II. The Edit // JAN 18th
I hope you had an intensive first week of recording behind you, collecting different versions and takes of your very own playing in the workspace of our DAW!
After this live stream, you should be able to edit your recordings, thus creating a master take that inhabits the very best parts from all of your takes 
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Please use this thread if you have any questions concerning the workbook or general questions concerning The Edit!
Click here to access Session 2: The Edit // Jan 18th (Live!)
Find the other sessions here: Part 1 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5
Download the second workbook here
I will post the answers to the questionnaire on Jan 24th!
After the live stream, submit your assignments by replying to this thread!
Answers to this week's questionnaire:
1. Why do we group tracks?
We group tracks for two main reasons:
- When we record several tracks in mono to achieve a stereo sound (using one mic source per channel), we need to be able to quickly apply all the main editing techniques two both of the stereo channels at the same time. This will save in the editing process.
- Left and Right channel need to stay in their correct phase correlation. When L and R get "out of phase" several problems will occur: First, the track will sound weirdly shifted, as sound is coming into your ear from one side and out of your ear from the other side. Second, when summing in mono, your sound will become thin as due tue the phase shift frequencies might cancel each other out, resulting in a thin timbre.
2. Why should you make an edit plan?
We make an edit plan with our score to ensure maximum efficiency during editing, making the execution of the edit just a technical task. When you need to listen back to your whole take, deciding which measure to take from which recording, you are slowing down your editing process and will do edits simply because you can, not because you want to.
3. If you delete an item from your DAW, what happens to it?
Nothing, as the items in the DAW are just references to files on your hard drive. There is only one exception: Right after you stopped recording a take, Reaper will ask you whether to keep this recording or not. This is the only place where you can permanently delete a track from your hard drive.
Here is a link for a step by step instruction of how to implement 4-Point-Editing into Reaper, a workflow commonly used for classical music production but usually only to be found in dedicated DAWs like Sequoia or Pyramix.
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Hello Martin.
I am very sorry to send the material with so little time. It has been impossible for me to do it before. Thanks a lot!
I send you 4 audio tracks. Some are stereo and some are mono.
The mics are Neumann KM 184 (I have used it for mono and stereo) and Scarlett Studio. I imagine that one is much better than the other but I was fine with testing.
Tracks 1 and 3 are recorded in stereo. I have switched channels between them.
Tracks 2 and 4 are recorded in Mono with the Neumann microphone in a different distance.
I would like to ask if we think about recording for social networks is it useful to record in stereo, that is, if it will affect the quality of the audio since you will mainly listen to it on a mobile phone.
Thank you very much for the course, it is being fantastic !!!-
Emili Hi there, thank you for your submissions! That is a wonderful intimate performance that you've captured there!
When working with two VERY different mics it is always hard to achieve a consistent phantom image, meaning that you have a stable sound source coming right from the center. The reason for that is that different mics will pick up different frequencies with different sensitivities, so ... a lot different stuff! We can counter that by either EQ the hell out of each channel or - and I would suggest that for your recordings - just take the mono channel that sounds best and apply some reverb to that, that'll open up the soundscape and blur the fact that it's actually a mono recording!
We always need to think of how people are going to listen to your music. Back in the days when music was mostly consumed via radio on i.e. mono kitchen speakers, mono compatibility was a huuuuge concern for radio engineers, but already then people were recording in stereo (ORTF was developed in the sixties especially with mono compatibility in mind!). Then why not record in mono then? Those recording engineers were always at the technological edge of what was possible in terms of signal transmission and broadcasting (BBC engineers were famously working in white doctors' coats!), so sacrificing quality was never an option, this is why it is even possible for us nowadays to record music without the need of a huge recording facility!When we think of music consumption nowadays, the first thing that comes to my mind is personal listening via headphones or via laptop, and all of those systems play back in stereo, so I would suggest to optimize our recordings for that market.
But what lies ahead of us? There is binaural recording, there is Auro, there is ambisonic, there is 3d, who knows what the future will bring us? Having a great sounding stereo record is a great start!
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martin Thank you Martin!!
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Hi Martin, great academy so far, thanks a lot for your really great stuff! I planned to submit to this thread with first edit(s) but due to time restrictions I was not able, but I will further attend and participate (and maybe submit later if possible).
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Robert Awesome! In next weeks session we will have a big listening session, going in depth into all (or at least a lot) of your recordings!
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martin Here is my mp3-file. Sorry, I am a bit late with this file and behind the course; due to work in past week I found no time for considering part III so far... However, I am happy that I found time for recording 2 takes and a few sniplets of "Kizuna", I. Preludio solenne, Lento, composed by Jean-Marie Raymond (2011, to "my friend Minoru Inagaki, as a tribute to Japanese people" - remember the Tsunami...). For copyright reasons I am not posting the score here (if it is allowed for educational reasons, I can do it...). Movements II and III are based upon the same theme, no. III is tremolo all the time... Beautiful...
I am totally new to recording (recorded with smartphone only so far). Recently, I purchased a very cheap low-end USB-Mic (Thomann SC440, condenser, supercardioid), so it is Mono. But after my first tries now I like this kind of recording (and it helps to focus on tone production, sound etc.; it is very very helpful to listen to own recorded playing...) and also editing, so most likely I will replace it by a different (non USB) one. It was placed approx. 35 cm away from guitar, pointed a bit from above to the bridge (but I am not sure whether this was the best setting; and for example whether the db is ok).
Guitar: Hopf, Gran Concierto Centurio Nuevo, 2015, spruce top, old strings (will replace them this evening, but I had to record before that)
Comments on my own impression while playing and listening to recorded stuff: in a new approach I would try to play more legato to improve the phrasing... This time I was focused on the several voices and holding notes and damping them...
I hope you like it and I look forward to your comments and recommendations.
Thanks for this awesome academy!
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Yess...did it! Sorry, I should say I finally finished my assignments over the 2 weeks, a bit late... Organizing and editing the takes, following instructions of the 2nd and 3rd lesson. Her the newly rendered file and the editing plan.
I am not happy at all with the sound, but I have to do for now with the 1 basic mic. I'll invest in the hardware later, now focus on understanding the technique, which is challenging enough. Just beginning to get the idea. I welcome any advise on how to adjust the sound, if possible. Forgot about the screenshots, but the settings followed basicly the examples in the PDF.
There is a terrible copy paste error (0.47), didnt know how to fix it.
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joosje This is awesome to see and hear, thank you for that recording! It's wonderful that lived up to the challenge, you will only get better and better the more often you try and repeat!
Try to move the edit in line 6 between bar 2 and 3 right before either the first or the second c major! At the moment, I can clearly hear a hard transition of two different chords fading out. By moving the crossfade right next to a transient (like REALLY close), we can hide the edit making it inaudible! You can either shorten on of the item by simply splitting and deleting the item or by clicking and dragging on the edge of that item.
I kind of forgot what setup you were using, and I think I can hear a compressor kicking in quite aggressively sometimes (though I'm not sure, because some cheaper mics come with a compressor already built in). If you used a compressor, try only to capture the loudest peaks!
But other than that, good job, keep going!!
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I finally managed to find the time and quiet to do a take of piece I composed. Neither the performance nor the recording are very good, but it's something! There's a tiny bit of EQ on there, and I've tried some reverb, but anything I seem to do makes it sound rubbish. Any feedback whatsoever would be really appreciated!
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Is the file getting uploaded? Not sure.
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Roni Glaser Awesome, I love it, and what an intricate compostion!
I suggest to move your mics a little bit closer since I get quite a room ambience there. While we're at the topic of reverb, I'd go for something a little more drastic, I think it will glue the piece nicely together!
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martin Thanks for your suggestion! Yes, in a previous session you suggested that I record nearer with my H4n, but I kept messing up the performance when I tried, so I took this one from before and tried editing it. I'll try to find time and try again with video! Thanks again for your fantastic course!!!
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Roni Glaser Awesome, I'll look forward to your submission! Thank you! :)
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End of the Year Challenge: Finish Strong!
