Sound Recording - the WellMixed.com Blog

The blog has not been well-tended recently, but now it will be even less so, as the WellMixedStore.com takes over the NavBar link on the main website.

However, this means the beginning of a new era, where the microphones that you want to listen to are available at WellMixedStore.com

News about all thing related to home recording will be more constantly posted on a little microblogging platform that you may have heard about called Twitter. Be sure to Follow @WellMixed there.

The folks at Recording Hacks have just posted a list of microphone reviews found in issues of Tape Op magazine.

http://recordinghacks.com/reviews/tapeop/

The product reviews from Tape Op are usually fairly positive, and advertisements often appear beside them. This has let some readers to wonder whether the objectivity of the reviews is authentic.

The positivity has been justified in the past by DIY-hero/studio owner/editor Larry Crane as not wasting readers time with reviews of products that they will ultimately not buy anyway. So take what you want from them.

The list includes many affordable mics such as AKG C1000S, the MXL V67i, the Nady RSM-2, and others.

Via the Tape Log.

		It is just possible that some Brits with imagination and recording know how have found a way to speed up your recording work - it depends on whether you’re key-man /woman or not. If you’re happy with your mouse as your main control, EditorsKeys will be of little use.
I fit that category so I was cautious. I disconnected my “best” keyboard (we’re talking computer keyboard, not musical) and plugged in a spare and unwrapped the EditorKeys kit. The keyboard is, in fact, a sheet of 61 stickers brightly colored stickers, each marked to match the DAW/product it’s designed for. It is ingenious! It took around an hour to get the things onto the keyboard (having cleaned the keys with the included wipes), and then I was off.

For many, this will be the perfect solution and - because I have only been using them for about a week -  I don’t think I’ve grown into them yet.

If folks use keyboard shortcuts, they generally get to know them by heart and hitting the key combination is an automatic response from memory.

Also - looking down and hunting out the tiny print which explains that hitting E will open a new project is more time consuming than clicking the mouse on the file button and choosing the appropriate option.

I find the mouse and a few keyboard shortcuts the best option. I have never, and probably never will, be someone who uses vast amounts of keyboard shortcuts.

But that’s about ME and not about EditorsKeys. For folks who love keyboards, or hate mice (mouses????) this is the perfect solution.

They’re cheap as chips (around six seven dollars depending on the exchange rates), and they are definitely worth a try. But I’d recommend using a spare keyboard. These suckers stick forever once they’re on - which is great - but could be bad.

EditorsKeys make their sticker sets for a variety of DAWs including Pro Tools, Cubase and Sound Forge. And I can find only one problem: what if you run Sibelius AND a DAW. You might have problems fitting two sets of stickers onto a single keyboard!!

Check out the keys at http://www.editorskeys.com

There is something about buying a new shiny microphone that people always forget about: The stand and cable.

OK… maybe it’s just MY tightwad subconscious that blocks out those little things, but regardless, they must be accounted for. I do love a good mic stand, and that’s what the Hercules MS540B is.

I originally ordered the Hercules for an extra snare mic, an application for which one typically only needs 24-32 inches of decent support. (The base on the Hercules is just over 25 inches.) I soon discovered that this little guy can do much more than the base size may indicate.

Hercules has given this stand a telescoping boom that extends 4 feet. This means that if you shoot the boom straight up on top of the 2 foot base, you get a 6 foot straight stand that will hold a small condenser mic securely. You could even improv a vocal mic stand assuming that your vocalist stands less than 7 feet tall and refrains from aggressively grabbing the stand Steven Tyler-style.

This stand costs $50, which is a bit more than you may want to spend, but on top of the sturdy construction, and telescoping boom, a couple of innovative features make working with this stand as fast and easy as one can hope for. My favorite feature is the quick release boom arm.
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