Ask A Sound Guy

Hey Ben,

I have a openLabs Neko TSE Timbo edition workstation which comes equiped
with Reaper.  I had it for like 6 months and still man its complicated
to me..im gettingbetter but I know I need some pointers in reaper if
possible plse.  First off in your tutorial about sidechain compression
1. where can I get that free synth u were using?  2. can you have that
effect only work on one section of the song? Or does the effect cover
the whole track it is applied to?

Also if you can please help me out as far as best setup for mic
recording (if there are certain reverb FX I should have added to the
track.)  I was hoping for a studio style recording sound.  Also offhand
would u know how I can get a slight crisp / echo sound added to the mic
track?

Joseph

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1. You can find the free synth (Crystal) in my sidechain comp at http://www.greenoak.com/crystal/

2. The effect is working as long as the kick channel is on and as long as the compressor is active. The important thing to know is that as soon as you have a part without the kick, the sidechain will stop unless you’ve got something else feeding comp (ie. clap, snare, etc). There is a way to use a type of phantom (aka muted) kick to enable the sidechain with a synth even when there’s no audible kick. That’ll be a tutorial in itself.

3. As far as recording tips, it really depends on what you want to record. The most important thing, in my opinion, is to not worry too much about reverbs and delays while you’re tracking. Focus on recording something good before adding a ton of extra effects to it. I can offer some advice on the most common instruments, though:

- Guitar w/ Amp: You should seriously invest in a microphone like the Shure SM57. These mics, aside from being around $100, are nearly indestructible and they sound great on just about anything you put them on. Whether you’re recording a small combo amp or a much larger amp (like a 4×12), its all about placement. Move the mic around and get it to where you think it sounds best.

- Acoustic Guitar: This is just my opinion, but I would invest in a small/large cap condenser. If you buy a large cap, consider spending the money on a small cap, too. Otherwise, if you don’t have money for a small and large cap, get the large cap and use your SM57 that you should have by now! :] I usually place the large cap right outside the sound hole and the small cap/dynamic mic up on one of the frets. Again, this is all about experimentation. Every recording scenario is different, so take my tips and then make them your own until it sounds good.

For a large cap, I’d recommend something like the Audio-Technica AT4033CL. For a small cap, try something like the Shure KSM137.

- Vocals: Being an R&B producer, this is probably what you’ll spend most (or at least a lot) of your time on doing. You should definitely be using a large cap condenser. If you bought one for the acoustic guitar and are short on cash (like we all are), then you can just try your guitar condenser on vocals. Otherwise, if you have a few bucks, maybe try a Shure KSM27. Don’t forget to buy a decent mic stand and a pop filter. Assuming you’re not recording in a professional studio (rather your home), you might check out the sE Reflexion Filter. Pair that up with a pop filter and you should be good to go.

- Bass: My favorite way to record an electric bass is recording a clean signal thru a DI (like the Countryman) and then run it thru some amp simulation plugins like the IK Multimedia AmpliTube series. Those plugins are great because, not only do they sound nice, but they make different plugins for guitar and bass modeling. I’d highly recommend spending some money on a nice DI (Radial makes a lot of nice boxes, too) and not being cheap and just buying a Behringer DI. Shitty DIs can really mess with your signal and your sound.

If you’re recording a rock band, the bass play might want you to record his amp. If you do this, I’d also recommend recording a DI signal as well as the amp signal so you have a lot more options while mixing. Check out the Audix D6 or the Shure Beta 52. A general rule of thumb is you can use pretty much any mic on a bass cab that you would use on a kick drum. Keep in mind you can also DI a guitar and use an amp modeler there, too.

- Keyboards: This is easy. If you have a whole lot of extra XLR inputs, just DI the keys. Otherwise, pretty much every interface will have line-ins to make your life a whole lot easier.

- Drums: This is, well, pretty much a topic in itself. Since you’re talking about primarily doing R&B/hip-hop and you’re probably programming drums via MIDI, I’ll leave this to a later topic.

4. As far as a studio sound like you’re thinking of, that’s hard to recreate without the kind of gear and studios they have in them. My advice would be to spend some time researching acoustics and isolation. Lots of people turn  a single room with a closet into studio space: the room can be the control room/live room and the closet into a vocal/isolation booth. After doing some research (I’m no authority on acoustics), spend some money on some sound-proofing materials like the stuff Auralex makes. Its not a quick solution, but with some time you’ll have a decent sounding room where you can do some serious recording.

5. Looking for an echo trick? It may sound silly, but try recording guitar amps/vocals in your bathroom. Seriously. Bathrooms are often crazy reflective and can add some level of echo/reverb to your tracks. This is another project that might take some time to get right, but it works.

***

Quick Tutorial: Recording in Reaper

Now, this isn’t generally directed at the person asking the question, but I think it may be a simple and useful tutorial to those of you trying to use Reaper for your recording purposes.

1. Before you record, you need to make sure your I/O is recognized. To do that, go to the Reaper preferences (Cmd+, on your Mac) and go down to Audio -> Device.

Reaper I/O

2. Look under your Input Device menu and choose your I/O. Please note that I don’t have any type of I/O installed on my MacBook, so you WILL have a different setup. Make sure your I/O is selected, and you’re on the road to recording.

Reaper's Input options

3. So now that you have your I/O squared away, you’ll want to go to Reaper’s main menu. The first thing you do is create a new track (Cmd+T) and go down to the mixer. This is where you’ll assign the input you want to record. Like I said above, my lack of I/O will show here, so yours will be different. Just make sure your “in” menu looks similar. It should say Record: input#

Input options for recording

4. Now, staying in the mixer area, hit the “R” button. Since I have Reaper set to record the built-in mic, you can see that I’m getting some type of signal. If you’re not doing this, you should play your instrument/make noise into the mic to make sure that you’re getting signal. If you are, then the hard part is over!

Arming the track to record

5. Now, hit the big red button (or hit Cmd+R) and you’re recording!

6. The end! Now just make sure that any other tracks you make are assigned to the input you need to record and you’re good.

***

Hopefully I answered your questions. Another very important thing to realize is that Reaper is capable of recording, mixing, editing, and anything else music related you can think of. It may not be a power-house like Pro Tools or Logic, but it can certainly do what you want it to do. In other words, its much more powerful than you may think it is.

If you’re looking into moving off a portable, mobile-type of machine, I’d invest in a nice mac desktop and an M-Box for Pro Tools or something else for Logic/Cubase.

Remember, there’s no stupid questions! If you want us to answer anything (no matter how advanced/basic), please send us an email!