WHO AM I AND WHY SHOULD YOU CARE

‣ ENGINEER, MIXER AND SONGWRITER

WHERE TO FIND ME ON THE INTERNET

‣ THEWADESTUDIO.COM‣ TWITTER: @THEWADESTUDIO‣ INSTAGRAM: @ANDREWADE

WHAT YOU’RE GOING TO LEARN

‣ THE SPECIFIC TECHNIQUES I USED TO GET THE GUITAR SOUNDS ON A FEW ALBUMS THAT I WORKED ON

‣ RECOMMENDATIONS FOR HOW YOU CAN APPLY THIS STUFF AT HOME

‣ I WANT THIS TO BE RELEVANT TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE

DAY 1 // PART 1

OVERVIEW:A DAY TO REMEMBER

THE WADE STUDIO OCALA

‣ HAD THIS STUDIO ABOUT 8 YEARS‣ RECORDED THE GHOST INSIDE,

MOTIONLESS IN WHITE, THE WORD ALIVE, A LOSS FOR WORDS, AND A BUNCH OF OTHER STUFF THERE

‣ MOVING OUT THIS YEAR ;_; JK NOT REALLY SAD.

THE WADE STUDIO OCALA

THE WADE STUDIO ORLANDO

‣ AKA MY HOUSE‣ “COMMON COURTESY” WAS DONE HERE‣ I ACTUALLY LIKE IT BETTER THAN MY

STUDIO IN OCALA, ESPECIALLY THE “DRUM ROOM” AKA OUR DINING ROOM

‣ POINT BEING, IF IT WORKS THEN THAT’S THE BOTTOM LINE

THE WADE STUDIO ORLANDO

THE WADE STUDIO ORLANDO

DYNAUDIO BM9 SUB

DYNAUDIO BM 58

POWERED MONITORS PRO TOOLS 9

(WINDOWS)

PREAMPS AND COMPRESSORS

PATCH BAY... YAWN

APOGEE SYMPHONY I/O

8 IN/OUTS, EXPANDABLE BY

CHAINING

PREAMPS AND COMPRESSORS

CUSTOM COMPRESSORS

BY DAN KORNEFF COPY OF MODDED

UA 1176S

FANCY PREAMPS:CHANDLER LTD

EMI TG2s, ABBEY ROAD EDITION

TRACKING COMMON COURTESY IN ORLANDO

SONG TIME

‣ A DAY TO REMEMBER “DEAD & BURIED”(FROM “COMMON COURTESY”)

‣ BUY IT AT ADTR.COM :)‣ I JUST DID THIS AND

ITS AWESOME AND I’M GONNA SHOW YOU HOW I DID IT

CLICK FOR SOUND

BASIC WORKFLOW

‣ PREP‣ TRACKING‣ EDIT/CLEAN UP‣ REAMP/SIM/ETC‣ MIX/MASTER

CHOOSING GUITARS

‣ PROCESS OF EVALUATING GUITARS

‣ JAM WITH YOUR FAVORITE AMP & PEDAL

‣ WEED OUT ANY WITH WEIRD TECH ISSUES

‣ TEST THEM *IN A MIX* (NOT BY ITSELF)

‣ THEN SIT ON IT. LET YOUR EARS REST AND MAKE SURE YOU STILL LIKE IT.

CHOOSING GUITARS

‣ WENT THROUGH A BUNCH OF OPTIONS:

‣ 4-5 LES PAULS

‣ SCHECTERS WITH SINGLE COILS AND EMGS

‣ LTDS (SAME ONES AS TGI)

‣ EVEN TRACKED HALF THE ALBUM WITH A HOLLOWBODY

‣ ENDED UP WITH THIS GUY:

FENDER STRAT WITH EMGS

TRACKING

‣ TRACKED AND EDITED ALL GUITARS IN ABOUT A WEEK OR TWO

‣ TRACKED WITH AMPLITUBE, THEN REAMPED WHILE THEY WERE ON TOUR

‣ THEY LOVED IT, AND SO DID I :)

“COMMON COURTESY” AMP SETUP

MY STUFF VS YOUR STUFF

‣ THE BIG QUESTION: WHY BUY ALL THAT STUFF?

‣ WHAT STUFF DO YOU NEED AT HOME TO MAKE SOMETHING AWESOME?

‣ YOU’RE NOT ALWAYS LIMITED BY YOUR GEAR, BUT WHEN ARE YOU AND WHY?

CHEAP WAYS TO TREAT YOUR MONITORING ENVIRONMENT

MINERAL WOOL

KEY TAKEAWAYS FOR DIY STUDIOS

‣ A SOLID COMPUTER IS A MUST-HAVE, ESPECIALLY IF YOU’RE GOING TO RELY ON PLUGINS AND SIMS TO REPLACE INSTRUMENTS AND HARDWARE

‣ FINDING THE RIGHT GUITAR IS IMPORTANT. IT MIGHT NOT BE AN EXPENSIVE ONE. TRY OUT A BUNCH.

‣ GET A GOOD INTERFACE (EG APOGEE)‣ MONITORING ENVIRONMENT IS A BIG DEAL-- GET SOME

DECENT MONITORS. DON’T MIX WITH HEADPHONES.‣ REFERENCE YOUR MIX ON ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING

YOU CAN

Q&A

DAY 1 // PART 2

THE BASICS:PREP, TRACKING, ETC

WHY THE BASICS MATTER

‣ THIS STUFF ISN’T SUPER FUN, BUT IT’S THE FOUNDATION OF A GOOD RECORDING

‣ IF YOU DON’T GET THE BASICS RIGHT, YOU’RE NEVER GOING TO GET A GOOD GUITAR SOUND

‣ SO PAY ATTENTION!!

CHECKLIST

‣ BEFORE YOU PRESS RECORD, MAKE SURE YOU’VE THOUGHT ABOUT:

‣ STRINGS

‣ PICKS

‣ SETUP

‣ TUNING

STRINGS

‣ STRINGS ARE REALLY REALLY REALLY EFFING IMPORTANT!!!!

‣ CHANGE STRINGS EVERY SONG! ALWAYS! SOMETIMES IN THE MIDDLE OF A SONG

‣ RIGHT GAUGE-- THICKER DOESN’T ALWAYS MEAN HEAVIER SOUND!

‣ ALWAYS WASH YOUR HANDS BEFORE YOU TOUCH YOUR GUITAR

WHAT I USE:CUSTOM SET BASED ON ERNIE BALL .10-.52s

TAPE DOWN THE STRINGS AND THE NECK AND/OR BRIDGETO ELIMINATE NOISE DURING HELD OUT PARTS

DEMO: PICKING

‣ THE RIGHT PICK ACTUALLY MATTERS A LOT

‣ PICKS

‣ EXTREMES AND WHEN TO USE THEM

‣ HAND PLACEMENT

‣ BRIDGE VS NECK

SETUP

‣ INTONATION, STRING HEIGHT, TRUSS ROD ADJUSTMENT

‣ WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? SO THAT YOUR GUITAR IS ACTUALLY IN TUNE EVERYWHERE ON THE NECK

‣ GET YOUR GUITAR SET UP *BEFORE* YOU GO INTO THE STUDIO!

‣ KNOW YOUR DESIRED TUNING AND STRING GAUGE

‣ YOU CAN FIND TUTORIALS ON DOING THIS YOURSELF, OR IF YOU HAVE TO GUITAR CENTER WILL DO IT FOR ABOUT $50

DEMO: TUNING

‣ TUNE THE GUITAR THE SAME WAY YOU’LL PLAY IT WHEN YOU’RE ACTUALLY TRACKING

‣ TUNE USING THE FRETS YOU’LL BE USING IN THE PART YOU’RE TRACKING

TRACKING

‣ I GO THRU THE WHOLE BAND AND SEE WHO SOUNDS BEST-- ITS NOT ALWAYS THE GUITARIST

‣ PROGRAM THE BASS FIRST SO YOU HAVE A REFERENCE FOR PITCH/TUNING

‣ I ALWAYS TRACK WITH SIMS

‣ I EDIT WHILE I TRACK, SO USING SIMS IS THE BEST WAY TO GO

WHO PLAYS THE GUITARS?

‣ I GO THRU THE WHOLE BAND AND SEE WHO SOUNDS BEST-- ITS NOT ALWAYS THE GUITARIST

‣ EVERYBODY HAS THEIR OWN STYLE, AND IT MAKES A BIG DIFFERENCE

‣ (THIS ACTUALLY APPLIES TO EVERY INSTRUMENT IN THE BAND...)

DEMO: TRACKING AT HALF SPEED

‣ WHEN SOMEONE IS STRUGGLING WITH A PART

‣ IS IT CHEATING? KINDA, BUT SOMETIMES YOU GOTTA DO WHAT YOU GOTTA DO

‣ IT DOES TAKE A LITTLE LIFE OUT OF IT, SO IDEALLY YOU DON’T USE THIS TRICK

KEY TAKEAWAYS

‣ THIS SECTION IS *ESPECIALLY* RELEVANT TO DIY PRODUCERS

‣ THESE ARE REALLY EASY, CHEAP WAYS TO MAKE THE MOST OUT OF WHAT YOU HAVE

‣ IT’S ALSO THE STUFF THAT PEOPLE NEGLECT

Q&A

DAY 1 // PART 3

EDITING

ABOUT EDITING

‣ EDIT AS MUCH AS YOU NEED TO BUT NO MORE

‣ LITTLE RANT ABOUT OVEREDITED GUITARS & HOW THEY SOUND MONO

DEMO: EDITING

‣ I ALWAYS WORK IN THIS ORDER:‣ PITCH CORRECTION WITH MELODYNE (OR AUTOTUNE)‣ ELASTIC AUDIO (AKA FLEX IN LOGIC) (VS BEAT DETECTIVE - BE BRIEF)‣ MUSIC THEORY AS IT APPLIES TO QUANTIZING‣ RANDOMIZATION DURING QUANTIZING‣ NOISE GATE: WHEN TO USE AND WHEN NOT TO USE‣ STRIP SILENCE‣ FADES‣ CONSOLIDATION‣ GO BACK AND PUNCH IN PARTS AS NEEDED

DEMO: EFFECTS

‣ PEOPLE ALWAYS ASK ME ABOUT THIS STUFF, HERE’S HOW YOU DO IT:

‣ CHOPS‣ GLITCHES

KEY TAKEAWAYS

‣ WITH MODERN MUSIC, EDITING IS REALLY REALLY IMPORTANT-- OUR EARS EXPECT IT NOW

‣ ALWAYS EDIT TRACKS BEFORE SENDING THEM TO SOMEONE ELSE (FOR MIXING OR REAMPING)

‣ DON’T OVEREDIT!! IT SOUNDS DUMB.

Q&A

DAY 1 // PART 4

AMP SIMS:A LOSS FOR WORDS

A LOSS FOR WORDS

‣ AMPLITUBE‣ I LIKED THE WAY IT

SOUNDED FOR THE STYLE OF THE BAND

CLICK FOR SOUND

ACTUAL AMPLITUBE SETTINGS USED ON A LOSS FOR WORDS

A WORD ABOUT CAB SIMS

‣ I PERSONALLY DON’T LIKE ANY OF THE CABS THAT COME WITH ANY AMP SIMS

‣ FOR *ALL* OF THE SIM EXAMPLES IN THIS CLASS, I’M USING LECAB WITH MY OWN (AWESOME) “MESA 4X12 WADE” IMPULSE RESPONSE

‣ IF YOU BUY THIS CLASS, YOU GET THE IMPULSE RESPONSE :)

‣ JUST DISABLE THE CABINET PART OF THE SIM AND RUN IT INTO LECAB

LOOK-- NO CAB!

REMOVE THE CAB FROM THE SIM AND RUN IT INTO LECAB OR OTHER IR LOADERWITH MY “MESA 4X12 WADE” IMPULSE RESPONSE

AMPLITUBE SETTINGS IN ADTR DEMO YOU JUST HEARD

LE POULIN

‣ PROBABLY THE BEST-SOUNDING SIMS AVAILABLE AND THEY’RE FREE!

‣ LEPOUPLUGINS.BLOGSPOT.COM

‣ MOST COME IN AU AND VST‣ SADLY, NO RTAS/AAX VERSIONS :(‣ TUBE SCREAMER

‣ TSEAUDIO.COM

‣ VST AND AU VERSIONS

NAME: LECTOSIMULATES: MESA DUAL RECTIFIER

NAME: LE456SIMULATES: ENGL POWERBALL

NAME: LEGIONORIGINAL DESIGN

TSE808TUBE SCREAMER

LEGION

LECAB 2CABINET SIM

LOAD“MESA 4X12 WADE”IMPULSE RESPONSE

INTO

LEPOULIN SETTINGS IN ADTR DEMO YOU JUST HEARD

PODFARM

‣ MOST COMMONLY USED AMP SIM PLUGIN

‣ LINE6.COM‣ FOR HEAVY MUSIC, YOU WANT PODFARM

PLATINUM ($299)‣ EASIEST TO USE, IMO ALSO THE LEAST

GOOD-SOUNDING

PODFARM SETTINGS IN ADTR DEMO YOU JUST HEARD

KEY TAKEAWAYS

‣ SIMS AREN’T *QUITE* AS GOOD AS REAL AMPS, BUT THEY CAN BE PRETTY DAMN CLOSE

‣ EACH SIM HAS ITS OWN UNIQUE SONIC CHARACTERISTICS-- TRY THEM ALL AND SEE WHAT WORKS FOR *YOUR* MUSIC

‣ THE RIGHT IMPULSE RESPONSE IS KEY. BUY THIS CLASS AND YOU CAN USE MINE :)

Q&A

WHERE TO FIND ME ON THE INTERNET

‣ THEWADESTUDIO.COM‣ TWITTER: @THEWADESTUDIO‣ INSTAGRAM: @ANDREWADE