Posts by jhunger

vaisnava said
Well it seems like the ukele recording techniques might be a good place to start actually. I don’t have a uke or mic, so if people who have done it can share their techniques and their tracks featuring their technique I think that would be a good way to get the ball rolling. A new thread would be appropriate.

I went ahead and added one here. I’m curious to see what other people are doing with the uke as well.

Inspired by vaisnava’s thread, I’m starting a thread around recording everybody’s favorite instrument, the ukulele!

The idea here is that anyone can share what they know or ask questions about the instrument, good brands, types (e.g. soprano vs concert vs tenor), how they record it and fit it in the mix, anything around playing and recording ukuleles, really.

I’ll start with some basic info about how I like to record:

I normally use a Kala concert acacia wood ukulele to record with. I like a single, bright SDC microphone, and the one I use most often is an AKG C451B, usually 6 inches to a foot away and angled toward the soundhole. When mixing, I don’t do a whole lot of EQ other than a bass roll off and a little bump in the 4000+ range, and if I’m plucking I’ll normally put a bit of compression (maybe 3:1), but again, not too much. Other than that, I don’t typically use any effects.

I’d always like to improve on my sound, so I’m interested to hear if anybody else does things differently.

P.S. -

Yes, we already know that the ukulele is a much maligned instrument on these forums. If you want to add a snarky comment about how you’d never stoop to such depths as to touch an ukulele, feel free – we’ll totally respect you for it .

P.P.S. -

I really like vaisnava’s idea and I’m hoping that we can continue this in some form or another for a variety of audio areas, e.g. for other instruments, how to use various effects, etc. It would be great if each topic were specific to one subject, for instance covering specifically EQing techniques rather than just a general mixing thread. Perhaps there could even be a naming convention to title the thread “Audio Education Thread – [n]” (or something else if anyone has a better idea) so it’s easy to find them amongst the other topics.

Of course there is already a lot of information online on these topics, but we have such a rich pool of expertise along with one of the most productive forums around here, so I think we could get a lot of discussion going that will help a great number of us DIY musicians.

My extended sales are consistently right around 2.5 – 5% of my normal sales. So not very often, but it’s nice when you get them. I know that in the past other authors have said they have a much higher rate than that, so it may depend on the type of music you’re doing, style, length, etc.

BTW daveydad, be careful about calling out other stock marketplaces by name – it’s not allowed on the forums. No big deal this time – I think that the name will just be removed by a moderator at some point if they notice.

petrenj said
Its C451B dynamic or condenser mic?I know its good way to record amp to use both mics…dynamic or condenser in some different positions.Mostly condenser mic for some ambiance

It’s a small diaphragm condenser mic – it’s got a brightness about it that makes it harsh on a lot of sources but I like the airy feel it gives the ukulele. I don’t know much at all about recording amplifiers, though.

However, I was mostly just making a joke in reference to vaisnava’s ukulele reference and didn’t mean to derail this into the “recording ukulele” thread! Maybe I’ll start one of those in a bit to get a nice mix of recording advice and the typical anti-uke vitriol.

I think it’s a great idea as well. I’d even like to see an entire forum section on it. I know there are a lot of experts here, but I for one am learning on the job as it were, and love to get insights from other producers, as well as share a few of my own.

BTW I normally record ukulele with a single bright mic (C451B), about 6 inches away and barely off axis. But I’d love to hear how others do it

SFXdragon said
Many vaccines contain mercury and make many children ill. It is linked to autism.

Let’s please be careful here. I’m not going to go into the other claims on this thread, but this one caught my eye because the statement (originally from fraudulent research by Andrew Wakefield) has been widely discredited and has actually caused a significant amount of harm.

Particularly:

The claims in Wakefield’s 1998 The Lancet article were widely reported; vaccination rates in the UK and Ireland dropped sharply, which was followed by significantly increased incidence of measles and mumps, resulting in deaths and severe and permanent injuries. Physicians, medical journals, and editors have described Wakefield’s actions as fraudulent and tied them to epidemics and deaths, and a 2011 journal article described the vaccine-autism connection as “the most damaging medical hoax of the last 100 years”.

Sorry, I know I’m breaking forum rules by even posting this, but a lot of people who really should have known better, even people who I know, may have delayed giving or prevented their children from getting important vaccinations as a result of this result of poor research and reporting.

Also, US obesity is a serious problem, sure, but flouride? Look up Earl Butz and the proliferation of cheap corn instead and you might find better answers to the obesity issue.

Mat, you totally deserve this and more – I think that silver paw won’t take too long. Nice work!

sebastian6 said
Anyone out there have any advice for a new KOMPLETE owner?

Give yourself a healthy amount of time to install it . Also, you may want to warn loved ones that you’re going to disappear for quite a while as you go in and explore everything.

As far as bang for the buck goes Komplete can’t be beat, and I use some element of it on just about every one of my tracks.

I’m pretty sure mine’s an iPhone shot When I was first signing up I needed to post a pic, and there it was. I figured I’d change it later, but then got nervous that I was already branded and it would affect sales. Which is probably silly, since we’ve seen a lot of avatar changes over time.

So I should probably eventually change it, especially since that pic was taken during my fat Elvis period. I don’t want to end up in that awesome list of album covers (thanks for posting that BTW, Art-of-Sound – that literally had me laughing this morning).

Hey petrenj,

Definitely double check with support, but I’ve made the same mistake in the past and the answer was unfortunately that I’d have to just wait until next month. On the bright side, you’ll get an extra big payment in June.