[Hidden-tech] Requesting Audio Editing tips

Tue Feb 19 19:53:51 EST 2008

You've opened up a  beehive ;)
theres a free spectrum analyzer vst plugin i use from voxengo, you could 
use that to find out what frequencies  that loud  bassdrum is using and 
cut some of that out from that recording. it sounds like the mic is way 
too far from the band, and your recording is picking up most of their 
sound from their PA speakers.i can hear the vocal bouncing around a big hall

recording live instruments is hard to just pick up quickly.. one 
approach is close miking each instrument and appropriate levels on each 
mic before pressing record. i do use a hardware compressor for recording 
drums, some people dont.. you could do that after the fact too, but the 
very first thing is to try to get the signal sounding as good as 
possible with NO eq.  so that would encompass a good mic(s), mic 
positioning,  and then _possibly_ some compression with limiting. just 
using 1 mic will give limited results, good to have something that can 
record multiple sources/tracks simultaneously.. i use some presonus gear 
for that (most of their firewire stuff is mac  compatible).  you'll 
almost definitely just need to experiment with mic placement. and the 
right microphones will go a long way.. what are you using out of 
curiosity? you might get some better results with a matched stero pair 
of small diaphragm condensers, i use these with drums with good results:
http://www.zzounds.com/prodsearch?q=nt5&button=search%2Fheader&form=search
(you can order through downtown sounds in northampton), using somthing 
like a single NT-1 might be acceptable with the right placement. ive 
seen people recording grateful dead shows with similar. anyhow, just 
some of my thoughts, its not my job or expertise but ive spent a lot of 
time doing this myself with sometimes very good results. im curious what 
the pros will offer you for advise. live sounds isnt what im doing in a 
home studio.  one thing for sure, just like in programming : garbage in 
/ garbage out, it needs to sound as good as possible before any 
processing or any added compression after the fact will bring down your 
loud percussion, but also just augment the noise. if youre stuck with 
certan gear or methods and eq is all you have left, then you can use  a 
parametric  eq  to scoop out certain frequencies such as his 
/crowd,certain drums... etc, but it  will never sound as good as 
something cleanly recorded. one helpful tip if youre not doing it 
already: find some way to test your mic placement /recordings while 
youre setting up, maybe with some insulated headphones: i use these 
things called drumphones from vic firth for that, very helpful. blocks 
out other noises so i can hear what the mic hears. hope that gets you 
started on the road to better results-

finally, talk to Jim at downtown sounds if you go in for any mic 
purchases, hes more up on various mics available and lives and breathes 
this stuff.

Will Loving wrote:
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> I'm looking for a quick tip or two from anyone who might have 
> experience with audio editing on improving some live recordings I've 
> been making recently at contra dances (with the permission of the 
> musicians, of course). I'm using a Zoom H4 digital recorder  ( 
> http://www.samsontech.com/products/productpage.cfm?prodID=1901 ) which 
> does an excellent job, but my lack of experience with post-production 
> is becoming clear as I try to figure out how to improve the overall 
> recording and deal with some issues particular to the kind of music 
> I'm recording.
>
> I've posted two short clips (uncompressed WAV) that illustrate what 
> I'm trying to work with, the wonderful band Nightingale, and 
> particularly Keith Murphy's Québéquois style foot percussion.
>
> http://dedicationtechnologies.com/loving/music/PercussionClip1.wav
> http://dedicationtechnologies.com/loving/music/PercussionClip2.wav
>
> The foot percussion is too loud and creates spikes throughout the 
> waveform. What I'm hoping for is someone to say something like "try 
> setting the EQ to ...." or "use a compressor (or limiter) set to 
> (approx)..." Any suggestions on improving overall quality would also 
> be welcome. At some point I'd love to sit down with someone who really 
> knows this kind of editing and get a more solid foundation, but for 
> now I have to learn it in bits and pieces due to time constraints.
>
> I'm on a Mac, and my available tools are Soundtrack 1.5 which I'm 
> somewhat familiar with, Audacity which I'm a little familiar with but 
> find pretty clunky compared to Soundtrack, and possibly an old copy of 
> Amadeus. I also have the latest GarageBand but have never used it for 
> Audio editing. My preference would be to continue with Soundtrack, but 
> I'm open to trying something else (probably GarageBand). I'm guessing 
> that the filter settings will be similar regardless of the app...
>
> Many thanks in advance.
>
> Will
>
> Will Loving, President
> Dedication Technologies, Inc.
>
>
>
> -- 
>
> William M. Loving
> Dedication Technologies, Inc.
> 7 Coach Lane
> Amherst, MA 01002-3304   USA
> will at dedicationtechnologies.com
> Tel: +1 413 253-7223   (GMT --5)  
> Fax: +1 206 202-0476
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-- 
Sincerely,

Matt Lampiasi
413-303-9167
florenceit.net <http://florenceit.net> - sun powered
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