17 thoughts on “Show 113 – Loads Of Automation And More”

  1. What I especially like about Rocstore is the IEC power cable and integral power supply. I never have to go hunting for some wacky, multi-pin power apparatus. Rocstor drives are great for backup and archive but I wouldn’t record high track counts to ProTools with one.

    I’ve had more than one LaCie failure and lots of playback hitches so I refuse to use LaCie anymore.

    There is more to a hard drive than rotational speed; the chipset can be a big deal with high track counts.

    The good old EQ3 works so well I don’t often need anything more exotic. I like SoundToys FilterBank too, especially for shelving.

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  2. Hi Guys,
    Just got on to your podcast the other day when I was doing so research on some old mics of mine, including an sony f-98, I have since listened to number of your shows and an loving them. I have seen lots of reference to the f-98 but was wondering if there where any previous show I have missed that talk about the mic more specifically and do any shootouts?

    cheers
    Chris

    Australia

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  3. I’m not sure what happened to Brainworx.com’s meter, but you can still get Sonalksis FreeG for: wait for it… FREE!

    I can vouch for these guys; they’re not out to make money off of endorsements for gear/plugins. They just beg/grovel for your cash on the show and put ridiculously lame radio spots at the end of the show. If the TT Meter is no longer free, screw TT Meter. Let’s all migrate to FreeG.

    -James

    http://www.sonalksis.com/freeg.htm

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  4. Actually the TT Meter hasn’t been free since last year (maybe even longer than that) when I tried to download it. I can’t remember where I came across information about this supposedly FREE plug-in, probably from older HRS shows, but I was hunting for FREE plugins then.

    I thought just joining the cause was enough until I found that I had to make a “donation” to gain access to the “Special Donor Members Only” section. So the plugin is more of a perk for those who shell out the cash.

    I went for the brainworx one instead.

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  6. Great segment on automation! Perfect topic for this show because I believe that sometimes what separates a home recording mix from a pro mix can be the automation. It can help to smooth out a mix if you take the extra time to listen for things that are popping out when they shouldn’t. It can also help during mastering if the individual elements are sitting in a nice even pocket rather than sticking out and causing the mastering limiters to pull down the whole mix. I find that a nicely automated mix needs less compression during mastering.

    I like to use it to lift the guitars up in the chorus for that extra energy or push up a little counter melody or tag line in between lyrics. Its also great to enhance a guitar or keyboard line building into a chorus or bridge. Even with a touch sensitive fader I tend to just use the pencil tool to draw out my changes.

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  7. Hey guys, I have a technical question. I am curious what kind of sound chain Jon was using for show 112? For some reason he sounded thin and there was a weird upper mid/lower high end thing happening like it was running through an aural exciter maxed out or something. Although there was a plosive or two that slipped through, at the same time there really was no bottom end which seemed somewhat counter intuitive. I don’t think it was his voice per se because the “ad” for donations (clever!) sounded like that was Jon on the same mic but it had a much fuller, smoother and balanced sound with a nice bottom end to it. I could hear that same high end fuzziness (sheen????), but it was very subdued and much more musical and pleasant. The whole sound was again very balanced and full with a nice bottom to it. Am I correct about it being the same mic and if so (or not….) what was the set up for show 112 that might have made such a difference? It would be very helpful to know. He doesn’t usually sound like that….Thanx! e.scarab

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    • You are correct. I was using a different mic in #112 it was an AT3035 with the low cut on AND low cut on my mic pre (oops) also no pop filter. I usually use an NT1A but I had it set up for a different project that day. So one of those variables messed it up. Ryan’s audio was using a different preamp that day also. Both tracks were harder to work with than usual.

      The donation ad is actually James not me.

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  9. Hi guys,

    Long time uk listener, first time comment. Really enjoyed the automation segment, just thought I’d let you know one of favourite techniques, similar to what you touched on. What I like to do is to ride the automation on a gain/trim plug-in either in the box or set to an external controller(behringer bcf2000). By doing this when continuing to mix later I can keep my track faders free for the mix making adjustments easier to control as my automation edits are all in place beneath the main level. Is this something you guys have tried or is there a specific reason you would use a trim plug-in after automating the fader rather than the way round I’m doing it?

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  10. Hello Folks,
    Just got thru listening to show #113 and wanted to mention that for a Free EQ Leftover Lasagne’s “Pushtec 5+1A” is one of the best. It is mainly a Mid Range EQ that I find myself using on Vocals & Guitar a lot.

    http://www.leftoverlasagne.com/plug-ins.html

    One I just found a few weeks ago, and have had a chance to use in a mix this last week is the IQ4gui Dynamic EQ. Tho I am still learning it, it seems to be a super nice replacement for a EQ & Compressor chain in some instances.

    http://www.platinumears.com/plugins.html

    (towards the bottom of the page)

    Even tho it is a Synthedit plugin, I have not had any problems with it so far.

    I have done a few Podcasts this year for folks and found a plugin called The Levelator a quick way to balance out the voices after cleanup…

    http://www.conversationsnetwork.org/levelator

    As a fellow Reaper user I am finding out how versatile all the native effects are, but man, I wish they had descriptive names! JS: IXMixer_8xM_1xS really gave me a headache when scrolling thru the list, at least until I renamed it 8in-1out mixer!

    Thanks for the BX Clean Sweep heads up, I will try it out this week. Keep up the great work! Jim

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  11. Thanx for the info Jon! I actually have several AT mics and like them, but knowing the set-up as you described I completely understand! I will say that I have found that if I leave the bass roll-off off on the AT’s, in some situations at least I prefer the sound. But you do have to back off and you can’t use the proximity effect. You just have to find the right distance to get in the sweet spot at that point. Thanx for another informative show.

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  12. Hey guys, to the listener whose question you answered about buying a used 002 or something new. I would suggest if he doesn’t need many tracks he check out the E-MU 1212M PCIe card. It has the same 192k mastering grade converters that are in the Pro Tools HD systems. It only has two balanced/unbalanced analog in/outs, but you can use any pre amp with it. It also has 8 channel ADAT in/out, SPDIF/AES/EBU selectable optical or coax in/out, MIDI in/out, it has a host of very usable and many unique pro quality 32 bit DSP effects on the board so they use no CPU and they can be inserted as rewire or VST effects, you can set the inputs for +4 or -10 to match your outboard gear, it has a really nice, unlimited routing capability virtual mixer and it is only $169! I use mine with my Saffire Pro 40 through the ADAT port so I can use both at the same time, although there is a way to use the firewire interface with the E-MU card, it takes a lot of CPU. Anyway, just wanted to mention it as a less expensive alternative if you don’t want to be committed to the pres in the Apogee system you mentioned. Also, I’m not positive, but I think the Apogee Duet is only 48k capable.

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  14. I just ordered some fiberglass panels the day before I heard this episode, so it’s good to know I’m on the right track. I’d like to know, though, if you guys have a favorite how-to for building panels. Obviously I’ll need to frame, cover, and hang them, but I’ve seen a few different methods online.

    Some just frame cover the panel with burlap and frame it like a painting, some leave it dangling by the top edge so sound energy can be further absorbed by its ability to move freely.

    Any links to simple, cheap DIY projects would be nice. I’m already planning to hit up my local coffee roaster for some burlap bags to use as covers- given that I’m kinda known as a coffee addict, it’s fitting for my studio.

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