Mic, Line and Instrument Level – What’s the Difference?
Mic Level
When sound hits the diaphragm of a microphone very low voltage signals are produced. On a dynamic microphone these signals are typically around 1.5 millivolts. For a more sensitive microphone the voltage would be more like 70 millivolts.
These signals are weak and can be affected by electrical interference quite easily. If you plug a mic directly into an active speaker for example, you probably won’t get any sound. As this signal is so weak a pre-amp is required to boost the signal to line level. The outputs of the pre-amp can then be connected to the inputs of a mixing desk or audio interface for example.
DIY Broadband Bass Trap – How To Build Your Own 8″ Monster Trap
With some basic diy skills and for a fraction of the cost of retail bass traps, you can quite easily build effective broadband bass trapsto tame those offending low frequency reflections in your studio. Follow the step by step guide below and you’ll transform the sound of your studio in no time.
Quite often people ask what plugins I use on vocals and in what order. To help answer this question I will periodically post pictures of the different vocal chain set ups I use. In this particular example I was after a ‘breathy’ and ‘airy’ vocal sound for a middle 8 part on a dance track that was ‘dreamier’ than the rest of the the vocal.
Essential tools to help you get an accurate sound in your home or project studio
MAC
AudioXplorer is a powerful sound analyzer software designed specifically for Mac OS X.
AudioXplorer provides a real-time analysis window where the user can visualize the sound, spectrum and sonogram. Several real-time windows can be opened simultaneously.It also provides a static analysis window where the user can
Expanders increase the difference in loudness between quieter and louder sections of audio making quiet sounds quieter and loud sounds louder. They are pretty much the opposite of compressors working by turning down the volume when the signal level falls below the
Zero Latency Monitoring for Digidesign 002 and 003
RME’s Fireface Offers A Unique Solution
Robert Holsman
Reading through the various Pro Tools forums, there are two commonly recurring themes. Firstly, Pro Tools users love Pro Tools software for its reliability, flexibility, ease of use, precision editing and it being the only audio platform that maintains sample accurate sync across all tracks in a session. Secondly, we’re not so enamoured of the LE hardware. The 002 and 003 ranges have been singled out for having no zero latency monitoring, audio converters below par when compared with other manufacturers and low-gain, noisy preamps.
If you’re a Pro Tools user you may have heard of a plugin called Source Connect. Whilst this article is not directly about Source Connect, it is useful to understand what it is and what it does.
In critical listening environments such as a recording, mixing and mastering studios, it is imperitive that the sound from the speakers is true and accurate.
Music mastering is an essential part of every hit record. Yet, few new (and even some “established”) musicians have a good understanding of what mastering is and why they need it.
This often leads to many selecting the wrong mastering studio… and making many unnecessary mistakes in the recording and music mixing phases (which affects the mastering later on).
This is why below are the 5 most frequently asked questions about music mastering:
While it’s definitely important to use quality mics and good preamps, I think it’s far more important that you know how to properly place your microphones to get the best sound. Spot, distant, ambient, stereo, and combined miking are the five choices you have to choose from.
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