Don’t Waste Your Free Time

by theglobalguitarist on April 26, 2013 at 1:00 pm

How much time do you spend driving? That sounds like a fairly random question but humor me. If you are like me, you probably spend at least an hour a day in your car. Most people spend 2 hours a day driving to and from work alone. Think of how many hours in a week or month you spend behind the wheel. Now think about what you do with all of that time behind the wheel. If you’re like me, you spend 99% of that time listening to music. You either have on the radio, a CD or your iPod. Here’s my point: use this time wisely.

I have never been much of a reader. I may have finished 10 books in the last ten years and I still find it very hard to stay engaged in a book, even a book I am interested in. I find it so hard to sit still for long periods of time. I just need to be moving. So, about two months ago I decided to download a few audio books as I really wanted to learn about few business topics to further my own business. I had never downloaded an audio book before so I wasn’t sure if I would be able to stay interested. I soon realized that I could focus, listen and comprehend FAR more information via audio books than actual reading. Not only that, but I could do it while driving, working out or even doing yard work. In two weeks I had finished 3 books and it really excited me.

The information I had learned in 2 weeks had increased my knowledge exponentially and really excited me to learn more. I kept searching for more books to download and soon realized exactly how much knowledge there is to be had. No longer can I use the excuse “I don’t have the time”. I will make time for the things that matter most to me, and growing my business/providing for my family is pretty big on my priority scale.

I’m telling you this because I think many people don’t realize just how much time they waste driving to and from work, or driving anywhere for that matter. You have to drive, that’s a no brainer, but what do you do while driving? That’s the question here. Turn off the radio and start filling your mind with knowledge. Stop filling your brain with garbage that will do nothing to grow you as a person. Look, we all listen to music, and I’m not telling you to stop listening to music. I’m telling you that you’ve probably overlooked a grand opportunity to learn, and learn easily, quickly, and at a time when you don’t really have anything else to do.

 

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Image Gallery Update

by theglobalguitarist on April 22, 2013 at 2:53 pm

I finally got around to getting some photos up in the gallery area of the site. Stop by and catch a small glimpse of my recording world. Hope everyone’s having a fantastic Monday. I am!

 

Sean

 

 

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Mixing Tip With Mastering In Mind

by theglobalguitarist on February 3, 2013 at 10:17 pm

If you’ve been mixing for very long, you might have noticed that the balance of your mixes might come out a bit differently after the mastering process. Sometimes it’s subtle and sometimes it’s very noticeable. In the mastering process there is added compression, limiting and EQ done to the mix as per the individual mastering engineer and his/her preferences. This processing can and many times does affect your mix in ways you might not expect.

In my experience the lead vocal is one thing I’ve had to go back and adjust the most. As a limiter decreases dynamic range it leaves a much smaller spot in the mix for a vocal to sit. Without the limiter it might sound pretty good but if the vocal was just a bit low, it might be drowned out with the limiter in place. Conversely if it’s a bit too hot, it will sit too high in the mix once the limiter is placed.

I usually do all the mixing and mastering for projects that come to me so I have noticed this and developed a habit that helps me get my mixes where I want them in a quicker fashion. One thing that I do is throw a limiter on the master bus about 3/4 the way through the mix. I wont slam it but I’ll hit it with about 3 db of reduction and listen to my mix for a little while and see how the overall balance is affected. If everything is sounding great I’ll move on. If I feel I need to make some adjustments I’ll do that of course and move from there. I leave the limiter off for the remainder of the mix then I repeat the process and check levels and balances once more.

Since I started doing this I have noticed my mixes come together a bit quicker and when I begin mastering I know my mixes will not fall apart. The mastering process actually happens faster as well since I seldom need to go back and adjust a mix any more. Give it a try on your next mix and you might just start doing it every time. Have a great week and happy mixing!

 

 

 

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Kickoff!

by theglobalguitarist on December 17, 2012 at 3:55 pm

After nearly two years of planning and preparing, “The Global Guitarist -Audio Productions” is officially in business! Located in the Houston area, though not limited to this area, here is a rundown of services offered:

Recording

My recording services range from studio productions, such as albums and EPs to location recording of live shows, concerts, productions and most other situations calling for professional audio recording of an event. My rig is set up and designed to be completely mobile so as to accommodate the widest variety of recording situations. The following are examples of situations that I accommodate with ease:

  • Church productions, services and events
  • Concerts at local music venues, clubs, convention centers, ball rooms
  • High school/college orchestra performances and events
  • Solo artist/band albums and Eps as well as singles
Mixing and mastering as well as duplication of the project are factored into any agreement made between myself and the client.

Music Production

Many artists are solo and therefore do not have an accompanying band to record with. For these situations I offer my experience/skills in producing and recording separate instrumentation. I offer custom guitar, drums, bass, keys, synths and percussion for specific projects when needed and agreed upon. Some of my work in this arena can be heard on Jen Monroe’s latest work in the “Audio” section of this site.

Mixing/Mastering

I offer mixing and mastering of material that has been previously recorded at another location(such as another studio). I prefer files to be sent as .wav in 24bit/44.1khz format, however I can accommodate most file types and can convert them myself if necessary. They may be sent via CD, DVD, flash drive or file sharing via the web. Rates for mixing and mastering are agreed upon on a per-project bases.

Online Collaboration

I am always willing to work on different projects with just about anyone, anywhere via the web and file sharing. With technology today you no longer even need to record in the same country as other musicians working on the same project. I welcome any offers to work on collaborative projects!

 

Once again I would like to thank everyone that has followed and supported TheGlobalGuitarist since conception. This is truly a dream come true and there are many of you that aided me with the knowledge needed to do this as well as the mindset that I CAN do this, whether or not you realized you did anything. You are much appreciated.

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How Do Your Tracks Relate To The Mix?

by theglobalguitarist on July 16, 2012 at 2:13 am

When it comes to mixing music, one thing that I learned fairly quickly was that your individual tracks will sound different, or appear to sound different once they are listened to in relation to the whole mix. A guitar, drum or other instrument might sound pretty bland or crappy when in solo, but might sound great IN the mix. Conversely, an in-your-face, seemingly grand sounding track might be opposite of what the mix needs.

 When I first started mixing music I had a hard time getting my guitar tracks to sound right. The biggest reason was the fact that I had sold all my amps and pedals for a POD X3 Live(I’ll talk about why in another post) and began using POD Farm for all recording purposes. POD Farm is awesome, but it took me a bit of time to learn the program and get my tones where I wanted them to be. Eventually I realized that the tones I thought sounded week and small actually sounded great once I listened to them in the mix. I wanted them to sound like an amp in a room, but they’re a modeling amp over headphones! Once I placed them in the mix, properly EQed them and cranked it, they sounded awesome!

The point I am making here is that many times the tracks you record will sound different in the mix than they do in solo. Many times you will need to create your guitar tones, synth tones and other sounds with relation to the entire mix. Once I realized this it became much easier for me to nail down a tone quickly and have it fit the song and overall sound I was after.

I’ll be doing an in depth review of POD Farm in the near future. I think it’s a tool many folks are turning to in this digital age. Not everyone can afford $3000 worth vintage amps and effects. The modeled amps might not sound exactly like their real life counter parts, but many of the models are extremely close, and many others sounds fantastic. Anyhow, stay tuned for the review. Have a great week everyone. Cheers!

 

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