I have run into a problem – I seem to lose the energy of a live performance when I record with a metronome, but my rhythm is pretty awful (I tend to speed up). Any ideas as to how I can maintain the energy in the recordings without getting sloppy?
Thanks! Harrison
Ooooo…good question.
There are a lot of benefits to recording with a metronome (a.k.a. “click track”). I’ll get into that on a future post, but I highly recommend recording to a metronome of some sort. It makes overdubs, editing, and even mixing go much more smoothly.
Hi Joe, Just purchased your Understanding Editing Tutorials. And I have a question. On the 3rd video, “Drum Editing,” you are discussing about overlapping the wav forms so that the cymbals continue to ring out. Wouldn’t it be easier, if instead of grouping the cymbals with the other tracks to be edited, that you leave them alone? Or am I missing the point? If you are grouping all the tracks together, for editing purposes on the kick or the snare, why include the cymbals? I am confused as to why one would include the cymbals for a group editing, and take the risk that they don’t continue to ring out as originally played.
Here’s a question I get fairly often. Do you have digital connections on your interface? Not sure? You may have more inputs and outputs available than you realized.
Josh wrote:
Hey Joe,
I hope you had an awesome new year. I have a question about using S/PDIF inputs. I have S/PDIF I/O on my fast track pro and I was wondering if could use these to add more recording channels for drums. I have heard they function similar to ADAT ports but I wasn’t totally sure. If you could explain to me or refer me to an article about how i could use these to expand my input channels that would be great. Maybe I have bad info and the S/PDIf have a totally different purpose but any help would be awesome.
Thanks for all your help I’ve learned so much from your posts and my acoustic guitar no longer sounds muddy thanks to your help with basic EQ.
Josh
Great question, Josh.
Here’s the “skinny.” Everything you record into your computer at some point gets converted from an analog audio signal to a digital one.
Ever heard someone (like me) tell you to use offline processing to your audio? Not sure what that means? Let me show you how to do it in ProTools with AudioSuite plug-ins.
Mark your calendars. Next Monday night, September 20, I’m hosting a free Q&A webinar. This will be a fun, casual event where you can come ask me any and all recording questions you may have.
I try to answer reader questions here on the site, but sometimes it’s helpful to answer them in realtime. And…it’s a lot of fun.
If you’ve been a part of the HSC Production Club in the past, then you’ve likely been on one of these live Q&A sessions with me before, and you know how fun and valuable they are.
For those of you who don’t know, the Production Club is a live 12-week training course. Members receive weekly video downloads from me, where I walk them through the recording process from start to finish. We start with just a song, and by week 12 we have a finished, fully-produced recording.
During the Q&A session on Monday, I’ll be briefly explaining what the Production Club is all about, and I’ll be opening the doors for new members. This will most likely be the last Production Club class of 2010, so if you’re thinking about joining, clear out your schedule for Monday evening, and I’ll answer any questions you may have.
Even if you decide that the Production Club isn’t right for you, please join us for the Q&A session. It’s a free event, and I’m happy to answer as many questions as I can.
It’s been a while since I’ve answered a reader question. I hope to do more of that in the coming weeks and months, either via blog posts or the podcast. If you have a question you’d like me to cover, click here.
Today’s question comes from Angela. She writes:
Hey Joe,
My mom can’t find a reason to sign my school loans for IPR. I want to get my Pro Tools Certification and my 2-year degree. How much on average does a person with those qualifications make?
For a lot of aspiring engineers, going to college for engineering might not be a viable option. Some might opt for a Pro Tools Certification course. These can still cost quite a bit of money. I did some Googling, and it looks like it could potentially be a couple thousand dollars, depending on the school.
Here’s another reader question:
