by Toppin' Up
If you’ve got a flair for sound editing and audio production, then this article is for you!
We will assume that you have already dabbled or got familiar with some key terms used in the industry, as such the following will focus on making sure you’ve got the right gear to move from the theory and onto the practical.
First off, you might need to evaluate whether they are capable of producing music through a musical background such as the ability to play an instrument.
This can come in handy with a digital keyboard which can be used to play music directly into a special recording software.
The notes are translated onto a digital music sheet and can then be manipulated to make it sound differently or even made to be played through a different instrument altogether.
Moreover your digital audio workstation needs to be backed up with ample hardware resources to provide real-time editing which can come in handy when having layers of audio elements in one project.
Make sure your RAM and disk space are adequate, while having a dedicated sound card will help you point out those fine imperfections in those waveforms.
Having a mid to high range CPU can also improve processing power, however advice to PC hardware has to be analysed on a case-by-case basis beforehand before upgrading and/or replacing.
Including vocals in your audio production?
Then a good microphone should definitely be on your list. With many big name brands and depending on your use case, various types of microphones will serve you in very specific scenarios.
Read further into condenser and dynamic microphones and where best to use these in order to find one which suits your needs.
Remember, no good microphone goes without a good audio mixer. This will act as a middleman between your audio inputs (microphones and instruments) and your audio outputs (studio monitors and line outputs to your soundcard).
A good shop around will quickly make you realise the sheer amounts of audio mixers available on the market, however a good point of departure would be to ask yourself what kind and how many inputs will you include in your audio chain. This will often help determine the size (calculated by audio channels) your mixer should have.
Finally, we’ll end this post with a thing or two about studio monitors and headphones. Coming up with a good audio production often requires you to go through and hone in on those parts which can come across as rough around the edges.
To help you identify these issues better you will need to use headphones. These range in prices and can often be quite the debate amongst audio engineers due to the sound fidelity and other qualities found within various makes and models.
Similarly, listening back to the production on your studio monitors will not only give you that last bit of satisfaction but possibly another take on how your production will sound through a different medium.
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