brubart's blog

You can record the electric guitar in many ways:

Recording the Acoustic Guitar

by Bruce Bartlett     Copyright 2010

HOW TO AVOID CLIPPING DURING RECORDING

PREVENTING CHORUSING WITH UNISON VOCALS

I'm working on a 24-bit multitrack recording in my DAW. I imported some older recordings -- 16-bit wave files -- into that 24-bit project. Does that degrade the sound quality?

EQ QUESTION

Hey Bruce, how have you been? I have a quick question: When separating instruments in the mix, does it sound better to have them slightly overlap or make sure that the frequency ranges are separated completely? Thanks --Nick Papps

KEEP IT SIMPLE

We're all likely to succumb to "gear lust" from time to time. "If I just had one more compressor plug-in..."  "All I need is another 8 preamp channels."  "I sure could use four more drum mics."

I'd like to suggest a cure for the creeping acquisition bug: keep it simple. You may not need lots of equipment. And during a mix, you don't need to use everything you have.

I'd like to record a live drum set for my songs, but it's tricky to do, and it's hard to get a good sound in my bedroom! Should I try a drum machine or triggered drum samples?

I'm recording our acoustic band with a portable stereo digital recorder on a table. The vocals are always too quiet in the recording, but they don't sound that way live. I thought that digital recorders were supposed to capture sound accurately. How can we get the vocals louder in the recording? -- Emma, Raleigh, NC

We're crusing through some of the presets in this amazing plug-in. It re-creates many classic Fender guitar amps and stomp boxes. Music copyright 2009 by Bruce Bartlett.

I want to record my musical ideas with a computer recording studio but I don't know where to begin. What gear do I need?

Brief video overview of the new Pro Tools LE version 8. It features an upgraded look, new MIDI functions, and even a notation editor.

I'm mastering a project, and I'm confused about dithering. How and when should you apply it? -- Matt, Elkhart, IN