WHAT IS RATBITEMUSIC
Ratbte
Music is a mobile recording studio (that's right, I come to you!) located in the Fox Valley of Wisconsin. It is
owned and operated by me, Shane Sargent. I started recording about 9 years ago. Though I have
never gone to school for recording production, I consider myself well educated in the area of home based recording.
I have accumulated a lot of knowledge over the years from not only personal experience and trial & error, but
also from sources such as; "Recording Magagzine" , David Miles Huber's "Modern Recording Tips", and
Peter Mclan's "Guide to Home Recording"-among many others.
HOW AND WHAT DO I USE:
So,
this is how it all goes down. I will go to a bands practice space and set up. I start with the drums: I
mike up the snare (SM-57 / sometimes 58) and the kick (sennheiser) as well as the toms (digital reference / DR kick for the
floor) and the left/right overheads (MXL). I then run all those signals through my XENYX2442 analog mixer
board and from there into my DAW. First the drums are recorded along with (at the same time as) a scratch track.
A scratch track is a throw away track of all instruments being played together. This is the track the bassist, guitarist
and any other musician will listen to while laying their final track. I do it this way because I perfer a live feel
when doing the initial recording. After the drum and scratch tracks are recorded I record the guitar(s) (direct
and / or miked up with a 57) and then the bass guitar (almost alwas direct). Any additional instruments a band might
have are also recorded. Finally we move on to the vocals [(SM 57) -MXL is sometimes used for room ambience].
I have always found that the best vocal tracks are recorded in....get this; a bathroom! TA-DA!! The initial recording
process is complete!
Next
up is mixing and editing This process I do myself in my production studio(which is located in my house). I always
re-run the most important tracks through reprossesing (Inboard processing effects as well as re-run through my XYNYX mixer
and ultramizer pro) in orded to bring up clarity and defenition. This to me is very important especially in mobile recording
were u dont have full control over the space ur recording in. At this time i also add any effects and limit/compressor as
well as cleaning up spaces in tracks from instruments that give off noise. Once this editing process is complete i do a mix.
Many times i will mix one day - take a brek - mix anotherday - etc. till i fall into a comforable sound were all instruments
sit well in the mix. Once I have a good feel i may add a third dimention of reverb to certain tracks to give more space other
than level, pan pots, or frequencies. When mixing - my ears have become adapted to the sound of my M-5 Reference monitors
running through a carver power amp at 300 watts. I also brighten these up with a 362 sonic maximizer. For extra with
determination i also use an altec lansing computer desctop speakers (with suboofer) offset from my monitors about 5".
Once
im satisfied with the mix i will burn off a copy about -4 db less to esure no digital clipping. Also keeping in mind that
the loudest instrument in the song will be alittle squashed (usually i have the kick up a little higher depending on
the style of the song) without losing any vocal. Then i will run this back into my Daw for mastering. Mastering is a touchy
subject that i wont discuss , however the idea is level - Balance - Spacing - compression - widening - E.Q. - limiting - ect...
Well there you have it. Now i just mail the cd to your band and a job well done.
Shane - producer / owner
