Tips to warm up the digital sound - PT1

Ok mates, this is for guys (like me, sadly) who play guitars and basses through software emulators or try to recreate the real sound of analog or acoustic instruments like drums, Fender Rhodes, Hammond, analog synths, etc. using virtual instruments.
Today I did a little experiment with a loop played by me and composed of drums (played and programmed on a sampler), bass and guitar (played through virtual emulator) and a wurli (played on a virtual instrument).

This is the mixdown with only software plugins/emulators:
Vintage Loop - DIGITAL

The experiment is to try to give a kind of "analog spice" to the digital sound. I decided to work on drums and guitar.

First of all, let's give a real room ambience to the drums. So I recorded my own room ambience with a stereo couple of microphones (Se4 by Se Electronics) put in ORTF mode, while playing the drums track through my VXT8 (bypassing the subwoofer). The pre-amp (Audient ASP008) is set with a hi-pass filter on 250hz to avoid bass frequencies resonances.

Afterwards I passed this track through my TL Audio A2 with maximum compression and tube stage set next to the peak limit.
This new track is to be kept at very low volume.

Later on I worked on guitars.
I put a microphone (an Se4 again) off-axis against the woofer of one of my two Equator D5. I chose this monitor because of the coaxial tweeter, to avoid phase problems.

As I did for the drums track, I passed the signal again in the A2 using the tube to get a real tube harmonic distortion.

The new mixdown is here below.
Vintage Loop - ANALOG

Obviously it's not a macroscopic difference, but this kind of processing can provide great results if used with taste and courage.

Good evening, mates.

Yes, but ProTools sounds better...

Hi guys, just done a little test... for personal curiosity, not polemics.

I wanted to compare a bunch of playback engines of the main DAW's and audio players. The software programs I chose to make this comparison are Logic Pro, Pro Tools, Ableton Live, OSX Preview Player, iTunes and Cog (awesome and recommended free audio player - link to download).

Aligned Files with max zoom ratio

To do that, I wired the built-in output of my MacBook Pro with the MOTU 828 MK3 connected to my iMac. In the MacBook Pro I played the same audio file (mono, 24/44.1) with all the software I mentioned above and recorded the analog output of the laptop with my iMac. The quality of the connections and converters should be insignificant, since I used the same configuration throughout the duration of the test.

Once I got all the recordings I aligned all the files using the maximum zoom ratio and compared them all, each time inverting the phase of one of the two I was comparing.

The result is surprising in some way.

They're all different from each other, but still quite similar (no abyss at all), except for the file played by Ableton Live, which really has nothing to do with all the others (this, in a way, makes me suspect something wrong).

The two couples of files which are more similar to each other are: ProTools/iTunes (!!!) and Cog/OSX_Preview.

I want to clarify that I absolutely didn't want to make a comparison between the algorithms the DAW's use to process or bounce the audio files, but only between the sound engines during simple playback.

If you like to try the comparison by yourself, here you can DOWNLOAD the files. Just make sure they're well aligned when you upload them in your DAW.

G'nite, mates.

Studio setup

Ok, guys, let me introduce you my studio.

There are two main configurations: the mobile studio and the resident one.

Mobile setup

The mobile is quite simple: MacBook Pro + MOTU Ultralite MK3 (HD 192 converters) powered through FireWire connection, so that I could even record with no power supply. Listening system: the reliable KRK kns8400, wonderful headphones, flat and precise.

The studio setup is based on a powerful iMac (i7 3,4GhZ quadcore, 16GB RAM, SSD disk + 1TB SATA, graphic card Radeon HD 6970M 2048 MB) plus a MOTU 828 MK3 (HD 192 converters).

The control room is entrusted to the quite good Mackie Big Knob, which also works as a phono preamp for the turntable (Pioneer-something) and sometimes as a preamp for other sources as mp3 players, etc. I often use it as headphones amp too, when I don't need more than 2 outputs. When I need more I can use the Behringer Powerplay, but sincerely it's more like "huh, every studio's got one, so... if needed..."

Equator D5

The Big Knob manages two systems of monitors: KRK VXT8 + subwoofer 10s (f***in wow) and the surprising Equator D5, coaxial, amazing on acoustic music, voices, reverbs, etc.

Outboard: TL Audio Ebony A2 (routed on 3-4 828 out and 9-10 in). I find it really useful and I like pretty much its sound, especially referring to its price range. I use it often just to warm the sound, by simply passing the signal through the tube, with no comp or eq. I also love the eq when used in gain mode and the compressor, but often used bypassing the tube stage (it keeps the transients more clear and precise when used in class A mode).

Ebony A2

Audient ASP008

An Audient ASP008 provides me with 8 pre-amped channels. Love this machine, handy and transparent.

The rack

I don't have many microphones, since, when I need to record "big" things I refer to my mate Mattia Garimanno, owner and manager of Ænima Recordings (Cavagnolo - TO), very nice studio and indie label I work with. Anyway I use proudly a stereo couple of Se4 and the amazing Z5600a (tube microphone) by Se Electronics. I also have a couple of Shure SM57 and a Sennheiser e845s.

Everything in the studio is cabled with Klotz cables.

Yamaha MOTIF ES8: the arrangement area

I use a Behringer UMX250 as little keyboard and controller and the Korg Nano Kontrol.

Instruments: Yamaha MOTIF ES8 is the main keyboard, but I mostly use it as a master keyboard rather than as a synth. I also play a custom Squier Stratocaster (tuned in drop C with strings 12/60 and humbucker Seymour Duncan Hot Rails), a custom Squier Jazz Bass (tuned C-F-Bb-Eb with 110 strings), a Korg Monotron and a Moog Theremin.

Instruments and... MUSIC!

Sometimes I use a Geloso tape recorder to process mono signals, but since it has an awful sound, an awful time reliability and awful gain/output control... I can use it only for experimental reasons.

A HP Elitebook is used as media center (it manages all my digital music and video database and the backup system and it's wired to the router, so that every mac or pc connected via wifi or LAN can easily enter it.

Come and have a coffee with me, guys.

Welcome to MOLEN.

So. Mates. Welcome to my new blog. I decided to put this page on to share with you all my activities in the studio.
Here I'll post news, photos, videos, tips, etc...
If you're interested in these kind of things, please follow me in this trip and share this blog with your friends.

Let's go. \m/