recorded! Always be prepared for the drummer who says he loves the John Bonham
kick drum sound (lots of low end power and ambiance) that you got when recording
but during the mix decides he wants to sound like Metallica (more click than punch).
If you get the sounds right when you record the tracks you shouldn’t be spending a
lot of time re-EQ’ing during the mix.
•
During mixing you should be concentrating on the blending of tracks and the
dynamics of the song. If you find yourself EQ’ing everything, take a break and
come back to it later. Start mixing with a group of instruments (the whole drum kit
or guitars and bass) instead of listening to individual tracks. Mixing is the time for
tweaking – not applying a sonic re-design. Once again, “if it sounds good, print it!”
Trust your ears – never mind where the knobs are pointing.
Special Effects
For industrial, metal, or just “flavor” textures, experiment with the Pro Channel.
Overdriving the preamp, compressor and equalizer circuitry can add interesting textures
when blended with vocals and other instruments. Placing signals purposely out of phase
can also yield interesting results. No harm will come to the Pro Channel with this type
of experimentation. However, be sure to have output and monitoring levels turned
DOWN before “testing” the sound. Remember, you have a great amount of gain
available in the Pro Channel!
Grounding
Connecting several pieces of equipment (from several different manufacturers) together
without ground loop problems is one of the most common challenges in recording. For
this reason, all ART recording gear does
not
have a direct connection between the audio
circuit ground and the chassis ground. This enables the gear to be safely grounded
through the 3-prong AC cord, and also to be grounded to the previous and/or next item
in the signal chain for optimum noise performance. It also implies that
at least one
ground connection
must
be made between the Pro Channel and the rest of the signal
chain that it is connected to.
Tube Replacement
The Tubes in your Pro Channel should last for many years. They are hand-sorted for
optimal performance in our specific circuits. In the event that you need to replace them,
A R T suggests that you do so with tubes available from A R T. These are matched to
the Pro Channel and will yield consistent sonic results. You can replace the tubes with
other brands, however A R T has no responsibility for the resulting sound quality. They
may sound better, they may sound worse. The choice is yours. Please realize that
unauthorized alterations to the Pro Channel will result in voiding the warranty.
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