orpny WM —sonbruypay, 29 syouty, ‘sdiy, Suraysepy Surxtyy SuIpsi0s2y OIpmMg sO FT SUIPI0Izy FUIOF] 10] sanbruyosay, 01gPro Techniques Pro Techniques For Home Recording For Home Recording Sto Tracking, Mixing & Stulo Tracking, Mixing & Mastering Tips Trick, Mastering Tips Thick Techniques With Audio Techniques = With Audio Joe Dochtermann ee)Pro Techniques For Home Recording: Stadio Tracking, Mixing, & Mastering Tips, Tick, Techniques - With Audio br Joe Dochtermann Copyright 2015 Joe Dochtermann Smashwords Edition ‘Smashwords Edition, Liense Notes This ebook is icensed fr your personal enjoyment only. This ‘book may not be resold or given away to other people you ‘would ike to share thie Bookewith another person, pease purchase an additional copy for each recipient. yout reading this book and did net purchese t,o it was not purchased for your use ony then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your enn copy, Thank you for respecting the hard work ofthis author Foreword ‘Thank you for purchasing “Pro Techniques For Home Recording’ This book will serve as a guide to making your home or project igi reordings sound a2 good ae they canbe ‘Always keep in mind that some of the grestest recordings of time wore made using equipment that hed 2 faction ofthe capa Lilies of today’s recording geal x enively possible fo make 2 ecording that sounds as good as or better thal) a chart topping Fit on a small digital recorder, personal computes, laptop, or tablet. Even an od fourtrack cassette recorder can create excellent ‘uslty recordings if used propel. n this book, well cover some ofthe gear available, and you'll havea chance to hear itn ation 0 you can decide what is best for you. It il tke time and practice ta develop your most important tol 4 citieal ent. Thie i the same whan working in ay Jing lighting and shading differences in photography, rush strokes bs paties or ches gate rial, Lleteryaniel some audio examples where the diferences are obvious, others inere they are rather subtle, The important thing sto listen care- fully and critically; then you wil develop @ sense of hearing that wil seve your creative goals. You can download the audio examples 25 32048PS MP3 fles by using the link provided at the end ofthe book under “Author's Notes’. Formatting conventions discourage publishing the link hte, s0 just skip to the end to download by using the Table OF ContentsPlease use high quality headphones or your studio monitors to audition the examples -laptop/emall computer speakers simply donot havea proper frequency response fret listening | do realize that MP3 encoding is not without compromises, but the newest conversion codecs provide exellent quality audio at their Fighest resolution, so Ihave chosen MP3 audio t allow fster dowloads of the audio examples ‘Tits Beckers teconlig Leis Hered fiom mic choice and placement, all he way to mastering your masterpiece, | have also writen » somewhat expanded, printed version of this eBook for Course Technology/Cengage Learning called "Big Studio Secrets For Home Recording And Production’ Uihich ie availble on Amazon and in “Guitar Center” locations across the USA. ‘lust thought before we start - Theresa ld saying in the indus: tnpgarbage in, garbage out”. This isto say that even the best audio engineering cannot rescue a lousy performance. It also init herent the bet peace vesining with the availble gear, because a great performance that is poorly recorded is also a disaster, ‘There is no single technique that makes a recording sound fon- taste. A great recording isthe result of earful work on many small details, which add up to a great final esut. Keep this in ‘ind ard you wil always find 2 way to improve your tacks. Compression Multiband Compression Parallel Compression Authors Notes‘TLE HIERARCHY OF RECORDING QUALITY Retr to table of content) “The first thing anyone whe is new tothe word of audio recording needs to understand is what makes a great recording. Tink for 3 ‘moment about your favorite recording; your favorite song Id be welling to bet thatthe most important thing about itis the song it self the melody, Iie, and chord changes. Thie may not have much to-do with the technical side of home recording, which is ite fees of ths look; Eu tered ton good mca: the song has to be a good one This gives us a good starting pont to look ata sort of Hierarchy (OF Great Recordings’ which wil help us work effectively and set brorties when mang erst recordings of our vn Consider that, for example, a fabuloush recorded drum sound is all but useless Ifthe song is boring, rambles on, and loses the listeners attention after half a minute. Those besutfilly recorded kick and snare sounds af ust eo much noe, Such i It in ur lt of prioties; snake sure thatthe points highest an the Ist ar taken care of to the best of your ailiy before moving on, and you will produce wie +The gong. Ifyou are justecordingrusic For others, the frst three points on this list are somewhat out of your realm of Influence. This is a good way to determine if you are ‘record Ing! or reducing’ track f you have influence on the sang, the musicians, and the soundsfinstauments being used in a tack, then you are acting in aproducercapciy 25 well. In any ‘case fora racardng to be goad, the sang hasta have mit. How todo that i topic for an entirely diferent book, 1+ The musicians & arrangement. Even 2 great song can be turned into Mazak but even that isa matter of taste (ather poor taste) 0 f you can help it, see to it thatthe best mus clans you can get are playing on your track. Best” doesn't necessarily mean ‘technically adept either - go with your gut feeling and have someone play that drum, keys, or guitar part who you fel hte the mood ofthe song, [Fit i within ot resporsibility in the project, be critical of how the song, Is arranged - intros and outros, does it need 2 bridge, could the last verse be shorter, isthe nose fate solo too long, and ‘The sound of the instruments. At this pont, even non producing engineers have to step up and make sure ever ‘things the best it can be. Lean to tune drums, iFony to be ble to recognize when drums ate poory tuned and ty to save the situation, IFyou have ideas a to how things might sound better, alvays offer to record sound tests and play ‘hem back to the musician, Hesring back over the men: ‘tors - and bet ofall inthe contest af the sang may to help steer the guitarist into using lees distortion, convince the longer ver similar ois oil sound source canbe good if ‘feito contort and ifyou He it yore nat convince, con Side albums sch 8 Pink Floyds "Dak Side OF The Moon’, The Beatles "White Abu’ Led Zeppelin, anhing by Jim Hendin, and hat su does Noa you boat - any good Hip Hop at all those guys lve to mess with sound, ‘Gear that fet or produces sound in 8 way that you hive heard before and you hove liked is more likely to sound ‘good to you than the unfaniliar. The Roland 08 has been on so many hit records thatit sounds great to most RRB and Hip Hop producers, a doce cranked Marshall stack to metal heads, areal Hammond 33 to blues and jazz aficionades, ora vintage LAA compressor toan audio engineer. (On the other hard, its move key that the unfemiar wil grab 2 listener's attention and make a recording stand out. In a way, geod rxonng)ercition Nine Hc asa ier eh dings - "something old, something new, something borrowed, ‘something blue’. You might consider that as a sot of checklist iF your production is not yet knocking you out: Is everthing too clean and clear sounding? Or ic eventing too funy and pre- cessed? Can | borrow an ides fiom ancther song/praduction ve beard to improve mine? What the hell does blue mean? How about this: Youre werking on an altemative rock song. The agultars sound very 60 old), so you go Tor avery polished, snap py drum sound (new), use some vocal effects you heard and liked ina hiphop production (borrowed), and consider something ese to make the track stand out. mmm.. blue? WTF? How about 2 Hammond organ pateh in the bridge (blues, or come deep re verb/delayefets that conjure the thought of “blue” in your mind? Maybe it’ just dropping out the drums completly in verse thee, tormake the singer sound alone and blue? But | digress! ‘With these concept (abit of musical psychology) in ind, lets look at alist of some gear that can be found in any peo studio worth ts salt. | will obvious skp the $100,000.00 consoles and $25,000.00 dial workstations, We want to know Wheat isthe standerd, must-have gear out there that also fs into a home) project studio's budget? IFT dont have the cash for a particular dochichey is theresomething eee that can do the same jo, but save me bostiond of money? Certain triedand-true pieces of gear wil help give your recordings familar air and a 20d tone that even the non musician/engineer wil ind to be ‘god! sounding: and thats key to goed recordings and production. 1 can, however, attest to the fact that there are Inexpensive atematives to almost every “famous” bit of gear out there from mics to compressors, guitars to keyboards, DAWS to apt eheeditfiymn ce le y elSamading ee With the right audio enginescng skis. Well gt to thos tips, too. But for naw, time to go shopping! Microphones ‘On the Font line of every recording is the microphone. Ii the fist step in capturing a sound, and the proper choice of micro shone i ercil to a good recording. NOTE: 1 will quolfy this statement immediatly by soying. once gain, gorbage in, garbage out As proud ou maybe of thet shiny ‘nwt Neumann kube microphone you sok your car and a kidney to dy i wil not “ior other improve the sound of 9 poor into rated acoustic uta, louy drunken singer, an unturned dra Kit with womout heads. The source must int sound great, and the ‘micaophore (and other gear on down the line) wil propel capt, and yes, echaps even enhance the music. Be sure you source sounds eat 0 your ea or nthing con save you! ‘There are three major types of microphone, named for the tech: nology with which they transduce sound into an electrical signal we can record- dynam, condenser, and ribbon microphones Each ype ethibits unique characteristics and has its typical uses. We wll get into mic choice and placement in a Inter chapter, but here is st of standard mis for ou to consider when shopsing around: tis probably a good dea to have, at the very least one ‘dynamic and one large diaphragm candencer microphone in your arsenal DYNAMIC MICROPHONES Dynamic microphones function ike 3 miniature spesker, justin ceverse. A cal of wits fxed toa small cone which, when sound vibrates the cone, moves ina magnetic field and causes signal to Beiiieeteied, Dynarnic mics are rugged and dependable and require no external power (phantom power) to furetion. This makes them a great choice for loud sound sources such a drums, percussion, clec- tri guitars, organs, and bass amps. The only downside is that they can lack necessary transient detail on moe delicate sources lke acoustic guitars, strings or plano. For these sources you should consider using a condenser mirephore + TheShure SMs7(S80) is a musthave microphone for every studio, This should be your frst purchase. | cant remember ‘where | heard the quote, but thas been sai "you will never _get a fantastic sound with this mic, but the tack wll always sound good’ Most pro stutbos have $ o 4 hing about, ca bled and ready to goat all times. do the same at home, and With the blast proof construction ofa 57, I'm not worried bout leaving it outa | am wth my pricey condense nis. 1+ TheShure SMs8(S90) is another standard mic found in cerery profesional studio, Its geared towards vocals, and ‘will ays provide 2 useable sound. may lack some ofthe detail of ih priced condenser mics, but many engineers agsee that it has a sound that just ‘is icey into a track “ERAMPLE 12 snippet of male vocal recorded on a ShureSSM38.TIP. When recording important vocal tracks, you may want to alvays put up a Shure‘, en net to atop shelf con denser mic. If you hoppen to catch that “great tke’ but the condenser mic sound jut inn't what you wanted when i comes time to mix you may ind hat the ‘8 track saves the day! ‘TheShure SM.yhas guined notoriety a the “Michael Jackson Mic the (elatveh) cheap dynamic mic that recorded vo- ‘als for some of the biggest pop hits of alltime, At just $300, fnew, the curent mode! SM.7b is 2 nice step up from the standaid SM:57 for pop) tock vocals, gular amps, Hck of snare drum, bass amps, and just about anything you can ‘throw att Interesting to know that this humble mic beat out mies that probably cost 20 times as much for tracking those Micha! Jackson voeast TheSennheser MD-4a1(S350) is a slightly more expensive ig, and is excellent for drum, loud guitar and base ame: ‘irs, and can doa fine jab on vocals and voiceover as well Listen to the difference in sound between guitar amp miced with a Shure 57 (frst) and the Sennheiser MD-421 (sec: cond)n EXAMPLE 2.1 might describe the sound ofthe 421 a= “bigger and fatter’ than the 57. It makes a rice altemative to endless Shure 57 tracks, and the builtin basso switch comes in handy atime, oo. ‘TheBletrovoice RE-20(S400) is waltloved dynamic mico- phone for kck drum and bass amplifier recording. ts sound ‘aches dou a litle lower into those nice bass frequencies Its also the classic radiobroadeast voce mic. TheAKG Dia(S200} provides a slightly more affordable iterative tothe RE20 for use in bass drums, It also has 3 bit more high-end ‘cick toi, which might be desirable for hea rock although not as much fr blues or ez2. CONDENSER MICROPHONES Condenser microphones rly ona vety hin ratalic membrane ‘ned to a metal back plate to transform sound waves into an audio signal. These clements are electrically charged, and 25 sound pressure changes causes motion inthe thin, sensitive membrane, a signal flows tothe microphone output. This re ‘irs the application of 48V ‘phantom power'to operate Because ofthe high sensitity ofthe small metalic membrane (lower mass, and therefore less resistance to fast changes of motion than a dynamic mic), condenser mics pick up more detail han most dynamic mics, making them ideal for sources with detailed high frequency response such as vocals, acoustic ‘guitar, pine, high pitched percussion, and cymbals. They can, however, overload easily in high volume situations, causing unpleasant cracking and popping noises. ‘The most common pickup pattem (alo called ‘polar re- sponse ee definitions) in microphones is cardoid, but many condenser microphones are availble as omnidirectional and some models wth switchable patterns Condenser mice are generally salable wth Ys" or 3" oh phragms. The V2" diaphragm mics lock somewhet ite a large pencil (sometimes referred to as peel mics). The very small, light digphragm is highly responsive to sound sources with ‘ample high frequency content, such asthe high hat and cym ble on a drum kit. The 1” diaphragm fea bit slower on the dean, but handles lower frequencies beter, making I the star dard choice for veal recording. smaut (1/2") o1apiinacm (spc) + TheShure SMB4(S350) is an excellent deal in terms ofprice/performance and is used very often on acoustic guitar and drum cymbals A studio standard, ‘TheNeumann Kix84(3700) isnot quite such a bargain at double the price (you could be working in stereo with two. ‘Shure 81s.) ut it does have that Neumann sound — very Aetailed and somehow ahrays alte larger than ie, How. dbothey do 2 [ANGarovides a range of small diaphragm condensers fom theCioa0%(6150) to theC451($500). The 45} halde i's own withthe Shure and Neumann above. The Ciooo is probably better suited to live sound reinforcement just doesn't have the smoothness and detail fb brother asi! ‘ThePeluse CEMCEis a reltvely new contender in the SDC arena, but delivers 3 100% professional sound and excellent construction/dutabiliy. They are become a sort of ‘nen’ Standard in many studios. ‘TheNT sevietiomBede(NT4, NTS) ate excellent mies forthe price. The NT4 design is very cool fr micing piano, acous- tic guitar and asa drum overhead pai With a street price of round $400 for 3 stereo setup (one NT4 oF 3 pair of NTS) they offer 2 great price/performance for project studio. IF you think youll need the Rexbilty oF two mics instead of being locked into a single stereo mic, then go for a pair of INTS5~ pair sounds identical tothe NT4.in use, TheOltava MC-oahas bacome known a: a sort of "budget acordist"/"DIY mad junkie” microphone they ave grest sounding mics that just dont offer the name recognition of ‘Shure/AKG/Neurnann, but wl get the job done in just a= professional a manner, egardless The MXL 603/604and newerV67NSDCs provide alow pricey great bang-forthe-buck mic for your consideration. While ‘they donthave quite the ‘smoothness’ of tone ofthe higher plced mics inthis list, thee price 19g makes ther @ must have forthe budget recordists among us (S100/pait- $200 ai) LaRce (1") piapHRacm connensee (L9¢) It is possible to spend many thousands of dollars on a large d- phragm condenser microphone, and many pro studios have one for mare heawjucight classic mics such as the Neumann U47, Usp, Mag, the nawer M49, the AKG C12, or Boutique mikes by Brauner, Manley, Lawson and other small production high quality microphone makers. NOTE: Wy would | want 0 big name micaphone? What’ in a ‘name? Mogi recording dus the mierophane siemtists prinkle on dr ing manufecturing? Nope. In practic, it's all about name recogition and client confidence. The names "Neumann" and AKG? inspive confidence in some clients. confidence that you krew what you are boing ond ~ mos importantly - that they wil be hoppy with what they hear! row, i's ily in many ways, but i sa simple studio Iiuth, Let's imagine thot you have a budgst mic that you krow Sounds, inmost cases, better than a Neumann TLM 03 on male ve cals. When “Tama Rockola’ loca big shot singer, tes into the stu dl, he expects to sig ito oly “Da best microphone they got: you Jes onea them New-mans." So you setup the Newman with the ‘Brand X mic mex to it, us im case. After testing both mics, Mr Feckol just loves how his oie sounds onthe Brand X mic. You area hero, Howevef you het had the Neumann, Big Temumy would probably have taken his business eawhere. Or worl The truth is, most home studio enthusiasts don't have the exta rcenbacks for bigticket mikes. So what are we todo for a greatvocal sound? Here area few under $1000.00 (sill alt of dough, but better than $6000 00): [favorite of mine is theAudo Tecnica AT 4o33(8300) I's 2 cardivid only mic that sounds great on rock vocals - lke @ ‘Shure 38 with more detail it works fine on other sources, to, but fl hat vocals were a standout with that mic. You can get enAT4osofor about S500, and have the option of se lectng polar patiems. 'm not relly knocked out by the ‘AtqoGo{just under ik) and would recommend you go with one of theelusatubemics iF its a tube vibe sound you are after you could pick up a used/refurbished Peluso mic and still be under te Sik mar, TheAKG C3000{$1s0-200) is often offered to. newbie ecorists, touted as a great vocal mic, et, but Uhave et to hear a great sound from it, and they jus ain't main it into the pro studios I've been in. Skip this one TheAKG C4u4(S900) is another story. These mice area stue dio standard for voice, stings, percussion, guitars, piano, and, wall, eveything. The ‘TL version offers 2 trans formerless output and a slighty diferent capsule, which is based on ther Cz microphone, and s particularly suited to vocals. Check out the’ Stans OFThe "aia" you are interested In AKG microphones and the particulars of the different adele witha street pice of les than half that of a Candy the AKG {Cangis a great option youl like to have the AKG name tas In your studi, A fixed pattern cardoid microphone, the 214 oesr't sound the same as big brother 414 set to cardoid mode, but its not lacking in ary way. A quality “rame* mic ata great price TheNeumann TLM 103(5200) andTLM 1021700) bth oer the small studio a taste ofthat big LOC Neumann sound. “They are candoid only (which helps keep the price down) and have avery detailed ler sourd on vocal, acoustic gu ‘rs, and as drum everheadsjroom mics. Listen to how the AKG 414 (first) compares to the Neumann 103 (Second) on acoustic guitar inEMAMPLE 38 Rdealso offers @ variety of LOC mics, but theRede NT a ee ee eee dios. kind ofthe poor man’ US, doing a great job on just about anything you can throw at it With a low street price, and mary available on the used market, there's no ea son net to get one. TheNTzas similar tothe NTia, but with switchable polar patterns. TheNTieooandNTaoooare fixed pattern vs. suitchable (continuously variable, actually onthe 'NT2000) models, more robust in constuction, and have a fatter fequency response. Thay are ala larger, heavier nics than the NTia/2a, which makes ther les suitable for tight icing situations, suchas inside a piano or around drums. lanvntiian pataiencebenetoftind ‘TheMejave Audio MA200is one ofthe better “under Sk tube condenser microphones avallable, It isa cardioié pat tern ube mic. Listen toEXAMBLE sbnhich compare the Mo- jave MA200 (first) to the AKG 414 (second) recording 2 Martin O28 acoustic guitar. Thee ara some subtle differ fences benween the two. The 414 has that sound that eng neers often say “takes EQ well" ~ not Fttering in ary way, but rather well rounded and with arch low-mideange. The Mojave, on the other hand, already sounds somehow “EQled* with a treble boost and less low midrange, It sounds pretty good on this guitar (even with no processing),50 it might make a good choice of microphone, depending onthe track had to picka micthat | was going be sue ‘would work homer Fd default to the 414, These are some ofthe things to consider when picking a mic forthe job at hand. Moje azo ofers the MA20%, 8 FET version ofthe same mic which sounds quite srr The MA 300 and MA 401 ae, respectnely, ube and FET models wth switchable la pater, Lislen now to anMMXL V6g(50 cr so)|EXAMPLE 4ahon the same vocal take as a Newann TLM_ 105. (EXAMPLE {iced with bth the Neumann 103 and the MAL.V69 ‘mltaneoush). MKL hasbeen marufeturing relatively ine pensive mics of good quai. Though nt a studio standard lyr any means, the ML. mics area lw cost way to reinforce your studio mic abet. In my opition, the TLMY03 has an gen ths case, utthe Veo ent bad. TIP: Hands down, one of my favorite microphones isthe Shure SMa, and | would say that its one ofthe great “sleeper” studio ‘ear tips although more people are getting wise to the incredible value these mics of | actually picked up a pair of them used on Bay for just $300, and they sound great on everthing. | have used them recently on female background vocals (Listen to EXAMPLE 4c) 2nd vas imprassed by the incredibe clarity without any “harsh” fone a all. 1 also love these mics on acoustic guitar (EXAMPLE ad is gain the Martin D-28, compare to EX3b) ard as drum overheads. The unusual thing about the KSM-32 (which may ‘be part of it's ube charms that ite neither large nor smal liaphragm microphone it uses 3/4” dlapheagm, which seems to give us the best ofboth worlds in Shure's design RIBBON MICROPHONES Rinbon microphones area rather simple, delicate constuction fe micron thick piece of metal ribbon is suspended between the poles ofa magnet. As the motion of sound waves inthe ar moves the ribbon in the field very low lve signals crested, ‘The sound produced by a ribbon microphone is warm, rh, and “dassic’ sounding. Ribbon mics are wll known for thei unique tonal quality when used on vocals, room ambience, acoustic in- re cet weapons behind some ofthe grettst guitar tones recorded Weller some examples later. The drawbacks to 9 ribbon mic ae its susceptibility to damage by wind and its low output. Wind or bursts of ar (a in the FoF ‘sound sung bya vocalist) can tea the ribbon, ruining the mic. eis essential to use @ windscreen or pop fiter when using ribbon Rinbon mics alsa requite @ preamplifier that can provide enough {gain to amplify the low signal produced bythe ibbon mic to an adequate level without ang noise. For instance, the preamps on iy Pro Tools MBOX 2 don't cut the mustard an my risbon mic for soft sound sources, such a5 Fingerpicked acoustic guitar. IF you're far enough along in your gear hounding to add a ribbon ‘ic to your arsenal, then be sue you have a good quality mic preamp with enough gain to crankit up. [As with all microphone, prices vary and you get what you pay fx Lower cost ribbon mics sometimes have less detall and clarity than the big boys. But at 1s!" of the price, can you really go wong? + Ifyou want to go cheap, try andes ator aNady RSMa(both round 250) there is also @ German maker called T-Bone’branding cheap Chinese produced ribbon mics. On the Apex 20, Nady RSM, Golden Age Ri, ee, you an remove the intemal windscreens (which the manufacturers putin place to prevent damage by nenbie records) fo increase the high frequency response ofthe mies. Do tis with caution, and remember that if you want to use them for vocals, you'll med tobe Cascade Fthendsibbon mice ate becoming very popular in ec proc iti le wth not fk Cascade uses the sre Chinese-prodiced microphones for the Cascae Ftheads as theNady RSMsgnich you can buy for about half the price oF Fathead. What Cascade does doy however {tht Nady doesnot i go ovr each mic to check the bon tension. This addtional quality assurance step ie well woth the adatonal pice ita snot something you fel youcan do yours, At S40 for a pair of Fathead, they ae slrply an amazing bang forthe buck for recording ster guitar stings, rom mics, or drm ovetheads OlteramakestheMs2/ssendlectroHermoniacenses the semi the EHLR(both about $30) Listen to the M53 (st in action on acoustic muita as compared to the AKC (CaN4 in cadiid mode (second) inBKAMPLE Notice the “dasic’smouth sound ofthe nibbon mic and filles inthe low notes Pat ofthe charm of 8 ribbon mice #e naturel ‘gue polar pattem. ston to those previous examples {gin fr how the son mic picks up more oom ambience than the 414 in cordiid mode. Now listen to the MLS} (Sx on guitar amp as compare toa Shue SM57 (ee ond) EXAMPLE GasrJEXAMELE Gb). The rion mic, a is ‘ical, would ned to hae the lows reduced with EQ dont be discouraged by this fyou have a ibbon mie Just touch it up with EQ and you are good to go. Geltng to know these Aierences is what will make you 2 good recordist - using ribbon mics for their gure pattern (or selectable mies set to figure 8) is a great way to add natural ‘depth’ to your recordings by capturing some room tone. 1+ On the upper end ofthe scale, TheAEA RgaS8so),theColer 4038(51300), and the covetedRoyerine of ribbon mikes (S1200 and way on up) provide you with top notch elec: Sorcsu eatlrmedey fl yoo dee ‘world class tone, Listen to this recouding of acoustic guar done with Royer ribbon micsfEMAMPLE 7. A beautifl de cate sound! ‘CRYSTAL MICROPHONES ‘Worth a brie mention are erstal microphones, which function 3€- cotding to the piezoeleteie effet. This isthe same principe asin the pickups sometimes placed into the bidge f acoustic guitars, such asin Ovation acoustics. ‘When certain crystal materials have pressure applied to them, they ive off a small curent. By attaching a diaphragm to one ofthese crystal, 2 microphone can be created. ‘The Crown PZM mic is probably the mest famous example of crystal mic that is commonly used in recording studies. It is pop Ular for catching drum ambience and has very particular, clear sound witha strong transient attack, These mics are usually bul fonto a lat metal plate, which engineers usualy tape to & wal or foo. Since these mics are usually placed directly ont (instead of neat) reflective surfaces, they are not susceptible to the combs ‘tering fects of multiple lose celctions. We'll lok more closely at that problem when we get into acoustics for the home:studio. ‘Microphone Preamplifiers ‘After the signal leaves the microphone ite the jab of the mico- phone preamplifier to bring the signal up to a recordable level. “Mic pres" are evenwhere nowadays, and they are all boasting about low noise, lw distortion, high gain and ‘professional qual ay —s0 ho ie teling the truth? Wel, they alae, in 2 way. You can't argue with techical specif cations, 0 what we ned to know is - what are the pros using? ‘Wel, no one with the responsibilty for recording an album to be released by a record label other than ‘Waterclset Records is using the preamps on a Mackie or Behringer mixer to cut track. Don't get me wrong, there are even professional studios using these maters to create monitor mies or perhaps submix multiple sound modules. But the path to tape is aays something special, (One of the greatest tips fr improving your sound is Invest in a seed preamp” You may only need a single preamp if most of your recording wor ie done one track at time, ad the difference this ill make i astounding asthe tracks pile up. The most popular preamplifr in pro studios may be the Neve 1073 ($4000.20 each). Ouch! How about some vinage APL 32 preamps at S20/psi® Wel the good news i thet companies such 9 Great River Dan Alearder Electronic, Brent Averil (087 “BAE", Vntech, Coden Age Project, and Warm Aud offer lower cost aeratives tothe pricey dassic Neve uit. ‘The vetable Neve 1073 includes some very high quality EQ cir cuits which, although they are great sounding and rice to have, are ao very expensive, The compares that ofr lowe cost ler rates often focus ust on the preamplifier tage ofthe 1073 mod es reducing the cost to as low a8 600 pai (530 puri for the Golden Age Pre73, fo example. $600 «pais sound ie lat of money? Wel for many of ustJs, The good news i that this type of gear when well cared fos, ast real lose value. Generally the price for components such as transformers is always on the ris, so even ifyou woul take 2 Joss by reselling something tke the CAP Pre-7 right away, the price for new units after afew years is likely to go up, bringing youre slong with itn fact, Lsold set of four APL 312 pres pliers fr $400.00 mote than I bought them for just 2 few years later, Serll ceugtly ee phuesaors reams lio basic “schools -thote that colo’ the signal and those that aim fora tpure sound. One ofthe most important determining factors | whether or not the design includes transformers on the inputs andjor outputs, and which types of transformers are used. Transformers act to ole circuits, match impedances, and can even amply a signal slight, Tansformers can be manufactured te be sonicaly very transparent, but are sometimes intentionally used to color the tone of the ccut A transformer can make a sound seem bigger’ and ‘warmer’, but generally tthe sacrifice of transient det A balanced trade-ofF of» litle high esuency de- alien provtle terete Maun iY baton " Nodding, you tur tothe two-story high equalizermachine at the ide ofthe room, dian 1ooH2, and begin cranking down the level ‘one dB a a tine unt the producer acai, Wel, awe! jst ike black magi!” ‘nk he Entel centers tam ed eel x sap aerate ty. Yes, thats whet its all about having 2 door at both sides ofthe studi equal chances of escape fom dangerous superstitious No, walt, it is about balancing sound. Inthe eample above, the bass fraquencles were made qual withthe others, ging the in pression of 2 more natural and balanced mix Fast forward to the days of multitrack recordin, and we now mul tiply the ability to readjust ~ to equalize the sounds - by however ‘any tracks we havel What 2 great thing! I mean, how can there possibly be a bad sounding recording made anymore? ask myself that question all the time, and the answer is that thepower to change something doesn't necessarily come packaged With the abilty to change it forthe beter. On that note, im going to walk you through some typical and some not so-ypical audio situations and give some usefl ints ips and examples on how to make your recordings sound much better through the use of equalization. ing knob, le’ consider the big picture. Un- less your recording is ofa solo rstrument, you need to be sure there sa soni place for every instrument in the mic As 2 hobby chef like to think about cooking a great meal when EQiing in ‘struments and setting them inte a mie “The frst thing every chef inows is thatthe raw ingredients have to be great to star with. Wied lettuce cannot be saved with dress: Ing. No matter how much gravy you dump on that dry turkey breast, its sll going te have poor testure and ase. So make sure your tacks ~ your aw ingredients ~ ae as tasty as you can make them. (OF course, all chefs aio know that the secret isin the seve. ‘Steamed asparagus, new potatoes and thinly sliced Black Forest Ham can definitely be improved with a drizsle of hollandsise sauce! Just ke your well played, well mi'ed drum tracks will sparkle life withthe right £Q settings. Most importantly a the chef puts togethar the mes, a Balance fe created between salty, sweet, sour, bitter, and an atay of aromas to creates fl taste experience, Yes, we may tke sweet dishes, but \f every ingredient of every course ofthe meal is sweet, then the ‘meal is one dimensional and uneatisjng at bes ‘Agnin, the same goes for your mie. Bass vs. teble, warm vs. clear, full spectrum vs. filtered: these are some of the “ever counterparts of the EQ world, You can't make all the instruments fat and bassy or your mix wil sound the way it Feels to eats bowl of ork rnds in meted butter. My forme college roommate can be contacted for details on that feling. ‘You wil need to understand the basic types and parameters of EQ. ‘There are plenty of propellarheaded names forthe various types of devices and fies, but all the names dois describe how the Internal cicuits boost or cut certain parts ofthe frequency spec: Aree erate oud Sound le energy transmitted through the alr ike waves tranamit nergy through water. Sounds sre composed of combination of diferent frequencies, measured in Hertz (cycles per second). ‘Some sounds are fiy simple lke a single ote blown on afte, and others very comple, ike the sound ofa drum. ‘We can hear deep bass fequencies (20H al the way up to (what ‘for human esr) igh treble, although zome people argue thet we ca “ea” ever lower and higher frequencies. believe that to be true to certain extent as wal, but we must accept certain ita: tions of our sound gear speakers, etc. and at some point say "OK, 2042 20kHs is plenty for recorded music, let's just get slong ard record something!” The spectrum of sound is often represented on @ graph ike this, with low frequencies on the lft and high on the right. The hor: zontal cater line isthe reference level fer ‘ne change’ betwesn | hat comes in and what goes out: