (HP-Notch(BP)-HP in 12 dB mode and 4-1 pole in 24 dB mode). Also, like many synths of the OB-X's generation, the OB-Xd has no internal effects so its sounds and textures can be greatly enhanced by the use of additional processing like chorus, reverb, delay, etc. (Thanks to for the original OB-Xd and Soshi Studio for giving the rights to continue this wonderful product. Also thanks to for making the amazing skins!. OB-Xd Desktop has no restrictions and is free to use. Buy to support further development, thank you! Source code is available at .) - FREEWARE LOOPER InstaLooper, is a looper, but not just any looper. This tool allows you to loop your music with different sizes of loops on 4 different loop rows, to pitch your loops, use the integrated effects on it and even reverse the audio. This plugin is useful for making live effects, or to program glitch effects when you create your tunes. Each AUDIO BLAST software is designed for real-time creations and live performances that require tools that are easy to use. Key Features: • 4 loops in a row • On/off loop per row • 10 sizes of loop from 1 bar to 1/32 beat per row • 5 integrated effects per row • Bit Reducer, AutoPan, HiPass, Phazer, TimeExpand • A pitch per row • A Reverse effect per row - FREEWARE FILTER Filterstep is a modern motion filter plugin which provides a great deal of potential for all kinds of intricate rhythmic movement. It can give you incredibly complex and nuanced results based on various filter effect settings, and almost infinite possibilities for sonic exploration and movement randomization. Introduce contemporary character to your music and craft compelling textures with simple and intuitive parameter controls. Get with for the best customer service there is! Likewise, check out the podcast he co-hosts if you're into nerdy talk and wanna feel like you're hangin' with some friends. /episode/index/show/homestudiosimplified/id/16962749

HSS Episode 053-Online Collaboration Best Practices 08/12/2020

HSS Episode 053-Online Collaboration Best Practices ANNOUNCEMENTS The July Edition of the HSS Song Contest is over with Gary Brun coming out on top as the winner. Gary’s song was chosen by a panel of judges that I had arranged to be on the show for the livestream. () The August Edition of the HSS Song Contest is on! () -One file per submission -No copyrighted material -MP3 or WAV format Wanna join the HSS Session Players? () EAR TO THE GROUND -THIS MONTHS 3 FREE PLUGINS HAS BEEN REPLACED BY ONLINE COLLABORATION TOOLS- 1. Flock With Flock, team members can exchange messages, share files, host video conferences, manage to-dos, and set up calendar events all from one easy-to-use app. Flock integrates with popular business tools such as Google Calendar, Google Drive, Asana, MailChimp, and Twitter, making it easier for team members to stay on top of things without juggling a dozen different apps. Flock’s free plan gives your team: Unlimited team members and one-to-one messages 10 public channels for group conversations Unlimited 1:1 video calls 5GB storage for file sharing and 10K message history for quick search Built-in productivity apps such as shared notes, polls, and reminders Unlimited integrations for third-party services, such as Asana, Jira, or Google Drive Need more room? unlocks enhanced admin controls, group video conferencing, unlimited channels, guest accounts, more file storage, and access to priority support. At just $4.50 per user per month, we think it’s a steal, but our free plan is pretty generous and well, free. It’s your call. I like the sound of this one so much that I am going to try and integrate this immediately to see how it works! Wanna test it with me? () 2. Slack If you’ve heard of team chat, you’ve probably heard of them. IM, channels, video calls, integrations and bots for hundreds of third-party tools; Slack has it all. But the free plan limits you to 10 service integrations, so choose wisely. Slack’s free plan Unlimited users, messages, and channels Unlimited one-to-one voice and video calls 5GB storage for file sharing and 10K message history Up to 10 apps or service integrations For video conferencing (up to 15 participants) and guest accounts, you’ll need to upgrade to a Standard plan that costs $6.67 per user per month. There’s also a Plus plan that adds more features at $12.50 a user per month. 3. Microsoft Teams Initially an exclusive for businesses with Office 365 subscriptions, Microsoft Teams has since launched a free plan for small businesses. We love its innovative features such as inline translation for messages and the ability to record meetings with automatic transcriptions. Also a plus, its deep integrations with OneDrive and Office 365 services. Microsoft Team’s free plan Up to 300 users Unlimited messages, channels, and search Unlimited audio and video meetings with up to 250 participants 10GB of team file storage + 2GB per user 140+ apps and service integrations For advanced collaboration features such as meeting recordings and automatic transcriptions, you’ll need to pony up for an Office 365 subscription. Office 365 Business Essentials costs $5 a user per month and the full-featured Office 365 Business Premium will set you back $12.50 a user per month. MAIN THOUGHT 1. Check File Formats Producers: Be clear about what format you work with — bit rate, bit depth and file type. Musicians: If you don’t know what the producer needs, don’t be afraid to ask! They’ll probably appreciate that you did. If you aren’t sure how to calibrate those sorts of parameters in your DAW of choice, the producer will probably be able to guide you. (Hint, it usually just involves a couple of clicks in your DAW’s “preferences” menu.) 2. Deliver Same-Length Consolidated Tracks Producers: When you send off files to your remote collaborators, the easiest thing to do is usually to provide a mix of the song with a couple of bars of silence at the top. If you want to go above and beyond, you can include a 2-bar count in. Musicians: When you prepare your takes to send off, it’s usually easiest to make sure they’re the same length as the mix you were tracking to. If there was silence at the top, leave that in your tracks. The producer should be able to import your tracks into the beginning of their session and start working with them right away. Preparing tracks in this way works more or less like printing stems. Cakewalk has this option and it’s really easy! Please, whatever you do, don’t send anybody a bunch of short files that have to be lined up manually. 3. Label Tracks Properly If someone hires you to play on their song and you send them back a bunch of files with names like “Audio02.0003,” I promise you they will never hire you again (especially if you also ignored my previous point). Give tracks names that illustrate what they are: “dark synth pad,” “bridge flute melody,” “backup vox 1a,” etc. Labeling tracks clearly is especially important when sharing instruments recorded with multiple mics, like a drum kit. Don’t assume that a producer will be able to hear that “Drum 5” is a floor tom and “Drum 7” is an overhead. Give those tracks and files names that make it clear exactly what you’re handing over. 4. Provide BPM, Charts, References & Mock-Ups This point goes out to producers specifically: the best way to get great takes from remote session players is to set them up to succeed. Find out what supplemental materials and information will help them the most and give it to them. Clearly labeling BPMs is a good first step, and if you’re sending a temp mix for players to track to, including BPM somewhere in the file name is a good move. Some players may prefer having the song broken into multiple stems so they can build their own monitor mix. If so, ask them how they’d like those stems broken down. If you’ve made a mock-up of the part they’re recording, they’ll likely appreciate having that on a separate track that they can mute while recording. Many players will also appreciate getting some sort of written notation. Even if a full-on score isn’t necessary, chord charts and notes on the structure of a song can be very helpful. Remember, every minute a session player spends trying to understand what you’re asking from them is a minute they’re not spending recording their parts. Make their lives easy and they’ll repay the favor by giving you takes that you love. 5. Set Clear Expectations When I have someone record tracks for me remotely, I usually trust them to apply whatever processing they think helps make their instrument sound good. Some producers may prefer to get tracks bone dry. Some producers may want that screaming guitar solo you just recorded to come with a clean DI take to have as a backup. The point here is that everyone works differently, and it’s never safe to assume that a collaborator will automatically know what you need from them. If it’s unclear what a collaborator expects from you, there’s no shame in checking in with them. Remember, it’s much harder to get what you want if you never really ask for it! 6. Provide Alternate Takes This point goes out to musicians recording parts remotely: If a producer is giving you free reign to “do your thing” on their track, they’ll probably appreciate having a few different versions to work with. A standard way of approaching this is to provide “mild, medium and spicy” takes that range from being more sparse to more adventurous and busy. The producer may have more specific ideas in mind though — a take with a swung feel, a take in a higher octave — so get clear on what they’d like to have from you. Keep in mind — providing lots of alternate takes doesn’t get you off the hook of having to deliver files that can be organized easily. Be prepared to label the different takes in ways that make clear what they are, or to provide notes when you share files. 7. Record at a Healthy Level In the days when all recordings happened on analog tape, a producer’s MO was usually to capture signal as hot as possible without clipping, so that it would sit above the noise floor introduced by all that analog gear. That hot signal would also benefit from some natural compression introduced by hitting the tape hard, and sweet saturation from almost everything in the chain. In the average home recording setup, though, we’re more likely to run into a different set of issues. Most home studios now don’t include any kind of tape setup, and the noise floor introduced by a buzzing refrigerator in the other room or a busy city street outside your window is only going to get louder as preamp gain goes up. And while vintage consoles often really shine when driven to the edge of the red, the preamps on a mid-shelf audio interface are more likely to introduce brittle, shrill distortion when cranked. I usually ask long-distance collaborators to record tracks with peaks around -12 dBFS. Signal at that level is loud enough to sit above most noise floor introduced by recording gear, but far enough from the ceiling that no distortion will be introduced by the preamp being used. 8. Leave in Some Noise There’s some pretty sophisticated noise reduction software available these days, and chances are your producer has access to some of it. It can be tempting to want to clean up noise in dead spaces of a song, either by manually deleting spaces between phrases or using a gate. I do appreciate it when collaborators do some of that cleanup for me. In order to get the most out of noise reduction plugins like iZotope’s RX suite, though, it’s much easier to have a section of pure noise that the software’s algorithms can “learn” in order to more fully remove it. As always, the safest move is to check in about what the producer prefers! For those of us who have only used our home setups to record demos, it can be daunting to have to record tracks that will go on someone’s record. For producers who are used to sitting in a room with an artist while they record takes, it can be difficult to get what they’re looking for without being able to give feedback in real-time. Fortunately, it’s only getting easier to clear these sorts of hurdles, even if we all have to make some adjustments. Hopefully, now you’ve got a sense of some big ways you can make long-distance collaborations go more smoothly. What other sorts of problems have you encountered with recording remotely? And what kind of creative solutions have you come up with? Let me know in the comments! Alright, that wraps up today's episode of the HSS Podcast. If you’ve found it helpful drop a comment and let me know. Feel free to share this with anyone that you think it may help as well, and remember if you’re watching this on the YouTube channel to Subscribe to the Channel and hit that beautiful little bell icon that alerts you when there is new content dropping or a Live Stream is about to go down. Home Studio Simplified exists to simplify the complexities of the Home Studio and to help you make professional music in a less than professional space. We can Dream alone. We can Create alone. But Together we can achieve so much more. /episode/index/show/homestudiosimplified/id/15579125

HSS Episode 052- Interview with Warren Huart 07/05/2020

HSS Episode 051-7 Tips For Mixing Better Music 06/25/2020

HSS Episode 051-7 Tips For Mixing Better Music Watch the video version of this episode here: https://youtu.be/1-STwaPePTE ANNOUNCEMENTS Quarantine Song Challenge Ends Welcome back my fellow fader finaglers! Well, The Quarantined Song Challenge has officially come to a close and the results are in, Chris Sanders was voted as the winner and had a ton of support from the community over on the YouTube channel as well as in the live chat. With a towering amount of vote his submission "The Garden Song" won out over everyone else! Stick around to the end of the podcast, I'm going to play you the song that won! After the closing of the challenge I held a poll to see if anyone would be interested in another, and the results were highly in favor of actually hosting another song challenge! So, the folder for upload is available in the description of this podcast/video and if you would like to get in on the fun, just upload your song submission there. I am including a few rules that previously did not apply as I have learned from the last song challenge that I should've placed a few stipulations on the legal side of things. Now, thankfully the music police are not knocking my door down but I did have to battle it out with some copyright claims on the YouTube channel as some of the songs that were submitted were already released and held under copyright laws. So, due to this, the rules will be a little more stringent so as to keep things streamlined and also to avoid copyright strikes on the channel. Details will be released about this on the channel and the Facebook page soon! New Merch Available In other announcements, I have populated the merch store with several more designs at the request of some awesome people within the community. Keep in mind that when you go to the site to check things out that there are a ton of variations available other than just size and color. For instance, you can get you favorite design on a coffee mug, a sticker, a skateboard, or even a shower curtain! Just look around and find something that suits your needs and help support the channel. New Ways to Support The Channel I’ve had a lot of people reaching out asking how they can support the channel and compensate me for the time I’m investing into helping others. So, I held a poll to ask what they would feel comfortable with - (what platforms, donations amounts, that kind of thing) Although most were very willing to go direct through PayPal there were still some who thought it would be nice to utilize the Patreon account as it has extra members perks built in. In light of all of this, I really aim to be as flexible as possible and at the end of the day people want to use what they are comfortable with. https://bit.ly/Support-HSS EAR TO THE GROUND THIS MONTHS 3 FREE PLUGINS 1- - Everyone who knows me, knows that I am a huge Wampler Fan. I had the privilege of interviewing Brian on the YouTube channel some time ago and not only is Brian an exceptional guitar player but he's also just an all around nice guy. Recently, he broke into the digital realm by releasing some FREE, yes you heard me right FREE plugin emulations of Wampler Pedals! Currently the Wampler TerraForm pedal is available as a FREE download for both Windows and Mac users. Not too long ago Wampler Pedals did not have a multi-effects pedal in their arsenal and focused more on the individual boutique style that most companies have adopted over the years, however in November of 2019 Brian and his team unveiled the TerraForm Multi-Effects pedal. Since then it has been received very well. Now, in typical Wampler fashion, when they release something it usually exceeds the expectations of potential customers and long time users alike. The Terraform is no exception! When Wampler decided to jump into the multiFX market, they did it in style. This beast of a pedal comes equipped with 11 custom designed effects blocks, from Flanger to Phaser, Chorus to U-Vibe, Harmonic Tremolo to Envelope Filter, etc. Now, in one incredibly small package, you can control any of the 8 presets via midi, you can assign an expression pedal to control ANY of the main five controls, and you can run it in full glorious stereo or keep it in mono... you can even split that mono signal to route some effects to go before your drive pedals, or amp gain, and have the rest follow behind or in your effects loop! When you put the Terraform into your rig, you know that not only will you get that legendary Wampler tone, but you will get the most easy to use, hugely versatile and best sounding collection of modulations you could ever want. So, with all that being said, NOW you have the option to download it for FREE as a plugin! 2 - - Black Rooster Audio‘s guitar amp head emulation meticulously modeled after a very versatile, yet uniquely sounding low wattage amplifier the Black Rooster Audio Cypress TT-15 comes to you at an unbeatable price point: It‘s free! With its no-nonsense approach and only six intuitive controls, the Cypress TT-15 will help to get the job done right away, no matter if you‘re looking for clean through crunchy guitar tones or if you want to achieve biting, distorted lead sounds. We also included a simple 2x12 cabinet simulation that can be bypassed if you prefer other solutions or if you‘re feeding into an external power amp/cabinet stage. 3 - - Get the fully-functioning, never-expiring SSD 5.5 demo with one incredible Deluxe 2 Kit, as well as a Classic “mix-ready” processed Slate snare, and three unique kit presets including “Deluxe 2 Free”, “Hugo”, & “Dry n’ Tight” for FREE. MAIN THOUGHT When I first started mixing it was rough to say the least. I was poking around in the dark trying to blindly find my way through this maze of technical jargon and new computer programs that felt very intimidating. I don’t want that for you. That’s why this brand exists. The YouTube channel, this podcast, the website, the Facebook page and the Collab Group we’ve started, it all revolves around helping people. Why? Because as I look back on my life I realize that the times I was the happiest were the times that I was helping people. Today is no exception. These tips I’m going to give you today are things that will dramatically improve your mixes right out of the gate and once you get the principles behind these tips, you can then apply the same things learned here today, to every mix thereafter. Quick side note before I start, I will include the same list I’ll be covering today as a PDF download in the description of this video, so if you’re on your commute or just broke your favorite number 2 pencil, I gotcha covered. Here we go! Home Studio Simplified exists to simplify the complexities of the Home Studio and to help you make professional music in a less than professional space. We can Dream alone. We can Create alone. But Together we can achieve so much more. /episode/index/show/homestudiosimplified/id/14961044

HSS Episode 050- The Creative's Worst Enemy 05/20/2020

HSS Episode 050- The Creative's Worst Enemy ANNOUNCMENTS Quarantine Song Challenge- We have had several submissions for the Quarantine Song Challenge and there has been a ton of talent represented! Due to time availability and the decreasing number of submissions, I believe it's a good time to bring it to a close. So, the final day for entering the QSC will be this Friday, May 22nd. The voting will begin the following Monday on the live stream as we all listen one last time to all the submissions and vote on them together. (There will also be offline voting available for those that missed the stream, but it will all take place on the YouTube Channel. The winner will be announced on the live stream Thursday, May 28th. EAR TO THE GROUND First up, in today's ear to the ground we're going to cover the IR packs being released by the guys over at . One common problem you run into when playing an acoustic live as a DI source is the horrible representation of sound that the DI produces. The fact is, even an $11,000 guitar will sound like trash when pitted against the dreadful DI input. In order to combat this, the team over at the Worship Tutorials channel have come up with some IR (Impulse Response) Packs to help alleviate the woes of the sound guy and allow for an acoustic guitar to really shine on stage again. Here is a sound example of a Martin D-35 with the IR in action. The first portion is the D-35 mic'd up with an Earthworks S-R25, the second portion is the straight DI source, and the last portion is being ran through the S-R25 IR. The next portion we're going to listen to is the . This portion of audio is the channel owners beautiful McPherson Camrielle being played through the Line 6 Helix as a Direct Out, and as he's playing he is turning the Holy Grail IR on and off using the on board footswitch. The first portion of audio we're hearing is with the IR off (dry direct out), the next portion is with the IR enabled, The guitars pickup is an LR BAGSS Anthem SL. This Acoustic IR pack captures the incredible tone of Brian McPherson® Camrielle. These IR’s can be used in any hardware or app that accepts .wav IR files and allow you to get the sound of a world class mic’d acoustic guitar direct. Included in your download are multiple acoustic pickup options to accommodate a wide range of acoustic guitars and pickups. These are meant to make your acoustic guitar sound incredible. They are not designed to make an electric guitar sound like an acoustic. IMPORTANT NOTES 1. INTENDED FOR USE WITH ACOUSTIC GUITARS: Our acoustic IR’s are intended to be used with acoustic guitars. They are not meant to make an electric guitar sound like an acoustic guitar. 2. CROSS PLATFORM: These .WAV impulse responses can be used in any hardware or application that supports IR’s. This includes products by Line 6 (Helix, HX Stomp, HX Effects, etc), Kemper, Axe-FX, etc. 3. EXPERIMENT: We’ve included multiple options in this IR pack (more details below). The best idea is just to start experimenting with your guitar and find the IR or combinations of IR’s that sound the best. Our recommendation is to first find the pickup type that fits your guitar best (see the pickup options section), and then experiment with different mic options for that pickup type. 3 FREE PLUGS 1- - Lagrange is a unique stereo delay system producing other worldly echoes using granular techniques, where each grain is from a different point in the delay buffer: Use basic settings to create immersive stereo imagery with clean early reflections to give instruments a clear place in the mix. Use the feedback control to transform your sounds into droning evolving soundscapes. Shorten the delay time to create unusual metallic chorus effects. 2 - - Hysteresis features a delay effect with stutter, lowpass filter and modulation effects thrown into the feedback signal path. The input signal first goes through a delay line on each stereo channel, but instead of sending the output directly back into the delay line, the resulting signal is sent to a stutter processor, then to a lowpass filter and finally to another delay line on the opposite channel which is modulated for creating chorus type effects. The output of the second delay line is then routed back to the first one on the original channel. The stutter effect can be used to generate reverse delays, noisy pitch-shifting or raw granulation. The lowpass filter has an internal LFO to make the cutoff frequency oscillate, and the modulation processor can act as a subtle chorus or noisy modulator depending on the range of the modulation rate. 3 - - Thump is a unique audio processor that allows you to synthesize low frequency audio to add low end to a track or generate another sound entirely. Thump looks at the pitch and dynamics of its audio input and uses this information to control its oscillators. You can add low end to drums, augment a bass or even create synthetic drones. Thump is ideal for beefing up a kick drum, add low end to percussive tracks, re-create classic drum synth sounds, and more. You can use Thump's envelope driven, percussive sub-harmonic synth for the following things (among others): Build low-octave support for bass drum, tom, snare, and other percussive tracks Create kettle drum sounds from regular drum tracks Re-create the sounds of classic drum synths like the TR-808 Main Thought The Creative's Worst Enemy As a creative you have infinite potential. You think differently than others, you troubleshoot and find ways around common ordinary problems that leave others seemingly paralyzed. Your stress levels are scientifically proven to be lower than the average person, and let's face it, you're a whole lot cooler than most people you know. Although there are many more positive traits attributed to all you wonderfully creative folk out there, we need to get real for a moment. There are some elephants in the room that we need to address, and we need to talk about it together, because I need to hear this as much as I need to say this. Criticism-Lack of Confidence Look even with all the awesomeness that just oozes from us, there are some things we need to work on. For instance, most of us are very prone to have our feelings hurt easily when someone offers us criticism. This is due in part to the fact that creatives are more emotionally driven than the average person, and even if the vociferous vituperation (also know as hate) is unfounded or blatantly inaccurate, we have a tendency to allow it to ruin the rest of our day. Now, out of all the issues I am addressing today I chose to tackle this one first because it's the hardest one to deal with, and I feel like if you leave this one sided conversation before I'm finished, you at least need to hear this before you go. (BTW please don't leave) So, if you find yourself in an inner battle between what you believe about yourself versus what your accuser is saying, here are some things that we need to keep in mind. First off, consider the source. Is this a trusted friend that is trying to genuinely help you by pointing out something that you need to improve upon to become a better version of you? Sometimes, this is in fact the case, and we need to see this as a positive. If someone close to you has stepped out on that limb, knowing your proclivity to be easily offended, that means that they care enough about you to risk offending you to help open your eyes to an oversight on your behalf. Conversely, if the criticism is coming from a complete stranger, or someone who knowingly doesn't care for you. Then, as hard as it is to do sometimes, simply push it out of your mind and realize that their words do not dictate your worth. You have to have enough confidence to be aware of your strengths, enough humility to know your weaknesses, and enough grit to pull your shoulders back, raise your head up, and calmly move on. Do not let it anger you. The old saying is, he who angers you, controls you. And you can't change a persons point of view who has not taken the time to know you in the first place. However, supposing that what ever was said rings true and resonates. Then turn that negative moment, and the energy that it produces toward the problem and not the person. You can fix the problem if you own it, but if you allow that negativity to build a nest in your head, it's only going to breed more uncertainty. Yet again, confidence, humility, and grit. Whew, okay on to less sensitive topic. Procrastination The next thing I'd like to discuss is procrastination. I was going to talk about this first, but I figured I'd put it off for a bit. (chuckles to self) Perhaps one of the most widely used excuses made by creatives is a lack of time to be creative. I see it all the time in the various forums and Facebook groups I'm a part of, and believe me I get it. I mean who wouldn't want to have all the time in the world to sing, write, produce, mix, and everything else that makes us feel like we're actually accomplishing something. Most of us, myself included, have full time jobs, families to tend to, and a million other people that always seem to need just a little bit of our time. It's hard to fit in anything remotely creative when so many are pulling us in another direction. I mean, there is nothing creative about washing dishes and folding laundry. However, when the time arises, and we find ourselves without any other distractions. It is so easy to be lured down the paths of project folder clean ups, free plug ins, the latest gear review, or heaven forbid the cute kitty videos. There is an innate desire within us to use this time wisely, but whether it is fear that keeps us from creating or our lack of direction, somehow more times than most we finds ourselves wandering off the path to check emails or post our new shiny piece of gear we haven't used in a month. The answer to procrastination isn't a simple one either, but here are some tips to help. Poor organization can lead to procrastination. Organized people successfully overcome it because they use prioritized To-Do Lists and create effective schedules. These tools help you to organize your tasks by priority and deadline. Even if you're organized, you can still feel overwhelmed by a task. Perhaps you have doubts about your ability and a fear of failing, so you put it off and seek comfort in doing work that you know that you're capable of completing. The truth is some people fear success as much as failure. They think that success will lead to being swamped with requests to take on more tasks. Surprisingly, perfectionists are often procrastinators. Often, they'd rather avoid doing a task that they don't feel they have the skills to do, rather than do it imperfectly. Another major cause of procrastination is poor decision-making. If you can't decide what to do, you'll likely put off taking action in case you do the wrong thing. Procrastination is a habit – a deeply ingrained pattern of behavior. This means that you probably can't break it overnight. Habits only stop being habits when you avoid practicing them. So here some strategies to give yourself the best possible chance of succeeding. Forgive yourself for procrastinating in the past - This will help you feel more positive about yourself and reduce the likelihood of procrastination in the future. Commit to the task - Focus on doing, not avoiding. Write down the tasks that you need to complete, and specify a time for doing them. This will help you to proactively tackle your work. Promise yourself a reward - If you complete a difficult task on time, reward yourself with a treat, such as a slice of cake or a coffee from your favorite coffee shop. And make sure you notice how good it feels to finish things! Be accountable - Find someone to check in on your progress, or tell a group your a part of about the project you're starting. This will give you incentive to get it done, knowing that others know about it. Act as you go - Tackle tasks as soon as they arise, rather than letting them build up over another day. Rephrase your internal dialog - Change the phrases "need to" and "have to," for example, to "I choose to." This implies that you own a project, and can make you feel more in control of your workload. Minimize distractions - Turn off your email and social media, and avoid sitting anywhere near a television while you work! Do the Worst, First - Get those tasks that you loathe out of the way early. This will give you the rest of the day to concentrate on work that you find more enjoyable. Now, for the keen mind that picked up on the underlying theme here. These two problems feed into one another, and both in some way stem from fear. Whether it is fear of failure or fear of the unfulfilled, at the heart of most of our unfinished tasks is an underlying fear that even when the task is completed it won't be good enough. Maybe you feel like I do at times, that when I finally finish the task, I will let myself down with its lack of perfection. Yet, the answer to becoming better at anything in life is to strive for perfection. In other words, do more of what you're not doing now because you're to afraid you'll come up short. The only way to get better at something is to do it over and over, until you learn what to do and what not to do. If you were to ask a hundred famous inventors, artists, or creatives (people like Alexander Graham Bell, Henry Ford, Leonardo Davinci, etc.) what did you do to get from point "A" to point "B"? Everyone one of them would tell you by making a lot of mistakes and completing (keyword) hours worth of work on something that others told me was frivolous. The fact is, that sometimes what's holding you back is the thought that something is holding you back, and sometimes we just need to get out of our own way. /episode/index/show/homestudiosimplified/id/23039072

HSS Episode 049-Live Interview with Matt Boudreau (Working Class Audio Podcast) 05/10/2020

HSS Episode 048-Developing A Mix System 04/07/2020

HSS Episode 048-Developing A Mix System ANNOUNCMENTS Quarantine Song Challenge- Are you a musician or instrumentalist that has currently found yourself indoors more than usual, and with extra time on your hands? Well, in order to break up the monotony and create a little fun, I am doing a "Quarantine Song Challenge". Details: Starting Friday April 10th, I am giving all who would be willing, a challenge. The mission should you choose to accept it, is this: Create a song within a 2 week time-frame. That would put you handing in your final submission on Friday April 24th. This should be a version of your best rough mix, or if you're very productive a completed masterpiece that's fully mixed and mastered. I will then choose 3 of the best submissions and showcase them live for all to hear and give my personal feedback as well. The submission with the most votes will be mixed and mastered by yours truly. Technicalities: Submissions need to be in high quality WAV files preferably 24bit. If your hopeful of winning, make sure that your project is recorded and mixed in 24-bit with a sample rate of 44.1-kHz EAR TO THE GROUND 1 With all the uncertainty surrounding local businesses and the some of the cold crafty moves of corporate America, it is refreshing to hear that there are still a few good companies out there. Fender, is no exception. How does this sound for a midday stress release at work? You leave your desk, pick up a guitar and just jam. It’s a workplace feature that’s core to . This 71-year-old company has crafted instruments for musical icons ranging from Bruce Springsteen to Jimi Hendrix, and in its new Hollywood headquarters, (designed by ) guitars line the walls -- acoustic, electric, one-of-a-kind beauties- and employees are encouraged to play any time of day. (Talent is not required, but I suspect it’s greatly preferred.) This historic company is currently focused on investing in new technology and talent, which is helping Fender keep up in an increasingly competitive music world. Bennett Kolasinski (Fender/Software Engineering Manager) “We’ve interviewed a lot of people for jobs here, and sometimes they’re like, ‘Do I have to play guitar?’ We do have some sick guitarists, but we also have people that don’t know how to play, and they’re maybe working on the Fender Play app. It’s a product that teaches how to play guitar, so we need those nonmusical points of view.” To get a look into the psyche of Fender's leadership, here's what the CEO of Fender had to say, Andy Mooney (Fender/CEO) “I met Phyllis Fender, Leo Fender’s wife, last year, and she said something that really struck me. Later in his life, Leo had said to her that he believed all artists were angels and that God had put him on this planet to give them wings. That’s been the mission of the company: Whether we do it by digital means in terms of encouraging people to learn guitar or whether we’re physically putting guitars in their hands, we’re trying to give wings to artists.” 2 If you've been researching ways to hone your craft during these trying times, then look no further than . Produce Like A Pro is the equivalent of an internship at a major studio with an amazing producer as your mentor. Warren Huart, the founder of Produce Like A Pro, is a record producer, musician, composer and recording engineer based in Los Angeles, California. Heralded as a multi-platinum producer for more bands than I have time to name, Warren is the owner of Spitfire Studio in LA. Since 2014, he has opened up his world to an ever growing community of audio lovers through the Produce Like A Pro Academy and his YouTube Channel. Recently as a way of giving back to his followers and soon to be's, he has generously made some of his paid course free for the public to create a way to learn during this time of isolation. Some of the courses available now are: Follow Warren through his hybrid mix process and learn how to use a combination of both analog and digital processing to create awesome sounding music. See a complete breakdown of his mix and learn exactly how he makes his mixing decisions. In this mix, you will learn more about EQ, compression, saturation, multiband compression, distortion, and even parallel processing. Then, you can download the multitracks and mix the song yourself! In this course, you learn how to mix completely in the box! There is no need for extra hardware or equipment with this course. It is 100% computer-based mixing with plugins! You’ll get to learn more about fundamental parts of mixing including EQ, compression, saturation, multiband compression, distortion, parallel processing and more! Follow along with Warren as he goes through each step of the mix and show you exactly what he is doing, as well as explain why he does it, so you are able to apply these principles to your own mixes! In this course, Matt explains his drum kit choice and his philosophy behind choosing the right components to create a huge drum sound. You'll also learn how to control the ring of your toms and snare, how to make your kit and tom sound cohesive, and how to keep your snare tuning consistent through longer recording sessions and live events. As if that wasn't enough, you will also learn how to create a signature sound for your drums by learning special micing techniques. 3 FREE PLUGS - Although this plug in has been around for awhile, a lot of newcomers may not know it exists. 's SPAN is a free real-time “fast Fourier transform” audio spectrum analyzer plugin for professional sound and music production applications. SPAN supports multi-channel analysis and can be set to display spectrums from two different channels or channel groups at the same time. What's more, your spectrum's color can be chosen to taste. SPAN also features output level metering with adjustable ballistics and integration time and K-0.system metering (including calibration K-system metering). SPAN displays level metering statistics, headroom estimation and true peak clipping detection. Correlation metering is available as well. I personally love to use this plug in on my reference tracks. By utilizing its dual metering feature you can see the frequency spectrum of your reference track overlaid on top of your current mix, this has been a huge help in getting my mix to translate better, both creatively and technically. - Rough Rider, by , is a modern compressor with a bit of "vintage" style bite, and a uniquely warm sound. Perfect for adding compression effects to your drum buss, it also sounds great with synth bass, clean guitar, and backing vocals. Definitely not an all-purpose compressor, Rough Rider is at its best when used to add pump to rhythmic tracks. Still, you can use it however you'd like. The Compressor Police aren't gonna come to your house and give you a citation. So download it for free, slap it on a track and start cranking some knobs. - This useful plug in from shows the time that has passed during an open DAW project. It records time in hours, minutes, and seconds, has a pause function and even writes a log so you can see when you worked on the project and for how long. Every log entry can be commented on as well. The timer starts as soon as it gets loaded into a plug-in slot in your DAW. The stopped time is saved with the closing of the project and resumes by reopening the project. Perfect for keeping track of your time for a multiplicity of reasons. MAIN THOUGHT Developing A Mix System When it comes to anything creative, we creatives generally shy away from anything that tries to inhibit or place us in a box. For this cause, some are staunch defenders of not using templates, or anything that may "guide" the creative process outside of the creators own bounds. While I see the purist approach of that and do ascribe to the thought that creativity should be unbridled, at the same time we live in an ever demanding world that is constantly at war with our precious time. That said, if I can alleviate some of the more mundane tasks that slow me down in my initial approach, you'd better believe I'm all for it! This is why I personally use templates. Now, I know, the purist in me cringes at even saying this but the minimalist in me says, "speak on". At this point it is imperative for me to outline exactly what I mean when I say "templates". Picture this: The inspiration hits. You pick up your instrument of choice, for all intrinsic purposes we will say guitar, and the juices are just flowing. You bang out a killer chorus and now you're really feeling it! You kick open the door to the studio, fling out the keyboard tray, turn the computer on (at this point the juices are still flowin'). Finally your desktop opens, you open up your DAW and select, "Create New Project". Now, in your purist mind you select "blank project", denoting that nothing is in your path to inhibit creativity, just a clean slate! Now, load in an empty track. Set the routing options up in your DAW. Name it something creative, like guitar goodness. At this point, you've just burned 3 minutes up, but your creative fires are still burning hot! You pull out your favorite guitar, plug it in to your got-to amp and mic it up with that favorite mic of yours. So, now another 7 minutes has been robbed. The creative fire is burning, yet, the flames are diminishing. You tune up the guitar, take care that your levels are good going into the DAW, and finally 30 minutes later you get that guitar take into a newly created track. Keep in mind, you're using your favorite guitar. It's your go-to amp. Yet, even after the take is nailed you know you're going to have to do some processing on it. So, naturally you reach for your favorite compressor plug in and a good reverb. The same ones you use on every mix, because much like that favorite guitar and go to amp, you know them. Now you dial in that go to setting that you normally use on every guitar track to start with, and you've effectively wasted another 20 minutes getting it to that point. Ah, but your being creative! At this point the smoldering embers of creativity give way to the time and as you gaze toward the wall clock you realize that in an hour and a half you have one guitar track to show for yourself and time is up because kids need bedtime stories and the wife needs the trash taken down. Now had this scenario been changed by the addition of utilizing templates. You could still have 30-45 minutes left to lay down a second layer of guitar or develop a melody on the keys. After all, you already knew what guitar you were after, what amp you were using, and your mic choice.In a sense you were using those starting points as templates for your tone. So, what if you would've loaded a project template that already had the name "Electric Guitar Track" tacked on it, along with your two favorite starting plug ins for guitar, set to your favorite starting positions. Just think of how much time you could've saved yourself. Remember, part of the beauty of the digital recording age is that at anytime you can go back and change things with an instant recall of settings. So it really doesn't do any good to start from scratch when you can always go back and perfect a templates approach. Ok, so what does all this have to do with mixing? Well, much like the scenario we just discussed in a recording session, you can save yourself time and frustration by developing a system to mixing that can be completely adaptable to your workflow. I will briefly describe current system and show you what I mean. Import all the tracks in to my DAW () Name every track that doesn't fit into my pre-named slot within Make sure they are color coordinated with applicable track icons Bottom out my all faders and switch the Master Bus to mono (this will aide in hearing phase issues) Bring up each element one at a time and get a feel for where it needs to set in the mix Do a rough mix of levels and take care of edits EQ those elements that are stepping on one another until cohesion is achieved Switch the Master Bus to Stereo and begin panning things L-C-R Slowly start adding in desired effects, being mindful of level matching - this includes creating sends to my template reverb/delay/saturation channels Fold back down to Mono and Import Reference tracks Get my best Mono mix with my desired effects in place Let it bloom back out to Stereo and get out my note pad Once I am happy with my current mix I listen back all the way through "blindly" and touch nothing, I only write down what I hear needs addressed Address the issues found on the first pass and listen to it again, same rules apply, touch nothing only write down what I hear Rinse and Repeat until the said mix is done Now, if you notice, my approach is one that gets all of the technical stuff out of the way first. Then I move into the creative phase without anything to inhibit my flow. Next I move into an analytical stage that allows me to make decisions with more clarity, as well as keeps me from continually fiddling with knobs. Now, although this method does vary from time to time, this has worked for me and allowed me to finish my projects faster and with less strain on my mental faculties, faculties that are now and always have been in question since I was born. I would encourage you to develop a system, a templates of sorts that you use every time you approach a mix. Improve on it over time until you can become the master of the mix instead of the pupil of time. I'd like to close by saying this, the system needs to come before creativity. Why? Because creativity can follow the system, but the system will never be able to follow creativity. Download your free copy of this 15 Step Mix System here: Sources/Links: - /episode/index/show/homestudiosimplified/id/23039078

Home Studio Simplified

TOPICS