Professional Documents
Culture Documents
to Improve
Your Recordings
ARE YOU FOLLOWING THESE SIMPLE RECORDING TIPS
FOR A STUDIO QUALITY SOUND?
For a few quick recording tips to get started, this eBook lays out some simple
guidelines on improving your recordings.
From simple recording mistakes in the digital world to simple-to-use tips on finding
the sweet spot of an instrument, the following eBook covers the most important
subjects of audio recording.
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“Big Mistake”
Digital audio recording is a bit different than what you read about in the history
books about tape saturation and overloading your pre-amplifiers.
Today, digital audio is not so lenient towards overload. Digital clipping is one of the
worst sounds an audio engineer can hear. In the old days, engineers liked pushing
their levels to saturation to get that warm tape sound.
But now, the only thing you accomplish by pushing digital audio to the max is
horrible digital clipping.
No Clipping Please
Now, with digital audio recording we have to record at an optimum level without
distorting our preamps, causing that horrible clipping.
When you are getting levels into your DAW, make sure you are getting a good enough
level to record with before it clips. A nice rule of thumb is to record the loudest part
of the signal at around 3/4 before you reach 0dB. If your meter goes from green to
RED, then somewhere in the middle of the orange part should be a nice enough
level.
So when setting levels, make sure your audio is being recorded like in the area
shown in the picture.
Not too quiet so that your audio is too close to the noise-floor, but not so loud as
to cause clipping.
24 Bit Recording
Also, make sure you are recording at 24 bit since it will give you much more headroom
than recording at 16 bit.
With 24 bit recording the signal to noise ratio is much higher and you can effectively
record at lower levels without introducing too much noise into your signal.
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Conclusion
By setting your levels correctly you can avoid a few problems in the mixing phase.
You avoid that pesky digital clipping that ruins your audio completely, and by
recording at 24 bit you have enough volume and headroom to play around with
without the noise floor posing a problem to your recordings.
Keeping simple things like this in mind helps smooth out any kinks you might have
later. Get it great without digital clipping and your audio will be saved.
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13. Not being in tune – I’m sorry. It’s a pet peeve, but people are prone to forget
to tune their instruments.
14. Not having enough cables – Say you’re doing a location recording and you
didn’t bring enough cables. It’s not only a huge waste of time to go and get
what you forgot, but it also reflects poorly on you as a professional.
15. Not being familiar with how things work – If you are working with a new
piece of equipment, or working at a new studio then it’s imperative you don’t
look stupid when you’re trying to figure out how things work.
16. Fix it in the mix?- If you know you can(and will) fix it in the mix, then use this
sentence. If you know you can’t fix it, don’t lie. It’s one of the more common
lines in the audio industry.
17. Communicate – Even though engineers and artists are a closely bred species
they do not share all the lingo that’s inherent to them. If the engineer isn’t a
musician then getting too musical will be confusing. Likewise with an engineer
getting to “audio-engineer-y.
18. Don’t do drugs – I know what Bill Hicks said about drugs and music, but it’s
usually not a good idea to be stoned or drunk during a recording session.
19. Bring extras – Extra strings, extra picks and extra drum sticks for instance.
Some things break and it’s better to be prepared when(not if) that happens.
20. Break the session into chunks – It’s better to record two energetic four
sessions than one long eight hour one where the last two hours people are
tired and uninspired.
21. Not being comfortable – As an artist, much of your performance is based
on how you are feeling when you are recording. If you don’t feel comfortable
then your playing will suffer.
Conclusion
Think about it, there are just as many things you need to NOT do in order to get that
great recording down on “tape”.
Just like it’s all about following the right guidelines for recording, engineering and
musicianship; there are also some pitfalls you need to avoid.
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Conclusion
Finally, by taking the time to get the instrument sounding as good as possible, using
great microphones into pristine sounding pre-amps we were able to get a kick ass
drum recording.
It just makes you feel better that you have a great sound recorded; a drum sound
that doesn’t need every mixing trick in the book to sound great because it’s already
80% there.
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5. Record Direct
If you are looking for an alternative sound and your acoustic guitar has a plug, it
might be a good idea to record direct.
Just plug your guitar into a DI box and use some of the great guitar recording
software that’s available to spice up your acoustic guitar sound.
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7. Record in Stereo
Recording acoustic guitar in stereo will capture a much fuller and wider sound than
only using one microphone.
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Balance
The sweet spot on an instrument is where the complete sound of the particular
instrument is represented as well as possible. The area where the microphone picks
up both the highs, lows and everything in between.
You want to capture the fullness, brightness and whatever other-ness that particular
instrument has in abundance. So by finding that sweet spot you can make your job
easier since that’s where the instrument shines.
One Microphone
When you are working with only one microphone it’s all the more important to find
the sweet spot. If you mike up an instrument and it’s lacking a certain character you
can’t really fix that in the mixing phase.
By finding the sweet spot you can be certain that you have the best balance you can
get from one microphone.
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7. Waves of Phase
Are you recording with two microphones? Make sure they are not causing extreme
phase problems.
Phase cancelations weaken the audio signal and make your signal sound thin and
well….bad. If you did this mistake already most DAWs have an “inverse” setting
where you can flip one of the tracks 180°.
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Try that to see if the signal gets stronger. If it does then you were having some
phase problems during recording and should probably try to get better at recording
with two microphones in the future.
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How to Use?
This microphone technique involves two mono microphones to capture a stereo
image of (usually) one instrument. Many portable recorders have built-in X/Y
microphones that work really well if you want to capture an idea on the fly.
We must position the microphones correctly, or as close as possible to each other
so that they are facing each other in an angle of 90° to 110°.
I recommend having the microphones as close to 90° as possible, but if you are
close-miking a large instrument, you might need to open the angle a little more.
Any more than 120° and you risk losing the stereo image of the instrument by
neither microphone picking up the center.
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1. Have A Plan
Everybody stresses out more when there’s no plan to follow. It’s like when work
builds up. There are so many tasks that you don’t know which one to start and you
end up doing none of them.
Make sure your recording session has a plan of action.
• What’s being recorded?
• How songs are you working on?
• How much stuff do you need to bring if you’re recording on location?
• What’s the room like and what problems can you predict?
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5. AKG C214
The little brother of the AKG C-414, the 214 is the perfect substitute for the home
recording studio. Buy a microphone but also pay rent. That’s the best of both worlds
in the home recording industry.
Conclusion
Don’t get infected with a case of analysis paralysis. Choosing a microphone when
you’re starting out can be overwhelming.
It’s probably not the only microphone you’re going to buy, so you don’t need to
worry about buyer’s remorse.
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Lights
Lowering the lights in the room or booth will generally quiet a vocalist and bring the
energy level down.
Some musicians prefer this lighting, as it is easier on the eyes. However, be aware
that for long sessions, a dark room might also make your singer tired.
Lamps give the singer ultimate control, especially if they can be pointed and/or
moved to enable music and lyric reading without making anyone uncomfortable.
They are also a solution for buzzing overhead fluorescent light fixtures. Singers do
not usually know what is best, or how the light is affecting them, so have it set when
they come in.
Headphone Mix
Creating a good mix for the singer to listen to while they track is crucial. Chordal
rhythm instruments are the most important thing to hear.
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They should be panned center and be heard clearly of the rest of the rhythm. This
keeps singers in tune and on pitch throughout a take.
Other rhythm instruments are only necessary to give your singer a sense of what they
are used to hearing, for the balance of the band and to help them keep the form.
Other melody instruments can either act as a crutch for your singer or be a source
of confusion. Add them in selectively.
The overall headphone volume can have a similar effect on your singer to the lighting.
Loud headphones will make them sing louder over the music, which can add a
boost, but sometimes at the cost of a straining voice or reduced stamina.
Always check to see if your headphones are bleeding too much into the microphone.
If the volume is not loud enough, many vocalists will end up singing flat, “under”
what they hear.
Again, these are not conscious changes to the singer, and it is your job to make the
headphones just right for your singer.
First Timers
Singers going into the studio for the first time often have a hard time adjusting from
how they sing at live performances. The stage and the studio have a completely
different approach, and your singer may need time to adjust when he arrives.
Microphone technique should be discussed before you begin. Give tips on how
close they should be to the mic and where to aim their voice.
I have engineered few sessions where a singer complained of a “delay effect” in the
headphones.
This is often not a software issue, but a discomfort that the singer has with hearing
himself live in the headphones.
If he still has trouble after a few takes, try having him sing with only one earpiece. That
way he’ll hear himself in the room with the open ear alongside his headphone mix.
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