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.

MusFormation has this …. mod tip for those of you with SM-57’s.

I can’t recommend this, as it seems a little risky, so far as exposing the innards of any piece of audio gear is inherently dangerous for that gear. But if you’re micing drums and finding the angle to be restrictive check it out.

http://musformation.com/2009/03/flying.html

Alternatively, you can buy a bent SM-57 from Granelli Audio.

Yep, Zoom’s new H4n allows you to record 4 tracks simultaneously. That pretty much makes it not only a great solution for traipsing around town and interviewing people, but also makes it a nice music production solution.

You can put a mic on your kick drum, a mic on the snare, and use the built in mics as stereo over-heads.

And although, it only plays back 4 tracks simultaneously, Zoom has included Cubase LE for stacking up tracks.

For more, check out:

http://www.zoom.co.jp/english/products/h4n/index.php

Sound on Sound has a great article on reducing hi-hat bleed in your snare mic.

The slightly non-obvious answer: use a figure-8 condenser mic, if you dare to.

Check it out here.

Why do 90% of all bass drum heads still ship without a hole cut in them?

Luckily, there are places that offer the hole cutting service.

(Or you can do this.)

But it seems unnecessary.

I know that there is some manufacturing expense with cutting the hole, but it is a real pain for recording.

The best bass drum sounds I’ve ever captured have been micing through holes in the front head. So c’mon Pearl, Tama, and DW. How about we start shipping the instrument ready to be recorded, and let the optional configuration be to buy the holeless head?

As a side note, logo heads are fun:

http://www.vintagelogos.com/

http://www.customskins.co.uk/

Artists are outsiders. It’s not just a burden to bear, it’s a job.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Answering “be a musician” is usually met with the same “best-of-luck-to-you” patronization reserved for the kid who is clearly too skinny and nerdy to be the star quarterback. Luckily, skinny nerds still try out for the team. Sometimes they make it. Sometimes they play. Sometime they win. And those are the times when everyone watching wants to jump up and on the table top and cheer…

Table-jumping cheering is the feeling people want when they play a new track on their stereo, and rebellion is one thing sure to elicit such a response. Think of the music that grabs you. It fights against the man, the winners, the status quo. Like a skinny nerd quarterback, it’s like nothing you’ve experienced before.

My point is this: When recording sound, don’t follow the pack. Rebel!

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Before I get too many posts deep into this blog, I need to tackle a question that I know a lot of beginning recordists might have: “I only have money for one mic. What should I get?”

For me, there are only a couple of options around the $100 price point.

1.) an SM-57 by shure

or

2.) a large diaphragm condenser mic.

The SM-57 has a nice frequency response (pictured left). It adds loudness in the higher frequencies where you may want a little added clarity, like vocals. It also takes extremely high sound pressure levels. This means that snare drum rimshots that might make you cross-eyed won’t distort it. The 57 growls warmly on electric guitar. As far as durability goes, if they made cars like this, I’d still be driving a 1978 Volvo 244 GLE. My second choice for first time mic buyers is not quite as durable as this, but may suite a particular need better.

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Go ahead! Crank it up!

Oh wait… what’s that crackly hiss?

It’s the monster… behind the wall … well, from the grid really. Electricity can be DIRTY and noisy. Here are a few easy tips to help eliminate electrical noise.

1. Unplug IT. When Recording with a Laptop, unplug it from the wall and use only battery power. This isolates your equipment from anything else on the circuit that may be polluting the lines. It’s a very easy way to prevent grounding problems in your home from creating noise on your recordings. This works really well if you have a bus powered (USB or Firewire) system. You should notice an obvious reduction in electrical noise. (more…)

So you just spent a few hundred on the latest multi-input Analog-to-Digital interface and borrowed 8 nice microphones from all the other musicians you know and the church/temple you go to. You plan on close mic’ing everything so the drums sound super clean and cut through after the guitarist lays his 5 tracks of crunch fuzz on top.

So that’s 1-kick, 2-snare, 3-high hats, 4-ride, 5-6 toms, and 7-8 overhead cymbals, right?

Hey, I wouldn’t be writing this if it were the obvious choice!

The above arrangement might work, but it involves too much risk for my taste. I always save one input for a very important purpose: mic’ing the room! (more…)