Posts tagged ‘Recording’
Things To Think About When Chosing Mics
This is actually from a forum post by Harvey Gerst over at the Home Recording BBSand is a great primer to choosing the correct mic for the application. Forum thread can be found
HERE. This was also the original unedited version from the first post.
“Each mic design has trade-offs, usually accuracy for noise. The most accurate mics are small omnis, but as the size decreases, the noise goes up. Ya don’t hafta be a rocket scientist to figure out why; the smaller diaphragm doesn’t put out as much signal as a bigger diaphragm, so you hafta crank it more and you amplify the noise along with the signal.
Condenser mics can only do certain things very well, especially when you get into different patterns. Large diaphragm mics get wonky off axis (which means they can be shitty on sounds coming from a lot of different directions at once). That’s why large diaphragm condensers are best as a vocal mic; the mouth is a pretty small source, and occasionally very quiet. Large condensers are great for picking up quiet sources. Trade offs.
Small diaphragm condenser mics have better off-axis response, so they’re “usually” better for miking bigger stuff (guitars, drum kits, choirs, etc.), in other words, anything where the sound is coming at you from a lot of different places. But, because they’re smaller, they won’t be assensitive as large condenser mics. Trade offs, again.
So what’s the best vocal mic? Usually a large diaphragm mic is the first thing the pros reach for.
What’s the best mic for larger instruments? Unless you own a very well designed large diaphragm condenser mic, usually a small diaphragm will work better (unless it’s a very quiet source and you’re willing to give up some accuracy for extra low noise output).
Finally, most mics aren’t truly flat – most have little spikes and dips that occur all over the place. The frequency response charts that you see are smoothed to eliminate those short peaks and dips, but they’re still there. And they’re different for every mic – even two that are exactly the same brand and model.
Now here’s the important part: When you happen to sing or play a note that corresponds to a peak or dip, the sound is gonna change. So, what does that mean? It means that a mic that sounds great on one voice, one guitar, or even in one key, may sound very different on another voice, another guitar, or even in a different key.
And that’s where the problem lies when people try to compare a mic to other mics, and especially when you hear people say things like “this Chinese mic sounds identical to a U87″, or whatever. For that singer, that guitar, or in that key, that may be true. It just means that the peaks and dips in the two mics didn’t get pushed so hard that you could hear the differences between the two mics. On something else, the differences can be night and day.
The other factor is that, unless you’ve been doing this stuff for a long time, you’re ear isn’t trained to hear some of the differences, and you’ll think only in terms of louder and brighter, or more bottom. It’s really easy to miss hearing the small peaks and dips, which only comes with longer listening sessions and some ear training. When you compare mics, if a mic sounds “brighter”, or “more detailed”, make sure you’re not confusing high frequency peaks and/or treble boost for those qualities.
While it’s not cut and dried, be suspicious of louder mics – it usually means that accuracy has been sacrificed, and try to figure out where that “extra loudness” is coming from. Remember, “bigger” means “louder”, but it also means “less accurate”. “Less accurate” is not in itself a bad thing, if it’s more flattering, but just be aware that it is less “accurate”.
There are always trade offs in choosing equipment; try to make those trade offs work for you over the long haul, and you’ll be fine when choosing a mic for a particular task.
The “big thread” covers a lot more detail about those trade offs, but remembering these points (that we’ve just discussed) may just help you hear “better”, “faster.”
I’m Addicted to Mics I’d go to rehab, but everybody would hear it…
Hardware Vs. Software
I Just don’t get it. I understand some people love hardware. I understand some love software. Some even like both! Cool. Don’t bash one or the another! Oh, and for the people who think that you can’t make anything good with the other-you are a idiot. Just want to let you know. Really, shut up. No, even better, STFU. Now that we have that out of the way let me tell you why I believe I am right about this like I do everything else in life.
Well main reason I think just saying you only use one and only one is good is, well, check this out. Lets say you hire a contractor to build you a house for you and your family. And he is all for nail-not screw. Screws suck. Forget screw you don’t need them, nails are sooooo much better. Anyone who uses screws just doesn’t know how to build a house. Well my friends I would not want to hire that contractor. What would happen when the contractor is putting in something as simple as light bulbs? would he “screw” them in? or light switches? Can you imagine them being “nailed” in? Weird. Sometimes one is better at a job than the other, true. But that is not to say both do not get the same job done!
Oh and don’t for get the people who think, “Oh, you can’t get quality or you can’t make a hit unless you have PRO TOOLS!” or even those that say, “Oh Fruity Loops? Na man that is weak! No one can make good music with that!”. You my friends are idiots of the worst kind. You are fools and love to partake in ignorance. That is like saying, “Oh you have a Zune!? Na man, iPods are the only way you can listen to music with quality! Everyone knows Zune’s can even play music right!”. You also are idiots. I mean really? If it gets a person from A to B, A being a thought and B being a finished idea in any form. A song or any personal medium being physical or not was once a idea, furthermore, anything that helps them accomplish that idea into a finished product is simply a tool.
So back to the contractor building a house. Lets say he is sick and tired of people using “old tools”. Lets say he doesn’t believe in using a hammer any more for those nails he loves. He ONLY uses a nail gun. Now when and if he could finish the house correctly, would you ask him to help you hang some pictures on the wall? He would level it out and BAM! there goes a nail into your wall-or through your wall and into the next room. There are times you would want to use a hammer, right? Or even more specific there are people who would prefer to use a hammer. If it works for them, great.
Please understand just like style of cloths and such every one is so different that even the gear one uses will vary greatly from one to another. In fact in every facet of music and art different people vary greatly. Look at any guitar player. Even if they are playing in the same genre there are tons of things that they choose to make they’re sound and tone their own. Strings, pedals, cables, pick ups, amps and even the guitar itself. Sure I can play the same E major chord as Carlos Santana and Eric Clapton but all three of us would sound different. But in that there is also beauty. Please don’t be a idiot and single certain people out just because they don’t use Pro tools or because all they use is a Boss sampler and a MPC 500/5000 (Worst MPC’s ever made). Please let live and live. Move on to greater things, such as creation of art.
Really? Does it matter what you use anymore? All that matters is the end result…
Cake…I love it!
Playing live? Recording a beat? One musician to another…
Okay so I thought I would give some advice on playing live. I went to a show and it seemed like the Opening band was just trying to show off. The drummer kept doing crazy fills that didn’t seem to match. It really bugged me. SO I thought I should start a weekly blog because knowledge is something I am always seeking. So I thought I would share my experiences and knowledge with the wonderful world of Obiaudio.com! Now this can go for both live musicians and the infamous Pro-Du-Sahs.
Okay, Lets start with my infamous cake. Ha. Now I know, I know, just bear with me. It’ll makes sense in a minute. Have you ever had cake with too much frosting? I hate cake like that because its too sweet and I usually never finish it. Then there is the cake with out any frosting. It just tastes bland and dry. I never eat that cake cause I like frosting! Well music is like that. When your making a beat you never want to over do anything cause it’ll make it too sweet. Too much frosting. Too may fills or trying to show off always distract the audience. Also in the same manner, The same song without drums sounds boring. You have to find a happy medium. So sorry drummer man but that crazy fill doesn’t fit when the singer is trying to sing the verse! WE CAN’T HEAR THE SINGER!!!
Your in a band. Your not the band. The only time you can get away with it is if you have a solo. Or your famous and the band is you. I.E. – Steve Vai, Carlos Santana and such. But even they know how to mesh with the band. If your a musician in a band do whatever you can to make the BAND sound better, not yourself. Most of the time if your do that it just make everyone including yourself sound worse.
Now on to the MPC pad bangers or the FL Studio mouse clickers. IF your making a beat. Make sure you follow the same principle. I hear beats that rappers love. I hear beats I think are amazing but rappers would never touch. Next time you get a chance listen to a bunch of instrumentals for your favorite songs. Or even better yet listen to a bunch of instrumentals from the radio. Now I myself HATE the radio. I never listen to it cause it can influence your style, But I’ll save that for another post.
Most of the time these beats are so simple when you listen to them its boring. Sounds empty and unfinished. Well all it is is a beat! It’s not a song. So of course its boring. So when your making a beat leave enough space for the emcee. With out them its not finished, but without you the song isn’t complete either. Just remember KISS – Keep It Simple Stupid. I swear and live by this.
Now I wanna say this now for future reference. I’m just a normal Joe Schmo. I’m not a professional. I don’t make that much money doing this, But I do have tons of experience. You may not like my beats or my music but take everything I say with a grain of salt. I’m not perfect and am merely a artist trying to make my way. So you may not like my music, blog, pictures whatever. Just don’t read or listen to it. I’m always open to critique but not criticism. Just saying.
EQ Chart
This is from a thread on Future Producers..I did not write this and do…to and extent…agree with most of this. I just copied and pasted the good stuff:
To understand EQ and its intricacies you need hands-on experience, but to help you get started, here’s a table of general uses and the different ranges that EQ can affect. As every sound is different, though, these are necessarily very general guidelines…
Kick Drum
Any apparent muddiness can be rolled off around 300Hz. Try a small boost around 5-7kHz to add some high end.
50-100Hz ~ Adds bottom to the sound
100-250Hz ~ Adds roundness
250-800Hz ~ Muddiness Area
5-8kHz ~ Adds high end presence
8-12kHz ~ Adds Hiss
Snare
Try a small boost around 60-120Hz if the sound is a little too wimpy. Try boosting around 6kHz for that ‘snappy’ sound.
100-250Hz ~ Fills out the sound
6-8kHz ~ Adds presence
Hi hats or cymbals
Any apparent muddiness can be rolled off around 300Hz. To add some brightness try a small boost around 3kHz.
250-800Hz ~ Muddiness area
1-6kHz ~ Adds presence
6-8kHz ~ Adds clarity
8-12kHz ~ Adds brightness
Bass
Try boosting around 60Hz to add more body. Any apparent muddiness can be rolled off around 300Hz.If more presence is needed, boost around 6kHz.
50-100Hz ~ Adds bottom end
100-250Hz ~ Adds roundness
250-800Hz ~ Muddiness Area
800-1kHz ~ Adds beef to small speakers
1-6kHz ~ Adds presence
6-8kHz ~ Adds high-end presence
8-12kHz ~ Adds hiss
Vocals
This is a difficult one, as it depends on the mic used to record the vocal. However…Apply either cut or boost around 300hz, depending on the mic and song.Apply a very small boost around 6kHz to add some clarity.
100-250Hz ~ Adds ‘up-frontness’
250-800Hz ~ Muddiness area
1-6kHz ~ Adds presence
6-8kHz ~ Adds sibilance and clarity
8-12kHz ~ Adds brightness
Piano
Any apparent muddiness can be rolled off around 300Hz. Apply a very small boost around 6kHz to add some clarity.
50-100Hz ~ Adds bottom
100-250Hz ~ Adds roundness
250-1kHz ~ Muddiness area
1-6kHz ~ Adds presence
6-8Khz ~ Adds clarity
8-12kHz ~ Adds hiss
Electric guitars
Again this depends on the mix and the recording. Apply either cut or boost around 300hz, depending on the song and sound. Try boosting around 3kHz to add some edge to the sound, or cut to add some transparency. Try boosting around 6kHz to add presence. Try boosting around 10kHz to add brightness.
100-250Hz ~ Adds body
250-800Hz ~ Muddiness area
1-6Khz ~ Cuts through the mix
6-8kHz ~ Adds clarity
8=12kHz ~ Adds hiss
Acoustic guitar
Any apparent muddiness can be rolled off between 100-300Hz. Apply small amounts of cut around 1-3kHz to push the image higher. Apply small amounts of boost around 5kHz to add some presence.
100-250Hz ~ Adds body
6-8kHz ~ Adds clarity
8-12kHz ~ Adds brightness
Strings
These depend entirely on the mix and the sound used.
50-100Hz ~ Adds bottom end
100-250Hz ~ Adds body
250-800Hz ~ Muddiness area
1-6hHz ~ Sounds crunchy
6-8kHz ~ Adds clarity
8-12kHz ~ Adds brightness
__________
50Hz
1. Increase to add more fullness to lowest frequency instruments like foot, toms, and the bass.
2. Reduce to decrease the “boom” of the bass and will increase overtones and the recognition of bass line in the mix. This is most often used on bass lines in Rap and R&B.
__________
100Hz
Increase to add a harder bass sound to lowest frequency instruments.
Increase to add fullness to guitars, snare.
Increase to add warmth to piano and horns.
Reduce to remove boom on guitars & increase clarity.
__________
200Hz
1. Increase to add fullness to vocals.
2. Increase to add fullness to snare and guitar (harder sound).
3. Reduce to decrease muddiness of vocals or mid-range instruments.
4. Reduce to decrease gong sound of cymbals.
__________
400Hz
1. Increase to add clarity to bass lines especially when speakers are at low volume.
2. Reduce to decrease “cardboard” sound of lower drums (foot and toms).
3. Reduce to decrease ambiance on cymbals.
__________
800Hz
1. Increase for clarity and “punch” of bass.
2. Reduce to remove “cheap” sound of guitars
__________
1.5KHz
1. Increase for “clarity” and “pluck” of bass.
2. Reduce to remove dullness of guitars.
__________
3KHz
1. Increase for more “pluck” of bass.
2. Increase for more attack of electric / acoustic guitar.
3. Increase for more attack on low piano parts.
4. Increase for more clarity / hardness on voice.
5. Reduce to increase breathy, soft sound on background vocals.
6. Reduce to disguise out-of-tune vocals / guitars
5KHz
1. Increase for vocal presence.
2. Increase low frequency drum attack (foot/toms).
3. Increase for more “finger sound” on bass.
4. Increase attack of piano, acoustic guitar and brightness on guitars.
5. Reduce to make background parts more distant.
6. Reduce to soften “thin” guitar.
__________
7KHz
1. Increase to add attack on low frequency drums (more metallic sound).
2. Increase to add attack to percussion instruments.
3. Increase on dull singer.
4. Increase for more “finger sound” on acoustic bass.
5. Reduce to decrease “s” sound on singers.
6. Increase to add sharpness to synthesizers, rock guitars, acoustic guitar and piano.
__________
10KHz
1. Increase to brighten vocals.
2. Increase for “light brightness” in acoustic guitar and piano.
3. Increase for hardness on cymbals.
4. Reduce to decrease “s” sound on singers.
__________
15KHz
1. Increase to brighten vocals (breath sound).
2. Increase to brighten cymbals, string instruments and flutes.
3. Increase to make sampled synthesizer sound more real.
__________
Low Bass: anything less than 50Hz
This range is often known as the sub bass and is most commonly taken up by the lowest part of the kick drum and bass guitar, although at these frequencies it’s almost impossible to determine any pitch. Sub bass is one of the reasons why 12″ vinyl became available: low frequencies require wider grooves than high frequencies – without rolling off everything below 50Hz you couldn’t fit a full track onto a 7″ vinyl record. However we do NOT recommend applying any form of boost around this area without the use of very high quality studio monitors (not home monitors – there is a vast difference between home near field and studio far field monitors costing anywhere between £5,000 and £20,000). Boosting blindly in this area without a valid reference point can and will permanently damage most speakers, even PA systems. You have been warned!
Bass: 50-250Hz
This is the range you’re adjusting when applying the bass boost on most home stereos, although most bass signals in modern music tracks lie around the 90-200Hz area with a small boost in the upper ranges to add some presence or clarity.
Muddiness/irrational area: 200-800Hz
The main culprit area for muddy sounding mixes, hence the term ‘irritational area’. Most frequencies around here can cause psycho-acoustic problems: if too many sounds in a mix are dominating this area, a track can quickly become annoying, resulting in a rush to finish mixing it as you get bored or irritated by the sound of it.
Mid-range: 800-6kHz
Human hearing is extremely sensitive at these frequencies, and even a minute boost around here will result in a huge change in the sound – almost the same as if you boosted around 10db at any other range. This is because our voices are centred in this area, so it’s the frequency range we hear more than any other. Most telephones work at 3kHz, because at this frequency speech is most intelligible. This frequency also covers TV stations, radio, and electric power tools. If you have to apply any boosting in this area, be very cautious, especially on vocals. We’re particularly sensitive to how the human voice sounds and its frequency coverage.
High Range: 6-8kHz
This is the range you adjust when applying the treble boost on your home stereo. This area is slightly boosted to make sounds artificially brighter (although this artificial boost is what we now call ‘lifelike’) when mastering a track before burning it to CD.
Hi-High Range: 8-20kHz
This area is taken up by the higher frequencies of cymbals and hi-hats, but boosting around this range, particularly around 12kHz can make a recording sound more high quality than it actually is, and it’s a technique commonly used by the recording industry to fool people into thinking that certain CDs are more hi-fidelity than they’d otherwise sound. However, boosting in this area also requires a lot of care – it can easily pronounce any background hiss, and using too much will result in a mix becoming irritating.
Okay when thinking about mixing and EQ never lose sight of the purpose–which is to create an intelligible mix with clarity and power.
Surprisingly this technique works really good for getting that low end down. When I am done with a mix I usually run another high-pass filter over the whole mix around 55-60hz to eliminate a lot of frequencies that you can’t really hear or feel–and aren’t reproduced on most stereo systems. This low end mush can really sap a power amp and speaker of its ability to pump. Once cleaned up it is amazing how punchy your tracks will be, without any apparent loss of low end.
I do a similar thing with a low pass filter on most of the instruments as well to eliminate any extraneous high frequencies. I usually start rolling off guitar around 8khz gently, the kick drum around 6khz, toms around 10khz and snare around 12khz. The only things I want to inhabit the area above 10khz are cymbals, high hats–and most importantly–the “air” of the vocals.
It is amazing how much vocals can cut through a mix and still keeping a high sheen on the overall mix using this method. Your separation is often enhanced as well. And you don’t have to resort to awful harmonic exciters like BBE and Aphex… which are usually poorly used and can sound very sour to me.
After I have filtered my frequencies I actually begin to EQ things. Now I have a few rules of my own when it comes to using EQ that keep things under control. Once again, these are just guideline rules that I occasionally break but I have found that they are applicable for me 90% of the time:
1.) Always use a parametric EQ. Graphic EQ’s are for wusses.
2.) When boosting Q must be wider (less than) than 2.
3.) When cutting Q should be narrow–from 1.5 or greater.
4.) No cut or boost may be greater than 6db +/- in any case (occasionally broken for cutting).
5.) 75% of my boosts are less than 2 db. 90% are less than 4 db of boost.
6.) Never cut more than 8db of anything unless notching out specific small frequencies.
7.) It is okay to occasionally “pile on” a wide Q boost or cut with another narrower boost/cut if you need a radical increase in that particular frequency (this makes it sound more natural and less like a resonant peak).
Okay, when I am using EQ–which I admit I do a lot of *subtle* EQing–I always aim at doing one of two things:
1.) Remove the ‘bad’ qualities of the sound such as rattles, hums, hiss, muddy frequency areas and so on.
2.) If there are no bad qualities that need to go, then accentuate the positive elements.
After I have taken care of those problems I then move on to actually mixing the instruments together. I always ask myself “where does this particular track live?” and aim towards cutting other tracks that intrude on that area by a few db’s. The idea is to cut away parts of interfering signals to allow certain instruments to shine in particular bandwidths. This is my general schema (these are relative and only guidelines–individual mixes/use may vary):
80hz – rumble of the bass
100hz – thump of the kick
200hz – bottom of the guitar
250hz – warmth of the vocal
350hz – bang of the snare
400hz – body of the bass
500hz – clang of the high hat
600hz – clang of the cymbals
800hz – ping of ride cymbal
1000hz – meat of the guitar
1200hz – body of the snare
1400hz – meat of the vocal
1600hz – snap of the kick/plectrum on guitar (attack)
2500hz – wires and snap of snare
3000hz – presence of the vocal
4000hz – ring of ride cymbal/top end of bass guitar
6000hz – sizzle of the high hat
7000hz – sizzle of the cymbals
8000hz – top end of the kick
9000hz – brightness on snare and cymbals
10000hz – brightness on vocal
12000hz – air on vocal
14000hz – air on cymbals
Hopefully this helps. I didn’t give away too many of my good secrets.
Remember this is a guideline – NOT A ABSOLUTE GOSPEL TRUTH TO EQ! It is best to use your ears. It is your greatest and most valuable tool!
IK Multimedia Stealth Pedal Review
So I have done reviews on Amplitube 2, Amplitube Metal, Amplitube Fender and Ampeg SVX. Well these amazing tools all came with the Stealth Pedal I just got. That is a intro to how awesome of a studio tool the Stealth Pedal is! It is a USB pedal interface for guitar or bass. It has 2 separate 1/4″ inputs, 2 1/4″ outputs, a 1/8″ headphone out and 2 1/4″ inputs for addition pedals to be added for more control. When I first opened the box it actually surprised me. It is pretty heavy! A solid feeling metal pedal with great smooth action when you put your foot on it and adjust it. On the right side there is a input for a expression pedal, 2 inputs for guitar or bass as well as a master volume knob. On the left side there is another input for a foot switch, 2 1/4″ outputs, a 1/8″ headphone out, a usb input and 3 status LED’s. This thing is feature rich before we even hit the software!
When I first received the Stealth Pedal I was really impressed by the awesome sounding software it comes with. Granted each in their own right have tons and tons of features but what I wanted to focus on here is the ease of use when controlling the different programs. When I first installed the drivers it installed a program called X-Gear. It is basically a shell that hosts the other Amplitube programs. Inside of this you can use Fender, Ampeg SVX, Metal and of course Amplitube 2. You can easily and quickly switch between a clean shimmery Fender to a heavy metal 5150 sound with a single click. Really great too! At the top of the screen you have your Speed Trainer where you can play along with your favorite songs as well as slow down or speed up the music without changing the pitch so you can learn different solos or study different parts. This is a GREAT practice tool! In the upper right hand corner there is a metronome and control option. This is where you can change what the pedal actually controls. This is super easy to set up and change on the fly. Even if you add all the options with the external controllers it is simply labeled and logically laid out. Then in the main section of the screen appears all your usual Amplitube settings your familiar with.
I first tried this in the studio and was impressed. Solid feel, great sounds and easy to use. The next step was to try this out live. I took it to a gig I play regularly at a local jazz spot. Plugged into the pa and pulled out my laptop. The drummer was a bit curious as he sometimes plays to a metronome on his laptop but never thought you could use a laptop instead of a amp. One of the best things for me here was that I was able to walk in with my backpack and my guitar case. That’s it! Laptop, Stealth Pedal in the backpack and my guitar and cables in my guitar case! It was easy and the fastest set up/sound check ever!
After I played a few chords along with the band to check how it sounded they were all impressed. No more big Fender deluxe for me when this is just as good and a million times better on my back! After the gig I had a few regulars stop by to ask me about what the laptop was for. They were very impressed at the sound coming from this little pedal! I played the whole gig with out a hiccup! Lastly I tried this with the bass player who is a great friend of mine and we record and gig together regularly. I had him plug into this and play straight through the PA. After a few clicks to find a decent sound he liked with Ampeg SVX he was asking me where he could buy one! He was loving this! The best part about it is how well it integrates to control the software. You can set it and forget it. Volume pedal, wah, channel switching – it can all be done with this pedal!
Now after writing reviews for each version of Amplitube that the Stealth Pedal comes with I can say I love this whole package. For less than a lot of people pay for a pedal board or amp you can get a whole suite of world class guitar amp and effect modeling as well as a interface to control those sounds live! This has to be one of the best things I have seen for guitar. You can use this to control the software functions with a pedal! Its no surprise that if comes from the labs of IK Multimedia.
IK Multimedia Amplitube 3 Review
When I first heard that there was going to be a new AmpliTube 3 I thought “How can you beat AmpliTube Fender?”. Now after spending a bit of time with it I can say they didn’t. They more than raised the bar with AmpliTube 3 and maybe even improved it. From presets, CPU handling and the sound quality they went above and beyond with this release. They poised it to be the new standard not only in guitar amp and effect modeling, but as a whole new platform! Sound-wise it rocks. I have been blown away by AmpliTube before, the first time I played it I closed my eyes and smiled. Well, I get that same dynamic and open feel here, but now I get Orange, Vox, Mesa Boogie models and STEREO in and out! I can go on forever about the things that excite me in it but lets start at the beginning…
AmpliTube 3 is the biggest collection of amps and effects released yet with over 160 pieces accurately modeled! 30 of these are new amps and effects, everything that was there before has been reworked to sound a lot better than they did before. I could not believe the sound I was getting when browsing through the old AmpliTube 2 presets I didn’t like. It brought a whole new sound to what they had before! When looking through previous versions of AmpliTube I always hated how you had to browse through presets. Click, arrow, arrow, arrow again if you had a lot of presets and then wait til yours came up. With AmpliTube 3 there is a new preset manager that makes this easier than ever! They have also taken a nod from their workstation series and made AmpliTube 3 able to open ANY of the other AmpliTube’s amps, effects or presets! Now I don’t have to load up every AmpliTube to see which sound I want to record with – I can do it all INSIDE of AmpliTube 3!!!
One of the biggest changes in AmpliTube 3 besides the sound is the way it manages the computer’s processing power. AmpliTube 3 now includes 3 three buttons on the top right. They are ECO, MID, & and HI and each mode can help save CPU power when using high track counts or on slower computers! In previous versions, you had to go into the preferences for each AmpliTube and select what was oversampled and what wasn’t. Well now you just click a button and you’re done! Of course they still allow you to edit all of that in preferences but I find that the ECO/MID/HI buttons do a fine job. Now a lot of people are thinking “Why would you need to run more than one guitar gear modeler?”. Remember when I was all geeked out about STEREO in and out? Yeah you’re getting it now aren’t you? You can use AmpliTube 3 and all of its great new amps and effects on anything you want now! One of my mix secrets is taking the reverbs from AmpliTube Fender and using them on vocals and drums but I hated that it wasn’t true stereo…Oh wait, now it is! Even better yet for all the producers out there you can use the Step Slicer as an effect on synths and keys for that gated trance sound and it automatically locks on to the project tempo you’re working on! One thing AmpliTube 3 has mastered that I hate about other DAWs is how they handle effects. When you choose a distortion for example followed by a delay. If you want to add another distortion before the delay have to delete it, insert new effect and then reinsert the delay after it and recall your settings. Not in AmpliTube 3! Drag and drop anything wherever you want it! They really outdid themselves with that feature alone! Just taking into account the vast number of effects in AmpliTube 3 makes this a no brainer for normal production and mix duties!
Now in all of the update I love one thing I never fancied about AmpliTube 2 but (which never bothered me at the same time) was – the bass amps. I mean I have IK Multimedia’s Ampeg SVX and I loved that sound on just about any song for bass. Don’t fix it if it ain’t broke right? Wrong. They have brought HEAT with the new bass amps in AmpliTube 3! This is the first time I have used ANYTHING besides Ampeg SVX and been more than happy with it! I brought in a session bass player and pulled up the Phat Vintage Bass preset and was blown away. It really is a gift and a curse now – I don’t know which one sounds better! Comparing two sounds from different AmpliTube releases is easy too now that we are able to load the different presets inside of AmpliTube 3‘s new preset manager! Also Another new thing is the way you can mic up amps,. You can now choose 2 different mics and move them around independently of each other and move them around in the room to really fine tune the amp/mic/room sweet spot!
Last but not least we have the standalone version. Usually I don’t use the standalone versions of AmpliTube to often but when I opened up AmpliTube 3 I was in for a nice surprise! They added a feature packed 4 track recorder! Now I know what your thinking, “I have a full featured DAW! Why would I want a simple 4 track recorder!?” Well this isn’t just ANY 4 track recorder, this is the most feature packed 4 track you’ll ever use! Not only can you use independent pitch-shift/time-stretch on each track but you can use the effects within AmpliTube 3 on these tracks! Get out basic song ideas out quick in record time! There are also Stealth Pedal and Stealth board control features to assign pedal controllers on the fly! Small additions like this really make this release IK’s best yet!
Seems like the good folks over at IK Multimedia keep me surprised and happy with all the stuff they have been releasing lately! With their attention to detail in the features, sound, and even looks on AmpliTube 3 this is sure to be a hit! From jamming out with headphones playing new Orange, Vox and Mesa models to recording quick ideas on the fly AmpliTube 3 has got it. Learning new songs and need to slow down leads to learn them? AmpliTube 3 has got it. Recording in an apartment and need quality top notch amp and effect selection? AmpliTube 3 has got what it takes to turn your computer into a world class studio with the best mics, amps and effects available to man! You can not go wrong with IK Multimedia’s AmpliTube 3 whether you are a guitarist, bassist, producer or engineer. AmpliTube 3 belongs in your collection.
IK Multimedia Amplitube 2 Review
Amplitube is known to be one of the most versatile and best guitar plug in available. It seems like there are tons and tons of guitar amp sims for recording, but there aren’t many that are in Amplitube 2‘s league. I recently received Amplitube 2 with the Stealth Pedal along with Amplitube Metal, Amplitube Fender and Ampeg SVX. I will be digging into all of these and better explaining their features and how they sound. Now when I think about Amplitube 2 I think “This is what Fender, Metal and Ampeg SVX are made on.” Amplitube is the Grand Daddy to all the others. In it are the very familiar controls, functions and work flow. Tuner, pedal board, amps, cabinets, microphones and rack effects. Pretty basic right? Its the sound that has made it one of the best.
Amplitube 2 has a great feature list including a Digital tuner, 21 stomp effects, 14 Pre-amp & EQ models, 7 power amp models, 16 cabinet and 6 microphone models 11 post-amp FX racks and 2 fully configurable rigs. Lets start with the Tuner and Stomp effects. The tuner is great, on/off switch and has a mute switch too so if you are using it live the crowd won’t hear you tuning. The Stomp effects, like always with IK Multimedia, sound great. They have really jammed this full of great ones too! From basic compressors to fuzz its all here. Each one not only sounds like the real thing but also looks like it too! The GUI in Amplitube is one of my favorite things about it besides the sound!
Now on the main course, Amps and cabs! There is such a huge variety you can get here with the amps alone. One thing that really was interesting is the fact you can change the preamp, eq and the power amp in each head. That provides for great flexibility with the cabs you can really fine tune everything! There are 16 different cabs you can use from 1×6″ small combo to a huge 4×12″. On top of that you can also select the mic in which you record the cabinet with. There are 6 different mics including some of the finest microphones including stuff from Shure, Neumann, Sennheiser and AKG.
When Amplitude first came on the scene nobody was willing to give up their guitar rigs to a computer to record with. IK Multimedia changed that when they released Amplitube. The amp models included are more than enough for any artist to get a well rounded rig set up in seconds. You can record a metal lead over a country twangy rhythm and still have tons of other tone possibilities at your finger tips! I have yet to go through every single possible combination but I know no matter what if I need to record guitar Amplitube 2 is gonna be one of the first things I open up in Reaper! The effects are really really great. I love the DCOMP and the Overscream/Fuzz Age combo running through the American Tube Clean 1 for a slightly dirtier bluesy tone.
I can not say enough about Amplitube 2 or any of the other Amplitube series. They are a must have for any studio, guitarist or bass player. I have saved hundreds of hours and headaches Ever since I got this I haven’t had to call musicians back in to rerecord their parts and spend money and time to redo stuff. This is a necessity. Thanks IK Multimedia!
IK Multimedia Amplitube Metal Review
Amplitube Metal is ugly. I mean really, really ugly. Ugly like when your doing an awesome solo and your face scrunches up. Or Ugly like when your listening to your favorite metal band and they go into a break down and your face does the same scrunch up while you bang your head to the awesomely dark, deep yet full guitar tones! (Yeah you know what I’m talking about…) Amplitube Metal is exactly what it is. Its Metal. Full on rebellious, in your face, loud Metal. From old school rock to Nu Metal and every other type of distortion you can think of! Another great amp sim from IK Multimedia in the Amplitube series this is another specialty amp sim that sounds phenomenal.
Amplitube Metal, like Amplitube 2, Amplitube 3 or Fender has a basic yet highly customizable interface. There are 5 modules and each module has tons of options. You can switch back and forth between them like you would tabs in FireFox. Very easy and you don’t get lost in menus! The modules in order are: a high quality tuner, a stomp pedal board with 12 stomp effects, 5 Amp models, 13 cabinet models 6 microphone and 9 rack stereo effects. The number of tone combinations here are ridiculous! You can go through so many different tones that I get stuck when I record myself. Sometimes I go in with a idea and then just start jamming and come up with tons of new one and forgot why I originally came in to record! This is a great problem to have. I have had writers block before but when you have a tone that inspires this really makes tools like Amplitube Metal a necessity in the studio!
With Amplitube Metal you have 5 amps. Well in this, like in Amplitube 2, you can select pre amp, EQ and a power amp all within the amp head. This is a great feature to mix and match what you like in different amps. On to the cabs, there is a pretty big speaker selection for you here too. This is where the Metal in Amplitube Metal really starts to come out. Nothing but 4×12 cabinets here, 4 of them with 3 “takes” of each one to be exact! Some of the best and most used in metal cabs are here. From Marshall to Mesa, all here and they all sound huge just like they do in real life!
The included effects in Amplitube Metal are again awesome sounding and centered towards metal. So chances are if you play metal you have played these before. With the included Rack effects you have over 23 different effects at your disposal. Chorus? Done. Flange? Done. Delay? Of course, oh and its sync-able to your host’s BPM! Everything you could ever need plus mere? Done, it is all here! Oh and they threw in a kick ass tuner as usual. Oh and the fact that you can run 2 rigs at the same time is awesome!
What bad can I say about Amplitube Metal? I seriously can’t think of a thing! Every time I review something or am looking at purchasing something I look at the price point. At this price point you can not get a better deal for recording distorted guitars. If you were to even buy one rig you would be spending hundreds, if not thousands more than you would pay for any of the Amplitube series!