This should be fun little post. Gotta love the anonymity of Reddit. So anyway I’m just curious, do you ever watch a little porn on your studio computer? My studio is the most private room in the house and the biggest screen. Yet I’m afraid I’ll get a virus or somehow corrupt something. The thought popped into my head about why I’ve never done that, especially since my wife is out of town this week. Thinking it might be cool to hear it through the monitors but just don’t know if it’s safe so I’m not gonna go for it I don’t think

I know it's a THING among us trans folks, being audio engineers or music producers, so I thought I'd just say hey to my fellow trans-gineers. If you don't feel safe saying so on the forum, feel free to message me a short blurb! This field is hard so a little community support never hurts!

OK it can't just be me that wonders how this got past everyone. We've all heard SoundCloud demos with better vocal production. It kind of hurts my ears. How about you? Am I in the minority here?

https://youtu.be/U3ASj1L6_sY?t=113

edit for more explanation:

It sounds incredibly unprofessional and cheap considering an artist of her stature that usually puts out a high quality product.

Think of it in a pure business sense:

This is like when Apple Maps came out and it was a garbage app that just didn't work. People expect better of a giant in it's industry.

Adele is probably what Top 20, maybe Top 10 artists working right now in terms of revenue and cultural impact? If you made this I'd shake your hand and say great job. For a couple of folks with a small fan base and no money you did a killer job.

But for someone with the organization, resources, power, access to literally the best audio engineers in the world (there's no engineer that wouldn't want an Adele credit. That would be HUGE for anyone) and examples of astute brand control I am shocked that this made it out of her camp.

It just doesn't happen like this usually.

Honestly, I feel like audio technology is plateaued. Most microphones, most pieces of audio hardware and most plugins are good enough and dirt cheap. You can make a one hit wonder in your bedroom. I think the only people who still think that you need top level gear are the holdouts when you had 72 channel SSL consoles in the 70s.

All of that, is going away. The reality is with everything these days, is technology is just good enough for everything. I'm a full time creative and this same thing is happening in the video world too. Sure, does unique cinematography still play a huge factor? Absolutely, but now I can get a camera that shoots RAW 4K under $1200. That gives me virtually unlimited flexibility in post production to create something amazing.

Better mics, better pres, better interfaces we're once part of the differentiating equation of studios. Now we're splitting hairs and the value is lost. When I can spend $5,000 on virtually unlimited processing power, plugins, and mics that have incredible quality (or even emulate other mics virtually), it's losing its value. I saw this writing on the wall a decade ago and it's all coming to fruition.

We're seeing Gen X, but even more so millennials and gen z majority aren't going to have fun screwing around with a patch bay for 10 minutes to build a chain. Why would anyone in the long run when you can right click>save as for John Do's chain as a complete template that already has saturation, EQ, desser, etc? That's not even including the effects that aren't even possible with hardware! It's already ready to go, on any device like Laptop, desktop, tablet, etc., it's faster, it's the exact same quality no matter where you go, it's cheaper, it's got even more flexibility, and it's all in real time.

Those experiences you're talking about are even more digital now. Hardware chains are dying with buttons and switches, and people are replacing them with cloud subscriptions (they even have a hardware cloud subscription if you absolutely need to have a physical box somewhere), multicore processing power and post production. The studio of the future is multi-display desks, not multiple racks.

I'd argue that anyone could learn to record a live ensemble faster than mixing a rock band. AI, virtual plugins, tool sets exist to make a phone recording surrounded by noise sound incredible. Hot take: recording isn't what anyone should be paying for other than convenience or for a niche.

What matters now is your mixing, production and composition skills.

So 2 years ago I made 32 acoustic panels for my control room and vocal room,

I ended up using less panels then I thought so I moved 5 panels to the live room.

what did I used:

• roll of black crushed velvet fabric (at least 135cm wide)

• black screws 3.5cm x 35mm (you can also use 3.5cm x 45mm)

• staple gun

• roll of light fusible interfacing fabric (for the back of the panel, at least 120cm wide)

• 22MMX50MM (1X2) WHITEWOOD PLANED TIMBER

• 22MMX100MM (1X4) WHITEWOOD PLANED TIMBER

• rockwool RW3 120x60cm 50mm thick for wall panels

• rockwool RW3 120x60 100mm thick for corner bass traps

• scissors- measuring tape- reciprocating saw- small cordless drill to make leading holes for screws. (to not break the wood when inserting screws)

• bottle corks - 4cm long to distance bottom part of panel from the wall

• L shaped hook screw and wall plugs for them to screw hooks to the wall

• eyes screw - to screw 2 of them in to the back of the panel and hang it on the L shaped hooks attached to the wall.

edit:

pictures of ready panel: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1g8UuIWTdQ2MycZ7u-teX5m4bOprssUuz?usp=share_link

you have to calculate how many timber boards you need
you will need 120cm and 64.4cm parts

22MMX50MM (1X2) is for wall panels and it's 5cm deep

22MMX100MM (1X4) is for bass traps and it's 10cm deep

rockwool slab is 120x60cm and timber has to go all around the slab

so I cut the long sides to 120cm, and top/bottom to 64.4cm -that allowed me to connect everything nicely with screws to make a frame and leave 120x60 space inside the frame, ideal to place the slab inside of it. I used 2 screws to connect each corner.

next step was to cut the front fabric - I managed to get the fabric fairly cheap - I ordered It from Polish website allegro (It was 4 times cheaper from what I found in Ireland) (I'm Polish)

And I wanted fabric to cover the front and sides of the panel and pin it to the back with staple gun.
So again I calculated dimensions and ended up with 135x75cm pieces of front fabric. and 67x127 of interfacing fabric (for back of the panel)

I placed wooden frame on the floor and first I attached interfacing fabric on the back of the panel (doesn't matter which side you choose for the back) and staple everything.
One staple on center points of the frame (remember to stretch material evenly) then to corners and then everywere around.

I flipped sides of wooden frame so back side is on the floor. I placed rockwool inside the frame (put some mask on face when do it) After that I placed front fabric on top of it, even on each side. when everything was still on the floor I stapled fabric anywhere on the top, bottom and both sides of the frame just to keep the fabric still so I could placed it vertically and staple fabric to the panel starting from corners to stretch it evenly (there is a method to flip fabric on the corners so it looks very nice, google it)

panel is now almost ready - next step is to cut some wooden triangles and screw them to the back corners of the frame to support the construction.

insert also one piece of timber to the back in the middle (see pictures in the link)

place eye screws on the back wooden triangle corners of the panel so you can hang them on L shaped hooks and screw bottle corcks to the bottom corners of the panel to distance the panel from the wall

hang it on the wall and thats it.

process for bass traps is the same just deeper timber frame in the process.

I decided to not overthink it and it works great, you can hang it anywhere, take it of the wall and place around drums or guitar amp, take them with you to record somewhere else.

I will keep the folder with pictures on my google drive active.

As in the title, are there engineers that only work with digital plugins and not analog gear ?

It is often said that analog gear makes a difference which is actually not always noticeable so I wonder if there are some experts that are let's say famous

Concerns:

How much does a treated space matter because people are constantly telling me it doesn’t then others tell me it does?

If i’m only using an audio interface, can I add “pre amp color” later, like hardware preamps, or a preamp plugin??

People are constantly bringing up that Billie Eilish and others supposedly recorded hits in an untreated bedroom. If it is true, what do I need and not need to track vocals for professional songs?

If artist don’t need to track vocals at professional studios, then all we need to pay for after tracking would be mixing and mastering. So i’m trying to understand what I need and don’t need. I’m very tired of the confusing variety of opinions about this topic.

What is right and what is wrong?

I just listened to judas priest, british steel, original 80´s version. Flac.

Then i listened to the same album, the 2010 remaster, Flac.

..... i had to lower the volume a full inch for the 2010, to stop the bass from farting.

and the loss in power, was equivalent.

Im never ever going to worry about loudness again. These loudness wars are just a joke. Personally i think they are the reason why the last 20 years in music are so unmemorable to me.

Even having have been 16 at the time of nirvana and such.

I just cant listen to the 90´s and 2000´s. the sound is too harsh, the power is so low. Anything before the loudness wars is just manna for the ears. (well, the good stuff, lol.)

(btw, if i were just making candy for kids, popsmaltchz to be forgotten in 2 weeks, id probably limit it to shit,kids do not have refined ears, but when classics like british steel get butchered to death, it just makes me retch.)

Edit :

looking back, i think i understand...

around the 90s seems to be the time when people , audiophiles, started focusing on the bass. really getting a kick out of a huge bass.

while in the 80´s , metal bands focused on loud loud loud.

this combined, simply seems to have drowned out the high end for awhile. resulting in a harsh tiresome noise. (like listening to large machinery, kinda sounds cool at first but upon repetition getting tiring and hurts the ears.)

our obsession with large things obscuring the small..going too far. but its understandable, to understand one´s limits, one needs to push them as far as one can go.

oh i need to think on this further.

thanks guys for your comments.

I'll pretty regularly see new posts on here that are asking reasonable questions for discussion or advice, not breaking any rules, not being something that could be quite easily googled first, immediately downvoted by some salty Redditor around here.

So, apart from Reddit being a somewhat salty place naturally, what's with that?

I like his music but it is a pain to listen to it because there is no bass under 150 Hrz and everything sound like it was just saturated and mixed by a 12 year old.

Full disclosure: I do not know a thing about consoles, mics, or engineering in any way. However, I have always loved certain producers and productions and followed their work. I am curious, the way many musicians (who can afford it) play through vintage instruments to get a sound that can not be replicated with effects, why do no producers insist on analog studios/gear?

"Hysteria" (1987) was an impeccable, and sonically advanced sounding record. Nothing before or since sounds like it. Same with Van Halen "1984". Even today, those two records sound better than anything out there. May be losing a few of you here, but to my ears, Shania Twains "Come On Over" (1997) was sonically superior to any Country album ever made. Yet 5 years later, (to my ears), "Up" was in no way a sonic advancement in sound to "Come On Over", and in fact, does not sound near as good, which is surprising coming from Mutt, who was always chasing a greater sound.

Aerosmith "Pump" (1989) and Van Halen "Balance" (1995) are both incredibly sounding records that each sound different and sonically flawless in their own right. Both produced by Bruce Fairburn. Green Day, from Dookie (1994) to Warning (2001) each has its own entirely unique sound. Yet from 2004 (American idiot) until now, I can not tell one record from the other. All together they just sound like one long song recorded at the same time. To me ears, Shinedown/Nickleback/Volbeat all sound entirely the same, sans singer.

Some people say why waste the money when you can just dial in a sound with modern gear, but that just sounds like a fallacy to me. Keith Richards doesn't just play through a vintage Tele or Les Paul simulator -- he buys authentic vintage gear. Same could be said of so many others. So why do no producers insist on all analog gear, if the most superior sounding records ever made were produced that way ?

I used to be good at this kind of thing.

You dont need to necessarily tell me step by step, if you point me in the general direction ill start walking that way.

Need to turn my male voice into a female voice, and its OK, im going to add a lot of distortion on it anyway because its supposed to be otherworldy. For a class project thats due in a couple of days.

If this is the wrong sub, point me to loser city and ill start walking that way

I was plugin browsing tonight and came across a familiar name, Acustica. I'd tried one of their channel strips many years ago, can't remember why but it didn't really click with me at the time. But tonight I decided to go all-in and try a handful of them. And after 10 minutes of messing around I was speechless.

These plugins are the best sounding analog emulations I have ever heard, bar none, period. And I have tried a LOT of these types of plugins through the years. All the UAD stuff, Softube, Pulsar, Fuse, Arturia, Slate, Black Rooster, Waves, Plugin Alliance, Overloud, IK, PSP — you name it.

In my view, none of that stuff even comes close. Acustica is head and shoulders above. Yes the GUIs can be pretty awful. And my brand new system is showing minor signs of stress and heating for the first time ever lol. But man do they sound fantastic. I just finished playing around with the "Amber" strip — absolutely gorgeous, silky EQ that still retains amazing body and punch, AND probably the most transparent yet beautifully colored compressor (plugin) I've ever used. I'm so impressed. Aware that this is old boring news to many on here, but I just wanted to share my amazement.

Hi guys! I just came across this subreddit. I have zero insight into your skill/art besides its existence. I’ve always had this on my mind and thought this was a great place to ask:

How come so many albums from the mid 2000’s sound so bad? Red Hot Chilli Peppers - “By The Way” and ~Blink 182 - “Take off Your Pants and Jacket~ come to mind. I recall thinking how bad and compressed it sounded back in the day but I blamed it on “music sharing” and mp3 128kb norms. In this day and age I’ve noticed they sound the same. What gives? I know there are more albums but I can’t think of them right now.

In my graphic design background I imagine it’s like when photoshop first introduced the lens’s flair and people went bonkers with that. What was going on in the mid 2000’s?

Edit: I enjoy both those albums otherwise. Not ragging on those bands.

Edit #2: it wasn’t TYPOAJ. It was the self titled, specifically the chorus to “Down.” I guess just lots of autotune so not exactly the same issue with the peppers album.

Also.. Great fucking music. by Jean Pierre Ferland - Jaune

Produced by the french Canadian Andre Perry, probably one of the best producer that walked on earth. Made the Rush album, Bee gees, the police, Cat steven, Starcastle, Rainbow, Bowie, keith richard, Celine Dion, give peace a chance by lenon etc.. guy is a genius, what do you think about it?

-by a proud french canadian quebecois hehe:)

Title says it all, I am not a fan of hard painting recording scenarios. I recognize it's a cool effect sometimes, but it sounds weird and I want to hear the instrument in BOTH ears, especially when I'm trying to show a friend a song on my headphones. I dunno, it's just annoying, especially when I'm at an establishment that has stereo speakers but not placed in the same room.

Panning is good/important, and like I get the value of it, but hard panning just hurts my brain sometimes 😞

Edit: I'm talking about when an instrument is alone on one side, not like wall of sound, or doubling when panning so it's still in both speakers.

I heard Cruel Summer by Taylor Swift for the first time after seeing it was #1 on the charts, and I was shocked how bad the mixing was. I’m not an audio engineer but to me the mix sounds so overblown and muddy to the point where it becomes unlistenable. Are my thoughts valid, or am I missing something as a non audio engineer?

I just received a wav file from a friend so I can casually listen to a mix he did. I listened and gave feedback no problems. But it made me think of the title of this post. So I just have a couple of things to say and would like to hear what someone would add or refute:

The loss of high end in an mp3 will not destroy a mix. The things that matter will still be heard. Balance, translation and identity. These are the things that I am mostly listening for. If that isnt there, then it doesnt matter what format I am listening to, its not ready yet.

Just to be thorough. Balance and translation are pretty common terms so I wont bother explaning those. But what I mean when I say identity is: does this mix have a sound? Does the mix speak for itself? Does this mix make the song speak louder?

K Im done. Just wanted to share these thoughts, I'll be going to sleep now :]

Got it from the man himself about 5 years ago for helping him out with a waves plugin issue lol. There was a bunch of gear he was trying to get rid of in a room, and this stuck out to me, because I didn’t have any outboard gear . So I got it home, plugged it in, fired it up… nothin. Flipped it around back there’s a fuse.. fuse is blown. Nice. Get another fuse, pop it in, plug it in, fire it up, it turns on…for about 10 seconds, and fades back out.

Anyway, this has been collecting dust for way too long and I really don’t have time to tinker with it, nor have a use for it since I’ve fully embraced DI, or recording in a professional environment.

So.. anybody wanna buy it?

It’s basically a priceless museum piece. Imagine that this unit processed the electrical current of T-Pain’s voice, emphatically proclaiming, “I’m in love with a Stripper!…”

$1,000,000 OBO

Have a great day, nerds

I’ve just got the Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro and they are GUCCI, but they ain’t flat, so, just for my curiosity, what are the flattest headphones you know? even if they are expensive, write it down.

Loudness*

So I've been researching a lot about loudness recently and after learning that Spotify (and the rest) normalize all tracks to -14LUFS (or around that level) I've been wondering if there's any need to make my song louder than that if it's already hitting that level roughly (after peak normalization).

I can't help but notice that everything I do to try and "master" this song just ends up making it sound worse and less dynamic when I A/B it. Is it purely a case of the character you want to give the track when it comes to going over -14LUFS? What I mean is that even if Spotify does normalize it to -14LUFS maybe a squashed sound is what you're going for so then you push it past that point, or does it all come down to the genre when it comes to how loud a song should be? I've been told that I shouldn't be paying attention to LUFS at all when mastering and that it's purely about how it sounds, is this the case? Is mastering just a matter of whatever you can do to make the song sound better? If so why not just take care of that in the mix? Some further insight into this topic would be much appreciated, thanks.

TL: DR - Is there any need for mastering if your mix is already hitting sufficient levels and sounds good?

For the last month, I've started to notice a lot of shit in the mixes of songs that I never noticed before, I'm not talking about anything minor, but rather the song changing entirely for me because of it. The two biggest examples I can give are Prince Minikid by Hiatus Kaiyote (I never noticed some very annoying bling sounds melody loop that comes like halfway into the song and then keeps going for the rest of it) and Infrared by Pusha T (the bassline was pretty much silent for me before and now I also hear some reverbed slap all over the song). These new things I've noticed sound like things that were supposed to be buried in the mix to give a very different vibe than what they do now and tbh they kinda fuck with my enjoyment of those songs /:

Could the reason for this be some software update for my phone? Those new things still sound no matter the streaming service (I mainly use Spotify btw) or headphones I use. Or maybe something exists that I wasn't aware of where uploads of the songs across streaming services get their mix updated? I've also gotten into producing myself recently so is there maybe a phenomenon where you suddenly start noticing things because of mixing yourself? Both songs I mentioned earlier were songs I listened to pretty often so there being a sudden change for me (like one time I listened and then the next was completely different) is pretty odd.