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One producer I’m working with for a machinima show has asked me to see if I can put in the “Wilhelm Scream”.  Neve having heard of that, I did a little research on it.  Apparently, its an extremely classic scream sound recorded decades ago that has appeared in many, many films to the point of cliché.  This, however, makes it all the more amusing for this particular scene.

If you are also unfamiliar with the Wilhelm Scream as I was, please see the links below to read further about it and its interesting history:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_scream

http://www.hollywoodlostandfound.net/wilhelm/

http://www.theforce.net/latestnews/story/The_Wilhelm_Scream_77600.asp

Have you ever been confused by what an unbalanced or balanced audio cables is? TRS vs. XLR connector?  I found that the good folks over at Sweetwater have a really nice guide that’s worth checking out.  Enjoy!

Ever get the need for just a few sheets of manuscript paper to doodle a new tune on? Hop on over to http://www.blanksheetmusic.net and they’ll take care of you! This free site that I ran across allows you to customize the output for the number of staves, key signatures, clefs, etc. So get your free blank staff paper today!

Queustion:

Reader D’Argo Smith, music producer/musician/sound engineer writes:

Hello, my name is D’Argo Smith, music producer/musician/sound engineer

and i was reading a question pertaining to what you need to do to get in
the music business via gaming.

i was hoping that i could get some of that information on what different
music guilds to join in order to get my foot in there somewhere!!

keep in touch!!

D’Argo

http://myspace.com/liquidiq2

Answer:

Hi there D’Argo,

Thanks for writing. Just like all music business creative jobs, there is no one “good” way to get your foot in the door. This is especially true in the kind of music I do. In video games, rarely are folks hired as “in house” composers. They are usually contracted on a game-by-game basis. This is because our work, proportionally, takes FAR less time than that of the artists and programmers who can spend anywhere from 6 to 24 months making a respectable title!

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A common problem I face when recording with acoustic instruments is getting just the right amount of click in my headset versus program material. Up to a few days ago, I would often just struggle with trying to set the other instruments to a lower volume or trying to crank the virtual instrument in my DAW (Logic) that creates the click to very high levels. Now, there is an easier way!

The magic needed actually existed from two existing picece of equipment that I already own, the MOTU 828 mkII audio interface and the Behringer Powerplay Pro Headphone Amp.

In Logic Pro, there is a setting where you can change what output the click track generated by the system eminates from.  By default, this is set to Output 1-2 (the mains) of whatever hardware interface you are using.  However, if you are using an interface that supports multiple outputs, you can rechannel this to whatever output you want.  For me, this was Output 3-4.

After this, I ran a cable from output 3 on the MOTU to the front of the Headphone amp which has an “aux input” as shown below.

Then, by simply adjusting the “balance” knob on the headphone amp, I can get just the right amount of click.  Nice!

Bonus Tip: When recording vocals with a headset (and others, but especially vocals) have the singer take one cup of the headphone off their ear so they can better hear themselves.  Use your headphone amp to mute the channel that the ear is off so as to help minimize the bleeding into your recording.  Your vocalists will thank you for it!