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Dave Pensado’s Place #7 – Vocal Mixing Techniques, McDSP Plug-Ins

Big Al — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 23:57:57 +0000

In the seventh episode of Pensado’s Place, Dave Pensado is joined by Colin McDowell of McDSP PlugIns to give a special offer to all Pensado’s Place viewers.

In this week’s Into The Lair, Dave talks about all things vocals including how he mixes them and the effects he likes to use on them.

In this week’s Corner Office segment, Dave and Herb field viewer questions from the live chat room and e-mail.

Using a screen reader? Click here for the video

Dave Pensado’s Place #7 – Vocal Mixing Techniques, McDSP Plug-Ins is a post from: Home Recording Studio Guru

Dave Pensado’s Place – Video Podcast Episode #5

Big Al — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 16:00:45 +0000

In the fifth episode of Pensado’s Place, Dave hosts an all Q&A episode with tons of great viewer questions!

In Part #2 of the latest “Into The Lair“, Dave takes you through some tools he used on the mix for “Shorty Is A Weirdo” by Mr. Midwest and Ray J. Go behind the glass and see how your favorite songs were mixed and the tools that were used by Dave!

Using a screen reader? Click here for the video

Highlight, tips and tricks from the show…

The difference between top of the line converters is negligible
Most engineers mix to what they are hearing through their converters
On most keyboards, stereo is not stereo. The sound will be placed on one side and a chorus on the other, which clouds up the middle. To make space in the middle, pan your stereo keyboards to one side and pan their effects to the other.
Stereo on a reverb return is usually not stereo. Try this: put 2 plugins with the same reverb preset, pan one plugin in hard left, and the other hard right, with both plugins having slight parameter changes
If you’re doing a ballad and the vocals are in a really low range, try running the send to the reverb through a harmonizer and put that up an octave, so what you are sending to the reverb unit is an octave higher than the original sound source. When you mix that back in with the vocal it is a really cool effect and makes the vocal sound more exciting.
Take two chorus units: With the first chorus unit pan one side left, and the other at about 1-2 o’clock. Take the second chorus unit and change the depth and the rate to where they are slightly different, and then pan that unit hard right, and about 10 o’clock. Delay the hard panned edges about 10-14ms.
Think of ways to clear out the middle, think of ways to give the impression of things being outside the stereo field.

Plugins mentioned in this episode and where to get them:

Click on any of the gear below to go to a page to learn more and get prices.

Hardware mentioned and where to get it:

Click on any of the gear below to go to a page to learn more and get prices.

Purchasing from any of the above links helps support this blog. Thanks in advance!

Dave Pensado’s Place – Video Podcast Episode #5 is a post from: Home Recording Studio Guru

An iPhone “Must Have” Music App – From McDSP? Wait…What?

Big Al — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 22:56:36 +0000

McDSP, maker of some of my favorite plugins (like Analog Channel for one), has gone and jumped into the iPhone app fray (say that five times fast). I must say, I didn’t see this one coming.

It sure looks and sounds cool! When I finally get my new iPhone it’ll probably be one of the first apps I actually buy, considering there are so many cool FREEeeee ones in the Apple App Store.

It’s called Retro Recorder – Enhanced Mobile Recording.

Here’s the lowdown from McDSP.

_________________________________

The highly stylized yet simple interface of Retro Recorder makes recording easy on any iPhone. Patent pending Audio Level eXtension (ALX) technology improves recording quality beyond the capability of handheld recorders costing many times more.

Even without an external microphone, Retro Recorder can capture detail other recorders cannot – up to 32 times more signal level.

Recorded files can be exported individually or in batches. Exported files may then be downloaded to a PC or Mac, using a Wi-Fi network.

Supports iPhone and second generation iPod Touch. An external microphone is required to use Retro Recorder on the second generation iPod Touch.

Feature highlights:

Up to 30 dB (32 x) more signal level with ALX technology
Audition ALX processing instantly during playback, the original recording is preserved
Export original recordings or ALX enhanced versions in WAV format
Wi-Fi download page allows downloading to any Mac or PC with most web browsers
Batch rename, delete, and export makes organizing a snap
User interface rotates 180 degrees for better iPhone microphone orientation when recording
External microphone support
Record short ideas or lengthy meetings for hours, even in sleep mode
Pause, fast forward, or rewind signals during playback
Filter list of recordings by keyword to find your recording fast
Recorder page allows quick review of last clip recorded, great for level checks
Supports mono signals only, up to 22,050 Hz sample rate
Developed and supported by a professional audio company with over ten years experience

Check out the RetroRecorder.com web site for more info and to hear audio demos of ALX in action.

Get Retro Recorder From The Apple iPhone App Store

McDSP Company Web Site

ALX (Audio Level eXtension) – What Is It Exactly?

McDSP Audio Level eXtension (ALX) algorithms improve audio recording and playback performance using patent pending techniques derived from McDSP’s experience in professional audio software development over the last decade.

Recordings using ALX can capture up to 30 dB (32 times) more signal than standard recordings. ALX can also isolate close proximity signals from background noise during recording, and minimize volume variations during playback.

Audio playback using ALX provides a better listening experience by maximizing audio fidelity and minimizing volume changes. Playback benefits of ALX algorithms include:

Minimized music track volume variations
Noisy environments no longer impacting listening enjoyment of music and movies
Television and movie manner mode for listening at reduced levels, while keeping loud and quiet parts audible

Because ALX algorithms are highly optimized and have little latency, they can be used for other realtime audio applications such as:

Maximizing signal levels between cell phone callers
Better audio fidelity in laptop and desktop computer speakers
Improved fidelity for internet audio streaming
Better audio fidelity in computer games and game consoles (XBox 360, PS3, others)

The McDSP Retro Recorder is the first consumer audio product to incorporate ALX technology. Stay tuned for more developments using ALX. Contact McDSP for licensing information.

An iPhone “Must Have” Music App – From McDSP? Wait…What? is a post from: Home Recording Studio Guru

McDSP Analog Channel – Analog-Style Saturation On The Mix Bus

Big Al — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 08:05:38 +0000

Earlier this week I was asked a question via Twitter (by @hackerhaus) about which version of McDSP’s Analog Channel was worth buying (there are basically two, Analog Channel Native and Analog Channel LE). After replying with my take on the matter, it reminded me of my own story of how I first came to know about Analog Channel.

I believe it was the winter of 2000 . . . {cue Wayne’s World flashback effect}

My mixes on my new Pro Tools rig sucked. No matter what I did, there was that certain something I just couldn’t seem to achieve. “It must be me,” I thought. “I’m just never gonna’ be good at this. I might as well give up.”

And then my creative life changed forever.

The first time I heard about, and saw McDSP’s Analog Channel was in the Charles Dye’s instructional DVD, “Mix It Like A Record.” He had it strapped across the stereo mix bus for the purpose of adding analog-style saturation to the digital mix bus. He was actually driving into it without overloading and digital clipping.

This was my first step towards becoming happy with the sound of my mixes in Pro Tools. Up until then I was chasing something that was always just out of my reach. I have no doubt that I probably would never have reached it on my own.

While it’s not a silver bullet, this very cool plugin is certainly very powerful and valuable.

As I mentioned, there are two versions available: Analog Channel Native (included in the Classic Pack bundle – $795.00; occasionally available on special by itself for $295.00) and Analog Channel LE (included in the Project Studio bundle – $295.00; occasionally available on special by itself for $79.00).

There is a significant difference between the LE version and its bigger brother. Here’s the breakdown on each straight from McDSP:

Analog Channel Native

McDSP Analog Channel AC1

Analog Channel emulates the sounds of high-end analog tape machines, tape, and channel amplifiers.

Analog Channel is actually 2 plug-ins:

• AC1 – Emulates analog channel amplifier circuits

• AC2 – Emulates analog tape machines

The AC1 configuration acts as a digital pre-amp allowing even excessive amounts of gain without digital distortion. A drive control determines where the audio “sits” in the saturation/compression region, and even the attack and release times of the distortion character are adjustable.

McDSP Analog Channel AC2

The AC2 configuration emulates analog tape machines. In addtiion to standard tape machine parameters such as bias, playback speed, and IEC1/2 equalization, AC2 offers controls well beyond the limits of the reel-world devices including adjustable low frequency roll off and head bump – independent of playback speed. The user can select from several playback head types, tape formulations, and even control the tape saturation recovery time.

Features:

Library of presets emulating analog mixing systems
Real-time display of saturation curves and calibrations
Analog Saturation Modeling
Double precision processing
Ultra low latency
Mono and stereo versions

Analog Channel LE

Analog Channel LE features the Playback Head control from the TEC Award nominated original Analog Channel.

I think it’s obvious that the LE version is a MUCH younger brother (maybe third cousin twice removed) of the venerable Native edition. If you want that signature analog-style saturation as well as a full-featured tape machine emulator (albeit not as aggressive as DUY Tape or Massey Plugins TapeHead), there really is only one choice, Analog Channel Native.

Whenever they run the special where you can buy it on its own for $295.00, grab it.

If you have any questions or would like further info feel free to e-mail me or leave a comment.

http://mcDSP.com

McDSP Analog Channel – Analog-Style Saturation On The Mix Bus is a post from: Home Recording Studio Guru