I’ve decided that this is the last week of the blog, at least for a while. I’ll be posting one more on Thursday and then a free for all Q&A on Friday. So thank you in advance for all your nice comments and views. Please follow @krecording on Twitter or “like” Krecording on Facebook.
Leave comments on
Facebook or get in touch on Twitter or info@krecording.com
for all your questions.
Keyboards
Keyboards can
seem very easy to record as all you mostly have to do is plug them straight in
or, even easier, trigger them within the software. They do however have a
tendency to take over the track if they aren't dealt with correctly.
Before you even
put the keyboard in the mix make sure that it is routed to the mix on a stereo
track. If it’s a mono sound then leave it in mono, I’ll get to that in a sec.
By putting the sound on a stereo track you can use one stereo compressor to
keep a handle on the levels. Also one stereo EQ is far easier to use than two
mono EQs.
Keyboards can
have a great variety of sounds, from sharp attacking piano to slow moody “Blade
Runner” style pads. I’ll give you some basic guidelines where you can start
from, these aren’t rules but they may give you a head start.
When you set up
the track put an EQ and then a compressor plug in on the keyboard track. If you
have a short sharp sound keep the release fast on the compressor and the attack
fairly fast. If it’s a pad use a fast attack and a slow release.
 |
| Mini grand piano with EQ and Compression |
As far as the EQ
goes, turn the keys up in the mix and listen to what frequencies are “clouding’
the mix. Use your EQ to turn these frequencies down. You don’t need to
completely lose that frequency, just turn it down a bit. You’ll hopefully now
find that your keyboard, once turned back to a reasonable level, is sitting
somewhat better in the mix.
When it comes to
mono keys the method is pretty much the same, just use the panning to find a
place in the mix where the keyboard is heard.
Thursdays blog
will be about EQ and Fridays Q&A will take EQ questions but feel free to
ask me anything and I’ll do my best to answer all.
The course that
I’m teaching is on this weekend. There is still one or two places available. If
you are interested in learning more about recording and mixing then please get
in touch with Maggie in STC on 01-6709033.
Regards,
Andy Knightley
No comments:
Post a Comment