Your front-end and why it matters!

Welcome back to the Recording Tips blog! This is John from djprosperity.com. In this post I want to focus on the quality of your recordings. As an Audio Engineer I like to set the expectations up front for my clients as to what they can expect, and a question that I get asked often by new clientele is: "Can you make my music sound like what I hear on the radio?" The answer is more complex than you might think because in truth it is a "Yes" and a "No".

You must understand that the songs that you hear on your favorite radio station are recorded in a studio (an environment that is acoustically treated specifically for recording audio) on high-end gear. So the "No" is based on those facts. However, a tool is only as good as its user and my experience has taught me how to do more with less. If you have a good quality front-end, and your audio was recorded properly through this front-end then "Yes" I can make it sound just as good as what you hear on the radio. So what is this front-end that I am speaking of? In short, if you're doing home studio recordings then I am referring to your microphone, preamp, and your audio interface. The quality of your front-end will determine the quality of your recordings.

So how do you choose your front-end? First, I would recommend that you start by doing some research and choosing a mic that compliments your material, or your genre of music. There are many different mics out there and just because it costs a thousand dollars doesn't mean that it is the proper mic for use on your material. Are you recording vocals? Are you recording guitar? Is a tubed-mic (in other words a microphone that has a tube inside it that imparts its own sonic characteristics giving it a more full, rich, warmer sound) better suited for your genre? These are some of the questions that you should be asking. Call a studio, search the web, read reviews from others with experience, read magazines.There are a ton of resources out there.

  So, once you've chosen your microphone the next selection is your preamp. Your preamp can also be influenced by your genre or style of music. I will say this though, most audio interfaces have preamps built-in. However, there is the school of thought that says it's best to get a stand-alone pre that performs one specific function. My thoughts on that are that if you can get a high-quality interface with high-quality pres built-in, like the Apollo Quad interface, then it's worth the investment and you'll kill two birds with one stone.

That leads us to the audio interface. The audio interface is probably the single most important part of your front-end. Your interface is the part that connects your hardware devices, instruments, mics, etc. to the software that you will be using inside your computer. Your interface has converters in it that provide a complex series of A/D and D/A conversion (Audio to Digital and Digital to Audio) in order for the recording process to be possible. So choose your interface wisely. There is no substitute when it comes to the quality of your converters. No matter how good your mics and pres are you can ruin it all if you skimp on your converters.

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About Me:

I am a certified Audio Engineer and owner/operator of a website called djprosperity.com. I received my education in Audio Recording and Production from The Conservatory of Recording Arts and Sciences in Tempe Arizona. I have worked for Sweetwater Sounds in Fort Wayne, Indiana, as a Sales Engineer after interning in their Recording studios. If you'd like to know more about me or would like my help with your projects, please visit my website and contact me.