Audio Production Degree?

I am really happy to see such a great discussion taking place about my post over musicianship in the recording industry. I'm glad that it stirred up a bit of a debate on some discussion boards out there. I want to thank everyone that joined in on the conversation and to those that continue to check up on the blog. I took a little bit of a breather during finals week at school, but now that I have a bit more free time again, I will continue providing content for my blog. The next question I want to pose to everyone is:

What are your thoughts on going to school for audio production?

As someone who is currently enrolled in school for this subject, I have my own thoughts on the subject. I am someone who throws himself into his passions. I've played and pursued music for most of my life. While involved in one of my music projects early on I got introduced to the behind the scenes aspect of being in a band. I was lucky enough to be surrounded by people that were interested in the same things I was, not only playing music but also recording it ourselves.

We threw ourselves into it and experimented a lot. We were on an extremely low budget, so a lot of what we did was limited to the equipment we could afford. But we loved what we were doing. I learned while in this band that I had a passion for the recording arts so I looked at my options.

I had heard stories of recording engineers and mastering engineers that got their start by seeking out individuals and becoming their shadow, learning everything they could from that person, until they knew enough to branch out on their own and make a respectable living. I personally felt like these days that is much harder to do and that those types of stories are few and far between. The recording field has become much more competitive. I wanted to stand out amongst a crowd.

I decided that the best way to do that would be to learn as much as I could about the subject before I entered the job market. So I enrolled in school. Love it or hate it, school is a great place to make connections and network with your peers. I'm learning beside people that are going to be in the same market as me. Those connections and relationships built there will last into the professional world.

While I think that every art school for the recording arts has it's drawbacks, the positives far outweigh the negatives. I've gotten to use equipment that I wouldn't have had the chance to use otherwise. I've gotten to work on projects that broaden my skills and prepare me for being in a studio with a paying client. I've gotten to work on sound design projects and do voice over work. I've also met a pretty great group of people to experience these things with as well.

I don't think that going to school to get a degree in audio production is necessary by any means. There are people that do it everyday. All I am saying is that going into it without the proper education can sometimes seem a little overwhelming and daunting. I can say that going through a degree program and learning what I have, that I am a far more confident engineer than I was before I started. I am coming up to my graduation date, so I am interested to see how receptive the job market will be, but I am happy and content with my decision to go to school for audio.

Please, share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below. I am eager to hear what you all think about this topic.

To Be Or Not To Be A Musician

Does it make you a better engineer if you also play an instrument? Does it matter how skilled you are at that instrument? Or do you just have to be knowledgeable about music theory?

It is my opinion that it does in fact matter whether or not you are able to play an instrument. I'm using the word instrument to include software instrumentation as well. I don't even think you necessarily have to be great at your instrument, just that you take an interest in it. If I had the choice of going to a studio where, audio engineering talent aside, one of the engineers played music and the other was a music enthusiast, I would probably choose the one that played music.

There are many reasons why I think that an engineer should get their feet wet and learn to play at least the basics of an instrument, if not multiple instruments.

When I was first introduced to synthesizers I had preconceived notions about what electronic music was and was apprehensive from the beginning. I decided right then that I didn't want to be the type of engineer who cut off an entire section of music because I didn't understand it properly. I went into it with the base of "I want to at least learn the terminology so that I can become a better engineer in the long run and be able to effectively communicate with someone who is really into synthesizers."

Just by opening yourself up to learning something new you may just find out you enjoy it, like I did with electronic music, and you might pick up valuable skills that will only help you in your chosen profession.

I think an engineer should always approach music and instrumentation with this type of outlook. Personally, I want to take drum lessons and pick up at least the basics on how to play. This doesn't mean I want to become a drummer, but it will help me to better understand the instrument and be able to more effectively communicate with drummers when they come to me to record something.

Tell me what you think about this topic. I know I strayed from my usual format of talking about recording tips, but this was something that has been on my mind for a while. I am interested to hear what you guys think, and what your approach to learning different instrumentation is. Do you think it is important? Are you apprehensive to learning any particular instrument or style of music? Let me know in the comments below.

Sennheiser e609 and e906

In my post about miking a guitar amp I had mentioned that one of favorite microphones to use on guitar was the Sennheiser e609 or the e906. I thought that I would take a moment to highlight some of the specifications of the microphone and talk about why I like it so much.

So, technically speaking, the e609 and e906 are not very different. They both a have a similar frequency range with the e609 producing 40-15kHz and the e906 producing 40-18kHz. They are priced pretty close to each other at 109.95 and 189.95.


Where they are different is where the e906 includes a three position switch that allows you to change the character of the sound you are capturing, offering slightly more versatility than the e609 offers. The three positions refer to bright, moderate, and dark and effect the sound as you might expect, with the bright slightly boosting the highs and the dark slightly attenuating the highs comparatively. As you can see pictured below, the e609 basically offers a fairly similar frequency response that the e906 offers in the bright setting, with a bit more boosting around 10kHz.

Sennheiser e609 Frequency Response Graph

Sennheiser e906 Frequency Response Graph

When it comes to these two microphones, I would choose the e906 because it isn't very much more expensive and it gives you some options to alter the frequency response.

Now, in my previous post I had discussed how I love using them on guitar. This is very true and almost always, I will add this in my arsenal when recording a guitar amp. Another application that is great for these, however, is using them on drums.

They have a cardioid polar pattern that allows them to stay pretty focused, which is something you definitely want when recording drums. The less leakage the better if you are trying to mic everything separately. I have had a lot of success placing these on high and mid toms when recording drums as well as placing them on the snare from time to time. They have a fast transient response which is ideal for picking up the fast transients of drum hits.

Do you have experience using this microphone? Have you had the same successes that I have had? Do you have a microphone that always tends to be your go to microphone for many different applications? Leave your thoughts and comments down below and share in the discussion.

Spaced Pair and Near-Coincident Pair

For today's post, I'd like to follow up on the last post I did concerning coincident pair miking techniques by discussing both spaced pair and near coincident pair miking techniques. These are two widely used stereo miking techniques that can offer wide stereo images.

I'll start off with spaced pair. This technique utilizes two identical microphones of any polar pattern. While you can use any polar patter, people generally fall back on omnidirectional which has more extended low-frequency response than a directional microphone.

The greater the space between the mics, the wider the stereo spread. Place the microphones too far apart, however, and you can get an over-exaggerated stereo image, and placing the microphones too close together gives you an inadequate stereo image.

This technique is used often in orchestral recordings in order to capture the entire ensemble. Generally, the microphones would be 10-12 feet apart, leaving your stereo image exaggerated. You can reduce this effect by placing a third microphone in the middle.

This technique often does not combine down to mono very well, resulting in phase issues which may be noticeable in your mix. The technique is great at capturing the ambiance of the space you are recording in.

The ORTF (Office de Radiodifusion Television Francaise) is the most common near-coincident microphone technique. It utilizes two cardioid microphones placed with the butts of the microphones close together rather than the grilles of the X/Y technique discussed earlier.

The capsules are angled 110 degrees apart and spaced 7 inches apart horizontally.  This gives a greater sense of space due to the time difference that sound reaches the capsules mimicking the way your ears pick up sound. This method gives you an accurate and wide stereo image with a good sense of depth.

Which of these two techniques do you use most often? What applications do you use them for? I know I didn't discuss every stereo miking technique available to you in the studio, so let me know what some of your favorites are down in the comment section!

Coincident Pair

When recording drum kits, pianos, string sections, or small ensembles the use of stereo miking techniques can make your job much easier. You don't have to focus in on each individual instrument or singer and can instead use a minimal microphone setup to capture the ensemble as a whole. By using these techniques you can retain the stereo image from left to right, you get a sense of depth in the recording, and get a good sense of the acoustic space it was recorded in.

There are four general techniques used in stereo recording, the one I will focus on today is coincident pair. This technique involves the use of two directional microphones placed with their grilles nearly touching and their diaphragms angled apart. The types of coincident pair techniques I will discuss are X/Y and M-S.

X/Y is one of the most common stereo miking techniques used. It utilizes two identical, or a stereo pair, of directional microphones. While you may think that the setup should look like an 'X', it actually resembles a 'V', with the capsules coming together as close as possible at a 90 degree angle.

M-S stands for mid-side and utilizes two microphones, one directional microphone pointed towards the source and another figure-8 microphone placed to pick up the sides. The microphones are placed with the capsules nearly touching just like the X/Y technique.

M-S is great for getting a good stereo image when you want the focal point to be in the center of the ensemble. This technique doesn't work as well the bigger the ensemble gets, however, because it tends to focus more on the center section due to the directional microphone being used.

This technique has no phase issues in stereo and is mono compatible, so your sense of a stereo image remains. A good use for this technique is to use it as a room microphone setup. It can often times sound more natural than a spaced pair.

To set up M-S on your mixer requires a few additional steps:

• First, create two new tracks in your session (one stereo and one mono) and label them as Side and Mid respectively. 
• Next patch from the Side Channel to a Mult and from the Mult to two channel inputs, or patch from the Insert Out of the Side Channel to the Insert In of the next channel. This will split the signal coming from the figure 8 microphone onto two separate channels. 
• Next you will flip the phase of one of the channels dedicated to the Side Microphone and run a tone generator through the channels.
• Bring one fader up and slowly bring the second up until you find the "null" point where the sound cancels 100%.
• Pan both tracks hard left and hard right. 
• Bring up the level of the Mid Microphone and you are ready to go.

Which of these setups do you prefer when choosing which stereo miking technique to use? Do you use the M-S technique as a room miking technique often? Let me know in the comments below.

Recording Vocals Part IV

Now that we have talked about some different techniques to record the vocal, from microphone selection to coaching the talent, I'd like to discuss some possible mixing techniques to bring out a vocal that may be buried in a mix.

Everyone has run into the problem before, I'm sure. You're going along with your mix and getting great sounding drums and guitars when you realize your vocal just isn't sitting in the mix where you want it. You can hear them, they just aren't the focal point that you want them to be.

There are a couple of things you can do to address this. One of them is to address the mix. It is sometimes hard, or even impossible, to bring up the level of a track that is not as present as you would like. In these situations remember that you can adjust the levels around the track you want affected. If the vocals aren't loud enough and you can't raise the level anymore than it is already, lower the surrounding instruments.

Now that you have a general mix that sounds good, you may need more work done on the vocals to help them stand out just a bit more. Next I would automate the vocal track and/or instrument tracks to raise or lower throughout the song to make sure that the focal point is where it needs to be. If there is a vocal break, for instance, you want the focal point to shift to one of the instrument tracks that takes over the melody.

Once I've effectively set levels and automate, an EQ on the vocal track often helps to give the track that extra push in presence. I start off with a High Pass Filter (HPF) that cuts out the low frequencies that are often not present in your vocal track and just introduce room noise to your recording. I then look for frequencies that are doing more harm than good. There is usually a small range of frequencies that give off a very nasally tone that is not desirable in your mix. I usually use a narrow bandwidth to address these problem frequencies. By cutting in these areas you can bring focus to your vocal track.


To then bring the track out in your mix, find the range that the vocal sits in and give it a slight boost. This range varies greatly from person to person, so use your ears and sweep the frequencies to find the right place to boost This will give the track more presence in your mix. Our ears are designed to pick up the frequency range of the voice and so any boost in this range allows the vocal to cut through the mix better.




The last thing I do is put a High Shelf EQ on the upper range of frequencies above the sibilance. This gives the track an airy quality that gives it brightness and a shimmering tone that I find pleasing.



I have included down below a sample recording showcasing these techniques to bring out the vocal in this track. By making these cuts and boosts and bringing down the levels of certain instrument tracks I was able to effectively bring out the vocal.


What are some techniques you use for EQing your vocal tracks? Do you like to primarily cut when you EQ or boost? Share some of your techniques and experiences in the comments below.

Recording Vocals Part III

So last week I talked to you about making the singer comfortable before you get started with the recording process. Here are some tips to make the recording go smoothly once you hit record.

Once you actually get rolling with the recording, be sure to talk to the singer. There is nothing more nerve-racking than being a vocalist by yourself in a quiet studio while the engineer and possibly the rest of the band are all in the control room. Even if you need a minute or two to set up a new track hold down the talk-back button and let them know, give them advice for the next take, let them know you're there.

If you are not getting the performance you are looking for, it is time to coach the talent. Do this in a constructive and productive manner. If you need to do another take don't just tell the singer: "Okay, we are just going to do another take of that verse". This gives the singer nothing to work with.. was the last take bad? Should they change something about the way they sang it? Were they out of tune in a section? These unanswered questions make the singer unsure of themselves and results in less than confident vocal performances.

Instead tell the singer things like: "You did a great job on the beginning of that verse, but it seemed like your energy was falling the further you went through. Try and keep that energy up all the way through, or we can try and break up the verse into two takes if that makes it easier." This gives the singer all the information, tells them how they can get a better performance, and gives them the option to control how they will perform the section.

Every singer is different and prefers different techniques. Some may want to get  in there and not mess around, while others want that personal touch to their experience. You can usually feel out what type of singer you've got in your initial conversation when they first arrive.

There will be one more part to the Recording Vocals series coming up where I will discuss techniques used during the mixing portion to bring vocals out in a mix that might be a little bit buried.

What are some experiences you have working with vocalists? Do you find vocals easier or harder to record than instrumentation, and why? Is there anything that I may have left out? Let me know in the comments below!

Recording Vocals Part II

So you have a singer in the studio, you've set up the microphones, tested them out to find out which one you are going to use for the recording, now what? Now you will focus on getting the best performance out of that singer. Hopefully, you will have an amazing and talented vocalist and your job will be easy. Often times this is not the case, however, and a little bit of coaching is needed.

This isn't to say that the vocalist is bad per say, they just maybe aren't used to being in a studio under pressure to perform at their best while the rest of the band and an engineer they possibly have never met before that day are all watching them. It can get stressful for just about anyone.

I have been in the studio on both sides, as the engineer and as the vocalist, so I will hopefully shed some light on ways to make your vocalist comfortable in their environment and ways to tactfully coach their performance.

First of all, make the singer feel comfortable from the onset of the session. Right when they get there talk to them, joke around, and let them know that it is a relaxed environment. If you are straight to business and talk about nothing but the recording then you are likely to make the singer feel more nervous about landing that perfect take.

Let them warm up their vocals in the room they are recording in. You may know that room like the back of your hand, but this is likely the first time the singer has been to your studio. Even though you may not think it has an effect, an unfamiliar environment can cause a singer to be uncomfortable and timid with their vocal performance.

Ask the singer how they prefer the room to be, whether that be standing, sitting, lights on, or lights dimmed. All of these things affect the comfort level of the singer and can bring out the best take possible from them. Ask them if they are comfortable with the entire band sitting in and listening while they record or if they would rather everyone except the engineer leave the control room.

Making sure your singer is comfortable is key to getting a good vocal performance. Take the time to get this right and you are likely to have a vocalist that chooses to record with you time and time again because you know how to make them feel comfortable during the recording process better than the other guy.

Next week I will be getting more into coaching the performance once the actual recording has begun. This requires it's own talent and finesse to accomplish.

What are some ways that you help make your artist feel comfortable? Have you been on the vocalist's side before? What are some things that helped you ease the nerves? Let me know in the comments.

Miking a Guitar Amp

Last week I discussed techniques to get started with miking vocals. Today I'm going to talk about some techniques I use when miking a guitar amp.

There are many elements that contribute to the sound of the electric guitar. Those can include the guitar, amplifier being used, and the effects chain (effects pedals).

Of course, it always helps to have a player that is well rehearsed and knows their stuff. The best equipment, mic placement, and post production work can't fix a bad performance. If you are tracking guitar, take the extra time that it takes to get a solid take. If there are intonation problems, address them then rather than waiting until later when it is often times too late. Tune the instrument between takes, there is nothing worse than hearing an out of tune guitar that clashes with the rest of the group.

To get set up to start recording, you may want to raise the guitar cabinet off the ground using an amp stand. This will reduce early reflections from the floor that reach your microphone and may cause possible phase issues.

I like to use a combination of different types of microphones when recording electric guitar. This gives me some interesting blending techniques that I can use in the mixing phase that allows me to get a more unique guitar tone.

My go to microphone for guitars is the Sennheiser e609 or e906. I place this on the outside edge of the speaker cone, on axis, about an inch away from the grill cloth. I absolutely love this microphone on guitar; it has a full body sound and gives you a lot of frequencies to work with. It is a dynamic microphone that was designed specifically for guitar amplifiers. The e906 has three adjustable sound characteristics: bright, normal and smooth.

I then use another dynamic microphone, a Shure SM57 or Beta 57 for example, just to capture a different tone. These microphones tend to be a bit more brighter sounding that the e609 and gives me different tonal options when I blend them later.

Another type of microphone I love to use on electric guitars are ribbon microphones, specifically the Royer R-121, which record an incredible warm tone from the guitar amp. This is a great tool to give your guitars some extra warmth and body later on in the mixing process. I usually slowly bring it up in the mix until your ears catch that sweet spot in the mix.

If I'm working with an open back speaker cabinet, I will usually put a condenser in the back. A lot of sound comes from the back of the amp, and capturing it can give you some interesting sounds to blend. The back typically produces more mid-range frequencies that can be problematic in a mix, so I use this track sparingly.

As usual, these are just some ideas to hopefully inspire some unique microphone techniques. Always play around with the positioning, as this can drastically change the sound of the guitar tone being recorded. Try out different microphones and preamp combinations to get the exact sound you are looking for.

What are some of your favorite microphones to use on electric guitar? Do you like to use multiple microphones or just stick to one? Share some unique techniques in the comments below!

Recording Vocals Part I

Vocals can be one of the trickiest parts of a song to record, but can be what sells your mix as being professional or what makes it sound amateurish. There are several things to consider when recording vocals such as microphone selection, positioning, performance guiding, and processing. I am going to do my best to pass on some information that I have picked up along the way through both research and trial and error. The best way to learn this stuff is to apply it yourself and figure out what works best for you, there is no "one way" to do anything in recording.


The first thing you want to do when preparing to record vocals is to select the right microphone. This step should not be shrugged off and considered as unimportant, because the right microphone can make your job much easier later on and the wrong microphone can make a vocal track almost unusable.

Listen to the artist singing in the environment you are recording in. Find out what frequencies are present in their voice. Are you recording a female vocal with a high range or a male with a deep voice?

Often times we are wanting an open vocal sound that has good representation in the high frequencies which will help with presence in your mix. A condenser microphone tends to have more clarity and definition in this range than dynamic microphones. That is not to say a dynamic microphone is not the way to go. You could have a very thin sounding vocal that a dynamic can round out. If you have a vocalist that is just coming out too bright when using a condenser microphone, it may be a good idea to switch over to a dynamic microphone.

Something that I suggest when recording vocals is to make the time to test out different microphones. I often bring out three or four different possibilities as well as maybe one dynamic microphone just in case. I then run them one at a time with the vocalist to see which one fits the vocal the best and brings out the characteristics I want emphasized.

I also record these tests so that I can bring the vocalist into the control room to take a listen for themselves. Often times I have found that engineers tend to disregard what the artist themselves think even though they often have the only judgment that matters... they are the ones paying you after all.

After a microphone has been selected, you can work on positioning both it and the vocalist in the room you are recording in. You don't want to be too close to surfaces, as these will introduce reflections in the recording that can result in undesired effects that are hard to remove. You also want to make sure you are not in any room modes. Stay out of the center of the room where standing waves can exaggerate resonate frequencies of a room.

A vocalist should not be right up on top of a microphone when recording, but should allow a bit of distance between them and the microphone as the picture to the right suggests using their hand as a guide. A pop filter should then be used, placed half way between the singer and the microphone. This will help reduce the chances of plosives and sibilance coming through onto your recording.

These techniques should be a good starting point towards getting a great sounding vocal track. Remember that these are suggestions, and you should always experiment with different microphone placements and use techniques that work for the particular situation you find yourself in. I will be going into more detail in a later post on guiding the vocal performance as well as processing the vocals once they are recorded to get the best results.

What are some of your favorite microphones to use on vocals? Do you find yourself using dynamic microphones on vocals very much? What techniques do you use to match the perfect microphone to a vocal? Let me know in the comments section!

Universal Audio 710 Twin-Finity

Last week I discussed one of the instruments used in The Destruction of All We Have Known, the sample recording I provided in a previous post about the capabilities of home studios. Well, today I would like to discuss a piece of hardware that was heavily used in that recording as well. This is the Universal Audio 710 Twin-Finity.

Universal Audio released this preamp in 2008 to combine the warmth of tube powered preamps and the clarity of solid state preamps. When selecting a preamp to purchase, you are often looking for particular tones that you want to get from it. You select one preamp that sounds amazing with acoustic guitars and you may select a completely different preamp that sounds amazing with bass guitars.

With the Universal Audio 710 Twin-Finity you get nearly infinite tonal possibilities from one preamp. This comes from the unique feature of combining the tube and solid state signal paths. Not only can you choose to have 100% tube or 100% solid state, there is a variable knob that lets you choose how much tube warmth you want and how much solid state clarity you want. This allows you to dial in specific combinations that bring out the best characteristics of whatever the sound source is that you are recording. 

For instance, maybe you are recording a guitar player that uses a lot of intricate finger picking. If you went with an all tube preamp you may loose some of the detail in the picking. By blending the tube and solid state, you can still get a warm acoustic tone but by blending more of the solid state into the signal you can capture more of the detail in what is being played.

Similarly, if you want a more retro styled warm vocal track and you would dial in more of the tube circuit while tracking your vocals. I have yet to find a source that I wasn't able to dial in the specific tone I was looking for and be completely satisfied with. 

Some of the additional controls on this unit are:

• +48V phantom power switch for using condenser microphones
• 15 dB pad for use on louder sources
• Mic/Line level switch for use when recording a bass DI for example in the Hi-Z input
• Output/Drive meter selector
• Low cut switch
• Polarity selector
• Input Gain knob
• Output Level knob

The versatility alone makes this preamp completely worth the $800 price tag, even if it is for only one channel. There are four channel models available for $2,000 but if you are on a budget and can only afford one channel, it is still worth the price. I have yet to find a preamp that can sound so good on so many different sound sources. Set your input gain and output level and then slowly adjust that blending knob until it hits that spot where everything sits just right and you are getting the exact tone you were envisioning.

What preamps are among your favorite and why? What makes them stand out above the rest for you? have you worked with the UA 710 before? What are your thoughts on this piece of hardware? Leave your comments below and lets discuss preamps!

Gretsch G3161 Historic Series

The Gretsch G3161 Historic Series semi hollow body electric guitar was manufactured by Gretsch from 2000-2006. Although the model didn't last long, due to the popularity of the Electromatic released at the same time, those that own the guitar can attest to the sound quality it carries.

The guitar sports the classic Gretsch orange finish, Gretschbucker pickups and Gretsch tailpiece. This guitar broke away from the traditional f-holes on most hollow body guitars and went with the cats eye design. For controls, there is a volume and tone knob as well as a pickup selector switch. The guitar has a spruce top with a maple back and sides. The fretboard is rosewood and the guitar features nickel tuners.

This guitar is my favorite instrument that I own. It has a great resonant sound and a nice natural crunch. I play this through a Vox AC30 and have found that I can get great clean tones as well as great overdriven tones from this guitar. By pushing the top boost on the amp I can get a bit extra drive in the amp pulling out a nice sparkle in the high end.

I picked up this guitar used in 2007 for around $550, which in my opinion was a steal. I have never been disappointed in this guitar from the moment I picked it up in the store. In fact, I bought the guitar before I bought the amp to go with it I liked it so much. I tried it out on several different amps, all of which sounded great, before I settled on the British Vox AC30. I felt that the guitar/amp combo really worked the best together. The AC30 brought out all of the best characteristics of the guitar and really made it shine.

If you are looking for a sound sample of how this guitar sounds recorded, check out the audio clip in my previous post. I used this while recording the song Destruction of All We Have Known for the rhythm guitar. I like the sound of this guitar for indie rock music, but it is also great for rockabilly when you get some twang out of it. I just love getting the speakers to sparkle with this thing and get some drive behind it to hear that nice full body. I will try and put up some samples in the coming days of just the guitar so you can get a better sense of how it sounds.

What is your favorite guitar? Do you prefer hollow, semi hollow, or solid body electric guitars? Post in the comments and let me know. I would also like your thoughts on the Gretsch Historic Series guitar. It is definitely one of my prized possessions. Also, be sure to check out the poll I put up to the right. Put in your responses by tonight at midnight!

Looking For Gear

Setting up a home studio can seem like a daunting task to most. There are so many options out there for each part of your studio that it can become overwhelming when setting yours up. Just remember that there are many resources out there to help you make your decisions and show you different paths you can take.

It is important to do your research when selecting the gear you purchase. I will be starting to post in depth reviews and suggestions for equipment that is affordable and convenient that I have experience with that is completely doable for the recording hobbyist. Keep in mind there are several different resources available to you.

Gearslutz is a discussion board for pro audio gear that is a great resource to check out. You can post questions and get answers from those in the industry as well as look at the plethora of information available to you here.

If you liked the DIY aspect of my previous posts, check out this blog all about DIY recording equipment. They have great gear information as well as products for sale such as this ribbon microphone.

The important thing to remember is that whatever advice you find, you should take it as just that, advice. Use these resources as a guide and a starting point. Test equipment yourself and use your ears to find what sounds best to you. The last thing you want is to spend your hard earned money on gear that you are less than impressed with.

I am posting a song that I recorded with a friend of mine that will serve as an example of what is attainable with a minimal home recording setup. I will go into detail on some of the equipment used in the recording in future posts, so stay tuned for more information.

Where do you go to get information on new gear? What kind of reviews are you looking for? Share your favorite places to get advice and search for new gear in the comments below.

N72 Neve Preamp Clone

Hey everyone! I thought that since my previous post touched on DIY electronics, I would go ahead and show a project that I worked on and give some praise to a great company making modular preamp kits at an affordable price, Seventh Circle Audio. I hope you enjoy!

DIY

If you haven't been bitten by the DIY bug, you probably have it coming. It is one thing that I suggest anybody in audio, whether it be pro audio or musician, get involved in. It is a great way to save money while still getting a solid quality product.

Making DIY electronics does take practice to learn and develop skills such as reading schematics and operating a soldering iron. Once you get these things down though, it becomes easy and something enjoyable to do.

Take something like microphone cables. If you go into your local music store to buy a microphone cable it can easily cost $25 for a 20 foot cable. Considering you'll need several of these cables even for the smallest project studio and you're putting out a lot of cash on something that isn't so fun to buy.

If you go the DIY route, however, you can save yourself quite a bit of money in the long run. You can buy a 500 foot spool of microphone cable for as low as $100. The connectors you buy cost $1-$1.50 a piece. Some people see the $100 price tag for the spool of cable and are thrown off from pursuing this DIY route. When you compare that to the 4 cables you can buy from the store and the possible 20 cables you can make yourself, it just doesn't make sense to ever buy another cable if you have the skills to make one yourself.

Now, microphone cables aren't all that exciting. What really gets exciting is to build pro audio gear. You can find kits and schematics for all sorts of audio gear out there too. I have made guitar pedals and preamps myself and have had a lot of success on those projects. The possibilities are almost limitless for what you can build yourself though. You can build everything from theremins and analog synths to tube amplifiers for guitars.

So, if you are looking to build up your project studio or want some effects pedals for your guitar rig, I strongly suggest you look into the DIY options available to you. Take the time to learn the skills necessary and you can save yourself a lot of money on high end gear.

Out of the Box Drum Miking Techniques Part II

To continue with our discussion on unique drum miking techniques in my previous post, we will turn our attention towards the Glyn Johns Drum Recording Method.

Glyn Johns is a recording engineer who has worked with many bands including Ryan Adams, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, and the Clash to name just a few.

Glyn's method was developed while recording the huge drum sounds of Led Zeppelin and uses just 4 microphones. His technique uses two overhead microphones as well as two spot mics on the kick and snare for more customization during the mixing process.

To start out, one microphone is placed overhead about 3 to 4 feet above the snare and pointed down at the kit. Position the microphone so that you have a nice balance of the different aspects of the kit. Point the microphone towards the toms to bring the hi and mid tom out more in the mix or raise the microphone higher if the cymbals are too piercing. Experiment with the placement to find what suits your taste.

Next, you will take your other "overhead" mic and place it to the right of the floor tom about 6 inches above the rim. Point this microphone across the tom and towards the snare and hi hats. In order to ensure that the phase of your two microphones are the same, place both microphones the same distance from the snare.

You should find that you can get a pretty great balanced sounding drum sound from just these two microphones. The next two microphones are used to reinforce the sound of both the snare and kick drum and to make it easier to adjust the sound of the kit as a whole.

As stated earlier, always use these methods as a starting point and feel free to experiment and find new setups that work for your space. These are great starting points that will ensure you get a good sound, now its time to use your ears and make adjustments.

Please join in the conversation and let me know of drum miking techniques that you've tried and liked. Do you tend to go with a minimal setup, or do you like to put a microphone on everything to have the most control over your drum sound? Leave your comments below, and remember to check back in for future posts as we delve into the world of the recording arts.

Out of the Box Drum Miking Techniques Part I

The purpose of recording anything is to be able to faithfully represent what a source sounds like in a given space. Now, there are many different methods one can take to achieve this.

With drums, for instance, many professionals prefer to put a microphone on every piece of the drum kit. This gives them the opportunity to tinker with and adjust each individual aspect of the kit without effecting the other elements of the kit.

While this can be extremely useful when wanting just a touch more high hat or a little bit more of the crack from the snare drum, it can be time consuming setting up microphones when in the studio with an impatient paying client not to mention all of the additional mixing time needed to balance the kit.

This is where things can get creative for the engineer. There are many different established methods that utilize fewer microphones and are still able to capture the essence of the drum kit. The two methods I will be discussing in this post are the Tchad Blake Method as well as the Glyn Johns Drum Recording Method.

Tchad Blake is a Grammy award winning recording engineer working with artists such as The Black Keys, Elvis Costello, and Sheryl Crow to name a few.

Tchad's method involves using a singular microphone to capture the entire kit. While using only one microphone makes it a challenge during the mixing portion of the project, if you work on the correct placement and getting a good sound from the onset there should be no problem with using this technique.

The microphone used for this method is a large diaphragm condenser microphone set to a cardioid polar pattern. It is placed directly above the kick drum and pointed towards the snare. Placing the microphone here ensures that it has a focus on the snare with enough bleed from the rest of the kit to have a nice balance of kick, cymbals, and hi hats added in.

The result from using this setup is actually pretty surprising. It takes very little adjustment to get a good balance of the kit. When using this method, I did find that the low end was a little bit lacking on listening back. There was not enough kick drum presence for my taste. To enhance this setup for my use, I reinforced the kick drum using a Shure Beta 52. This enabled me to capture every aspect of the kit with a lot of balance using only two microphones. I encourage you to experiment with microphone setups even when using an established method like I did by reinforcing the kick drum. You will tend to be a happier engineer.

Please join in the discussion and tell me about your favorite techniques for miking a drum kit, and be sure to check out my next post where I will go into detail about the Glyn Johns Drum Recording Method.