A wedding is a celebration of love and life. Other than a wedding, there is rarely another time when all of your friends and family get together to share in the success and happiness of your life. It deserves attention to detail and sometimes a bugger budget to make sure the celebrations does justice to the occasion.
Let there be light
Lighting is the easiest way to transform any venue into a work of art. Strategic placement of ambient lighting like color kinetics, lico lights, and/or intelligent lighting, an entire venue can be “washed” with color to create any atmosphere desired. The beauty of ambient lighting is that it works with any type of event, as it is entirely customizable. For example, there is really no other cost effective method to wash a 30 foot wall with color that can be changed on the fly. Many popular Manhattan hotels use color kinetics as permanent installations both indoors and outdoors because they provide not only great decor, but because they are also extremely versatile.
Wine and dine
Food is on the top 3 list of what guests talk about when they leave your event. From cocktail hour hors devours to the main course to dessert, everything must be perfect (not just edible). It is crucial that you choose the right caterer for you event. Some venues will have an in house caterer as part of their “package”. If this is the case, make sure you taste the food, re-taste the food, have a cousin taste the food, and find out what other clients thought when they tasted they food. If you are not 100% satisfied and have the extra budget, some of these venues will allow you to bring in your own caterer (for a price).
Lets get loud
You can spend all the money in the world on creating the perfect decor and the perfect cuisine at a wedding, but without the right entertainment, you will only have good photos. Music is what drives the party and that is exactly what everyone really wants to do…party. It is a celebration, so make sure the music and performances that you hire can support that mood throughout the course of the evening. Start with the ceremony. Instead of played out music leaking through an old speaker, hire an elegant cello/violin duo, solo harp, or a string quartet if the budget allows. There are a lot of options available that are normally overlooked simply because they are not the norm. The reception calls for high energy. Let you guests let loose and embrace the feeling of getting a little crazy on the dance floor! There is usually a common dispute over which wedding entertainment type does the trick: DJ or Band? Why not do both! Hire a DJ/Band combo and get the best of both worlds. The musicians will enhance and music that the DJ would normally play with that high energy, live feel that you would get from a band. Its a win-win when you have a full variety of music, no long band breaks to create dead air, and high energy performances from interactive musicians!
Steve B.
What does it mean to have an album mastered? Many people have heard the term but few actually know what it is or why it is necessary. Generally there are three steps to record production. Recording, mixing, and mastering being the final stage in record production and the first stage of manufacturing. This process can sometimes seem a little vague and confusing to newcomers in the audio world. Although it’s sometimes the least understood part of the record production process it still can be the most important. A lot of times you’ll hear people equate mastering with making a mix “louder”. Although that can be a by product, it’s not the overall goal.
Guitar Recording Tips: Some Helpful Hints
Last time we reached the part in your guitar recording where we finally got to push record. This time around I’d like to hit on some simple yet useful pointers while tracking your guitar recording instead of shoving more “dos” and “do nots” in your face! Here we go:
When looking for a thicker sound on your guitar recording, try real double-tracking rather than “artificial doubling”. In other words, play the same part twice over on two different tracks. Depending on the player, you may get better results by muting the original part until the new part has been recorded. If real double-tracking is too difficult, use a pitch-shifter to add a small amount of delay and detuning to fake the effect more convincingly than chorus.
If you have enough spare tracks within your guitar recording software, compile a ‘best of’ solo from multiple whole takes recorded on separate tracks. Hard disk recording is good for this as you simply cut and paste the sections you want to use. However, you can also compile (or “comp”) on tape by bouncing the chosen sections to a new track. Compiling before adding delay or extra reverb will help conceal any edits.
Create a sense of stereo space in your guitar recording by processing a mono guitar sound via a gated or ambience reverb program. A close-miked or DI’d guitar part contains no spatial information, but adding reverb to the sound to create the illusion of space may not be artistically appropriate. Ambient reverb settings will simulate the early reflections of a real space without adding reverb decay. A short gated reverb may also be suitable for creating a more live sound.
One should experiment with these helpful hints, especially those doing their guitar recording at home. Be creative and even use some of these ideas to create another technique of your own. Work on your own “signature sound” for your guitar recording. With today’s technology there are virtually no limits as to how creative one can truly be. Next time we tackle the mysterious world of guitar amplifier miking techniques as I share more Guitar Recording Tips.
Joshua Black