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recording
 At Perks Place Recording Studio we use Pro Tools HD for all our multi-track recording. We record our analog signal from a single or multiple microphone setup to single or multi tracks into Pro Tools. From the microphone we travel into any of our pre-amps ranging from Gold Coast pre- 73, Focusrite OctaPre, Focusrite ISA 1. The signal then travels to our (2) DBX 160 compressor’s or straight into Pro Tools where it is converted to a digital signal. We record at a sample rate of 96Khz/ 24 Bit rate. Within Pro Tools our (DAW) Digital Audio Workstation we then balance the levels of our recorded audio with a virtual fader within the DAW or on our Mackie channel strip with real flying faders. Then we can insert into any channel eq, compression, delay, reverb and many other plug-ins. We have a nice list of plug-ins from Waves including V series, SSL, API, CLA and many more as well as all the Pro Tools plug-ins. Within the DAW we can see the recorded audio as a waveform, and the Editing capabilities to the recorded audio are nearly endless. From time stretching to fade in’s fade out’s, cutting, copying and pasting the amount of audio manipulation is staggering. There is also automation which allows the DAW to recall fader moves from volume to panning and allows many options for automating moves within the plug-in’s. The tracks are routed to the stereo bus where they are converted back to an analog signal to be played back through our JBL Studio monitors, Behringer Studio Subwoofer or the Avantone’s .The audio can then be exported as a stereo WAV. file, which is then converted to a sample rate of 44.1Khz/16Bit. That is the standard sample and bit rate for a compact disc (CD).
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At PPWP Recording Studio mixing audio tracks in Pro Tools is the next stage after the recording process has been completed. We take all the recorded tracks mono, stereo, auxiliary channels and send them to the Stereo buss to be exported as a stereo wav. File. The mixing process is the balancing of the recorded audio levels, panning within the stereo field and the art of adding Eq, compression and effects. Eq is used to adjust the frequency of a given track compression is used to control the dynamics / level of an instrument. Effects such as delay, reverb, flange, chorus, are used to add depth and general sweetening to the audio track. Mixing is a very detailed task as every adjustment tends to affect other instrument's that is why soloing a certain track and tweaking Eq and compression settings for too long without hearing how the track sits in the whole mix can be futile. All the tracks need to have their own sonic space and proper balance. The use of automation in the mixing process is often used to control many jobs such as volume levels, a multitude of parameters with plug-ins, and the amount and length of effects. The master buss can then have compression, Eq and maximizing plug-ins inserted to affect the overall stereo mix. The stereo track is now ready to be exported as a 44.1k 16Bit wav. File to be burned to a cd, or the stereo mix will be sent to mastering to be further Eq’d and maximized to commercial grade. |
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A lot of people tend to confuse mixing and mastering as the same process, but they are two distinctly different jobs. Once the mixing is complete there is one more step to have your final master ready for replication. This step is referred to as mastering, and consists of eq, limiting, and compression of your
stereo mix. The mastering process also adds fade in and fade outs as well as the spacing between songs, as well as noise reduction. It is recommended to use a Professional mastering engineer to handle the job if you have the budget. They have a sonically designed room, specific mastering equipment and the ear for that specific job. If you don’t have a large budget for Professional mastering we offer mastering at Perks Place. We use the BBE Sonic Maximizer, Waves Linear Phase EQ, Linear Phase Multi Band, C1 Compression and the L316 Multimaximizer. |
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 Within the modern Digital Audio Workstation the Editing capabilities are amazing. The audio waveform can be manipulated in countless ways. We can start with tools to cut, copy, paste which allows you to move your audio anywhere you want. This can be useful for repairing mistakes, as you can grab a good piece of audio and copy and paste it over the bad take. Playlists in Pro Tools are a great way to comp multiple takes into one good solid take. You can search down through your takes and highlight a section click the arrow and pull it into your comp take. A very powerful tool for getting the best out of your recorded audio. Fade ins and fade outs as well as cross fades can smooth out your track as well. Pro Tools offers Beat Detective and Elastic audio. Beat Detective is great for Editing a multi track drum take lining up all the beats to the grid for a spot on take that is dead on with the click. Elastic Audio allows the audio to be stretched without altering the pitch, so you can literally speed up or slow down an entire song. Within Pro Tools if you have recorded to a click and you are in grid mode you can move whole sections of your song to try different arrangements. There are also tools for duplicating, reversing, consolidating and adjusting gain levels. Editing digital audio is an essential part of manipulating modern music.
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