I built my computer recording setup a little over a year ago. A friend of mine migrated to Mac, and got me setup with his old PC version of Cubase SX (ancient - v 1.0!!), a bunch of VST virtual instruments (most of which I don't use - too much of a "hardware" guy), and a handful of virtual effects.
I had no idea how to use this stuff! The recording software seemed wildly complex! I still fumble around in it to this day, but I'm getting more comfortable with time and practice. I'm just recently learning how to bounce tracks thru external effects, and things of that nature. I'm too ADD to sit down at the onset and digest all of the manuals. I have a tendency to learn the hard way- by doing it first, and asking questions later.
One of the biggest struggles I've had to date is the art of mixdown and mastering. Every song I've done has levels set differently, so when played against each other, some sound "loud", some sound "soft", and they all sound different to me (usually worse) when I hear them for the first time on a different set of speakers or headphones. I mix thru three sets of different headphones, and a set of nearfield monitors - and still don't get it right because I'm fumbling around and don't really know what I'm doing!
I found this set of articles over the weekend, and thought I would share them. I already found several tips that will help me, and hopefully yield more consistent mixes and mastering efforts.
Mixdowns for BeginnersGuide to Mastering for BeginnersLeveling, meters, and many other topics along the way...These take a while to get thru, but are well worth it! If anyone else has any recommended reading on these subjects, I sure would be interested.
P.S. While these can apply to just recording bass, these papers are more holistic in nature - so please forgive me if this is not the right forum for this subject!
