Recording

Welcome to Sound On Sound's regularly updated, indispensible explanations of technical terms from the fields of Recording, Audio Production, Music Technology, MIDI, Music Software, Audio Plug-ins, Mac and PC Computing, Live Sound, Acoustics, Electronics and more...

I need to do some recording of spoken word, using a cheap and cheerful lavalier mic, but it’s noisy — there’s a steady ‘hiss’. Is there some plug-in that can reduce said noise, perhaps by taking a sample of it and then adding it out of phase?

A few years ago I decided to concentrate on producing my own music. I’ve since spent thousands of hours going through...

I’m struggling to understand what’s really happening when you use different compression ratios. Can you explain please?

I was listening to Conor Maynard’s YouTube cover of Shawn Mendes’ ‘Stitches’ and wondered if you could provide any insight into what he used to get that huge, rich vocal tone.

I’ve got to the point at mixdown where I’d usually be thinking about sending everything through a couple of global reverbs/delays with a view to simulating a soundstage. Would this have actually been possible for a mix engineer in that decade?

The humble speaker stand or desktop speaker platform can make a huge difference to the sound in your room.

In the May 2015 Mix Rescue article, Mike Senior talks about how he bounced out a mix any number of times to compare it to his references. I understand the purpose of referencing, but what I don’t understand is why he bounced out the mix.

I’ve put a lot of effort into creating and editing a recording of a solo mandolin. Although I like the final result a lot, on reflection the tone seems too trebly and cold.

My band tracked some songs at a local studio using their Pro Tools rig and I want to mix the tracks at home in Reaper.

I'm really interested in the vocal sound on Haim's debut album, Days Are Gone — could you tell me what sort of processing might be involved in this album?

Tracks that I mix in my home studio tend to sound really bad in my car, but when I correct the mixes so they sound good in the car, they sound awful over my monitors — so what's going wrong?

When I listen to MP3s on a PC or Apple Mac, they are all at different levels, with the louder ones seeming twice as loud as the quietest ones.

At the base of the inlay card to Michael Jackson's album Thriller, it claims that the album was recorded using the 'Acusonic Recording Process'. What is this?

If I record the DI'd signal from a guitar so I can put it through a guitar amp later, what are the concerns, if any? Will the line-level signal coming out of my mixer be too high or otherwise inappropriate for the amp?

How do you get that double-tracked vocal sound you hear on rap records? Are there any plug-ins I could use?

I regularly make stereo location recordings of orchestras, using Cool Edit Pro for editing and mastering. If I simply...

Dozens of your recording questions receive poignant answers from SOS's editorial experts.

What advantages are there to variable input impedance? • How can I extract loops from audio sample CDs? • Can I use the True Tape option in Cubase to prevent clipping? • Should I use S/PDIF or AES for long cable runs? • Can you have too much low-frequency absorption? • What's the best way to use the multiple filters on my soft synth?

What exactly is a modular synth? How slow is a slow release? How can I wire my 32:8:2 analogue desk to a 16-track recorder? How can I compensate for a lack of phase-reversal and EQ bypass controls on my mixer? Why do some bass notes have more 'punch' than others? Is there a problem with inputs on the Roland VS2480? Should I buy a DI box or a channel strip? Should EQ or compression be applied first? What is the advantage of recording with a higher resolution, as opposed to a higher sampling rate? Can I run V-Producer via OMS?

How can I create the fat bass sound I hear on commercial productions? What are the differences between S/PDIF and AES-EBU? Are there any problems powering UK electrical equipment with Vancouver voltages? Can you recommend some omni mics for chamber recording? How can I build a suitable enclosure to reduce the noise of my computer? Is it possible to create a fake stereo track from a mono source? How can I make my MIDI controller's knobs work? How can I mix a track on a multitimbral synth?