Obtaining A Good Quality Synthesiser Sound; Obtaining A Good Quality Drum Sound - Focusrite Platinum ToneFactory Manuel D'utilisation

3. Switch on the Fine button.You may now need to adjust
the Freq control, to isolate the frequency to remove.
4. Reduce the dB control to remove the offending
frequency. Be careful not to reduce the dB control too
far, or you may adversely affect the overall tone of the
instrument (since you are affecting all occurrences of the
selected frequency).
Obtaining a Good Quality
Synthesiser Sound
If the synthesiser is noisy (for example, if you are
recording an old synth), use the Filters to get rid of the
noise.With the Corrective button not lit, adjust the
High control to remove the noise.
You should be able to remove unwanted noise but still
retain the synth's presence.
On a particularly noisy synth (if the Filters are not
sufficient), use the Noise Gate. If recording a sound that
cuts of very quickly, switch on the Hold button. If
recording a sound with a lot of decay (such as a string
sound), ensure that the Hold button is not lit.
Overdrive is useful for creating effects, especially on the
fly, by increasing and decreasing the Overdrive control.
You normally do this when mixing down. If you want
lo-fi sound effects, make sure the Bright button is not lit.
Obtaining a Good Quality
Drum Sound
Adding EQ
When mixing down, you can use the Parametric Equaliser,
Filters and Tone Controller, if necessary, to improve the
drum sound you have recorded:
Snare drum:To boost fullness, use Band 1 in the Parametric
Equaliser with Bell lit, setting the Freq control to around
200 Hz.To boost attack and crispness, use Band 2 in the
Parametric Equaliser with Bell lit, setting the Freq
control to around 5 kHz. If the snare drum needs more
clarity, use the Tone Controller or the Filters to roll off
some of the bass.
Toms Toms:To boost fullness, use Band 1 in the Parametric
Equaliser with Bell lit. For high toms, set the Freq
control to about 200 Hz; for low toms, set the Freq
control to about 100 Hz.To boost attack and crispness,
use Band 2 in the Parametric Equaliser with Bell lit,
setting the Freq control to around 5 kHz.
Bass drum:To increase the punch, use Band 2 in the
Parametric Equaliser with Bell lit, setting the Freq
control to about 2.5 kHz.
Cymbals:To boost brilliance and sizzle, use Band 2 in the
Parametric Equaliser with Bell not lit, setting the Freq
control to 10 kHz or higher.
Removing bleed from other parts of the kit
When recording a drum kit, it is possible for sound from
one part of the kit to bleed into the microphone on
another part of the kit. For example, the mic on the snare
might also pick up the sound of the bass drum or high hat.
When mixing down, you can use the ToneFactory™ to get
rid of bleed, allowing you to be aggressive with the
equalisation on a track without affecting the sound of
another part of the kit.You can use either the Filters or the
Noise Gate to get rid of bleed:
Using the Filters: If you can hear bleed from the cymbals
on the bass drum track, use the Filters with Corrective
lit, setting the High control to about 5 kHz.
If you can hear low-frequency bleed on the cymbal
track (for example, from the bass drum), use the Filters
with Corrective lit, setting the Low control to about
500 Hz.
Using the Noise Gate:
1. Solo the track, to hear how much bleed there is on
the track.
2. Ensure the Hold button is not lit, so that you have a
natural decay to the sound.
3. In the Filters, switch on both the To Audio and the To
Gate buttons.Adjust the Low and High controls until
you can no longer hear the bleed, but the recorded
drum or cymbal is not affected. For example, on the bass
drum track, set both the Low and High controls fully
counter-clockwise.
4. Switch off the To Audio button. In the Noise Gate,
adjust the Threshold control so that the gate opens
when the sound of the recorded drum or cymbal
occurs.At this point, just listen to the attack, to make
sure the Noise Gate is not cutting off any of the front
end of the signal.You may need to switch the Fast
button on so, that you do not lose the initial transient.
5. Adjust the Release control, so that the tail of the
signal sounds natural and not cut off.
6. For a gated snare drum effect, switch on the Hold
button and adjust the Release/Hold control to catch the
tail of the reverb only.
E n g l i s h
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