Studio-

Pros:

• mostly analog processing gear
• you have a professional audio engineer to help you get the sound you want
• lots of microphones to choose from
• acoustically treated environment
• accurate play back monitors

Cons:

• It costs money to book time

Home-

Pros:

• Cheaper than booking a studio
• you can spend as much time as you want on tracking

Cons:

• you probably don’t have the same equipment as the commercial studio
• your files might not save in the correct format for mixing (.WAV vs .MP3)
• fewer microphone choices
• the room you’re using is probably not acoustically treated
• almost all digital signal chain
• your monitors are not as accurate as what’s in the commercial studio
• no professional engineer to help you find that perfect sound

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Everything I need to know, I learned in music class.

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On what does it depend?  Just about everything.  The last few days we have been talking about compression, and how to use it.  The thing that was not said is that it depends.  It depends on what style, or genre, of music you are mixing.  It depends on what compressor you are using.  It depends on what microphone you used to record that instrument.  It depends where you put that microphone.  In short, it depends.

People that ask how to record, mix, and master music want to know the answer.  Heck, we want to know the answer too!!  Unfortunately, there is not one way to do things.  You have to experiment and try different things.  Listen to different styles/genres of music.  Listen to different recording, mixing, and mastering engineers.  Get out of your comfort zone and listen to music to which you would not normally listen.  Then ask yourself two questions.  Is this a good sound?  If so, how do you achieve that sound?  Then go experiment!

Just remember that “it depends”.  One of the parts of “it depends” is that it is constantly changing as well.  Things change in life and things change in music just as fast.  With the changes in technology that happen, and have happened, has extraordinarily changed music and music production.  So “it depends” will be with us for a long long time.

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Again, here are what the four knobs on a compressor and the definitions for each knob:

Threshold:  the point (dB level) at which compression begins
Ratio:  the amount that signals above the threshold are reduced toward the threshold
Attack:  time it takes the compressor to turn on once the signal is above the threshold (time constant)
Release:  time it takes the compressor to turn off once the signal is below the threshold (time constant)

Is there one way to compress more?  No.  In order to get more compression, you could lower the threshold, increase the ratio, shorten the attack, or lengthen the release.  By lowering the threshold, there are more decibels above the threshold, and, therefore, more signal is being compressed.  With an increased ratio, the signals above the threshold are being reduced toward the threshold even more, and, therefore, the signal is being compressed harder.  Shortening the attack time means the compressor turns on faster once the signal goes above the threshold, and, therefore, the compressor is on longer compressing more.  Finally, with a longer release time, the compressor is compressing for a longer time once the signal goes below the threshold.

There are advantages and disadvantages to each one of these scenarios.  So how do you know what to do?  Experiment.  Do each and see which one works best.  Keep in mind that you are trying to maintain musical dynamics, and enhance the music.  The music is the most important thing!

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What is compression?  This is a question we get a lot here at Tierra Studios.  Compression can be a lot of things.  It is what happens to MP3′s and other computer files, but mostly when people refer to compression they are referring to the dynamics of a song.  Dynamics are the louds and softs of music.  Too often in music, especially recently, the music is lacking dynamics.  This is often due to ultra-compression.  Compression is not always a good thing, and needs to be done with taste.  Here is the secret:  you must maintain musical dynamics.  This is done with four knobs on a compressor (usually there are four).  This is what each of them does:

Threshold:  the point (dB level) at which compression begins
Ratio:  the amount that signals above the threshold are reduced toward the threshold
Attack:  time it takes the compressor to turn on once the signal is above the threshold (time constant)
Release:  time it takes the compressor to turn off once the signal is below the threshold (time constant)

In the next few days we will discuss what effect each one of those knobs has on compression.

Now, how does one properly compress something?  There is not one way.  The most important thing for us is to maintain those musical dynamics.  Let the musicians do what they do best, and enhance what they did during the recording process.

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So, which songs are on the list?  Here are the top 25:

Do you agree with the list?  What changes would you make to this list and why?  The other thing I like about lists is that there is not a correct answer.  Lists generate discussion, and discussion is always good.