Post by lilmenchi on Nov 8, 2012 20:30:46 GMT 9.5
I could have combined this with the mixing thread, but I think it works out better to have it in a separate thread~ What you'll find here will be a little introduction to the programs you can use to mix and record, and links to where you can get them. I'll be mainly coming at this from a mixing point of view which is why I have it tagged as mixing, but I'll add bits and pieces regarding recording with the programs as well. If you have anything at all to add, feel free to comment and share!
The Adobe Audition Family
Adobe Audition 1.5 - www.4shared.com/zip/V9JYaTZG/Aud15.html
Adobe Audition 3.0 - www.4shared.com/rar/qjYYZNlJ/Adobe_Audition_3.html
Adobe Audition 6.0 - www.4shared.com/zip/5-5EZZUn/Aud6.html
So, this includes Audition 1.5, 3.0, 6, and Cool Edit Pro 2 (Audition started out as CEP). Honestly, my favourite of the bunch is 3, I think it has the better combination of user friendliness to features when it comes to mixing. There are many awesome features, including the multitrack editor and effects racks where you can do non-destructive editing, ie. adding effects and cutting up lines for timing without committing those changes to the original file. You also get a bunch of better quality effects and can add in new effects (VST) as well.
However, when it comes to recording, 1.5 is your best bet. In order to record in 3.0 (and I'm assuming this is the same for 6) you need to have the session saved and each recording you make is saved to your harddrive, which doesn't sound too bad, but if you're like me and do a lot of takes it will end up using up a lot of harddrive space. I'd recommend using Audacity or 1.5 to record. In 1.5, you don't need to save down each take, you can if you like, but I generally just solo the track with all the recordings I want to keep at the end and go "edit-> mixdown to new file" to save just what I want to keep. I'll go back and then delete all the files I don't want to save space.
The Legal One (As seen in Paranormal Activity)
Audacity - audacity.sourceforge.net/
Here's a little factoid, in the first Paranormal Activity movie, the guy is using audacity to go over the sound from the videos ;D What else can I really say about Audacity? We've all used it at some point or another, especially when starting out, and you can get decent results from it if you know what you're doing. I know a few people who have great mixes who still use Audacity for timing their mixes. It's easy to use and a good program to get used to for the basics before you move to other programs, but it doesn't have a good variety of effects or good quality ones at that, and from what I remember the effects are put directly on the file.
Do I sound like T-Pain yet
Melodyne - ?
Melodyne isn't actually a mixing program, it's used mostly in combination with other programs for things like pitch correction and autotune like effects. I've tried fiddling with Melodyne 3 at one stage and was incredibly lost, but I remember watching a video of a more recent version that looks very easy to use. One downside however is that you need to convert your files (or just save as) to .wav files to work in Melodyne. It's a very powerful program but for what we do, I think it can be excessive, tuning everything can be very time consuming (especially with having to convert all the files first), and for something you're doing for fun and not money? Yeaaaah xD It is definitely worth having a fiddle with at some stage though if you are interested.
Just the vocals
Utagoe - www.4shared.com/file/na8Q_tFE/utagoe.html
This is something you might not have heard of but it's damn handy. Utagoe is a cool little program that will get you a file with just the vocals in a track, which is perfect for helping with timing. All you need is a copy of the song and its official instrumental in .wav (I generally open them up in Audition, line them up and go "Edit-> Save copy as" for both files) and you can make a rip. The best part is it generally gets the backing vocals and harmonies, the things that aren't in the official instrumentals. It's very easy to use, the top one is for the original song, middle for instrumental, and bottom is where you choose were you want your vocals to go, then you just click the big button on the right. It won't work if the file names have Japanese characters in there, and I assume it would be the same for other non-standard English characters (such as Korean, etc.).
The Adobe Audition Family
Adobe Audition 1.5 - www.4shared.com/zip/V9JYaTZG/Aud15.html
Adobe Audition 3.0 - www.4shared.com/rar/qjYYZNlJ/Adobe_Audition_3.html
Adobe Audition 6.0 - www.4shared.com/zip/5-5EZZUn/Aud6.html
So, this includes Audition 1.5, 3.0, 6, and Cool Edit Pro 2 (Audition started out as CEP). Honestly, my favourite of the bunch is 3, I think it has the better combination of user friendliness to features when it comes to mixing. There are many awesome features, including the multitrack editor and effects racks where you can do non-destructive editing, ie. adding effects and cutting up lines for timing without committing those changes to the original file. You also get a bunch of better quality effects and can add in new effects (VST) as well.
However, when it comes to recording, 1.5 is your best bet. In order to record in 3.0 (and I'm assuming this is the same for 6) you need to have the session saved and each recording you make is saved to your harddrive, which doesn't sound too bad, but if you're like me and do a lot of takes it will end up using up a lot of harddrive space. I'd recommend using Audacity or 1.5 to record. In 1.5, you don't need to save down each take, you can if you like, but I generally just solo the track with all the recordings I want to keep at the end and go "edit-> mixdown to new file" to save just what I want to keep. I'll go back and then delete all the files I don't want to save space.
The Legal One (As seen in Paranormal Activity)
Audacity - audacity.sourceforge.net/
Here's a little factoid, in the first Paranormal Activity movie, the guy is using audacity to go over the sound from the videos ;D What else can I really say about Audacity? We've all used it at some point or another, especially when starting out, and you can get decent results from it if you know what you're doing. I know a few people who have great mixes who still use Audacity for timing their mixes. It's easy to use and a good program to get used to for the basics before you move to other programs, but it doesn't have a good variety of effects or good quality ones at that, and from what I remember the effects are put directly on the file.
Do I sound like T-Pain yet
Melodyne - ?
Melodyne isn't actually a mixing program, it's used mostly in combination with other programs for things like pitch correction and autotune like effects. I've tried fiddling with Melodyne 3 at one stage and was incredibly lost, but I remember watching a video of a more recent version that looks very easy to use. One downside however is that you need to convert your files (or just save as) to .wav files to work in Melodyne. It's a very powerful program but for what we do, I think it can be excessive, tuning everything can be very time consuming (especially with having to convert all the files first), and for something you're doing for fun and not money? Yeaaaah xD It is definitely worth having a fiddle with at some stage though if you are interested.
Just the vocals
Utagoe - www.4shared.com/file/na8Q_tFE/utagoe.html
This is something you might not have heard of but it's damn handy. Utagoe is a cool little program that will get you a file with just the vocals in a track, which is perfect for helping with timing. All you need is a copy of the song and its official instrumental in .wav (I generally open them up in Audition, line them up and go "Edit-> Save copy as" for both files) and you can make a rip. The best part is it generally gets the backing vocals and harmonies, the things that aren't in the official instrumentals. It's very easy to use, the top one is for the original song, middle for instrumental, and bottom is where you choose were you want your vocals to go, then you just click the big button on the right. It won't work if the file names have Japanese characters in there, and I assume it would be the same for other non-standard English characters (such as Korean, etc.).