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Empowering the Next Generation of Women in Audio

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NAMM Mentoring Session 2019

SoundGirls Presents NAMM Mentoring Session

Join us for a Mentoring Session with Women Leaders in Professional Audio

You must be a member of SoundGirls, and you must register for the event. Space is Extremely Limited. You will receive venue address (venue is in Anaheim) with your confirmation.

Register Here

This event will be a casual mentoring session – where you can get advice and answers to your questions. Groups will rotate between leaders specializing in Live Sound, Recording and Mastering, Broadcast Engineering and Professional Audio Sales.

Industry Leaders Include

Mentors Subject to Change

 

Leslie Ann Jones Director of Music and Scoring, Music and Scoring Recording Engineer and Mixer at Skywalker Sound

Leslie Ann Jones has been a recording and mixing engineer for over 30 years. Starting her career at ABC Recording Studios in Los Angeles in 1975, she moved to San Francisco in 1978 to accept a staff position at the legendary Automatt Recording Studios. From 1987 to 1997 she was a staff engineer at Capitol Studios located in the historic Capitol Records Tower in Hollywood. In February of 1997, she returned to Northern California to accept a position as Director of Music Recording and Scoring with Skywalker Sound, where she continues her engineering career mixing music for records, films, video games, television, and commercials.

She is a past Chair of The Recording Academy’s Board of Trustees and is the recipient of 4 Grammy Awards, including 2 for Best Engineered Album-Classical. She serves on the Advisory Boards of Institute for Musical Arts, Ex’pression College for Digital Arts, and is an Artistic Advisor to the new Technology and Applied Composition degree program at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Dawn Birr Pro Audio, Channel Development, and Business Analysis for Sennheiser

Dawn began her career in the audio industry in 2000, joining Sennheiser fresh out of college.  She started as a temporary receptionist and began to learn her way around and through the company. Shortly afterward she moved into Customer Service and began learning how the customers and company worked.  Thanks to a nurturing company culture and strong role models who encouraged her to learn as much as possible whenever possible, Dawn was promoted over the years to Neumann Product Manager, Professional RF Product Manager, VP of Sales for U.S. Installed Sound, Global Commercial Manager for Audio Recording, Channel Manager for the Americas for Sennheiser Business Solutions and most recently to a global position for Pro Audio, Channel Development and Business Analysis.  Dawn completed her MBA in 2006 and is a proud Advisory Board Member for the Women’s International Music Network and member of Soundgirls.org.

Jeri Palumbo, a broadcast engineer, audio mixer and RF (radio frequency) tech

Jeri is a broadcast engineer, audio mixer and RF (radio frequency) tech who, for the past 25 years, has specialized in working on high-profile sports shows. Jeri is a technical whiz and a regular on the front lines of events like the Super Bowl, NBA, NHL playoffs and most recently the World Series. Jeri is part of the RF Coordination Team each year for the Rose Bowl.  She has also worked entertainment broadcasts including The Oscars, The Tonight Show, American Idol, and others.

 

20160717_113247-1Karrie Keyes – Monitor Engineer for Pearl Jam and Eddie Vedder – Executive Director and Co-Founder of SoundGirls.Org

Karrie has spent the last 25 plus years as the monitor engineer for Pearl Jam. Karrie started out doing sound for punk bands in Los Angeles in 1986 under the tutelage of Dave Rat of Rat Sound, where she spent twenty years helping to establish the company. She was able to gain an immense amount of hands-on experience and technical knowledge at Rat, which eventually led to her becoming the monitor engineer for The Red Hot Chili Peppers from 1990-2000. She first met and started working with Pearl Jam who opened for RHCP on their 1991-1992 Blood Sugar Sex Magic Tour. She has worked with Sonic Youth, Fugazi, and more.

jett-lab Jett Galindo -Primary Affiliation: Bakery Mastering – Los Angeles, CA

Jett Galindo is a Los Angeles-based mastering engineer who works alongside Eric Boulanger at The Bakery. With engineering credits spanning different genres and artists (Nile Rodgers, Green Day, Barbra Streisand, Selena Gomez, and Colbie Caillat, to name a few), Jett Galindo carries on the legacy left behind by her late mentor, mastering legend Doug Sax (The Mastering Lab).

Recipient of Summa Cum Laude honors and the 2012 Robin Coxe-Yeldham Audio Scholar Award from Berklee College of Music, Jett Galindo was mentored by luminaries in the music industry including George Massenburg; producers Javier Limon and Prince Charles Alexander; recording engineer Susan Rogers (Prince’s Purple Rain); and mastering engineer and Dean of Education for iZotope, Jonathan Wyner.

Jett kickstarted her post-Berklee engineering career in the world-renowned Avatar Studios in New York as the recording engineer for producer Jerry Barnes. As Barnes’ engineer, Jett engineered for veteran artists such as legendary singer-songwriter Roberta Flack, Nile Rodgers, Bashiri among others.

In 2013, Jett joined The Mastering Lab family as the sole right-hand man to pioneer mastering engineer and GRAMMY Technical Achievement awardee Doug Sax. Under the steady mentorship of the late Sax, Jett burgeoned to become the last engineer to join The Mastering Lab roster. During her years at The Mastering Lab, she worked on various albums and vinyl releases from artists such as Bette Midler, Neil Young, Pink Floyd, Carmen Lundy, and Seth Macfarlane, to name a few.

Outside of mastering, Jett is a contributing writer to SoundGirls, an organization for women working in the audio engineering field led by veteran live sound engineer Karrie Keyes (Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers). Jett is also an accomplished lyric soprano who specializes in contemporary a cappella and choral ensemble music. Currently singing with Los Angeles-based professional choir Tonality, Jett has performed in various countries spanning across Europe, Asia, and the Americas.

More Info: http://thebakery.la/jett-galindo

sara-coversdolliesimg_1024 Sara Elliot VP of Operations and CoFounder of VUE Audiotechnik

With more than 20 years of experience in professional audio, Sara has held strategic marketing and operational positions with numerous sound production companies including Burns Audio, A-1 Audio, and PRG.
Sara also served as Director of Marketing and Sales for Live Sound International Magazine and ProSoundweb.com, two of the industry’s most respected news and technical information sources. Sara brings to VUE Audiotechnik a wealth of industry relationships and a deep understanding of business operations.

download-40 Fela Davis Sound Engineer and Owner of 23db Productions

Fela Davis is a co-owner at 23db Productions based out of New York City. She’s a graduate of Full Sail University and has over a decade of experience in audio engineering. Her past experiences include working with industry powerhouses Clair Broadcast and House of Blues. When she’s not mixing or mastering songs for 23db Productions, she’s mixing front of house engineer for the 5-time Grammy award winning jazz artist Christian McBride, and Grammy-nominated Ottmar Liebert.

Samantha Pink Colleagues call me Samantha. Family and friends call me Sam. My personal favorite though is Mom. I’d say that I am a happy combination of all three. If I were able to meet my adolescent self, I would encourage her to pay attention to the wise advice of her grandmother, mother, and aunts. Listen to her inner voice and trust her instincts!

I have worked in the MI/Audio industry for 18 years, gaining experience in Purchasing, Inventory Management and Operations. Currently, I am the Director of Business Operations at JAM Industries USA, and love helping teams find solutions to problems, improving customer satisfaction and finding ways to increase profitability. I have also held positions at Full Compass Systems as Vice President of Purchasing, and The Music People as Director of Operations.

Catharine Wood Recording – Mix Engineer – Owner Planetwood Studios –

Catharine is a Los Angeles-based composer/producer/engineer with a recording studio in Los Angeles. With a background in audio post-production for commercials, Catharine engineered on the first iPhone commercial among hundreds of national and international campaigns. As a mix and mastering engineer, she has engineered on over 300 commercially released songs – including her own custom compositions which have aired on NBC, ABC, BBC, ESPN and more – both nationally and abroad. She is a GRAMMY® Voting Member and Producers & Engineers Wing member. Catharine currently holds a position on the LA Recording School’s Recording Arts Program Advisory Committee and is the former Director of Southern California for the West Coast Songwriters organization. She is a voting member of the Society of Composers and Lyricists, Songwriters Hall of Fame, a current Board Member of the California Copyright Conference and longtime professional member of NARIP and AIMP. Her company, Planetwood Studios, LLC (parent company of Planetwood Productions, established 2002) specializes in producing singer-songwriters and providing engineering, production and composition services to the TV, Film and Recording industries.

dan_profilepic Daniella Peters – Head of Sales and Management Team at Rat Sound Systems

Daniella has been with Rat Sound for over 15 years building their sales dept from a concept to a multi-million dollar part of their business. She started her career working for an international cosmetics company doing their live event production. She then transitioned to HHB Audio and Ashdown Music, Emap Performance (Kerrang and Q magazines) in London and now with Rat Sound.

She is passionate about women’s issues and spends a good portion of her spare time using her production skills to produce and host music and fashion fundraising events for various women’s non-profits. In 2018 she founded SoundGirls Productions to provide work and internships to women in working in live sound.

Ali “A MAC” McGuire has worked worldwide on albums, International/ US Tours, and charity projects alongside internationally recognized artists. Ali required recording, mixing, production, and live sound skills through a combination of experience and certification. Ali has worked with such artist as Fetty Wap, Post Malone, Hed PE, Big Daddy Kane, Dick Van Dyke, Whitney Peyton and more. Ali recently moved from Philadelphia to LA to take her business, Amaculent Entertainment LLC, to the next level. Ali is currently working out of a few great studio’s and venues in LA; recording, mixing and producing for the next generation of artists and more.

m-holmes-photoMeegan Holmes – Global Sales Manager Eighth Day Sound Los Angeles

Meegan graduated from California Institute of The Arts from their Technical Theater program in 1993; she entered the live production industry before graduation as a local stagehand with LA Stagecall in Los Angeles. In 1997, she began her 18-year audio career with Delicate Productions where she worked as a touring technician and engineer. Meegan wore many hats simultaneously during her time with Delicate Productions including Labor Coordinator, Project Manager and Account Manager.

Throughout her 24 years in the industry, she has worked hard to elevate others through hiring and mentoring. Her new position as a Global Sales Manager with Eighth Day Sound is no exception, hiring full-time staff and expanding the company’s west coast-based freelancer pool as well as building the company’s touring and west coast based clientele.

Becki Barabas At 20 years old, Becki turned her passion for music into a career in audio, with a job managing the office
at Score One Recording. She has since worked in MI, Tour Sound, and with Integrators and Audio Rep
firms, doing everything from Sales to Marketing.
She has held many positions since coming to HARMAN 10 years ago. She started the HARMAN Professional Ambassador and Influencers Program in 2016, signing such names as Chuck D, Parliament Funkadelic and Black Rebel Motor Cycle Club. She is currently Managing Business Development for
Recording and Tour.

Dana Labrecque – Co-Director and Bay Area Chapter Head

Dana has worked in professional audio for the past 30 years.  Working in the recording studio and live events, in addition to doing post-production work as a sound designer, and re-recording mixer. From 1998 – 2005 Dana co-owned and managed APG Records/Studios handling all business operations and shared duties in recording, editing, and mixing. She has taught at several colleges including City College of San Francisco, Laney College, Art Institute of California – San Francisco and Globe Recording Institute. Dana currently is a full-time educator at City College of San Francisco, teaching courses in audio production including recording arts, live sound, interconnected audio, sound for visual media, digital audio production and more. She is a Certified Technology Specialist.

Dana has served on several non-profit boards including Camp Reel Stories and Bay Area Girls Rock Camp and is a member of Bay Area Women in Film and Media, Audio Engineering Society, and Broadcast Education Association.

In her free time, Dana writes screenplays, composes and records music as well as swims in the Bay.

Listen to Dana on Working Class Audio

Piper Payne – Co-Director SoundGirls

Piper is a mastering engineer in Oakland, CA, where she works on albums for independent artists and major labels. Piper is the Owner and Chief Mastering Engineer of Neato Mastering, and she is a Co-Founder and the Chief Product Officer for Second Line Vinyl, a new Oakland-based vinyl pressing plant opening in 2018.

She recently finished her term as President of the SF Chapter of the Recording Academy and serves on the P&E Wing Advisory Council. She is also on the committee of the AES SF Chapter and heads the AES Diversity and Inclusion Committee. Piper is an audio professor and guest lectures often about mastering and recording.

Piper has mastered a wide variety of music including nationally renowned artists Third Eye Blind, Madame Gandhi, Geographer, Elettrodomestico (Jane Wiedlin/Go-Go’s), Shamir, Between You & Me, David Messier, and Fritz Montana, as well as Bay Area favorites Kat Robichaud, ANML, Sioux City Kid, The She’s, Emily Afton, Abbot Kinney, Travis Hayes, Kendra McKinley, Van Goat, and Diana Gameros.

Read more about Piper

Catherine Vericolli – Co-Director SoundGirls

Catherine Vericolli has been an outspoken analog purist since 2005. As owner, engineer, and tech at Fivethirteen Recording in Phoenix, AZ, she is dedicated to keeping the traditional analog
recording process alive in the desert. Going on 12 years of being in business, Fivethirteen has grown out of its local musicians, homestead roots into a stop off for touring nationals and international bands, guest engineers, and home for the occasional film score. Added on in 2010, Fivethirteen’s mixing suite has become one of Arizona’s premier mixing destinations, and with the installation of a RND 5088 in it’s tracking control room during the summer of 2013,
Catherine has since taken on the studio’s management position full time. She’s also an audio educator, travels nationally as an audio panelist, and co-edits Pinknoise Mag, an online publication dedicated to diversity and technical excellence in the audio industry.
513recording.com
pinknoisemag.com

Read more about Catherine

Barbara Adams SoundGirls Philadelphia Chapter head Barbara is an audio engineer and educator with over twenty years of experience in the music industry. She specializes in live sound, as well as being an accomplished recording engineer. Her strong and varied experience also includes stage management, live bookings, events, touring, and more.

Barbara currently a house engineer for World Café Live, system tech for DBS Audio and has worked in every major venue in Philadelphia, including The Tin Angel, Mann Music Center, Electric Factory Concerts, and more. She has toured with acts including Alice Smith, IAMX, 4 Way Street, Princes of Babylon, Granian, and the BurnDown All-Stars, and has served in a variety of engineering roles for festivals such as Musikfest, Welcome America in Philadelphia, Gathering of the Vibes, Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, and Live 8 just to name a few. She has also done consulting work for area venues and churches.

Carolina Antón is a specialist in sound design and optimization as well as a freelance sound engineer. She has worked with several sound companies such as 2hands production, Eighth Day Sound, Britannia Row, Meridian Pro audio, and Ocesa. She has toured throughout the U.S, Mexico, and Latin America with Zoe, Cafe Tacvba, Natalia Lafourcade, HaAsh. Carolina is also the owner of Hibiki Production providing services for Live Recording and Streaming. Carolina is the Chapter Head for Mexico Chapter of SoundGirls.

Nancy Tarr is an adjunct lecturer in the Music Industry department and the Executive Director of Well Dunn (a music nonprofit that connects college students with internships in the music and entertainment industry). During Nancy’s career, she has lived in Los Angeles, New York, NY and Washington, D.C. Her current home is Cooperstown, NY.  She worked on over 50 films in the music department at Paramount Pictures and was the Music Coordinator on the movie “8 Mile.”  She also worked at  RCA and Artist Records before becoming the Manager of Artist Relations and Government Affairs with the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).  Nancy set out on her own and has been working as an Artist Relations consultant, Event Manager, Artist Manager with Tarr Music Co.  Nancy is also a singer/songwriter, has performed in off-Broadway shows and was recently seen in the Glimmerglass Festival’s production of The Music Man.  Nancy’s band Dead Girls and Other Stories were featured performers at both the Lilith Fair and the H.O.R.D.E. Festival.

Erika Duffee has over 20 years experience in international touring and production management working with a wide variety of talent ranging from Canadian platinum-selling artists, Scott Helman and Walk Off The Earth to Italian pianist/composer, Ludovico Einaudi to Brazilian music royalty, Bebel Gilberto. She began her career as a volunteer radio programmer in New Orleans, worked in day to day management and spent 10 years at  Concord Music Group in Los Angeles doing artist development and producing showcases and special events for the label.

Whitney Olpin has been working in Live Sound for the last eight years, working as an Independent monitor engineer and stage manager. She has spent the last year touring with Fitz and the Tantrums. Based in Los Angeles, when she is not on the road she picks up local work through Live Nation.

Sexual Harassment Seminar

SoundGirls will be hosting a seminar on sexual harassment with Kim Warnick.

 
 

Kim Warnick is a sexual violence prevention and response expert with program design, project management, and communications experience in corporate, start-up, and nonprofit organizations. She designed and leads the #HereForTheMusic campaign at Calling All Crows to prevent sexual harassment and violence in the live music industry. She has a specific interest in workplace sexual violence and helping companies to be proactive in creating safer working conditions for all employees

You should be able to feel comfortable in your place of work or learning. If you are being sexually harassed, you can report it to the authorities at your job or school, but what happens when you are a freelance contractor? Sexual harassment can occur in a variety of circumstances. The harasser can identify with any gender and have any relationship to the victim, including being a direct manager, indirect supervisor, coworker, teacher, peer, or colleague.

The seminar will cover:

 

Quick Guide on Invoicing

Whether you are a freelance sound engineer, session musician, tour manager, or backline technician, what we all have in common is that we like to be paid for the work we carry out. If you are not on a salary, you will most likely invoice the companies you work for.

It is incredibly important to get your invoice right from the start; it will save you and the company a lot of time if you get it right from the beginning.

You can find loads of templates online, and invoices might vary slightly from country to country. However, the basics are all the same, and there is some crucial information you need to include in your invoice.

Here is a simple guide on what a basic invoice needs to include:

Your Name / Company Name: This one is quite obvious, it needs to be clear who is invoicing the company.

Your contact information: Your full address, including city and country. You will also need to provide your phone number.

Date: The date you are sending the invoice. This is crucial, this way you can keep track of whether your invoice is overdue or not.

Invoice number: This one is important, especially if you are invoicing a company regularly, this way the accounts team can keep track of which invoices have been processed and which are due to be processed. It also helps you to keep track of your own invoices and how many you have sent.

For: Project or service description.

Bill to: The Company / Person you are invoicing and their address. Add ‘Attention’ depending on what department or person you are invoicing.

Description of the work carried out: The more accurate description, the better, where you have been working, what department, what date and for how long.

The amount: The amount you charge for your work.

Value added tax (VAT): If you are a VAT registered business, you need to add VAT, which is usually between 15%-20% of the amount charged.

Total amount: Sum up the amount (and VAT if you have a VAT registered business) to a total amount.

Bank Details: Now do not forget to add your correct bank details. This might seem obvious, but I’ve seen plenty of invoices which did not include their bank details, or their details were incorrect.

Add your bank, full name, sort code, and account number.

Format: PDF is the way to go. That way your invoice can not be altered with. Name your PDF after your invoice number. Also, include your name and surname, i.e., Invoice#1001FirstnameSurname.

Email: Make sure you are emailing the right department/person. If you send your invoice to the wrong department/person, it will take longer to process your invoice. Worst case, it will get lost between people, which will delay the process even further.

When emailing your invoice make sure you write something along the lines of:

“Dear Sir / Madame / Name of the person,

Please find attached my invoice for my (description such as DJ/session musician/sound technician) services at your company. If you have any questions concerning this invoice, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Kind regards,

First name Surname “

It does not have to be long, but it needs to be polite, professional and give them some information about the invoice they have just received.

It can take up to 30 days for invoices to be processed and paid which is standard. In the UK, usually, VAT invoices must be issued within 30 days of the date of supply or the date of payment (if you’re paid in advance).

Overdue fees: In the UK we have the ‘Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998′, which means that if a payment is overdue, you can claim a late payment fee. The statutory right to claim interest and compensation is not compulsory, and it is for the supplier to decide whether or not to make use of their rights.

Make sure to look up your rights and acts in your country and do not hesitate to get in touch with a solicitor to help you if you need further assistance with any claims or questions regarding any late payments.

 

Interfaz de Sonido

Es muy importante conocer más a fondo los diferentes componentes y equipo que necesitarás para montar tu home studio, y para ello nos adentramos en el mundo de las interfaces de audio.

Qué es una interfaz de sonido?

En primer lugar, vamos a aclarar qué son las interfaces de audio. Antes de meternos a fondo, una aclaración: es probable que hayas escuchado hablar de interfaz de audio, interfaz de sonido, tarjeta de sonido etc. ¡No te preocupes, es lo mismo! Tan solo son diferentes formas de llamarlas, pero el nombre más técnico y más extendido es interfaz de audio.

Explicado de una forma sencilla, una interfaz de audio es el hardware que te permite trasladar los sonidos que quieras grabar a tu DAW (recuerda, la estación de audio digital, o en otras palabras, el software de producción musical). Es decir, la interfaz de audio es lo que te permite pasar el sonido acústico, la señal analógica (por ejemplo, la que produce cualquier voz o instrumento), a señal digital, que es lo que tu ordenador puede leer y procesar.

Por qué necesitas una interfaz de audio?

Esta es siempre la pregunta que todo el mundo se hace al plantearse comprar una interfaz de audio. El motivo es precisamente el que ya hemos visto. La mayoría de los estudios de grabación en la actualidad (y mucho más los home studio), centralizan la producción musical a través de la computadora. Con el avance de la tecnología, hay una tendencia cada vez mayor de abandonar los equipos analógicos para pasar a lo digital. Por lo tanto, todo lo que queramos grabar debe poder ser procesado por la computadora y por el software de producción. Piénsalo así: una computadora no entiende el sonido, así que para que puedas trabajarlo, es necesario pasarlo a un lenguaje que pueda comprender, y este lenguaje es la señal digital. No te preocupes, de momento no necesitamos profundizar mucho más sobre esto. A medida que avancemos, ya habrá tiempo de entrar en más detalle sobre los tipos de señales y otros conceptos más técnicos. Pues bien, la interfaz de audio es el equipo que capta esas señales analógicas que emite un instrumento y las convierte en señales digitales, capaces de ser tratadas por la computadora. Por ese motivo, una interfaz es algo de lo que no podemos prescindir en nuestro estudio. Si queremos hacer música en casa, necesitamos una interfaz de sonido.

Siguiente pregunta: Por qué tengo que comprarme una interfaz, si en mi computadora ya viene integrada una tarjeta de sonido?  La respuesta es muy sencilla. Efectivamente, en tu computadora seguramente ya viene integrada una tarjeta de sonido. El problema es que las tarjetas de sonido que vienen incorporadas en las computadoras comunes no están preparadas para realizar ese tipo de procesamiento de sonido, que requiere mucha potencia y muchos recursos. Piensa que no estás montando un estudio de grabación para reproducir un par de canciones en Spotify. Lo que queremos es hacer nuestra propia música, y para ello no es suficiente el equipamiento común, sino que necesitaremos componentes de buena calidad que estén preparados específicamente para el tratamiento de audio.

En qué fijarte para comprar una interfaz de audio

Ya sabemos qué son las interfaces y por qué necesitamos una en nuestro estudio. Ahora la pregunta es: ¿cuáles son sus principales características?  ¿En que debo fijarme para comprarme una? ¿Cuál es la que mejor se adapta a mis necesidades?

No te dejes engañar. Todas las interfaces de audio tienen básicamente las mismas características y funcionan de la misma manera. Son estas:

Entradas y Salidas

 

Por una parte, debemos tener muy en cuenta el número de entradas y salidas de nuestra interfaz. Es fundamental que te preguntes lo siguiente: ¿Para qué la quiero? ¿Qué uso le voy a dar?

La regla es que necesitarás tantas entradas como líneas quieras grabar simultáneamente. Eso dependerá en gran medida de la forma en la que grabes.

Básicamente existen dos métodos principales de grabación:

Mi consejo, sobre todo si estás empezando, es que grabes por pistas. Es una forma más sencilla de iniciarse en la producción musical y de conocer cómo funcionan los flujos de sonido. También es una técnica increíble para potenciar la creatividad mientras compones. Además, necesitarás menos entradas, ¡por lo que podrás ahorrar mucho dinero y espacio!

El siguiente punto que hay que valorar es el tipo de entrada o salida. No todas las líneas necesitan del mismo tipo de entrada. En términos generales, existen dos tipos de entradas:

Las interfaces incorporan entradas híbridas, que gracias a su diseño permiten conectar tanto instrumentos como micrófonos.

Otro factor por tener muy en cuenta son las salidas de audífono. Hoy en día prácticamente todas las interfaces de sonido incorporan una salida de audífono. Es una característica fundamental para poder intercambiar de una forma sencilla entre escuchar tus producciones a través de los monitores y de los auriculares. Un consejo: si puedes, adquiere una interfaz que tenga más de una salida de audífonos. Te aseguro que te será muy útil cuando estés grabando a otra persona, ya que de esa forma los dos podrán escuchar cómodamente mientras graban.

  1. Preamplificadores

Los preamplificadores son probablemente el elemento más importante de las interfaces de sonido, ya que determinan la calidad de tus grabaciones. El objetivo es buscar una interfaz que lleve integrados unos buenos preamplificadores, fiables y, sobre todo, que transmitan un sonido claro y limpio. En la actualidad, la gran mayoría de las interfaces del mercado incorporan unos preamplificadores de una calidad suficiente.

  1. Conexión

Existen tres tipos de conexiones:

  1. Precio

Como siempre, es importante tener en cuenta el precio de los diferentes modelos. En Tu Home Studio, el objetivo es aprender a producir música y montar tu propio estudio de grabación con el presupuesto más ajustado posible.

Actualmente hay interfaces de audio para todos los presupuestos. Claro que, también hay opciones mucho más caras, que normalmente ofrecen más entradas y salidas y unos preamplificadores de la mejor calidad.

Conclusiones

En mi opinión, la mejor opción cuando adquieras una interfaz es que se ajuste a tus necesidades ya sea utilizando USB o Thunderbolt. Hablando de las conexiones con USB, la velocidad es más que suficiente y ha mejorado mucho con el USB 2.0 y 3.0. En cuanto al número de entradas, mi recomendación es que empieces con una interfaz de mínimo 2 entradas, con la que podrás grabar cómodamente por pistas e incluso grabar algunas interpretaciones en vivo.

Aunque siempre es recomendable tener más de una entrada. Lo mejor es que tengas una interfaz de 2 a 8 entradas, una para micrófono y otra para línea. Además de cuidar la calidad de los preamplificadores ya que algunas interfaces no son de tanta calidad y no ofrecen un sonido tan limpio.

Carolina Antón es especialista en diseño y optimización de sonido, así como ingeniera de sonido independiente. Ha trabajado con varias compañías de sonido como la producción de 2hands, Eighth Day Sound, Britannia Row, Meridian Pro audio y Ocesa. Ha realizado giras por los EE. UU., México y América Latina con Zoe, Cafe Tacvba, Natalia Lafourcade, HaAsh. Carolina también es propietaria de Hibiki Production que proporciona servicios para grabación y transmisión en vivo.

 

 

Sound Interface

It is very important to know more in-depth the different components and equipment that you will need to set up your home studio, and for that, we enter the world of audio interfaces.

What is a sound interface?

First, let’s clarify what audio interfaces are. Before getting to the bottom, a clarification: you have probably heard about an audio interface, sound interface, sound card etc. Do not worry, it’s the same! There are only different ways to call them, but the most technical and most extended name is the audio interface.

Explained in a simple way, an audio interface is hardware that allows you to transfer the sounds you want to record to your DAW (remember, the digital audio station, or in other words, the music production software). That is, the audio interface is what allows you to pass the acoustic sound, the analog signal (for example, the one produced by any voice or instrument), to a digital signal, which is what your computer can read and process.

Why do you need an audio interface?

This is always the question that everyone asks when considering buying an audio interface. The reason is precisely the one we have already seen. The majority of recording studios today (and much more home studio), centralize musical production through the computer. With the advancement of technology, there is a growing trend of abandoning analog equipment to become digital. Therefore, everything we want to record must be able to be processed by the computer and by the production software. Think of it like this: a computer does not understand sound, so for you to be able to work it; you need to pass it to a language that you can understand, and this language is the digital signal. Do not worry, at the moment we do not need to go into much more about this. As we move forward, there will be time to go into more detail about the types of signals and other more technical concepts. Well, the audio interface is the equipment that captures those analog signals that an instrument emits and converts them into digital signals, capable of being treated by the computer. For that reason, an interface is something that we cannot do without in our study. If we want to make music at home, we need a sound interface.

Next question: Why do I have to buy an interface if a sound card is integrated into my computer? The answer is very simple. Indeed, a sound card is already integrated into your computer. The problem is that the sound cards that come incorporated in common computers are not prepared to perform this type of sound processing, which requires a lot of power and many resources. Think you’re not setting up a recording studio to play a couple of songs on Spotify. What we want is to make our own music, and for this, the common equipment is not enough, but we will need good quality components that are specifically prepared for the audio treatment.

What to look for to buy an audio interface

We already know what interfaces are and why we need one in our study. Now the question is: what are its main characteristics? What should I pay attention to buy one? Which one best suits my needs?

Do not be fooled. All audio interfaces have basically the same characteristics and work in the same way. These are:

Inputs and Outputs

On the one hand, we must take into account the number of inputs and outputs of our interface. It is essential that you ask yourself the following: What do I want it for? What use will I give?

The rule is that you will need as many entries as you want to record simultaneously. That will depend to a large extent on the way you record.

Basically, there are two main methods of recording:

Recording by tracks: Nowadays, there are many people who record by tracks, that is, you record a track first (example, drums), then on that track you record the next one (eg the bass) and so on until you complete the track. It could also be called layer recording. The technique consists of adding layers until the final result is obtained. Therefore,  if you record by tracks (which is the most usual in a home studio environment), it will be enough to have an audio interface with few inputs.

Live recording: unlike recording by tracks, for live recording you will need as many inputs as there are sound lines being played at the same time. For example, if you want to record a group of 4 people simultaneously playing live, you will need as many inputs as you want to record: several entries for the voices and many others for the instruments. Keep in mind that there are instruments, such as the battery, that need several microphones to capture the different components (bass drum, snare, cymbals, etc.).

My advice, especially if you are starting, is that you record by clues. It is a simpler way to get started in musical production and to know how sound workflows. It is also an incredible technique to enhance creativity while you compose. In addition, you will need fewer entries, so you can save a lot of money and space!

The next point to assess is the type of entry or exit. Not all lines need the same type of entry. In general terms, there are two types of entries:

Line input: these types of inputs are used to connect instruments such as basses and electric guitars.

Microphone input: as its name suggests, it is used to connect microphones. However, we must bear in mind that condenser microphones require a different power to operate (48v). Most audio interfaces already have a built-in button to activate the 48v of power for when you want to connect your condenser mic, but I recommend that you make sure before buying it.

The interfaces incorporate hybrid inputs, which thanks to their design allow to connect both instruments and microphones.

Another factor to keep in mind is the hearing aid outputs. Nowadays practically all sound interfaces incorporate a hearing aid output. It is a fundamental characteristic to be able to exchange in a simple way between listening to your productions through the monitors and the headphones. A tip: if you can, get an interface that has more than one headphone output. I assure you that it will be very useful when you are recording another person, since that way you can both listen comfortably while recording.

Pre-amplifiers

The preamplifiers are probably the most important element of the sound interfaces since they determine the quality of your recordings. The objective is to look for an interface that has integrated good preamplifiers, reliable and, above all, that transmit a clear and clean sound. Currently, the vast majority of market interfaces incorporate preamps of sufficient quality.

Connection

There are three types of connections:

USB: is the most used currently, especially in the interfaces of medium quality. Although it is not the fastest connection of the existing ones, it is a very good option for home studios, especially for its easy connection to computers (all computers on the market have a way to connect to USB ports). In addition, with USB 2.0 and USB 3.0, the speed has increased considerably, making the USB connection preferred by both manufacturers and users.

Firewire: Formerly firewire connections used to be faster than USB, but today, the USB connection has nothing to envy to the firewire, getting to provide very good speed.

Thunderbolt: it is the fastest connection in the market, now more frequent in current computers. Normally only higher quality audio interfaces (and, therefore, higher price) incorporate thunderbolt connection.

Price

As always, it is important to take into account the price of the different models. At Tu Home Studio, the goal is to learn how to produce music and set up your own recording studio with the best possible budget.

Currently, there are audio interfaces for all budgets. Of course, there are also much more expensive options, which usually offer more inputs and outputs and preamps of the best quality.

Conclusions

In my opinion, the best option when you acquire an interface is that it suits your needs, whether using USB or Thunderbolt. Speaking of USB connections, the speed is more than enough and has improved a lot with USB 2.0 and 3.0. As for the number of entries, my recommendation is that you start with an interface of at least 2 entries, with which you can comfortably record tracks and even record some live performances.

Although it is always advisable to have more than one entry. The best thing is that you have an interface of 2 to 8 inputs, one for microphone and another for the line. In addition to taking care of the quality of the preamplifiers since some interfaces are not of such quality and do not offer such a clean sound.

Carolina Antón is a specialist in sound design and optimization as well as a freelance sound engineer. She has worked with several sound companies such as 2hands production, Eighth Day Sound, Britannia Row,Meridian Pro audio, and Ocesa. She has toured throughout the U.S, Mexico, and Latin America with Zoe, Cafe Tacvba, Natalia Lafourcade, HaAsh. Carolina is also the owner of Hibiki Production providing services for Live Recording and Streaming. Carolina is the Chapter Head for Mexico Chapter of SoundGirls.

 

Women in Audio Articles & Interviews

Suzanne Ciani Women in Sound

Jess Fenton, Producer/Engineer/Mixer at Fenton Music Productions

At home with Sheryl Crow, a widely beloved, and wildly underappreciated, rock star

Atlantic Records’ Recording Engineer, Ebonie Smith, Talks Amplifying the Music Industry

Sharing The Long Road: The Career Of Claudia Engelhart & Inside Her Unique Partnership With Artist Bill Frisell

Craft Profile: Jeri Palumbo

You lift with your mind, not with your muscles’: female sound engineers on working in audio

What’s Most Important: The Career & Influences Of Monitor Engineer Whitney Olpin

Mastering for Vinyl: Tips for Digital Mastering Engineers

Mastering for Vinyl: Conversations With the Pros

Subtractive EQ: A Mastering Engineer’s Not-So-Secret Weapon

Rhiannon Mair: Well Engineered

Communication skills: mastering engineer vs. automated mastering services

The Right Balance: The Diverse Career And Life Of Grace Royse

Bryony October Touring Engineer

Who’s helping womxn into sound?

International Women’s Day: Meet the women shaping the future of music

International Women’s Day 2019 – 9 Women in Music Tech (WoMuTe) Heroes

Behind the console: women working in audio and changing the game

Women in Audio – A Celebration of International Women’s Day

Behind the console: women working in audio and changing the game

Driven To Excellence: Inside The World Of Multifaceted Audio Professional Rebecca Wilson

2019 Grammys: Women behind the music

Bohemian Rhapsody: First Oscars night for sound editor Nina Hartstone

WOMEN IN SOUND W/AMANDA DAVIS

We Need Women To Break Through The Glass Ceiling In Music Production To EQ The Gender Imbalance

The Most Historic Grammy Win Just Happened

For every 47 music producers who are men, there is 1 woman

The Grammys Celebrated Women. So, What’s Next?

A day in the life of Emily Lazar, Grammy-winning mastering engineer

St. Vincent on How to Empower More Women in the Music Business

These Women are Fixing the Gender Problem in Music Tech

Why we need campaigns like Red Bull Studios’ Normal Not Novelty

Women in audio: Hear us roar

Jo Hutchins: Full Interview with PSN Europe for Women in Audio article

Darcy Proper on the changing perception of mastering in the industry

Preparing your music for mastering by Darcy Proper

Darcy Proper wins surround sound Grammy

Mandy Parnell Interview – A Master Of The Industry

Mandy Parnell: The Art of Mastering

Mandy Parnell: Mastering Audio

Mandy Parnell: Mastering Björk’s Biophilia

Piper Payne – Mastering Engineer

In the Spotlight… Sophia Hardman, Foley Mixer at Twickenham Studios

In Conversation with Emma Butt

Less than 5% of Audio Engineers are Women — This is My Story

Inventing The Future: The Trailblazing Technologies & Passions Of Jackie Green

Creative license is key’: Sound designer Kirsty Gillmore on producing theatre audio

Ebonie Smith Why are Female Producers Everywhere, Yes so Invisible?

Live Sound Engineer Amanda Davis: Forging A Fearless Career Path

In Profile: Passion For The Craft: The world of touring front of house engineer Michelle Sabolchick Pettinato.

Noted monitor engineer and mentor/educator Karrie Keyes, in profile.

30 Under 30 – Rachel Rozzi – Audio Tech

Meet The Woman Engineering Your Favorite South African Hip-Hop Releases

Grammy’s Take Note – Women in Music

Rhiannon Mair Interview – Multifaceted Music Production

Road Warriors – Stories From The Touring Women Who Keep The Music Sounding Sweet

Producer, songwriter, and gender diversity campaigner Carla Marie Williams

The Nine: Alesia Hendley

In the Studio with Sylvia Massy

Top Engineer Ann Mincieli Rules the NYC Music Scene with Her Jungle City Studios

Jeri Palumbo Thriving in the Hot Seat

Erica Richstad, Manager, Applications Engineering At Dolby

Why Aren’t There More Women Working in Audio? Like with many STEM-oriented fields, music production and sound engineering are dominated by men—though that’s very slowly changing

How Freelance sound designer Ana Monte captured the sounds of war in a conflict zone

Annette Cisneros – Working Behind Two Types of Desks – Offspring, Social Distortion, Alice in Chains

Behind the Scenes at NPR West

Jackie Green – VP of R&D/Engineering at Audio Technica

Where Are All the Women Producers? Here Are Five Famous Ones

Why are Female Record Producers So Rare

The Sound Girls of Brazil

Where are All the Women Record Producers

The Five Percent: Profiles on Women in Audio

Catherine Marks: Happy Accidents

Be Unstoppable: The Attitude and Skills Required to Find Success as a Touring Sound Engineer

Behind The Glass: An Interview with Producer/Engineer Trina Shoemaker

Meet Jane Tattersal: Sound Supervisor for Penny Dreadful

Meet Paula Fairfield Sound Designer on Game of Thrones

Sounds Like Success: Sudhish Kamath

Chez Stock: The Girl With The Audio Tattoo(s)

Front and Center: Women’s Audio Mission Founder, Terri Winston

Reflections on Production Sound, in the Company of Jan McLaughlin

Beethoven’s Ninth in 5.1 Leslie Ann Jones, Wolfgang Fraissinet, Mike Pappas and a Lot of Digital Mics

Lucy Johnstone – Sound Editor for Top Gear

In Profile: Beth Gladen – Sound Company Owner/Mix Engineer

Women in Audio: Becky Pell, Monitor Engineer, Yoga Teacher and Writer

If You Want To Be Somewhere, You’ve Got To Occupy It’: How Women Are Changing The Face Of Engineering And Producing

Behind the Console: 10 Sound Engineers Changing the Game

Meet 10 Incredible Women Running Your Favorite Musicians’ Shows

The Only Girl: the search for female sound engineers

How Mastering Engineer Emily Lazar Made Grammy History

Master blaster: the woman making Björk, Aphex Twin and Eno sound so good

Less is more’: Mastering engineer Katie Tavini talks studio techniques and stereotypes

This page is updated on a regualar basis – so check back anytime you need inspiration.  If you have an article you would like added – please email the link to soundgirls@soundgirls.org

 

 

 

Women in Audio Podcasts

Behind the Beat is a Gender Amplified original podcast highlighting the work of female and non-binary music producers.

Sisters of Sound Podcast

 Roadie Free Radio

Tape OP Podcast

Working Class Audio Podcast:

Storyophonic 

Episode 17 – LYNNE EARLS A producer-engineer-mixer-composer and player: Irish-born, Liverpool-educated Los Angeles transplant Lynne Earls’ credits include recording K.D. Lang, Calexico, Rumer, Lizz Wright, Wayne Shorter and many others. In this conversation, she compares recording to photography, instinct and intuition guide her as she captures the authentic soul of a sound in the optimal instant.

EPISODE 16 – BONNIE MCKEE: She’s an “American Girl,” one of the “California Girls,” and a “Teenage Dream” who can “Roar.” Artist, songwriter and producer Bonnie McKee might be best known from her multiple award winning collaborations with Katy Perry, as a recording artist, or as a guest vocalist with dance provocateurs Kygo and Armin Van Buuren. If you listen to pop music, you have heard her songs for Britney Spears, Kelly Clarkson, Adam Lambert and many others. Meet the luminous, glamorous and fabulous Bonnie McKee.

EPISODE 12 – LESLIE ANN JONES: Engineer, producer and mixer Leslie Ann Jones has been behind the board for everyone from Rosemary Clooney and Kronos Quartet to Herbie Hancock and Alice in Chains. As Director of Music Recording and Scoring for Skywalker Sound, she records scores for video games and feature films including Apocalypse Now, Requiem for a Dream and Happy Feet. A multiple Grammy Award winner inducted this year into the NAMM TEC Hall of Fame for her achievements, Leslie Ann Jones is an Audio Icon of the first order.

Backstage Chats

A podcast amplifying the voices and careers of women in music. Hosted by Thea Wood, the show is part of the Backstage Chats Foundation, a nonprofit organization offering grants and scholarships to women in music. Women are underrepresented on stage, on air, and behind the scenes in the music biz, so it’s our mission to create gender harmony by sharing the voices and stories of female music makers. Backstage Chats with Women In Music connects music fans with female artists and industry insiders who remind us to be dreamers, to be rule breakers, and that we are all rock stars!

 

PSNEurope podcast Women in Audio

Pensado’s Place

Gear Club Podcast

TONEBENDERS PODCAST

The Tonebenders podcast is a resource for anyone involved in post sound, with insights on everything from field recording to editing, designing and mixing in the studio.

The Right Scuff Podcast

Shure Signal Path Podcast

Other Podcasts

Missed this Week’s Top Stories? Read our Quick Round-up!

It’s easy to miss the SoundGirls news and blogs, so we have put together a round-up of the blogs, articles, and news from the past week. You can keep up to date and read more at SoundGirls.org

October Feature Profile

First to Record Elvis – Marion Keisker

The Blogs

Making Hard Decisions – Career Choices

Dancing on the Demon of Ignorance

A Guide to Supporting Women in Sound

SoundGirls News

 

https://soundgirls.org/event/los-angeles-soundgirls-social-3/?instance_id=1350

Vancouver SoundGirls Social

https://soundgirls.org/event/nashville-soundgirls-chapter-launch/?instance_id=1347

https://soundgirls.org/event/los-angeles-soundgirls-social-2/?instance_id=1327

Hearing Health Seminar

Analog/Tape Recording Workshop w/Lenise Bent

https://soundgirls.org/namm-2019-badges-for-soundgirls-members-2/

SoundGirls and SoundGym

Shadowing/Mentoring/Internship Opportunities

Shadowing Opportunity w/Guit Tech Claire Murphy

Shadowing Opportunity w/ FOH Engineer Edgardo “Verta” Vertanessian

Shadowing Opportunity w/ FOH Engineer Sean “Sully” Sullivan

Shadowing Opportunity w/ ME Aaron Foye

https://soundgirls.org/soundgirls-mentoring/

 

Round Up From the Internet

https://www.prosoundweb.com/channels/live-sound/keeping-it-real-psychoacoustics-in-iem-mixing/

 

SoundGirls Resources

Directory of Women in Professional Audio and Production

This directory provides a listing of women in disciplines industry-wide for networking and hiring. It’s free – add your name, upload your resume, and share with your colleagues across the industry.

SoundGirls – Gaston-Bird Travel Fund

Letter for Trades and Manufacturers

Women-Owned Businesses

SoundGirls Scholarships 2021 Now Open

Events

Sexual Harassment

https://soundgirls.org/about-us/soundgirls-chapters/

Jobs and Internships

Women in the Professional Audio

Member Benefits

Making Hard Decisions – Career Choices

Have you ever had a time where you made an employment commitment and then had to go back on that commitment? If you have, I bet you struggled with the decision just as much as I did.

I recently had two amazing job opportunities.  I had applied for a job, accepted an offer and was awaiting my start date, when another offer came my way.   All of a sudden, I had two great opportunities in front of me which, turned into having to make one very hard decision. Do I stay with the first job, take the new opportunity or pass on it because I had already accepted the first offer?

As I faced trying to make my decision, I struggled with some moral thoughts about commitment such as; how I would feel if a prospective employee chose to “quit” before they started, and the situation that I might be leaving the company in if I didn’t follow through with the job I had accepted.  I weighed the pros and cons of each job and considered the goals of my career. I sought advice from others. Some advice was great and some just seemed to make it harder to choose. In some moments I knew exactly what to do, only to question my thinking a few moments later. As I processed what was before me, I wished I had a source that might have helped me think it through, so I write this blog to help others consider what they might do if they ever have to make a decision like this.

I came to my decision by taking a sense of self approach, instead of thinking about what others might want or need. For instance, it is you who will be spending the time there, and you are the one doing the work. We work a lot; it’s the nature of the job. Think about you and which option will help you and your goals, your happiness, and what you want from it all. There will be signs that help you decide for yourself, but those signs might get lost in having to make such a tough choice, usually in a short time frame as well.

When it comes down to it, you will likely disappoint someone no matter what, but you can’t take that in as a factor. Sometimes the truck pack doesn’t fit perfectly, but if you move just one piece of gear, you have a perfect Tetris game. It’s ok to pick you! It’s your happiness, your career goals, and your time because the period you spend working is a majority of your life and is a part of who you are, so it’s absolutely ok to put yourself first. The person or organization you end up leaving will be able to move forward and find someone else for the position. You might burn a bridge, but that is part of picking you in this situation. People come and go, usually at the least opportune time, but in the end, they will work through it just as you have when a coworker leaves or a position remains open too long.

When you do finally decide which option will be best for you, no matter commitments made or not, make sure to communicate those as quickly as possible. This may be the best courtesy you have to offer. Whichever you decide, it will leave someone with the task of going back to the hiring board.  Give them as much time as you can for them to do that. Then look forward to your new opportunity and make the best of it, because you chose it for you and it is an exciting next step!

 

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