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In This Issue:
Mastering The Mastering Tool Kit
Universal Audio welcomes Roland VS Users
Dynamic Automation on the VS-2480CD or VS-2400CD
Shortcut for Assigning Inputs to Tracks on the VS-2400CD
and VS-2480CD
Customizing Guitar Effects on the BR-1600CD
Use 16 Compressors at a time on the Boss
BR-1600CD
Mastering The Mastering Tool Kit
By Jim Bybee
Wondering about the seemingly mysterious, enigmatic topic of Mastering?
It’s actually quite simple. Mastering is the process of collecting and
preparing your completed music mixes for their final playback medium,
a “master” CD. The V-Studio mastering procedure can include the following
steps:
- Importing—your mixes into a single mastering project.
- Editing—the start and end points of each mix to remove any
extraneous noises.
- Sweetening—the sound of your mixes as needed by processing them
with the Mastering Tool Kit, capturing the results as CD-compatible
disk images.
- Assembling—the disk images into the order you want them to play
on the CD.
- Placing—CD track markers that tell a CD player how to find your
songs.
- Burning an audio CD—so that you can play your music on any audio
CD player. This disk can also be used as a master for
mass-duplication.
A Roland V-Studio equipped with a VS-compatible CD burner and a
VS8F-3 or VS8F-2 effects board allow you to accomplish all of these
processes.
You might be asking yourself, “Why do I need to master my recordings?
Can’t I just burn my mixes to an audio CD and be done with it?” Well,
you certainly can, and the V-Studio’s “Track at Once” CD burning option
makes burning songs one at a time extremely easy. And if you’re just
sharing song demos, you probably don’t need to go to the trouble of
mastering. However, when you’re ready to compile a group of recordings
for a final CD release, mastering has some
important benefits:
- It allows you to create a good song-to-song balance on the
CD—Recordings mixed at different times can sound quite different from
each other. By subtly adjusting the equalization, dynamics, and level
of each mix, you can make them all “live together” better on the final
CD.
- You can enhance your mixes—by “polishing” the overall sound with
digital processing, you can often improve the aural presentation of
your songs. (Mastering can’t always solve problems with poor mixes,
however. Great masters always start with great mixes.)
- · It provides a fresh perspective on your music—the process of
recording and mixing a song is very detail-oriented. Mastering, on the
other hand, is a subtler approach, one that’s more concerned with the
presentation of a collection of songs.
- It helps you compete with commercial CDs—100% of all commercially
released recordings are mastered to some degree. Good mastering can help
your music stand side by-side with other recordings in areas of impact,
presence, and punch. One particular benefit is in increasing the
average level of the music by using an effect called “limiting.”
Ultimately, though, the goal of mastering is quite simple: To create a
CD that sounds great on any system it’s played on, be it a home stereo,
boom-box, car stereo, or the radio. Want to learn even more about
Mastering using your Roland or Boss Digital recorder? Read the entire
21 page guide to Mastering here:
http://www.rolandus.com/support/support_docs/VS8F3_WS01.pdf
Universal Audio welcomes Roland VS Users
By Dan Krisher (with help from Matt Ward of Universal Audio)
With a VS8F-3 Plug-in Effects Expansion
Board installed in a Roland V-Studio, Roland
VS owners now have access to the exciting
world of third-party plug-ins. This opens
up the Roland V-Studio to the elegant and
specialized processing tools computer users
have enjoyed for years. Thanks to the VS8F-3,
Roland V-Studios are essentially now on equal
footing in all areas of the recording process.
In this article, we’ll take a look
at the new Universal Audio VS 1176LN and
VS LA-2A plug-ins, and show you why these
are “must have” tools
for your V-Studio.
Universal Audio (or “UA” for short)
has a long and important history in the development of recording
gear. Universal Audio was established in the 1950s by legendary producer,
engineer, studio and gear designer Bill Putnam. Many consider Bill
Putnam the father of modern recording. The invention of the modular
console, his creative use of artificial reverb, and his early use
of stereo recording are just some of his breakthrough innovations.
Bill Putnam Jr., current owner of Universal Audio, says this about
his father’s
design contributions : “He was a guy who built equipment to
solve problems in the studio.”
1176LN
One of Bill Putnam’s most notable designs is
the 1176LN Limiting Amplifier. In 1967, the
1176 was the first solid-state “FET” (Field
Effect Transistor) compressor/limiter. Today
it still stands as the benchmark for all
FET-based compressor/limiters. A circuit
change was made for an early revision that
lowered the noise floor, and the 1176 has
been the 1176LN (LN for “low
noise”) ever
since.
The 1176 is more than a compressor;
it’s a tone box also
that gives a unique sonic quality to the
audio that passes through it. The 1176 can
go from transparent to extremely aggressive, all the while retaining
a musical sound. The VS 1176LN is modeled after the “D” and “E” revisions,
widely held to be the best sounding in the
1176LN’s long history.
In Use
The beauty and charm of the 1176LN is its
simplicity. The 1176LN has attack, release,
and ratio controls, as well as input and
output gain controls. The input gain also doubles as a threshold
control. Setting up the 1176LN is a simple balance between input
threshold and output. Furthermore, unlike many modern compressors,
attack and release controls get faster — not
slower — when
the knobs are turned clockwise.
The 1176 is
a versatile compressor/limiter — perfect for
a variety of sources, including drums, guitars,
basses, and vocals. All of these have been
enhanced by the 1176 on countless classic
recordings. The 1176 is also great on room microphones, creating
a larger than life sound when driven hard.
To bring out the most character
in the 1176LN, combine a slow attack and
fast release times with a high degree of input. The 1176 is also
famous for a unique studio trick; simultaneously pushing all the
Ratio buttons gives an over-the-top sound when driven hard, made
famous by the drums on Led Zeppelin’s “When
the Levee Breaks.” This trick is known as the “all button” mode,
and is faithfully captured in the VS 1176LN.
LA-2A
The LA-2A is equally famous and as widely
used as the 1176LN in the studio. Originally
designed as a broadcast compressor, the LA-2A found its way into
studios as the go-to compressor for vocals — although
the LA-2A sounds great on a variety of sources.
Unlike the 1176LN’s
FET-based gain reduction design, the LA-2A’s “detector” is
optical, and ingeniously employs a luminescent
panel and a photo resistor to achieve gain
reduction.
In Use
What makes the LA-2A unique is
its ability to maintain a high level of clarity,
even with a large amount gain reduction. This
is the same for the VS LA-2A, thanks to its
authentic “program dependent” nature.
The LA-2A’s compression characteristics will differ depending
on source material, but always in a flattering,
musical way.
The LA-2A’s controls are also extremely simple — the
main controls are Gain Reduction and Make-Up
Gain. The LA-2A will behave differently depending
on source material. Try the LA-2A on sources
where a large degree of manual control is not necessary. Vocals,
bass instruments, guitars, and horns have all been treated with the
transparent touch of the LA-2A. The LA-2A can be used in extreme
settings as well, achieving unique characteristics.
Universal also
provides more information on their website
about Roland VS series plug-ins, along with
demos and tips for each product (including Roland VS plug-ins),
and monthly features such as “Analog
Obsession” and “Compression Obsession” that probe
deeper into these and other recording tools.
Use the Index to search back issues.
In addition,
Universal Audio provides a monthly feature
dedicated to Roland VS users under the column “Digitalk” in
Universal Audio’s Webzine, with user tips and the latest news
for VS users.
“Bill Putnam”: UA history page
www.uaudio.com/company/history/index.html
“Roland
VS series plug-ins”: UA’s Roland
VS plug-in info
www.uaudio.com/products/software/rolandvs/index.html
“Demos
and Tips”: Roland VS Demos and
Tips
www.uaudio.com/products/software/rolandvs/demo.html
“Analog
Obsession”: Roland Space Echo article,
May 2004
www.uaudio.com/webzine/june/text/content4.html
“Compression Obsession”: 1176LN All-Button article,
April 2003
www.uaudio.com/webzine/2003/april/index.html
“Digi-Talk” links
to most recent Digi-Talk article
www.uaudio.com/webzine/august/text/content7.html
Dynamic Automation on the VS-2480CD or VS-2400CD
Ever feel like you need ten extra hands when mixing your song? No need to feel overwhelmed - Roland V-Studios are famous for their easy to use Dynamic Automation. It's like having a room full of assistants to help you. By remembering every fader move you make while mixing a song, the V-Studio frees you up to focus on your music. Do the mix once, let the machine learn your fader moves, then during playback you can focus on other stuff. Here's how to do it.
- Use the mouse to Select AUTOMIX SETUP under the UTILITY menu.
- Check off the parameters that you want to Automate (i.e. Levels, PAN/BALANCE EQ, Aux Sends, etc.) By default, when a new Project is created, LEVEL and PAN/BALANCE are checked.
- Press the AUTOMIX button so that it is lit.
- Press and hold the AUTOMIX button and press the Channel Edit button for each fader you want to Automate. The Channel Edit button will blink, indicating AUTOMIX RECORD has been enabled on for that fader.
- Rewind to the part of the song you want to Automate.
- Click on the AUTOMIX RECORD button or press AUTOMIX + RECORD. You will see "AUTOMIX REC" blinking red at the bottom of the VGA.
- Press PLAY, then move the Faders, Pan and EQ the Tracks, or use the AUX SENDS. When you are finished press STOP.
- Rewind to the point where you started writing your AUTOMATION moves.
- Press PLAY. Your AUTOMATION moves should be faithfully reproduced.
Shortcut for Assigning Inputs to Tracks on the VS-2400CD and VS-2480CD.
You want to record a Mic connected to Input 5 on Track 3. Or the guitar plugged into Input 8 needs to be recorded on Track 10. Here's a quick way to assign Inputs to Tracks that doesn't involve the EZ Routing screen.
- Press TR 1-16 (or 17-24).
- Press and hold the Track Status button of the track you want to record on. The QUICK ROUTING screen will appear. Both the Track Status and Channel Edit buttons will be flashing green.
- To route an input to that track, press IN 1-16. The Channel Edit buttons will begin flashing orange. Remember: Orange=Input, Green=Track.
- Press the Channel Edit button for the input you want to record. You'll see a patch cord connect the input to the designated track. Notice the CHANNEL EDIT buttons for the Input, (orange), and the Track it is routed to (Green) are now solid.
- Press HOME, and then press TR 1-16, (or 17-24), and arm the track you want to record to by pressing its Status button so it flashes Red.
- Press RECORD and PLAY to begin recording. That's it!
Customizing Guitar Effects on the BR-1600CD.
Looking for the totally unique guitar effect for your song? It's easy to start with one of the COSM Guitar effect presets then tweak it to make it your own unique sound.
Here's how to customize any of the guitar effect presets found in the BR-1600CD.
- Press GUITAR input button.
- Press the COSM EFFECTS button.
- Turn the TIME/ VALUE dial to select P-006, R-FIER METAL.
- Turn the VALUE 1/PAN dial to scroll through the available AMP models. Play while doing this to find an AMP you like.
- Press F2 EDIT to modify the parameters of the AMP. Cursor to the blocks that are dimmed out and turn these on by turning the TIME/VALUE wheel to the right. You may also disable the blocks that are turned on the same way. Once a block is enabled, you may cursor to the right to modify the settings for that block. Experiment.
- Save your changes by pressing F4 WRITE/COPY. Then press F4 GO to actually store your new modified Preset.
Use 16 Compressors at a time on the Boss BR-1600CD.
The BR-1600 has 8 channel compressors for your Tracks. You can assign these compressors (these are the ones that live under the "COMP" button) to either Tracks 1 — 8 or Tracks 9 — 16. But what if you want compressors for all your drum tracks and your vocals? No problem, just "borrow" the 8 compressors that live under the COSM Effects and assign them to tracks. Here's how:
- Press MULTI-TRACK.
- Press EFFECTS.
- Press the F3 Button (LOCATION). Select TR 1-8.
- Press ENTER. This assigns the Compressors and EQs normally dedicated to the Inputs to Tracks 1 through 8.
- Press EXIT.
- Press COMP in the CHANNEL EDIT section.
- Press F3 for Track Select. Set the LOCATION value to Tracks 9-16 by pressing F3 again.
- You now have 16 Compressors available for mix down.
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