Maxing the sound on recordings

[bruno]

Well, have been preping my mum's house for sale - and been spending some time with my brother. So he is an super experienced producer - he works for one of the big labels producing library music and produces lots of albums every year. This is the stuff that appears on tv and ads etc. Anyway, needless to say, he is extremely knowledgable on recording - and whilst he is in a different league to my little musings, I do ask him questions on recording that vex me. His answer to my question of "Why do some of my recording sound much louder than others, when seemingly pushed to the same level"? His answer was very interesting so I thought I'd share.

So the answer is phasing and unwanted frequencies. A sound engineer told bob this once - the first thing to do is to take out all the unwanted frequencies. To make drums sound 'bigger', you need to use cliff top EQ to remove resonance sounds. When he tried it for the first time, he was really shocked and now does it as a matter of course. In fact Bob told me that when recording guitars, he works out the unwanted frequencies from the key the player is playing in, and takes those frequencies out with a 100 step EQ. This gives the sound more headroom for the compression  that then makes the whole thing sound loud.

Phase is an interesting one. He said that he only records chorus guitar in mono, as stereo signals in tend to have a  signal which is widely out of phase. This ends up being destructive on the sound, making it quieter. So his recommendation is to record guitars in mono (which I haven't been doing). He also said that panning is really important to get right, and not over pan. Interesting.

Anyway some top tips, from someone who really does know.

B

[cuthbert]

Interesting tips, and ones I had not read before. I'll try to keep these in mind when going for a big sound!

[Flash Harry]

+1  - Interesting

[Farrell Jackson]

It makes sense to me. I'm always listening for out of phase problems and try not to over pan. The other tips are great ones to give a try. Thanks for posting Bruno and tell brother Bob thanks as well!

Farrell

[Blooby]

I have definitely been guilty of over-panning. I'm still curious why removing certain frequencies would equate to loudness (yes  to clarity). I always thought it had more to do with gain staging. I will definitely keep this in mind during my next mix. Normally, I'm impatient and stick to larger EQ moves (usually high pass filters).

Congrats on your monolithic mixing board from the other thread. I think this is a sign to have the lads over for jams.

Blooby

[bruno]

I have definitely been guilty of over-panning. I'm still curious why removing certain frequencies would equate to loudness (yes  to clarity). I always thought it had more to do with gain staging. I will definitely keep this in mind during my next mix. Normally, I'm impatient and stick to larger EQ moves (usually high pass filters).

Bruce - the way it was explained to me (mind you I was driving a van and the time), was that it gives you the headroom for compression (which is the thing that make sounds sound loud), else the amount you can compress is limited by the unwanted frequencies taking up the headroom. I was quite fascinated at the lengths that the very top end recordings go to in terms of recording. For me its very much, does it sound okay, and my panning is very much 'that will do'. I don't take anywhere enough attention in the recording process - its always 'in the moment' for me, and a rush to get it done. I virtually do not use EQ ever and record guitars in stereo. Will try on the next one. If people are interested, I can always get some pressing questions answered, just to get the view from the pros.

NB if you wish to check out some of my brothers work, check out RIOPY on Spotify. He recorded that at Riopy's house and its had quite a few plays!

B