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J-Himmy Productions
This is week six in the studio and it was really interesting. I got to come and sit in another session with the music director of the La Reve group while him and my mentor did pitch correcting on some vocals they had taken a few days ago. I have always heard about pitch correcting for artist, but have yet to see it happen in person. I hope to learn this in the future so I can use it if needed for a client of mine. The next day my mentor and I went over mic placment witch is chapter 6 in the book. My mentor took me into the D studio to teach me mic placment and he also had me do some vocal test to see how different placments can make a difference while recording. We went over this section a little more the next day when I came in for another one of his sessions with a local raper here in Vegas. I gpt to witness how a real rap session is recorded and why its good to record sevral takes during a song. After the client had left we went into the recording room and Luis showed me how he had the mic set up and how he also had to switch the mic out for a Shure SM7 because the other mic was putting to much distortion on the clients vocals. After showing me mic placment we started to get more in depth with Protools. It is a very confusing softwear to use at first, but I know the more we go over it ill start to understand it more and more each time.
-Section 1:
- Diaphragm size is a key physical factor of microphones, and usually is indicative of the frequency response of the microphone. Larger diaphragm is designed to be responsive at lower frequencies, and a smaller diaphragm corresponds to a microphone that will be more responsive at higher frequencies.
- Dynamic mics - Least detailed mics of the three mentioned (Dynamic, Condensor, and ribbon). King of live sound, Can handle the loudest sound sources. Do well on any instrument that produces a lot of acoustic energy and doesn't need much spectral detail to shine. Avoid usuing dynamic mics on acoustically 'weak' instruments.
- Condensor mics - Capture more detailed sonic picture than dynamics. Weapon of choice for acoustic instruments, vocals, and drum overheads. "Warm, full and detailed"
- Ribbon mics - "Dark, smooth, and warm sounds". Used on guitar amps(moderate levels), string/reed instruments, and as drum room mics. Bi-directional
- Rule of thumb is to space the mic away from the instrument by a distance similar to the longest dimension of the instrument.
- One way to categorize mic placement is by distance away from the source. Techniques include distant miking, close miking, accent miking, and ambient miking.
- Distant Microphone Placement - Placing one or more mics at a distance of 3 feet or more from the source. Should be relatively high off the ground, and distant from walls to avoid reflections interfering with direct sound. Good for capturing larger ensembles, sections of instruments, or groups of singer. The further distance that you move from the source the more indirect or "room" sound that you will pick up.
- Close Microphone Placement - Placing one or more mics between 1 inch and 3 feet from a sound source. Closer you get to a source the more room sound will be excluded from the recording. Crisp, clear, recording of mostly direct sound that is able to cut through a mix.
- Accent Microphone Placement - Placing a supplemental microphone close to a source that is ultimately mixed with a distantly-placed mic or mics to improve the tonal balance, as a special effect, or to add presence.
- Ambient Microphone Placement - Placing a microphone or microphones at enough distance from the source where the room sound is more prominent than the direct sound.
-Review Questions:
- "Distant Miking" involves placing one or more mics at a distance of 3 feet or more from the source.
- "Close Miking" involves positioning one or more mics between 1 inch and 3 feet from a sound source.
- "Accent Miking" involves placing a supplemental microphone close to a source that is ultimately mixed with a distantly-placed mic or mics to improve that tonal balance.
- "Ambient Miking" involves placing a microphone or microphones at enough distance from the source where the room sound is more prominent than the direct sound.
- A good recording distance can be determined based on the "All of the Above" of the instrument.
-Section 2:
- Stereo Miking - Stereo recording essentially means using two mics to record, just as stereo playback is playback on two speakers. Best way to minimize your chance of phasing is to use coincident pairs (mics very close together) or to use the 3:1 rule (place the mics 3 times as far from each other as they are from their respctive sound source).
- Spaced pair - Two microphones are placed apart from each other to produce two different recordings of the same source. Strategically miking an instrument in two places can be an effective way to capture tonal characteristics produced by different sections of the instrument.
- x-y - Two cardioid microphones placed with the heads nearly together at 90 degree angles. The resulting pickup pattern will be larger than the pickup pattern of an individual mic. The mic on the left will pick up the right side of the room and the mic on the right will pickup the left side of the room.
- Blumlein Pair - Similar to the x-y technique with one variation - two bi-directional mics are used at 90 degree angles. The resulr of this technique is that one mic will pickup the front left and back right of the room while the other picks up the front right and back left of the room.
- ORTF - "Office de Radiodiffusion-Television Francaise." Two cardioid mics are placed at an angle of 110 degrees with the heads 17cm apart.
- Mid-side - Involves placing a cardioid mic facing the sound source and a bi-directional mic is placed perpendicular to the cardioid mic. They are each recorded onto one track. The track with the bidirectional microphone is then copied and the phase is inverted on the copy. The two bi-directional tracks are then panned hard left and right while the cardioid mic is panned center.
- Decca Tree - Mainly used for recording orchestras and large ensembles. Can be achieved with a special T-shaped mic stand or using multiple standard stands/clips. Uses 3 cardioid microphones facing left, right, and centre which are then panned to match their configuration.
-Review Questions:
- "Spaced Pair" refers to any pair of microphones spaced at any distance.
- The "xy" configuration uses two matched cardioid microphones the heads nearly together at 90 degree angles
- The "Blumlein Pair" is almost identical to the X-Y technique with one variation - two bi-directional mics are used at 90 degree angles.
- The "Mid-Side" technique involves placing a cardioid mic facing the sound source and a bi-directional mic is placed perpendicular to the cardioid mic.
- BOOK SAYS: The "XY" configuration uses 3 Cardioid microphones facing left, right and centre which are then panned to match their configuration
- IM PRETTY SURE IT IS SUPPOSE TO BE: The "Decca Tree" configuration uses 3 cardioid microphones facing left, right and centre which are then panned to match their configuration.
-Section 3:
- When miking a bass guitar, the best miked bass sounds are usually achieved by putting a good dynamic mic 7 to 12 inches from the speaker grille and playing normally. The relatively large distance from the cabinet gives the larger waves time to develop before hitting the diaphragm of the mic. Kick drum mics can yield great results on bass cabinets due to their low end response and ability to handle hard transients.
- Electric guitar - For harsher rock sound, put a dynamic mic very close to the grille centered on the speaker. For a more mellow sound, move it away from the center of the speakers. The tone controls on the amp should be fine tuned prior to recording so that the monitored sound is optimum. If you record with eq those settings will essentially be 'printed' to your track and will be irreversible.
- Acoustic guitars/string instruments - Dynamic mics can produce decent results on an acoustic, but a condenser or ribbon mic can be safely utilized due to the relatively low acoustic pressure produced by acoustic guitars.
- Keyboards - Can be plugged directly into the line inputs of your mixer, however miking an amp can sometimes produce a warmer sound that can be useful to take the edge off these digital instruments. Keyboard amps are miked a little further back than guitar amps, so that the sound from the tweeter is also captured.
- Brass instruments - Respond well to both condenser and dynamic mics. Dynamic mics achieve a punchier, more precussive sound and are able to cope with powerful waves that can be produced by brass instruments. Large-diaphragm dynamic mics in cardioid mode work very well, particularly for trombone, trumpet and sax at distances of 2-4' and angled slightly off of the bell. Ribbon microphones can be very effective when recording both solo and ensemble brass or woodwind instruments in larger ambient spaces, capturing the instruments in nice detail along with the reflected sound from walls and windows.
- Woodwind - Most wind instruments can be recorded successfully if the microphone is positioned around 20 inches in front, and angled down from above, so that it isn't pointing directly down the bell or mouth of the instrument. For recording a clarinet or saxophone the mic may be positioned 3-7' away from the instrument, in front of it and roughly level with the top half of the body aimed at the keyholes in the lower half.
-Review Questions:
- Bass guitars and guitars can be sent directly into the console using a "Direct input box"
- Miking an acoustic guitar near the "Sound hole" may result in too much low end.
- "Dynamic" mics tend to achieve a punchier, more precussive sound and are able to cope with powerful waves that can be produced by brass instruments.
- To capture the harsh smack of a snare drum a "Dynamic" mic should be used.
- to cleanly capture the detail of cymbals a "Condensor" mic should be used.
