Week 3 - Posted on 2016-08-11 by Kelly Bazely

This week was fun! We learned all about microphones and microphone placements. After our lesson, Ric actually sent me to his other studio to watch a professional band get set up by some professional sound engineers. They showed me what mics they used for each insturment, and how to set them up. It was slightly overwhelming, but I took lots of notes and pictures to help me remember everything. It was a neat experience being behind the scenes in a recording studio instead of being the artist recording. I got to play the piano for the sound/mic test which was a lot of fun. I learned about the difference between dynamic and condensor microphones, and which ones are best for which instruments and scenarios. For example, dynamic microphones would be best in live performances because they are louder and create a bigger sound. Condensors on the other hand are great for recording instruments with a lot of vibrations like voices and cymbals. I also got to see the sound engineers measure the distance from the center of the snare drum to the microphone with a cable to make sure the microphones from the drum set were both equal distance apart from the snare drum. The wood chunks on the ceiling of the recording room were also really cool, and were placed there for on purpose for acoustics. Looking forward to continuing the sound engineering journey! :)