IntroductionWelcome| 00:04 | Hi, and welcome to Audio Recording Techniques.
| | 00:06 | I am Bobby Owsinski, author of the Recording
Engineer's Handbook, as well as 15 other books
| | 00:11 | on Mixing and Recording in the music business.
| | 00:14 | I developed this course with the
intention of helping you create better recordings.
| | 00:18 | Maybe you are new to recording, and you're
not entirely sure if you are doing it right.
| | 00:22 | Maybe you think your recording sounds wimpy
and small, but you don't know why, or maybe
| | 00:27 | you feel like you know the basics, but
wouldn't know how the pros do it.
| | 00:31 | That's where Audio Recording Techniques comes in.
| | 00:33 | Throughout this course, I'll show you many
of the best practices for recording almost
| | 00:37 | any type of musical instrument, and I'll
explain the reasons behind each method along the way.
| | 00:42 | We'll unlock the secrets of recording as
we track the sound from scratch with world-class
| | 00:46 | musicians at Playback Recording
Studio in Santa Barbara, California.
| | 00:51 | We'll discuss things like how to optimize
your listening environment so you can really
| | 00:55 | hear exactly what you're recording,
| | 00:57 | how to choose the right microphone for any
situation, and why different microphone types
| | 01:01 | and polar patterns are used,
| | 01:04 | how to set up the correct recording
levels at all stages of the signal path,
| | 01:09 | how to tune up the mic, all parts of a drum set,
as well as what to expect from a great drummer,
| | 01:14 | how to record rhythm section instruments like
electric and acoustic guitars, bass, piano, and keyboards,
| | 01:24 | how to capture the best sounds
for leading background vocals...
| | 01:31 | (music playing)
| | 01:36 | how to set up an effective head phone QMix to help
bring out the best performance from the lead vocalist...
| | 01:44 | (music playing)
| | 01:47 | and the general principles to record just about any
electric or acoustic instrument that you can think of.
| | 01:53 | At the end of the course, I'll even show you how to
create a great rough mix of the song that we've recorded.
| | 02:00 | The song we will be featuring is
Simply Falling by the artist Iyeoka.
| | 02:04 | Now join me as we dive into
audio recording techniques.
| | 02:09 |
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| What you should know before watching this course| 00:00 | The Audio Recording Techniques course is designed for
beginner to intermediate recording engineers and producers.
| | 00:07 | Most of the movies here cover mic placement
techniques, from simple one mic methods to
| | 00:11 | more elaborate multiple mic setups on a wide
variety of electric and acoustic instruments.
| | 00:16 | If you have different mics than the ones we're using
here, all the techniques discussed will still apply.
| | 00:21 | A small percentage of the movies are based
around Pro Tools, that's a digital audio workstation
| | 00:26 | that we used to record the
audio from the mics in the studio.
| | 00:29 | If you want to work with these files, you do
need a certain level of proficiency with Pro Tools.
| | 00:35 | Checkout the Pro Tools Essential Training
course in the lynda.com online training library,
| | 00:39 | if you'd like to refresh your skills.
| | 00:41 | That said, the principles and
techniques covered while using Pro Tools are applicable
| | 00:46 | with working with any recording system.
| | 00:48 | Premium Members of lynda.com will also have
access to the RAW WAVE files of each and every
| | 00:53 | listening example
presented throughout the course.
| | 00:56 | You can import these files into your DAW of
choice and review the audio examples on your own
| | 01:00 | studio monitors in full 24-bit resolution.
| | 01:03 | A good companion to this course material is my
Audio Recording Basic Training book published
| | 01:08 | by Alfred Music Publishing.
| | 01:10 | So other then having a basic understanding of
Pro Tools or any other DAW, the only prerequisites
| | 01:16 | for this course are a passion for music and a desire
to take your recording skills to a new level.
| | 01:23 |
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| Using the exercise files| 00:00 | If you're a Premium Member of the lynda.com
online training library or if you're watching
| | 00:05 | this tutorial on a DVD-ROM, you have access to
the exercise files used throughout this title.
| | 00:11 | Throughout the course, you'll hear and see
us recording most of the musical sources that
| | 00:15 | you'll commonly run into.
| | 00:17 | Everything was recorded in Pro Tools at a
resolution of 48 kHz and 24-bits. I've made
| | 00:22 | all the RAW audio WAV files available to you
as Exercise File downloads organized by Chapter.
| | 00:28 | You don't have to be a Pro Tools user to
take advantage of these files just download and
| | 00:33 | unzip the files for the chapters you're interested
in and import the audio files into your digital
| | 00:37 | audio workstation of choice.
| | 00:40 | This will allow you to listen to them at
full quality on your own speakers or headphones
| | 00:43 | and make your own
comparisons and determinations.
| | 00:47 | Within each chapter's folder you'll find
folders named after the corresponding movie.
| | 00:51 | The WAV files inside are all named after the movie
itself in the microphone type or placement used in the example.
| | 00:58 | For the full recording session of the song
Simply Falling, I've included the RAW WAV
| | 01:02 | files for you to import and work with on your
own, and for Pro Tools users, I've also included
| | 01:07 | the full mix session for you to see what I've
done and follow along during the mixing chapter.
| | 01:12 | If you're a monthly member or annual member
of the lynda.com, you don't have access to
| | 01:16 | the exercise files, but the techniques I'll
be showing you in this course will prepare
| | 01:20 | you for any future recording you might do.
| | 01:23 | If you're interested in becoming a Premium Member of
lynda.com, there is more information on the website.
| | 01:29 |
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| Listening to this course| 00:00 | Please be aware that many of the miking examples
in the movies throughout this course demonstrate
| | 00:05 | subtle differences that probably won't be
heard on computer speakers or low-quality ear buds.
| | 00:10 | That's why it's best to listen on as high a
quality sound system as you can, or on headphones.
| | 00:16 | If you still can't hear the differences between
examples, try raising the volume, since listening
| | 00:21 | at too low a level can mass the
subtleties of some of the microphone placements.
| | 00:26 |
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1. MonitoringSetting up your monitors| 00:00 | Many times, what seems to be a wimpy recording,
really isn't wimpy at all, it's just that
| | 00:05 | your monitor speakers are set up poorly.
| | 00:07 | That's because it's really difficult to
hear exactly what you're recording unless your
| | 00:11 | monitors are set up well.
| | 00:13 | Let's look at a few simple principles that
can help you get the most out of your monitors
| | 00:16 | regardless of the brand or type.
| | 00:19 | While most sound studios seem to have a random
amount of space between their monitors, there
| | 00:23 | are number of general guidelines
you can use to optimize your setup.
| | 00:27 | Since most rooms are unique in some way in
terms of dimensions or absorbing qualities,
| | 00:31 | you may have to vary from the following outline a
little, but these are good places to start from.
| | 00:36 | Check the distance between the monitors.
| | 00:38 | If the monitors are too close together,
the stereo field will lack definition.
| | 00:42 | If the monitors are too far apart, the
focal point--or sweet spot--will be too far behind
| | 00:47 | your head, and you'll hear the left or the right
side individually, but not both together as one.
| | 00:52 | The rule of thumb is that the speakers should be
as far apart from each other as their distance
| | 00:56 | from the listening position. That is if
your listening position is 4 feet away from the
| | 01:01 | monitors, then start by moving them 4 feet
apart so that you make an equilateral triangle
| | 01:05 | between you and the two monitors.
| | 01:08 | That being said, it has been found that 67.5
inches from tweeter to tweeter, seems to be
| | 01:13 | an optimum distance between speakers, and
focuses the speakers, 3 to 6 inches behind
| | 01:18 | you head, which is exactly what you want.
| | 01:21 | Check the angle of the monitors, not
angling the speakers properly will cause smearing
| | 01:25 | of the stereo field, which is a major cause
of a lack of instrument definition when you're
| | 01:29 | listening to your mix.
| | 01:31 | The correct angle is somewhat determined by
taste, but some mixers prefer the monitor's
| | 01:35 | angle directly at their mixing position,
while others prefer the focal point--or the point
| | 01:39 | where the sound from the tweeters
converges--anywhere from 3 to 24 inches behind them,
| | 01:44 | to widen the stereo field.
| | 01:46 | It's been found over time that an angle of
30 degrees that's focused about 18 inches
| | 01:50 | behind the mixers head,
works the best in most cases.
| | 01:53 | A great trick for finding the correct angle
is to mount a mirror over each tweeter and
| | 01:58 | adjust the speakers so that your face is
clearly seen in both mirrors at the same time when
| | 02:03 | you're in the mixing position.
Check how the monitors are mounted.
| | 02:06 | If at all possible, it's best to mount your
monitor speakers on stands just directly behind
| | 02:11 | the meter bridge of the console or the edge of your
desk. This gives you a much smoother frequency response.
| | 02:17 | Monitors that are placed directly on top of a
computer desk or console meter bridge without
| | 02:21 | using any isolation are subject to low-frequency
cancellations. That's because the sound travels
| | 02:26 | to the desk or console, then through the floor,
and reaches your ears before the direct sound
| | 02:31 | from the monitors through the air gets there.
| | 02:33 | These cause some frequency cancellations
and the general smearing effect of the audio.
| | 02:38 | If you must set your speakers on a desk or
console, place them on a 1/2 inch or 3/4 inch
| | 02:43 | piece of open cell neoprene, a thick mouse
pad or two or something like the Prime Acoustic
| | 02:49 | Recoil Stabilizers. You'll be surprised
how much better they sound as a result.
| | 02:54 | Check how the monitor parameters are set.
| | 02:56 | Almost everyone uses powered monitors these
days, but don't forget that many have a few
| | 03:00 | parameter controls either on the front or the rear,
such as volume or frequency roll-off controls.
| | 03:07 | Be sure that these are set correctly for the
application and make sure you read the manual,
| | 03:11 | and that they're set
identically on each monitor.
| | 03:14 | Check the position of the tweeters.
| | 03:16 | Many monitors are meant to be used in an
upright position, users frequently will lay them down
| | 03:21 | on their sides, that make some easier to see over,
but the frequency response will suffer as a result.
| | 03:27 | That being said, if the speakers are designed
to lay on their sides, most mixers prefer
| | 03:31 | that the tweeters be on the outside, toward
the walls, because the stereo field is widened.
| | 03:36 | Sometimes tweeters to the inside works, but
that usually results in a stereo image smearing,
| | 03:42 | try it both ways and see which
one works best for your application.
| | 03:46 | If your speakers are placed upright, be sure
that the tweeters are at head height while mixing.
| | 03:50 | Since the high frequency response at the
mixers position will suffer if they're too
| | 03:54 | high and firing over your head.
| | 03:56 | Sometimes it's necessary to even flip them
over and place them on there tops in order
| | 04:01 | to get the proper tweeter height.
| | 04:03 | To get the most out of your monitors, make
sure that you check the distance between the
| | 04:07 | monitors, the angle of the monitors,
and how the monitors are mounted.
| | 04:11 | Also, be sure that the parameters and
tweeter position is set the same on both monitors.
| | 04:16 |
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| Using a basic listening technique| 00:00 | One of the most important things to
consider when you're recording is the volume level
| | 00:04 | that you're listening at.
| | 00:05 | If you listen at the wrong level, you can get a
completely inaccurate idea of what you're hearing.
| | 00:10 | I'd like to share with you some listening
tricks that you can use while recording, to help
| | 00:14 | you get the best sound possible.
| | 00:16 | It's important when recording that you listen
at a volume that is sufficiently loud so that
| | 00:20 | all the frequencies of the
recording are properly represented.
| | 00:23 | If it's too quiet, you may find it difficult to
gauge the low end properly, too loud, and ear
| | 00:28 | fatigue or even hearing damage can occur.
| | 00:31 | High playback levels for long periods of time
are generally not recommended for the following
| | 00:36 | reasons: First the obvious one, exposure to
high volume levels over long periods of time,
| | 00:41 | may cause long-term physical damage.
| | 00:45 | High-volume levels for long periods of time
will not only cause the onset of ear fatigue,
| | 00:49 | but physical fatigue as well.
| | 00:51 | This means you might effectively be able to
work only six hours, instead of the normal
| | 00:55 | 8 or 10 or 12, that's possible if
you're listening at lower levels.
| | 00:59 | Our ears have a slightly different frequency
response at all volume levels that overcompensates
| | 01:04 | on both the high and low frequencies.
| | 01:07 | This means that your high-volume mix will
generally sound pretty limp when it's played
| | 01:11 | back at softer levels.
| | 01:13 | Balances tend to blur at
higher levels. What sounds great
| | 01:16 | at higher levels won't necessarily
sound that way when played softer.
| | 01:20 | However, balances that are made at softer
levels almost always work when played louder.
| | 01:25 | Most engineers will listen at
multiple levels when they're mixing.
| | 01:28 | For example, if I go up loud for a minute to
check the low end and then stay at a moderate
| | 01:32 | level while checking the EQ and Effects,
that works for mixing, but recording is usually
| | 01:37 | done at a single constant level.
| | 01:40 | Changing the level too much can cause your
listening reference points to drift, so you
| | 01:43 | won't be able to gauge the
frequency response of what you're recording.
| | 01:47 | Some speakers don't reproduce all
frequencies the same at different volumes, so changing
| | 01:51 | listening levels can really fool you
as to exactly what you're recording.
| | 01:55 | Pick a volume level that's comfortably loud, but
not too loud, and keep it there for the entire session.
| | 02:00 | You will find that your recordings will sound
better as a result, it's important to remember
| | 02:05 | that level that you're listing at is
directly related to the quality of your recording.
| | 02:09 | A level that's too loud or too quiet or
changing the level too much, might not give you an
| | 02:14 | accurate representation of what you're hearing.
| | 02:16 | Choose a level that's comfortably loud and
stay with it for the duration of the recording.
| | 02:21 |
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2. Microphone BasicsExploring different microphone types| 00:00 | There are three types of microphones and they each
have a different design philosophy and a different sound.
| | 00:06 | This means that sometimes one type of mic can
work better than another in certain applications.
| | 00:10 | Let's look at the differences.
| | 00:12 | Dynamic mics can be fairly inexpensive,
and can take a beating without breaking.
| | 00:16 | If you play live, you're most likely already
familiar with an excellent dynamic microphone.
| | 00:21 | The Shure SM58, which has been a sound
reinforcement workhorse for 40 years.
| | 00:26 | A Dynamic microphone gets its name from
the fact that sound waves cause movement of a
| | 00:31 | thin metallic diaphragm in an attached coil of
wire that dynamically moves inside a permanent
| | 00:36 | magnet to change acoustic
energy into electronic energy.
| | 00:40 | This construction gives the dynamic mic its
robustness, but because the diaphragm is relatively
| | 00:45 | heavy, that means that it can't respond to
sound waves quickly, which means its high
| | 00:49 | frequency response beyond
10 kHz is usually limited.
| | 00:54 | Dynamic microphones have a
number of identifying characteristics.
| | 00:56 | They are robust and durable.
They can be relatively inexpensive.
| | 01:01 | They're insensitive to changes in humidity.
They don't need external or internal power
| | 01:06 | to operate, but they usually have a
resonant peak in the mid-frequency response and are
| | 01:11 | weak in the high-frequency
response beyond 10 kHz.
| | 01:14 | There are some common applications where
you'll typically find dynamic microphones, such as
| | 01:19 | sound reinforcement, snare drum miking,
guitar miking, and voiceovers, and broadcasts.
| | 01:26 | The Ribbon microphone operates almost the
same as the Dynamic microphone, but uses a
| | 01:30 | strip of extremely thin aluminum foil as a
diaphragm, instead of a relatively heavy coil of wire.
| | 01:36 | This means that it moves quickly in response
to acoustic sound, which also means that it
| | 01:40 | has great high-frequency response as a result.
| | 01:43 | The problem is that the foil is so thin
that the mic has a weaker output signal than a
| | 01:47 | Dynamic as a result.
| | 01:50 | Ribbon mics also have a smoother response
than dynamics, since they don't have a midrange
| | 01:54 | presence peak like a
dynamic microphone usually does.
| | 01:57 | Biggest downside to using Ribbon mics is that they're
fragile because of how thin the aluminum diaphragm is.
| | 02:03 | The air blast from a vocal, a kick drum, or
even slamming the protective case will pop
| | 02:08 | the ribbon on some mic so fast that you
won't even realize until it's too late, although
| | 02:13 | some mics are more immune to this than others.
| | 02:15 | That's why Ribbon mics always have to be
used with a little caution, but it's worth it,
| | 02:19 | because they sound great.
| | 02:21 | Ribbon microphones have a number
of identifying characteristics.
| | 02:24 | They have relatively flat frequency response,
they have better high-frequency response compared
| | 02:29 | to Dynamic mics, and they don't need
external or internal power to operate, but they're
| | 02:34 | somewhat fragile and require care during
operation handling, and they're moderately expensive.
| | 02:40 | Typical Ribbon microphone applications
include miking cymbals, miking the bass, miking the
| | 02:47 | piano, electric guitars, and
acoustic guitars, and brass instruments.
| | 02:52 | The Condenser microphone works on the same
principle as both Dynamic and Ribbon mics,
| | 02:56 | but takes a different approach.
| | 02:57 | All Condensers use two electrically charged
plates, one that can move which acts as a diaphragm
| | 03:02 | and one that's fixed, because the sound wave
is varying an electric charge instead of moving
| | 03:07 | a diaphragm through a magnet, it can respond
faster and therefore have a better high-frequency
| | 03:11 | response and the ability to capture sounds of
very quick attack types, like drums and cymbals.
| | 03:17 | Condenser mics come in what are known as
small diaphragm and large diaphragm versions.
| | 03:22 | The small diaphragm versions have a single
pickup pattern, while the large diaphragm
| | 03:26 | versions have multiple pickup patterns.
| | 03:28 | The small diaphragm versions also have a slightly
lower frequency response, while a large diaphragm
| | 03:33 | versions have a presence peak in the 8 to 12 kHz
range, which makes them a favorite for vocalists.
| | 03:40 | One of the downsides to Condenser mics is that
since they're electronic by nature, they require
| | 03:44 | either internal or external power to operate.
The internal power usually comes from a battery.
| | 03:51 | Many of the old Vintage, Neumann, Sony, and
AKG condenser mics actually use vacuum tubes
| | 03:56 | inside, which required a very large
and expensive power supply as a result.
| | 04:01 | Most modern Condenser mics use what's
called Phantom power, which can be supplied from
| | 04:05 | all recording consoles and
most external microphone preamps.
| | 04:09 | By the way, using Phantom power with the
Ribbon mic is a sure way to destroy it.
| | 04:14 | Make double sure that the Phantom power switch
is always in the off position when you use one.
| | 04:19 | Condenser microphones have a number of
identifying characteristics, they have extended low and
| | 04:23 | high-frequency response, good
ones are somewhat expensive.
| | 04:27 | They require either internal or external power,
but the large diaphragm models can be relatively
| | 04:33 | bulky and low-cost models can suffer from
poor or inconsistent frequency response, and
| | 04:38 | humidity and temperature affects performance.
| | 04:42 | Typical Condenser microphone applications
include miking cymbals, drum overheads, piano,
| | 04:49 | acoustic guitar, vocals, and string sections.
| | 04:53 | Those are the three types of
microphones, Dynamic, Ribbon and Condenser.
| | 04:58 | Dynamic mics are rugged and inexpensive,
but have a limited frequency response.
| | 05:02 | Ribbon mics have a great frequency response,
but are somewhat fragile and have a low output.
| | 05:07 | Condenser mics have a great frequency response,
react to transients well, but require power
| | 05:12 | to make them work and are
affected by humidity and temperature.
| | 05:17 |
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| Microphone directional response basics| 00:00 | The directional response of a microphone is
the way the microphone responds to the sounds
| | 00:04 | coming from different directions around it.
| | 00:06 | This is determined by the way the case of
the mic is designed, in a Condenser mic, the
| | 00:11 | number of diaphragms it contains.
| | 00:16 | In order to be able to effectively work with
different types of mics in different situations,
| | 00:20 | it's important to understand the
differences between the typical directional responses.
| | 00:26 | The directional response of a microphone is
recorded on what's known as a polar diagram,
| | 00:29 | and it's sometimes
described as the polar pattern.
| | 00:33 | This polar diagram shows the signal pickup
level, sometimes shown in decibels, from all
| | 00:37 | angles and at different frequency ranges.
| | 00:44 | To make matters a bit more confusing, all
mics have different polar patterns at different
| | 00:48 | frequencies. While a mic can be very
directional at one frequency--usually one of the higher
| | 00:56 | frequencies--it can be virtually non
directional, or omni-directional, at another.
| | 01:03 | The reason why the polar response is
important is it determines how the mic can be used, which
| | 01:07 | can make a big difference in multi-microphone
settings where leakage from different sound
| | 01:11 | sources can be a problem.
| | 01:15 | There are four typical patterns
commonly found in microphone design.
| | 01:22 | omni-directional microphone picks up
sound equally from all directions.
| | 01:25 | That doesn't mean that the frequency
response is equal in all directions though.
| | 01:29 | So, it's still best to point an omni directly at
the sounds source for the most accurate pickup.
| | 01:34 | The Cardioid microphone picks up best from
the front of the microphone, but still picks
| | 01:38 | up a bit to the side and to the back.
| | 01:41 | This provides a more or less heart-shaped
pattern, hence the name cardioid.
| | 01:46 | A Hypercardioid mic is just a more
directional version of a Cardioid mic.
| | 01:51 | That means it's even less sensitive to the
sounds coming from the sides, but does pickup
| | 01:54 | a bit from the rear.
| | 01:56 | Figure 8 eight or Bi-directional microphones
pick up almost equally in the front and the
| | 02:00 | back, but nearly nothing to each side.
| | 02:02 | The frequency response is usually slightly
better on the front side of the microphone,
| | 02:06 | so it sounds a bit brighter from that direction.
| | 02:08 | A Figure 8 mic can be very useful when a
high degree of sound rejection is required.
| | 02:15 | Let's review these four polar patterns.
| | 02:18 | An omni-directional mic picks up sound at
360 degrees around it, although the frequency
| | 02:22 | response is best from the front.
| | 02:25 | Cardioid mic picks up in a heart-shaped pattern.
| | 02:30 | While a Hypercardioid pattern is even less
sensitive to sounds coming from the side.
| | 02:35 | And finally, a Figure 8 or Bi-directional
pattern picks up equally from the front and
| | 02:40 | back, but almost nothing on the sides.
| | 02:45 |
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| Hearing different directional patterns| 00:00 | The directional response of a microphone
is the way the microphone responds to sounds
| | 00:04 | coming from different directions around it.
| | 00:06 | Now that we've seen what the different
microphone directional patterns look like graphically,
| | 00:10 | let's hear what they sound like.
| | 00:13 | Listen closely through the audio,
are there a lot of high frequencies?
| | 00:15 | Are there a lot of low frequencies?
Note how loud the level is.
| | 00:19 | (music playing)
| | 00:40 | Now, have a listen as we turn the
mic at a right angle to the source.
| | 00:44 | Take notice that the frequency response is
changed, as the sound is somewhat muffled.
| | 00:48 | Also take a note that
the level is dropped a bit.
| | 00:50 | (music playing)
| | 01:11 | Now, have a listen as we turn the
mic 180 degrees away from the source.
| | 01:15 | Take notice that the frequency response is changed,
and the level is dropped quite a lot as a result.
| | 01:21 | (music playing)
| | 01:42 | Take a listen to this Figure 8 mic and note
the frequency response and level as it's pointed
| | 01:47 | directly at the source.
| | 01:50 | (music playing)
| | 02:10 | Now, listen to this as we turn
it at a right angle to the source.
| | 02:14 | (music playing)
| | 02:35 | The sound just about goes away.
| | 02:36 | Mics with Figure 8 patterns are unique in
how much they reject sound on the sides.
| | 02:41 | That's something that we'll be able to use when
considering different mic choices in the future.
| | 02:45 | Now listen as we turn the mic at
180 degree angle from the source.
| | 02:49 | Take notice that the frequency response has
changed a little bit, but the level is about the same.
| | 02:54 | (music playing)
| | 03:04 | Many engineers actually use a Figure 8 mic this
way if they are looking for a more mellow sound.
| | 03:09 | Remember how well it's picking
up directly behind it though.
Now, let's try a large
diaphragm Condenser mic set to Omni.
| | 03:18 | Sometimes an Omni mic will have a smoother
response that the Directional mic, because
| | 03:22 | of the way it's designed.
(music playing)
| | 03:41 | Now have a listen as we turn the
mic at a right angle to the source.
| | 03:44 | The frequency response has changed a little,
but the level hasn't dropped that much.
| | 03:48 | (music playing)
| | 04:10 | Now, we have turned the mic so the
back of it is pointed at the source.
| | 04:14 | Take notice that the frequency response has
changed, and the level has dropped a lot as well.
| | 04:18 | Just because it's called omni-directional, doesn't
mean that it picks up exactly the same in all directions.
| | 04:24 | (music playing)
| | 04:32 | Now, that you have heard the differences
between each of the typical microphone polar patterns,
| | 04:36 | you know that anytime you point the mic
somewhere other than directly at the sound source, the
| | 04:40 | frequency response and level changes.
| | 04:42 | This means that the mic may also be
picking up sound sources from other directions.
| | 04:46 | So, you always have to
consider what that might sound like.
| | 04:49 | Sometimes this can be a limitation, but in
other situations you might be able to use
| | 04:53 | these characteristics to
your creative advantage.
| | 04:58 |
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| Exploring how the proximity effect works| 00:00 | Cardioid and hypercardioid microphones
experience a low frequency build up the closer the mic
| | 00:05 | is placed to the source.
This is known as Proximity Effect.
| | 00:09 | As a result, a mic that's placed within a
couple of inches from the source, like on a guitar
| | 00:13 | amp or a snare drum, and seem to have a lot more
low-end, than if it were replaced a foot or more away.
| | 00:20 | Sometimes the proximity effect can be
useful for adding fullness to the source, but it
| | 00:24 | can also make the frequency response seem
out of balance if it's not taken into account.
| | 00:28 | I'm going to show you some examples of
proximity effect, so you know it when you hear it the
| | 00:32 | next time you record.
Here is how proximity effect works.
| | 00:36 | Take a listen to the sound and
note the low-frequency response.
| | 00:39 | (music playing)
| | 00:59 | Now, take a listen when we move the
mic in, so it's only about a foot way.
| | 01:04 | (music playing)
| | 01:25 | As you can hear, not only it did the sound
get louder, but there is more low-end as well.
| | 01:30 | Now you can hear an
extreme case of proximity effect.
| | 01:34 | Placing a mic this close to the source is
usually never a good idea, because you can't
| | 01:37 | hear the proper balance of the instrument.
| | 01:39 | (music playing)
| | 02:00 | Now, let's hear what happens
with an omni-directional mic.
| | 02:07 | (music playing)
| | 02:29 | Take note of both the volume level,
and the low frequency response.
| | 02:37 | (music playing)
| | 03:01 | When we move the omni mic in
close, there is no proximity effect.
| | 03:04 | So, the sound stays even and balanced.
(music playing)
| | 03:23 | As you can hear the level got louder, but
the low-end stayed relatively the same, because
| | 03:28 | an omni-directional mic does
not exhibit the proximity effect.
| | 03:30 | Remember that the proximity effect is the
increase of low-end as a Directional mic is
| | 03:35 | moved closer to the audio source.
| | 03:37 | This can cause the sound to seem
either fuller or out of frequency balance.
| | 03:41 | If that occurs just move the mic back a little
until the desired frequency response is achieved.
| | 03:46 |
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| Explaining microphone controls| 00:00 | Microphones can have a number of built-in
control parameters that allow you to adjust
| | 00:04 | some of mics' response characteristics.
| | 00:07 | While Dynamic and Ribbon microphones may be
limited to only a single roll-off filter control,
| | 00:11 | if that, Condenser mics may have a few more.
| | 00:14 | Let's take a closer look at the most
commonly found microphone parameter controls.
| | 00:20 | Because microphones can sometimes capture
low frequency sounds, like nearby truck rumble
| | 00:24 | or machinery noise that add nothing
desirable to the audio you're recording, a roll-off
| | 00:29 | filter is frequently added
to help eliminate the problem.
| | 00:32 | The roll-off point can be
anywhere from 40 to 100 Hz.
| | 00:35 | And more often than not, 60 Hz is selected.
| | 00:39 | The C414 shown here varies from that a little,
and that its roll-off points are at 75 and 150.
| | 00:46 | Many Condenser microphones have much more
output than Dynamic or Ribbon mics to begin
| | 00:50 | with, but when coupled with loud sound source
like a snare drum, the output can be so hot
| | 00:54 | that it overloads the
microphone preamp that it's connected to.
| | 00:58 | A -10 or -20 attenuation pad decreases the
output signal by that amount in order to keep
| | 01:04 | whatever electronics is
plugged into from overloading.
| | 01:07 | Most large diaphragm condenser mics are capable
of multiple pickup patterns, which are selected
| | 01:11 | by the pickup selector.
| | 01:13 | Some are switchable from one pattern to
another, while others are continuously variable.
| | 01:18 | While many engineers will always use just
the Cardioid pattern, a smart engineer knows
| | 01:23 | that selecting the right pattern for the
situation will make his job a lot easier, and in the
| | 01:28 | end, the recording will sound better too.
| | 01:30 | So remember that the built-in control parameters
on a mic can be very helpful if they're available.
| | 01:34 | A High-pass or Roll-off filter can help
eliminate unwanted low-frequency noise.
| | 01:40 | The input pad can help the mic and the devices
it's feeding from overloading, and the pattern
| | 01:44 | selector will select the pickup pattern
that's most appropriate for the application.
| | 01:49 |
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| Reviewing microphone accessories| 00:00 | Many microphones are very susceptible to
external handling noise, breath blasts, and moisture.
| | 00:05 | There are some microphone accessories that
are nearly essential in certain applications.
| | 00:10 | I'll show you a few accessories that
you'll find virtually in every studio.
| | 00:14 | The primary reason to use pop filters or screens is to
eliminate the wind blast when the vocalist sings Ps and Bs.
| | 00:22 | It also can help with proper positioning,
keeping the vocalist at the appropriate distance
| | 00:26 | from the microphone, and preventing
them from generating the proximity effect.
| | 00:30 | These screens can be of limited value, however,
when, in fact, positioning and vocal microphone
| | 00:34 | technique are far more useful in reducing
these pops, which is something that we'll
| | 00:38 | go over later when we
look at vocal mic placement.
| | 00:41 | Let's have a listen
first without the pop screen.
| | 00:44 | Listen to the bassy blasts that happen when the
vocalist sings or speaks words with a lot of Ps and Bs.
| | 00:49 | (music playing)
| | 01:02 | With the pop screen in place, it
makes a little difference, but not much.
| | 01:06 | The air blasts are now eliminated.
| | 01:08 | Not so much because of the pop screen, but
more because the mic capsule is no longer
| | 01:12 | placed in front of the singer's lips.
| | 01:13 | But it will work well for
eliminating moisture on the microphone.
| | 01:17 | (music playing)
| | 01:29 | External pop screens are designed to be
as acoustically transparent as possible,
| | 01:34 | but they usually have a slight negative
effect on the high frequency response of the mic.
| | 01:38 | For instance, a Neumann U87 style Windscreen
will knock the response of 15 kHz down by about
| | 01:45 | two to three dB, which may or may not be
heard depending upon the arrangement of the song.
| | 01:50 | This reduction in the highs can be
pretty easily addressed later with EQ.
| | 01:55 | Spitting on a valuable mic is a really
big reason to use a pop screen though.
| | 01:58 | Condensation coming from a vocalist's breath
can cause a Condenser microphone to actually
| | 02:02 | stop working for a short time, and the pop
filter goes a long way to eliminate the problem.
| | 02:07 | A lot of people fix pop filters to a goose neck
device that attaches to boom stand that holds the mic.
| | 02:13 | It's usually easier to mount the pop filter
on a second boom as it makes positioning less
| | 02:17 | frustrating and more exact.
| | 02:20 | Shock mounts are designed to prevent the
microphone from picking up transmission noises that come
| | 02:24 | through the mic stand, like
footsteps or the rumble of traffic outside.
| | 02:28 | Large diaphragm mics are usually a lot more
susceptible to mechanical noise, than small
| | 02:32 | diaphragm ones, which is why a shock
mounts is usually provided in the package.
| | 02:37 | One of the downside to shock mounts is
that they loosely hold the mic in place.
| | 02:41 | So, they are more difficult to position.
| | 02:44 | One of the essential studio tools, pop screens
do a great job of stopping moisture from getting
| | 02:48 | on the microphone capsule, but they
won't stop all of the singer's breath blasts.
| | 02:53 | Only proper mic placement will do that.
| | 02:56 | Shock mounts reduce the sound of footsteps
and outside rumble, but they are sometimes
| | 02:59 | difficult to position,
because of the way they are made.
| | 03:04 |
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| Exploring direct boxes| 00:00 | Direct injection of a signal means that a
microphone is bypassed, and the electric instrument
| | 00:05 | is plugged directly into the console,
microphone preamp, or recording device.
| | 00:10 | It's used to capture the pure sound of the
instrument which isn't always desirable, and
| | 00:14 | to eliminate the need for an additional
microphone, making the session setup faster.
| | 00:18 | There are a couple of other good
reasons why a direct box is used though.
| | 00:22 | The so called DI box matches the
impedance of the mic preamp to the instrument.
| | 00:26 | So, that the high frequency
response isn't rolled off.
| | 00:29 | It also provides ground isolation to
eliminate any straight hum that might occur.
| | 00:34 | There are two basic types of direct boxes.
| | 00:37 | Active which provides gain and therefore needs
electronics requiring a battery, AC or phantom power.
| | 00:43 | And Passive, which has no
gain, doesn't require a power.
| | 00:47 | The Active box like the Countryman Type 85
sometimes has enough gain to be able to actually
| | 00:52 | replace the mic preamp and connect directly
to a storage device like a tape machine or DAW.
| | 00:58 | Passive direct boxes are generally
a lot cheaper than the active units.
| | 01:01 | But the cheaper they are, the more the low
frequency response usually suffers, which
| | 01:04 | is not the best thing for bass recording.
| | 01:09 |
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| Exploring amplifier emulators| 00:00 | Amplifier Emulators take the Direct Box to
another level, not only coupling an electric
| | 00:05 | instrument to a console or DAW without the
need of a microphone, but adding the sound
| | 00:09 | of an amplifier and speaker cabinet as well.
| | 00:12 | There are some tips and tricks for
using one that I think you'll find useful.
| | 00:16 | The amplifier emulator, which is basically a glorified
active direct box, has been around for some time now.
| | 00:21 | It's become a staple of just
about any recording studio.
| | 00:25 | In the DAW world, there are many amplifier
emulator plug-ins available that you can insert
| | 00:29 | on a track, which allow you to
continue to adjust your sound during mixing.
| | 00:33 | An emulator attempts to electronically duplicate
the sound of different guitar and bass amplifiers,
| | 00:38 | speaker cabinets, and even miking schemes.
| | 00:40 | The advantages of an emulator are
that it provides a quick and easy setup.
| | 00:44 | Gives a very wide tonal variation and provides the
proper interface to just about any recording device.
| | 00:50 | While they may not sound as realistic as a
properly miked amplifier in a great studio
| | 00:54 | with a terrific signal chain, they can
provide a more than adequate substitute if you don't
| | 00:58 | have any of those pieces available.
| | 01:01 | Let's give a listen to a clean guitar sound
that's been passed into an amp emulator, so
| | 01:04 | you can hear what I'm talking about.
| | 01:07 | (music playing)
| | 01:47 | If you're using an amplifier
emulator, here are a few tricks.
| | 01:51 | Use an impulse response reverb plug-in like
Altiverb or TL Space to find a good spring
| | 01:56 | reverb or room setting to make
it sound a bit more realistic.
| | 01:59 | If you're recording directly into the computer,
and then into an Amps Emulator, use a short
| | 02:04 | cable to minimize hum and buzz.
| | 02:06 | Most Amps Emulators like to
be hit with a hot signal.
| | 02:09 | So Les Pauls often sounds
far better than Teles or Strats.
| | 02:12 | The hotter the pickups, the
better the Amp Emulator sounds.
| | 02:16 | Try driving the input stage up to
distortion, then back off a bit.
| | 02:20 | If you're recording directly into the computer,
listen to how your pickups react to the computer
| | 02:24 | display and move around computer until you
find a sweet spot with the least amount of noise.
| | 02:29 | By using these tips, you find that you'll get
the most realistic sound with the least amount
| | 02:33 | of noise from your Amp Emulator.
| | 02:38 |
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|
|
3. Recording BasicsExplaining the microphone preamplifier| 00:00 | Almost as important as the microphone is the
microphone preamplifier or Mic Pre, Mic Amp, or just Pre Amp.
| | 00:07 | The circuit boosts the tiny output voltage
from the microphone up to a level, which is
| | 00:11 | called Line Level, that's easily sent around
the studio to consoles, outboard gear, and DAWs.
| | 00:19 | Let's see how it works.
| | 00:21 | Most DAW interfaces and almost all consoles
have mic preamps built into them, but in most
| | 00:26 | cases the quality of the circuitry isn't nearly as
high as what's available in a dedicated outboard piece.
| | 00:32 | That said, each Mic Pre has its own sound
and most engineers will select the Mic Pre and
| | 00:36 | microphone combination because of the sonic
color that the combination provides, which
| | 00:41 | makes the captured audio fit the music better.
| | 00:44 | Usually a dedicated mic amp sounds a lot better
than the once included in the DAW interface or console.
| | 00:49 | An outboard pre generally provides a signal
that has higher highs and lower lows, meaning
| | 00:54 | it has a better frequency
response, and is clearer and cleaner.
| | 00:58 | This increased quality comes at a price.
| | 01:00 | As an outboard mic pre can cost anywhere from
a fairly inexpensive hundred dollars to several
| | 01:04 | thousand dollars per channel.
| | 01:06 | As a comparison a mic amp on a cheap
interface frequently costs less than two dollars.
| | 01:11 | In many cases you get what you pay for.
Mic preamps do only one job, and that's amplify.
| | 01:17 | As a result, they usually don't have that
many controls although the more expensive exotic
| | 01:22 | models might have some extra features.
| | 01:24 | Here are some of the parameter controls
that you might find on a typical preamp.
| | 01:28 | The Gain control, which is sometimes called
Level or Trim is one that every preamp has.
| | 01:34 | It's essential because it controls how
much the microphone signal is amplified.
| | 01:38 | Most mic preamps have about 60 dB of gain,
which means that the mic signal is amplified
| | 01:42 | by a factor of a million.
| | 01:44 | There are some that have as much as 80 dB
of gain to accommodate low output ribbon mics
| | 01:49 | or feel the audio recording where the
signals captured by the mic are extremely quiet.
| | 01:54 | Some sort of metering is
also found in every preamp.
| | 01:57 | This can be something as simple as a single
LED indicator, the signals and overload to
| | 02:01 | a full on ladder style LED peak
meters found on consoles and DAWs.
| | 02:07 | The input pad is a switch that attenuates a signal
coming from the microphone anywhere from 10 to 20 dB.
| | 02:13 | This keeps a hot signal from the mic from
overloading the input circuitry of the mic preamp.
| | 02:18 | It's used when the mic is trying to capture
a very loud sound source like a snare drum
| | 02:22 | or loud electric guitar.
| | 02:25 | The phase switch changes the polarity of the
microphone signal due to either a misplaced
| | 02:29 | or mis-wired microphone.
| | 02:31 | Set the switch to the
position that has the most low-end.
| | 02:35 | The high pass filter allows only the high
frequencies to pass, which means that the
| | 02:39 | low frequencies are attenuated, which is
why it's sometimes called a low cut filter.
| | 02:43 | The frequencies that are attenuated are
usually anywhere from 40 hertz to 160 hertz.
| | 02:48 | They are cut off in order to eliminate unwanted
low-frequency noise like they rumble
| | 02:52 | from heavy truck traffic.
| | 02:54 | On most preamps this frequency is
fixed but on many models it's variable.
| | 03:00 | It was pointed out in the previous movie that
condenser microphones need some sort of power
| | 03:04 | in order to operate.
| | 03:06 | Mic preamps and recording
consoles frequently supply that power.
| | 03:09 | This is a standard 48 volts which is why it's
sometimes labeled as 48V, it's called Phantom
| | 03:15 | Power, and is a pretty standard
feature on most dedicated mic pres.
| | 03:20 | Almost all mic preamps that are made these
days have an input where you can plug-in an
| | 03:24 | electric instrument like a guitar or bass
to turn the unit into an active direct box.
| | 03:29 | It sometimes marked as Hi-Z because the
input is a high impedance input which is matched
| | 03:34 | specifically for these kinds of instruments.
| | 03:37 | To sum it up, the microphone preamp boosts a
tiny output voltage from the microphone up
| | 03:42 | to a level that can be used by
the other devices in the studio.
| | 03:45 | All mic pres have a gain control and some
type of overload indicator but you might also
| | 03:50 | see an output gain, impedance, input pad,
phase, phantom powering, hi-pass filter, and
| | 03:57 | more extensive metering.
| | 04:02 |
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| Choosing a preamp| 00:00 | Microphone preamps are very much like microphones,
in that they all have a slightly different sound.
| | 00:05 | Some are very clean and transparent,
while others are a little warmer or brighter.
| | 00:10 | While just about any good preamp we'll get
the job done, many engineers tend to have a
| | 00:14 | favorite model they turn to for recording
certain instruments, that's because of the
| | 00:17 | color that it conveys or the combination what the
certain microphone provides the best sound for the track.
| | 00:23 | Other engineers may choose to combine a good
mic with as neutral a preamp as possible, meaning
| | 00:28 | one that doesn't impart any sound of
color of its own on the instrument or vocal.
| | 00:33 | Since everyone has different ears and opinions
the type of preamps to choose is an open-ended
| | 00:38 | topic, but if you have one that has
a transparent sound, try that first.
| | 00:42 | Let's hear an example using an Avalon 737.
(music playing)
| | 01:07 | Now let's hear the same instrument, this time
using the Telefunken V72, which has a lot of color.
| | 01:13 | (music playing)
All preamps sound a little different.
| | 01:24 | When in doubt try the cleanest, highest quality one
that you have first, especially on acoustic instruments.
| | 01:29 | If the sound still doesn't
fit then begin to experiment.
| | 01:34 |
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| Setting up the mic preamp| 00:00 | In order to get the cleanest sound, it's
important to set the mic preamp properly.
| | 00:05 | (music playing)
| | 00:06 | The best way to set up a mic pre is to adjust
the Gain control until the Clip LED just flashes
| | 00:11 | on the loudest sections of the
recording, then back it off a little.
| | 00:15 | This gives you the best combination of low
noise with the least distortion unless of
| | 00:19 | course you like distortion.
(music playing)
| | 00:25 | If you set the gain of the mic amp too low
you might have to raise the Gain as in another
| | 00:29 | place in signal chain, which
can raise the noise as well.
| | 00:34 | (music playing)
| | 00:38 | Many outboard mic preamps
also have an output gain control.
| | 00:42 | Setting this control too high can cause the
next stage of the signal chain to overload.
| | 00:47 | (music playing)
| | 00:51 | Setting it too low can make you turn up the
input gain of the next stage in order to keep
| | 00:55 | the level strong, which can
reduce noise into the signal.
| | 01:00 | (music playing)
| | 01:05 | Begin by setting the upper control about in
the middle, decrease it if you hear distortion
| | 01:10 | or see the overload
indicator of the next stage lighting.
| | 01:15 | (music playing)
That's how you set up a mic preamp.
| | 01:21 | Adjust the Gain control until the Clip
LED just flashes only on the loudest sections
| | 01:26 | of the recording, then back it off a little.
| | 01:29 | This provides a best combination of
low noise with the least distortion.
| | 01:34 |
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| Setting the record level| 00:00 | In this video I'm going to show you the best way
to set your levels throughout your signal chain.
| | 00:05 | (music playing)
Let's dispel a myth right upfront.
| | 00:10 | For the most part you do not have to
record with level close to 0 dB these days.
| | 00:15 | That's the highest it will go before the red overload
indicator on the meter lights and distortion occurs.
| | 00:21 | In the early days of digital recording
this practice was a necessity in order to keep
| | 00:25 | the noise to a minimum.
| | 00:26 | A modern 24-bit recording
no longer has this limitation.
| | 00:32 | (music playing)
| | 00:35 | The ideal signal level has
peaks that go between -10 and -6 dB.
| | 00:40 | Even if they are lower on the channel meter it will
sound fine, and you still have plenty of headroom.
| | 00:47 | (music playing)
| | 00:52 | Headroom means that by recording at a level
of around -10 dB or so, there's plenty of room
| | 00:57 | left to adequately record short bursts of sound
called Transients without causing any distortion.
| | 01:04 | (music playing)
| | 01:09 | Sometimes these bursts of energy are so short
that an LED overload indicator might not even
| | 01:14 | catch them, like in some of the
less expensive equipment available.
| | 01:19 | (music playing)
| | 01:24 | These super-fast transients make up the first
part of the sound of just about any instrument
| | 01:28 | but especially instruments like
tambourines, drums, and percussion.
| | 01:32 | (music playing)
| | 01:39 | These transients can typically range as high as 20 dB
above what an old-fashioned VU meter might indicate.
| | 01:45 | Peak meters are much closer to
the actual true recording level.
| | 01:48 | (music playing)
| | 01:53 | Recording too hot means that those
transients are trimmed off the signal by overloading
| | 01:57 | the input for less than a
millisecond or thousandths of a second.
| | 02:01 | This results in not only a slightly dull
recording, but one this sounds less realistic as well.
| | 02:06 | The solution is to record at a
lower level to improve the headroom.
| | 02:10 | By recording at -10 dB or so, you'll leave plenty
of headroom with less of a chance for distorting.
| | 02:15 | Remember that it's easy
enough to increase the gain later.
| | 02:18 | (music playing)
| | 02:25 |
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| Using proper gain staging| 00:00 | Gain staging is the proper level setting of each
section of the signal path so that none of them overload.
| | 00:05 | Let's look at how to do just that.
| | 00:08 | Since you may have several signal
processors in your signal path while recording, it's
| | 00:12 | important that any one of
them isn't being overdriven.
| | 00:15 | This may result in anything from the tone changing
slightly to some outright hard sounding distortion.
| | 00:21 | In most cases the signal path is going to be
rather simple, which is the mic preamp into your DAW.
| | 00:25 | In this case make sure that the overload LED
isn't being lit on the mic preamp, if it is,
| | 00:31 | back off on the input gain.
| | 00:33 | If it's still overloading engage the
attenuator pad and readjust the input gain control.
| | 00:39 | The next thing to check is your DAW.
Is the level too hot?
| | 00:43 | If so, back off to Trim control if there
is one until a level reads about -10 dB.
| | 00:49 | If your DAW doesn't have a Trim control then
decrease the output level of the microphone
| | 00:53 | preamp until the DAW level reads about -10.
| | 00:58 | In this example, we've added an
outboard EQ to the signal chain.
| | 01:01 | Once again, we'll look at the preamp first
to make sure that it's not overloading, then
| | 01:06 | we'll look at the EQ.
| | 01:07 | If an overload LED is lit then you need to
back off of the EQ's input gain control if
| | 01:12 | it has one or the preamps
output gain control if it has one.
| | 01:16 | The ideal setting for both is about
half to three quarters of the way up.
| | 01:20 | If both devices look like the settings are in the
right position then check your DAW levels as before.
| | 01:25 | If the DAW levels are too hot back off of
the EQ's output control until the record level
| | 01:29 | is at about -10 dB.
| | 01:33 | That's how we set the gain staging during
recording, make sure that there are no overload
| | 01:37 | LEDs lit anywhere, and that the
record level ends up at -10 dB.
| | 01:42 | Adjust the input and output level
controls to get the ideal levels.
| | 01:47 |
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| Knowing what to do if distortion occurs| 00:00 | You're going along recording and all of a
sudden something sounds distorted. What do you do?
| | 00:05 | In this video I'm going to show you the steps
to take to troubleshoot what's causing distortion
| | 00:09 | and how to eliminate it.
| | 00:11 | If something sounds distorted use
these following steps to track it down.
| | 00:16 | Is the microphone preamp overloading? Check
to see if the red overload LED light or the
| | 00:21 | meter is peeking into the red.
| | 00:23 | If so, decrease the input gain or select the
input pad or the pad on the mic if it has one.
| | 00:29 | Is your signal path
overloading in another place?
| | 00:32 | If you're using a console regardless of the
size or an outboard compressor, check to see
| | 00:37 | if any overload LEDs are lighting or
if the meters are peeking into the red.
| | 00:42 | If so, decrease the output level of
the stage just before the overload.
| | 00:46 | Is your DAW overloading?
| | 00:48 | Once again, check to be sure
that no overload LEDs are lit.
| | 00:52 | This shouldn't happen if you keep
your input level between -6 and -10 dB.
| | 00:57 | If it does, decrease the input level on the DAW
or the output level of the previous gain stage.
| | 01:04 | Is your playback signal path distorting?
| | 01:06 | Are you listing back in a console? If
so, is one of the channels overloading?
| | 01:11 | Are the monitors turned up too loud?
| | 01:13 | Are there any overload lights
lit anywhere in signal path?
| | 01:16 | If so, decrease the level from the DAW first
or turn down any input level controls in the
| | 01:22 | playback signal path.
Is it a mic or cable? Replace the cable first.
| | 01:27 | Is the sound cleaner?
If not, try a different mic. Is it any better?
| | 01:32 | Is it a cabinet ravel?
| | 01:34 | Sometimes a recording picks up something that
you can't hear live unless you really look for it.
| | 01:38 | For instance, a buzz coming from a loose amp
handle can sometimes be heard as distortion.
| | 01:43 | Go out into the room and listen to the
instrument and the environment closely, but be sure to
| | 01:47 | have the player play the exact same
part as when you heard the distortion.
| | 01:52 | Sometimes the sound will only come from a
single note, so while playing the same part
| | 01:56 | you ensure that it can happen
again so you can track it down.
| | 02:01 |
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| Using the compressor during recording| 00:00 | A compressor is nothing more than an
automated level control that uses the input signal to
| | 00:04 | determine the output level.
| | 00:06 | They are used more in mixing than in recording, but
it can be very useful under the right circumstances.
| | 00:11 | I covered the description and the parameter
controls and the basic setup of compressor
| | 00:16 | and limiter in the audio mixing boot camp,
so you might want to check that out first.
| | 00:21 | In this video I'll show you how to use a
compressor or limiter during recording.
| | 00:26 | Many engineers use a compressor only to
control peaks in the signal to prevent an overload.
| | 00:31 | So the compressor is set up as a limiter.
| | 00:33 | That means that the ratio
control is set to 10:1 or higher.
| | 00:38 | Have the player begin playing the part to
be going and be playing in the song and start
| | 00:41 | to make adjustments while you listen.
| | 00:43 | We'll work with the bass guitar during this
movie but the same approach can be taken if
| | 00:47 | you're compressing guitar, vocals,
or any instrument while recording.
| | 00:52 | Set the Attack control to its slowest
setting and the Release control to its fastest.
| | 00:56 | (music playing)
| | 01:01 | Then set the Threshold control so the gain
reduction is only a dB or two on normal peaks only.
| | 01:07 | (music playing)
| | 01:09 | Decrease the attack time until the audio just
begins to sound dull, then back it off a bit.
| | 01:17 | (music playing)
| | 01:21 | This means that it will catch more of the
peaks and the amount of limiting will increase.
| | 01:25 | Don't go beyond 5 or 6 dB because adding too
much limiting at this point can change the sound.
| | 01:31 | This can't be undone later
so remember that less is more.
| | 01:35 | (music playing)
| | 01:40 | Finally, increase the release time so that
it breaths with the pulse of the song, which
| | 01:44 | should be somewhere around the midway point.
| | 01:47 | (music playing)
| | 01:50 | A limiter with the release time set too fast
can cause the sound to pump, which is usually
| | 01:55 | an undesirable effect.
| | 01:57 | (music playing)
| | 02:00 | Sometimes the gain reduction might go a lot
higher, like in the case of a vocalist that
| | 02:04 | leans into the mic or hits a high loud note,
that's okay as long as it only happens briefly.
| | 02:10 | As prolonged extreme gain reduction colors the
sound quite a bit, it makes the sound dull and lifeless.
| | 02:16 | It's best not to use the limiter until you
get very comfortable recording without it.
| | 02:20 | Experienced engineers know what an
instrument or vocalist is supposed to sound like and
| | 02:24 | what they're going for.
| | 02:25 | So they may use a fair amount
of limiting during recording.
| | 02:28 | If you're watching this movie that's probably
not you, so it's best you get some experience
| | 02:32 | recording without it first.
| | 02:34 | To sum it all up, a compressor is sometimes
set up as a limiter for use during recording
| | 02:39 | in order to control the
peaks of an instrument or vocal.
| | 02:42 | The amount of gain reduction needed is usually just a
dB or two although very loud passages may require more.
| | 02:48 | Finally, it's best not to use any
compression or limiting while recording unless you have
| | 02:53 | plenty of experience and know
how things should sound without it.
| | 02:58 |
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| Using the equalizer (EQ) during recording| 00:00 | You might be tempted to reach for the EQ when
something doesn't sound right while recording,
| | 00:04 | but as you see later in the course, there
are much better ways to adjust the sound.
| | 00:09 | That said, equalization can be a very powerful
tool during recording under the right circumstances.
| | 00:14 | Let's look at how that's done.
| | 00:17 | First of all, for a complete explanation of
all the various parameter controls and general
| | 00:21 | EQ setup, check out my Audio Mixing Boot camp
course or Foundations of Audio: EQ and Filters
| | 00:28 | on the lynda.com online training library.
| | 00:31 | Now let's say that what you're recording
still doesn't sound right after moving the mics,
| | 00:35 | changing mics, and altering the signal path.
Now it's time to try some equalization.
| | 00:40 | The first thing to try is to cut a
few dB from around 200 to 500 hertz.
| | 00:45 | This is because it's one of the areas that
will get a proximity effect boost when a mic
| | 00:49 | is placed closely to an instrument or amp.
| | 00:51 | If there is a frequency that seems to be
sharp and piercing, set the boost cut control to
| | 00:56 | a moderate level of cut.
8 or 10 dB should work.
| | 01:00 | Sweep to the frequencies until you find the
frequency area that really leaps out above
| | 01:04 | all others, that's the frequency to cut.
| | 01:08 | Adjust the amount of cut to taste, be aware
that too cut makes the instrument sound thinner.
| | 01:14 | Sometimes you want to be sure that
the instrument has a lot of definition.
| | 01:18 | To do that you can go a few steps further,
add some points to the sound by adding a slight
| | 01:23 | amount of up or midrange from 1K to 4 kilohertz.
| | 01:27 | Start with only a couple of
dB, then add more to taste.
| | 01:31 | If required, add some sparkle to the sound
by adding a slight amount of high frequencies
| | 01:36 | from 5K to 10 kilohertz.
| | 01:39 | If required add some air to the sound by adding a
slight amount of the brilliance frequencies from 10K to 15K.
| | 01:47 | Remember that it's best not to use any EQ
while you are recording until you get a lot
| | 01:51 | of experience and then a very
few dB is all it should take.
| | 01:55 | You can't undo it later when you add
something during recording, so it's usually best to
| | 01:59 | play it safe and record it flat, then
improve the sound with equalization when you mix.
| | 02:04 | In closing, if you must use EQ start by
subtracting in the 200 to 500 hertz area.
| | 02:10 | Cut by about 10 dB and sweep the mid-frequencies
of a sound that's sharp and piercing.
| | 02:15 | Add some definition by adding a bit of point
at 1 to 4K, some sparkle of 5 to 10K, and some
| | 02:21 | air at 10 to 15 kilohertz.
| | 02:26 |
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| Using the high-pass filter during recording| 00:00 | One of the most useful and overlooked
equalization parameters is the high pass filter.
| | 00:05 | This can clean up the sound and
decrease any low-frequency noise.
| | 00:07 | Here is how to set it up.
| | 00:10 | High pass filter can be another parameter on an
equalizer, or it can be a stand-alone, plug-in, or device.
| | 00:16 | The high pass filter does just what it says.
| | 00:18 | It allows high-frequencies to
pass and cuts off low-frequencies.
| | 00:23 | Low-frequencies of many instruments
sometimes just clash with each other, and in the end
| | 00:27 | don't have much of the sound anyway.
| | 00:29 | That's why if you roll-off the low
frequencies below 100 hertz in most instruments, the mix
| | 00:33 | begins to cleanup almost magically.
| | 00:36 | That doesn't necessarily
apply to the kick and bass though.
| | 00:38 | Usually, there is not much that's useful
under 40 hertz for anything but the bass and drums
| | 00:43 | and by adding a high pass filter it's
surprising how it will clean up the sound.
| | 00:47 | For instance, by rolling off the low
frequencies of a vocal mic, you can eliminate the rumble
| | 00:52 | of trucks and machinery that you can't
physically hear because they are so low, yet they can
| | 00:56 | muddy up a mix.
| | 00:58 | The high pass filter can be found on mic
preamps, consoles, and even on the mics themselves.
| | 01:03 |
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| Exploring the principles of EQ| 00:00 | While it's possible to record something really
well without ever touching an EQ knob, sometimes
| | 00:05 | you just don't have a choice.
| | 00:07 | When that happens, here is some easy things
to remember that can speed up the EQ process
| | 00:11 | and keep you from chasing your EQ tale.
If it sounds muddy cut some at 250 hertz.
| | 00:20 | If it sounds honky, cut some at 500 hertz.
| | 00:24 | Cut, if you are trying to make things sound
clearer, boost if you are trying to make things
| | 00:29 | sound different, and remember you can't boost
something that's not there in the first place.
| | 00:35 | These general principals of
equalization will hopefully make EQing easy.
| | 00:40 | Remember to always use the EQ as last resort,
and when you use it, sometimes only a touch
| | 00:44 | can make a big difference.
| | 00:47 |
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| Avoiding latency| 00:00 | One of the biggest problems when
recording in the digital world is latency.
| | 00:05 | Latency is the measure of time it takes in
milliseconds for your audio to pass through
| | 00:09 | your computer during the recording process.
| | 00:11 | This delay is caused by the fact that your
computer has to receive, understand, and process
| | 00:16 | the signal, then send the signal
back to the outputs for you to hear.
| | 00:20 | In this movie I'm going to show you how to lower
latency so it doesn't bother you when you are recording.
| | 00:25 | High Latency means that you hear a note
from your DAW a way after you play or sing it.
| | 00:30 | I really want to avoid this
especially if you are doing overdubs.
| | 00:34 | High Latency means it's taking too long for
the audio input to get to the audio output,
| | 00:38 | which means there is lag time between the
time you play a note, and when you hear it.
| | 00:42 | A very small lag time of 3 to 6 milliseconds
is tolerable, but anything beyond that creates
| | 00:48 | everything from a phasing sound to a full echo.
| | 00:51 | This makes it anywhere from distracting,
to impossible to sing or play with.
| | 00:55 | The lower your latency, the more your
recording will stay in sync with the music that you're
| | 00:59 | playing back up to a point.
| | 01:01 | If you try to set the latency parameter too
low the audio stream can break up into random
| | 01:05 | static since the computer
doesn't have the time to process it.
| | 01:09 | Here is an example of some really long latency.
| | 01:12 | (music playing)
| | 01:31 | The key is to adjust your latency as low as
it can go without causing the computer to stutter.
| | 01:36 | You do this either through your sound card or
interface settings or through third party audio drivers.
| | 01:42 | How low your latency can be set is dependent
upon such factors as computer speed, system
| | 01:47 | bus speed, sound card
performance, and system memory.
| | 01:51 | Most computers purchased today are powerful
enough that you can get latency pretty low,
| | 01:55 | but you still have to experiment to find
the settings that provide the best performance.
| | 01:59 | The parameter that most computer audio interfaces
use to set the latency is called the Input Buffer.
| | 02:05 | The smaller the buffer, the lower the
latency, but the harder the CPU has to work.
| | 02:09 | If you lower the buffer size too much,
the setting can produce crackling noises.
| | 02:13 | Although this is a function of
the horsepower of the computer.
| | 02:16 | These noises crop up when the CPU literally
has to drop audio bites because it can't keep
| | 02:21 | up with the audio stream.
| | 02:23 | Today's fast computers can get the I/O buffer
size down to 32 samples, which results in latency
| | 02:28 | of 0.65 milliseconds at a 48 K sampling rate.
| | 02:32 | The more tracks and processing you add,
especially when running at sampling rates higher than 48K,
| | 02:37 | the harder the computer's CPU will have to
work, which means that you need to increase the
| | 02:41 | buffer size to prevent dropouts.
| | 02:44 | It should be noted that it's best to not use
any software plug-in processing like compressors
| | 02:48 | or EQ when recording.
| | 02:50 | That's because each plug-in adds anywhere
from a little to a lot of latency just by
| | 02:54 | the fact that it's inserted in the signal path.
| | 02:57 | Keep that path as efficient as possible
with as few things inserted as you can and your
| | 03:01 | signal will not only sound
better but will stay in sync as well.
| | 03:05 | Many audio interfaces are equipped with
zero latency monitoring which is an analog bust
| | 03:10 | that loops directly from the interface's input to
its output without passing through the computer.
| | 03:15 | Once you've set up this routing in your
interface's control panel applet, the player or singer
| | 03:20 | will be able to monitor the backing tracks
and get his or her performance in sync without
| | 03:25 | any time delay whatsoever.
| | 03:27 | To sum it up latency is the measure of time
it takes for your audio signal to pass through
| | 03:31 | your computer during the recording process.
| | 03:34 | Lowering your DAW latency will make all
your recording in overdubs go smoother.
| | 03:38 | You do this either by using a zero latency
DAW interface or lowering your I/O buffer size.
| | 03:44 | Finally, it's best not to use any plug-ins
while recording as each plug-in adds to your latency.
| | 03:49 |
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|
|
4. Microphone Placement BasicsFinding the best place in the room to record| 00:00 | The room itself can make a big difference
in the sound of an instrument which is why
| | 00:04 | it's best to find the part of the room
that's acoustically beneficial to the sound.
| | 00:08 | In this video, I'm going to show you how to easily
find the best sounding place in the room to record.
| | 00:13 | When you are tracking with a group of players,
especially a rhythm section, finding the best
| | 00:17 | placement in the room is secondary to
leakage concerns and player sightlines.
| | 00:20 | Bur when you're doing overdubs finding the
most complimentary place in a room is crucial.
| | 00:25 | What you're looking for is a spot where
the instrument sounds relatively live without
| | 00:29 | the environment acting as
a detriment to the sound.
| | 00:32 | Try these following steps to
find the best room placement.
| | 00:35 | Test the room by walking
around and clapping your hands.
| | 00:39 | That's a good way to find an area
that has a nice even reverb decay.
| | 00:43 | The clap has a boing to it or a funny sounding
repeated overtone, then so will the sound of the instrument.
| | 00:48 | So it's best to try another place in the
room where it will hopefully sound smoother.
| | 00:52 | If you can't find a place without a boing,
place the instrument where it sounds the smoothest
| | 00:57 | and try putting some padding or
something soft on one of the side walls.
| | 01:00 | It's usually best to stay out of a corner.
| | 01:03 | The corner normally causes bass loading,
meaning that the low frequencies will be reinforced
| | 01:08 | causing some low notes to boom.
| | 01:10 | For instance when you are tracking, this can
also lead to sympathetic tom ringing and snare
| | 01:14 | buzzing of the drum kit.
| | 01:17 | Ideally you don't want
to be too close to a wall.
| | 01:20 | The reflections--or absorption if the wall
is soft--can change the sound of the instrument,
| | 01:24 | especially if it's very loud and
omni-directional like drums and percussion.
| | 01:28 | The middle of the room usually works best.
| | 01:31 | Ideally you want to be at a place in the
room where the ceiling height is the highest.
| | 01:35 | If the ceiling is vaulted, try placing the
instrument in the middle of the vault first,
| | 01:39 | then move it as needed.
Stay away from glass if you can.
| | 01:44 | Glass will give you a lot of unwanted
reflections that will change the sound of the instrument.
| | 01:48 | If you have no choice because with the way
the room is designed or how the players are
| | 01:52 | situated, try setting the instrument
up at a 45 degree angle to the glass.
| | 01:57 | Try putting a rug under the vocal or instrument.
| | 02:00 | A rug stops any reflections off the floor
that can sometimes have a negative impact
| | 02:04 | on the overall sound.
| | 02:05 | On the other hand sometimes the reflections
from the hard floor can enhance the sound,
| | 02:10 | try it both ways and choose.
| | 02:12 | For an amplifier try
placing it on a chair or road case.
| | 02:15 | When the app is lifted off the floor there
are fewer low end phase cancellation so the
| | 02:20 | sound will be more direct and distinct.
| | 02:23 | Acoustic foam like Auralex placed
underneath the amp also works as well.
| | 02:27 | Finding the best sounding part of the
room is essential to a great recording.
| | 02:31 | That means staying away from parts of the
room with bad sounding reflections, the corners,
| | 02:35 | or close to a wall or glass. And finally,
try putting a rug underneath an instrument
| | 02:40 | to cut down in some of the
reflections from the floor if necessary.
| | 02:45 |
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| Choosing the right mic| 00:00 | The microphone choice should be made so it
compliments the sound of the instrument or
| | 00:04 | amplifier if you want the recording to
sound smooth with no peaks in the response.
| | 00:09 | In this movie I am going to show you a few things
to consider before you choose a mic for recording.
| | 00:13 | There is no single mic that works on everything.
| | 00:17 | Just because you have a great mic doesn't
necessarily mean that it will be the best
| | 00:20 | choice in all situations.
Choose the mic for the right reasons.
| | 00:25 | Just because a mic is considered an industry-standard
choice for a particular application doesn't
| | 00:30 | necessarily mean that it
will work in your situation.
| | 00:33 | Likewise, just because your favorite engineer,
player, or singer uses a particular mic doesn't
| | 00:38 | mean that it will also work for you.
| | 00:40 | There are so many variables that you can
never count in anything other than your ears.
| | 00:45 | Select the microphone that
compliments the instrument or amp.
| | 00:48 | If the sound of the instrument, vocal, or amplifier
is edgy, or it has a lot of top end you wouldn't
| | 00:53 | want to use a mic that emphasizes that
frequency range, since it would sound even more out
| | 00:57 | of balance frequency-wise.
| | 00:58 | One the other hand, a mic that emphasizes
the upper mid range a bit might make a mellower
| | 01:03 | sounding instrument step out of the mix.
| | 01:06 | Choose the mic to help overcome some of the
deficiencies of the sound of the instrument
| | 01:10 | that you are recording.
Consider the pickup pattern of the mic.
| | 01:14 | A directional mic is not always the best
choice for the sound that you are trying to capture.
| | 01:18 | When you are not worried about leakage like
during overdubs for instance, an omni or figure 8
| | 01:22 | pattern might result in a smoother all around
recording with better sounding ambience providing
| | 01:27 | a recording in a good sounding room.
| | 01:30 | Consider the proximity effect, close or
directional mic gets to the sound source, the more the
| | 01:35 | bass response increases.
| | 01:37 | This isn't always desirable so either move the mic
back from source a bit or change the pattern to omni.
| | 01:43 | On the other hand, you can also use proximity
effect to your advantage to increase the low
| | 01:47 | end of the sound if needed.
| | 01:49 | Large diaphragm condensers are not
necessarily better than small diaphragm condensers.
| | 01:54 | Contrary to popular belief, small
diaphragm condenser microphones can reproduce lower
| | 01:58 | frequencies better and are generally less
colored off axis than large diaphragm mics.
| | 02:04 | Large diaphragm mics aren't as noisy though.
| | 02:06 | Remember, choose the mic on how it compliments
the sound of the instrument that you are recording.
| | 02:11 | Don't be afraid to try something that's not
considered in the industry-standard and be
| | 02:14 | sure to make full use of the
proximity effect if necessary.
| | 02:18 | Finally, try different pickup patterns and
see which best compliments the sound that
| | 02:21 | you are recording.
| | 02:26 |
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| The secret to mic placement| 00:00 | When you begin to add multiple mics, compression,
and EQ during recording in an effort to find
| | 00:05 | the perfect sound, it's
really easy to get frustrated.
| | 00:09 | If you are doing that you're probably
overlooking some of the basics of mic placement that can
| | 00:13 | get you where you want to go pretty easily.
| | 00:17 | Go out into the room, stand in front of the
instrument, and listen to the musician play
| | 00:22 | the part from the song
that you are about to record.
| | 00:25 | Playing the song is important because you
might be deceived if it's another song or
| | 00:28 | just random playing.
| | 00:29 | Listen for the tonal balance from the vocal and/or
instrument as well as the way the room responds to it.
| | 00:35 | Listening to the instrument in the room will
give you a reference point to the way it really
| | 00:39 | sounds so you can compare it to what you
hear in the speakers in the control room.
| | 00:43 | There are several ways to find the sweet spot,
place an omni-directional mic, cover one ear,
| | 00:49 | and listen with the other.
| | 00:51 | Move around the player until you find a spot
that sounds best, that's where to place the
| | 00:55 | mic as a starting point.
| | 00:58 | Place a cardioid mic, cover one ear and cup
your hand behind your other ear and move around
| | 01:02 | the player or amp until you find
the place that sounds the best.
| | 01:06 | That's where to place the
mic as a starting point.
| | 01:08 | To place a stereo mic or stereo pair, cup
both ears and move around the player or amp
| | 01:13 | until you find the place that sounds the best.
| | 01:16 | That's where to place the
mic as a starting point.
| | 01:18 | You can't place the mic by sights.
| | 01:21 | The best mic position must
be always found not predicted.
| | 01:24 | It's okay to have a starting place but
that may not end up being the best spot.
| | 01:29 | Change the mic position
instead of reaching for the EQ.
| | 01:32 | Chances are that you can adjust the quality
of the sound enough by simply moving the mic
| | 01:36 | in order to avoid using any equalization.
| | 01:39 | The EQ is difficult to undo later and can
inflict some unwanted electronic artifacts
| | 01:44 | that can never be removed.
| | 01:46 | Moving the mic, which is acoustic equalization
when it really comes down to it, will usually
| | 01:50 | sounds smoother and more pleasing to the ear.
| | 01:53 | Give the mic some distance,
remember distance creates depth.
| | 01:57 | The instrument or amp will sound a lot
more natural than using artificial ambience.
| | 02:02 | If possible, leave just enough distance between
the mic and source to give a bit of room reflection
| | 02:07 | to the recorded sound.
So those are the five secrets of mic placement.
| | 02:12 |
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| Understanding phase cancellation, the sound destroyer| 00:00 | One of the sure ways for things to sound bad is a
result of the phenomenon known as Phase Cancellation.
| | 00:06 | It's important to understand how phase
cancellation happens and how to avoid it.
| | 00:11 | One of the most important and overlooked
aspects of recording is to make sure that all the
| | 00:15 | mics are in phase if more than
one is to be used at the same time.
| | 00:19 | The reason is because with only a single
out of phase mic, a multi-mic instrument like
| | 00:23 | a drum kit will just never sound right, and if
not corrected will never be able to be fixed.
| | 00:29 | So just what is phase anyway?
| | 00:31 | Without getting into an intense technical
explanation it just means that the outputs
| | 00:35 | of all microphones used on the session
are pushing and pulling together as one.
| | 00:40 | If one mic is pushing while another is pulling
they cancel each other out at certain frequencies,
| | 00:45 | when Mic number 1 signal peaks,
Mic number 2 signal valleys.
| | 00:49 | They cancel each other out at that frequency
and the result is a very weak sounding signal
| | 00:54 | when mixed together.
Here both mics are pushing and pulling together.
| | 01:00 | The signal peaks happen at the same time as
does their valleys, as a result the signals
| | 01:05 | reinforce one another.
| | 01:08 | There are two types of phase cancellation
problems it can happen, electronic and acoustic.
| | 01:13 | An acoustic phasing problem occurs when two
mics are too close together and pick up the
| | 01:17 | sound from the same instrument, only one is
picking it up a little later than the first
| | 01:21 | because it's a little farther away.
| | 01:26 | With acoustic phase problems, the sounds won't cancel
each other out completely, only at certain frequencies.
| | 01:32 | When the two are mixed together, this
usually makes them sound either hollow or just lack
| | 01:36 | depth and bottom end.
| | 01:38 | The way to eliminate the problem is by
moving Mic number 2 a little further away from Mic
| | 01:42 | number 1, and if the mics are directional,
make sure that each one is pointing directly
| | 01:46 | at the source that they are trying to capture.
| | 01:51 | The 3-1 principle states that in order to
avoid phase cancellation between microphones,
| | 01:56 | a second mic should never be within three times
the distance that the first mic is from its source.
| | 02:01 | For instance, if a pair of microphones are
placed over the soundboard of a piano at a
| | 02:05 | distance of 1 foot, the separation
between the two mics should be at least 3 feet.
| | 02:10 | If the distance from the source was 2 feet, the
distance between the mics should be at least 6 feet.
| | 02:16 | This principle is not a hard and fast rule, but it
certainly is a good guideline for eliminating phase problems.
| | 02:22 | Remember, if you record something with the
phase problem no amount of EQ or processing
| | 02:26 | can ever make it right afterwards.
| | 02:31 |
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| Checking polarity| 00:00 | Phase cancellation can destroy your sound
when you're tracking multiple instruments
| | 00:04 | before you even push Record, but there is a sure
fire way to eliminate it before it ever begins.
| | 00:10 | I'm going to show you how to check the polarity of
your mic cables in order to get rid of phase cancellation.
| | 00:15 | While we'll be talking about acoustic
phase problems in this course,
| | 00:19 | there is also an instance of electronic
phase cancellation you should know about as well.
| | 00:23 | This has nothing to do with the mic placement,
it's strictly an electronic problem that never
| | 00:27 | shows up until multiple mics are used.
| | 00:30 | Electronic phase problems are almost always
caused by a cable in the studio that's been
| | 00:34 | mis-wired during an install, repaired incorrectly, or
originally wired incorrectly from the factory, which is rare.
| | 00:42 | Checking microphone phase is one of the first
things to do after the mics are wired up and tested.
| | 00:47 | This is especially the case in the tracking
session where a lot of mics will be used since
| | 00:51 | having just one mic out of phase can cause
uncorrectable sonic problems that will haunt
| | 00:55 | the recording forever.
| | 00:57 | A session that is in phase
will sound bigger and punchier.
| | 01:00 | Well just a single out of phase mic will
make the entire mix sound tiny and weak.
| | 01:04 | If we are going to be absolutely thorough, there are
actually two tests, one for Polarity and one for Phase.
| | 01:11 | The Polarity check is used mainly to be
sure that all mics are pushing and pulling the
| | 01:14 | same way and to check for mis-wired cables.
| | 01:17 | Yes, they are out there,
especially if you build your own.
| | 01:20 | The phase check will make sure that you minimize the
interference between the mics when they are placed.
| | 01:25 | Remember that the phase switch on the mic
preamp, DAW interface, or console is really
| | 01:30 | a polarity switch which swaps pins two and
three of a balanced microphone line and may
| | 01:35 | get the problem frequencies closer to being
in phase or may get them further away that
| | 01:40 | depends on what the problems
are in the placement of the mics.
| | 01:44 | After the mic is set up, wired, and checked,
but not necessarily placed, pick one mic that
| | 01:48 | can be easily moved, this can be a scratch
vocal mic, a hat mic, a guitar mic, it doesn't
| | 01:54 | matter as long as it works, sounds good to
begin with, which means that it's not defective,
| | 01:58 | and it can move next to the
farthest mic used in the session.
| | 02:02 | This mic will become our reference mic.
| | 02:05 | With the reference mic in hand, move it
next to the kick drum mic or any other mic that
| | 02:09 | you wish to test for that matter.
| | 02:11 | Put both mics together so that capsules
touch, speak into them from about a foot away.
| | 02:16 | The distance isn't critical.
| | 02:17 | (male speaker: One-two, one-two. One-two, one-two.)
| | 02:21 | Bring up the faders on both mics so the audio
level and not the fader position is equal on both.
| | 02:26 | (male speaker: One-two, one-two. One-two, one-two.)
| | 02:30 | Flip the phase of the mic under
test, in this case, the kick mic.
| | 02:33 | This one position have more low end than the other,
choose the position that gives you the most low end.
| | 02:39 | (male speaker: One-two, one-two. One-two, one-two.)
| | 02:45 | Repeat for all the other mics. Remember, you
are not flipping the phase of the reference
| | 02:49 | mic, only the one that you are testing.
| | 02:51 | (male speaker: One-two, one-two. One-two, one-two.)
| | 02:55 | So that's how we check the
polarity of a microphone setup.
| | 02:58 | Use one mic as your reference and check it
against the other mics by talking into both
| | 03:02 | and switching the second mic's phase switch.
| | 03:05 | Whichever selection sounds bigger
with more bottom end is the one to choose.
| | 03:10 |
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| Checking the phase by listening| 00:00 | Checking the phase is essential, not only
on the drums, but any instrument being miked
| | 00:04 | with more than a single microphone.
| | 00:07 | This is important because not only will an
out of phase channel suck the low end out
| | 00:10 | of a mix, but it will be more
difficult to fix later when it's time to mix.
| | 00:14 | Here is a very simple and quick way to check
your phase even after something has been recorded.
| | 00:20 | Checking the phase is essential whenever
you'll be using multiple microphones like in the
| | 00:23 | case of miking the drums.
| | 00:25 | The chances for a phase problem are far
greater on the drum kit, since it usually has more
| | 00:30 | mics on it than any other instrument.
| | 00:32 | The mics will never be completely in phase,
but some problems will be diminished by reversing
| | 00:36 | polarity in some of the channels.
| | 00:38 | The only way to determine this is
through experimentation and listening.
| | 00:42 | Here is the way to check the phase
after the drums have been recorded.
| | 00:45 | (music playing)
| | 00:48 | Listen to the overheads in your monitors
with them panned hard left and right, and listen to
| | 00:54 | them panned to the center.
| | 00:57 | Did they sound thin or swishy
when they are panned to the center?
| | 01:01 | Is there more low end when you
flip the phase switch on one of them?
| | 01:07 | Choose the position of the phase switch that
sounds the best, pan them back into stereo,
| | 01:12 | then go onto the next step.
Add the kick drum channel to the mix.
| | 01:18 | Switch the polarity on the kick
channel of the console or DAW.
| | 01:22 | (music playing)
| | 01:24 | Is there more low end when
you flip the Phase Switch?
| | 01:27 | Stay with the position
that has the fullest sound.
| | 01:31 | Add the snare drum channel to the mix.
| | 01:36 | Switch the Polarity on the snare
channel of the console or DAW.
| | 01:41 | Is there more low end when
you flip the Phase Switch?
| | 01:44 | Stay with the position
that has the fullest sound.
| | 01:47 | Do this for each channel that's been recorded,
always stay with the position of the Phase
| | 01:51 | switch that has the most bottom.
| | 01:55 | (music playing)
| | 02:03 | Ultimately, you can't totally avoid phase
cancellation, but you can make sure that it
| | 02:07 | sounds as good as possible.
| | 02:09 | Remember one position of the phase switch
will always sound fuller then the other.
| | 02:14 | (music playing)
| | 02:17 | To sum things up, a mic can be out of phase
due to a mis-wired cable or poor mic placement.
| | 02:21 | That's important because an out of phase
channel will suck the low end out of the mix, and
| | 02:26 | be very difficult to fix later.
| | 02:28 | To determine the phase of your tracks
select both positions of the Phase Switch on each
| | 02:32 | channel and choose the
one with the most low end.
| | 02:34 | (music playing)
| | 02:39 |
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|
|
5. Recording the DrumsFinding the right placement in the room for the drums| 00:00 | If you do nothing else positioning your kit in the
best place in the room will do wonders for the sound.
| | 00:05 | Pro-engineers will usually test the room by
walking around and clapping their hands, searching
| | 00:10 | for a place in the room
that has a nice even reverb.
| | 00:13 | If the clap has a boing to it or a funny
overtone. then so will your drums. So it's best to try
| | 00:18 | another place in the room.
| | 00:20 | What you're looking for is the spot where
the drums sound relatively live without any
| | 00:23 | of the room cancellations.
| | 00:25 | Ideally, you want the place in the room
where the ceiling height is the highest.
| | 00:29 | If the ceiling is vaulted try placing your drums in
the middle of the vault first, then move as needed.
| | 00:36 | It's usually best to stay out of a corner.
| | 00:38 | The corner will normally cause bass loading,
meaning that the low frequencies will be increased
| | 00:42 | causing your kick and floor tom
to be louder than the other drums.
| | 00:46 | This can also lead to
increase tom ring and snare buzzing.
| | 00:49 | That being said, sometimes more low end is
just the thing you need, so don't rule the
| | 00:53 | corner out without trying it first since
the extra fullness of the kick might be just
| | 00:57 | the thing you're looking for.
| | 00:59 | You don't want to be too close to a wall
either, since the reflections--or absorption if the
| | 01:03 | wall is soft--can also
change the sound of the kit.
| | 01:06 | The middle of the room usually works best.
| | 01:09 | Whatever you do, stay away from glass if you
can, since glass will give you the most unwanted
| | 01:14 | reflections of just about any material.
| | 01:16 | If you have no choice because of the way the
room or the band must be situated try setting
| | 01:21 | up the kit at a 45 degree angle to the glass.
| | 01:24 | To sum it all up, what you're looking for
is a spot where the drums sound relatively
| | 01:28 | live without any of the room cancellations.
| | 01:31 | Walk around the room while clapping your hands to
find the place with the smoothest sounding ambience.
| | 01:35 | Try to pick the place in the room
where the ceiling is the highest.
| | 01:39 | Stay out of the corner, don't get too close
to a wall, and place the kit at a 45 degree
| | 01:44 | angle if you have no
choice but to set up near glass.
| | 01:49 |
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| The keys to a great drum sound| 00:00 | While the definition of a great sounding drum
kit is different to different people, in the
| | 00:04 | studio it usually means that the kit is
free of buzzes and sympathetic vibrations.
| | 00:08 | This means that when you hit the rack tom
the snare doesn't buzz and the other toms
| | 00:12 | don't ring along with it, and if you hit
the snare the toms don't ring along either.
| | 00:17 | Let's have a listen to a great sounding kit.
| | 00:19 | (music playing)
| | 00:34 | Note the lack of buzz
and sympathetic vibrations.
| | 00:37 | When the drummer hit the snare you can hear
the toms ring too much, when he hit the toms
| | 00:41 | you didn't hear the snare rattle.
Let's have another listen.
| | 00:43 | (music playing)
| | 01:01 | So how do you achieve this drum nirvana?
It's all in the tuning and the kit maintenance.
| | 01:06 | Note how balanced the cymbals
are with the rest of the drums.
| | 01:09 | Heavy cymbals are good for live,
but might not work for recording.
| | 01:15 | (music playing)
| | 01:21 | Usually thinner cymbals sound better in the studio,
because they are brighter sounding and not as loud.
| | 01:26 | (music playing)
| | 01:37 | Try not to mix light and heavy cymbals,
since the light ones might get lost in the mix,
| | 01:41 | and you might have to mic them separately.
| | 01:44 | In closing a great drum sound not only has
a lot of tone, but it's free of buzzes and
| | 01:48 | sympathetic vibrations as well.
| | 01:50 | Also, the cymbals are well balanced with
each other and don't overpower the rest of kit.
| | 01:55 | Remember, if the drums don't sound great in
the room no amount of gear or plug-ins will
| | 02:00 | make them sound better.
| | 02:05 |
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| Tuning the drums| 00:00 | Most engineers and even a lot of drummers
don't know the proper way to tune their drums,
| | 00:05 | but it's not a difficult process.
| | 00:07 | Keep in mind that in most major-label
sessions the drummers will usually bring in an expert
| | 00:11 | to tune the drums for them, but this is
the basic technique that would be used.
| | 00:16 | Before tuning up the drum make sure that
you put new heads on, since that's the key to
| | 00:20 | a great drum sound.
| | 00:22 | For a drum to be properly tuned you got to
keep all the tension rods that hold the head
| | 00:26 | on where they have the same tension at each lug.
Here is how it's done.
| | 00:31 | Hit the head an inch in
front of each lug of the drum.
| | 00:33 | (music playing)
| | 00:36 | Using a drum key adjust the tension so
that the sound is the same at each lug.
| | 00:41 | (music playing)
| | 00:56 | When the pitch is the same with each lug then hit the
drum in the center, you should have a nice even decay.
| | 01:02 | (music playing)
| | 01:07 | Remember that the kick and snare are the two most
important drums, because they are struck the most frequently.
| | 01:12 | As a result most drummers tune the toms
around them and try to make sure that the rack toms
| | 01:16 | aren't being set off when the snare is hit.
| | 01:19 | Try to tune the toms so that the smallest
have the shortest decay with the decay getting
| | 01:23 | longer as the drum get bigger.
| | 01:26 | Tune each tom as far
apart as the song will permit.
| | 01:29 | (music playing)
| | 01:33 | It's easy to get the right spread between a
13 and a 16 inch tom, but it's more difficult
| | 01:38 | to get it between a 12 and a 13.
| | 01:41 | If these are the sizes you have, tune the 12 up
and the 13 down a little to get an adequate
| | 01:46 | spread like we have here.
(music playing)
| | 01:55 | That's just the tip of the
iceberg when it comes to drum tuning.
| | 01:58 | If you have any doubts about drum tuning get
the best person that you can to tune them for you.
| | 02:03 | Remember for a drum to be properly tuned,
you've got to have the same tension at each
| | 02:07 | lug on the drum head so that the pitch is
the same at each lug as you tap near it.
| | 02:12 | This can take some practice, but when you get
it right, the results are a drum kit with a
| | 02:15 | lot of tone that's free
from sympathetic vibrations.
| | 02:20 |
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| Tuning tips and tricks| 00:00 | Sometimes the drum still doesn't
sound right even after it's tuned.
| | 00:03 | Here are some tuning tips and tricks from
Ross Garfield, the famous drum Doctor that
| | 00:08 | can help you get your drums and
cymbals sounding great quickly and easily.
| | 00:12 | The snare is probably the most important
drum in the kit because you hear it on at least
| | 00:16 | every two and four, that's why it's
important to get the snare tuned first.
| | 00:20 | If the snare drum has too much ring or decay
tune the heads lower, use a heavier head like
| | 00:25 | a coated Remo Emperor.
Use a full or partial muffling ring.
| | 00:30 | You can also add some tape
or moon gel or even a wallet.
| | 00:35 | If the snare drum doesn't have enough
ring or decay, tune the head higher.
| | 00:39 | Use a thinner head like a
coated Remo Ambassador or Diplomat.
| | 00:44 | If the snares buzz when the toms are hit, check
that the snares are straight, replace as needed.
| | 00:50 | Check that the snares are
flat and centered on the drum.
| | 00:54 | Loosen the bottom head.
Re-tune the offending toms.
| | 00:58 | Use an alternate snare drum.
| | 01:01 | If the kick drum isn't punchy and lacks power
when played in the context of the music, you
| | 01:05 | can try the following.
| | 01:07 | Try increasing or decreasing the amount of
muffling in the drum, change to a heavier
| | 01:12 | uncoated head like a clear
Remo Emperor or PowerStroke 3.
| | 01:17 | Change to a thinner front
head or one with a larger cutout.
| | 01:20 | If one or more of the toms are difficult to
tune, don't blend well together or have an
| | 01:25 | unwanted growl try the following.
| | 01:28 | Check the top heads for
dents and replace as necessary.
| | 01:32 | Check the evenness of tension all around on the
top and bottom heads, tighten the bottom head.
| | 01:38 | If the floor tom has an undesirable
basketball type after ring, try this.
| | 01:43 | Loosen the bottom head.
| | 01:45 | Check the top heads for
dents and replace as necessary.
| | 01:49 | Loosen the top head, switch to a different
type or weight top or bottom head, like a
| | 01:55 | clear Ambassador or Emperor.
| | 01:58 | The drum Doctor has tune the drums for a host
of superstar drummers on some of their most
| | 02:01 | famous albums, so he knows what he's
talking about, check him out at drumdoctors.com.
| | 02:07 | So those are some of the tips
and tricks for tuning your drums.
| | 02:10 | Keep in mind that even the most expert drum
tuner still takes a fair amount of time to
| | 02:14 | get a kit record ready, so don't
think this can all be done in 15 minutes.
| | 02:19 | It takes time, some practice, and
some really good drums to start with.
| | 02:22 | (music playing)
| | 02:27 |
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| Miking the bass drum without a front head| 00:00 | The bass drum anchors the band, and along
with the snare, provides the pulse of the song.
| | 00:05 | Because it can come in different sizes and
can be played with the front head on or off,
| | 00:10 | its sound will vary a lot
more than with the other drums.
| | 00:13 | Most of the time you'll get the best sound
out of the bass drum for recording if the
| | 00:17 | front head is removed, since this gets rid
of any overtones that the combination of the
| | 00:21 | front and rear head might produce.
| | 00:24 | (music playing)
| | 00:28 | In order to mic the bass drum without a
front head first place the pillow, some towels,
| | 00:32 | or blanket inside the kick drum
so it's just touching the head.
| | 00:38 | Secure it with the weight or even a brick on
the packing material to keep it from slipping.
| | 00:46 | (music playing)
| | 00:49 | If the bass drum rings too much when
struck, push the packing tighter on the head.
| | 00:54 | If it's too dead loosen
the packing a little bit.
| | 00:57 | A large diaphragm dynamic mic like an AKG
D112, Shure B 52, EVRE 20 or 320, or Heil PR40
| | 01:06 | is typically used in order to obtain the
girth and the kick sound that most modern records
| | 01:11 | require, but don't be afraid to
try other microphones as well.
| | 01:14 | The exception is a ribbon mic.
| | 01:15 | Since the blast of air coming off the bass
drum head can actually be enough to blow the
| | 01:19 | diaphragm out, so it's best to use that
type of mic on other instruments instead.
| | 01:24 | Place the mic on a short boom stand in front
of the bass drum and position the head element
| | 01:28 | of the mic about halfway inside the drum.
| | 01:30 | Point it towards the center of the bass drum at
about the same height as where the beater hits the head.
| | 01:36 | (music playing)
| | 01:41 | Move the mic back to get a little more bottom
and closer to the head to get more definition.
| | 01:46 | (music playing)
| | 01:51 | Place it where you have the best
combination of low-end and definition for the song.
| | 01:55 | (music playing)
| | 01:57 | That's how you mic a bass
drum with no front head.
| | 01:59 | To get a tighter, more compact sound place
a folded blanket or a pillow on the inside
| | 02:04 | of the drum shell lightly touching the head.
| | 02:06 | Then point the mic towards the center of the
drum about 8 to 12 inches away from the inside
| | 02:11 | head at about the same height
as were the beater hits the drum.
| | 02:16 |
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| Miking the bass drum with front head port| 00:00 | A bass drum that has a front head with a
port can give the drummer and the engineer
| | 00:04 | what they both are looking for.
| | 00:06 | Some drummers like to feel the tension on
the beater that the front head provides, while
| | 00:09 | the engineer can get the mic
inside the drum closer to the beater.
| | 00:13 | Here I'll show you how to place
the mic for just this situation.
| | 00:17 | Just like with the bass drum with no head,
there is a packing blanket or some heavy towels
| | 00:21 | inside the drum so the
sound will be tight and punchy.
| | 00:24 | Place the mic just inside the hole,
point it at where the beater strikes the head.
| | 00:28 | (music playing)
| | 00:34 | You might want to try aiming the mic away
from the beater and more at the shell of the
| | 00:38 | drum for a different sound, then place it where you
have the best combination of low-end and definition.
| | 00:47 | That's how to mic a kick
drum with the front head port.
| | 00:50 | Place the mic just inside the hole, point
it at where the beater strikes the head and
| | 00:54 | move it to where you have the best
combination of low-end and definition.
| | 00:57 | (music playing)
| | 01:02 |
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| Miking the bass drum with a front head| 00:00 | Many drummers need to feel the tension that
the front head provides in order to play well.
| | 00:04 | If that's the case, you can still get a
great drum sound as evidenced by the giant drum
| | 00:09 | sounds that John Bonham got in
all of those late Zeppelin records.
| | 00:12 | Here's how to do it.
| | 00:13 | Place the mic on a short stand 4 to 6 inches
away from the head, halfway up the drum and
| | 00:18 | slightly off-center.
(music playing)
| | 00:25 | If you want more low-end, move the mic
about 6 inches further back from the head.
| | 00:31 | (music playing)
| | 00:36 | If you want more definition, aim the mic
more towards where the beater is hitting.
| | 00:40 | Be aware that when you place the mic this closely
to the head, it may pick up some unwanted overtones.
| | 00:46 | Place it where you have the best
combination of low-end and definition.
| | 00:51 | (music playing)
| | 00:56 | That's how you get the sound of
a kick drum with the front head.
| | 00:59 | Place the mic in a short stand 4 to 6 inches
away from the head, halfway up, and slightly
| | 01:04 | off-center, and move it up and down and backwards and
forwards a bit, until the sound is just right for the song.
| | 01:13 |
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| Using a subkick microphone| 00:00 | In this video we're going to
look at how to use a sub-kick mic.
| | 00:03 | The sub-kick phenomena started due to the
burning desire to get a little more of the
| | 00:07 | lower bass out of the kick
without having to crank up the EQ.
| | 00:10 | Let's take a look at how to use it.
| | 00:13 | The sub-kick mic is actually a small speaker
that used a microphone to pick up the ultra
| | 00:17 | lows of a kick drum that
most mics just can't capture.
| | 00:20 | These are mostly below 50 Hz.
| | 00:22 | While something like this can be jury rigged
by taking the low frequency driver from a monitor
| | 00:26 | like a Yamaha NS-10M.
| | 00:29 | Yamaha also makes a
commercial model known as the SKRM-100.
| | 00:33 | Here's how to use it.
| | 00:35 | Place the sub-kick mic a few inches
from the lip of the kick drum head.
| | 00:38 | Since you'll probably be using it with another mic,
you'll have to set off-center a bit, but that's okay.
| | 00:43 | You won't pick up much of
the beater sound anyway.
| | 00:45 | (music playing)
| | 00:50 | This is one case where moving the mic
won't change the sound very much.
| | 00:54 | It's only picking up low frequencies to
begin with, so moving it back will only increase
| | 00:58 | the leakage from the other drums
without much benefit to the sound.
| | 01:03 | The sub-kick sounds best if it is added
only to the point where it can just be heard.
| | 01:07 | Too much makes the low-end of the kick sound
muddy, so don't be tempted to use a lot since
| | 01:11 | a little goes a long way.
| | 01:15 | That's how a sub-kick mic is used, place
it a few inches from the kick drum head.
| | 01:19 | The more you move it back from the kick,
the more it'll pick up the rest of the kit.
| | 01:23 | Make sure you don't use too much in
the mix as a little goes a very long way.
| | 01:26 | (music playing)
| | 01:31 |
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| Miking the snare drum: Technique one| 00:00 | There must be a dozen ways to mic the snare
drum, and every one of them will capture the
| | 00:04 | sound just fine if the snare
drum sounds good in the first place.
| | 00:08 | Let's look at what has become the standard
way that the snare drum is miked these days.
| | 00:12 | The thing about the snare is that not only
you're trying to capture the sound, but you're
| | 00:16 | trying to get the best isolation from the
other drums as well, which can alter your
| | 00:19 | approach a bit by changing the mic position.
| | 00:22 | The other thing is that you want to make sure
that the mic is out of the way of the drummer,
| | 00:26 | so he doesn't hit it.
| | 00:27 | Not only does that sound pretty bad, but
it is not very good for the mic either.
| | 00:31 | Always ask if the drummer thinks if it
will be in the way, and be prepared to move it
| | 00:35 | to where he thinks it won't be hit.
(music playing)
| | 00:43 | Since the mic is placed so closely to an
extremely loud instrument like the snare, especially
| | 00:47 | with a heavy hitter.
| | 00:48 | It has to be able to handle a
lot of level without distorting.
| | 00:52 | That's one of the reasons why the Shure SM57
has been such a go to mic for so many engineers.
| | 00:58 | There are plenty of other engineers who
love small diaphragm condenser mics though, so
| | 01:02 | don't be afraid to try one if you have it.
| | 01:04 | But be sure to use a 10 or 20
dB pad so it won't overload.
| | 01:08 | Place the mic stand somewhere between the rack tom
and hi-hat, so it's out of the way of the drummer.
| | 01:13 | Then position the mic, so it's about one
inch or about two of your fingers above the rim.
| | 01:18 | Point the mic towards the center of the drum
head, make sure that the mic stand isn't touching
| | 01:22 | any drum hardware to prevent the mic
from picking up any unwanted vibrations.
| | 01:29 | (music playing)
| | 01:35 | Sometimes pointing the mic across the top
of the drum towards the far end of the rim,
| | 01:39 | can provide just the right sound for the track.
(music playing)
| | 01:48 | If you place the mic up higher, say about 6
inches or about the size of your hand, it's
| | 01:53 | a bit easier to aim at
different spots on the drum.
| | 01:56 | But you'll also get a bit more leakage.
| | 01:58 | Try aiming at more towards
the rim for a different sound.
| | 02:01 | (music playing)
| | 02:07 | In the end what you're trying to do is to
place the mic where it has the best combination
| | 02:11 | of body and stick sound.
Sometimes the snare has too much ring.
| | 02:15 | The best way to get rid of it is to add a
piece of tape or moon gel or even your wallet.
| | 02:20 | Sometimes what sounds bad in the tracking room,
actually sounds good under the microphone.
| | 02:24 | So make sure you listen
before you pass judgment.
| | 02:26 | (music playing)
| | 02:31 | To sum things up, not only are we trying to
capture a good snare sound, but maintain some
| | 02:36 | isolation from the other drums and cymbals
and keep the drummer from hitting it as well.
| | 02:41 | A standard way to do that is to place it
about one inch above the rim, pointed towards the
| | 02:45 | center of the drum.
(music playing)
| | 02:51 | If the mic you use has an internal pad, make
sure you use it, because the hot levels that
| | 02:56 | the mic will capture might
overload the preamp without it.
| | 03:01 |
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| Miking the snare drum: Technique two| 00:00 | Here is an unusual but effective technique
for miking the snare that can bring some great
| | 00:04 | results with the right drum and drummer.
| | 00:07 | This method usually works best with a heavy
hitter, and can give you some additional isolation
| | 00:11 | from the other drums as well.
| | 00:13 | Position the mic 4 to 8 inches away from the
snare, and aim it at the shell, not the top.
| | 00:18 | Move it closer to the bottom head for more
snare sound, or closer to the top head for
| | 00:22 | more attack and less buzz.
| | 00:25 | (music playing)
| | 00:29 | Make sure that it isn't aimed at the port of
the snare drum, or you'll hear an air blast
| | 00:33 | every time the drum is hit.
| | 00:39 | So that's another method
for miking the snare drum.
| | 00:42 | Point the mic at the side of
the snare, away from the air hole.
| | 00:45 | Remember that this technique
usually works best with a heavy hitter.
| | 00:50 | (music playing)
| | 00:55 |
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| Adding a bottom snare mic| 00:00 | Sometimes the top snare mic just doesn't
capture enough of the snap of the snare strainers
| | 00:05 | underneath the drum, so a second mic is
added under the snare pointing up at them.
| | 00:09 | Let's add a bottom snare
mic to our drum miking setup.
| | 00:13 | Although any mic will work as an under-snare
mic, the more directional it is the better.
| | 00:18 | So it won't pickup leakage from the bass drum.
| | 00:20 | One favorite for the application is the
Sennheiser MD 441, which is somewhat expensive and not
| | 00:25 | found in many studios.
| | 00:27 | That said, any cardioid mic--and
preferably a hypercardioid--will work.
| | 00:33 | Along with the top mic, place a mic about 6
inches from the bottom head and right under the snares.
| | 00:38 | (music playing)
| | 00:47 | I'll start with juts a top head mic, raise
up the fader in the bottom head mic to add
| | 00:51 | more presence to the snare sound.
(music playing)
| | 01:01 | Remember to flip the phase in the bottom mic
and choose a position that has the most low-end
| | 01:05 | when blended with the top.
(music playing)
| | 01:15 | Cut 50 to 100 Hz in the bottom mic or use
the bass roll-off on the mic or preamp if the
| | 01:20 | kick is leaking into it.
(music playing)
| | 01:29 | That's how we add an under-snare
mic to the drum miking setup.
| | 01:33 | Place the under-snare mic about 6 inches from
the snare strainers and select the low-frequency
| | 01:37 | roll-off if it's available.
| | 01:38 | Just add a little to the top snare drum
sound to add the high-end snap of the drum.
| | 01:43 |
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| Miking the hi-hat| 00:00 | You might think that because there's normally
so much hi-hat leakage into the snare mic,
| | 00:04 | that a separate hat mic isn't necessary.
| | 00:07 | But it's really nice to have when you need
just a little more hat sparkle or when you need
| | 00:10 | just a bit more hat level
during the section of the song.
| | 00:13 | Once again, there are a number of ways to
mic the hat, but the method I'll show you
| | 00:18 | in this video will not only sound good, but provide
some isolation from the rest of the drums as well.
| | 00:23 | Most drummers use relatively heavy hi-hats,
especially if they use them for live gigging.
| | 00:29 | Heavy hats are generally dull sounding, so
we want to use a mic that favors a high-end
| | 00:33 | and responds well to the
transient nature of the cymbals.
| | 00:36 | That's why a small diaphragm condenser mic
is usually used, although the type or make
| | 00:40 | of the mic doesn't matter
as much as the placement.
| | 00:43 | First of all, make sure that the mic is
placed towards the rear of the kit as far away from
| | 00:47 | the crash cymbal as possible.
| | 00:49 | Place it about halfway between the bell and the
edge of the top cymbal, pointing directly down.
| | 00:54 | Then position the mic, so it's about six inches over
the top cymbal, when the hat is in the open position.
| | 01:00 | (music playing)
| | 01:08 | Move the mic closer to the
bell if you want a thicker sound.
| | 01:11 | (music playing)
| | 01:19 | And to the edge of the cymbal
if you want it to sound thinner.
| | 01:22 | (music playing)
| | 01:30 | None of these placements
are better than another.
| | 01:33 | Since it all depends upon the song, the
cymbals, the player, and the arrangement.
| | 01:38 | The one thing that you don't want to do is place
the mic right on the edge, looking in at the hat.
| | 01:42 | That's because you'll hear a huge puff
of air whenever the hi-hats are closed.
| | 01:46 | (music playing)
| | 01:52 | To sum it up, to mic the hi-hat, make
sure that the mic is placed towards the rear of
| | 01:56 | the hat, as far away from
the crash cymbals as possible.
| | 01:59 | Then place it about halfway between the bell and
the edge of the top cymbal, pointing directly down.
| | 02:05 | Move the mic more towards the outside edge
of the cymbal for a thinner sound, and more
| | 02:09 | towards the bell for a
thicker sound with more overtones.
| | 02:14 |
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| Miking the toms| 00:00 | Mic placement on both the rack and floor
toms are pretty standard, with most engineers
| | 00:04 | using more or less the same technique.
| | 00:07 | In this video we'll take a
look at the best place to start.
| | 00:11 | Once again, the key to a big powerful tom
sound is the sound of the toms themselves.
| | 00:16 | Do what you need to do to make
them sound great acoustically first.
| | 00:19 | You can use a little masking tape or moon gel
to take out the ringing, if you think that sounds
| | 00:23 | better, but remember, the
ring is part of the sound too.
| | 00:27 | As with the all padding, use it sparingly
and don't deaden them up too much unless that's
| | 00:32 | the effect you're looking for.
| | 00:38 | (music playing)
| | 00:51 | The one thing that does change
between engineers is the mic choice.
| | 00:54 | While many engineers use a dynamic mic
like a Sennheiser MD 421, a condenser mic
| | 01:00 | like an AKG 414, AKG 451, or a Shure KSM44
provides a nice full sound with a lot of attack.
| | 01:08 | Be sure to switch on the -10 dB
pad and select the cardioid position.
| | 01:14 | Check with the drummer before you mount anything on
his kit and make sure that the mics are out of his way.
| | 01:20 | (music playing)
| | 01:27 | Place the mic about six inches above the drum
head just over the rim, pointing towards the
| | 01:31 | center of the drum to get the most attack.
| | 01:34 | If you point it towards the edge of the head,
you'll hear more ring, and less of the attack
| | 01:37 | of the stick hitting the head.
(music playing)
| | 01:46 | The floor tom is handled just like rack toms,
although you might want to place the mic at
| | 01:50 | the far edge of the drum to cut down on
the spill from the other drums and cymbals.
| | 01:54 | (music playing)
That's how we mic the toms.
| | 02:10 | Place the mic about six inches above the drum
head just over the rim, pointing towards the
| | 02:14 | center of the head to get the most attack.
| | 02:16 | Move the mic closer or point it towards the rim to
change the tone or capture more or less ring.
| | 02:26 |
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| Miking the cymbals| 00:00 | There are a few ways to use overhead mics,
and the method you choose depends on how live
| | 00:04 | your room is and the sound
you're trying to capture.
| | 00:07 | Let's look at the way to use the overhead
mics more to capture the sound of the cymbals,
| | 00:11 | rather than the overall kit.
| | 00:14 | Condenser or Ribbon mics are
usually used for overheads.
| | 00:17 | The reason is that the cymbals have a lot
of short burst of energy, which those types
| | 00:20 | of mics are good at picking up.
| | 00:23 | The overheads you use to pick up the ride
and crash cymbals and give you an ambient
| | 00:26 | stereo sound of the drum kit.
| | 00:28 | If you're recording in a very live room, you
may want your overheads closer to the kit
| | 00:33 | to reduce the amount of room
ambience that's being picked up.
| | 00:36 | That's also the case if you're recording in
a room with a low ceiling, since the splash
| | 00:40 | off the ceiling can potentially room the sound.
| | 00:43 | Cymbals are loud, so make sure you switch
on the -10 dB pad if you're using condenser
| | 00:48 | mics and select any high-pass filter, since
it will help the sound of the cymbals to be
| | 00:52 | heard more clearly.
| | 00:54 | Don't worry that you're not getting a totally
isolated cymbal sound in these channels because
| | 00:58 | the overhead mics are meant to add an
overall ambient sound of the drum kit to the mix,
| | 01:02 | and are naturally going to pick up
the other drums and cymbals as well.
| | 01:06 | Place the left and right mics parallel to
each other and over the bell of the crash
| | 01:10 | cymbal on each side of the drum kit at about
24 inches high, pointing down over the bell
| | 01:15 | of the crash cymbal.
| | 01:17 | The reason why it's pointed more at the
bell than at the edge of the cymbal is that the
| | 01:20 | edge can give you an undesirable gong or
swishing sound as the cymbals rock back and forth,
| | 01:25 | especially if the mic is placed close.
(music playing)
| | 01:35 | Have the drummer play just the
cymbals while you listen on the monitors.
| | 01:37 | Make sure that you hear each cymbal,
and that one isn't louder than the rest.
| | 01:43 | (music playing)
| | 01:50 | If that's the case, move the position of the mic
away from the loud cymbal to try to equalize the volume.
| | 01:57 | (music playing)
| | 02:01 | Now listen to what happens when we
move the mics closer to the cymbals.
| | 02:07 | (music playing)
| | 02:14 | As you can hear it gets a bit
more clanging and thicker sounding.
| | 02:18 | Now listen to what happens when we
move the mics away from the cymbals.
| | 02:22 | (music playing)
| | 02:29 | Usually the cymbals sound better when
the mics are moved further away from them.
| | 02:32 | The problem is that now they'll pick up
more of the kit, more of the room, and may also pick
| | 02:36 | up some bad sounding
reflections from the ceiling.
| | 02:39 | Place your cymbal mics where you have the
best balance of sound, room, and reflections.
| | 02:44 | So that's how we use the overhead
mics to capture the sound of the cymbals.
| | 02:48 | Place the left and right mics parallel to
each other over the bell of the crash cymbal
| | 02:52 | on each side of the drum kit at about 24 inches
high, pointing down over the bell of the cymbal.
| | 02:58 | Move them down a bit if you want more
isolation, and move them further away for a better sound or
| | 03:03 | with more spill from the other drums.
| | 03:06 | Try to keep the mics from pointing towards
the edge of the cymbals to prevent them from
| | 03:09 | capturing the swishing that
occurs when the cymbals vibrate.
| | 03:14 |
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| Miking the overall kit| 00:00 | While the previous technique is used mainly
for miking the cymbals, this next technique
| | 00:05 | is designed to pick up the entire drum kit.
| | 00:07 | Let's look at how the overhead
mics are positioned to make this happen.
| | 00:10 | In this configuration, two identical mics
are crossed at about a 110 degree angle and
| | 00:16 | about 7 inches apart, which is a
stereo miking technique called ORTF.
| | 00:21 | We'll talk about this technique more in
the chapter on stereo miking techniques.
| | 00:26 | This setup is a little more difficult, in
that you'll need to heavy-duty boom stands
| | 00:30 | and some patience to
position the mics correctly.
| | 00:33 | But you can also use a stereo positioning
bar that's specially made for this purpose.
| | 00:37 | Place two identical directional microphones
in the ORTF configuration over the exact center
| | 00:43 | of the drum kit, about a
foot over the drummer's head.
| | 00:46 | Adjust the gain, so it's the same for
both mics and pan them hard left and right.
| | 00:51 | (music playing)
| | 00:52 | Have the drummer play the song that you're
about to record and listen in the control room.
| | 00:57 | You should clearly hear the entire
kit with the cymbals being a bit louder.
| | 01:01 | The sound of the kit should now be more balanced,
but notice how much more of the room you can hear.
| | 01:07 | (music playing)
| | 01:11 | Usually this technique doesn't work well with
low 10 foot ceilings, since the mics capture
| | 01:16 | a lot of spill that might not sound that great.
| | 01:19 | Also, if your room doesn't sound that good to begin with,
this is probably not the technique to use.
| | 01:25 |
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| Using room mics| 00:00 | Room mics are used to glue the sound of the
drum kit together by filling in the frequency
| | 00:04 | holes to make the individual drums
sound more like a single complete drum set.
| | 00:09 | In this video, I'm going show you
one of the ways to set up room mics.
| | 00:13 | When you're using room mics what you're
going for is a sound that sounds exactly the same
| | 00:17 | as when you're standing in front of the kit.
| | 00:19 | Some engineers just use a single room mic while
others may use as many as three, left, right and center.
| | 00:26 | Since you normally don't use that much of
the room mic sound in the mix--unless the room
| | 00:30 | sounds particularly good--we'll just use one mic
aimed at the center of the drum kit for our example.
| | 00:36 | If you decide to use stereo room mics
place some mic at each side of the kit about 10
| | 00:40 | feet away and looking directly at
the outside edge of the furthest cymbal.
| | 00:45 | To use a single room mic, place a directional
mic about 6 feet away from the drum kit at
| | 00:50 | a height about equal to the drummer's eyes.
(music playing)
| | 01:24 | The make or model of the mic
really doesn't matter too much.
| | 01:27 | Point the mic down at the snare
drum or the top edge of the bass drum.
| | 01:31 | Have the drummer play the song you're
about to record and listen in the control room.
| | 01:35 | The sound of the kit should be evenly balanced.
| | 01:38 | If you want more ambience to the sound, move the
mic back to about 10 feet away from the drum kit.
| | 01:44 | Move the mic backwards or forwards until you
find the position where the kit is the most
| | 01:47 | balanced against the room sound.
| | 01:49 | When you add the room mics to the drum mix,
it might sound great when listening with the
| | 01:53 | rest of the drums, but might make the drums
sound too big when the other instruments are added.
| | 01:58 | As with the sub-kick mic,
a little goes a long way.
| | 02:03 |
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| Getting the drum sound| 00:00 | Now that you've placed all the microphones
and experimented with different positions
| | 00:03 | and approaches, it's time have
a listen to see what we have.
| | 00:07 | Here is the best way to do
a sound check on the drums.
| | 00:10 | For each drum that you're checking have the
drummer do a steady slow beat on that drum
| | 00:14 | only at about one hit per second.
| | 00:17 | You don't want it hit too quickly because
you want to hear the decay of the sound.
| | 00:21 | Let's start with the kick drum.
(music playing)
| | 00:27 | Have the drummer begin with even hits on the kick
drum about a second apart, so you can hear the decay.
| | 00:32 | Check that there are no
overload or peak indicators lit.
| | 00:35 | Then raise the level of the kick in
the monitors to a moderately loud level.
| | 00:40 | Check that the sound isn't distorting, and there are
no crackles or loud mechanical noises from the kick.
| | 00:45 | If there is see if you can isolate that
unwanted sound and try to eliminate it.
| | 00:49 | Try changing the mic cable first
since that's usually where the problem is.
| | 00:53 | If the drum doesn't sound right, try moving the
mic to change the sound before you do anything.
| | 00:58 | Move the mic closer to the beater if you need more
definition or move it away if you need more body.
| | 01:03 | You can also try to aim the mic more at the
shell of the drum if you need more body and
| | 01:07 | less of the beater sound.
| | 01:09 | If none of that gets you the
sound you want, try a different mic.
| | 01:12 | Sometimes one mic can make for an ideal combination
with the particular kick drum, while another just doesn't work.
| | 01:18 | When you're finished, mute or lower the
kick drum channel, then move on to the snare.
| | 01:23 | (music playing)
| | 01:26 | Use the same method on each
of the other drums and cymbals.
| | 01:29 | (music playing)
| | 01:51 | It doesn't sound right, change the tuning.
Add or decrease the muffling.
| | 01:56 | Change the position of
the mic or change the mic.
| | 02:01 | (music playing)
And that's how we do a drum sound check.
| | 02:21 | For each drum that you're checking have the
drummer do a steady slow beat on that drum
| | 02:25 | only at about one hit per second so
you can hear the decay of the sound.
| | 02:30 | Something doesn't sound right, change the
tuning or add or subtract some muffling, then
| | 02:34 | change of position of the mic,
and then finally change out the mic.
| | 02:38 | (music playing)
| | 02:43 |
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| Getting the correct drum mix balance| 00:00 | Once you've gotten the sound of the
individual drums it's time to listen to the total kit and
| | 00:05 | get a mix together.
| | 00:06 | There are several schools of thought in
terms of which drums to start the drum mix from,
| | 00:10 | but we'll start with what's
probably the standard, the kick drum.
| | 00:14 | Wherever you start from, the idea is to blend all the
different drum mics into a cohesive single drum sound.
| | 00:20 | Stand about 6 feet in front of the kit and
listen while the drummer plays a song your
| | 00:24 | about to record and take
note of the balance of the kit.
| | 00:28 | Playing the song is important, because it will give
you a true idea of how everything will sound later.
| | 00:32 | (music playing)
| | 00:43 | Now that you have an idea what the drum sound
like in the room, go back in the control room
| | 00:47 | and turn your monitor
control up to a moderate level.
| | 00:50 | Now raise the level of the kick drum until it
reads about -10 dB on the master mix bus meter.
| | 00:56 | (music playing)
| | 01:04 | Raise the level of the snare until it's
about the same relative volume level, which might
| | 01:08 | not be the same fader level.
| | 01:10 | The side of the kick might change after it's
paired with the snare but that's not unusual.
| | 01:14 | (music playing)
| | 01:24 | Have the drummer go to a place
in the song where there are tom fills.
| | 01:27 | Raise the level of all toms until they are
about the same level as the kick and snare.
| | 01:32 | The sound of the kick and/or snare may
change as you bring the individual tom faders up,
| | 01:37 | but that's to the excepted.
(music playing)
| | 01:49 | Raise the level of the cymbal or overhead
mics until the overall sound begins to change
| | 01:53 | and the cymbals become more distinct sounding.
| | 01:56 | Once again, the sound of the other drums will
change as the cymbals are introduced but that's normal.
| | 02:01 | (music playing)
You can probably hear the hi-hat already.
| | 02:10 | Raise the level of the hi-hat mic until
it becomes a bit more distinct sounding.
| | 02:14 | (music playing)
| | 02:26 | Bring up the room mic, or mics, to the
point where you can just hear them.
| | 02:29 | This will fill in the sound a lot
and glue together the kit balance.
| | 02:32 | Yes, the sound of the rest of the kit will
also change, but now it should sound more
| | 02:37 | like one kit, instead of individual drums.
(music playing)
| | 02:44 |
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| Checking the drum phase| 00:00 | This was already discussed in the previous chapter,
but it's important enough to cover one more time.
| | 00:06 | One of the most important, yet overlooked, parts of
a drum mix is checking the phase of the drum mics.
| | 00:11 | This is important because not only will an
out of phase channel suck the low end of the
| | 00:15 | mix, but it will get more
difficult to fix as the progresses.
| | 00:19 | In this video I am going to show you how to
quickly check the phase before you record.
| | 00:24 | A drum mic can be out of phase due to a
miss-wired cable or poor mic placement.
| | 00:29 | Either way, it's best to fix it now
before the recording goes any further.
| | 00:33 | After you've recorded a little bit and have
all the drums together in the mix, go to the
| | 00:37 | kick drum channel and change the
selection of the clarity or phase parameter.
| | 00:42 | Is there more or less low end? Choose
the selection with the most bottom end.
| | 00:46 | (music playing)
| | 00:56 | Go to the snare drum channel and change the
selection of the clarity or phase control.
| | 01:00 | Is there more low-end or less? Choose
a selection with the most bottom end.
| | 01:05 | (music playing)
| | 01:14 | Go to each tom mic channel and change the
selection of the clarity or phase control.
| | 01:18 | Is there more low-end or less?
(music playing)
| | 01:28 | Go to each similar overhead mic and change
the selection of the clarity or phase control.
| | 01:33 | Is the more low-end or less?
Choose a selection with the most bottom end.
| | 01:38 | (music playing)
That's all you need to do.
| | 01:54 | Usually you won't find much of a problem but
this quick and easy step can be invaluable
| | 01:58 | that one time that you do. Sum it all up.
| | 02:02 | It's important to check the phase of the
drum mics, because not only will an out of phase
| | 02:05 | channel suck the low end of a mix, but it
will get more difficult to fix as the mix progresses.
| | 02:11 | Check the phase by selecting the phase
parameter on each drum channel and use a selection that
| | 02:15 | provides the best bass response.
| | 02:20 |
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| Panning the drums| 00:00 | Although Panning the drums may seem
intuitive, there are actually two ways to do it.
| | 00:05 | In this video we'll explore each of them, and
you can select the one you like best for the song.
| | 00:10 | There are two ways to pan the drums, from
an audience viewpoint is just stand in front
| | 00:14 | of the kit or from the drummer's
viewpoint as he looks out at the audience.
| | 00:18 | Most engineers use the audience perspective, and
that's what we're used to hearing the most records.
| | 00:23 | This means with the right-handed drummer the
hi-hat would be panned to the right, the snare
| | 00:27 | would be just off-centered to the right, the floor
tom to the left, and the bass drum would be centered.
| | 00:33 | (music playing)
| | 00:37 | First, pan the snare slightly
off-center to the right as you see it.
| | 00:42 | Then pan the hi-hat to
about 3 o'clock as you see it.
| | 00:47 | (music playing)
| | 00:51 | If the drummer has only a single rack and a
floor tom they have two choices, either pan
| | 00:56 | each tom at 10 and 2 o'clock or as you see
them, with the rack tom at about 1 o'clock
| | 01:02 | and the floor at about 9.
(music playing)
| | 01:04 | Keep in mind that sometimes setting the
panning a little narrower at 10 and 2 o'clock centers
| | 01:09 | the drums a little better in the mix.
(music playing)
| | 01:18 | For a normal 3 tom kit, pan the high
rack tom to the right to 3 o'clock.
| | 01:23 | The next Lower tom to the center at 12 o'clock
and the lowest tom to the left at 9 o'clock
| | 01:28 | for a nice stereo spread.
(music playing)
| | 01:32 | Overheads are usually
panned hard right and left.
| | 01:34 | Although the track sometimes benefits if those are
pulled into the 9 and 3 o'clock positions as well.
| | 01:41 | (music playing)
| | 01:44 | Pan the single room mic to the center, for
stereo room mics, pan them same as the overheads
| | 01:50 | or hard left and hard right.
(music playing)
| | 01:59 | The second panning method is from the
drummer's perspective, which is exactly opposite of the
| | 02:04 | audience perspective, neither method is right
or wrong. Choose the one that you think works
| | 02:09 | best for the song.
(music playing)
| | 02:14 |
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| Tweaking the drum sound with EQ| 00:00 | After you've gotten the balance and moved the
mics around to get the best sound possible,
| | 00:04 | you still might find you need to
tweak the sound a bit with little EQ.
| | 00:08 | Although you're better off adding any EQ
later when you're mixing until you get comfortable
| | 00:12 | with using the EQ, here
are some starting points.
| | 00:16 | Little is the operative word here, and then if
you feel you require more than 3dB of Equalization
| | 00:21 | then something is radically wrong, you should
even tune the drum or try different mic or placement.
| | 00:27 | The reason why you'll use any EQ at all is
for better definition of the drum sound, not
| | 00:32 | to make it sound better.
| | 00:33 | If it doesn't already sound great in the room
when you walk out and listen, chances are you
| | 00:37 | can't help the sound much, but you can
make it so you can hear each drum clearer.
| | 00:42 | Here are some frequencies to tweak on the
different drums that will help you do that.
| | 00:46 | Kick drum: Attenuate at 200 hertz to 500
hertz to get rid of any boxiness.
| | 00:54 | Attenuate at 1.5 kilohertz to
make it less honky sounding.
| | 01:02 | Add at 80 hertz to make it bigger or fuller.
Add at 5 kilohertz for more definition.
| | 01:13 | Snare drum: Add at 10 to 12 kilohertz
to make a crisper sounding.
| | 01:22 | Add at 125 hertz to make it fuller sounding.
| | 01:30 | Add at 1 kilohertz to
make it have more definition.
| | 01:37 | Hi-hat: Add at 10 kilohertz for more sizzle.
| | 01:47 | Filter below 160 hertz using the high-pass
filter on the console or preamp for more definition.
| | 01:57 | Attenuate at 1 kilohertz
to make it thinner sounding.
| | 02:04 | Rack toms: Add at 200 to 500 hertz
to make them sound fuller.
| | 02:13 | Add at 500 kilohertz to
give them more definition.
| | 02:21 | Floor tom: Attenuate at 150 to 500 hertz to
eliminate the beach ball sound.
| | 02:30 | Add at 5 kilohertz to give it more definition.
Cymbals: Add at 10 kilohertz for more sizzle.
| | 02:43 | Filter below 160 hertz using a high-pass
filter on the console or preamp for more definition.
| | 02:55 | So those are some of the things to
keep in mind when EQ'ing drums.
| | 03:00 | Remember a little goes a long way, so if
you are thinking a lot of EQ to make it sound
| | 03:04 | good, either change the drum,
the mic, or the mic placement first.
| | 03:09 |
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| Using the one-mic drum recording technique| 00:00 | If you have a limited amount of gear
available or your aim is to re-create a vintage sound,
| | 00:05 | it's possible to use a minimalist miking
technique and achieve a completely different effect
| | 00:09 | than with the tried and
true basics described earlier.
| | 00:12 | If you've ever recorder a band rehearsal,
you've already, probably experimented with
| | 00:16 | a single mic technique.
| | 00:17 | However, there are some tricks to getting
the best drum sound out of a single mic.
| | 00:22 | If you place in mic about 3 feet in front
of the drum kit, looking at the center of
| | 00:26 | the kit, you'll find that it
should pick up everything fairly evenly.
| | 00:30 | (music playing)
| | 00:37 | If you need to get more bass drum,
move the mic down towards the bass drum.
| | 00:42 | If you need a little less, move it
higher and away from of the bass drum.
| | 00:46 | (music playing)
| | 00:53 | You'll find that if you are using a multi-thousand
dollar Neumann, you'll surely achieve a better
| | 00:57 | sound than with a low-quality mic.
(music playing)
| | 01:12 | So once again, if you need more bass drum,
move the mic down a bit, or point it more
| | 01:17 | towards the bass drum.
(music playing)
| | 01:28 | With the single mic on the drums using a
Limiter or Compressor may be something you might want
| | 01:32 | to try to smooth out the dynamics of the kit.
| | 01:35 | Use the fairly light setting just to reign in
the peaks, using only 1 or 2 dB of compression,
| | 01:40 | with 2:1 Ratio and the
fastest Attack and Release settings.
| | 01:44 | Don't be afraid to experiment by
increasing the compression, as you may like the wild
| | 01:48 | effect that it sometimes achieves.
| | 01:50 | Use what you have, make it sound the best you
can by varying the placement, compression, and EQ.
| | 01:55 | You'll be surprised that how well this can work.
(music playing)
| | 02:06 | In closing, a minimalist miking setup can
get just as good a drum sound as with multiple
| | 02:10 | mics, sometimes even better.
| | 02:12 | To get a great drum sound on the drum kit
with just one mic, put the mic about 3 feet
| | 02:17 | in front of the drum kit looking at the
center of the kit, then experiment with moving the
| | 02:21 | mic around until you find a position
that gets an even balance of the entire kit.
| | 02:26 | If you need to get more bass drum
move the mic down towards the bass drum.
| | 02:32 | If you need a little less, move it
higher and away from the bass drum.
| | 02:37 |
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| Using the two-mic drum recording technique| 00:00 | While you can get a pretty good drum sound with only
a single microphone, using two mics is even better.
| | 00:05 | In fact, this was a classic setup for so many hit
records of the 50s and early 60s, here's how it's done.
| | 00:12 | If you have two mics available, try placing
one in front of the bass drum about a foot
| | 00:16 | away from the front head on a short stand.
| | 00:19 | Position the other mic up about a foot
over the drummer's head as an overhead, aiming
| | 00:24 | down at the middle of the kit.
(music playing)
| | 00:35 | While your drummer is playing, have
someone move the overhead mic around, until the kit
| | 00:39 | sounds balanced with the speakers.
(music playing)
| | 00:51 | If you are not getting enough snare, for example,
move the mic a little more towards the snare,
| | 00:56 | if you're getting too much,
move it the other way.
| | 00:58 | Don't be afraid to experiment.
(music playing)
| | 01:03 |
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| Using the three-mic drum recording technique| 00:00 | Although two mics can get a good drum sound,
three mics can give you greater control when mixing.
| | 00:05 | There are a few different methods of the three mic
technique, and we'll go over two of them in this movie.
| | 00:11 | With three mics you have two
choices as to mic positioning.
| | 00:14 | The first option is to set it up as the two
mic position described in the previous video
| | 00:18 | and add a third mic for the snare drum.
| | 00:21 | You position this snare mic as described
earlier in the movie about miking the snare drum.
| | 00:26 | (music playing)
| | 00:41 | If you want a little more hi-hat, move the
snare drum mic about 2 inches further away
| | 00:45 | from the snare and more hat you'll get.
| | 00:48 | This configuration will
give you a mono recording only.
| | 00:52 | (music playing)
| | 01:07 | If you like a stereo recording of
your kit, you may want to try option two.
| | 01:12 | This option uses one bass
drum mic and two overheads.
| | 01:15 | Place these overhead mics about 2 or 3 feet
over left and right sides of the kit, pointed
| | 01:20 | down at the bell of the outside cymbals.
| | 01:23 | We swapped in lighter
cymbals for a more balanced sound.
| | 01:27 | (music playing)
| | 01:36 | Again, you may want to move the mics around
to get a stereo image of the kit that you're
| | 01:40 | happy with. As always, don't be afraid to experiment.
| | 01:45 |
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| Using the four-mic drum recording technique| 00:00 | Like the three mic technique, there are a
few different ways that we can set up four
| | 00:04 | mics on a drum kit. Let's take a look.
| | 00:07 | If you're looking to get a jazz or classic
type of sound, you may find that you will
| | 00:11 | like this four mic technique a lot.
| | 00:13 | In fact, may even want to experiment
using this setup for other styles of music.
| | 00:18 | It will open up the sound of your drum kit
and give you a more live feel on your recording.
| | 00:23 | In this setup, you'll place the overheads above the
cymbals at the edge of the kit then add a snare mic.
| | 00:30 | (music playing)
So that's one way to do it. Here's another way.
| | 00:48 | In this technique the kick and snare mics
stay the same, but the overhead mics are placed
| | 00:52 | with 120-degree angle, known as an ORTF
configuration as we discussed previously.
| | 00:58 | Place them about 6 feet above
the kit directly in the middle.
| | 01:01 | (music playing)
| | 01:10 | To sum things up, a four mic technique on
the drums can give a very open and live feel
| | 01:15 | on your recording, with just enough control
during mixing, to make it easy to blend with
| | 01:19 | the rest of the instruments.
| | 01:24 |
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| Tips for drummers to use before recording| 00:00 | Many drummers who don't have a lot of studio
experience aren't sure of exactly what they
| | 00:04 | should bring to a session and what they should
do when they get there, here's a little guidance
| | 00:09 | you can offer them in order to make your job
of recording them easier. Change your heads.
| | 00:14 | Nothing will help the sound
of your drums like new heads.
| | 00:18 | Get a set of new heads--or at least the top
ones--and either change them before you get
| | 00:22 | to the studio, or make sure that you
have enough time to do so before recording.
| | 00:26 | Make sure your drums are in tune.
| | 00:28 | Tune your drums as previously described or
hire someone that really knows how to do it.
| | 00:33 | Not only will you learn something, but you'll
get a much better sounding recording as a result.
| | 00:38 | Bring all your snares to the session.
| | 00:39 | You never know if and when a particular
snare is right for the song until you try it.
| | 00:45 | Sometimes you can be surprised about how
good or how bad a drum sounds in the context of
| | 00:49 | recording, so to be safe, bring as
many snares as you can to the session.
| | 00:54 | Bring extra heads, sticks, beaters, and cymbals.
| | 00:58 | Just like onstage, this is
the professional thing to do.
| | 01:01 | You have to have backups in case
you break a head or crack a cymbal.
| | 01:05 | Even if you usually only play with a certain
type of stick, bring several kinds, plus mallets
| | 01:10 | and brushes, since that could be the
perfect sound for the track you're recording.
| | 01:15 |
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| | Tracking a solo drum part |
|
6. Recording the Guitar Finding the right placement in the room for the guitar| 00:00 | Just as with the drums, finding the right
place in the room can make all the difference
| | 00:04 | when recording either an
electric or an acoustic guitar.
| | 00:07 | Even when a guitar amp is close-miked, the
room contributes to the sound, so where it's
| | 00:12 | placed in the room must be considered.
| | 00:14 | Here are some things to think about when selecting
a place to record either a guitar or an amplifier.
| | 00:19 | Let's start with an amplifier first.
| | 00:21 | If you're tracking, it's important that the
guitar player is close to the rhythm section,
| | 00:25 | but the amplifier doesn't have to be.
| | 00:27 | Place it some place where it's away from the
open mics of the drums, preferably in an isolation
| | 00:31 | booth, a closet, or another room.
| | 00:34 | Take care not to place the amp too close to a
wall or in the corner, since that will cause
| | 00:38 | bass loading, which is where the low
frequencies bounce off the wall and interact with the
| | 00:42 | same frequencies coming out of the speakers.
| | 00:45 | It's best to keep it at least
18 inches away from any wall.
| | 00:49 | When you're overdubbing, you can treat the
amp just like the drum kit and place it in
| | 00:53 | the best sounding part of the room.
| | 00:54 | As described in the drum chapter, if it's
a combo amp, one thing to try is to raise
| | 00:59 | the amp up on a road case or chair.
| | 01:02 | This will eliminate the interaction with the
floor and provide a cleaner sound, which may
| | 01:06 | or may not work for the track.
| | 01:08 | Most acoustic guitars are recorded as an
overdub so as not to pick up leakage from the other
| | 01:12 | instruments unless you're
recording in a studio with an Iso booth.
| | 01:16 | Once again, you can treat the acoustic
guitar just like the drum kit, and place it in the
| | 01:20 | best sounding part of the room,
as described in the drum chapter.
| | 01:25 |
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| Miking the amplifier: Technique one| 00:00 | Electric guitars don't need anything fancy
to capture their sound, but there are a few
| | 00:04 | techniques that can improve your recording.
| | 00:07 | In this video I'm going to show you the basic tried
and true technique for recording a guitar amplifier.
| | 00:12 | The frequency response of the electric
guitar doesn't go that high or that low, and the
| | 00:16 | more distorted it is the fewer transients
the signal has, making it somewhat easier
| | 00:21 | to capture than other instruments.
| | 00:23 | As a result, dynamic mics are
frequently used with good results.
| | 00:27 | That said, sometimes it's surprising just how
good an amp can sound when a large diaphragm
| | 00:32 | condenser or a ribbon mic is used,
so don't be afraid to experiment.
| | 00:36 | While many engineers like to use our friend, the
Shure SM57 in this role just about any mic can work.
| | 00:43 | If there's more than one speaker in the cabinet,
listen to them all to find the one that sounds the best.
| | 00:48 | That means the one with the best balance of
frequencies that's not intentionally distorted.
| | 00:53 | Use a set of high quality earplugs like the Etymotic
ER20s to protect your hearing while you are listening.
| | 00:59 | Place the mic an inch or two away from their
best sounding speaker in the cabinet, at about
| | 01:03 | three-quarters of the way between the edge
of the speaker and the voice coil, or the
| | 01:06 | center of the speaker.
| | 01:08 | Have the guitar player play the song you're
about to record and listen on the monitors.
| | 01:13 | (music playing)
| | 01:23 | Move the mic towards the voice coil, which
is the middle of the speaker, then move it
| | 01:27 | towards the outside edge of the speaker.
(music playing)
| | 01:40 | Notice how the sound gets brighter as the
mic approaches the voice coil and gets more
| | 01:44 | mellow sounding as it moves
towards the edge of the speaker.
| | 01:49 | Find the place that gives you the
best combination of body and definition.
| | 01:54 | That's the most basic
technique for miking a guitar amplifier.
| | 01:59 |
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| Miking the amplifier: Technique two| 00:00 | There are a lot of ways to mike a guitar amp.
| | 00:02 | And in this movie, I'm going to show
you the old school way of doing it.
| | 00:06 | This is the way that amplifiers were miked
way back in the 50s, 60s, and 70s, and is my
| | 00:11 | personal favorite today.
| | 00:13 | All instruments need some space for the sound
to develop, and that goes for speakers as well.
| | 00:18 | The technique will not only capture the sound,
but also a little bit of the room too, making
| | 00:22 | the sound bigger than if the mic was
just pushed against the speaker cabinet.
| | 00:26 | Move the mic about a foot away from
the best sounding speaker in the cabinet.
| | 00:30 | (music playing)
| | 00:52 | Once again, the sound will get brighter as
you move it towards the voice coil, and mellower
| | 00:56 | as you move it towards the
edge of the speaker cone.
| | 00:59 | Of course, different mics
will provide a different sound.
| | 01:02 | Here we have changed the mic
to a large diaphragm condenser.
| | 01:05 | (music playing)
| | 01:23 | Remember that there's no right or wrong microphone or
placement to use, only what's right for the song.
| | 01:28 |
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| Miking the amplifier: Technique three| 00:00 | There are lots of different
techniques to mike a guitar amp.
| | 00:03 | In this technique we'll add a second
mic to capture more of the room sound.
| | 00:07 | Let me show you how it's done.
| | 00:09 | Natural ambience usually sounds a lot better than an
artificial reverb for layering a guitar part in the mix.
| | 00:15 | The way we capture it is by adding a second
mic back in the room in addition to the previous
| | 00:19 | close miking techniques.
| | 00:22 | The kind and type of mic you
use actually doesn't matter much.
| | 00:26 | Place the second like about 6
feet away from the amplifier.
| | 00:28 | If there are multiple speakers, try to place
it where the sound of all the speakers converge.
| | 00:34 | If you want more room ambience, try moving
the distant mic, so it's about 10 feet away,
| | 00:39 | or like we've done here, put in
another reverberant room or hallway close by.
| | 00:44 | (music playing)
Add the second mic to the sound of the first.
| | 00:52 | The right amount is dictated by the
song and how you hear it in the mix.
| | 01:03 | Here is what it sounds like, we are just a
little off the distant mike, and then with
| | 01:06 | it at about equal level to the close mic.
(music playing)
| | 01:24 | Very experienced engineers determine the sound
they like and print both mics to a single track.
| | 01:29 | If you don't feel that you're that level, or
you're not sure what the final sound should
| | 01:33 | be, print each mic to a separate track and
determine the appropriate level during mix down.
| | 01:39 | That's how you add a second
distant mic to a close mic setup.
| | 01:42 | Start with the mic about 6 feet
back from the speaker cabinet.
| | 01:46 | If you want more room sound
move the mic back to about 10 feet.
| | 01:50 | Mix it with the close mic until you
find what's appropriate for the song.
| | 01:55 |
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| Using the Marshall cabinet miking trick| 00:00 | You may not get the same effect if you try this
on your own amp, as with all miking techniques,
| | 00:05 | experimentation rules the day.
If it sounds good, use it.
| | 00:10 | It's not uncommon for engineers to complain
that they can't seem to capture the low end
| | 00:13 | of a Marshall cabinet.
| | 00:15 | It might sound great in the room, but it
just never comes across the same when recorded.
| | 00:19 | Fortunately, there's a trick to help capture the big
Marshall sound, although it may seem a bit unorthodox.
| | 00:25 | Along with any of the previously mentioned
miking methods place a Ribbon mic a couple
| | 00:30 | of inches off one of the rear corners of
the cabinet in order to capture the vibrations
| | 00:34 | of the cabinet itself.
| | 00:36 | Let's hear the cabinet first
with you arrest with the SM57.
| | 00:39 | (music playing)
Now with the Royer R-121.
| | 00:45 | (music playing)
| | 00:51 | Now we'll switch back to the 57 and slowly
add the sound of the Royer to find a good
| | 00:55 | blend between the two.
(music playing)
| | 01:15 | Keep in mind that this only works with the
original model 1960 Marshall Cabinets because
| | 01:20 | of the wood and construction
technique used, but it works really well.
| | 01:24 | Ribbon mic seem to work best, but you'll still
capture a nice low end regardless of the mic you use.
| | 01:29 |
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| Recording the electric guitar direct| 00:00 | Once upon a time, plugging your guitar directly
into a console was the last thing a guitar
| | 00:05 | player wanted to do.
| | 00:06 | Players hated the sound because the high-
end was rolled off and the output was just so
| | 00:10 | wimpy that virtually no
one thought it was usable.
| | 00:14 | That's all changed now as guitars have more
choices of going direct and getting a great
| | 00:18 | sound than ever before.
| | 00:20 | In this movie, we'll look at the three
ways that you can record the guitar direct.
| | 00:27 | The real secret to getting a great sounding
direct recording is compression and plenty of it.
| | 00:32 | When you use a tube style guitar amplifier,
there is already some compression built into
| | 00:36 | the sound, between the
circuitry, the tubes, and speakers.
| | 00:40 | Unfortunately, you don't have the benefit
of any of this help when plugging your guitar
| | 00:44 | directly into the console or a DAW.
| | 00:46 | That's why it's important always use some
compression to keep the sound at relatively the same level.
| | 00:51 | Without it, the sound will be weak and wimpy.
Here's what you have to do.
| | 00:55 | After you have plugged the guitar into a Direct
Box, and the output of the box into a console,
| | 00:59 | mic preamp, or DAW, flip the ground
switch to find the quietest setting.
| | 01:05 | Plug the hardware compressor either into the
output of the mic preamp or an insert on the console.
| | 01:10 | Don't add a plug-in, because it might add a
delay to the recording which can throw the
| | 01:14 | player off, because what he'll be hearing in
his headphones will occur after he plays it.
| | 01:19 | Start the compressor set to either 4:1 or 8:1
compression ratio, then set the Attack
| | 01:24 | control to its lowest setting and
the Release control set to its fastest.
| | 01:30 | (music playing)
| | 01:34 | Lower the Threshold until there is a few dB
of compression on the guitar peaks...
| | 01:43 | (music playing)
| | 01:48 | Decrease the Attack time until the audio just
begins to sound dull, then back it off a bit.
| | 01:53 | This means that the compressor while catch more of
the peaks and the amount of compression will increase.
| | 02:00 | (music playing)
| | 02:08 | Increase the Release times so that it
breathes with the pause of the song, which should be
| | 02:11 | somewhere around the midway point.
| | 02:13 | (music playing)
| | 02:24 | A compressor with the release time set too
fast can cause the sound to pump, which is
| | 02:28 | usually an undesirable effect.
| | 02:31 | (music playing)
| | 02:51 | Don't go beyond 5 or 6 dB of compression,
because adding too much compression at this
| | 02:56 | point can change the sound.
| | 02:58 | This can't be undone later,
so remember that less is more.
| | 03:03 | (music playing)
| | 03:07 | The correct amount of compression
is when every note is equal in level.
| | 03:11 | (music playing)
| | 03:21 | Compression will cause level to drop, so set
the Output control of the compressor so that
| | 03:25 | the record level is about -10 dB on the meters.
| | 03:29 | (music playing)
| | 03:44 | While many of the newer amplifiers have
outputs intended for direct recording, don't expect
| | 03:49 | to get the same sound that
you get from the speakers.
| | 03:53 | (music playing)
| | 03:57 | You are hearing the sound of only
the preamp section of the amplifier.
| | 04:00 | It sounds nothing like an amp cranked
through the speakers and then miked.
| | 04:06 | (music playing)
| | 04:12 | Keep in mind that settings that you
normally use on the amp might have to be changed in
| | 04:16 | order to get a usable direct sound.
| | 04:18 | Another way to record direct, especially with
an amp that doesn't have a direct output future
| | 04:23 | is to feed a signal from the extension
speaker jack of the amp, into a Direct Box that has
| | 04:28 | the ability to accept this type of input.
| | 04:30 | Usually the DI will have two inputs, one
labeled Guitar and the other labeled AMP or SPEAKER.
| | 04:38 | (music playing)
| | 04:42 | Make sure that you only connect to the AMP or
SPEAKER input as the voltage coming from
| | 04:46 | the extension speaker output on the AMP is
high enough to destroy the Direct Box if plugged
| | 04:51 | into the guitar input and
may even damage the amp as well.
| | 04:57 | (music playing)
| | 05:00 | As with the Direct Output from the amp, the sound
will not be what you'll experience out of the speakers.
| | 05:05 | So you may have to adjust the amp's controls
in order to get a sound that you find useful.
| | 05:12 | (music playing)
| | 05:19 | Direct recording is no longer that a big deal,
since there are so many effects boxes and
| | 05:23 | amplifier emulators on the market that are capable
of acting as sort of a super Direct Box for recording.
| | 05:29 | Just about every manufacturer now offers an
inexpensive guitar box capable of direct recording,
| | 05:35 | regardless which amplifier emulator you use,
keep the following in mind: Be judicious with
| | 05:40 | the distortion and sustain.
| | 05:42 | Lots of distortion and sustain is fun to play
with but isn't always appropriate for the song.
| | 05:47 | Be prepared to dial it back to make your
part fit better in the mix, especially if you'll
| | 05:51 | be adding other guitar parts later.
Be judicious with the effects.
| | 05:56 | One of the cool things about modeling multi-
effects boxes is that you get such a wide variety
| | 06:01 | of sounds, some with over-the-top effects.
| | 06:04 | Just like with distortion, think of what's
appropriate for the song, not what feels fun to play with.
| | 06:09 | Once again, take into account how everything
will fit together in the mix, especially if
| | 06:14 | you add additional parts.
| | 06:15 | To sum it all up, there are
three ways to record a guitar direct.
| | 06:19 | By plugging a guitar into a Direct Box, by
plugging the output of an amplifier into a
| | 06:24 | Direct Box, or by using an amplifier emulator.
| | 06:27 | When plugging a guitar into a Direct Box for
a clean sound, remember to use a fair amount
| | 06:32 | of compression to keep
the level strong and even.
| | 06:34 | I'm plugging an amplifier into a Direct Box,
remember that you'll probably have to change
| | 06:38 | the parameter settings to get a good sound,
and when using an amplifier emulator,
| | 06:43 | remember to be judicious with the distortion and effects.
| | 06:45 | You have heard this before, but
remember that little goes a long way
| | 06:50 |
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| Prepping for recording acoustic guitar| 00:00 | Acoustic guitar recording requires a
preparation that's different from just about any other
| | 00:04 | instrument. Before you begin recording even the
first note, here are a few steps to take first.
| | 00:10 | Change your strings, putting on a fresh set
of strings will not only help with the tuning,
| | 00:15 | but make the instrument resonate better,
this will result in a better recording.
| | 00:19 | Tune your guitar with as precise a tuner
as you can get your hands on, and then check
| | 00:24 | the intonation to make sure that it plays
through up the neck, listen to your room,
| | 00:29 | listen to how the guitar
resonates in the room you're playing in.
| | 00:32 | Stand back from the instrument, move around
the instrument to find the sweet spot where
| | 00:36 | the direct sound of the guitar
combines with reflections of the room.
| | 00:40 | Take off noisy pieces of clothing, take off
any watches, rings, jewelry, or belt buckles
| | 00:46 | that may bang against the instrument.
| | 00:48 | Also, certain jackets, and/or shirts
may have buttons that can cause a problem.
| | 00:53 | Remember that there's more to capturing the sound
of the Acoustic Guitar than the way it's miked.
| | 00:58 |
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| Recording the acoustic guitar with one mic| 00:00 | Acoustic instruments like the guitar need
space to resonate, breathe, and project, so
| | 00:05 | they rarely respond well
to extreme close miking.
| | 00:08 | In this video we are going to look at a
tried and true way to record the acoustic guitar.
| | 00:13 | While it might seem that the best place to
mike the guitar is at the sound hole, you'll
| | 00:16 | find that the sound is
generally too bassy from only that area.
| | 00:20 | (music playing)
| | 00:31 | A nice combination of high and low
frequencies usually comes from somewhere around where
| | 00:35 | the neck and the body join together, but this
position varies from instrument to instrument.
| | 00:40 | (music playing)
| | 00:52 | Place the mic about a foot away from where the
neck meets the body perpendicular to the finger board.
| | 00:57 | (music playing)
| | 01:09 | Once again, by moving the mic slightly we
can change the sound of the recording, for
| | 01:13 | more low end, move the mic down
slightly towards the sound hole.
| | 01:17 | For more room ambience,
move the mic back a foot.
| | 01:20 | (music playing)
| | 01:29 | Likewise, the type of microphone used to
record an acoustic is critical to the sound, while
| | 01:34 | the Dynamic mic SN57 will certainly work and
may sound wonderful in some cases, a Condenser,
| | 01:40 | or Ribbon microphone is better able to
capture the transients of the acoustic that make it
| | 01:45 | sound like it's in the room with you.
(music playing)
| | 01:47 | Let's listen to what a 57 sounds like first.
(music playing)
| | 01:58 | Now let's listen to a Ribbon
mic, notice how warm it sounds.
| | 02:02 | (music playing)
Now let's listen to a Condenser mic again.
| | 02:17 | (music playing)
| | 02:29 | Can you hear how well it
captures the transients?
| | 02:32 | That's one of the best ways
to mike an acoustic guitar.
| | 02:35 | Place the mic about a foot away from where
the neck meets the body, move the mic towards
| | 02:39 | a sound hole for a little more body, or
move it away for more of the room sound.
| | 02:44 |
| | Collapse this transcript |
| Recording the acoustic guitar with two mics| 00:00 | While the single mic technique
might get a nice even sound,
| | 00:03 | sometimes there's just not enough body to it.
| | 00:06 | The solution is to add a second microphone,
and that's what we'll look at in this video.
| | 00:10 | If the single mic technique outlined in the
previous movie isn't capturing enough body
| | 00:14 | of the guitar, the thing to do is add
a second mic aimed at the body itself.
| | 00:19 | Place the mic about 6 inches below the bridge
taking care not to get in the way of the guitar
| | 00:24 | player's arm if he is strumming.
(music playing)
| | 00:38 | Once again, if you want more of the room, move
the mic back a foot or so, place the mic where it
| | 00:43 | has the best balance of direct and ambient sound.
(music playing)
| | 00:58 | Add the mic into the mix with the Neck mic until
you get the best combination of body and definition.
| | 01:04 | (music playing)
| | 01:21 | So that's how to be beef up the sound of
the acoustic guitar by using a second mic.
| | 01:25 | Place it just blow the bridge pointed at the
body of the guitar, move it back if you want
| | 01:30 | more room ambience then, add it to the Neck
Microphone until you get the right combination
| | 01:34 | of body and definition for the track.
(music playing)
| | 01:41 |
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| Recording the acoustic guitar with three mics| 00:00 | If you have enough mics to choose from try using
a three microphone combination of acoustic guitar.
| | 00:06 | This technique is especially effective for
solo guitar as it offers a wide range of tonal
| | 00:10 | options when it's time to mix.
| | 00:13 | It can also provide an
exceptionally wide image in the stereo field.
| | 00:16 | Here is how to do it.
| | 00:18 | Place a single mic at the point where the
neck meets the body, as in previous videos,
| | 00:22 | and then place a pair of identical mics at least 3
feet back from the guitar and a least 3 feet apart.
| | 00:29 | This creates a virtual triangle of sound, and it's
especially effective in good reverberant wooden spaces.
| | 00:35 | (music playing)
| | 00:54 | To sum it all up, by adding a pair of distant
mics t least 3 feet away from the guitar and
| | 00:59 | the least 3 feet apart you create a nice
spacious stereo sound field at your close mic.
| | 01:05 | This is perfect for a solo acoustic guitar
but the sound is really dependent upon the room.
| | 01:09 | (music playing)
| | 01:14 |
| | Collapse this transcript |
| Exploring stereo acoustic guitar miking techniques| 00:00 | Recording the acoustic guitar and stereo can
very satisfying in ear candy in a mix, providing
| | 00:05 | a lush deep sound field.
| | 00:08 | By placing a pair of cardioid microphones
at an angle to each other, and as close as
| | 00:12 | possible without the tips touching, a very
realistic stereo image of the guitar can be captured.
| | 00:18 | With the X-Y technique, each of the two
microphones captures sound directly in front of it.
| | 00:23 | If positioned near the sound hole, one will
the neck and one will capture the body depending
| | 00:28 | on where the mics are positioned.
| | 00:30 | This produces a very nice, clear, focused,
tight image without lot of the sound of the room.
| | 00:35 | (music playing)
| | 00:54 | Be sure to set your preamp controls so
the mics are at same level which, will create the
| | 00:57 | most balanced recording.
| | 00:59 | Start with the array about two feet away, then move
it backwards or forwards for more or less ambience.
| | 01:05 | (music playing)
| | 01:11 | To sum it all up, recording the acoustic
guitar in stereo provides a sense of depth that
| | 01:15 | you can't get any other way.
| | 01:16 | The easiest way is with the stereo mic but
another way is with an identical pair of mics
| | 01:22 | configured in an X-Y array.
(music playing)
| | 01:27 |
| | Collapse this transcript |
| Recording the acoustic guitar direct| 00:00 | Does your acoustic have a built-in pickup?
| | 00:02 | Many of today's electro-acoustic models either
have a pickup, transducer, or microphone built
| | 00:08 | inside, and it's another way of
recording the acoustic guitar.
| | 00:11 | Let's take a closer look.
| | 00:13 | By plugging the pickup into a direct box you
can actually capture the sound of the guitar without
| | 00:18 | using any microphones.
(music playing)
| | 00:19 | The problem is that direct sound by itself
usually doesn't sound better than a microphone.
| | 00:24 | (music playing)
| | 00:30 | Ultimately, any internal acoustic pickup should be
combined with the microphone to achieve the best results.
| | 00:36 | Even the best internal systems can't reproduce
the full natural spectrum of an acoustic guitar.
| | 00:41 | A combination of both an internal pickup
and a microphone will also allow more options when
| | 00:46 | it comes time to mix.
| | 00:48 | As you can see, and hear, using the direct
output from an acoustic guitar with pickup
| | 00:52 | is convenient but never sounds
quite as good as with the microphone.
| | 00:56 | However, when you combine the too, you can
capture an acoustic guitar sound that's much
| | 01:00 | better than the sum of its parts.
(music playing)
| | 01:05 |
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| Using a limiter when recording acoustic guitar| 00:00 | Although compression and limiting is
usually best left for when you mix, sometimes just
| | 00:05 | a touch of limiting when recording can
control the peaks and make the acoustic guitar sit a
| | 00:09 | little better with the other instruments.
Let's take a look at how that's done.
| | 00:14 | Plug a hardware limiter either into the output
of the mic preamp or an insert on the console.
| | 00:19 | Keep in mind that the plug-in might add a
delay to the recording, which can throw the
| | 00:23 | player off because what he'll be hearing
in the headphones will be after he plays it.
| | 00:27 | Start with the limiters set a 10:1 compression ratio
with both the attack and release controls set to medium.
| | 00:34 | Then set the threshold controls so there's only a
couple of dB of compression happening on the peaks.
| | 00:40 | (music playing)
| | 00:49 | Depending on the type of rhythm that the
guitar player is playing you may want to decrease
| | 00:53 | both the attack and release
time so they react faster.
| | 00:56 | Be aware that the sound will begin to dull
if the attack is set too fast, and you'll
| | 01:01 | begin to hear the compressor work,
if the release time is too short.
| | 01:04 | (music playing)
| | 01:15 | So that's how we set up the limiter on
an acoustic guitar to control the peaks.
| | 01:19 | Set the ratio of 10:1 and both the attack
and release controls somewhere in the middle.
| | 01:24 | Then set the threshold, so there's only a
couple of dB of limiting that happens on the peaks.
| | 01:29 | This is another case of a
little going a long way.
| | 01:32 | So go easy on limiting while recording.
You can always add more in the mix.
| | 01:37 |
| | Collapse this transcript |
| | Tracking the guitar part |
|
7. Recording the BassFinding the right placement in the room for the bass| 00:00 | When it comes to placing the bass player in the room,
our line of thinking has to change a bit from before.
| | 00:05 | Since we're now thinking about
player interaction as much as the sound.
| | 00:09 | In this video I'm going to show you some
possibilities to think about when it comes
| | 00:13 | to placing the bass player in the room.
| | 00:15 | For the rhythm section, the
line of sight means everything.
| | 00:19 | After all, for the bass player and drummer
to really play together they have to be able
| | 00:23 | to see each other in order to
play off of each other's nuances.
| | 00:27 | Regardless if whether the bass player is
playing electric or acoustic, going direct with an
| | 00:31 | amp, being set as close to the drummer is
possible is important for a great performance.
| | 00:36 | If a bass amplifier is being used, it's usually
placed as far away from any open mics as possible
| | 00:41 | to keep the leakage down.
| | 00:43 | That can mean in a closet or another room.
Wherever it's placed, be sure to keep it
| | 00:47 | out of a corner, and away
from the wall if possible.
| | 00:50 | Since this can cause some frequencies to boom and
others cancel out which is called bass loading.
| | 00:55 |
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| Recording the bass using a direct box| 00:00 | Back in the 60s and 70s the way engineers
recorded the electric bass was by miking the bass amp.
| | 00:06 | As direct boxes became more and more
available, the trend eventually swung the other way,
| | 00:10 | with most bass recording now done direct.
| | 00:12 | In this movie, I'm going to show you the ins
and outs of using a direct box to record the bass.
| | 00:18 | A direct box eliminates the need for an
amplifier and a microphone to capture the sound.
| | 00:22 | You get the pure tone of the instrument,
which is usually what you want with the bass.
| | 00:27 | Many microphone preamps have a direct
input built right into them these days.
| | 00:31 | That eliminates the need to
buy separate output direct box.
| | 00:35 | When using a direct box, be aware that
they're not all created equal, and that some will
| | 00:39 | not give you the low fundamental of the
bass that you expect when recording this way.
| | 00:43 | Active DI's, which require power for the
electronics, do a better job at this than passive DI's.
| | 00:49 | Although some passive boxes like the ones
made by radio do an excellent job, because
| | 00:53 | of the large and expensive
transformers used in the circuit.
| | 00:56 | There's not much to learn
about using a direct box.
| | 00:59 | After you have plugged the bass into the direct
box, and the output of the box into a console,
| | 01:03 | mic, preamp, or DAW flip the ground
switch to find the quietest setting.
| | 01:08 | Then have the bass player
begin playing, it's that simple.
| | 01:11 | (music playing)
| | 01:21 | To sum it all up, the direct box eliminates
the need for an amp in a microphone and provides
| | 01:26 | a pure sound from the instrument.
| | 01:27 | There are two types of DI's active
which need power, and passive which don't.
| | 01:33 | Some DI's sound better than others on the bass,
because they can better reproduce lower fundamentals.
| | 01:38 | After you've plugged into the direct box, flip
the ground switch, and choose the quietest position.
| | 01:43 |
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| Miking the bass amplifier| 00:00 | Today it's very common to record a bass using
a combination of both an amp and a DI, which
| | 00:05 | provides a great combined sound.
| | 00:07 | While the bass will sound full and warm
with the direct box, the amp can adjust enough
| | 00:11 | edge that help the bass punch through a mix.
Here is how to mic bass amp.
| | 00:15 | Listen closely to the amp as the bass
player plays, if there are multiple speakers find
| | 00:20 | the one that sounds the best.
| | 00:22 | Don't forget to protect your hearing with high
quality ear plugs like Etymotic Research's ER20s.
| | 00:27 | (music playing)
| | 00:35 | Place a large diaphragm dynamic mic like a
D112, RE20, or B52 or even a condenser mic
| | 00:41 | like a 414, a little off center and a couple of
inches away from the cone of the best sounding
| | 00:46 | speaker in the bass cabinet.
| | 00:49 | You can even use a sub-kick mic that we
used on the bass drum in an earlier movie.
| | 00:53 | If you don't have a large diaphragm dynamic
mic, don't worry, you can get the sound close
| | 00:57 | enough with most high quality mics.
| | 01:00 | Move the mic across the cone to find this spot
that has the best balance of body and definition.
| | 01:05 | (music playing)
| | 01:19 | You might also want to try the old
school way of miking, which is what I prefer.
| | 01:23 | Move the mic so it's about a foot away from
the speaker just like with musical instruments
| | 01:28 | the sound of an amp needs a little space to
develop, which is what this position provides.
| | 01:32 | (music playing)
So, that's how we mic the bass amplifier.
| | 01:54 | Find the best sounding speaker in the
cabinet and take a large diaphragm microphone then
| | 01:58 | place it a few inches from the speaker grill.
| | 02:01 | Move it cross the speaker to find the
best combination of body and definition.
| | 02:05 | Try moving the mic back about a
foot for the old school way of miking.
| | 02:10 |
| | Collapse this transcript |
| Using a limiter when recording the bass guitar| 00:00 | Of almost any instrument, the bass is
probably the most dynamically uncontrolled, that's
| | 00:05 | why it sometimes a good idea to
place a limiter on it when recording.
| | 00:08 | In this video I'll show you just how to do that.
| | 00:11 | The limiter will help control the peaks
that can happen either because of the way that
| | 00:14 | player is playing, or because of the instrument.
Here is how to set it up.
| | 00:19 | Insert a compressor into the signal chain
either on an insert in the console, or preamp,
| | 00:23 | or place between the preamp and DAW input.
| | 00:26 | Set the attack control to its slowest
setting and the release control to its fastest.
| | 00:31 | Then set the ratio to about ten to one and
raise the threshold until there is a few dB
| | 00:35 | is limiting on the piece of the signal.
(music playing)
| | 00:57 | Decrease the attack time until the audio just
begins to sound dull, then back it off a bit.
| | 01:02 | This means that the limiter will catch more of
the peaks and the amount of limiting will increase.
| | 01:07 | (music playing)
| | 01:27 | Increase the release time so that it
breathes with the pulse of the song, which should be
| | 01:31 | somewhere around the midway point.
| | 01:32 | A limiter with the release time set too fast
can cause the sound to pump, which is usually
| | 01:37 | an undesirable effect.
| | 01:38 | Don't go beyond five or six dB, because adding too
much limiting at this point can change the sound.
| | 01:44 | (music playing)
| | 02:04 | This can't be undone later, so
remember that less is more.
| | 02:07 | The correct amount of limiting is
when every note is equal and level.
| | 02:11 | Finally, set the output control of the limiter.
| | 02:13 | So, that the record level is
about -10 dB on the channel meters.
| | 02:17 | (music playing)
| | 02:37 | That's how to insert a limiter into the
signal chain of the bass to control its dynamics.
| | 02:42 | Set the attack control to its slowest
setting and the release time to its fastest.
| | 02:47 | Then set the ratio to about ten to one, and then
raise the threshold until the meter reads about -2 dB.
| | 02:53 | Decrease the attack time until the audio just
begins to sound dull then back it off a bit.
| | 02:58 | Remember not to decrease the attack time too
much where the sound of the bass will loose
| | 03:01 | definition, and that less is more since you
can always add additional limiting when you mix.
| | 03:06 |
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| Miking an acoustic bass: Technique one| 00:00 | The acoustic string bass is one of the hardest
instruments to record for a variety of reasons.
| | 00:05 | First, the tone depends largely upon the player.
| | 00:08 | Second, mic placement is extremely important,
and lastly usually the bass is played in a
| | 00:13 | live setting like a jazz trio where it's
placed very close to other instruments.
| | 00:17 | That means that there may be leakage
from those instruments to contend with.
| | 00:21 | With all that in mind, let's
look at how to mic an acoustic bass.
| | 00:24 | Mic position is everything
when recording acoustic bass.
| | 00:27 | Just like with an acoustic guitar close miking
the f-hole makes the sound muddy with no definition.
| | 00:32 | So, another approach is needed.
(music playing)
| | 00:52 | Perhaps more than any other instrument
the bass needs space to really sound right.
| | 00:57 | Place a mic end below the
bridge about 18 inches away.
| | 01:00 | This should give you some nice definition
along with all the body of the instrument.
| | 01:04 | (music playing)
| | 01:23 | Also, try to move the mic a bit closer, and
move to the position that gives you the right
| | 01:27 | balance of body to definition.
(music playing)
| | 01:48 | What kind of mic should you choose?
| | 01:50 | Ribbon mics and string bases seem made for each
other, but a nice condenser mic also works as well.
| | 01:56 | Let's take a listen to how they sound.
(music playing)
| | 02:16 | Don't fret if you don't
have any of those microphones.
| | 02:19 | Any kind of mic will give you good
results with the right placement.
| | 02:22 | It may not have the same low end, but
it can still get you a good recording.
| | 02:26 | (music playing)
That's one way to mic an acoustic bass.
| | 02:46 | Place the mic below the bridge of
the instrument about 18 inches away.
| | 02:50 | Move it in closure, a further away to get
the best combination of body and definition.
| | 02:56 | (music playing).
| | 02:59 |
| | Collapse this transcript |
| Miking an acoustic bass: Technique two| 00:00 | It's always best to have another miking technique
ready if the one you normally use doesn't seem to work.
| | 00:05 | Remember that the song, the player, the
instruments itself, and the arrangement play more into
| | 00:11 | the sound of the instrument then the mic and
placement technique that you use. Here's an
| | 00:15 | alternative way to mic the acoustic bass.
| | 00:18 | As in the previous technique use a ribbon
or large diaphragm condenser mic if you have
| | 00:22 | one, move the ribbon mic to a place right above the
right-hand and point it towards the higher strings.
| | 00:28 | Be careful not to get the mic too close to
the strings, or you'll pickup finger noise,
| | 00:32 | a foot or 18 inches should be enough.
(music playing)
| | 00:35 | Choose the place that gives
you the best tone and definition.
| | 00:38 | (music playing)
| | 00:53 | Let's have a listen to the same setup, this
time using a large diaphragm condenser mic
| | 00:57 | instead of a ribbon mic.
(music playing)
| | 01:16 | Just as a comparison, let's listen once
more but instead we will use a mic that you are
| | 01:21 | sure to around the SM57.
(music playing)
| | 01:27 |
| | Collapse this transcript |
| | Tracking the bass part |
|
8. Recording VocalsFinding the right placement in the room for vocals| 00:00 | Where the singer is placed in the room makes
a big difference in the sound that's why it's
| | 00:04 | important to find the right place in the studio
for vocalist before recording vocals can begin.
| | 00:09 | In general, vocals sound better when we
record in an open space that's why many vocal booths
| | 00:14 | not only feel tight but
sound very closed as well.
| | 00:18 | Rooms with low ceilings can also be a problem
with loud singers as they can cause the room
| | 00:22 | to ring at certain lower mid-range frequencies.
| | 00:25 | That's why it's important to move the
vocalist in to the biggest part of the studio when
| | 00:29 | recording a vocal overdub.
| | 00:31 | All vocals and instruments sound best when
there is some space for the sound to develop.
| | 00:35 | If the room sounds too big, and has too much
ambience place some screens or gobos around the vocal.
| | 00:41 | The right distance is 4 or 5 feet on each
side of the singer or a little longer than
| | 00:45 | the singer can touch with his arms outstretched.
| | 00:48 | The bottom line is the more
space the better a vocal will sound.
| | 00:53 |
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| Recording a scratch vocal| 00:00 | While experienced studio players can cut a
great track without a guide or scratch vocal
| | 00:05 | almost every player will prefer to
have one to play against when tracking.
| | 00:09 | In this video, I'll show you some of
the tricks associated with scratch vocals.
| | 00:13 | The scratch vocal not only access a queue
for a certain sections of the song but adds to the
| | 00:18 | groove and feel that helps the
musicians perform at their best when tracking.
| | 00:22 | One of the other advantages is that the lead
singer can also give directions and reminders to
| | 00:26 | the players as the song progresses.
(music playing)
| | 00:33 | There are no particular rules for a scratch
vocal, some vocalist don't mind being in vocal
| | 00:38 | booth while performing a scratch vocal but
almost all vocalist want to able to see all
| | 00:42 | the players during a song, as they dislike
feeling disconnected from the rest of the band.
| | 00:47 | (music playing)
| | 00:52 | Don't take a scratch vocal lightly and
believe that it will be redone at a later time under
| | 00:56 | better conditions because sometimes a little bit
of magic happens that can't be recaptured later.
| | 01:01 | Treat this vocal seriously because you never
know when you might catch lightning in a bottle.
| | 01:05 | (music playing)
| | 01:20 |
| | Collapse this transcript |
| Exploring vocal mic placement| 00:00 | Just putting a microphone in front of a
vocalist and having them sing doesn't automatically
| | 00:04 | mean that it will sound good.
| | 00:05 | There is actually a lot of technique involved, and
that's what I'm going to show us you in this video.
| | 00:11 | Before you place the microphone you should
remember that the best mic in the house won't
| | 00:14 | necessarily get the best vocal sound.
| | 00:16 | So don't be afraid to
experiment with different mics.
| | 00:19 | Another thing to remember is a decoupling
the stand from the floor will help get rid
| | 00:23 | of many unwanted low
frequency rumbles that occur.
| | 00:26 | These include truck traffic, machinery being
used down the street, footsteps, and a multitude
| | 00:31 | of things that are lower in
frequency than normal hearing.
| | 00:35 | Just place the stand on a couple of mouse pads
or at least on a rug for an inexpensive solution.
| | 00:40 | One of the things that you are trying to
do with mic placement is eliminate pops, lips
| | 00:44 | smacks, and breath blasts.
Here's how to do that.
| | 00:47 | When you place the mic even with the
vocalist lips, you are likely to get breath blasts
| | 00:52 | because the vocalist's mouth is
pointed directly at the mic capsule.
| | 00:55 | (music playing)
| | 01:08 | You can move the vocalist back from the mic
a bit to decrease these pops, but there's a
| | 01:11 | better way to do it.
| | 01:13 | Place the mic even with the vocalist's eyes
and point it down towards the lips, you have seen
| | 01:17 | this technique before in studio photos for
the 50s and 60s and the reason why they used
| | 01:21 | to back then is because it worked.
(music playing)
| | 01:36 | Pop filters or screens are designed to
eliminate the blast of wind when the vocalist sings
| | 01:40 | Ps and Bs. Another thing to try is to
change the pick-up pattern to two omni-directional,
| | 01:46 | or change the mic to one with an omni pattern.
This eliminates the proximity effect and lessens
| | 01:51 | the possibility of it happening.
(music playing)
| | 02:06 | Remember, there is no rule that says
that you have to use a directional mic.
| | 02:11 | In fact, I used to get hired a lot just
for the vocal sound that I got.
| | 02:14 | My secret weapon was a mic
set to omni-directional.
| | 02:16 | Finally, some vocalists are very active when
they sing and will drift closer to, then further
| | 02:22 | away from the mic creating some shifts in level.
| | 02:25 | An easy way to have the vocalist gauge the
distance from the mic is by hand lengths.
| | 02:29 | An open hand is approximately
8inches, while a fist is about 4inches.
| | 02:33 | (music playing)
| | 02:46 | By saying, stay a hand away, the vocalist can
easily judge distance and usually doesn't forget.
| | 02:51 | (music playing)
| | 02:59 |
| | Collapse this transcript |
| Using a limiter on vocals| 00:00 | On many songs, the vocal can be very dynamic
and needs to be controlled in order to keep from
| | 00:05 | overloading somewhere in the signal chain.
| | 00:08 | In this video, I am going to for show you how to
use a limiter to keep that vocal under control.
| | 00:12 | The reason why we are inserting a limiter
during tracking is mostly to avoid overload
| | 00:17 | and not for the sound that it imparts,
that's better done during the mix down stage.
| | 00:21 | So feel free to skip this section
if you feel uncomfortable with it.
| | 00:25 | Remember that if you're using a plug-in, it
might cause a delay between what the vocalists
| | 00:29 | singing, and when she's hearing it in the phones.
| | 00:32 | The first thing to do is insert a hardware
compressor into the signal chain either on
| | 00:36 | an insert in the consular preamp or
placed between the preamp and DAW input.
| | 00:41 | Set the attack control to its lowest setting
and the release control to its fastest, then
| | 00:45 | set the ratio at about 10 to 1 and raise the
Threshold and tell there is a few dB of limiting
| | 00:50 | on the vocal peaks.
| | 00:51 | If the vocal has a lot of dynamics, decrease
the attack time making it faster, this means
| | 00:57 | that it will catch more of the peaks
and the amount of limiting will increase.
| | 01:00 | Don't go beyond 5 or 6 dB because adding
too much limiting at this point can change the
| | 01:04 | sound of the vocal this can't be
undone later, so remember that less is more.
| | 01:09 | Finally, increase the release time to about
half way to keep the vocal strong and steady.
| | 01:14 | (music playing)
| | 01:33 | A limiter with the release time set too fast can cause a
sound to pump which is very undesirable on a vocal.
| | 01:40 | Limiting will cause the level to drop so set
the output control of the compressors so that
| | 01:44 | the record level is about -10db on the meters
(music playing)
| | 01:49 |
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| Recording in the control room| 00:00 | While it seems like recording blasphemy,
many vocalists hate headphones, and would much
| | 00:04 | rather sing in the control room with a
handheld stage mic like the Shure SM58.
| | 00:09 | This might not win you any high fidelity
awards for vocal sound, but a great performance will
| | 00:13 | trump audio quality any day.
Let's look at how it's done.
| | 00:17 | Most stage mics, while certainly not as hi-fi
is a multi-thousand dollar vintage Neumann,
| | 00:22 | sound better than you think when routed through
a high-quality microphone preamp and certainly
| | 00:26 | good enough for just
about any recording purpose.
| | 00:29 | And advantage of recording with the stage
mic in the control room or in front of your
| | 00:32 | speakers is that it has a much higher immunity to
feedback than a high-quality condenser mic.
| | 00:38 | So you can have the control room
under level of a little higher.
| | 00:41 | Make sure that the vocalist is facing
the monitors for the best rejection.
| | 00:44 | (music playing)
Most studio mics don't work well for handheld use.
| | 00:48 | That's because of their handing noise and
the fact that singing in to one with their
| | 00:51 | crest up against the singer's lips will
result in a series of extreme pops and distortion.
| | 00:56 | You can still make it work by wrapping the
mic in some foam rubber or sonex, putting
| | 01:00 | a pop filter in the capsule head, or you
are much better off to just use the tried and
| | 01:04 | true stage mic and hope for the best.
(music playing)
| | 01:17 | So that's how you record a vocal in the
control room, using a stage mic can give you a lot more
| | 01:21 | monitor level before feedback and
probably won't sound all that bad.
| | 01:25 | If you must use a studio mic as a handheld be
sure to wrap it in foam rubber or sonex to
| | 01:30 | decrease the handling nose and
don't forget to use a pop filter.
| | 01:35 |
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| Setting up the vocal headphone mix| 00:00 | One of the most important aspects of getting a
great performance from a vocalist is the headphone mix.
| | 00:05 | In this video, I'll show you how to
set up a mix that the vocalist will love.
| | 00:09 | First, set the level of the kick
drum, snare, and bass high in the mix.
| | 00:14 | (music playing)
| | 00:18 | This will ensure that the singer can feel
the rhythm of the song to be able to stay
| | 00:21 | in the pocket and hear the
fundamental key of the song to stay in pitch.
| | 00:25 | Next, add a chordal instrument like a guitar
or piano at a level that's not quite as loud
| | 00:32 | as the bass and drums.
| | 00:40 | Make sure that you don't add anything
that's modulated with a chorus or flanger since
| | 00:44 | that can confuse the singer and
cause him to search for the pitch.
| | 00:48 | If necessary just give it a mono
instrument feed without the chorus.
| | 00:51 | Put all the other instruments in the mix at a
level slightly below the first three instruments.
| | 00:57 | Only increase when if the singer asks for it.
| | 01:05 | If the singer is using a personal mixer, put
the vocal into the stereo mix at a level slightly
| | 01:10 | below the bass and drums.
| | 01:18 | The singer can raise it to the
level where she is comfortable.
| | 01:26 | If the singer is using a personal headphone
mixer, and you need to have her sing harder,
| | 01:30 | louder, or more aggressively, turn down the
vocal track in the phones a bit or turn up
| | 01:34 | the backing tracks.
| | 01:35 | If you need to have the singer sing softer
or more intimately, turn the singer's track
| | 01:40 | up in the phones or turn
down the backing tracks.
| | 01:43 | And finally, adding a touch of reverb or
delay to the vocal can help the singer feel more
| | 01:47 | comfortable with the headphones.
(music playing)
| | 02:05 | To sum it all up, a vocalist's performance
is based on how well she hears herself, create
| | 02:09 | a mix around the rhythm of the fundamental
chords of the song, and it'll be easier for
| | 02:13 | her to stay in the pocket and on pitch.
(music playing)
| | 02:18 |
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| Doubling the vocal| 00:00 | The technique of doubling the lead vocal has been used
for as long as there has been multi-track recorders.
| | 00:05 | The Beatles did it way back when they were
using only four track magnetic tape, and really
| | 00:09 | didn't have a track to spare, which
tells you how powerful the tool can be.
| | 00:13 | Let's take a look at some of the
doubling tricks that you can use.
| | 00:17 | Doubling a vocal means having the singer sing the exact
same line or phrase twice and playing back both parts.
| | 00:23 | It works for two reasons.
| | 00:24 | It makes a vocal sound stronger, and
it masks any pitch inconsistencies.
| | 00:29 | To get a really tight double track or strengthen
the primary vocal track, have the singer listen
| | 00:34 | to the song a section at a time, then
try to sing exactly the same nuances.
| | 00:38 | Keep the original part a bit higher in the headphones,
so the vocalist can hear it when he or she is off.
| | 00:43 | (music playing)
| | 00:56 | Every time she varies from the part, stop and have
the vocalist re-sing it and punch only that part in.
| | 01:01 | (music playing)
| | 01:11 | If the singer has some pitch problems,
sometimes it's best to hear a playback without hearing
| | 01:15 | the previous performance, have him or her sing a
second vocal without hearing the main vocal track.
| | 01:20 | The inconsistencies between the tracks
will make you forget about the pitch.
| | 01:24 | (music playing)
| | 01:44 | While the doubling technique can work for a
great number of vocalists, sometimes it just
| | 01:48 | doesn't sound good, if both vocal
tracks are played at the same level.
| | 01:51 | (music playing)
| | 02:00 | Try adding the second vocal at 6-10 dB
less than the track you deemed the strongest.
| | 02:04 | This will add a bit of support to an
otherwise weak vocal without sounding double.
| | 02:09 | (music playing)
| | 02:17 | That's how we have a singer
successfully double track a vocal.
| | 02:20 | To get a close double track, make sure the singer
listens to the lead vocal first, then tries to match it.
| | 02:26 | For a loose double track to cover a pitch
problem, have the singer double the part without
| | 02:30 | listening to the lead vocal first.
(music playing)
| | 02:38 |
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| Getting the best from a singer| 00:00 | The easiest way to get the best performance out
of a singer is to make the environment comfortable.
| | 00:05 | Sometimes even a seasoned pro can't do her
best unless the conditions are just right.
| | 00:10 | So consider some of the following
suggestions before entering a vocal session.
| | 00:14 | Ask the vocalist what
kind of lighting they prefer.
| | 00:17 | Most singers prefer the lights lower in the
studio when performing, but ask them first.
| | 00:21 | A comfortable temperature is
important to a good performance.
| | 00:25 | Ask them if they like it raised or lowered.
| | 00:27 | Try lowering the lights in the
control room, so they can't see you.
| | 00:31 | Some people think that you're in there judging
them when you might be talking about something
| | 00:34 | completely different.
Make sure they have something to drink.
| | 00:38 | Ask them whether they prefer warm water, hot
tea, or something else before the session begins.
| | 00:43 | Keep talking with the vocalist between
takes, leave the talkback on if possible.
| | 00:48 | Long periods of silence from the
control room are a mood killer.
| | 00:52 | If the take wasn't good for whatever reason,
explain what was wrong in a kind and gentle
| | 00:56 | way, something like that was really good,
but I think you can do it even better.
| | 01:01 | The pitch was a little sharp, this goes for
just about any overdub, since players generally
| | 01:06 | like to know what was wrong with the take, rather
than be given a to do it again, blanket statement.
| | 01:11 | Always keep smiling, it helps to
keep the vocalist calm and at ease.
| | 01:16 |
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| Exploring background vocal mic placement| 00:00 | If the singer is doing all of her own
background vocals, you can treat every vocal as a lead
| | 00:05 | vocal, but if you have multiple vocalists to
record, your approach needs to be different.
| | 00:09 | Here are a few tricks to help
that background vocal sound great.
| | 00:13 | If you have a number of singers that really
blend well together, or you are doing a gang
| | 00:17 | vocal, you might want them all
to sing on the same microphone.
| | 00:20 | The following method works
well with up to three vocalists.
| | 00:24 | Position the vocalists around the mic, being
careful not to get them too far to the sides,
| | 00:29 | since they may end up being quieter
and have less definition if that happens.
| | 00:33 | Set the trim and fader so the level reaches -10dB
on the meter and have the vocalists sing their part.
| | 00:39 | (music playing)
| | 00:53 | Set the balance of the vocalist by either
moving the louder ones to step backwards or
| | 00:57 | the quieter ones a step forward, keep moving
them by single step increments until the correct
| | 01:02 | vocal balance is achieved.
(music playing)
| | 01:17 | When that balance is struck, mark the floor
where each vocalist is standing with masking
| | 01:22 | or console tape, so they
remember their positions.
| | 01:24 | If the singers have trouble blending or
singing in tune, ask them to remove one side of their
| | 01:29 | headphones or at least put
it slightly back on the ear.
| | 01:33 | Sometimes this helps them sing in tune, since then
they can then hear the blend acoustically as well.
| | 01:38 | Replace the directional mic with one that's
Omni, it might sound better and help the vocalist
| | 01:42 | to be more balanced.
| | 01:44 | Usually if you have more than three vocalists,
it's best to use an Omni mic and have the
| | 01:48 | vocalists stand all around it.
| | 01:49 | (music playing)
| | 02:03 | If the lead singer is singing the background
parts or as part of the background vocal on
| | 02:07 | ensemble, try not to use the same mic that the
lead vocals are recorded on, since this will
| | 02:12 | cause a build up of any
peaks in the singer's voice.
| | 02:15 | Always try to do something a
little different on each track.
| | 02:17 | A different mic, mic preamp, room, singer,
or distance from the mic will all help to
| | 02:24 | make this sound bigger.
| | 02:25 | Also, large diaphragm cardioid condenser mics
are usually used for background vocals, because
| | 02:30 | they combine a slight mid range scoop, along
with the slight lift in the upper frequency
| | 02:34 | ranges, it helps the background vocals sit
better in the mix against the lead vocal.
| | 02:39 | (music playing)
| | 02:53 |
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| Layering background vocals| 00:00 | Usually only a single
background vocal track is not enough.
| | 00:03 | So you want to either double them
or add additional harmony parts.
| | 00:07 | Layering additional background tracks can create a
lot more depth and realism if you use this trick.
| | 00:12 | After the first background vocal is recorded, have each
of the vocalist take one step backwards away from the mic.
| | 00:19 | Have them sing the part, but adjust the level so the
meter reads the same as the previous vocal recording.
| | 00:24 | (music playing)
| | 00:42 | Pan each background track left and right. For
for each additional part, have the vocalist
| | 00:47 | take another step backwards and readjust the
volume so it's about the same as the first track.
| | 00:51 | (music playing)
| | 00:56 |
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| | Recording the lead vocal part |
|
9. Recording the Acoustic PianoRecording a solo grand piano with one mic| 00:00 | The acoustic piano is one of the most
difficult instruments to record well, because of the
| | 00:04 | extreme range of the instrument and the fact
that the sound doesn't come from one place.
| | 00:08 | But if the piano is the only instrument being
recorded, it can be treated like a single sound source.
| | 00:14 | In this video, I'll show you how to record a
solo acoustic piano simply and easily using
| | 00:18 | only one microphone, because the transient
response of the piano is so great, Condenser
| | 00:23 | or Ribbon mics are usually used.
| | 00:26 | Don't be afraid to experiment though, since the
right mic position will beat the right mic any day.
| | 00:31 | Place a Directional mic aimed at the
middle of the rounded part of the piano, about 6
| | 00:35 | feet away from the piano.
Make sure to aim it at the lid.
| | 00:39 | Speaking of the lid, try it at different
heights, as the sound changes at each position.
| | 00:43 | (music playing)
| | 01:01 | If there is not enough ambiance, move the
mic back and up to keep it at the same angle.
| | 01:06 | (music playing)
| | 01:33 | Another technique is to place a mic just behind the
piano player, above his head and aimed at the strings.
| | 01:39 | This provides basically the same
sound that the player is hearing.
| | 01:42 | (music playing)
| | 01:56 |
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| Recording a solo grand piano in stereo| 00:00 | Nothing sounds better than a
solo grand piano in stereo.
| | 00:04 | It's spacious and full, and sounds so
much like the fabulous instrument that it is.
| | 00:09 | Here's a tried and true method
that works well in most situations.
| | 00:12 | This method of recording the grand in stereo
requires a pair of identical mics set in an
| | 00:17 | X-Y configuration, as talked about in
the movie on recording acoustic guitars.
| | 00:22 | Simply place this configuration exactly
where you place the single piano mic, as seen in
| | 00:25 | the previous movie, which is about 6 feet
away from the rounded cut out of the piano.
| | 00:30 | (music playing)
| | 00:48 | Once again, if there's not enough ambiance, move
the mics back and up, to keep it with the same angle.
| | 01:02 |
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| Close miking a grand piano with one mic| 00:00 | When you're recording the piano with other
players in the room, you'll have to resort
| | 00:04 | to close miking to reduce
leakage from other instruments.
| | 00:07 | Here's a way to do it with just one mic.
| | 00:10 | Place a Directional mic about 18 inches above the
center of the harp where the high and low strings cross.
| | 00:15 | What we're trying to capture is an even
balance of all the notes in the piano.
| | 00:19 | (music playing)
| | 00:40 | You can try lowering the mic, and while it
might sound brighter, you won't pick up the
| | 00:44 | highest or the lowest notes.
| | 00:46 | That might be okay, if the song only
requires the mid range of the piano though.
| | 00:50 | Remember that when you lower the mic close to
the strings, you're likely to pick up unwanted
| | 00:54 | pedal and hammer sounds, in
addition to the sounds of the piano.
| | 00:57 | But you'll also capture
brighter and tighter sound.
| | 01:00 | (music playing)
| | 01:13 | All pianos have a different frequency balance,
so you might have to move the mic a foot or
| | 01:17 | so towards the upper or lower strings,
in order to obtain the proper balance.
| | 01:22 | Sometimes the mic you choose
just isn't right for the piano.
| | 01:25 | Try replacing it with another directional
mic to see if the sound fits the track better.
| | 01:29 | (music playing)
| | 01:50 | Finally, this is another case where the Omni
directional mic might work better than the directional one.
| | 01:55 | Replace the previous mic with an
omni-directional and see how it sounds.
| | 02:00 | (music playing)
| | 02:20 | Remember that the best way to evaluate if
the mic and the placement are correct is by
| | 02:24 | listening to the piano with the other
instruments in the track if possible.
| | 02:27 | A great solo piano sound doesn't do you
much good if it doesn't fit into the track.
| | 02:32 | (music playing)
| | 02:46 | Sum it up, start with the Directional mic
about 18 inches above the point of the piano,
| | 02:50 | where the high low strings cross.
| | 02:52 | Move the mic to either side to adjust the
frequency balance, don't be afraid to try
| | 02:56 | a different mic or even an omni-directional
mic to see if the sound fits better in the track.
| | 03:02 | (music playing)
| | 03:07 |
| | Collapse this transcript |
| Close miking a grand piano with two mics: Method one| 00:00 | A couple of advantages of using two mics to
close mic a grand piano is that you get better
| | 00:04 | coverage of all the strings, and
you can record it in stereo as well.
| | 00:09 | In this video I'll show you a
basic method that works really well.
| | 00:12 | The easiest way to get a stereo spread on
the piano is to replace our single mic method
| | 00:16 | in the previous movie, with the
stereo pair in an X-Y configuration.
| | 00:20 | Remember that you need
identical mics for this to work.
| | 00:24 | Place the mics about 18 inches over the
place where the high and low strings cross.
| | 00:28 | If you need a brighter sound,
move the mics closer to the strings.
| | 00:32 | If you need more body, move the mics up a bit.
(music playing)
| | 00:53 | If you're not hearing all the high and low
notes evenly, spread the angle of the mics
| | 00:57 | out a bit or move both mics
left or right on the soundboard.
| | 01:03 | (music playing)
| | 01:19 | So that's the way to use
two mics to mike a piano.
| | 01:22 | Use two identical mics in an X-Y configuration
placed over the center of the soundboard where
| | 01:27 | the high and low strings meet.
| | 01:29 | Spread the mics for a greater stereo image
and raise or lower them for either more or less body.
| | 01:33 | (music playing)
| | 01:38 |
| | Collapse this transcript |
| Close miking a grand piano with two mics: Method two| 00:00 | There's another way to mike
a grand piano with two mics.
| | 00:03 | In fact, this method is used at least as
often as what you saw in the previous move.
| | 00:08 | Here's how to do it.
| | 00:09 | Place a mic aimed at the center of the
back of high strings and another at the center
| | 00:13 | of the back of low strings.
| | 00:15 | Although it sounds better with identical
mics, it's not required in this technique.
| | 00:19 | (music playing)
| | 00:38 | Move each mic as needed to the left or
right to get the best balance and stereo image.
| | 00:43 | (music playing)
| | 01:05 | This method requires some experimentation,
but can result in a very pleasing sound that
| | 01:09 | can be easily changed to fit the track.
(music playing)
| | 01:13 |
| | Collapse this transcript |
| | Recording the piano part |
|
10. Recording HornsFinding the right placement in the room for horns| 00:00 | If you've watched all the movies in this
course up to this point, you've probably realized
| | 00:04 | how important the room is when recording
and how we always want to find the best place
| | 00:08 | in the room to record each instrument.
| | 00:11 | Horns are no different, but you have to use a different
approach to find that one best place as you'll see in this movie.
| | 00:16 | Many rooms are not well suited for horn
recording, in a relatively dead room that has carpeting
| | 00:21 | on the floor or soft walls or ceilings, the
sound of the room always seems to be at the
| | 00:26 | same level, regardless of how
loud or soft the horns play.
| | 00:30 | As a result, they feel
like they have to work harder.
| | 00:33 | One way to overcome this is to move the
players a few steps closer to the wall or glass.
| | 00:38 | That way they can get some reflections and
therefore hear themselves better and won't over blow.
| | 00:42 | One of the interesting things about all horn
players is that when they warm they inevitably
| | 00:46 | find the spot in the room
where the horn sounds best to them.
| | 00:49 | Try placing the player and the mic there first.
| | 00:51 | Since they are already comfortable there and will
play better because the room reflections seem natural.
| | 00:57 | The room is more important to a horn
player, than for most other instruments.
| | 01:02 | Try to take advantage of the reflective part of
the room to make sure they can hear themselves
| | 01:06 | so they don't over blow.
(music playing)
| | 01:11 |
| | Collapse this transcript |
| Recording a solo sax: Technique one| 00:00 | While your first inclination might be to place
the mic on the bell of a saxophone, that position
| | 00:05 | can sound very edgy and harsh.
| | 00:07 | The sound at the side pads generally radiates a more
woody sort of tone that's usually a lot more pleasing.
| | 00:13 | While it's natural to believe that the sound
of the saxophone comes mainly from the bell,
| | 00:16 | it actually comes from every hole of the
instrument at the same time, but in totally different
| | 00:20 | proportions for every note.
| | 00:22 | With that in mind, in this movie we'll
look at one of the ways to record a solo sax.
| | 00:28 | Place a mic about 18-24 inches away from the
player's right side of the instrument, about
| | 00:32 | halfway up the keys, and
then slightly down at the bell.
| | 00:36 | Have the sax player play the
song that you'll be recording.
| | 00:39 | (music playing)
| | 00:49 | Try moving the mic about 6 inches
closer to the sax for a tighter sound.
| | 00:53 | The problem here is that you might pick
up some of the valve clicking as well.
| | 00:57 | (music playing)
| | 01:12 | If you move the mic away from the sax,
you'll pick up more of the room ambience.
| | 01:17 | (music playing)
| | 01:32 | After you've found the place that sounds the best,
replace the first mic with another directional
| | 01:35 | mic to see if it sounds better.
| | 01:37 | Dynamic, ribbon, and condenser mics all
work well on saxes, although sometimes a ribbon
| | 01:42 | can be a particularly good choice if the
sax's sound is honky, since the mellowness of the
| | 01:46 | ribbon combats the edginess.
| | 01:47 | (music playing)
| | 01:57 | Now replace the directional mic with
one with an omni-directional pattern.
| | 02:01 | (music playing)
| | 02:17 | Many engineers choose to mic the bell of the
sax, but the result can be harsh and honky,
| | 02:21 | with none of the reedy and wooden tone
that makes up the sound of the instrument.
| | 02:24 | Let's give it a listen.
(music playing)
| | 02:32 | In the end, you want to place the mic where
the sax has the best combination of frequencies
| | 02:36 | and the best balance of direct ambient sound.
| | 02:41 |
| | Collapse this transcript |
| Recording a solo sax: Technique two| 00:00 | Sometimes using two mics on the sax can provide
a more balanced and pleasing sound, especially
| | 00:05 | if the player will be
playing a lot of high notes.
| | 00:07 | In this video, I'm going to
show you how to do just that.
| | 00:11 | The notes at the top of the instrument range
come out of the upper left-hand side of the sax.
| | 00:15 | Altissimo notes and high-pitched screams come
out of the upper front and middle tone holes.
| | 00:20 | These are usually much
louder than most other notes.
| | 00:23 | That's why adding a second mic can not only
bring a nice balance to the recording, but
| | 00:27 | a lot more realism as well.
| | 00:29 | Place a small diaphragm condenser directly in
front of the sax at a distance of 12-16 inches.
| | 00:35 | Here is what that mic sounds like by itself.
| | 00:38 | (music playing)
| | 00:51 | Now place a second mic at the top of the sax,
up on the left of the instrument, near the reed.
| | 00:56 | Since the sound coming from this placement
could be a bit harsh, a mellower mic, like
| | 01:01 | a ribbon, might work better.
Here is what that sounds like by itself.
| | 01:05 | (music playing)
| | 01:13 | Balance the sound between
both mics to get the ideal blend.
| | 01:17 | (music playing)
| | 01:31 | Move the mics back slightly for more room
ambience and to decrease the valve clicks.
| | 01:36 | (music playing)
| | 01:50 | So that's how to record a sax with
two mics for a more realistic sound.
| | 01:55 | (music playing)
| | 02:01 | Place the mic about 18
inches directly from the sax.
| | 02:04 | Then add a second mic up on the
left of the instrument near the reed.
| | 02:08 | Move the mics back and up to get more
ambience and to decrease the valve click.
| | 02:12 | (music playing)
| | 02:20 |
| | Collapse this transcript |
| Recording a solo brass instrument| 00:00 | We all know that most of the sound from
a brass instrument comes from its bell.
| | 00:05 | That said, there is definitely a correct
way to mic it if you want it to sound natural.
| | 00:09 | In this video, I'm going to show
you how a-list engineers do it.
| | 00:12 | First of all, most brass instruments are edgy and
benefit greatly from the mellowness of a ribbon mic.
| | 00:18 | So in this movie we're going
to start by using a Royer R-121.
| | 00:21 | If the mic is aimed directly at the bell from
a close distance, every bit of the spit, excess
| | 00:27 | tongue noise, air leaks, and all the other
nasties that every brass player occasionally
| | 00:32 | produces is much more apparent.
(music playing)
| | 00:53 | Backing up the mic a bit can result in a
better tone without any of those noises.
| | 00:57 | Place the mic about two feet away from the
bell of the horn, but a bit above the bell
| | 01:02 | and aim towards the mouthpiece.
(music playing)
| | 01:23 | Now let's try a condenser mic
so you can hear the difference.
| | 01:27 | (music playing)
| | 01:47 | Now let's try a dynamic mic
so you can hear the difference.
| | 01:52 | (music playing)
| | 02:11 | If you want to capture more of the room, move the mic
back so it's about 4 feet from the bell of the horn.
| | 02:16 | (music playing)
| | 02:36 | Remember, brass instruments can sound very
harsh by nature, so try to use a nice mellow
| | 02:40 | mic to counteract that sound.
(music playing)
| | 02:59 | Place the mic about two feet away, slightly
above the bell and point it down at the mouthpiece.
| | 03:03 | If you'd like more of the room ambience, place
the mic about 4 feet away from the instrument.
| | 03:09 | (music playing)
| | 03:17 |
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| Recording a horn section: Technique one| 00:00 | Recording a horn section is a lot
different from recording just a single instrument.
| | 00:04 | The temptation is to place a mic on every
instrument, but this may not be an effective
| | 00:08 | solution, since you may run out of mics or
inputs, and the chances of having our old
| | 00:12 | nemesis phase shift appear become a lot greater.
| | 00:15 | In this movie I'm going to show you an approach
to miking a horn section that works really well.
| | 00:19 | Sometimes it's best to record a section with
as few mics as possible, and it's a lot easier
| | 00:24 | to do than you might think, although the approach
is different in the studio from a live performance.
| | 00:28 | Where two or three players of the same family
of instruments, which means brass instruments
| | 00:33 | like trumpets and trombones, or all saxes,
place the players about 3 feet in front of
| | 00:37 | a single directional mic.
| | 00:40 | (music playing)
| | 00:58 | Balance the section by moving the softer horns
closer to the mic and the louder ones farther away.
| | 01:03 | Sometimes an omni can provide a
lot better balance. Have a listen.
| | 01:07 | (music playing)
| | 01:26 | If the section has more than three players, have
them position in a circle around an omni-directional mic.
| | 01:31 | Balance the section by moving the softer horns
closer to the mic and the louder ones farther away.
| | 01:36 | You can try the same thing with the mic with
the Figure 8 directional pattern, like what
| | 01:40 | you find from a typical ribbon mic.
| | 01:42 | That's how to record a horn
section with a single mic.
| | 01:46 | (music playing)
| | 02:01 | Place the players about 3 feet from a
directional mic and move each of them backwards
| | 02:05 | or forwards to attain the correct balance.
| | 02:07 | For more players, use either an omni or Figure 8
mic and place the players around the mic in a circle.
| | 02:14 | (music playing)
| | 02:26 |
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| Recording a horn section: Technique two| 00:00 | When doing a live recording, or when you have
either a lot of players and not enough mics,
| | 00:05 | you can use this tried and true
method of horn section recording.
| | 00:08 | In this method, we're going to use a single
directional mic in between every two players
| | 00:12 | of the same family of instruments.
| | 00:14 | That means a mic for every two brass instruments, like
trumpets and trombones, and another for every two saxes.
| | 00:21 | Balance the level between the players by having
one of them move closer or further away from the mic.
| | 00:26 | Don't forget to try different types of
microphones to get the right sound for the track.
| | 00:31 |
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| | Recording the horn section part |
|
11. Recording Acoustic String InstrumentsThe key to miking any acoustic instrument| 00:00 | No matter what kind of acoustic string
instrument, they all have the same qualities that make
| | 00:04 | your miking approach basically the same.
| | 00:07 | In this video, I'm going to show you the
key to how a string instrument can be miked.
| | 00:11 | All string instruments radiate sound omni-directionally,
but that said, brilliance of tone comes from
| | 00:16 | the top of the instrument.
| | 00:18 | That's why it's always better if the mic is
placed where it can see the top of the instrument.
| | 00:22 | Whether you're miking a fiddle or solo violin,
viola or cello, the approach is basically the same.
| | 00:28 | Get the mic further back from the instrument
than you think you should, because you need
| | 00:31 | space to capture the sound
that's projected from the instrument.
| | 00:35 | Also remember that the closer the mic is, the
more likely it will pick up things like bow
| | 00:39 | noise and chair movement.
| | 00:41 | String instruments also respond very well to
condenser microphones, although some particularly
| | 00:45 | screechy instruments can
benefit greatly from a ribbon mic.
| | 00:49 | To sum things up, all string instruments
radiate sound omni-directionally, but much of their
| | 00:53 | tone comes from the top.
| | 00:55 | Always place the mic a little further away
than you think is necessary so you can minimize
| | 00:59 | the pick up of any bow noise or chair movement.
[ | | 01:03 |
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| Recording an acoustic string instrument| 00:00 | Miking a fiddle, violin, or viola is
pretty easy when you know the secret, and that's
| | 00:04 | what I'm going to show you in this video.
| | 00:07 | Place a directional condenser mic pointed
at where the bow hits the strings, but tilt
| | 00:11 | it a bit towards the neck, at
a distance of about 18 inches.
| | 00:15 | (music playing)
| | 00:32 | Move the mic back a foot or so if you want to hear
more of the room or less of the bow or chair noise.
| | 00:39 | (music playing)
| | 00:57 | After you've found the place that sounds the
best, replace the mic with another directional
| | 01:01 | mic, but this time try dynamic.
Let's hear what it sounds like.
| | 01:05 | (music playing)
| | 01:22 | Now replace the directional mic with
one with an omni-directional pattern.
| | 01:26 | Listen to what it sounds like.
| | 01:30 | (music playing)
| | 01:47 | Choose the mic that gives you the best sound
for the track, then place it where the instrument
| | 01:51 | has the best combination of frequencies and
the best balance of direct or ambient sound.
| | 01:55 | That's how we mic a fiddle, violin, or viola.
| | 01:58 | Start with the directional mic about 18
inches from where the bow hits the strings.
| | 02:02 | Move the mic back to capture more of the room
ambiance or decrease the bow or chair noise.
| | 02:07 | Finally, make sure you choose a mic
that best suits the instrument's sound.
| | 02:14 | (music playing)
| | 02:23 |
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| Recording a dobro| 00:00 | Recording a resonator guitar is a little
different than your standard steel or nylon-stringed
| | 00:04 | instrument because of the basic
construction of the instrument.
| | 00:08 | In this video, I'll show you now to
mike it up so your recording sounds great.
| | 00:12 | The sound of a resonator comes from not
only the middle cone and bridge, but also from
| | 00:16 | the body cavity and any sound holes on the top.
| | 00:19 | The very nature of a resonator is to provide
additional volume and a bright metallic sound
| | 00:23 | that cuts through other instrument.
| | 00:25 | The true sound of a resonator is often
best captured with at least two microphones.
| | 00:29 | But a single mic can still
get you that classis sound.
| | 00:32 | When using a single microphone, place it 6
inches or more from the cone, pointing at the bridge.
| | 00:38 | (music playing)
| | 00:50 | Just how bright you want the guitar to sound
will determine exactly where the mic faces.
| | 00:54 | For a slightly more open, roomy sound, move
the mic back a few inches where the instrument
| | 00:59 | tends to breathe a little better.
| | 01:01 | (music playing)
| | 01:12 | If you have a second mic, place it on one of the
guitars sound holes which provide a warmer tone.
| | 01:17 | By blending in the bright metallic cone bridge
mic with the body mic, you'll get a much fuller tone.
| | 01:23 | (music playing)
| | 01:35 |
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| | Recording the dobro part | | Recording the string section |
|
12. Recording PercussionRecording drum percussion| 00:00 | drum style percussion like congas and bongos
are fairly easy to record if you know the trick.
| | 00:06 | In this video, I'll show you the way to do it.
| | 00:08 | See the movie on drum Tuning
and use the same technique.
| | 00:12 | It's also important to have a good sounding
room at the hard floor for the best sound.
| | 00:16 | While dynamic mics are sometime used,
condenser mics are preferred because of their quick
| | 00:20 | reaction time in order to capture
the transients of the instrument.
| | 00:24 | If you're using a mic for each drum, place
each about 6 to 12 inches away aimed at the
| | 00:28 | middle of the head, just
like with toms on the drum kit.
| | 00:32 | For two drums like bongos or congas, place
the mic between the drums but aim it slightly
| | 00:37 | towards the drums that tuned higher.
(music playing)
| | 00:47 | Now replace the mic you're using with the
another directional mic, but this time use a dynamic.
| | 00:52 | Notice how it's just a little bit duller sound
may because it can't track the transients very well.
| | 00:57 | (music playing)
| | 01:04 | Now replace the directional mic with one that has
omni-directional pattern. Listen to how it now sounds.
| | 01:12 | (music playing)
| | 01:17 |
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| Recording hand percussion| 00:00 | Hand-held percussion-like shakers and
tambourines have become a big part of the rhythm section
| | 00:05 | as they're responsible for adding motion to the song.
Let's look at the best way to get a great sound.
| | 00:10 | There are a number of things to
consider when recording hand-held percussion.
| | 00:14 | First, the instrument must be moved when
playing, so close miking usually won't work because
| | 00:18 | of the wind blasts.
| | 00:20 | And second, the transient response of most hand-held
instruments puts added strain on the entire signal chain.
| | 00:26 | That's why it's always best record with extra headroom,
which means at the level meters read somewhat low.
| | 00:31 | Because of the transient response, ribbon
and condenser mics are normally used since
| | 00:35 | they have a response fast enough to
capture those short energy bursts.
| | 00:38 | Place the condenser mic set to an omni
pattern about 2 feet away at about head level but
| | 00:43 | pointing down at the instruments.
| | 00:45 | Omni works great for this purpose since any
air blast won't set off the proximity effect
| | 00:49 | that a directional mic has.
(music playing)
| | 00:56 | Make sure the recording level
meters read out -10db on peaks.
| | 01:02 | Move the mic to about 4 feet away if your hear wind
noise or want to capture some of the room ambience.
| | 01:07 | (music playing)
| | 01:14 |
| | Collapse this transcript |
|
|
13. Recording Electric InstrumentsRecording electric keyboards| 00:00 | Many keyboards have lush stereo
patches that sound great by themselves.
| | 00:05 | The trouble is that the sound can quickly get
buried in the mix as you add other keyboard sounds.
| | 00:10 | In this video, I'll show you the best way to
record keyboard so they fit better in the mix.
| | 00:14 | While some keyboards now come with XLR connectors
that allow you to plug directly into the console
| | 00:19 | or DAW with the standard mic cable, most
will require you to either use a direct box or
| | 00:24 | two for stereo or connect directly to the
instrument inputs on your console or preamp.
| | 00:29 | After you've plugged the keyboard into the
direct box and the output of the box into
| | 00:33 | a console, mic preamp, or DAW, flip the
ground switch to find the quietest setting.
| | 00:38 | Set the levels so the peaks never go
beyond -6 dB and generally stay around -10 dB.
| | 00:44 | (music playing)
| | 01:00 | Many of the newer keyboards have sounds that
are artificially made stereo using the built
| | 01:04 | in chorus effect, which doesn't always
translate when mixed together with other instruments.
| | 01:09 | Listen to both outputs of the keyboard
individually and choose the one that's not chorused.
| | 01:14 | You can tell which one that is because it
doesn't have the distinct warble that the
| | 01:17 | chorus channel has.
You can always make it stereo later when mixing.
| | 01:22 | (music playing)
| | 01:45 | Many new keyboards also have piano sounds
that are optimized for mono, which will sound
| | 01:49 | better than just one side of the stereo
output or the stereo blended into mono.
| | 01:53 | Look for a patch that's distinctly
marked as mono and use that.
| | 01:58 |
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| Recording acoustic instruments with a pickup| 00:00 | One of the by-products of using a built-in
pickup with an acoustic instrument is that
| | 00:04 | it allows the player to
record with the headphones.
| | 00:07 | That means that the player can record near
the monitor speakers or in the control room,
| | 00:11 | since the transfer feedback will be diminished.
(music playing)
| | 00:21 | After you've plugged the instrument into
the direct box in the output of the box into a
| | 00:25 | console, like preamp or DAW, flip the
ground switch to find the quietest setting.
| | 00:30 | (music playing)
| | 00:35 | The real secret to getting a great sounding
direct recording is compression and plenty of it.
| | 00:40 | Depending upon the type of pick up that's
being used, the output can be less than that
| | 00:44 | of a microphone and not as tonally balanced.
That's why it's important to always use some
| | 00:49 | compression to keep the
sound at relatively same level.
| | 00:52 | Plug a hardware compressor either into the
output of the mic preamp or an insert on the console.
| | 00:57 | If you use the compressor plug-in, it might
cause a delay in the sound to make it difficult
| | 01:01 | for the player to play to.
| | 01:02 | Start with the compressor set to a 4:1
compression ratio with the attack sets to its lowest
| | 01:07 | and the release set to its fastest.
(music playing)
| | 01:16 | Set the threshold so there's about 5 or 6
dB of compression happening. Depending upon
| | 01:22 | the type of rhythm that the musician is playing,
you may want to decrease the attack time so
| | 01:26 | the compressor reacts faster.
| | 01:28 | Be aware that the sound will begin
to dull if the attack is too fast.
| | 01:32 | Increase your release time so it
agrees with the pulse of the track.
| | 01:36 | Set the output control so that
the level stays around -10 dB.
| | 01:40 | (music playing)
| | 01:51 | That's how you record an instrument with a pickup.
| | 01:53 | Plug into a direct box and select the ground
switch position that has the least amount of noise,
| | 01:58 | add a hardware compressor to the signal chain
with the settings outline in this movie, then
| | 02:02 | lower the threshold control until there's about
5 dB or 6 dB of compression indicating on the meter.
| | 02:07 |
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| | Recording the synth part |
|
14. Recording in StereoUnderstanding the idea behind stereo recording| 00:00 | Until now, we've talked mostly about miking an
instrument in mono, but almost all instruments,
| | 00:05 | especially acoustic instruments in ensembles,
can benefit greatly from stereo miking.
| | 00:10 | Let's take a look at exactly what
stereo miking is and why we like the sound.
| | 00:14 | First of all, stereo miking is an improvement
over mono miking because it provides a sense
| | 00:20 | of the sound field from left to right, a sense
of depth or distance between each instrument,
| | 00:25 | a sense of distance from the instrument
or an ensemble from the listener, a sense
| | 00:30 | of the acoustic environment's ambiance.
| | 00:31 | This is accomplished by one of many stereo
miking techniques where you use two identical
| | 00:36 | mics in a particular configuration to record an instrument
in order to get a larger more realistic sound field.
| | 00:43 | (music playing)
| | 00:54 | You'll find that stereo miking is commonly
used when recording drum kits, pianos, string
| | 00:59 | sections, Organ Leslies,
and small and large ensembles.
| | 01:04 | In general, stereo recording can certainly be
applied to just about any recording situation.
| | 01:09 |
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| Using the X/Y configuration| 00:00 | The X-Y array is perhaps the easiest to set up and
the most widely used stereo miking configuration.
| | 00:06 | X-Y requires two identical directional micro
phones that are mounted so that their grills
| | 00:10 | are nearly touching, or with their
diaphragms angled apart in such a way that they aim
| | 00:15 | approximately towards the left and
right sides of the instrument or ensemble.
| | 00:19 | Unlike what you may think, the mics are not
crossed in an X pattern in this configuration.
| | 00:25 | In fact, the mic capsules are placed as closed
as possible to one another in a 90-degree angle.
| | 00:30 | The greater the angle between
microphones, the wider the stereo spread.
| | 00:35 | Let's hear this for ourselves by setting up two
identical cardioid mics in an X-Y configuration.
| | 00:41 | Set the trim or gain control and fader levels,
so both mics are at the same level, then pan
| | 00:46 | the channel hard left and hard right.
| | 00:48 | (music playing)
| | 01:00 | Just to hear what it sounds like, replace
one of the mics with a different cardioid model.
| | 01:04 | As you can hear, the stereo image
becomes very imbalanced and unnatural sounding.
| | 01:08 | (music playing)
| | 01:20 | Now go back to the original
configuration that has the identical mics.
| | 01:24 | Change the angel of the
mics from 90 degrees to 60.
| | 01:28 | Notice how the stereo image changes.
(music playing)
| | 01:42 | Now change the angle of the mics
from 60 degrees to around 120.
| | 01:46 | Once again, notice how the stereo image changes.
(music playing)
| | 02:00 | Return the mics to 90 degrees again.
| | 02:04 | Now we're going to pan both
mic channels to the center.
| | 02:07 | One of the great things about the X-Y configuration
is that it sounds pretty good when converted to mono.
| | 02:12 | That's not the case with some other
stereo configurations as you'll soon hear.
| | 02:24 | Setting up some stereo configurations like
X-Y can be a real pain, since it requires
| | 02:28 | a couple of heavy duty mic stands and a lot
of patience to place everything just right.
| | 02:34 | If your planning on doing a lot of stereo
miking, a worthwhile purchase is a stereo bar.
| | 02:39 | This allows you to use just one mic stand
and allows for a precision replacement of
| | 02:43 | a couple of mics in any configuration. That's how to
record in stereo using the X-Y miking configuration.
| | 02:50 | Walk around the room and find the
sweet spot and place the mics there.
| | 02:54 | Set the preamp and fader levels so each
channel is exactly the same and pan both hard left
| | 03:00 | and right, make the sound feel wider or more
narrower according to taste by changing the
| | 03:04 | angle of your mic capsules.
| | 03:06 | (music playing)
| | 03:19 |
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| Using the ORTF configuration| 00:00 | Another method of stereo recording is the
ORTF system, which uses two cardioid mics angled
| | 00:05 | at 110 degrees apart and placed
7 inches apart horizontally.
| | 00:10 | Let's look at how it works.
| | 00:12 | ORTF stands for the Office of French Radio
and Television Broadcasting and is sometimes
| | 00:16 | confused with the X-Y configuration.
| | 00:19 | This method tends to sound very accurate since
the capsules are as far as your ears and many
| | 00:24 | believe that it's the best sounding
of all stereo miking configurations.
| | 00:27 | To set up an ORTF configuration, walk around
the room and listen to where the instruments
| | 00:32 | or sound source sounds best.
| | 00:34 | Note the balance of the
instrument to the room and stereo image.
| | 00:38 | Now set up two identical cardioid mics in an ORTF
configuration where the middle of your head was.
| | 00:44 | Set the trim or gain control and fader
levels, so both mics are at the same level.
| | 00:49 | Now pan the channels hard left and hard right.
| | 00:51 | (music playing)
| | 01:11 | Just to hear what it sounds like, replace one
of the mics with a different cardioid model.
| | 01:16 | Notice how much the stereo image changes?
| | 01:20 | (music playing)
| | 01:39 | Let's use the identical mics again. Now we're
going to pan both mic channels to the center.
| | 01:44 | As you can hear, the sound
definitely changes when we switch to mono.
| | 01:49 | (music playing)
| | 01:52 | That's one of the reasons why X-Y is
used instead of ORTF if mono is a priority.
| | 01:59 | In mono it just sounds better.
| | 02:01 | To sum it all up, the ORTF stereo mic and
configuration is used because many believe
| | 02:06 | that it best emulates how we hear.
| | 02:09 | Walk around the room find the sweet spot,
then place the mics there, set the preamp
| | 02:13 | and fader levels so each channel is exactly
the same then, pan both hard left and right.
| | 02:19 | Finally, be careful if you are going to use
the track in mono because the sound might change.
| | 02:24 |
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| Using the spaced pair configuration| 00:00 | Here's another stereo microphone configuration
that's pretty easy to set up but is actually
| | 00:04 | a lot harder than it seems.
| | 00:06 | In this movie, I'm going to show you how to
set up and use the spaced pair configuration.
| | 00:11 | With the spaced pair technique, two
identical mics are played several feet apart aiming
| | 00:16 | straight ahead towards the
instrument or musical ensemble.
| | 00:19 | The mics can have any polar pattern, but an omni-
directional pattern is the most popular for this method.
| | 00:25 | The greater the space in between mics, the
greater the stereo spread, although it's usually
| | 00:29 | somewhere between 3 and 10 feet.
| | 00:33 | This may seem like such a simple setup, but
getting the spacing right is actually pretty difficult.
| | 00:38 | If the spacing between mics is too far apart,
the stereo separation seems exaggerated.
| | 00:43 | On the other hand, if the mics are too close
together, there will be an inadequate stereo spread.
| | 00:48 | To set this configuration up, first set up
two identical mics about 3 feet away from
| | 00:54 | instrument or ensemble and 9 feet apart.
| | 00:57 | Make sure that the instrument or
ensemble is in the middle of the two mics.
| | 01:01 | While a spaced pair is usually used when
recording an ensemble, you can use it for recording
| | 01:05 | single instruments as well, as we've
done here with an acoustic guitar.
| | 01:10 | Bring up the level of both
mics so they're identical.
| | 01:13 | Pan them hard left and hard right, have
the players or players play, and listen.
| | 01:18 | (music playing)
| | 01:38 | Pan each channel to the center
to check how it sounds in mono.
| | 01:41 | (music playing)
| | 02:02 | Sometimes combining both mics and mono causes
phase cancellations to occur at various frequencies
| | 02:08 | which can become exaggerated as more
instruments are added or the music becomes more complex.
| | 02:14 | Return the panning to hard left and hard right.
Now move the mic so they're about 12 feet apart.
| | 02:20 | (music playing)
| | 02:40 | As you can hear, the stereo image
becomes exaggerated and unnatural.
| | 02:44 | You also start to hear what seems to be a
hole in the middle where the phantom image
| | 02:48 | isn't as prominent as it was before.
| | 02:50 | As you can see and hear, the spaced pair
stereo miking technique is easy to set up and sounds
| | 02:56 | great if you get the distances right.
| | 02:58 | It's difficult to say what the correct
spacing is since every situation is different, where
| | 03:03 | if the mics are too close together
your stereo sound field won't be as wide.
| | 03:07 | If they're too far apart,
you get a hole in the middle.
| | 03:10 | With that said, placement is relatively
easy, so don't be afraid to experiment.
| | 03:15 |
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| Using a stereo mic| 00:00 | A Stereo Mic takes all the worry out of mic
placement, since the capsules are permanently
| | 00:04 | fixed within a single housing.
Let's take a look at how to use one.
| | 00:08 | A stereo mic is a quick and easy way to put
together a stereo setup, since only one mic
| | 00:13 | and one stand is required.
| | 00:16 | Stereo mics tend to be mostly condensers,
| | 00:18 | since the capsules can be made small
enough to fit together inside a microphone body.
| | 00:22 | There are few stereo Ribbon mics,
but stereo Dynamic mics are rare.
| | 00:27 | To set a stereo mic up, walk around the room
and listen towards the instrument or sounds
| | 00:31 | where it sounds best.
| | 00:33 | Note the balance of the instrument
to the room and the stereo image.
| | 00:37 | Now position the stereo mic where the middle
of your head was, set the trimmer gain controls
| | 00:41 | and fader levels, so both channels of the
microphone are at the same level, then pan
| | 00:46 | the channels hard left and
hard right, have a listen.
| | 00:49 | (music playing)
| | 01:08 | Sometimes narrowing the stereo field can
benefit the track, to do this, pan the channels to
| | 01:13 | the nine and three o'clock positions.
| | 01:15 | Many stereo mics also have a
control to narrow the sound field.
| | 01:19 | (music playing)
| | 01:38 | For more or less of the room ambience, move the
mic closer or further away from the instrument or ensemble.
| | 01:43 |
| | Collapse this transcript |
|
|
15. The Recording SessionSetting up for a tracking session| 00:00 | Basic tracks or basics are the initial
recording of the rhythm section prior to any overdubs.
| | 00:06 | Basic tracks are the foundation for the music that's
being recorded and any other parts that come afterward.
| | 00:12 | So if there's something faulty in the recording,
it's usually going to cost time and money
| | 00:15 | to fix things later.
| | 00:17 | That's why it's essential that the basic track
recording is as good as it can be, both sound and quality-wise.
| | 00:23 | In this video, we'll look at how to prepare for
a tracking session that accomplishes just that.
| | 00:28 | While many modern recordings are made with
only a few players playing at once, most recording
| | 00:33 | veterans prefer to have as many players as
possible during the basic tracking date.
| | 00:37 | The reasons? The vibe and the sound.
| | 00:40 | Well, such a session can be rather nerve-
racking and complexity for the engineer, it can be
| | 00:44 | a lot of fun as well.
| | 00:46 | Most of us don't have the luxury of large
studio with lots of Iso rooms, so the basic
| | 00:50 | tracking session becomes a lot more modest.
| | 00:53 | This graphic shows a typical scenario in a
small home recording studio with only the
| | 00:57 | drums, guitar, and vocal being recorded, with
the hopes of just getting a keeper drum track.
| | 01:03 | For a project that's going to last multiple days,
the first day of tracking is also a setup day.
| | 01:09 | Usually it takes about a half day for
everyone to feel comfortable, for the engineer to get
| | 01:12 | sounds, and for the musicians to
get their headphone mixes together.
| | 01:16 | Somewhere during the second half of the
day is when the band begins recording.
| | 01:20 | For a budget session where you only have a
single day to record, you want to get set up
| | 01:24 | and recording as soon as possible, certainly
within the first hour after the musicians arrive.
| | 01:30 | The best way to do this is to be sure of all
the details of the session before the players
| | 01:34 | get there, such as: how
many players there will be,
| | 01:38 | will they all be playing together on the
basic tracks, will there be more than one singer
| | 01:42 | is the band bringing their own hard drive,
what's the recording format, DAW, and resolution
| | 01:47 | they prefer, and is any
additional gear expected?
| | 01:52 | If the studio is already set up by the time
the band arrives, the time it takes to get
| | 01:56 | to recording will be cut to a minimum.
| | 01:59 | Now that you know what to expect,
it's time to set up for the session.
| | 02:03 | As discussed previously, find the best
sounding part of the room and place the drums there.
| | 02:08 | Place any other players in the
session as close to the drums as possible.
| | 02:11 | If they can't be near the drums, make sure
they can easily see both the arms and legs
| | 02:16 | of the drummer so they can
respond to his body movements.
| | 02:19 | Regardless of how good the headphone system
is, the players won't play their best unless
| | 02:23 | they can see each other.
| | 02:25 | Even if the players know a song down cold,
they can't react to any nuances without clean
| | 02:30 | sightlines to each other, plus many players,
especially studio veterans rely on looking
| | 02:35 | at the drummer playing the snare
in order to stay locked in time.
| | 02:39 | Place the mics as indicated previously in
this course. Make sure they're all tested
| | 02:43 | and they work properly.
| | 02:46 | Set headphones out for each player. Make
sure they're all tested and they work properly.
| | 02:51 | Begin getting sounds with the drummer. Make
sure the drummer can hear himself in the headphones
| | 02:56 | and can hear you on the talkback mic.
| | 02:59 | Go one by one to each player on the session
and test their Micro DI. Make sure if they
| | 03:04 | can hear themselves in the
phones, and they can hear you talkback.
| | 03:07 | Have the band a play a verse and chorus of
the song they're about to record, so they
| | 03:12 | can gauge the headphone mix.
Make sure you record it...
| | 03:16 | (music playing)
| | 04:01 | Ask the musicians for feedback to improve
the headphone mix, then play the song back,
| | 04:05 | so they can adjust their headphone mixes if
they have personal mix boxes or adjust the
| | 04:09 | QCMs if you're controlling it.
| | 04:11 | Repeat until the musicians
are comfortable with their mix.
| | 04:14 | You are now ready to record.
| | 04:19 |
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| Setting up a talkback mic| 00:00 | Constant communication between the engineer, producer,
and musicians is crucial to a smooth running session.
| | 00:07 | In this video, we'll look at setting up a
dedicated talkback mic so you can always hear exactly
| | 00:11 | what's happening on the other side of the glass.
| | 00:14 | Before tracking, it's important to put at
least one talkback mic as close to the middle
| | 00:17 | of the tracking room as possible.
| | 00:20 | This is so that you can hear the
musicians talking to you between takes.
| | 00:23 | The type of mic doesn't matter, but it's
best if it's set on omni if it's set up
| | 00:27 | in the middle of the studio.
| | 00:29 | While you can hear the players talk over
the open mics that are miking the instruments,
| | 00:33 | especially the drum mics, it's
usually not loud enough to really hear.
| | 00:37 | Drummer: Okay, how's the cymbal crashes?
'Cause I was putting them in a couple of different
| | 00:40 | spots a little bit more.
You guys cool with that?
| | 00:43 | Bobby Owsinski: You don't want to have to boost
the level of any of the channels and destroy your
| | 00:46 | settings in an effort to hear
what someone is saying to you.
| | 00:49 | Drummer: If you think we can do
one or two more, let's go for it.
| | 00:51 | Bobby Owsinski: Adding a dedicated talkback mic,
or even two in a large studio, will make it a
| | 00:56 | lot easier to hear what
everyone has to say after each take.
| | 00:59 | male speaker: Testing, 1-2-3, check, check, check.
| | 01:02 | Bobby Owsinski: Just make sure to mute it when
the band is playing as it'll sound will sound
| | 01:04 | tremendously trashy and distorted since
it's set up for people talking and not playing.
| | 01:10 | (music playing)
| | 01:26 |
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| Using sound leakage to your advantage| 00:00 | Acoustics spill, or leakage from one
instrument into another's mic, is many times thought of
| | 00:04 | as undesirable, but it can and should be
used to enhance the sounds instead of avoided.
| | 00:10 | In this video we'll look at decreasing leakage
and also using it to our advantage when it's there.
| | 00:15 | Many who are inexperienced at recording are
under the mistaken belief that during a
| | 00:19 | tracking session with multiple instruments,
every track recorded must contain only the
| | 00:23 | instrument or source that mic was pointed at.
That's usually not the case, as most tracks
| | 00:28 | normally have at least some
leakage, unless they're totally isolated.
| | 00:32 | Let's take a listen to the
top snare mic from a drum kit.
| | 00:35 | (music playing)
| | 00:39 | Notice how you can hear the other drums in the
background of the snare hits, if only faintly.
| | 00:44 | This is perfectly
acceptable in most drum recordings.
| | 00:49 | Leakage can be used as a sort of glue between
instruments in much the same way that instruments
| | 00:54 | magnify one another in a live situation.
| | 00:56 | If you're in a small room and leakage is
inevitable, instead of trying to avoid leakage, great
| | 01:01 | attention should be taken to the kind of leakage
being recorded, rather than trying to eliminate it.
| | 01:06 | If you can't get major separation by
putting amps and musicians in dedicated rooms when
| | 01:11 | tracking, try keeping the players and
their gears close together as possible.
| | 01:14 | Not only will it help the players communicate,
but the leakage will contain more direct sound
| | 01:19 | than the room reflections,
which will make it sound better.
| | 01:22 | This might make track fixes clash with the
original basic tracks, so it's best to have
| | 01:26 | keeper tracks from all the
instruments to get the desired effect.
| | 01:30 | Of course, if you can completely isolate things like
guitar and bass amps in another room, all the better.
| | 01:35 |
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| Setting up the headphone mix| 00:00 | Perhaps the greatest detriment to a session
running smoothly is the inability for players
| | 00:04 | to hear themselves
comfortably in the headphones.
| | 00:07 | That's why the headphone mix is so important,
and that's what we'll look at in this video.
| | 00:12 | Musicians and singers can't perform at
their best unless they hear themselves well, and
| | 00:16 | this is one of the reasons that veteran engineers spend
so much time and attention to the CueMix and headphones themselves.
| | 00:22 | While it's true that a veteran studio
player can shrug off a bad or distortive foam mix
| | 00:26 | and still deliver a fine performance, good cans
can make a session go a lot faster and easier.
| | 00:32 | First of all, make sure that you use the best headphones
possible and that they're not broken or intermittent.
| | 00:37 | Nothing stops a session quicker
than a player with a headphone problem.
| | 00:41 | Your headphone or CueMix is going to be derived
from the AUX-ins on your console or computer interface.
| | 00:46 | Connect the AUX outputs to the input of
the headphone amp or personal mix boxes.
| | 00:51 | If you're giving all the players the same
mix, try to make it as close to the same mix
| | 00:55 | that you're listening to, then
adjust from there after they listen to it.
| | 00:58 | male speaker: Okay, everything good?
Drummer: Yes!
| | 01:00 | male speaker: Phones okay? Well, good. Let's go for it.
| | 01:04 | Bobby Owsinski: If you're providing separate mixes,
remember that some players don't want a balanced mix.
| | 01:08 | They may want either the kick, snare, bass,
a keyboard, or a vocal a lot louder than the
| | 01:14 | rest of the mix to cue off of.
| | 01:16 | Perhaps the best thing to come along in recent
years has been the introduction of the relatively
| | 01:20 | inexpensive personal CueMix systems.
| | 01:22 | These systems allow the musician to control
the headphone mix by supplying them with up
| | 01:26 | to 8 channels to control.
| | 01:28 | Many personal mixers don't require you to
set up a mix for the player, just to supply
| | 01:32 | him with the individual track sense.
| | 01:34 | Even though that's the case, it's best to
provide a Stereo Monitor Mix, which is what
| | 01:38 | you're listening to in the control room, as
well as the kick, snare, vocal, and whatever
| | 01:43 | other instruments are pertinent so that
player can mix it to the way he feels comfortable.
| | 01:48 | The Stereo Mix that you provide acts as the
main mix, and the other tracks enable him to
| | 01:52 | boost that element as needed.
| | 01:54 | Select the tracks that the
musicians want for their headphone mix.
| | 01:58 | This might be the kick, snare, bass, vocal,
guitars, keyboards, and sometimes the Stereo Mix
| | 02:04 | that you're listening to in the control room.
| | 02:07 | Connect each direct output to the
input of the distribution system.
| | 02:11 | Then have all the players run down the
song so they can adjust their own mixes.
| | 02:15 | That's how to set up a
headphone mix in most situations.
| | 02:18 | Make sure to use the best headphones possible
and make sure that they're working correctly.
| | 02:22 | Then spend the time to give the musicians the
best mix that you can and adjust accordingly.
| | 02:27 |
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| Setting up a click track| 00:00 | The Click Track, or recording while listening
to a metronome in the headphones, has become
| | 00:04 | a fact of life in most recording these days.
| | 00:07 | Not only does playing at an even tempo
sound better, but it makes cut and paste editing
| | 00:11 | between different
performances in a DAW possible and easy.
| | 00:14 | Here is the best way to set up a Click Track.
| | 00:17 | Many times just providing a
metronome in the phones isn't enough.
| | 00:21 | What good is a Click Track if you
can't hear it, or worse yet, groove to it?
| | 00:25 | Here are some tricks to make the click not
only listenable but cut through the densest
| | 00:29 | mixes and seem like another
instrument in the track too.
| | 00:32 | Pick the right sound, something that's more
musical than electronic click is better to groove to.
| | 00:37 | Try either a cowbell,
sidestick, or even a conga slap.
| | 00:41 | (music playing)
| | 00:51 | Many drummers like two sounds for the click,
something like a high go-go bell for the downbeat
| | 00:55 | and a low go-go bell for the
other beats, or vice-versa.
| | 00:59 | Pick the right number of clicks per bar.
| | 01:02 | Some players like quarter notes, while
others play a lot better with eighths.
| | 01:05 | Whatever it is it will usually work better
if there's more emphasis on the downbeat or
| | 01:09 | beat 1 than on the other beats.
(music playing)
| | 01:22 | Have the drummer wear isolation headphones.
| | 01:25 | Most heavy-hitting drummers need a loud
click to be able to hear it, but that can present
| | 01:28 | a problem of leakage from the headphones
into the mics, which can ruin a quiet take.
| | 01:33 | That's why it's important for the drummer to
use the tightest fitting phones that he can.
| | 01:37 | (music playing)
| | 01:41 | You will sometimes find a player who
doesn't like to play to a click or will play very
| | 01:45 | stiffly when listening to it.
| | 01:47 | If that's the case, don't be afraid to go
without one, since there has been plenty of
| | 01:51 | huge hits in the past that
didn't utilize a click at all.
| | 01:54 | No matter what anyone claims,
it's not an absolutely necessity.
| | 01:58 | That said, in this world of drum machines,
sequencers, and DAWs, most musicians today
| | 02:03 | have grown used to playing with the
metronome and feel comfortable with it.
| | 02:08 |
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| Setting up for overdubs| 00:00 | Regardless of who is playing and what kind
of instrument they're using, it's always best
| | 00:04 | if you can get them to
record in the room with you.
| | 00:06 | Having the musician able to hear exactly
what you're hearing, as well as the immediacy of
| | 00:10 | communication, will usually get a much
better performance out of the player.
| | 00:14 | This is easy with guitar, bass, electronic keys,
and even vocals, and tougher for everything else.
| | 00:21 | In this video, we'll look at setting up for overdubs,
both in the control room and in the tracking room.
| | 00:26 | Recording an overdub in the control room is
easy as long as you take the following steps.
| | 00:31 | Make sure that the player can hear
himself well and that the level is sufficient.
| | 00:35 | Bring up a mix that you feel is balanced.
| | 00:37 | Ask the player if he is comfortable with the
balance of the mix and his overdub, then adjust as needed.
| | 00:42 | Proceed recording.
| | 00:44 | If an open mic is being used, like for a vocal,
make sure that the mic is cardioid and the
| | 00:49 | player is facing the monitor
speakers for maximum rejection.
| | 00:52 | Avoid feedback by not
turning up the level too loudly.
| | 00:56 | Cables and hardware are now widely available
to keep an amp in the other room while the
| | 01:00 | player plays in the control room with you.
| | 01:03 | (music playing)
| | 01:06 | If you can't overdub in the control room area,
don't fall into the trap of keeping the instrument
| | 01:10 | set up in the exact same place in
the studio as during your basics.
| | 01:14 | Move the vocal or instrument
into the big part of the studio.
| | 01:18 | All instruments sound best when there
is some space for the sound to develop.
| | 01:22 | (music playing)
| | 01:25 | You can cut down on any unwanted reflections
from the room by placing baffles around the mic,
| | 01:29 | the player, or the singer.
| | 01:33 | (music playing)
| | 01:37 | The only exception to this is if
you're doing fixes to the basic tracks.
| | 01:40 | Then it's important to keep the setup in
the same place so the sound stays the same.
| | 01:48 | (music playing)
| | 01:57 | So that's how to set up for
overdubs in the studio and control room.
| | 02:00 | Move the player to the big part of the
room unless you're doing basic track fixes.
| | 02:04 | In the control room, make sure the player
can hear himself well and is comfortable with
| | 02:08 | the level in the mix.
| | 02:10 | And if an open mic is being used, make sure
that the mic is cardioid and the player is
| | 02:14 | facing the monitor speakers for maximum rejection.
| | 02:19 |
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| Recording the rhythm section in the studio| 00:00 | male speaker: Okay, why don't we do this?
| | 00:02 | Let's first of all take the verse and go through the
verse and just figure out where the stops are and are not.
| | 00:12 | So from the downbeat of the verse.
| | 00:17 | (music playing)
| | 01:17 | male speaker: The first time it's a fill, you guys stop.
The second time everybody plays through it,
| | 01:22 | and it goes into the next chorus.
| | 01:25 | And then we've got to go through the bridge,
because I think at the end there are some
| | 01:28 | questions I want to play.
| | 01:29 | Drummer: All right. So the bridge,
what's the lyrical line again, I am sorry?
| | 01:33 | Iyeoka: There my heart goes again in your arms.
| | 01:35 | Drummer: Okay.
male speaker: And no break into it, play into the bridge.
| | 01:39 | Drummer: Okay, right at the bridge we're going?
male speaker: Yeah.
| | 01:41 | And Randy, the more you play those lyrical fills,
the better, that's great stuff.
| | 01:46 | Randy: Okay.
| | 01:47 | male speaker: Yeah. Okay, let's do this, the chorus,
the second chorus into the bridge.
| | 01:52 | Drummer: All right. Here we go.
1-2-3-4.
| | 01:58 | (music playing)
| | 02:32 | male speaker: All right, let's get creative.
Let's figure out what to do here that works.
| | 02:35 | Drummer: Okay.
| | 02:36 | male speaker: There is a resolve chord
there I am kind of missing.
| | 02:39 | Bass Guitarist: Play the riff, play the riff.
Okay.
| | 02:43 | Drummer: Sounds all right to me.
male speaker: Yeah, you're right, right there it did, yeah.
| | 02:46 | Bass Guitarist: Maybe what if we
did this, if we went 1-2-3-4-E...
| | 02:53 | ...bop-bop...dum-dum...bop-bop-bop-bop-bop....
| | 03:00 | male speaker: Everybody play it, yeah, yeah, yeah.
| | 03:01 | Bass Guitarist: Anticipation, that
eighth note anticipation?
| | 03:03 | male speaker: Yeah, it's better.
Much better.
| | 03:04 | Bass Guitarist: All right?
The guitar?
| | 03:07 | Pianist: Because it almost feels like
there should be like a guitar solo there or something.
| | 03:10 | Yeah, I agree.
| | 03:11 | Bass Guitarist: Should the
guitar solo be on the vamp?
| | 03:12 | Pianist: It should be on the changes.
| | 03:14 | male speaker: Let's try it!
Bass Guitarist: Let's try it.
| | 03:16 | Drummer: Here we go!
1-2...
| | 03:19 | (music playing)
| | 03:58 | male speaker: Okay, so then the last thing
is what we're going to do for the out.
| | 04:01 | Pianist: When we get to
the B minor, if I'm doing like...
| | 04:06 | (music playing)
| | 04:23 | male speaker: Yeah, there you go!
Perfect! Perfect!
| | 04:26 | (music playing)
| | 04:39 | male speaker: Yeah, that's great! Good idea!
So why don't we do this?
| | 04:44 | Let's vamp it, but let's
push it, though, push the vamp.
| | 04:47 | Drummer: Here we go.
1-2...
| | 04:51 | (music playing)
| | 06:03 | male speaker: Cool! Everybody good?
| | 06:03 | Pianist: Yeah.
male speaker: Let's cut it.
| | 06:06 |
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|
|
16. Setting Up a Rough MixThe keys to a great rough mix| 00:00 | After you've finished recording, a good
rough mix is important to allow you to hear what
| | 00:04 | you've recorded and how
well everything works together.
| | 00:07 | If you're a Pro Tools user, and you have
access to the exercise files, you can open the
| | 00:12 | Pro Tools Session file called
rough mix and follow along.
| | 00:15 | You can find out a lot more about mixing in my
Audio Mixing Bootcamp course here on lynda.com,
| | 00:21 | but in the meantime, here are some
quick steps to setting up a rough mix.
| | 00:25 | In order to get a great rough mix, you have to
understand the nature of a musical arrangement.
| | 00:31 | Every type of music
consists of five major elements.
| | 00:34 | Let's take a listen to each of these elements
within the Pro Tools Tracking Session we created
| | 00:38 | for the Iyeoka track, Simply Falling.
| | 00:41 | The first is the foundation
which provides the pulse of the song.
| | 00:45 | This usually comes from the bass and drums,
although it could come from any instrument
| | 00:49 | with a lot of low
frequency information, like a tuba.
| | 00:52 | Let's have a listen to the
foundation element of Simply Falling.
| | 00:57 | (music playing)
| | 01:14 | Next is the rhythm, which provides
the feeling of motion in the song.
| | 01:18 | This can come from a strumming guitar, a
piano playing eighth notes or an arpeggiated line,
| | 01:23 | or percussion
instruments like congas or shakers.
| | 01:26 | Let's listen to the rhythm
element of Simply Falling.
| | 01:30 | (music playing)
| | 01:46 | The next major element is the pad,
which provides the glue to the song.
| | 01:51 | This is a long sustaining note or a chord that
can come from an organ, strings, a synthesizer,
| | 01:56 | or even power chords from an electric guitar.
| | 01:59 | Let's listen to the pad
element in Simply Falling.
| | 02:02 | (music playing)
| | 02:19 | Next, we have the lead, which
provides the melody of the song.
| | 02:23 | This is usually the vocal or
instrument or instruments playing the melody.
| | 02:28 | As you would expect, the lead element
of Simply Falling is the lead vocal.
| | 02:33 | (music playing)
| | 02:49 | And finally, the fills, which provides interest.
The fills can come from almost any instrument
| | 02:55 | that's playing a counterline to the
melody or in between the phrases of the lead.
| | 02:59 | In this case, the piano plays the fills.
| | 03:03 | (music playing)
| | 03:27 | Good arrangers and producers know that
having more than five elements playing in the song
| | 03:30 | at the same time is confusing to the listener and
most songs rarely have all five occurring at once.
| | 03:37 | That doesn't mean that there can't be more
than five instruments playing at once, though.
| | 03:41 | In most cases, a number of instruments are
playing the same part in different registers
| | 03:46 | and they make up a single element.
| | 03:48 | As an example, here we have two
keyboard parts, but they make up a single pad.
| | 03:53 | (music playing)
| | 04:09 | The key to a powerful sounding rough mix
of any kind of music is to remember that the
| | 04:13 | foundation instruments must be in the forefront
of the mix while the lead can be at the same
| | 04:18 | level, a little more, or a little less.
| | 04:21 | The other instruments are added at
levels somewhat less than the other elements.
| | 04:24 | To sum it all up, most great arrangements
consist of no more than five musical elements
| | 04:30 | occurring at the same time, the foundation,
the pad, the rhythm, the lead, and the fills.
| | 04:37 | Regardless of the music, a powerful mix always
has the foundation instruments at the forefront
| | 04:42 | with the lead vocal or
instrument around the same level.
| | 04:45 | The other instruments are
usually mixed in at a lesser level.
| | 04:49 | To find out a lot more about the sequence to
mixing, check out the Audio Mixing Bootcamp course.
| | 04:54 |
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| Setting up the effects| 00:00 | So now that we've got the tracks recorded,
it's time to put a quick mix together.
| | 00:04 | That way we can send it to the band and
everyone can start hearing what the song is going to
| | 00:08 | sound like when it's fully mixed.
| | 00:10 | Before we begin our rough mix, let's set up
some effects so we can put any instruments
| | 00:14 | or vocals into an artificial space if necessary.
| | 00:17 | This setup is designed to get you up and running
quickly with the parameters in a general position
| | 00:22 | to where they almost always sound at least
acceptable and sometimes even surprisingly good.
| | 00:28 | This setup also works well when you're
tracking and need some quick effects.
| | 00:31 | It uses two different reverbs and a delay.
Reverb 1 will be used primarily for the drums.
| | 00:38 | Set it to a Room with the DECAY at 1.5
seconds and a PRE-DELAY of 20 milliseconds.
| | 00:44 | If a LOW PASS FILTER is available,
set it to 10 kilohertz or even 8 kilohertz.
| | 00:49 | If a HIGH PASS FILTER is available,
set it to about 600 hertz.
| | 00:54 | Let's listen to what it
sounds like on a snare drum.
| | 00:58 | (music playing)
| | 01:18 | Reverb 2 is meant for all
other instruments and vocals.
| | 01:22 | Set it to a Plate with a 1.8 second DECAY
time and a PRE-DELAY of 20 milliseconds.
| | 01:27 | If a LOW PASS FILTER is available,
set it to 10 kilohertz or even 8 kilohertz.
| | 01:33 | If a HIGH PASS FILTER
is available, set it to 150 hertz.
| | 01:37 | Let's listen to this reverb on
the guitar and then on the piano.
| | 01:42 | (music playing)
| | 02:31 | The delay can be used on vocal and instruments.
| | 02:35 | Set it for about 220 milliseconds of DELAY and the
FEEDBACK for a couple of repeats, which is about 4%.
| | 02:41 | In real mix, we would time the
delay to the tempo of the song.
| | 02:45 | Let's listen to what it
sounds like on the vocal.
| | 02:49 | (music playing)
| | 03:14 | So there you have it, the setup of two reverbs
and a delay will get you up and running quickly
| | 03:20 | and sound surprisingly good.
| | 03:22 | Set the first reverb to a Room with a
DECAY of 1.5 seconds and use that for the drums.
| | 03:28 | Set the second reverb to a Plate with a DECAY
time of 1.8 seconds and use that for everything else.
| | 03:33 | Use a PRE-DELAY of 20 milliseconds for both
reverbs and roll them off at 100 hertz and 10 kilohertz.
| | 03:41 | Finally, add a DELAY set to about 220
milliseconds and a couple of repeats to use on the vocal.
| | 03:48 |
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| The rough mix of Simply Falling| 00:00 | Here is how we build the rough mix
for the song that we have recorded.
| | 00:03 | Keep in mind that a rough is usually done
quickly and may not have any of the EQ, Automation,
| | 00:08 | or Effects tweaks that the final mix might have.
| | 00:11 | So the first I am going to do is get the drum mix
together, and I'm going to start with the kick drum.
| | 00:16 | I am going to bring it up to about zero.
(music playing)
| | 00:19 | Next thing I will do is I
will bring the snare top mic up.
| | 00:25 | Now there are two mics on the snare drum,
there is one on the top and one on the bottom.
| | 00:29 | So the top one will sound somewhat dull, and
the bottom one will add a little bit of snap.
| | 00:34 | Let's listen to the top one first.
(music playing)
| | 00:39 | Now watch when I bring the bottom one up.
I will only bring it up so I can just about
| | 00:43 | hear it, and that's usually the right amount.
(music playing)
| | 00:50 | You can hear the snap coming in.
| | 00:53 | Next thing I will do is bring the overheads
up, so I can hear the cymbals and the overall
| | 00:56 | sound of the drum kit.
(music playing)
| | 01:01 | Well, let's pan those up.
(music playing)
| | 01:10 | Now you can hear the
cymbals where you couldn't before.
| | 01:14 | And you can hear how the sound of the hi-hat
actually came up and the sound of the snare
| | 01:19 | drum changed a little bit.
Speaking of the hi-hat, let's bring that up.
| | 01:23 | Even though you know you can hear it now, we are
going to bring it up so there's more definition.
| | 01:32 | Let's pan that out.
(music playing)
| | 01:41 | The next thing we want to
do is bring the toms up.
| | 01:44 | And the best way to do that is to go to a
place in the song where the toms are featured,
| | 01:50 | that's some sort of a fill.
| | 01:51 | And in this case, it's the beginning of the song,
where it actually enters with the drum fill.
| | 01:57 | So let's bring those up. We will just start
at zero here and see what it sounds like with
| | 02:01 | the rest of the drums.
(music playing)
| | 02:05 | Now you can hear they are kind of
quiet, so let's bring them up a bit more.
| | 02:11 | You can hear more of the floor toms and the
rack tom, so let's even that out a little bit.
| | 02:18 | A little more rack.
(music playing)
| | 02:25 | So that sounds about the right balance.
| | 02:27 | The next thing we want to do is to add a
little bit of space around the drums, and the way
| | 02:31 | we do that is add some reverb.
| | 02:33 | So what we are going to do is add the
reverb that we had already set up in the previous
| | 02:39 | movie about effects.
We will start with the snare drum.
| | 02:43 | Let's play it and have a
listen to what it sounds like.
| | 02:47 | (music playing)
| | 02:53 | That's without it.
(music playing)
| | 03:01 | We don't want to add too much, because then
it will swim in ambience, and that's not the
| | 03:05 | way we usually hear anything in a room environment,
just about the time we can hear it is usually enough.
| | 03:11 | And then once the other instruments go
in, we have to tweak it a little bit.
| | 03:16 | But that's not the place to start,
where we are here at right now.
| | 03:19 | The other thing we want to do is add a little bit of
that same reverb on the toms as well. So let's do that.
| | 03:25 | Let's bring it up to -5 on each of
these and just see what it sounds like.
| | 03:31 | That's a little much, so let's bring
that down a little bit on each of them.
| | 03:39 | (music playing)
| | 03:46 | Good! That sounds pretty good! We can tweak
it later if we have to once we get the other
| | 03:50 | instruments in the mix, but
that's a good place to start.
| | 03:53 | Let's now bring the bass in.
| | 03:55 | There are two different bass tracks, one is the
direct and second one is with the bass amp that's miked.
| | 04:03 | So let's start with the DI first, then we will
bring in the bass Amp to about the same level
| | 04:08 | as the kick and snare.
(music playing)
| | 04:16 | Let's solo that for a minute.
(music playing)
| | 04:25 | Put both of them together, and you have a
little bit of the attack and aggressiveness
| | 04:30 | that you get from the DI and a little bit
of the warmth that the amplifier gives you,
| | 04:34 | and sometimes it goes just the opposite where
you get more of the aggression from the Amp,
| | 04:38 | more of the roundness from the DI.
| | 04:40 | Anyway, let's listen in the track.
(music playing)
| | 04:51 | The next thing I am going to bring in is the rhythm
instrument, and in this case it's the rhythm guitar.
| | 04:58 | And what I like to do is pan
it opposite from the hi-hat.
| | 05:00 | So in this case, the hi-hat is on the
right-hand side, which it usually is.
| | 05:04 | If you're watching the drummer,
his hi-hat is usually on the right.
| | 05:08 | So we would like to put it that way
just so we get the audience perspective.
| | 05:12 | And whatever is playing the rhythm part,
and it could be a keyboard, or it could be use
| | 05:16 | some hand percussion or something, I am going to
put that opposite so there is a balance in the rhythm.
| | 05:21 | Let's do that now.
(music playing)
| | 05:35 | Now that sounds just a little dry, so once
again, let's add some reverb, and we have
| | 05:40 | already inserted a Send.
| | 05:43 | Let's just hear what it
sounds like when we solo it up.
| | 05:48 | (music playing)
| | 05:58 | Let's listen with the track.
Now it's in some sort of a space.
| | 06:02 | (music playing)
| | 06:12 | Here's with the effect muted.
(music playing)
| | 06:17 | And with it in.
(music playing)
| | 06:24 | Once again, you don't need
much to really make it work.
| | 06:28 | If you add too much, you will wash the mix out.
| | 06:31 | And once you have all the own instruments in,
you might want to add little more or take
| | 06:35 | some away, but just about the time you can
hear it is when you will stop, at least at
| | 06:39 | this stage of the mix.
| | 06:41 | The next thing we will start with is the pad, and
let's bring that in now and hear what it sounds like.
| | 06:46 | This is in stereo, and what we are going to
do--usually with pads we want to put them
| | 06:50 | hard left and hard right.
| | 06:52 | So let's do that right now
and play it and hear it come in.
| | 06:55 | (music playing)
| | 07:15 | Now with the pad, usually it's just a glue,
and many times you don't even hear it in the mix.
| | 07:20 | If it's not there, you notice the fact
that it's not there, but if it is there, it
| | 07:25 | just adds a little something
extra and makes the mix feel better.
| | 07:28 | So again if it's too loud, it's not going to work.
Just about the time you hear it is pretty much right.
| | 07:34 | So the other thing we are going to do is add
a second pad instrument, in this cases it's
| | 07:38 | sort of a road sound, and
it's a pulsating road sound.
| | 07:41 | And we will also pan that hard left and
hard right. Maybe we won't go quite as hard as
| | 07:46 | the other synth pad.
| | 07:47 | And let's bring that in
and hear what it sounds like.
| | 07:51 | (music playing)
| | 08:09 | Next thing we have is the piano.
| | 08:11 | Now the piano is also miked in stereo, and
that there's a high mic and a low mic for
| | 08:17 | the high strings and one for the low strings.
| | 08:20 | And it does sound good, if we pan it hard
left and hard right in certain circumstances.
| | 08:24 | But it doesn't mean just because it's
recorded in stereo that you actually have to always
| | 08:29 | put it in stereo, or at least wide stereo.
| | 08:31 | And in this case, what we're going to do is
we are going to put it a little bit opposite
| | 08:35 | of the rhythm guitar.
| | 08:36 | So what we are going to do is pan it just
a little over this way, like so, and let's
| | 08:42 | bring it and hear what it sounds like.
| | 08:45 | (music playing)
| | 09:00 | By panning it to the right, it gives us just
a little bit of contrast against the guitar
| | 09:05 | that's on the left, and
that's kind of what we want.
| | 09:07 | If we pan everything hard left and hard right,
we get something that I call big mono, with
| | 09:12 | everything panned hard left or hard right
and actually it doesn't sound good anymore,
| | 09:15 | and it just kind of sounds very bland,
instead of stereo, which is exciting.
| | 09:19 | So that's why we are better off just
lowering our sound field, and it will sound better.
| | 09:25 | If we listen to the piano soloed, once again,
this sounds very, very dry, and we would like
| | 09:32 | to put it in the space,
and just listen for a second.
| | 09:37 | (music playing)
| | 09:44 | So we already inserted a Reverb Send, and
what we are going to do is just add a little bit
| | 09:49 | and hear what it sounds like,
once we put it in space.
| | 09:52 | (music playing)
| | 10:10 | And we have the same amount on our low
end as well, and let's have a listen.
| | 10:21 | Let's listen with the track.
(music playing)
| | 10:33 | We also have an organ, and the
organ is also recorded in two tracks.
| | 10:37 | It's not necessarily stereo, though, because
what we have is a low frequency speaker and
| | 10:42 | a high frequency speaker on the Organ Leslie.
| | 10:45 | So if we pan them hard left and hard right
or even any kind of panning at all, it sounds
| | 10:51 | kind of funny, because you have the low
end on one side and a high end on another.
| | 10:55 | So you can consider these pretty much just a
single space in the sound field, and in this
| | 11:00 | case we are going to put
it sort of up the middle.
| | 11:02 | And let's put it a little bit to
the left and hear what it sounds like.
| | 11:08 | (music playing)
| | 11:23 | Let's listen to what it sounds like soloed.
(music playing)
| | 11:38 | So we've already added some reverb on that.
| | 11:40 | Once again, what we are trying to do here
is put each of instruments into a space.
| | 11:44 | When we do the final mix, it may not be all
in the same space. We may want to put each
| | 11:49 | one in a slightly different one to
make it a little bit more layered.
| | 11:52 | In this case we basically have two layers.
We have one Effects layer for the drums, and
| | 11:57 | we have another one for
the rest of the instruments.
| | 11:59 | And that worked really well
for just our quick rough mix.
| | 12:02 | Now let's go to lead vocal and put that in.
| | 12:06 | In this case, we have lead vocal
and lead vocal double and a harmony.
| | 12:12 | And usually what we want to do is add the
lead vocal first and bring the lead vocal
| | 12:16 | double in later, after we get the
lead vocal primary sounding pretty good.
| | 12:21 | So let's bring that up and have a listen.
But first, we want to go to where the vocal is.
| | 12:26 | And I have already set markers
for each individual song section.
| | 12:30 | So let's bring the Memory locations up.
| | 12:33 | And I did that by hitting Command+5
or Apple+5 that brings it up.
| | 12:38 | And in this case we want to--we are going
to start with the second verse, because second
| | 12:43 | verse has the harmony, and
it also has the double on it.
| | 12:46 | So let's have a listen.
| | 12:49 | (music playing)
| | 13:01 | Now once again, we want
to put that into a space.
| | 13:03 | So let's have a quick listen one
more time just the lead vocal solo.
| | 13:09 | (music playing)
| | 13:16 | Now we can put some reverb on it, but a lot
of times what I like to do is add a Delay,
| | 13:20 | because it adds a different type of space to it.
And it's kind of nice.
| | 13:24 | Once again, if you begin to
hear it, then it's almost too much.
| | 13:27 | So just about the time we begin to feel
it and hear it is about the right amount.
| | 13:32 | Let's bring that in now and have a listen.
| | 13:35 | (music playing)
| | 14:02 | Now you can hear I was muting the effect, and I was
bringing it back in, I was muting and bringing it back
| | 14:07 | in just so you can hear the difference of
what it sounds like when the lead vocal has
| | 14:12 | a little bit of effect on it and when it's
muted it is very dry and very in your face.
| | 14:16 | There are times when you want to dry it in
your face, and that's appropriate for certain
| | 14:21 | types of music and certain types of
mixes with certain types of arrangements.
| | 14:26 | In this case, we do want it to have a
little bit an environment around it and a little
| | 14:31 | bit of reverb does that pretty well.
| | 14:33 | So now let's go to the harmony vocal, and we
will have a listen to that along with the lead.
| | 14:39 | (music playing)
| | 14:54 | Now in this case, what we're going to is we
are going to add exactly the same effect,
| | 14:57 | the easy way to do that is you hit the Option
key and click and drag the Send from the lead
| | 15:04 | vocal channel, bring it over and have a listen.
| | 15:07 | (music playing)
| | 15:27 | Now let's go to the second chorus when
there is a lead vocal double that comes in.
| | 15:34 | Let's listen as I bring it in.
| | 15:37 | (music playing)
| | 15:51 | Now usually with a double, you could
have two different approaches to it.
| | 15:54 | The first approach is when you want to
actually change the sound of the vocal, or you have
| | 15:59 | some tuning problems, in which case you want
both vocals, the primary vocal and the double,
| | 16:05 | you want them at exactly the same level.
| | 16:08 | Now there are certain times when that doesn't
really apply, it's not appropriate for the song.
| | 16:12 | So in fact, what you want to do is use the
double as just some sort of support to change
| | 16:17 | the sound a little bit or
make it a little bit fuller.
| | 16:19 | In this case that's what we are going to do.
| | 16:21 | So, if you take notice, you could hear it,
you could feel it, but you don't really notice
| | 16:25 | it as a double so much.
Let's listen.
| | 16:28 | (music playing)
| | 16:40 | And let's listen again. This time I'm going
to mute the double, listen to what it sounds
| | 16:43 | like, and then I am going to unmute it as well.
| | 16:46 | (music playing)
| | 16:59 | It's very subtle, but it
does reinforce the part.
| | 17:03 | The other thing it also does is it changes the
sound of the vocal from the verses to the chorus.
| | 17:08 | When you have a double, it happens only on
the chorus, it makes the sound a little bit
| | 17:12 | fuller, and that's the production trick
that's been used for a really, really long time.
| | 17:15 | The next thing we are going to do
is listen to some background vocals.
| | 17:19 | And in this case we did two different
passes on each vocal, so it's double again.
| | 17:25 | But there is a little bit of a difference
in that they each sound slightly different
| | 17:29 | because of the ambience.
| | 17:30 | In one case they were closer
to the mic than the second case.
| | 17:34 | And it gives a little bit fuller sound.
| | 17:36 | So what we are going to do is we are going
to pan these out just a little bit and bring
| | 17:40 | them in and have a listen.
(music playing)
| | 17:49 | Wrong track.
| | 17:52 | (music playing)
| | 18:10 | Now you can see that the track on the right
is a little bit louder, so what we are going
| | 18:14 | to do is we are going to
just turn it down a little bit.
| | 18:18 | Let's have a listen.
(music playing)
| | 18:27 | A little bit more.
(music playing)
| | 18:41 | Once again, let's put it into a space so we
could either add Reverb, or we can add a Delay.
| | 18:46 | In this case, I think we are going to try
some Reverb and hear what it sounds like.
| | 18:49 | So we are going to go to our Main
Reverb, our Plate Reverb, and try it there.
| | 18:54 | So what we will do is we will
bring this up. Have a listen.
| | 18:58 | (music playing)
| | 19:04 | You can hear a little of it there.
| | 19:06 | What I am going to do is I am going to copy
that, moving it over to the second vocal and
| | 19:13 | here's what they both sound like.
| | 19:16 | (music playing)
| | 19:34 | Let's go to the Bridge there.
| | 19:36 | The Bridge actually has some more background
vocals and they are a little bit different,
| | 19:40 | because yes, they are double,
but the parts are inverted.
| | 19:43 | So in other words, it's three-part harmony, but
the way they're stacked are a little bit different.
| | 19:48 | There's a higher version on the
right-hand side than from the left.
| | 19:52 | So first thing we will do is we will pan
them a little, and in this case I am going to pan
| | 19:56 | them a little bit wider,
and let's have a listen.
| | 20:01 | (music playing)
| | 20:14 | And you can hear the part on the left is a
little bit lower and registered than the right.
| | 20:18 | But again, we got to put them in a space.
| | 20:20 | Now I am going to go back to the
Delay, this is our Bus 21 here.
| | 20:27 | Let's have a listen.
(music playing)
| | 20:35 | And again, I am going to copy it over to
the second vocal track, and let's listen.
| | 20:41 | (music playing)
| | 20:55 | A little bit loud and a little bit too much on
the Delay, let's bring that down in both cases.
| | 21:02 | Now you can see what happened there, I have
the background vocals grouped together, and
| | 21:08 | that's over here, I think
this background group number 3.
| | 21:12 | So if I want to actually change the level
individually, I would just click over here,
| | 21:18 | and if it's not highlighted, then you can see I can
bring the level up and down without anything happen.
| | 21:23 | If I come over here, and I highlight the group,
then they both attenuate or increase together.
| | 21:29 | Same thing works also on the Sends as well.
| | 21:33 | If I bring the Send down on one track,
it also brings it down on the other.
| | 21:36 | So let's have a listen.
| | 21:39 | (music playing)
| | 21:57 | Now we are at the solo, and now we have a solo guitar,
and let's bring that guitar lead up, have a listen.
| | 22:05 | (music playing)
| | 22:18 | Now once again, it's very
dry and very in your face.
| | 22:20 | So what we really like to do is put that in
some sort of an environment, and we will add
| | 22:24 | the Delay again. Delay really works well on solo
instruments, so let's bring a little bit of that up.
| | 22:29 | Solo it and have a listen.
| | 22:33 | (music playing)
| | 22:48 | You can hear it. We are in an environment now.
Let's listen to it dry and with the delay on it.
| | 22:54 | (music playing)
| | 23:15 | So now you can hear what it sounds like
with the delay on the lead guitar as well.
| | 23:21 | Now what we are going to do is let's go
to the Outro and add the strings and horns.
| | 23:25 | So we are going to go to the Out
Chorus, and let's bring that in.
| | 23:30 | (music playing)
| | 23:45 | Now what has happened here, we have just a
violin and the cello, and we have doubled them.
| | 23:49 | And what we are going to do is spread these
out a little bit, we are going to go to left
| | 23:54 | and right, both the violin and the cello,
we are not going to go exactly the same on
| | 23:57 | both of them, so just put them in a little bit
different space and sounds a bit different, now let's listen.
| | 24:06 | (music playing)
| | 24:19 | Now strings really, really benefit from
Reverb, and usually they like a lot of it.
| | 24:24 | So what we are going to do
is insert our Plate Reverb.
| | 24:28 | I will bring that up, and we are going to
start out at -5, and again, I am going to copy
| | 24:33 | it over onto all the other tracks.
| | 24:35 | Let's have a listen.
(music playing)
| | 24:42 | Let's add a little more.
(music playing)
| | 24:50 | So let's listen in the track.
(music playing)
| | 24:57 | One more time, listen
from the top of that section.
| | 25:02 | (music playing)
| | 25:16 | And you can hear in this case, the strings
really like a lot of Reverb, and in fact,
| | 25:20 | you can go a little bit heavier on any
kind of string section than you usually can on
| | 25:25 | anything else, because that's the way we
would like to hear the strings, we usually hear
| | 25:29 | them in the hall, and a hall has a lot
of reverb, so it sounds natural to us.
| | 25:32 | And let's go and let's
listen to the horns as well.
| | 25:35 | (music playing)
| | 25:36 | These are just horns tabs,
let's go over from the top.
| | 25:41 | (music playing)
| | 25:47 | Now in this case we have a bari on one side, and
we have a trumpet and trombone on the second track.
| | 25:52 | We can spread them out just a little so
they sound bigger, and we will do that.
| | 25:57 | And once again, we want to put them in an
environment, it might sound better to put
| | 26:01 | them in something different, so in this
case we are going to add a tad of delay just so
| | 26:05 | it sounds different from the strings.
| | 26:09 | And once again, we will do the same thing,
we will copy it over to the other track.
| | 26:13 | And let's bring that up
about here and have a listen.
| | 26:19 | Little much.
(music playing)
| | 26:23 | Let's bring it down a bit, start from the beginning.
(music playing)
| | 26:28 | Okay, let's have a listen with everything in.
| | 26:31 | (music playing)
| | 26:51 | Now, right in this section we have some more
vocals, and what this is is background vocals
| | 26:56 | on two more tracks and they
are singing a different part.
| | 26:59 | And what we are going to do is go to the Outro.
| | 27:01 | I am going to open my Memory Locations window
and choose the Ending, this is what I called
| | 27:07 | the last Outro section.
| | 27:09 | And listen to the background
vocals there, let's have a listen.
| | 27:13 | (music playing)
| | 27:33 | Once again, what happens here is
we want to put them in environment.
| | 27:36 | The easiest way is the first background
tracks that we had, we've already put some Reverb
| | 27:41 | on, so we'll just do the same thing, we will copy
the Send over to those tracks and have a listen.
| | 27:50 | (music playing)
| | 28:09 | Now there we go, we have
the mix pretty much together.
| | 28:12 | There is one other thing we are going to do,
if we take notice, our mix is peaking into
| | 28:17 | the red here. We are getting some overload
lights. Just take a listen and watch where
| | 28:23 | the peak meters are sitting.
(music playing)
| | 28:31 | We can help this by adding a compressor.
| | 28:35 | So here is a couple of tricks. The first
thing I will do is I will add a compressor, and
| | 28:38 | we will go up to dynamics.
| | 28:42 | And I like the regular Pro Tools Compressor.
So let's put that in.
| | 28:47 | And I like the settings that we
have here. These will kind of work.
| | 28:51 | Now just watch what we'll do. We will make
sure we don't add too much, just a tad, and
| | 28:55 | it will make a difference now how it sounds.
| | 28:57 | That's way too much.
| | 29:00 | (music playing)
| | 29:20 | We want to add just a little bit,
and that evens everything out.
| | 29:22 | I am going to do one more thing.
| | 29:24 | I am going to add another set of dynamics.
In this case, it's going to be Maxim, which
| | 29:29 | is Pro Tools version of a Limiter.
| | 29:32 | And we are going to set this, so it's
down here at about -1dB.
| | 29:35 | (music playing)
| | 29:48 | What happens is this will never go into
clipping, this is always going to stay at -1dB, and
| | 29:54 | we can check that by clicking on our
overload lights so they go off. And have a listen.
| | 30:02 | (music playing)
| | 30:10 | Now you can see that we have actually
clipped again, even though it's not supposed to on
| | 30:14 | a limiter like this.
| | 30:15 | There are some limiters, they are absolutely
brick walled, where are you say stop at -.1,
| | 30:21 | -1, whatever you choose, and it
stops there and never goes above.
| | 30:25 | In this case it's leaking through a little
bit, but that's okay, what we'll just have
| | 30:29 | to do is turn our overload LEDs off, and we
will have to back off of the master level,
| | 30:36 | and there is nothing wrong with that.
| | 30:39 | (music playing)
| | 31:02 | So let's have a quick listen from the
beginning and just tweak our balances a little bit.
| | 31:07 | We are going to go to the top of where the
rhythm section comes in with the rest of the band.
| | 31:14 | (music playing)
| | 31:38 | Sounds pretty good! Let's go on to the next
verse and have a listen, because that's where
| | 31:45 | some harmonies come in.
| | 31:47 | (music playing)
| | 32:03 | And one thing I noticed in listening
here is that the pad seems a little low.
| | 32:07 | Let's bring that up just a little bit.
(music playing)
| | 32:20 | And let's go out to the second chorus
and listen to the background vocals.
| | 32:24 | (music playing)
| | 32:55 | Last thing we want to do is listen to
the Outro with the strings and horns.
| | 33:02 | (music playing)
| | 33:22 | Now one other thing we want to do that we
haven't done yet is the Intro on the front,
| | 33:26 | which is just the pad and the dobro.
So let's do that now.
| | 33:31 | And once again, I have a Memory location for
it, so I clicked on that. Let's bring it up.
| | 33:41 | Now once again, let's spread
this out and bring up the dobro.
| | 33:47 | (music playing)
| | 33:55 | And the dobro here sounds very, very, very
close to you, and it's probably not the right
| | 34:00 | sound for this song.
| | 34:02 | So what we are going to do is put it in an
environment again, and the way we do that is
| | 34:06 | let's add our Plate Reverb and
add the same thing on both channels.
| | 34:11 | Let's bring it up and have a listen.
| | 34:14 | (music playing)
| | 34:33 | That's just a little loud compared to the rest of
the track, so let's bring these down a little
| | 34:37 | bit, have a listen.
| | 34:40 | (music playing)
| | 35:02 | So there you go. That's a pretty good
rough mix, didn't take too long to get there.
| | 35:06 | If you take notice, we didn't add any EQ,
we didn't add any compression. If we wanted
| | 35:10 | take another half hour, we
can tweak things up even better.
| | 35:14 | But you can see, even without any of that,
you can still make it sound really good.
| | 35:19 | Keep in mind that the Master Mix Bus Level
will get louder and louder with every instrument
| | 35:23 | entrance, that's why it's best to begin your
mix with the mix bus meter, reading at about
| | 35:27 | -10dB, regardless of what
instrument you start off with.
| | 35:31 | In the next movie you will get a chance to
hear what the final mix really sounds like.
| | 35:36 |
| | Collapse this transcript |
| | The final mix of Simply Falling |
|
ConclusionGoodbye| 00:00 | Congratulations on making it through the course.
| | 00:03 | Now you should be a lot more familiar with
some of the most common mic placement and
| | 00:06 | studio practices used in
professional recording sessions.
| | 00:09 | Your ear should now be more tuned what
a good recording actually sounds like.
| | 00:14 | That reference point is really important,
so this will tell you when something sounds
| | 00:17 | good or bad or right or wrong for the song.
| | 00:20 | Remember, they are like so many other
things in life, recording takes practice.
| | 00:25 | The more you do it, the better you get.
| | 00:27 | The more experience you gain, the more you learn
what works and what doesn't in a particular situation.
| | 00:32 | But never be afraid to experiment.
| | 00:34 | Learning the fundamentals is important, but
learning when to go against them is important too.
| | 00:39 | Above all, have fun! You can sometimes create
magic without it, but everything goes so much
| | 00:44 | easier when everyone is having a good time.
| | 00:46 | For some additional information and
exercises on recording, check out my
| | 00:51 | Audio Recording Basic Training Book
published by Alfred Music Publishing.
| | 00:55 | You can also learn a lot more about mixing
by watching my Audio Mixing Bootcamp course,
| | 00:59 | right here on lynda.com.
| | 01:02 |
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