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SONUS FACTOR

TRACKING

PROFESSIONAL SOUND COMES FROM PROPER RECORDING

The whole record production could be described as a chain, its links being the following phases:

• Songwriting (music and lyrics);
• Arrangement;
• Musical performance;
• Tracking (or simply put, audio recording);
• Editing;
• Mixing;
• Mastering.

Within this chain, earlier phases have a greater influence on the final result than later phases. Mistakes made during a phase are difficult to fix during the following ones. As appears evident from the list, the tracking phase is chronologically positioned in the middle of the whole record production. This means that a mistake made during the songwriting, arrangement and musical performance phases will jeopardise an otherwise good recording. At the same time, it will not be possible to fix mistakes made during the recording phase during the editing, mixing and mastering phases: although, to some extent, the severity of these mistakes may be reduced in later stages, the final result will always be inferior to what would could have been obtained with a flawless recording.

SERVICES


TRACKING SHOULD BE APPROACHED WHILE TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION CONTEXT AND ARTISTIC CHOICES.

It is often managed so as to obtain not only a faithful reproduction of an instrument, but also a specific result. Therefore, every intervention is strategically planned in view of what will happen during the next phases.

For example, the explosive, airy sound of John Bonham’s drums is only partly due to mixing techniques. In fact, it would be very different if microphones that record the natural acoustics of the room had not been used during the recording phase. However, such a result would be entirely inappropriate in other musical contexts.

Let’s make another example: the difference in sound between a voice-over and the voice of a character of a narrated story is given by the distance between the sound source and the microphone: a few centimetres are all it takes to change the role of an audiobook actor, or to produce an ineffective and inappropriate result for a movie trailer.

HOW I CAN HELP YOU

SonusFactor provides assistance and support in each and every phase of audio recording.



01. CHOOSING THE MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.
It is always appropriate to start with the right foot. Some acoustic guitars are particularly suitable for picking, but unsuitable for strumming.

02. OPTIMISING THE INSTRUMENTS (MAINTENANCE, TUNING AND ACCESSORY CHOICE).
Choosing a soft rather than a hard pick has a great impact on the sound of the transients of a guitar string: there (still) is no mixing technique that can successfully reproduce results like these.

03. CHOOSING THE PERFORMERS (IF REQUIRED).
A good musician playing a poor instrument always gets better results than a poor musician playing a quality instrument. A good jazz player might not be as good at playing rock. John Bonham’s sound is made possible, first and foremost, by John Bonham himself!

04. SETTING UP HEADPHONE MONITORING AND ENSURING THE COMFORT OF THE PERFORMERS.
Pressing the “REC” button always inhibits musicians. If the headphone volume is too loud, one tends to play too loud, and vice versa. Being able to hear oneself well and to feel well is key when it comes to giving the best.

05. CHOOSING THE ACOUSTIC ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH TO RECORD, OPTIMIZING THE ACOUSTICS (LOOKING FOR THE SWEET SPOT IN A ROOM, USING GOBOS AND SO ON).
The room can be considered one of the tools in the arsenal of a sound engineer, as it can greatly influence the recorded sound.

06. CHOOSING THE MICROPHONES.
The right microphone is the one that really allows your instrument to shine. The most appropriate is the one that allows you to obtain the artistic result you desire.  

07. MICROPHONE PLACEMENT.
One centimetre is all it takes to mark the difference between an amateurish sound and a professional one.

08. CHOOSING PREAMPLIFIERS AND CONVERTERS.
They give colour to the sound and may improve the sound of microphones.

09. EQUALISATION AND COMPRESSION.
This is not always necessary, but putting everything off to the mixing phase means taking more time and procrastinating important artistic choices.

My services are for: Musicians, bands, producers, radio speakers, voice actors.

Contact me!

SCOGNO ANGELO - P.IVA 02147020693 | Sito realizzato da Sabianlab

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