process and one that’s essential to get right. guitars, drums, vocals, pianos and more... Recording is the first part of the pr TNs UICO CC cetera te oe emer) eee eee ent tape, ADA or other tape-based systems couple of decades anyone with a modest budget could get tra ye ner Cr eee ares rene re setae Se re Ste etme ory gether ealy record wet or dry using effects and Pe eer Pending omhow you work, you could be called on aes ey eee nee BIOGRAPHY Ser ee. = best als Recording» wocl oa pono fr a ee eee hee ee tomany different i ee eee ee eee mm ecology. eee ees ee eesRecording electric guitar SU CSE eS EEC EU Ue eege I) eM nal ce Cee ee ts pees ee er et an ee ene oes pee ne ee Ce nS ae) Sra SRG TSE TN EA also capture the signal fom various mics to different Coe eee ee eer ee peer eerie teen oat spare effect pedal output and use thisas part ofthe peer! eee eee ey eee en cee eee Peete ere ti ert sna Pret enn a ea Se a eee tenet) enter tent raters this ill create a much more authentic sound. The best idea, however. is toc up your guitar amp, since this captures not only the live sound! of ecording in a physical space, but also the colouration and character that the amp andits spe 1 lend tothe sound, Like using any eet er errs eens eee eee ete eee eters Peer eet et eect kn anes sdback and, wherever possible, recording ina clean cleaner sound. Place amps away from walls r the comers Ce ee eee eens Cte eenne ne erie Pen SC een as placementisas important asthe mic itself and that Bead — al ay , ie D See eee ee eed Peete eet Serene ean nea eee aes Cena et mee id an inexpensive model and a staple of many studios. They ee cea at eres two channels recorded to singe track or double-tracked eee eae eee ees ROT eet Sree een te pet eee er ete ee eee tree eee See ee ee eres re ee Caer eas ee tet ha erence rota ten et) Peseta) ceo Pe erro eer Loreen etn orn etre beereetcererenny Perea et tee) Peet to eos Portree eerste ere ey Oe eee fretseee er ces the centre of the speaker and angle another across the face On eee a eter nent tate tee eats cer se Cee ee et eee ee ete ee eect) et ee ee ce ees eae en ee ees eee ee es from the sound source and orientation tit. Moving a mic closer tothe amp gives you sharper focus, increased highs ere eae eee Se eo ety ‘twill x an some of the ambience ofthe room. Fxperiment eee ene ens Ce ee tee ca Pe een ee ee pee et fee ee ee ee ee eee ae eee) en) pereronrtt] Soe) te) recency pated ee ed nes eet Cent reer ies Senos Pratt ee Steer one od eee Recording masterclass Cee ent ene) generally provide bit more low end, Close-micing an amp isthe most common technique For capturing a harder, eee ee ey ee Renna sere aera one ay second, ambient mic that you blend with the ist moving, eee ee eta en tere Pee eet et eget ct een teeter eerie is cet eee ae place a compressor across the channel with the threshold ee oa er aed ‘witha fader sot correctly, should prevent any accidental Se Setter eee nat rey eer poeta DU eentny eed ett enter] rd Porer roy paneer) Penta ets ral orien et ery il tone eet rea eo eer ey4 ROC M enn td fe eoe le Tae ie ener OG Ee one aee) Ho OTe R ie Herc asRatT are Taian CO MUM eRe) ts Mean mlm ‘ is eee eters e R es thatthe mood, confidence and syle Pret at) Soe eae ened eer ene tener ee seer all factors, but with voealsit can be as much about putting See ee ee right as anything else. Some vocalists, for example, prefer eee es erent eceaen eetey Peete ee ene ee eet os hear some of themselves in the room as well asin the Pe eee) ee ee ae Engen een et aetna? Pee eee) Pe eee TES Ee eee ae ee ee relatively small outlay these provide an instant ‘dead eer ee a ere ne ety ee eet eae ener eee ee ett eee ed eee et eae eet eee etn ne pee etre eee ete coe ene Sree enn erty en es Gee oa five eeaptee stn lo (ae OIE ee eae ages aN Ca) eee Dea eal eae cu er ee ed baie rd rod ~ oer ere eer temporarily achieve reine) eon aa elo eect ord pay Cr eres Pe poner) a ee erent rs ease treed peeteereeares eo i pas SEU Tees Cr etsTheMicSteree@For All Your/AKG Weeds 50 Years In The Making Legendary 1” Diaphragm 2 a} i tapee Mela el f=te) a lalale st ehast I TEC Award Nominee Leela n Vall . TheMicStore ( 0800 098 8079 www.TheMicStore.co.uk HARMAN Advice worth listening to...eeoend Seeded eos terry ti rien orien Tree tend eter erect ert Ponerinae erent Perera nny reer peor nc erty Parents eres ee co ‘The basic method of recording voralsin any DAW is broely similar an the diferences come ‘down mainly tothe way in which dterent programs ae lid out. Connect the mic othe input of your sudo interface or your mixer, whichover you prea. Remomber that most condenser mes wil ned phantom power, but you're nt using powored me, don’ swith hs on ‘Before you do anything, always remeber to tun of your speakers ass easy to forget and «reate a nasty feedback loop 28 soon asthe mic becomes active (Greate a mone auto rack and set the lve, geting your vocalist to sng as loud as they ping to get so that you can set an upper imi forthe gai. necessary, apply some gente ‘compression eer on your mic, interface or by using a plug-in toeatch any potntal praks. Use the input gain contol onthe mixer channel you neodt boost the signal and aso check ‘thatthe inputs on your interface are sat ata decent lve to give god signa without coping Don'tpush faders to high a his stage, concentrate instead onthe input gain and preamp stages. Get a monitor mix going so that the vocalist shay withthe eels and thon youre set 1m go. you noed to leave he vocals tot, setup hoped recording and let them pertorm several takes before you come back in. you experince ltency nthe monitors, reeze racks ‘hat my be causing CPU strain and get the latency down as low as possible by dropping the butler settings for he aus interface. your interface supports direct monitoring you should tryusing this as itmnitrs the vocals though he hardware rather tan the DA, eee ne ts able to apply a hardware reverb on an aux buss to monitor but not record it Someintrfaces, such as Yamaha's ni eet Pectin eorex und nee eons ee ee el channel t possible, A neutral compressor with gentle Pee er et oe ened eet eae ees Peete eee ence erat ieee Ree en Rr eee aoa oe goa rs een ee terns singer Always use a popshild to stop plosives ’b’ and ee en een eed fee ee eet eee ee pe ee eee eee eee eee een eee ee too faraway, the room will start to colour the sound. ee Oe net ad Re ee ee eer Pentel tec perenne nity en i tts ee et a are) bad idea to start atering recording levels uring atake so ete ue ec ee eneee ee Cee neers Poe ee ees likly to getalittle bled through from headphones, ena eee ae ae er ey ee ree acer see erent ees ee ee teas tey where possible to match the mie with the vocalist aera eee Recording a vocal Setting up for vocal recording is easier than you think CO ees es eee Ty Ce ere ney Cen ee eee ney oe eee eee eta reer ers err een Cote ee een See ee ert eee ee eer eet {general-purpose mic that can alsa be used for cording, ee ee oe By ee Ecce ons eesBSCR rene ding masterclass Recording acoustic guitar The acoustic guitar has a unique sound, and capturing it as accurately as possible is the foundation for making great tracks. Ce eee eee heer aetee serena ete ee ae ee ed en ear red that pickups don’t generally make for good recordings. An Peete eres eet eet ene eet tear et heen et erty ee ee ee plucking the strings and amplified by the sound boxis ont ee eee ae eee et ey cee ate et eee eee rather than assuming, you'll tweak it ateron in your BAW paeten teeny ert See re Even the kind of picka guitarists usingan makean ee eter Sd Pree eee orc A ea Oe oa Serre eee een td eae eee ees response, both of which are key factors when recording ee eens eee eae Tere ear ets Pee ee eee ern Inexpensive choices and will also serve you well fr other ceed eee ee eet Pore a tet es Pt el tna ete ete ne) the micis pointing. You can use a mie with an omni polar Se en aT ee een et eo ee eee er eee ats Pe ee sordid mic. creo ee ee eet ee) ‘slightly warmer, widersound than small-diaphragm MBE rocesing eth ring De eS kee Ueda aa peardered een nately erin fer ee pee eee eee eer renee Re ae eee ce eat’ Petry eee Ce te ees pee a ee ee Sa eer teen ee eee ten eee ee eee ete ee eee ee eee en eae UC at a OF AN ACOUSTIC GUITAR’S SOUND COMES MOSTLY FROM THE SOURCE. Coes Cee er ea)mie ea ee eee ed ee ts eg ee Seen et acuste pki Sait aarp eae ety pecans eel ed ered Pom nennen Other ways of recording acoustic guitar The tational snger-songwiter, playing whist seated onl one possible ype of acoustic guitarist you might have to record. your guitarists prone to moving around while playing operas if they are standing up, it can pla hav wit your mic placomont asthe signal's ‘volume wil change as they move around Not only that, but the mic wil so pick up ater noises, tke the movement of the feet or he sound of floorboards. ‘AKG makes the C611 (around £30), which i atny condenser pickup designed for capturing 3 ‘ear acoustic sound when fied to ‘he body ono nea the bridge. There ae diferent modes for phantom or battery powering, ‘Audio-Technica makes the PRO 70 Carlod Condonser Lavalernstunant mi (around 22), ‘upp with bath a othing cp anda guitar mount. lt canbe batory or phantom powered and has alow-equencyrol-ft switch o eliminate rumble. These kinds of avaller mics are useful fr live recording when you need aan, acurate acoustic guitar sound but he slr aso needs some eodom to mov. you ae considering such recording solton, opt for model hati esignod fr capturing musical instruments and not one ati simply for vices and puiic-speaking uses 2s they wil pick up less deta nnn Fern ee T) Pere ees nee DO a rr es Seas pore ete cen en pe eS coe eet sound. What you need isa balance of that power pls the ‘other ports oF the guitar that colour and shape the sound, eee ee ee ee SO a ener eet once Seer ete en any Seer ete cece For any lve recording, experiment with moving the ie peter teen atceeen nent oat the sound situation. Asa genera rule, moving the mic gradually further up the neck wil inerease the high frequencies ee eet ee meer et ete ee eee Nee ced ee a eee a ens ee a ene ee ee erent eee ee Preeti te terns tee foe e eer reece guitars dey, taking advantage ofthe natural ever ofthe ene es en ea ess eee Pre menrenSih tg) See ee Se eee a ee ee ee eet Acoustic guitars don't generally sound xd sory to keep a ee res ‘compression toa minimum to preserve the natural quality eee! eeHandcrafted in Denmark PA: DPA Reference Standard Microphones The best just got better Completely redesigned for better specs and unequalled performance Sy r i a With the new redesigned DPA Reference Standard Microphones you get + New electronics design —up to 120 68 namic range + Improved rejection of radio requengyintrerence + Full modularity: three new preamps with interchangeable capsules ‘The best off-axis performance of any mic + Ultra-compact mics with unrivaled cable areas of instalation + Zero coloration mount for Cheek out www.dpamicrophones.com/rs for more informationeOO el MORO Most MlaSelAncals TEED TCS UO SEU ess ICTR MTCC RCE ATSIC RUSS ULM Seem eC ROR OL RUA ee Peed reer ent ee oer rns eens en et on Cec) Poecis eee erie ee erate) rors remain ete en ea es y SecGen ai acer ore EE er ee ee et eer ee ey Sa eee cee eee Perry enor ole yeni Son As ever, move the microphone eee et an Res een ne es ake a ere nea Se eet een sen oan Senn preen neestr Trees een eat both the bowing sounds and the attack ofthe player but also the more resonant sound and ambience of the room. kinds of brass, separate the players alittle moreso that Peet ene ea eet ert Deon! Bie Ld Ln te on acute pln sd rene eee eet ees een eeterats ete) eter teeter Peete roa Poeciten uo tiie ees preparer tia Peenrerarr ate ear aeeet a oi ere rte eee ee erred Scene eae ee reenact tte? CO a cca etcr) Be UU foeselege recy eee tes ee er Cree eee See ere a ne eed ee ed eer ee eran eee ets Sa ee eed CES at steed ee erry Se ee eons sounds, The closer you place them, the more they will a ete n er td en ene nein tose! eee eee eee ee et eee neta eae ee ten) Speen eee eer te ‘or more oom mics and see what works. oe A Cenc tte core ee tS Poon ce Snr erent Para ert cd SRS ales eee ced ee er eaRecording drums Te OUP Ron are I RC RLCN EN CCU Cacossam ATL Ue CeCe MAR LSS el Len (cL sions eee et ete eer eee) ee eter ee a last factor s open to different interpretations and really et eee ‘Some prodices favour using fewer mics and capturing a more live feel. For more heavily produced Se ees pe ee eee een) somewhere between these two extremes, I's a mistake to ee eer eae ret eet = eee ee eee hands on. In realty it depends very much what is ealled eee Eons the drummer's style and other factors. Coen eee ee ee ee cee eM arr Tee Cee ed room as other mice instruments they wil almost a Ree nat sce cca Snare moe pinecone cern) Pe eetorter Peer ben eer eens Cee ees five or more depending onthe size ofthe kit and the eee ee een ee ec Se ee eas and an overhead to catch crash cymbals and toms. Like ‘ny project in which you use multipte microphones you ence tenes Stott Sa re reney ala een) reer ereaen a ner peter ee Ming a drum kit correc isa time-consuming and delicate business although an ‘experienced engineer wll ave done it hundreds of times and wl know afew shrtuts. ‘When recording alive kt ts mere important to get the levels and separation as corect as you can and del wit any phase issues ater tan ying odo too uch sound-shaping uring the recording. Ut bled, ating andthe possiblity thatthe druramer might hit a mie by aceidnt, tor's enough to worry about before you even hit record ‘You'l need as many audio racks a you hae mics coming ino your desk or intertace lack thm, Keeping each drum on separate Wack Of eouse some mis (ike the overheat) wil ick up more than one drum, though wth careful placement, you can make sure they pickup mor ofthe rash andre cymbals than the thers. Soloing mics as your erummer warms up isthe best way to hear exactly what each mics picking up, then make the relevant postonal or directional adjustments. Dot ty to ‘make oo many Ed o eects decisions during tracking ~ these ae best ft for after the trace have been li down, ifyou are working on moc ited equipment wih fewer mics or channels, think about what yu can subgroup while recording, The snare and ia, for example, othe sare and tome, Careful mic placement during setup gives you the lexi to experiment ona more ted budge, although iis ice to havea fll mulitracked Kit work with and it's good practice to Ce ee ent ea! peer tere eee peer eed eee ees Soe ene er ta] eee ae eer een eee een eer eect Cees eet ee et tat eer eres eee peer et ee een sound of that particular snare. Avoid placing ittoo close eat ee ee Cres ene anes ae eee ee nS SeesPoesia e creo) Pee eee ete See ere enorme rer eters sound that emanates from undemeath If you dothis, ee ee et ent ent tenets picks up the hi-hats suficiently well, although for extra clarity you can always place anather condenser mic pre enean re esed Pe ee attr) Se eee eet ees Nees Peseta ee teen reer thuds of moving ait generates, As such, a dedicated Se ee ee aca Pan ene ee nerd rin ee teen es Pen en ane eer ed position t near to the beater head, around alfwase ee cer ee en ene ea eee pillows into the bottom of the drum to make sue hat the fixings dort rattle as wells tighten up the sound and Se eee ee ee change the sound quite dramatically so again, experiment tosee what works eee ee es using dynamic mics pointing cownivards tow ards the centre ofthe drum. Ifyou have smaller toms ou may get oe eee See em ec hey eee ett bese pane enna peeeenatenell eo pooerereireliienaetis Oo Plc krters cage perro Pies Teen er se cae pearl no ra pear er cier iesreriperireentie Sous meatal aa ee a remnants pn eri teh oie Hines rier rl pesrccreore rt MN Se cies mg cage po RPT Te yim f aay Rest eeneet err ellen ees Ce eeeLive recording Live music is flourishing — and that means even more bands wanting their shows eee ed Pherae eer it te ee ris enter ny ts See ere eee a fact, many front-of-house engineers record gigs asa matter een eee Renee tenet etn corned Hands on Recording fom the crowd witha hand-held device ee eres ee eee ee ee earner ener) recorders have advanced to a point where they can make very good quality recordings and have enough storage peer et ker Lenny Zoom and Yamaha offering stunning recording quality. A recording made witha hand-held machine is always Pee nee ee irr tte! Soret ete ncn se nd ery choose to use this method. Typically this may berightin front of the main mixing desk, since that’s where the eee eet ees Sera you have acces tothe mixing desk the simplest way to eee ee een een Pe eee ee aon eet eee ee eso? Beer terr 1 recorder ofthe type mentioned Re eee eee ge rere ety mercy ofthe person doing the mixing for yourbalanee, 0 Poorer Inputs Main Mixing Cet ee LO UC Ue ANC a OE ona a ages SOURCES Soro teuaiare! rete Sot rei erate) elect Pe etry peer) onstage lene ania, Pee eee ead pneent rey ereeneeeten ont eee crests it'simportant to monitor the recording on headphones to check that everything is coming through as you want ito, Ifevorything is coming through the desk, the mix should ee ee) asin the room, eee eee en eee Se Se eee eee en et et Petre eet Ente nears like thisitcan be a good idea to ada drum mic or two and feed them tothe recording but nt the PA, whi Ser eee ans ae neni er nares Cre ee ett eet cats pe ge Coed ee ene ear) Sete Te rea interface to get sound into the computer Bigger desks ences ee eres Preteen ee eter ee Peteniatncs have to use subgroups onthe desk to capture everything oye Shae eee ee Se es thinking, Good monitoring is key when subgrouping Peeper aren et ty) ee eee ay Srecetes tae chs teenies relative levels ofthe drums later only the kit asa whole. en en ts en ene een ene tar ee ee eee ee eee ec eet Pet te ree ‘vocals are all elements that can be subgrouped with eesmee et eect ee ee ences a Sy Tite ou CRS a + Ceci Neg ee ares Pee eee tie yea eee) y ores Pet! Cee ee ee eet ees Rees ite cote ent eet et eee ee es ere ee ene eet a ero Cae & Pi errpereeny See eee eee seee ier efter. Se eee anes er Per) best monitoring solution, though if you're at that level the et pee eee eT Acer eral eee re etre) rer at peenenren Bite eiiad Coeur) occ’ era Pere vere ated Parreerert eee Peoctetenr eer pee enrn enT Ponerinae y Ceuta tee ee et ee a ete eer Pianemiiretviety Pareto Bre Sarre Ts ees Ce eer)