[Skub]

Garageband doesn't appear to have  the bus thing. It does have the means to open a new track with duplicate settings, perhaps as good as you get.

[Boydie]

Hmmm - if only someone had suggested you may quickly outgrow GarageBand          

If you have got the DAW / Production bug (and it certainly looks like you have) then it may already be time to consider some of the "proper" DAW options (Logic, Reaper, ProTools etc.)

[Skub]

Enablers,that's what y'all are. Cold hearted,cynical,sarcastic and manipulative enablers. 

 

[Boydie]

Mwahahahahahaha

GarageBand has given you a good grounding in using "multiple tracks", which are skills that will still be relevant in a "proper" DAW so you haven't wasted your learning curve

Using "busses" is a natural next step as it will allow you to play with "send" fx, fx busses (and applying "insert" fx to an fx bus - such as the abbey road reverb technique)

The other power of busses is that you can group your instruments - e.g. You can route your rhythm guitars to a "Rhythm Git Group" bus, your lead guitars to a "Lead Git Group" bus, you can then route both of these busses to a "All Guitars" bus

When you get your head around busses and routing it actually makes you mixing easier (especially when you get more adventurous and your track count goes up) because if you like the balance of you guitars with each other when it comes to mixing you can change the level of all the guitars with one fader (the "All Guitars" bus fader) - rather than changing the levels on multiple tracks, whiclst trying to keep the relative balances

I think I am starting to get me head around how to approach my video tutorial series....

... what do you think about me doing a video of creating a song "from scratch" and dealing with everything from the very start to the end product? From setting the tracks and inputs up on the DAW and setting the input level on the audio interface to record the first notes right through to mastering and exporting in various formats?

It would be many, many, many hours of video but I would intend to do it in subject specific chunks

I could then also run a parallel video series on how the song used in the video was actually written so people wanting to learn song writing AND production could watch both or either - I think that could be really fun to see an idea go from initial thoughts to a fully produced track!!!!

[Skub]

I think I am starting to get me head around how to approach my video tutorial series....

... what do you think about me doing a video of creating a song "from scratch" and dealing with everything from the very start to the end product? From setting the tracks and inputs up on the DAW and setting the input level on the audio interface to record the first notes right through to mastering and exporting in various formats?

It would be many, many, many hours of video but I would intend to do it in subject specific chunks

I could then also run a parallel video series on how the song used in the video was actually written so people wanting to learn song writing AND production could watch both or either - I think that could be really fun to see an idea go from initial thoughts to a fully produced track!!!!

Sounds like a plan,Paul. 

It would be very helpful for anyone completely new to using a daw,if the actual terms used in the tutorial were themselves explained in full. Quite often I found when reading an article on something specific,I had to break off and google individual phrases that were part of the explanation. When someone is proficient in the use of a daw and has been for many years,they often use terms and phrases automatically that will confuse the uninitiated.

It's the communication/empathy thing. Not every really smart person can be a good teacher,not every sportsperson makes a good trainer,it takes a different way of thinking.

It would very definitely be a shed load of work for you,a real time eater.

[ScottLevi]

Ooo that does sound very interesting.

You're very good at explaining things Paul so I can imagine your videos being most useful. A series of videos each addressing a single aspect but building on top of each other as a journey sounds like a great idea.

You speak of 'proper' DAW's but I think you should be careful doing your videos based on paid software if you are aiming at beginners.

An odd idea, but would be potentially cool if you did is as a forum series which we could follow along in real-time. (I.e. "Week 1- Introduction and Pre-Requisits", "Week 2 - Recording your First Instrument", "Week 3 - Using a High-Pass Filter") - exporting your music at the end of each week so we can all compare progress. This way at least you'll have us all asking focused questions between the each entry rather than on onslaught about different areas if releasing at once. At the end of each week (or whatever the period is) someone could volunteer to put those questions and answers into a formatted Q&A to accompany the video

Edit: Here's me talking 'sprints', minimum viable product and feedback loops again

[Boydie]

You speak of 'proper' DAW's but I think you should be careful doing your videos based on paid software if you are aiming at beginners.

The videos will be done on Cakewalk SONAR - but they will not be "how to use SONAR" videos (although if you use sonar it will obviously be easier to blindly follow along

I will be focussing on the various PRINCIPLES that apply to most DAWs - even the free / cheap ones


I love the idea of having a "follow along" forum thread for questions and discussions

[Jamie]

Hi guys, loving the sound of this, there are many areas of the recording process that I don't understand at all, or only have a trial and error knowledge of. Excepting of course the tips Boydie frequently gives!
This sounds like a massive task Boydie, good luck!
Cheers
Jamie

[Skub]

In my quest to understand and manipulate EQ,I found this article to be useful.

Some crucial EQ  bands and what they sound like

50-60 Hz

Thump in a kick drum
Boom in a bassline
Essential in dub, dubstep and reggae !
Too much and you’ll have flapping speakers and a flabby mix
Too little, and the mix will never have enough weight or depth

100-200 Hz

This EQ band adds punch in a snare
Gives richness or “bloom” to almost anything
Too much makes things boomy or woolly
Too little sounds thin and cold

200-500 Hz

Crucial for warmth and weight in guitars, piano and vocals
Too much makes things sound muddy or congested
Too little makes them thin and weak

500-1000 Hz

One of the trickiest areas
Gives body and tone to many instruments
Too much sounds hollow, nasal or honky
Too little sounds thin and harsh

2 kHz

Gives edge and bite to guitars and vocals
Adds aggression and clarity
Too much is painful!
Too little will sound soft or muted

5-10 kHz

Adds clarity, open-ness and life
Important for the top end of drums, especially snare
Too much sounds gritty or scratchy
Too little will lack presence and energy

16 kHz

Can add air, space or sparkle
Almost too high to hear
Too much will sound artificial, hyped or fizzy
Too little will sound dull and stifled

[pompeyjazz]

Good stuff Davy, and in my limited experience it all depends on what all the other instruments are Eqd at. I guess you want to achieve separation but everything needs to be in the mix. Vocals are the most difficult I find especially in an instrument laden song. Boydie and Shadowfax are masters on this subject and I am so grateful for their advice. I'm getting there slowly. You've done amazing well mate

[Boydie]

This is a great starting point guide - I have produced my own that has a little more detail (i.e. areas for male v female vocals), which I will tidy up and share with the videos

However, please only use these as a rough "map" for areas to tackle - your EARS must remain the most important aspect

If you try to follow this guide "to the letter" there is a good chance that you will inadvertently make some "ugly" frequencies stand out

The other thing guides like this do not really take in to account (which JOHN has rightly pointed out) is how to use EQ to make each instrument sound good "in the mix"

This is a "trap" many fall in to where the individual instruments sound great - a really "woody" sounding acoustic guitar, warm vocal, great big kick drum hit, a full sounding natural snare, a big fat bass sound etc.

However, when put together they may all be sharing the same frequencies so there is no "separation" and the mix sounds "muddy"

EQ within mixing therefore becomes a compromise where you decide how to share out the frequencies for the overall mix you want

A good example is acoustic guitar - even a guitar and vocal recording may mean sacrificing some acoustic guitar frequencies to let the vocal really shine - and in a really dense mix you may need to really attack an acoustic guitar hard with EQ and notch out a lot of the low and low mids to get the signature acoustic "jangle" - which would sound AWFUL (really thin) on its own

This is the joy of mixing as everyone has a different mix in their head so would approach the same material differently


I wonder if sharing some of my actual track files for the videos would be a good idea so people can "play along" at home with their own DAW and work on exactly the same raw tracks that I am using in the videos?

[Skub]

Ta John and Paul.

What I've been doing with the different frequencies in EQ is to whack up the various settings full and pull them down to a minimum while I have the track set on a loop and it's the same phrase every time,but with a different EQ. That way I hear the difference and hopefully learn from it. The posted EQ bands was good for me because it gave a definite direction to the totally uninitiated. I had no idea what hertz hurt and what hertz didn't. 

When I make changes to an individual track,I go back to listening to the song in it's entirety.

At this stage I often find I have ear fatigue and need to walk away for a while,as i stop being objective in what I hear.

This is a major league time eater.

[Skub]

I'm aware of making demands on people's time here and I apologise,but sometimes the quest for enlightenment overrules manners!  

This is the original track 'Listen' as I posted.

https://soundcloud.com/skub1955/listen

This is my latest attempt at addressing noted issues.

https://soundcloud.com/skub1955/listen-1/s-e1Oe5

Is there an improvement,or are the two tracks just...different?

[ScottLevi]

Hey Paul,

To my untrained ears, the main thing I notice is how you've cut some of the bass out of the guitar. I think for the intro it is just a little different as opposed to better, but when the rest of the music comes in then I believe it fits nicer into the mix and comes across a lot cleaner.

That said the changes made the guitar a little harsher at the same time, so think it might need turning down a tad in the mix to counteract and achieve your overall improvement.

Hope this helps.
Scott.

[Skub]

Hey Paul,

To my untrained ears, the main thing I notice is how you've cut some of the bass out of the guitar. I think for the intro it is just a little different as opposed to better, but when the rest of the music comes in then I believe it fits nicer into the mix and comes across a lot cleaner.

That said the changes made the guitar a little harsher at the same time, so think it might need turning down a tad in the mix to counteract and achieve your overall improvement.

Hope this helps.
Scott.

Ta Scott.

I'm Davy,btw.