Tatius Wolff - Dispel the Myths!

Tatius Wolff - Dispel the Myths!

So I've finally released a single from my album. I finally have something to show for my 2 years of learning, making mistakes, experimenting to deliver something I am proud of. So I wanted to take this opportunity to expose all of my dirty little secrets, some of which stop many artists from moving forward.

I want every one of you that can't afford to buy the plugins, software and equipment to know it can still be done and it shouldn't stop you releasing your music!

Myth: I have to spend money for a good sound!

I can honestly say I have spent very little making this album.You don't always need the best most expensive equipment! Here is a quick list of stuff that I did buy while making it.

Instruments

My 8 string is the old model Ibanez RG8 with the shit pickups. I got it for AU$500. It is on every single track and usually playing rhythm. It needed some EQ going into my virtual setup, but it is the backbone of the album - shit pickups and all!

My bass on every track is a cheap Monterey MBE-40BK. In 2014, I was given a gift card which I had to use and I had just decided to start playing music again and learn to play bass. I used it to buy a AU$112 "new" Chinese made bass guitar. It was so cheap, it was broken when I got it home. I had to repair it myself. But the pickups and tone actually sounded alright. This wasn't a bargain but it did the job and a good one at that.

Audio Equipment

When I first started playing guitar again in 2015, I tried recording using my SoundBlaster card - ah no, don't try it, it doesn't work. So I went and found a USB interface I could afford, an M-Audio M-Track 2 channel USB interface. At the time, I had no idea about this stuff. If I had known about the Focusrite Scarlett, I would have probably gone down that path - but I didn't. So for most of the album, I'm using the M-Audio interface, until ...

... two thirds into the album, it started to play up. The output would go all white noise on me. So I had to replace it with a Focusrite Scarlett Solo. Really nice interface - haven't had any issues with it yet.

Microphones - well let's just say, that for the songs, "The Shock" and "Despair", the vocals are recorded on my phone sitting in my car late at night while no one (I think) was watching. I didn't have a mic at the time, I definitely couldn't afford to buy one. I then saw a YouTube video about the cheapest microphone on Amazon, NEEWER NW-800, a bundle with stand and spit guard. For my first microphone, a step up from my phone, I'd give it a go. This is the microphone you hear on the rest of the album. My singing, which is not fantastic and was pretty shit in the 2 tracks mentioned above, wasn't going to sound any better with a fantastic mic. Like the RG8, it need some EQ before it hit the tracking chain, but it worked.

Studio monitors - ah, I don't have any. Not that I don't want any, I just didn't have the cash to spend on them. I bought a pair of headphones initially, KRK KNS-6400's a couple of years ago and started with those. I then recently bought a pair of AKG K702's. But for this album, that's what I mixed with. I have 4 kids, so night time is the usual time I get to do my music, and without a dedicated sound proofed studio - headphones were my only choice. I am currently trying to get a pair of Kali Audio LP-8's.

Audio Plugins & Software

So you may have figured out by now, I am just cheap most of the time. I'm also an engineer at heart, so I like to make things work, regardless of the situation. And I love a challenge.

After a short stint using Ableton Live 8, I switched and never looked back to Reaper. I paid my US$60 for a license and can't recommend it enough. It has been able to do everything that I have thrown at it. I haven't checked out Cakewalk, but if it works for you, then why wouldn't you use it.

Now about plugins or VST's. So this is always a fun one! I'm in these Facebook groups and even watching YouTube, I'm pretty sure the consensus is you need to buy plugins to get that "amazing" sound.

Now I personally like that old saying "A bad craftsman always blames his tools". I wanted to be sure that I knew what I was doing with the most basic and freely available audio plugins first before I go and drop any money on them. And it worked out for me.

EVERY SINGLE VST PLUGIN USED ON EVERY TRACK OF MY ALBUM IS FREELY AVAILABLE

Free VST bundles I can't live without - Variety Of Sound, Antress, Dead Duck Software FX and Instruments, DSK Synths, Ignite Amps, MT Power Drum Kit 2 (groove library), Nick Crow Labs, LePou's Amps, Tokyo Dawn Labs, TSE, VLadG, YouLean and Steve Slate Drums 5 (free). I also use SM Drums and The Metal Kick Drum drum samples.

It can be done! Was it simple - yes and no. Sometimes I had to fix stuff up because of simple flaws but I'm really happy with how it turned out. Other times I had to use a chain of plugins to do exactly what I wanted, instead of it all being in the one plugin. But it can be done is what I'm trying to say - even if you don't have $1.

I used free VST's and impulse responses on everything. I recorded and tracked everything within the DAW. At the time, my Marshall JCM800 wasn't even working, so I was unable to use it on the album. This was probably a good thing, because it removed the complexity of trying to mic and record my guitars traditionally.

And just on the subject of recording, mixing and mastering - I've spent a two years learning how to do these from YouTube primarily and lots, and lots of helpful people giving me mix critiques and advice. I didn't spend any money on training. If I had, would I have learnt quicker and better?Possibly. But I personally tracked, recorded, mixed and mastered all the tracks. With lots of advice from other people. As long as you're not wasting their time or asking them to do the work for you, I think most people are ok to have a listen and give some advice. But it's always a difficult line to walk between technical flaw and personal taste.

Graphics and Video Editing Software

So I did all my own artwork and videos for this album. I did purchase my Roman soldier logo 2 years ago when I started. But there are plenty of free sites to get artwork and photography from. I've used GIMP for years for my artwork and was previously using Lightworks as a video editing tool (False Hope lyric video). But it has some limitations, so I've recently moved to Kdenlive which is an awesome bit of software. I'm doing The Tormentor lyric video on this and it is a very powerful free piece of software. I did buy Superstring for US$40 for the lyric videos. But the other stuff is from Plane9 which is free.

Again, like learning audio engineering, I've been lucky enough to find photographers and graphic designers that are willing to give me advice and help me out. Sometimes you just have to ask and don't take their time or help for granted.