Audio Engineering - your one stop shop

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zoniksku

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Mar 21, 2014
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australia
Hey,

So i am currently in my 2nd year at university to become an audio engineer. Anything you can think off with questions in regards to producing, studio recording, studio building etc. etc. etc. basically anything you want to know please just ask and i can help you out =]

-Zon
 
I can only talk from experience after a 3 year degree in applied science in sound and electronics.
You have to have experience in a professional studio, also lab work. Depending on where you studied, they should be able to forward you so you can make cups of tea etc.
The thing about studios, the main engineer will not retire.
Really the only way in is: make your own studio (pro-tools only), learn how to solder (electronics), learn how to master the final mix.
The latter is better, not too many folks or studio buffs know this technique.
Ask your tutors to go into a mastering studio.
It's just a niche, but a way in.
Oh, there's also FOH, or front of house if your into live sound.
If your into mastering, yamaha NS10's or a really good speaker stereo system that sound good on mono also (radio play)
They aren't active so a good neutral amplifier.
Or if this is within a budget try the Equator D5, this a neutral, non-biased speaker set.
I think it's active also.
Honestly if you can get anything to sit in the mix on NS10's your golden.
 
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Bagseed: with setting up studio monitors, whats the enviroment around it like ? do you need acoustic treat ment ? with setting up the monitors they need to be directly at ear level when you are sitting comfortably. The monitors relitive to your sitting position should be an equilateral triangle. I highly recommend either getting stands or some isolation pads to go under neath, or a set of decent referencing headphones.

Jpg: Doing the mastering for your tracks is pretty hectik and i wouldnt recomend it unless you have had formal mixing training and ear training, it will be impossible otherwise. Have a look at a book called "modern mixing techniques" this will help greatly to show you how to apply dynamics, time based and frequency based effects.

Also if its at all possible learn Pro Tools or Cubase inside out. your work flow and productions will be alot nicer. We have a mastering studio here on campus and a bunch of other studios (presonus, C24, Audient, Eurodesk, slate raven and an euphonics for post production.) Im being trained on the audient at the moment. but yes, without formal training there really isnt a way that you can master your own tracks.
 
Let me think of a question while I type....

Been working in Live audio engineering (everything from humane shelter fundraises, to Parliament, Con Funk Shun, Lakesaid etc) for about 10 years and studio as well for about 6. I am more than certain you will put forth some excellent knowledge in this thread, probably even things I didn't know which I look forward to.

Although if you don't have a naturally good ear, no amounts of numbers memorization or mid/side processing will do much good. I'm not a believe in ear-training. First and foremost, Gotta have the ear. And then, with knowledge of your tools and understanding of the numbers/math, then your ear is worth something. I don't have the best ear, but I'm cheaper than the competitors and never had a complaint so I'll keep coastin. Don't ask me questions please. I do have a question for you though zonik

Question:
Lets say you get sent the stems/project file etc for a track from a random artist. Your job is to mix it down and master it (give it a solid feel that you and the artist discussed.) Given a blank check for endless money and starting from scratch: what would you purchase for the mix-down & master. Software only? Physical hardware only? A mix? And please explain your decision and even specific Makes and Models. I've always been interested in people thoughts on this (I have no thoughts I'm coastin) because I never went to school for this stuff I got into the industry young and have just been doin it ever since. But you have real data and classes under your belt, so I'm mainly curious. Look forward to your insight and response man! Props.


Ooooo one more question: What is your best technique or suggestions for dealing with bleed-thru & phase issues when someone poorly set up the drum mics, and the room had the worst acoustics. Furthermore, what if you added a guitar amp in the SAME ROOM to the situation. Run me through how you would tackle it! This is something I very much suck at. Please help.
 
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zoniksku said:
but yes, without formal training there really isnt a way that you can master your own tracks.
Click to expand...

There is no reason not to experiment with mastering your own tracks, though. Even with formal training it takes practice to apply the techniques properly in a genre specific manner. There are a wealth of resources online, have a google. Mastering EDM and mastering jazz are obviously going to be pretty different beasts though. IMO protools is only superior when you're dealing with recording as well, with electronic music whatever DAW you know best is fine- it's not like you'll be using stock plugins to master anyway.
 
cousinskeeter said:
Ooooo one more question: What is your best technique or suggestions for dealing with bleed-thru & phase issues when someone poorly set up the drum mics, and the room had the worst acoustics. Furthermore, what if you added a guitar amp in the SAME ROOM to the situation. Run me through how you would tackle it! This is something I very much suck at. Please help.
Click to expand...

The absolute best solution to this is to not set up the drum mics poorly and don't record multiple sound sources in the same room (overdub or put someone in the hall or something). Find a room with better acoustics!

I know that sounds annoying but having just dealt with this problem recently the best thing to do is to ensure the audio is of the best possible quality before it goes into the desk- there is only so much you can do with post processing to remove these issues. If you don't have the opportunity to re-record then you can try use a gate to deal with your spill issue- there will be many tutorials on this available- they are pretty simple once you get the hang of them though. You can also try to EQ the sound that is affected by spill- for example, if your overheads are getting spill from the bass or guitar, maybe try high-passing them to remove unwanted frequency content.

Another tool for spill in Protools is the strip silence function- this essentially achieves the same thing as using a gate but can be more intuitive if you haven't played with gates before.

Depending on your daw some of your stock plugins may also have an option to invert the phase- try this for your phase cancellation issues. You can also manually align waveforms to reduce phasing issues.
 
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