I. The First Steps // JAN 11th
Welcome fellow tonebase academists! 
This is the place where we will talk about the first lesson of our recording course. Please use this thread if you have any questions concerning the workbook or general questions concerning the first steps!
Click here to access Session 1: The First Steps // Jan 11th (Live!)
Find the other sessions here: Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5
Make sure to download our DAW of choice using the link below:
The DAW is free to use for 60 days. After that, you can still always prolong the evaluation period. Though a little bit daunting at first, the routing is pretty straight forward once we get accustomed to follow the signal flow!
Download the first workbook here
I will post the answers to the questionnaire on Jan 17th!
After the livestream, submit your assignments by replying to this thread!
Answers to the questionnaire:
What is a DAW?
- digital audio workstation like Reaper, a place where you can record, listen, and edit audio that is either being recorded or imported. Items in the arranger window reference files on your hard drive, so working within the DAW is (generally) non-destructive.
What is the difference between a USB-Microphone compared to a microphone that is connected to an audio interface?
- An audio interface converts analog voltage into discrete digital values for recording and vice versa for monitoring and playback. While an audio interface requires a microphone to record changes in air pressure, an USB-Mic usually comes already equippmed with some kind of AD/DA converter (aka audio interface). Since a computer usually can handle only one interface at a time, professionals use audio interfaces that have a multitude of digital and analog input and output channels.
What describes the Polar Pattern of a Microphone?
- A microphone's polar pattern describes its sensitivity for sounds arriving from different angles. The most popular polar patterns for music are cardioid, omnidirectional and figure of eight, though every polar pattern or directionality is being heavily used in professional productions in order to to achieve either spaciousness and enveleopment or speration and directivity.
See you tomorrow for "The Edit"! 
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Hello martin ,
for portable recording what would you suggest between Zoom H6, Zoom F6 or Sound Devices MixPre-6 II? I'm gearing towards the MixPre-6 but I'm interested in knowing what you would buy yourself?
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Blaise Laflamme I have only worked with the Zoom H6 so far, so I have not really an opinion on the other two devices. The H6 tends to have a higher noise level, so I guess the F6 might suffer from the same issue (but I think that we use the F6 at the tonebase HQ, so far I haven't noticed a higher noise output there). But looking at your choice of gear you are looking for something that works without a laptop?
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martin right, I want something that works standalone, easily movable and gets the best results with cleanest audio. I already have a computer and an Apollo Twin X and prefer not to invest in a laptop in the short term. For what I can see the MixPre has the least noise-level and seems to be built rock-solid.
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Blaise Laflamme Oh yes, the MixPre are definitely premium, we used them from time to time at the WDR (a big German-wide public broadcast company). The rest of your setup looks great as well!
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martin thank you, I'll go with the MixPre and will share you some feedback or even better a few recordings
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Blaise Laflamme I look forward to that!
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Here's a link to ORTF printable template; https://drive.google.com/file/d/1B7MUDM8mknE-xswE0oLTVaLYlQ75nSDT/view
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Hi everyone.
Please enjoy this version of a Beatles classic by Pat Metheny.
Martin Could you tell me what are the 3 microphones used in this recording?
Thanks
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Phil Meissner That looks like a condenser mic (the small one), probably a Neumann 184 or a Schoeps CM4, then the one that looks like a dynamic mic is probably a Sennheiser MD 441 and the big grey one is most definitely another dynamic mic, the Electro Voice RE 20 (Stevie Wonder used that one a lot as well as Elvis, it still gets produced the same way as back then)!
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Phil Meissner Personally, I think that's a weird choice of microphones and I doubt that these have been used to create that sound. The mics are all pointed towards the sound hole and the Electro Voice is usually a mic that gets used for broadcast and voice (and records a lot from the sides as well).
Whenever there's a video with a lot of cuts to different positions and movements, I get very skeptical!
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Thank you Martin! I need to check that Electro voice RE 20, if Elvis and Stevie used it and they're still making it the same way, it must have something good.
Haha.....Interesting, so from the sound quality you think they are there only as video props?
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Phil Meissner I think so! I wouldn't point the three mics directly to the sound hole as well, that usually sounds super bass heavy!
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Thank you - very informative.
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martin Hi Martin! After a year of practicing recording I'm reviewing this course. I am able to understand a lot more now after a lot of practice. Is this forum still available for asking questions?
End of the Year Challenge: Finish Strong!
