Acoustic recording techniques 26/3/15

1. understanding the recording process

2. outline the recording process

3. achieving balanced recording levels

4. understanding different room acoustics

We started by collecting the equipment we needed this included electronic drums, microphone, bass guitar and the XLR or 1/4 jacks to connect these to the interface the interface we are using is digi 002 and the software we are using is logic pro. Then we connected the microphone to input 1 this would be used to record the piano, the tambourine, the acoustic guitar and some claps, the electronic drums to input 5 and 6 as this is stereo as apposed to mono and the bass guitar to input 7 we also used an output from the bass amp as the input wasn't high enough using just logic, input 2, 3,4 and 8 remained empty. We then had to make sure that the levels on logic weren't distorting but were high enough to get a good sound we did this by making sure the levels on logic, the interface and the amp were good and then slowly turned them up until they were at a level that we high enough for us to work with. When we were recording the piano we encountered an issue with ambiance (room noise) however this was

resolved this by using the both in the studio or when this was not possible we recorded the instrument and then reduced the lower end on logic by using the EQ. We had to be mindful of where we positioned the microphone as if we positioned it to close to the source of the sound then it would distort, to far away and it wouldn't pick up the instrument this meant we needed to spend a long time positioning the microphone and using trial and error to find the best position.

Discovering music, popular music

Definition of popular music - Music that is viewed, shared, purchased and/or enjoyed by a large amount of people.

Pop music is short for popular music which can relate to many genres and artists within the genres for example

Hip Hop - Jay-Z and Ice Cube - this genre was made in the 1970's and became popular in 1980





















Rock - Black Veil Brides and Gotye - this genre began in 1940's and became popular in 1960

Black veil brides - In the end - this song was released towards the end of 2013 its main features are guitars, drums and vocal

Personal response - the lyrics in this song make me feel happy like anything is possible you just have to be willing to do it and be yourself because in the end you wont be remembered otherwise

Metal - Black Sabbath and KoRn - this genre began as a sub genre of rock music in 1960's and became its own genre in 1970

Asking alexandria - Reckless and relentless - this song was released in 2011 its main elements include drums, guitar and harsh vocals

Personal response - this song makes me feel like partying and just having a good time

EDM - Skrillex and Deadmau5 - this genre started as a element of other genres in 1920 and became its own genre in 1940 however it took until the 1960's for this genre to start to become popular and it wasn't until 1970 that this genre became mainstream

Bring me the horizon - The sadness will never end (skrillex remix) - this song was released in 2012 and its main features are drums and bass synth

Personal response - i don't connect with this song the same way i do with the others but i feel like it would be a good song to play at a gig to start a mosh pit

Indie - Artic Monkeys and Kaiser Chiefs - this genre started in 1977 an became mainstream in 1980

Artic monkeys - Why'd you only call me when your high - this song was released in 2013 and its main features are drums, bass guitar and vocal

Personal response - this song makes me feel slightly sad as it is speaking about a relationship that is falling apart

The main similarity's between these genres are the lyrical content is controversial, it uses a lot of visuals in music videos and in live performance and they normally have a loud sound. The main differences are hip hop and some times EDM are mainly sample based, rock normally has lyrical content about rebellion.

Acoustic recording techniques 19/03

1. Choose the right mic: dynamic

First is the dynamic mic, which will often be used on the snare, bass drum and sometimes on the toms. A dynamic mic functions just like a speaker, only in reverse, with the movement of the diaphragm in turn moving a coil in relation to a magnet, creating an electrical signal.

This mic is good for picking up mid-range and is sturdy enough to take the occasional miss-hit. Most dynamic mics use a cardioid pattern, which means they reject sounds coming from behind them while also boosting bottom-end when placed close to the subject.

2. Choose the right mic: condenser

The other type of mic that is frequently used is a condenser mic which, unlike the dynamic mic, needs power sent to it from the desk or pre-amp. This 'phantom power' is sometimes available on individual channels of a desk, though it can be sent globally to all mics without affecting other dynamic mics.

This power supplies a small amplifier inside the mic that increases the signal picked up by the movement of a diaphragm, this time a capacitor. Condenser mics also tend to be more sensitive than dynamic mics because of the low mass of their moving parts but usually have built-in pad switches (10 and 20 decibel increments) to enable them to handle the levels us drummers are capable of delivering.

3. Bass drum miked inside: miking the bass drum from the inside has the advantage of isolation, weight and definition

One problem often encountered when miking the bass drum comes if the drum is fitted with a full front head. In this case, placing a mic in front of the drum will work, but it can lack the definition and isolation of placing a mic inside the drum (as above).

But, there are a couple of options…

4. Bass drum miked outside: using two out-of-phase mics in front of the bass drum will capture the ambient sound of the front head

Firstly, miking the batter side of the drum will have more definition, while adding a second mic in front of the drum 'out of phase' (more on this shortly) will capture the ambient sound of the front head. However, the pay off for having the mic outside of the drum is more bleed from the rest of the kit and less attack than if it were placed inside.

5. X/Y overhead miking: two mics placed directly above the kit captures the stereo image with no phasing problems

There are really two main options here, an X/Y (or coincident) pair or a spaced pair. The X/Y configuration involves placing the two overheads directly above the kit with their capsules next to each other. This is a good way of capturing a stereo image of the kit with no phasing problems, as the sound of the kit reaches both mics simultaneously.

6. Spaced pair overhead miking: spreading the overhead mics further apart captures a wider stereo image of the kit

For a wider stereo image, spreading the mics apart as a spaced pair is more effective. However there is now a risk of phase cancellation – where the signal from the source reaches each mic at different times, thereby cancelling itself out. We can check for phase cancellation by taking two channels and using the pan control to sum them to mono. With one fader up as the other is blended in, the sound should remain full

with good bottom-end. If out of phase, the two channels will sound hollow when heard together. The solution is to either move one of the mics until this improves, or reverse the polarity of one mic. In the digital domain the waveform can be inverted after it is recorded for the same effect.

7. Snare miking position #1: a snare is miked from the top, with the mic pointed to the centre

If given another mic and channel, the next drum we would want control over would be the snare. The snare would usually be miked like the toms, from the top, three fingers away and at the edge of the drum and pointing at the centre. The three-finger rule can help keep the mic away from unwanted harmonics from the edge of the head and hoop, while aiming it at the center helps capture the stick sound at its point of impact.

Moving the mic away from this point will introduce more 'air' or ambience into the sound and moving it closer, if using a dynamic mic, will introduce low-end as a result of what's called the 'proximity effect'. This can be useful to a point, however if you get too close, the proximity effect will render sound unnatural or unusable.

A dynamic mic is usually the mic of choice here and, surprisingly, the relatively cheap Shure SM57 wins over more expensive alternatives thanks to its ability to capture the mid-range and handle the high SPLs (sound pressure levels) a loud 'two and four' backbeat is capable of delivering. On the subject of miking the snare, if you are playing a cross-stick part, as well as turning the stick around to play with the butt end, pointing the mic at the point where the stick hits the rim can help capture a stronger sound.

8. Tom miking: you can get a more defined tom sound by bringing the mics lower

With a four-mic set-up, neither of our overhead options, although giving a natural representation of the kit and clear cymbal sound, will give much definition from the toms. So one final overhead option is to bring the mics down low. This approach is more effective on smaller set-ups such as four- or five-piece kits which, with a mic

looking at the kit between the hi-hats and first tom and another looking over floor tom towards the ride cymbal, both set equidistant from the snare and bass drum, will give a fuller sound than with the mics above the kit.

In the case of the toms, you'll also hear their sympathetic overtones ringing away as other drums are hit. When miking the toms, the choices are varied – the most popular being dynamic mics or small condensers. However, depending upon the budget, large diaphragm condensers can sometimes be used.

9. Hi-hat miking: hi-hats should be miked using a small condenser mic placed 2"-3" away

If we have channels left, the next part of the kit we would mic would probably be the hi-hats. These would usually be miked using a small condenser mic from above, 2"-3" away and sometimes pointing away from the kit. The proximity effect has to be taken into consideration here – get too close to the cymbals and they will take on a gong-like quality. This can be EQed out but is best avoided. Another thing to avoid is placing the mic so that it faces the point where the air escapes from the hi-hats (also a good reason not to have a fan pointing right at the kit on hot gigs).

10. Snare miking position #2: A second mic below the snare will capture the sizzle of snare wires

Some people like to also mic the bottom of the snare. This can work well when blended in with the top snare mic, as it helps to capture some of the sizzle and pop of the snare wires. To do this, one of the mics should have its phase reversed.

11. Room miking behind the kit: the four-mic set-up

If recording in a nice-sounding room and you have the luxury of spare mics and channels, putting up room mics can provide some useful natural ambience, which can really bring the sound of the kit to life when dialled into the mix.

12. Room miking front: a large condenser mic in front of your kit is a logical place to start

If you are recording in a smaller, not so nice sounding room, a single ambient or room mic set a few feet away from the kit can also be used to create artificial ambience using reverb, but more of that later.

13. Try a sub mic for the bass drum

drum's sound is a sub mic for the bass drum, and although there are ready made products out there for this purpose such as the Yamaha sub-kick, a driver from an NS10 speaker (though any mediumsized speaker should work), will achieve a very similar effect for a lot less money.

Mounted on some kind of stand and with a microphone cable connected with no ground and plugged into a regular channel with the phase reversed (simply re solder the '+' and '-' the other way around if you can't 'flip' the phase on your desk), this speaker will work as a huge dynamic mic and add serious low end to your bass drum sound.

Today we will be recording drums this will involve us experimenting with different types of microphones

This is a AKG C414B condenser microphone that uses phantom power that is used to record the whole drum kit at once as an overhead

This is a dynamic microphone that will be used to record the tom drum

This is a dynamic microphone that will be used to record the kick drum

This is a condenser microphone that will be used as an ambient or overhead microphone

This is a stage box used to connect all the microphones to one source

Today we were looking at how to set up a drum kit with microphones to record with

We used different types of microphones including an AKG C414B to be used as the overhead, an audix C4 to record the kick drum, an audix F90 to record the tom drum, an SM58 to record the snare and a stage box to connect everything we then recorded the drum kit and decided that it would be possible to improve the sound of the drum kit by moving the microphones to improve isolation by doing so we found that recording 2 had a much better sound with less sound spilling into each track however we still had to use the EQ to get a perfect sound with minimal re-verb and decay

Discovering music 13/3/15

Phantom of the opera by andrew lloyed webber born 22/3/1948 the British composer, this was wrote 1986 it is a twentieth century piece of secular music this has a large organ intro bass drums string orchestra with very unsettling mysterious dark themes all throughout the music i feel very nervous through the whole play through as i find the organs create a very unsettling atmosphere. The main characteristic is the presence of the organ this makes the track very unsettling and increases the darkness in the track without it the track would seem more light hearted.

Symphony no 1 in E flat K 16 by wolfgang amadeus mozart born 27/1/1756 the Austrian composer, this was wrote in 1764 and is a classical piece of secular music that is mainly violin biased and has a very uplifting tone to it creating a happy atmosphere which at times is almost relaxing, the main characteristic is the violin as it is the overpowering instrument that is in the song without it the music would become dull and very uncreative.

Sanctus by paolo agostini born 1583 the Latin composer, it is unknown what date this was written as most of agostini's works has been lost over many hundreds of years, however this particular piece has survived, it is a sacred piece of Renaissance music and consists of only vocals it seems to be a very serious piece of music with very harsh vocals and many different tones. The main characteristic is the vocal.

Harpsichoord concerto in C minor by Bladassare Galuppi born 18th October 1706 the Italian composer wrote this peace of music in 1761 an exact date is unknown. It is a baroque peace of secular music and its main characteristic are harpsichord accompanied by various strings. The music has a very soft and relaxing tone as it is mainly the harpsichord played with many dynamics but not in a dramatic way it also includes a large amount of counter melody.

All of these songs contain a reasonable amount of melody and counter melody as a key element of the songs. Galuppi and Webber both have a type of piano as a element somewhere in the track where as Sanctus uses only vocal and Mozart uses mostly violin, however there are different types of piano used in Galuppi and Webbers tracks e.g. Bladassare Galuppi used a harpsichord and Andrew Lloyed Webber uses a large organ.

Acoustic recording techniques 12/3/15

Today we have gone into the studio and leaned how to set up a multiple mic recording session with logic pro and digi 002 audio interface we followed a routing path that we had made this consisted of a stage box with 4 XLR inputs which corresponded with the interface we also used a patch bay with inputs 5-8 which corresponded with the interface using 4 1/4inch jacks input 1 was a vocal with a dynamic microphone we used a XLR with this input 2 was precaution we used a XLR and condenser microphone with phantom power with this input 3 and 4 was the controller we used 2 XLR cables for this input 5 and 6 was the patch bay we used 1/4 inch jack with this. We then performed with multiple instruments and recorded them at the same time

Acoustic Recording Techniques

Today we have been looking at different types of microphones, what environment they are normally used in and the different ways they can receive sound.

This is a condenser microphone this is normally used in a studio, it has different settings e.g. omnidirectional which allows the microphone to record in a 360 degrees radius, cardioid which allows the microphone to become more sensitive at the front and less sensitive at the back, bidirectional this is also known as the figure 8 pattern it picks up sound from the front and back of the microphone but not the sides. Condensers microphones normally need to be phantom powered.

This is a dynamic microphone which is normally used for live performances it is normally a cardioid style microphone which allows it to pick up the artists voice instead of the whole crowd and other instruments. Dynamic microphones normally do not need any phantom power.

We conducted a comparison test between a condenser microphone and a dynamic microphone in a studio environment we found that the condenser microphone would result in a much louder and clearer sound meaning it would be more suited to recording vocals or broadcasts which could include multiple people speaking but the dynamic microphone would be more suited to a live performance as it focuses on the voice and doesn't pick up as much of everything else e.g. other instruments this is due to it being less sensitive.

We also looked at various aspects of of health and safety e.g. trailing weirs and drinks near electronics and the possible consequences of these problems such as tripping, electric shocks and a fire. We also looked at how to avoid these issues like this e.g. ban drinks in a studio.