Building Your Project Studio!

Like myself, many of you are building, or have already built a project studio to hone your engineering skills at home. As with a lot of home studios, sometimes our ‘studio’ spaces double as our living spaces, so creating an environment that not only sounds and looks professional but is comfortable and can be lived in can pose quite a challenge. Whether you make your own music or work on projects for clients, there are a few simple tips we all can follow help us save time and money.

Consider your room and its acoustics; if your room is fairly large, say a living room or family room, try stationing your mix position at one end of your room lengthwise, avoiding squaring your desk in any corners. A fully loaded book shelf randomized with books of all different sizes, widths, and lengths behind you on the furthest wall or sides may help to break up offending frequencies. In problem areas, like behind your desk and monitors, try using acoustic foam that matches your décor. Sometimes building your own treatments to your own specs and design can go a long way, as blending them in to the room may prove to be much easier. Take the ‘Live End, Dead End’ approach, treating the front portion of your mix area and leaving the rest of the room ‘Live’, and if you’re in a living room, a few strategically placed fluffy chairs or a couch will help absorb some of those lower frequencies. Just remember to listen to the room and what it’s doing with sound, put on music you know well and walk around a bit!

Something I see far too often overlooked is the computer. If you do anything right, please let this be the mistake you never make! Purchasing a dedicated computer for recording, whether it’s used, fresh out of the box, PC or Mac, will separate you as a professional amongst the hordes of Toshiba Satellites running cracked copies of ProTools. Before you purchase, RESEARCH. Make sure you know what you need and what you don’t! Sometimes a ‘bare bones’ purchase that you can upgrade on your own will serve you much better and cost you a little less too. Check out our last blog on Supercharging your MacBook Pro for a great tip on an awesome powerhouse! If you’re using a laptop, try using a second monitor with a separate mouse and keyboard rather than using the trackpad and keyboard installed. This will no doubt create a much nicer, seamless, and more professional workflow.

With the advent of ProTools 9, you are no longer bound to the chains of an Mbox, MAudio or any other Digidesign or Avid hardware. With all that power comes great responsibility. This again is a time for more research. There is a world of audio interfaces out there, make sure you know what you need, what you don’t, and how you want to connect it; having the right hardware for you and your project can make all the difference. I find that FireWire interfaces fair much better than their USB counter parts in cases of speed, clarity and their capability of daisy chaining multiple interfaces and drives. When shopping interfaces, it’s a good idea to figure out how many Pre’s you might need, and then add two. Having an extra Mic in is always better than never having it when you need it most.

Now that we have decent room, a great computer and a versatile audio interface, let us consider a pair of monitors. Unlike computers and acoustic treatments which are relatively ‘cut and dry’, monitors are highly personal and vary from person to person. They require a bit of understanding in how we listen and hear. A good pair of monitors can help you make great decisions during a session. However, a bad pair      or a pair you are unfamiliar with can break it. There are a few things to consider when looking, or rather listening, for monitors. First, ask yourself if you want active or passive monitors. Passive monitors require a separate amplifier to operate, and amplifiers can also vary from person to person, and each sound rather distinct with different type of speakers. Active monitors, on the other hand, have the amps and power supplies built into the enclosures and require nothing more than AC power to operate. Of course, you’ll still need to connect them to your main outs. Whether passive or active, listen to wide rage of speakers from different sources and in different environments. Have a clear understanding of what you are listening to and what you’re listening for, and how this will translate to your mixes.

I hope this has been an informative guide for anyone looking to start building their own project studio. Always keep in mind your budget, your projects and future expansion. Try to maintain a professional attitude at all times, even when working on your own projects. And remember, trust your ears, experiment and most importantly, have fun!

Supercharge your MacBook Pro!

It’s blog time! I know it’s been a while and I would like to apologize to everyone who reads and subscribes to this blog, there has been whirl of activity surrounding IAR’s Alumni Network lately and I’m playing catch-up!

So, how many of you are running the early 2011 MacBook Pro? We decided to take a 2.7 GHz Intel Core i7 and supercharge it! Thanks to upgrades from OWC (other world computing) we were able to swap out the original 4gig RAM modules and 500gig Hard Drive for our new 120gig Solid State Drive and super fast 8gig RAM chips. Sit back, relax and check out how it was done!

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Thank you once  again to  our night tech support overlord Pete Gianguzzi for all his help. His swift nimble fingers made light work of this process!

API 512c Review!

This week’s blog is all about gear reviews, so we put an API 512c mic pre through its paces! In recent years the audio market has been flooded with an overwhelming amount of audio gear for the API 500 series form factor. If you are unfamiliar with 500 series equipment lets get you up to speed!

All 500 series modules require power and connectivity via an API or 3rd party “Lunchbox” or rack as they have no power supply or standard audio connections of their own and use a proprietary edge connector similar to computer PCI cards.

For the purpose of this review we will be testing the 512c that API sent to us in a loaner 500VPR rack that will supply the needed +/-16 volts of power for the electronics in addition to 48 volt phantom power for use with condenser microphones.

512 Top to Bottom! Starting from the top of the faceplate, you will find a variable gain control for the unit’s preamp which allows for adjustment from its 10 dB minimum to a whopping 65dBs of gain! In addition, the unit features four heavy duty push button switches accompanied by status LEDs for: polarity, 48 volts phantom power, a -20db pad and the MIC/HI-Z selection. The design genius’ at API also included a front panel XLR and 1/4 inch unbalanced HI-Z input, so there’s no need to give your rack the ol’ reach-around just to track a guitar or vocal in the control room. Bravo!! (Clap clap)

Putting it all together. Once we loaded the 512c into our 500VPR rack connecting everything up was straight forward, the pres output connector is accessible via the racks rear panel XLR.  For the purposes of this review we will be conducting our tests with a few of our old friends one well worn Shure SM57 and one battered mid 90’s D112, an AKG 414 ULS , and Phil’s Epiphone Les Paul Custom loaded with Mighty Mite Motherbuckers to test drive the Pres’ hi-z input. All recorded sounds will live in the land of pro tools HD 2.

All right kids let’s have at it! The first thing we noticed while tracking guitars was the APIs extremely high output, which caused our DA converters to clip, even at the lowest gain setting on the pre. Which could be remedied by a simple push of the front panel       -20db pad, but that solution seemed to take away the punch and the character that API is known for? So reaching into our engineers’ bag of tricks we pulled out a Sure A15AS Switchable Attenuator set and set it to -20 and placed it on the Pres’ output to knock down some of the gain allowing us to drive the 512c’s 2520 op-amp and output transformer, which helped us get more of the sound we were looking for with out blowing up our 192s; after a few takes of guitar we decided to switch it up and try the 512c; first on our snare, then on kick. We soon discovered that the API loves transients’ and responded to our snare drum in an extremely pleasing manor compared to the Pres’ in our Sony console as well as our much beloved Neve 31102. The snap and punch of the mids were clear and very present, not surprising considering APIs reputation. After the great success we had on the snare, we decided to give the kick  a shot at the title as well (I could have been a contender). So we reached in to the mic locker for an AKG D112 and immediately put it to work. The pre coupled with our D112 on the kick yielded a sound full of punch and tone, not unlike the familiar thump of a 1960s V8 muscle car; full and rich low end without muddiness.  When it came time to throw down some vocals, we decided to deviate from our usual signal chain using the above-mentioned Neve preamp into an LA-2A and then straight to Pro-Tools. After a few takes of a male vocal we decided that the API was a little too mid forward for our taste, but could be a great choice in certain situations, i.e. dense rock mixes and with the use large diaphragm dynamics like RE 20’s and SM7Bs.

Summing it all up! In conclusion we found the API512c to be a total workhorse and a great addition to our rack; sounding amazing on most of what we threw at it with only a few exceptions.  But as many of you already know, there is no sure thing, or end all be all piece of gear but the API comes pretty damn close if you can’t make good sounding record with one of these you must be doing it wrong.

http://www.apiaudio.com/512c.html

I would again like to thank our night tech support overlord, Pete Gianguzzi for all his help on this week’s blog. His tireless effort in helping me bring this article to you was immence. I cannot begin to decribe the horrid conditions we were faced with, to write this for you. From the constant crashing of our outdated G5 or the glitchy nature of word 2008 for Mac, without him this review would have not been possible. He is a wealth of information and support for all of our students, staff, and faculty here at IAR, and will continue to be so.

Sample Rate & Bit Depth

I think I may have dropped the ball in my last blog a little bit. I seemed to have left out an extremely important detail when recording digitally. Sample rate. Quite a few readers have brought this to my attention and I would like to touch upon this subject briefly. If you read my previous blog “Bounce Methods”, you get a pretty good understanding of how different ways of bouncing your mix out of your DAW can affect the final outcome of what you’re going to hear. But what about sample rate, how does this affect your mix?

Let’s start with CD quality audio, 16 bit 44.1. We all know the numbers, but what do they actually mean. Sample rate in digital audio refers to how many samples or measurements that are taken per second of an analog signal. [1] Therefore we can say that 44.1 kHz in digital audio equals 44,100 measurements or samples taken per second. The higher your sample rate, the more measurements or samples are taken per second. This increases the accuracy of the frequencies you are capturing over time. This can be explained by the Nyquist Theorem, which says that your sample rate must double, or be twice as high (over time) as your highest frequency to be captured. So if the human rage of hearing is 20 Hz to 20 kHz, a sample rate of 40 kHz is required to accurately capture frequencies that we can hear. But wait, so what’s with that extra 100 kHz you say? Aliasing, audio signals greater than half the chosen sample rate entering the digital conversion, this is also known as harmonic distortion. To combat this, anti-aliasing or low-pass filters are placed before the digital conversion. Since there isn’t such a thing as a true “brickwall” filter, a slightly higher sample rate is chosen to account for the attenuation slope. [1] So, a sample rate of 44.1 kHz is chosen to accurately encode frequencies below 22.05 kHz, effectively eliminating any harmonic distortion you may hear.

Binary digits or bits say weather a process is “ON” or “OFF” (a 1 [one] for on and a 0 [zero] for off). Bits are used to describe the resolution of the sampling process. These “bits” form binary words which describe voltage levels between sample points over time. These measurements of voltage represent the amplitude (apparent loudness) of any given signal, thus the higher your bit resolution (much like sample rate) the more accurate your amplitude levels between samples will be. Therefore, giving you a much higher quality conversion, and signal-to-error ratio. This process is also known as quantization.

I hope this gives you a bit more insight into sample rate and bit resolution and how it may affect your final recording. And as always please remember to trust your ears be creative and always experiment.

[1] “Modern Recording Technics” Chapter 6, 6th Edition. David Miles Huber & Robert E. Runstein

Digital & Analog Recording

Digital audio. It’s everywhere now. We record digitally, we store digitally, and we make digital transfers, hell we’re even beginning to mix digitally. The cost and quality of home recording vs. big rooms and fancy consoles isn’t just growing, the change is here. With the death many major studios, the amount of smaller, rapidly moving and quick to change operations I’ve seen, even in the last few years alone is staggering. The flexibility and sound quality of these recent systems are helping artists, producers, composers and home recording enthusiasts everywhere make their own marks on this still vibrant and thriving industry.

So how do we record digitally without compromising sound quality? First off, digital will never sound like analog. It lacks the character and shaping of analog circuits and the warmth of tape. But not every digital recording needs to sound like a really crunchy Mp3 at 128kps. Second, as with any recording proper technique is in order. There are a lot of tricks and tweaks to get the most out of your recordings. Much like analog, gathering your “sounds” is key. You can’t make a great mix with out great sounds; proper mic placement, spacing and baffling will go FAR. Thirdly, good quality plug-ins used sparingly will help you use the “space” you have created by your already outstanding miking techniques to your full advantage, without over processing and saturating your mix. Next, try using as much analog instrumentation as possible. Get creative when using samples for drums, don’t have snare? Smack a steel desk filled with keys, throw it just under your sampled snare in the mix and put it in the same “room” Hear that? Nice, right?!

Most of all, when working digitally, work with what you have. You may not have access to that NEVE VR, or a Studer 827. But the best tools are in your head. That sound you’ve been dreaming of; its yours to capture. Just remember to think outside of the box, (your DAW, that is) and under stand the strengths and weaknesses of both analog and digital processing. And, as always, trust your ears, experiment and have fun!

Thunderbolt!

Yesterday was the release of Apple’s new line of MacBook Pro’s. With this release they unveiled Intel’s newest I/O interface, Thunderbolt. This new hi-speed interface is intended to replace lower speed I/O’s such as USB 2.0, and compete with the newer USB 3.0. Standard, which is capable of data transfer rates of up to 5Gb/s as apposed to USB 2.0’s 480Mb/s.

Thunderbolt is built on the same platform as Apples MiniDisplayPort, using the same port and connectors and providing up to 10Gb/s data transfer rates! Another great addition to high data rate transfers; since Thunderbolt is built on the same platform as MiniDisplayPort, it will also be compatible with high resolution displays using DisplayPort Technology as well as: VGA, DVI, and HDMI. This essentially combines DisplayPort and PCI express into one serial data connection that can be carried over longer, less costly, cables, thus facilitating the connection of computers and peripherals. [1]

As Thunderbolt begins to become a standard and as more devices begin to show on the market with this new I/O technology, its impact on audio will become more apparent. Imagine your project studio; your interface, hard drive RAID and your high resolution monitor all connected through a single 10Gb/s stream!

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunderbolt_%28interface%29

* http://www.apple.com/thunderbolt/

Drum Mixing

Hi everyone! This is a great post from James Meeker a Producer/Engineer at Lava Room recording in Cleavland, Ohio. James has a lot of great posts at gearslutz, I thought this one was excellent! So in lieu of my own posting today here’s an awesome read on drum mixing. Enjoy!

Drum replacement has made us lazy. Too few of us are learning the craft and some of us that know it aren’t flexing their skills. And the ‘craft’, so to speak, has very little to do with compressin’ -n- EQ’in, but has everything to do with maximizing the player and the kit in a room in front of some microphones. This is the real deal right here: player, kit, room, mics. Live and die by those ingredients, because all the +15db at 62hz isn’t going to help an improperly tuned kick drum sound amazing.

First off–know what you are looking for. There are many different kit sounds, but you have to pick one. Have some idea in mind what you need to accomplish for the track. This is going to take into account the style of music, the arrangement, the drummer’s style, the kit, their preferred tuning, esthetic preferences of the band and yourself. Have an answer to the following questions:

dry versus roomy
bright versus fat
realistic versus hyped
wide stereo image versus realistic stereo image
vintage or modern flavor?
straight up or gimmicky?
balanced kit or mostly kick-n-snare?

By compiling a little mental list of ‘this versus that’ you’ve come a long way towards giving yourself the important END GOAL of what your engineering needs to accomplish. Keep in mind that all of these goals have nothing to do with mixing/processing/screwin’ around with the audio in post–they have EVERYTHING to do with your room placement, tuning, microphone selection and placement, and guidance you need to give to the player. This is the *missing link* so many people seem to grope for answers for… it’s about making decisions, having a clear picture in your head, and making it happen with the setup.

First thing’s first–getting the kit places in a room. Obviously your familiarity with the room is going to be a big help here, you should already know the sweet spots for boomy, sweet and cracky. If not, open your ears and take a walk through the space and listen to the acoustics. For those of you not as familiar with the physics behind acoustics here are some guidelines that will hasten your search for ‘the spot’:

1.) Generally avoid the center of the room–largest build up of room modes here. Potential boominess lives here. Avoid the middle of width and length, AND height. Sticking your mics at the halfway point, for example, on the cymbals is a potential “gotcha” situation depending on the space. Definitely avoid the middle ground.

2.) Think in thirds. Be a third of the total distance off both walls. This is a good starting point. Have your overhead mics two-thirds off the floor or so… same with room mics–which should also be obeying the rule of thirds–make sure that it’s away from the walls by that distance as well as height.

3.) Room corners can be your friends if you want a more “rock” sound. To avoid nasty comb filtering effects stick a gobo or wall in the corner so it’s “rounded off” a bit. Near center of the room works great for more “pop” drum sounds.

4.) Room mics should–in my opinion–be dramatically different in sound/feel from your overheads. Choose different mics for starters. Get them pretty far away if you’re going for an ambient approach (i.e. “roomy”); if you want something a bit tighter a single microphone in omni that’s about 5-7′ closer should work. Speaking of room mics: if you want a more stereo kit you should experiment with mono microphones in spaced pairs with some baffling in between them–signals become more stereo when one side “hears” differently than the other from reflections and time delay–make the most of what you’re going to get! Another thing to consider: if you want a ‘tougher’ and deeper room mic sound set their height to one-third off the floor; if you want a more airy and ambient sound put them at two-thirds height. The ‘tougher’ setup is going to get more kick/toms/snare; the ‘airy’ setup tends to accent strike harmonics and especially cymbals. EVERY CHOICE OF YOUR SETUP SHOULD REFLECT YOUR END GOAL!

This may be a no-brainer, but it is so important it bears repeating: your drum sounds are only as good as your drums and tuning. Call a professional if you have to. Use new heads. Avoid coated heads. The best sounding drum heads have very, very short lifespans… use those. Remo Ambassadors and Emporers rule the day. In my opinion any other choice is just stupid because these are the best sounding heads used on probably a few hundred thousand records that you love. Man up, just get the Remos, make sure they’re new and tuned like a champ. A well tuned drum set with quality heads like Ambassadors should give you an erection just hearing them in the room. Until you draw wood, you’re not ready for mics.

Make sure the kit is in great condition. Take care of all the little problems. To wit: oil the kick chain and pedal, oil the high hat pedal, make sure the felts are new-ish and appropriately locked down (not too tight, not too loose), make sure all the laminate and binding is solid inside and out, make sure the drum mounting lips are smooth without divots or bumps, make sure the lugs are secure and quiet, make sure the kit isn’t going to fall over–tape the bitch if you have to, make sure the throne doesn’t squeak, make sure the snares aren’t resonating with the kick/toms (retune if they are), make sure the sticks are good to go and new, make sure the kick isn’t going to “walk” on you, make the drummer take off their rattling jewelry, make sure the drummer doesn’t have their cell phone on them and knows the punishment if someone texts them during a take, and so forth. If you find the slightest odd noise you need to troubleshoot it and take care of it with extreme prejudice.

When it comes to microphone choice… well that’s getting pretty personal. One man’s secret weapon is another man’s trash. You know your mic collection–USE IT. The important question, except at the most lavishly equipped studios, is one of allocation–you only have “X” mics to go around. You may have to make compromises. However, your BEST mics should be on the most important elements based on your goal. If a super wide stereo image is no big deal but a beefy room sound is–put the more expensive mics as the rooms instead of the overheads. You get the picture.

Since we’re talking about mics, let’s spend a moment on placement. Pay special attention to “problem children” that are going to make hitting your audio goal difficult. If your end product is going to be kick/snare centric you’re obviously going to have to spend a minute to make sure your kick and snare mics are isolated as much as possible from the other elements. No matter what, you should take a minute to make sure the goddamn high hat isn’t squaking 5′s in your snare mic–this is going to screw you every time no matter what. Do whatever it takes to get the high hat out of your snare mic and vise-versa. I know some guys that put the ‘hat mic BEHIND the drummer pointing at the hat–using the player’s body as a shield to block out the snare. Hey–it works! Whenever possible avoid those clip on mics and use a stand–the less wonky low end sympathetic resonance you can eliminate the more you can let the low end sing ‘loud and proud’ in your mix without things getting weird.

Word of warning: don’t use two mics on a single source (like kick drum) unless that’s what you NEED to do. Most engineers I know just do it because they think it makes them badass. I dunno. Use what you need and nothing more. Sometimes you may need two mics, sometimes you may not need any. Keep your goal in mind, and what/who you’re working with.

After you’ve covered the basics: kick, snare, toms, overheads and rooms, you can start thinking spot mics. Looking for an ultra stereophonic image? Then spot mic your cymbals; make sure they are in phase, and edit or gate the suckers. When they hit the cymbal you hear that mic, and about 500 ms later it’s gone. Does wonders for the stereo image. Just ask Bob Rock, he’s famous for these kinds of capers… and it sounds great. Don’t worry about getting everything, just get the things important to your end goal. Maybe that means spotting the ride, or the chinas. Whatever it takes, you’re there to deliver. You’re the man with the plan.

Now that you’ve gotten a bazillion microphones on the kit comes the moment of truth–phase check. This is a pain, it takes some time, the band will whine and complain, the drummer will think you’re daft, but it is critical that the mics are in sympathetic phase with one another. Use a phase meter, use your ears, zoom in on a snippet of recorded audio and eyeball it for Christ’s sake, but do it. Make adjustments. If you are lucky you’ll have some of those amazing IBT boxes that let you tweak the phase angle (or just use the UAD plugin). Every time I’ve been hired to mix a project I didn’t record and the drums sounded funky there were always a few mics out of phase…. kick OOP with the OH’s, or the middle tom a little bit out. Don’t let this be you. This is also why the “less is more” school of drum miking can sound so… well… phase coherent, realistic, punchy and fresh. Once again use what you need and no more/less.

Let’s talk for a minute about outboard gear. If you have it–USE IT! Throw on the compression, get the EQ happening right here and now. Screw options later. If the kit sounds fantastic, what other options do you really need? Obviously don’t spend five hours EQ’ing the snare, but paint some bold, broad strokes. Hell, the client is paying for that outboard, might as well use it. Besides, how are you going to know that you’ve got *THE* sound until you run it through the ropes? This is the old school stuff. And if you’ve got gates–use them! Gate the kick and snare now. Gate the toms. Make it happen. Do some damage. Once again, this is how they made those records from 20, 30 or 40 years ago you live and die by. Make choices, be an engineer. Plus, all that stuff will be available during mixdown for other things. Saves time to have a bitchin’ drum sound by just pulling up faders when starting your mix.

Last but certainly not least is the player. Unfortunately you’re stuck with this guy. You can’t swap ‘em out like a mic, or tweak them like an 1176, or even fire them like an intern. This is the guy you have to work with. So look out for them. Make sure they are properly rested, know when to tell them to take five minutes for a break. Don’t let them drink too much or smoke too much. Be encouraging. Point out the good twice as often as the bad. Let them know you’re on their side. Let them know all this hard work during the setup was for THEM. Remind them how much you love recording drums and how there’s no such thing as a great record without great drum tracks. Boost their confidence, give ‘em a hug now and again. You know… bullshit them.

Okay, now that you’ve recorded some stellar drum tracks with passion and skill it’s time to mix them. While I don’t want to get into the depths of mixing drums at the moment (because it would take a month… fiddly subject), there are a few things to keep in mind.

1.) Did I mention gates were your friend? Well, chances are you’re going to need them hardcore mixing without drum replacement. Sometimes, in this crazy world, you may find yourself copying the snare track and gating it really hard for one track, and only gating it a little bit for the other. Do whatever it takes to get that happenin’ sound. There are no rules except there’s no excuse for bad engineering.

2.) Commit to not using triggers. Don’t wimp out. So what if it doesn’t sound like the last 30 Seconds to Mars album… without triggers and Autotune they wouldn’t sound like it either. Use older albums as your frame of reference, not today’s generic “IQ 80 drum machine” albums.

3.) Realize that it’s not going to sound perfect like a sample replaced album. Revel in the authenticity of each unique note that was created by a living, breathing human applying stick to skin. Take comfort in the knowledge that vibe is everything.

And don’t forget there are a whole host of other options! Try recording drums first, cymbals on a second take–eliminates most of your bleed problems. Or maybe just eliminate the high hat from the main take and overdub it later (I swear they had to be doing this in the 80′s, the high hat is so far to the left or right stereo image). Experiment with overdubbing kick or snare on top of the main track (better hope the drummer has rockin’ timing and you used a click!) There are a million options to try. Unfortunately none of them are particularly fast ways to record drums.”

Read the original post here!

Interning The Right Way

Working in career services brings up one phrase quite a lot, “When can I start an internship.”  I know that many of our students are eager to start working as soon as possible, the lure and excitement  of working and living the industry you chose to be a part of is all too real, even if your barely into your 2^nd quarter. As someone who has worked in music studios, post houses, television studios, live sound, and even rentals and installations, I know all to well the urge to hit the ground running and to show them what you’ve got. I do suggest that you wait at least until your fourth quarter to decide where you want to start. There is a lot to learn here at IAR and most of the time, where you end up is a little different from where you thought you were going.  For those of you who can’t wait, or are in the beginning stages of your search here are a few things you can expect.

Money: This is the most frequently asked question here in career services. If this is to be your first internship you should expect not to be paid. Studios spend a great deal of time and effort training interns for the job. Audio is a very selective field and most people have no idea what they are getting into when they first start. If you want to get paid, you have to earn it, Period.

Time: In any studio, post house or live sound company there is a hierarchy. Generally this consists of two or three levels of intern positions before you reach assistant status. Typically, you’ll be providing intern services for roughly 3-6 months. Depending on how large the studio is this time will vary. Larger studios generally have more interns for longer periods of time.

Duties: Expect to be cleaning the studio, a lot. Keeping the rooms clean, organized and fresh is part of your first months in any studio. Client services are also very important. Clients are the life blood of a studio and keeping them happy is priority number one. Try to always look busy, and never forget the bathroom. If you’ve been working for a bit, keep a catalog or a journal of your weekly duties. When it comes time to speak with head engineers or studio managers it might be helpful to remind them of your diligence. Respectfully, of course.

Learn: Most importantly, above all,  your internship is a learning experience. Listen to other interns that have been there longer, pick the brains of the assistants and engineers. Learn the name of every piece of gear in the rooms and learn to understand their function. Be humble and respectful of the artists, engineers and assistants around you, and ask questions. Don’t be afraid to speak up if you don’t know something. Someday, if you stick it out long enough an intern may come to you for answers.

Hopefully, for those of you who read this, you will gain a better understanding what you can expect in your first internship. It can, for most of you be a very rewarding experience when you treat it the right way and take advantage of what there is to offer. Remember to have fun, learn and always keep your goals in sight.

ProTools 8, For Pete’s Sake!

IAR is beginning to make the switch. To Pro-Tools 8 that is. We recently had a  great presentation performed by our resident nighttime tech support overlord, “Angry” Pete, who laid out a few examples of the more important changes in PT 8, from our current version 7.4. I’d like to take some time and walk though some of these differences and break them down for you.

Voices: In PT 7 you have can have up to 32 tracks and 32 available voices to record or play simultaneously. This means that in any given session you can run 32 mono or 16 stereo tracks, (remember that any stereo tracks you use require two voices) minus any auxiliary sends you use, or any combination of the three. Now, In PT8, You have a total of 48 tracks and 96 voices at your disposal. Essentially this means you have an additional 48 voices to utilize for stereo tracks and aux sends.

QuickTime: PT 8 will now support QuickTime HD as opposed to standard definition video currently supported by PT 7.

Track Inserts: PT8 now provides an additional 5 inserts for every track. You now have up to 10 plug-ins for each track in your session, providing you have the DSP to run them. But please be aware that it is always a good idea to run any time based effects such as reverb or delays through an aux send. This will save you much needed DSP for those additional tracks you have now! But, hey! Why not add that extra compressor to your signal chain, right?

File Size: PT 7 limits all your file sizes to 2GB. PT8 now give you a whopping 3.4GB for your session. This is great for any of you who run larger sessions with high track counts, or any of you in to post production and save your video files directly to your sessions.

So, there you have it. As 2010 slowly comes to a close IAR is ready for the new coming year steadily rolling through the trenches of the audio world. Be sure to check out Avid.com and the specs for PT 8 for further information, and as always, trust your ears.

I would like to thank our night tech support Pete for all his help on this week’s article. Without him this would have not been possible. He is a wealth of information and support for all of our students, staff and faculty here at IAR, and will continue to be so.

Session Transfers

A recent question was posed to me recently referring to the transfer of sessions between DAWs. I understand this can be a touchy subject for a lot of producers and engineers and I’ve seen quite a few sessions get dumped only to have to recall all the session data again later for simple mistakes made in the transfers. Weather your transferring to Pro-Tools, Logic, Sonar, or Nuendo there a few steps you can take to make sure your sessions translate.

OMF-Open Media Framework. Is a platform-independent file format intended for transfer of digital media between different software applications [1]

Most DAWs can export your sessions as OMF. When you create an OMF file it saves all your audio edits as well as your audio files. Automation, pans and fader positions will be saved as well. This is great if you have a basic session with little or no effects or plug-ins. OMF also saves time line and sample information, this is great time saver when transferring between DAWs. As long as the tempo and sample rates in your session match those in the transfer your audio files and fades will be in sync.

However, there are some limitations to using OMF. The biggest one by far is the use of third party or native plug-ins and effects. We’ve all had those moments after receiving or transferring a session where key elements of our mix are missing. Even with native plug-ins, OMF does not save plug-in or effect information. Another drawback to OMF is it does not save your MIDI or synth information and all disabled track will need to be re-enabled in order to create the OMF. Stereo tracks will need to be split into multiple mono as well to preserve your pans. Considering all of this prep work many of you will wonder why even bother using OMF. Much like printing a mix through a stereo aux many of your tracks will need to be committed with your plug-in, MIDI and synth information.

Consider taking this prep work a step further by not only creating the OMF file but printing all of your tracks through a mono aux to commit and save all of your hard work in case your session goes awry. With larger sessions where track count is a factor, group specific tracks to print first as you would with bouncing stems. Then export these individual audio tracks to a pre created folder you can rip to a drive or disc for transport. As with any session, be sure to check your disk allocation as well as cleaning up any unnecessary play-lists to make sure you have the right files in the right places before you begin any transfer process. And an old school recall cant hurt either when delivering mixes. These DAWs do a great job in storing and recalling our session information, but nothing can beat a great set of notes with pad and pen at any session.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Media_Framework

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