Kara-Moon Forum

Here is an edited note from Jimi regarding his approach to Audacity and VST plug-ins for recording/mixing/mastering. :-

i will gladly tell ya'll whatever i can about what and how i do things with audacity.

i use different audacity's for different things, including an asio compliant version i had to learn to compile and can't share, unfortunately.
i use VST processor for everything i need to do that won't run in audacity, will send links..

also use soundengine free for some things,
but generally i just use audacity for everything.
a big key is getting the sound good at the source.
if the source sounds good, audacity can't feck it up.

i DO use a shareware/commercial product called HarBal fo mastering sometimes, but usually it's not necessary.

effect wise most of the actual vst i use are the sweetboy sh1 effects,
and the kjaerhaus classic series.

i have almost 13,000 music apps i've accumulated, and the plugs i use 99% m of the time are the kjaerhaus classic compressor, classic master limiter, classic chorus , classic delay and classic phaser.

the sh1 effect i use is the sh1 graphic eq.
that's it for fx other than some custom ny quists david sky wrote for me that are available thru the audacity website.

the keys i think are to process shit liberally going in...
if ya get a good sound going in, that's half the battle.

all my guitars are almost always 100% digital and direct thru a little korg ampworks amp simulator....bass, too.

process my vocals with an old boss se-50

drums are usually done at my buddy's place, he uses adobe audition or something...too many options for me, i like audacity's simplicity.

a couple other tricks i use are always record everything in mono, no phase issues that way and it simplifies mixing

record stuff at a much lower level than ya think, i like to keep the meters under -12 db or so.

compress the feckin' snots outta everything ya can to  keep levels realistic.

roll off bass below about 40hz, and treble above 10k or so, tho i don't always do that.

monitor at the lowest volume possible, so when ya CRANK it it doesn't clip too bad.
i can get INSANELY LOUD mixes with careful use of some pretty simple tools.

or sometimes i go to my bro's and have him deal with it if i paint myself in a corner.
;)

punch things down with a limiter where ya can, or if ya get occasional spikes, isolate them and use the gui tools to re-draw clips , hell, sometimes i isolate spikes and use the amplify tool to de-amplify them.

;)

works great, you can declip overdriven tracks sometimes.


sometimes, OVERDRIVE your INPUT for a warm and fuzzy sound..

don't be afraid to export to another app at any time to process , even go to a friend's studio if ya need something, or hit the lost gems thread at kvr for zillions of weird but useful apps.

use a more recent version of audacity, where you can adjust track levels in 1db increments.

use the envelope tools to mix volume levels.

make pockets for things to sit in the mix, use eq's to remove unneeded frequencies that lead to intermodulation distortions and mixing weirdnesses.

live dangerously, take chances, but hit the feckin' save button frequently....if ya make a bunch of changes to a mix tho, save as rather than save so you can go back and undo your screw ups.

you WILL screw up, do it again, that is how we all learn.

audacity is a little closer to using a tape machine in terms of simplicity,
they maintain an excellent support forum, and i recommend checking them out...i will cc this to them as well.

hopefully didn't drop the f bomb too many times...

hi oren,
if anyone needs any specific advice i will at least make an attempt to help them if they need it.
nice job editing.
i love audacity, there's a lot more stuff that does more, like reaper, but for me, an old hippy with
alot on my plate i can't handle the learning curve.
audacity is easy, and as i wouldn't know how to sequence anything to save my life, it works for me.
i like some of the quirkyness of doing stuff the old way, i play everything live when i record it.
so...if i  do a vsti track which i DO use from time to time, i have to record it with a roland gtr synth interface via midi, and use the record function in savihost to capture whatever i did...
then i drag it in audacity, chop it up or whatever, and drag it in to wherever i need it.
may seem nuts, but i am too old and set in my ways ( read: lazy) to change much.
anyways...
onwards and upwards!
pax
jimi

Oh, yeah, feel the mojo... :;

Often, when accomplishing non-audio tasks on the computer, I bring up Jimi's artist page here,
http://www.kara-moon.com/index.php?modid=mod03&l_submenu_id=m001_03_06&artist=Pink%20Jimi%20Photon
and just let the tunes roll as I work.

Jimi,

A BIG thanks for sharing your knowledge with us. Audacity especially, since I'm a big fan of audacity !
I didn't make the relation to your artist page (thanks Oren)
I just want to say that I love your music and hope you will become an active member here, I'm sure that you can give us great advice on recording here and also can contribute to some songs here.

You know we love collab's here  ;D


k

Hey Jimi..

..how lucky are we, eh??

Thanks a lot man..always happy to welcome another old feller.

Especially one with such good music comin out of his fingers!    :)

8)

Wyatt

Links to Jimi's software...

http://rekkerd.org/sweetboy-vst/
http://www.cycleof5th.com/products/soundengine/?lang=en
http://www.soundburst.com/vstprocessor.html
http://www.kjaerhusaudio.com/classic-series.php
...and of course...
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

Thanks Jimi and thanks Oren. I relate well to old guy stuff :D

I haven't tried all the Classic plug-ins, but I use the EQ on just about everything at the track level. And its not because I don't have a ton of EQ plugs, I just really like the Classic EQ. 

Generally I work with the LADSPA plugins as they have been organized for Audacity and Ardour by Steve Harris.
Jimi has got me thinking about keeping a Windows XP computer in operation so I can work with all the funky VST's, VSTi's, and curious applications that don't occur in Linux. And the bonus to this whole situation is that Audacity works on both operating systems  8)

i'm not all that worthy, mate, but thanks, brings me a grin that some folks like the noise i try to make.
;)

kara,
thanks mate,
i would love to try and help on any projects anyone needs me to do anything on.
i don't have alot of time online usually these days due to some personal stuff, but i am
always into playing with folks and collaborating.
i've been honored to play on stuff by my friends in germany, and to have whiteaxxxe (also here) play on one of my songs that made it to # 6 on the antiwar charts here in america.
("black heart/cold steel" on Neil Young's "living with war today" website)

so, shoot me anything, i'd love to play on it if i think i can contribute something to it.
i love the vibe here, will try and check in when i can.
thanks to you and moon and all for such a groovy oasis of cool killer musicians.
;)

namaste

hey mate, nice to hear from another old school musician!
;)

somebody gotta keep the music alive!
(there's more to it than just beats rythm and noise, wink wink)

when i get a chance i will list all the plugs in my audacity folder for ya'll.
also...

try the brainspawn stereo expander...
it will crash audacity, but vstprocessor can handle it, and it will make your stuff more 3-d.
nekromachine @ kvr turned me on to that plug, i use it on damned near everything now.
;)

hi fred,
what i like about it is how warm it can sound.
i use the sweetboy sh1 a little more often tho cuz of where the bands are placed.
i also like the bigger eq's. there's a 31band freeware out there i use too, but i think it vanished from the net.
it won't work in audacity, but it will work in vstprocessor.

i also cannot reccomend enough using a computer JUST for music if you can afford to...then ya can always load stuff into computer two and take an analog signal out to your DAW.

you can even use external real time effects like that.
;)

i think that is a great idea, as there are a lot of great apps that won't run on windoze, and vice versa...
and again, two computers gives a lot more possibilities,
sometimes i use both my big computers and my laptop, all doing different stuff.

probably makes no sense, but hey, it works for me, ya know?
;)

oh, and guys?

check this monster 285 page thread on KVR

ya can never be too rich...or have too many apps!!

http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=177407&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

there are litterally thousands of softies there to check out...


peace!
jimi

Woh!  :o

Same here (or hear). I'm sort of a piano nut and I find that EQ works real well on sampled pianos.

ya know, i just found a great trick with pianos last week working on a friend's album i'm producing...

first, use something like tap tempo by analog x to find your tempo and delay time ( i bet some of ya are waaaaaaaaaaaaaay more savvy than me, but for me this little gizmo is really handy)...

then pan your piano say about 1/2 way left..

clone the piano and pan full right,

but use your fav delay to put about 2-3 slaps on it...

solo the two tracks, turn the echo way down, and then try it in your mix..
the echoes will chase the piano and make it sound really full and 3d without sounding like they are "echoed"...and if ya turn it up, ya get a nice spooky spacy sound like on
"riders on the storm" by the doors.

try it out bro.
peace!

Jimi,

Sounds like a recipe for home-brew stereo chorus. I use a similar maneuver to get the same effect, but I like yours better... :D
If you have never heard Fred on keyboards, brace yourself for a treat. He may be the best I've ever come across, but don't tell him I said that.
http://www.kara-moon.com/forum/index.php?topic=1427.0  will get you a taste...