21
Tutorial
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Channels 1/2: Kick and snare
When recording drums, you record the dry sound as
on the tracks of the demo song. Adding just a slight
amount of reverb will create a dramatically wider
sense of space. However, be careful not to apply too
much. Sometimes for a ballade you will year fairly
heavy reverb on the drums, but even in this case it is
applied only to a specific drum (such as the snare). In
order to do this, it is obviously necessary to record the
snare on its own track. On the other hand, it is just
fine to leave the drum sound completely dry. In the
demo song, we set the reverb time to 0.8 seconds to
create a light reverb that will not “muddy” the drums,
and lightly apply the reverb only to the snare and per-
cussion. Raise the channel 2 and channel 7 AUX5
faders to about –25 dB.
In the MIXER VIEW screen (accessed by pressing the
MIXER section [VIEW] key), you can view and make
fine adjustments to the fader settings of the selected
channel. The AUX5 fader in the lower right of the
screen indicates the current level. You can move the
cursor here and turn the [DATA/JOG] dial to make
accurate adjustments. If you want to go back to the
channel fader and make additional reverb adjust-
ments, press the FADER MODE section [AUX5] key.
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Channels 3 and 4: Overhead
drum mics
These tracks combine the toms and hi-hat of the drum
set. This is a stereo track. So that we do not impair the
clarity of the hi-hat work, we will not apply any effect.
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Channel 7: Percussion
The tambourine and handclaps are recorded on this
channel. It might be nice to apply an effect to the
handclaps, but since we don’t want to blur the place
of the tambourine in the rhythm section, we will not
apply effects to this track either.
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Channel 8: Acoustic guitar
To give a sense of spaciousness to the phrases played
by the acoustic guitar, we will apply some light
reverb. Raise the AUX5 track 8 fader to about –25 dB.
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Channel 9: Piano
We will add a certain amount of reverb to the piano
to make the sound richer.
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Channel 10: Synthesizer
We will intentionally refrain from applying reverb to
the synthesizer. Instead we will use “Symphonic” for
effect 2. This effect is used mainly to add depth, a
sense of speed, and a stereo feeling (horizontal
spread) to synthesizer sounds. By increasing the EQ.G
parameter we will give the sound more edge, and
then raise FREQ to give the sound an increased sense
of speed.
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Channel 11: Organ
It is difficult to decide on an appropriate amount of
reverb for instruments like organ. Since the sound is
sustained, a large amount of reverb can occur before
you realize it, ruining your mix. In the case of this
song, we will simulate a narrow space (such as a
garage) by not applying an effect.
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Channel 12: Electric guitar
Since the electric guitar takes a solo, we will add a
certain amount of reverb in order to add richness to
the sound.
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Channels 13/14/15: Chorus
We will apply just enough reverb to make the backing
vocals blend together. Be careful, since more reverb
will make the sound richer but will also make the lyr-
ics less understandable, and will blur the overall mix.
Don’t overdo the reverb for channels 13/14/15.
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Channel 16: Lead vocal
It is common to apply quite a bit of reverb on the lead
vocal, but please listen carefully to the result. The less
reverb is used, the better you will be able to hear the
result. Apply reverb gradually, and stop when you
sense that the sound has become a bit warmer and
plumper. In particular, the detail and expressiveness of
the AW2816’s “24 bit high-quality reverb” can be best
appreciated when it is applied lightly.
Since each adjustment performed during the mix will
affect the audible balance, adjust the fader levels as
necessary.
• Saving the song
It is very important to save the song frequently while
you are working on it. If you have been working hard
for several hours and the power cable is accidentally
disconnected or a power failure occurs, or someone
operates a key or fader, your hard work will be for
nothing.
To save the song, press the WORK NAVIGATE section
[SONG] key to access the SONG screen. If necessary
press the [F1] key to display the Song List page. Move
the cursor in the screen to “SAVE,” and press the
[ENTER] key. When the confirmation message
appears, move the cursor to “OK” and press the
[ENTER] key to save the song.
