Lapidary Heaven

Tips for Editing, Mixing and Mastering for Podcast, Game Music and Background Music

The audio is cleaned up of mistakes and accidental noises.

1. While editing, the main focus should be on the natural flow of voice/music.
2. After cutting or splicing together, you should listen to the audio at least twice to get it right. The important thing is to start listening to the audio 10 seconds prior to the edit point. This will give you the correct perspective of the flow of the audio. If the voice sounds hurried or slow, adjust the clips as required.
3. Cross fade should be applied to all overlapping clips. For Podcast or files with only voice, make sure the beginning and end of each clip has a small fade in and fade out, to make sure there is no clicking from the cuts. For background music, game music, jingles etc, the trick is to have the overlapping clips on two separate tracks, with fade in and out on both tracks.

Mixing
Mixing is a broad term which covers various processes like equalizing, compression and leveling. Though the requirements of Podcast mixing would be different from game sound design or game music mixing, the ground rules are the same. Here are the basic rules of mixing:

1. Loud levels cause ear fatigue. Always mix with the monitors turned low. This will give a better perspective of the mix.
2. While applying eq, always try to cut frequencies instead of boosting.
3. Make sure you hear your mix on different audio systems to see how well they translate. This is an absolute must.
4. Make sure the background music does not drown out or conflict with the main vocals. Always mix the background music first, and introduce the vocals in the end.

Mastering
This is the final step of audio production. Typically this should not be attempted unless you have very accurate monitoring system, an acoustically treated room and highly trained ears. It is recommended that you use a good audio production studio or online studio to get your tracks mastered. Still if you want to play around, here are some tips:

1. Use a good spectrum analyzer to find out which frequencies are low and which are high in the mix. Eq accordingly.
2. Use at least 2 compressors before putting on the limiter.
3. If required, use stereo imaging to separate the mix. But after stereo imaging, always check the mix in mono. the mix should never fall apart in in Mono.
4. Always compare the final sound with good commercially mixed tracks. This will immediately tell you if some frequencies are missing.

In my next article, I will go in depth with tips on mixing and mastering audio. Till then, happy recording!

And please check out my site: Online Studio

About the Author

W&W – AK47 (Original Mix) [Mix Cut]

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The Fire Opal Of Mexico

In the world of colored gemstones it is color which matters most, and a number of gemstones with outstanding color are highly regarded despite having some fairly obvious shortcomings. Opal is a good example.

All of the opals have a variety of gemstone characteristics which are, let us say, less than ideal. These include softness, a tendency to dehydrate and crack, physical weakness and sensitivity to heat and chemicals. They are the most delicate gemstones commonly worn. But despite these shortcomings, they continue to be very popular because of their unique color.

The traditional precious opal, with its unique play of color, has been valued since Ancient Rome. During the Middle Ages, precious opal was regarded as especially lucky because it displayed the colors of many different gemstones. Not every culture has had the same view, however. A well-known Russian superstition associates precious opal with the evil eye.

Recently we have seen growing interest in one of the lesser know opals, the so-called fire opal. This is an opal known not for its play of color, but for its vivid body color, which ranges from white to yellow to orange to red.

Like all opals, the fire opal is amorphous hydrated silicon dioxide. “Amorphous” indicates that opal has no crystalline structure; “hydrated” means that it contains water, typically from 3 to 10%. Opal is actually considered to be a kind of hardened jelly. But fire opal has some unusual characteristics not shared by other opals.

Opal is typically opaque and is cut en cabochon. Fire opal is the only kind of opal that can be transparent to translucent, and you will often find the higher-grade material cut in facets. People seeing these gems for the first time are often surprised to find out that they are opals.

The color range of fire opal can be can quite wide, and some pieces display multiple colors in a single stone. The brilliant sunny yellows are highly regarded, but it is the more saturated orange and orange-red which is especially valuable.

Fire opal is associated especially with Mexico, and is mined in the Mexican states of Queretaro, Hidalgo, Guerrero, Michoacan, Julisio, Chihuahua and San Luis Potosi. The most important mines in Queretaro were discovered in 1835 and are still producing today. Small quantities of fire opal can also be found in Oregon, USA and British Columbia, Canada.

Since fire opal has a high water content, it should be protected from heat and prolonged exposure to strong light, which could dry it out. Lapidaries cure fire opal by drying it before cutting to make reduce instability, so it is actually not that delicate. But due to its relative softness (5.5 to 6.5 on the Mohs scale), it is best suited for pendants, earrings and brooches, not rings.

About the Author

GemSelect is a leading online dealer in fine gemstones, specializing in sapphire, spinel, fire opal and zircon. Buy Precious Gemstones Online

Ethiopian Welo Opal faceted Yellow crystal base

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Pink iPad 2 – A review of the new and very cool and girly pink iPad 2

I want to share with you some pros and cons about the new pink iPad from Apple. The pink iPad is more or less a device that is going to fill the void between the iPod touch and laptops. If your looking for a full fledged laptop encompassed in this little device your going to be disappointed. However if your in search of a lightweight web browser, music player and a game portal you’re going to be blown away. Even though there is still alot of speculation over the pink iPad, I’m going to list some of the pros and cons so you can make an educated decision on your own! In my personal opinion the pink iPad is amazing. It offers 10 times more than the colorless Amazon Kindle and is ver easy to navigate. The style, elegance, ease of use that Apple has provided with it is incomparable.

The Pros of the Apple pink iPad

Perfect Starting Price – You can get in on the ground floor of a 16 gig pink iPad for only $499. This is by far a great deal maker. Most everybody expected the pink iPad to start close to $1,000. You also have the option of the 32 gig for $599 and the 64 gig for $699.

Light Weight and Sleek Design – The pink iPad only weighs 1.5lbs, gives you a display of 9.56 in (24.3 cm) × 7.47 in (19.0 cm) and is only 0.5 inches thick. These dimensios couldn’t be any handier and puts the pink iPad in a class of its own.

iPad Applications – Straight out of the box the Apple pink iPad has over 140,000 apps that you can download and use. On the bigger screen these apps are much easier to use and read. there is also going to be an enormous number of Apps that are specifically designed for this fantastic little creature.

iBooks: This is going to be one of the major components of this device. You’ll be able to download your favorite books at half the cost with the tap of a finger. They have a bookshelf that is personally catered to your liking. As always, in Apple style, with a tiny tap the book will open up for you.

Bigger, Better, and Faster Photo Viewing – What’s even more amazing is you can do everything with photos that you can do with an iPhone touch with a much larger canvas.

The iWorks Apps Work on Mac Too – For the low price of only $9.99 you can utilize the iWorks apps which will make things much more convenient. Package deals will ultimately make this feature much more appealing.

Traditional Keyboard Accessory – The virtual keyboard is as big as a real one. Some people are totally against virtual keyboards therefore Apple has integrated an optional wireless keyboard to those that are more comfortable using it. This does make it a bit less portable but for many it’s mandatory.

Battery Life – Apple claims that you can run the pink iPad for 10 hours straight without a charge. We’ll have to see how true that is, especially when it comes to gaming.

No Cellular Contract: Finally! No cellular contract is required for the two options of the 3G. The 250 mb plan is available for $14.99 and the unlimited data plan is only $29.99

You can get the new pink iPad for free just click here and punch in your email address!

About the Author

There’s an exclusive pink iPad available for free and this was my unbiased review of this cool new gadget catering to us girls.

[Real 2PM] Pink Nichkhun

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