Recording Studios – Birmingham

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CD Duplication

We are delighted to announce that we are now offering in-house professional CD and DVD duplication and printing.

We now have the machinery to produce professionally finished CDs and DVDs in runs of all sizes from 50 – 5000, or even more.

This news is hot off the press and our website has not been updated yet, but f you have any CD/DVD requirements just drop us a line. We are sure you’ll find our prices very low and the quality is superb.

As soon as the new page is online we’ll be spreading the word properly!

What have we been up to?

Well, its been a while since our last blog post. The studio has been overflowing with bands, musicians, video shoots and singers.

We have had some amazing clients through the doors over the past few months, with some very promising futures ahead of a lot of them.

We’ve been working with some super tight rock from MudBall, Pop/Punk from We are Saviours, Indie/ Alternative from Last Masquerade. Kaid has recorded his awesome “Walk Away”, super smooth classic soul/r n b.

Raven Vandelle have been back in with Nick Mailing creating some massive rock tunes to name but a few.

Oh, and Joel got married!!! a busy few weeks indeed!!!

An overview of online mastering:

It was once the case that professional mastering was a costly yet important exercise at the end of the audio production process. It remains true that it is a wise procedure to adopt. However, these days you can still afford a high caliber of mastering by opting for online mastering which tends to get you a very experienced engineer with truly professional equipment at a much more budget friendly rate. With the online mastering model you can remain in complete control by receiving mastering preview files for each of your music tracks. This allows you to assess the mastering before committing to the final masters. It is suggested that you research your online mastering studio with some care, looking at factors such as engineer experience, monitoring arrangements (i.e. presence of reference quality professional loudspeakers), acoustic treatments and of course compare audio samples.

As the sole mastering engineer for SafeandSound Mastering Barry’s take on mastering as a process is that the most important goal is good musical translation across the largest number of reproduction systems possible. In essence the music should sound as good as it can given the mix down on small and large scale sound systems. An essential mastering tool for identifying how music will sound on a big system is large and accurate monitors. Such reference speakers allow the mastering engineer to get a sense of scale. Another important factor is the element of taste input from the client. A good master has an aperture for taste and this is important for any mastering engineer to take into account. The mastering engineer should be in possession of the best possible tools both analog and digital and have the knowledge when to apply each as is appropriate. Commonly these tools will be equalization (tone), compression, (dynamic control), limiting and stereo field adjustment tools. Increasing the perceived level of music is another common goal in mastering though as a mastering engineer he suggests considering the merits and trade offs that occur with extreme level increases. “It has a tendency to reduce punch, detail and depth in a recording, not usually desirable affects. I seek to minimize these effects whatever the desired perceived levels, however I recommend a balanced approach with moderate level increases which retains the vast majority of the clarity, detail, punch and quality of a great mix”. Historical evidence suggests people remember quality, not perceived level.

Finally quality control is also very important, often recording and mix sessions are time pressured and even the best mix engineer or musician can miss a stray click, vocal pop or bad edit when under pressure. Mastering identifies these little mistakes and makes sure they never get heard by the listening public. The very last stage of mastering is ensuring that the music is committed to a final medium such as CD-R pre master, DDP (disk description protocol) or encoded digital audio files. Some of these formats can have important sub code data inserted by the mastering engineer, such as ISRC code (unique track identifiers for radio play royalty collection), UPC/EAN barcodes and CD-Text for artist and track names.

Barry Gardner is the sole mastering engineer at SafeandSound mastering and the website address to visit is : SafeandSound online mastering

Mastering, what is it?

here is a great piece from Paul Wright from Cosmic Mastering:-

I was recently asked by Joel from Univibe Audio to write a piece about audio mastering and why its so important in todays competitive music industry.

Ive been the Mastering Engineer at Cosmic Online Mastering for several years having mastered thousands of independent releases and recordings from independent record labels and artists alike. Ive also had the honour to master a few major single and album releases for well known producers and labels. Although being the last link in the chain and entrusted to master someones creation is always an honour whoever its for.

Even though Ive had over 15 years experience in the music production/mastering industry Ill never stop learning. And my advice to any budding engineer or producer is to utilise the best tool that youll ever find and thats simply  your ears! Dont get too bogged down in the technology. 

Ill attempt to give you a general overview of professional mastering and why its so important for todays music in a cut throat music industry. 

If youve ever done any recording youll probably have wondered at sometime how do I get my mixes to sound like commercial records? 
I would also imagine that some of you dont realise that mastering without doubt plays a vital role in achieving a commercially acceptable sound.

Back in the day when studios recorded to tape it was possible to end up with a fat and fairly loud sounding mix mostly due to tape saturation. I used to saturate the tape when I worked freelance for an analogue studio and although mastering was still a pre-requisite it was probably a little less important than it is today. 

There are many advantages that digital recordings have over analogue and one of them is an increased level of detail in general. However digital recordings sometimes lack warmth and fatness given from analogue. This is where mastering plays a massive part in achieving a warm and fat but detailed sounding master. 

Of course any premastered mix needs to be as vibrant, dynamic and as alive as possible as this is the starting point for a good master. The better the mix  the better the master! 
However with professional mastering theres a vast improvement in the finished product with virtually any mix.   

Modern commercial records are generally pretty LOUD. The idea is that the record companies release stands out from all the other songs on the jukebox/radio. 

Whilst there has been much debate regarding the loudness wars, and its something I generally dont condone, its something that like it or not, is here to stay for the foreseeable future. 
There are bad sounding major releases out there nowadays which are in my opinion generally down to poor mastering. 

Sound Quality issues: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Californication_%28album%29

With every mastering project I undertake my aim is to bring out the best in every song, taking into account the style of the song whilst being as LOUD as possible. 
It is perfectly possible for a good professional mastering engineer to make songs LOUD but also open up the space within the song and improving impact. 
Most clients are amazed at how fat, open, LOUD and punchy their mixes are after mastering. 

This is what tends to sort out a good mastering engineer from a mediocre one. Its easy to make something LOUD but its challenging to make it LOUD, punchy, open and dynamic all at the same time!

If you want your music to sound as good as possible you should always use a good professional mastering engineer. All major labels have their studio mixes mastered by professional mastering engineers and theyre not wrong to do so. As well as the advantage of having a third party listen to your mixes with fresh ears they have a plethora of tools to bring out the best in every mix. Not to mention the fully acoustically designed and treated mastering studio and high resolution monitors/speakers. 

I hope that gives you a useful overview of mastering. If you have any questions or comments or if you’re interested in any of the services Cosmic Online Mastering offer please do not hesitate to contact me. 

Paul Wright
Cosmic Online Mastering
www.cosmiconlinemastering.co.uk
paul@cosmiconlinemastering.co.uk

 

How much to record in a day?

Probably the most common question we are asked here is, how many songs should we record in a day.

There are no hard and fast rules that dictate how many songs you can or should record in any session, but generally recording 1 song per day is a great way to ensure that the songs, arrangement, performances and recording is up to a standard that will really do you justice as a band.

It is tempting to squeeze as much material into 1 studio session, but 1 song performed, recorded and mixed really well is much more valuable than 3 songs that have performance or arrangement issues, these problems with a recording make the whole studio session a waste of time and a false economy.

So, when thinking about what to do in the studio next time, try to bear in mind giving the material it deserves, allow each band member enough time to really get into a track, to express their ideas, thoughts and tastes. Allow the band to gel and create great music in a great studio and leave the studio with a track that you are 100% proud of.

If you are proud of your work it is SO much easier to promote it, sell it, play it and share it with everybody out there in the big wide world, the smallest error or fault in any recording will constantly annoy and irritate you, and will eventaully stop you from promoting your music or playing it to anybody.

Now, as I said at the start of this post, there are no rules and some material needs a much longer studio session than other material, so just try to be realistic and allow enough time for your material.

Remember, we are always here to help you plan and prepare for a recording session. If you know what you want to achieve in the studio we will give you honest and frank advice on how much studio time you should be spending on it, our advice is not based on getting the studio booked as much as possible it is solely based upon making sure your music says what it needs to say, so if you would like to go over any details regarding your next recording session, just drop us a line!

Thanks for reading!

Univibe Audio, Recording Studio Birmingham

 

The new BPI and MU agreement

We have received a new info pack from the BPI (British Parlophonic Industry) and the Musicians Union today regarding the new agreement between these two parties relating to the standard fees and charged for session musicians and performers.

Until now the UK record industry has legal arrangements in place, governed by three separate documents governing how session musicians are commissioned.

These documents have now been reviewed, updated to suit the digital age and consolidated into one document.

The document is quite extensive but here are the highlights:

Audio Visual or Audio Session Fees

Standard Length Session (up to 3 hours session length/20 minutes track(s) duration) – £120

Long Session (up to 4 hours session length/30 minutes track(s) duration) – £180

Short Length Session (up to 2 hours session length/10 minutes track(s) duration) – £90

Live recording session fees

Where a commissioning record label engages a musician for a live audio/audiovisual recording session the label shall pay the musician a recording session fee of £45

Doubling and Trebling

If a musician is requested to play two or three instruments in connection with a single section the fees shall be adjusted as follows:

(a) 25% of the otherwise applicable session fee for one additional instrument and;

(b) 40% of the otherwise applicable session fee for two additional instrument

There are clauses to this element, so please check the full agreement for clarification

these are the main points to the extensive new agreement, so please check out www.bpi.co.uk for full details

Thank for reading!

Tip # 4 – Recording Acoustic Guitar

Acoustic guitar is a one of the most used instruments in modern music. It is just as comfortable in a country, pop, rock and blues as it is in R n’ B, dance or anything really.

So recording it is a large and varied subject, but there are a few key things to remember. The three main elements to a good guitar sound are:

The guitar itself

The actual tone and sound from the guitar is the most important factor in this. If the guitar sounds like a bag of bones, its not going to sound any better once recorded. make sure strings are fresh, and with plenty of life in them, make sure the guitar is well tuned, and has a good intonation.

There are some beautiful and very expensive guitars available, but often a modest ‘just above entry level’ guitar is perfectly capable of producing a great recording.

The microphone choice

The choice of microphone is also imperative, often a small diaphragm condenser is preferred such as Neumann KM84, ir Shure SM81 etc. Thes often provide a more accurate sound than a large diaphragm equivalent, however if all that is available is a large diaphragm condenser, such as Neumann u87 or AKG 414 then with careful placement great results can be achieved.

Microphone placement

The placement of the microphone(s) in front of the guitar can alter the sound dramatically some ideas are:

Place the microphone in front of the 12th fret, roughly 30cm from the guitar pointing towards the soundhole, for a warm, balanced tone.

For a brighter tone try placing the mic near to the bridge, pointing toward the soundhole, or in front of the soundhole (not too close) pointing at the bridge to get a warm tone with a slightly exaggerated top end.

A great way to find a good placement is to route the microphone to some good quality headphones, and whilst the guitarist is playing move the microphone around in front of the instrument until the sound is close to what you are looking for. Sometimes a very unusual placement provides just the osund you are after.

Hopefully these quick tips will help you in your acoustic guitar recording for the future.

Thank for reading!

Univibe Audio

Tip # 3 – Recording Vocals in the Studio

Recording vocals is often an intimate and delicate procedure, the vocalist needs to be comfortable, relaxed and ready as well as being well rehearsed and confident with the track.

There are a few different approaches to getting the best vocal take, each with their own pro’s and con’s. But firstly there is the decision of what microphone to use.

What Mic?

When studio recording we are fortunate enough to be able to choose from a variety of vocal microphones, some are very expensive, some not so expensive, but they all have their own sound. Even mics that are the same make and model can often sound very different when compared.

Each singer has his/her own sound also, and it is super important to choose a microphone that compliments this. The only real way to do so is to set some mics up and get your singer to sing into them, then from the control room really listen to how each mic is reproducing the voice.

Getting this stage correct will make mixing and processing much easier and also much quicker.

When you have chosen your mic you will need to look at preamps and processing, are you going to compress and/or eq the vocal to tape? This is a whole other area which i wont talk about today but its worth thinking about.

Recording techniques

So, when the singer’s voice is sounding good how should we record?

The most important thing to remember here is what recording technique will produce the best end result. If the song is loud and takes a lot of effort from the singer it is not very likely that he/she will achieve the best of their potential by singing the whole thing as one take, however on the other hand, if the song is more relaxed and a more important factor is the flow and the build up of the song then recording in sections will mean that it is very difficult to get the song to naturally build and drop when needed.

Try to keep the end result in mind at all times and speak about these points with your vocalist, try to agree a plan of how to record the vocal parts before you record.

One good technique is to record the song in large sections, or as whole passes, try to record three very good vocal takes, then with the vocalist in the control room listen to each liner, one at a time and compare it to the same line from other takes. As you go along comp the best parts onto a master vocal track and you will usually end up with a very good vocal take.

Every session is different and you need to be able to adapt to work with what you have, but always try to keep the end result in mind and aim for that.

Your band is your brand

Your B(r)and

Remember, your band is your brand, and your songs and image are your product.

It is very hard to find good advice on how to promote and improve your band, but there is a vast amount of advice out there to help you promote and improve your business.

Your band is your business, the principles are the same, your product needs to exceptional, it needs to be remarkable, it needs to be the thing that people WANT to know about. Have a quick search on google for business marketing advice, or business development advice and, with a little adaptation and imagination you have a goldmine of help and ideas for promoting your band.

Who to promote to?

There is no point in trying to get your music out there to everybody in the world, its an impossible task, the effort required for such a feat is immense, and there just aren’t enough hours in the day!. Instead put all of your efforts into getting your music, image and brand in front of the people that already want to know about it. If you are a metal band dont bother playing at every pub in town trying to convert everybody into metal fans, its not gonna happen. Instead play at the few that have a customer base made up of mainly metal fans, and consistently show off a remarkable quality, be the very best in that world, the world you have chosen as your market place.

Spreading the word

The best way to spread the word about your product is for people to talk about it to each other, the only way this will happen is if they have something to talk about, something to make a remark about, something that is remarkable.

If you are consistently remarkable and you are in all of the right places, and you are constantly seeking to improve what you can offer then then it is logical that you will see a dramatic improvement in how people respond to you and how they want to be involved in what you are doing.

So, remember be remarkable in your chosen area and give the people that you want to please what they want

Univibe Audio’s Recording Tip #2

Mixing Volume

“How loud should I monitor when mixing?”

This is a very common question, especially for engineers that are just getting into mixing audio.

Now, everybody has there own opinion on this matter, and all that I can do is give you mine, but this method has worked very well for me over the years, so here goes!.

When mixing most types of music balancing the respective leves of sounds rich in mid-high frequency material is a completely different challenge to mixing sounds with a large amount of bass frequencies, and so it makes sense to vary your monitoring level to suit.

When balancing the mid and high rich elements it is much easier to make informed decisions at lover volumes, and even at very low volumes on restricted bandwidth speakers (eg Yamaha NS10′s etc). Monitoring quietly and listening closely to the relationships between these sounds at this volume will allow your ears to hear the balance of the audio signals and not be affected by the natural compression of your ears.

Your ears are much more sensitive to frequencies in the 1K – 4.5K frequency range and this difference is amplified as the amplitude of the sound is increased

As shown here:

In contrast the human ear s less sensitive to bass frequencies at lower volumes, meaning, making judgements on bass instruments at a quiet volume is very difficult as your ears find it harder to hear bass frequencies at lower volumes. This coupled with the fact that a large part of the sound of most music is the feeling of bass frequencies physically moving the air so, at low volumes this is just not happening.

So in conclusion, try to vary your monitor levels, monitor at a decent level (about 80-85dB) to get things going, then spend a good amount of time monitoring very low, maybe 55-65dB (depending upon your listening environment) to make the all important adjustments to the relative volumes of the mid-frequency rich sounds.

Try not to make too many bass adjustments when monitoring quietly.

remember, your listening environment will affect the sound of your mix, so try to get the room that you mix in to sound as neutral as possible, it is extremely difficult to create a good sounding mix in a bad sounding room, so do not under estimate the value of a well treated listening and mixing environment.

If you would like to hear any of the mixes that we have produced here at Univibe please visit our SoundCloud page and have a listen.

If you have any queries or there is any advice that you would like regarding recording/mixing please ask and we will try to include it in future tips.

Thanks for reading!

Univibe Audio