Sunday
Aug122007
you asked about recording?
Sunday, August 12, 2007 at 02:58AM
Ok, two things to tell you before we get into this post.
1. Sorry I haven't been posting as much as usual lately. Life's just been way too busy, and frankly, not always with exciting blog-worthy stuff. Nobody wants to read about a rock and roll guitar player watching Curious George cartoons every morning. Well, maybe you do, but not for long. Trust me, it would get old so I'm saving us both.
2. This post will be for gear-heads and folks who like recording and guitars and microphones and that stuff. My wife will not like this post. It will not offend, but it will not interest. If this is you, please come back tomorrow, maybe we'll have a haiku contest or something. (That sounds like a good idea, come to think of it...)
All right, now that's out of the way...
I've been getting quite a few e-mails in the past couple weeks asking me questions about recording, either gear or process, or both. Mostly these have related to the EP I did in June and the sounds on that recording. Instead of answering all these emails one at a time, I'm just going to go a little overboard here and try to give some basic tips.
Hopefully this can be helpful to you. Or I might really screw you up. I've learned what little I know, and oh how little it is, by doing it or being around it, so it might not be right, or might not be right to you. This is part of my process, and that's all. Better engineers reading this may tell you this is all bunk. That would be true. But the joy of doing this is that there is no right or wrong, as long as the song connects when the day is done.
--------
What I'm going to write about today is how I usually go about capturing acoustic guitar and vocals. First we'll talk about the gear, and there will be a lot of links.
I record onto a program called ProTools. There are a lot of great programs out there (Sonar, Cakewalk, Digital Performer, GarageBand, Logic, etc...) but ProTools is sort of the Nashville standard.
To get sound into your computer you first need an interface. ProTools makes their own (here), at my home studio I use the Digi002, which you can get on ebay, but there are a ton of options. Most of them will come with some sort of software. Presonus makes some really great ones (here) (here) (and here), and these Alesis ones look like they're a good idea, though I haven't used them. (here) (here)
Just about every interface has mic pre's, or preamplifiers, in them. This is what you plug your mic into, controlling its level. Usually the pre's in the interface are decent, but not great. This is totally dependent on your budget, for demos or learning the stock pre's will be great. Typically, though, professional production uses outboard pre's. Besides the mic, they're the most important in terms of coloring the sound, and they can vary greatly. Standards are Neve, API, Brent Averill, Chandler, the list goes on. These are expensive (and usually awesome). I use the A Designs "Pacifica" (here) which I'm in love with.
Again, Presonus makes some great ones, in all price ranges. (here) (here) (here) They used to make something just called "BlueTube" which I got when I first started recording years ago and still use often. It was like a hundred bucks for two channels and I think it sounds fantastic. They don't have to be expensive to be worthwhile. Another good one is the Really Nice Pre. (here)
Sometimes you may want a little compression while you record. This will make your quiets not so quiet and your louds not so loud. Like coloring books, they can help you stay between the lines a bit. They can also really add to the feel and energy of a sound. Again, there a million great ones to choose from, but good affordable ones are the dbx 160A (here) and the Really Nice Compressor (here). I use both of these and really love them. Just about every vocal I've recorded in the last three years has gone through my dbx.
Lastly, you'll need a microphone. For vocals and guitars I typically use condensers. They come large and small, and it may just be me, but I tend to think you'll get a more full sound from a larger mic.
Smaller ones are often called "pencil" mics. These can be great on acoustic guitars, pianos and drum overheards. Things that don't need a ton of low-end when you've got a band going. For a long time I used Rode NT5's (here), but every brand has their own version. Some cool-looking smaller companies do too, like Karma (here) and Cascade (here).
For vocals, guitar amps, and acoustic guitars when there won't be a band and you want the bottom-end (like the EP), I use larger condensers. I have a pair of AudioTechnica 4047s that I got six years ago. I love them and use them on everything. (here) Its brother mic, the 4033, is also one of my favorites. (here) The same company makes a stripped-down version that I've used a lot and that actually sounds really great. At around a hundred bucks, it's a great investment, the 2020. (here)
Again, other smaller companies make some great ones. Karma will let you try them out for a week before you buy and one of theirs is on its way to my house right now, the K58. (here) I'm also really thinking this looks cool, the Cascade Elroy. (here) GrooveTubes makes cool ones, as well. (here)
Those are all affordable, but professional, mics that most studios will have. However, some of the real classics that are in every studio are more expensive (and again, really awesome) like the Neumann U47, U67, or U87. You can go together and get me one of these for Christmas. I will thank you a lot. (ha!!)
And new, smaller companies are in that game as well. I got to sing into this mic the other day and almost fell over it sounded so good (and looked so cool). (here)
And then, at the end of the day, half of the time you'll end up using an old beat-up 57. Frankly, it's often the best sounding mic, no matter what. I've used it on vocals, acoustics, and everything else. Andrew Peterson's voice on The Far Country was all done on one. This is the one mic everyone needs. (here)
--------
Whew, that was exhausting. But we're not through yet. Once you have all this junk you need to set it up, plug it and then record your song. That's where it gets fun. Let's start with the acoustic guitar.
For a long time I used two pencil mics. I'd put them in a couple different positions. Point them straight at the guitar about six inches apart, centered around where the neck meets the body. Or put one above the guitar pointed at where the neck meets the body and one down on the body behind the bridge. More recently I've had them out a bit like a triangle the same joining place. You can pan these in your recording, or put both to one side. Whatever you do it's best to move them around a bit and listen. Use your ears. When it sounds good, use that.
For the EP, and a lot of the new Caedmon's record, the acoustics are mono. I'd just put a large condenser, on the EP the 4047, at the neck/body joint, about six inches away. Usually I'd play the part twice and put them in stereo.
For the vocal, I use the large condenser again. A couple tips are to put the mic slightly above your mouth and then point it down. It keeps the mic out of your direct airflow, which can give you a cleaner sound. I never do that, though. I always just sing right into it, because I forget. Also, you should always use a pop filter. That's the one non-negotiable.
On this it's even more important to use your ears. Set the pre so you've got some room to go even when you're at your loudest, but make sure you've got a good signal.
Try and mess with a compressor. See if it makes it cooler. For energy, put the attack time quick and the release longer. On the dbx, there are just a couple knobs, so I typically turn it UP when I'm singing loud stuff and DOWN when it's quieter and more intimate. It can also be nice to use a little slap-delay or reverb in your track.
Also, if you have any EQ, either in your program, on your board or on your pre, it's usually best to use the HighPass filter on vocals and guitars. This lets the high frequencies pass while blocking the lower frequencies from making everything really muddy. On a voice like mine, which is a little muddy and has too many low frequencies in it naturally, this is really helpful. I often add a little bit of high-end to help it cut, as well.
Some mics have HighPass filters built in and you may see a figure looking almost nothing like this: /""" (that's the best I can figure out on the keyboard) If you have that, turn it on. Take it off when you record kick drum, bass, electric guitars or other low stuff.
--------
I don't know if any of this will help you, but hopefully it maybe answered at least a couple people's questions. There are a million ways to do this stuff, and it's not that hard once you just start doing it. It's often the getting up and starting that's the hardest part.
Having great equipment is fun and can make things go quicker, but great sounding records with bad songs are still records nobody listens to. Once you know you have a good song, just take your time with your recording. Move stuff around. See what it sounds like when you plug THIS into THAT. Use your imagination. Listen to other records and try to hear what other folks did they can add to your vocabulary. There's a history to all of this, and learning some of the history is almost more important than just about anything else.
All right, that's enough from me. Thanks for reading all of this and I wish you luck.
1. Sorry I haven't been posting as much as usual lately. Life's just been way too busy, and frankly, not always with exciting blog-worthy stuff. Nobody wants to read about a rock and roll guitar player watching Curious George cartoons every morning. Well, maybe you do, but not for long. Trust me, it would get old so I'm saving us both.
2. This post will be for gear-heads and folks who like recording and guitars and microphones and that stuff. My wife will not like this post. It will not offend, but it will not interest. If this is you, please come back tomorrow, maybe we'll have a haiku contest or something. (That sounds like a good idea, come to think of it...)
All right, now that's out of the way...
I've been getting quite a few e-mails in the past couple weeks asking me questions about recording, either gear or process, or both. Mostly these have related to the EP I did in June and the sounds on that recording. Instead of answering all these emails one at a time, I'm just going to go a little overboard here and try to give some basic tips.
Hopefully this can be helpful to you. Or I might really screw you up. I've learned what little I know, and oh how little it is, by doing it or being around it, so it might not be right, or might not be right to you. This is part of my process, and that's all. Better engineers reading this may tell you this is all bunk. That would be true. But the joy of doing this is that there is no right or wrong, as long as the song connects when the day is done.
--------
What I'm going to write about today is how I usually go about capturing acoustic guitar and vocals. First we'll talk about the gear, and there will be a lot of links.
I record onto a program called ProTools. There are a lot of great programs out there (Sonar, Cakewalk, Digital Performer, GarageBand, Logic, etc...) but ProTools is sort of the Nashville standard.
To get sound into your computer you first need an interface. ProTools makes their own (here), at my home studio I use the Digi002, which you can get on ebay, but there are a ton of options. Most of them will come with some sort of software. Presonus makes some really great ones (here) (here) (and here), and these Alesis ones look like they're a good idea, though I haven't used them. (here) (here)
Just about every interface has mic pre's, or preamplifiers, in them. This is what you plug your mic into, controlling its level. Usually the pre's in the interface are decent, but not great. This is totally dependent on your budget, for demos or learning the stock pre's will be great. Typically, though, professional production uses outboard pre's. Besides the mic, they're the most important in terms of coloring the sound, and they can vary greatly. Standards are Neve, API, Brent Averill, Chandler, the list goes on. These are expensive (and usually awesome). I use the A Designs "Pacifica" (here) which I'm in love with.
Again, Presonus makes some great ones, in all price ranges. (here) (here) (here) They used to make something just called "BlueTube" which I got when I first started recording years ago and still use often. It was like a hundred bucks for two channels and I think it sounds fantastic. They don't have to be expensive to be worthwhile. Another good one is the Really Nice Pre. (here)
Sometimes you may want a little compression while you record. This will make your quiets not so quiet and your louds not so loud. Like coloring books, they can help you stay between the lines a bit. They can also really add to the feel and energy of a sound. Again, there a million great ones to choose from, but good affordable ones are the dbx 160A (here) and the Really Nice Compressor (here). I use both of these and really love them. Just about every vocal I've recorded in the last three years has gone through my dbx.
Lastly, you'll need a microphone. For vocals and guitars I typically use condensers. They come large and small, and it may just be me, but I tend to think you'll get a more full sound from a larger mic.
Smaller ones are often called "pencil" mics. These can be great on acoustic guitars, pianos and drum overheards. Things that don't need a ton of low-end when you've got a band going. For a long time I used Rode NT5's (here), but every brand has their own version. Some cool-looking smaller companies do too, like Karma (here) and Cascade (here).
For vocals, guitar amps, and acoustic guitars when there won't be a band and you want the bottom-end (like the EP), I use larger condensers. I have a pair of AudioTechnica 4047s that I got six years ago. I love them and use them on everything. (here) Its brother mic, the 4033, is also one of my favorites. (here) The same company makes a stripped-down version that I've used a lot and that actually sounds really great. At around a hundred bucks, it's a great investment, the 2020. (here)
Again, other smaller companies make some great ones. Karma will let you try them out for a week before you buy and one of theirs is on its way to my house right now, the K58. (here) I'm also really thinking this looks cool, the Cascade Elroy. (here) GrooveTubes makes cool ones, as well. (here)
Those are all affordable, but professional, mics that most studios will have. However, some of the real classics that are in every studio are more expensive (and again, really awesome) like the Neumann U47, U67, or U87. You can go together and get me one of these for Christmas. I will thank you a lot. (ha!!)
And new, smaller companies are in that game as well. I got to sing into this mic the other day and almost fell over it sounded so good (and looked so cool). (here)
And then, at the end of the day, half of the time you'll end up using an old beat-up 57. Frankly, it's often the best sounding mic, no matter what. I've used it on vocals, acoustics, and everything else. Andrew Peterson's voice on The Far Country was all done on one. This is the one mic everyone needs. (here)
--------
Whew, that was exhausting. But we're not through yet. Once you have all this junk you need to set it up, plug it and then record your song. That's where it gets fun. Let's start with the acoustic guitar.
For a long time I used two pencil mics. I'd put them in a couple different positions. Point them straight at the guitar about six inches apart, centered around where the neck meets the body. Or put one above the guitar pointed at where the neck meets the body and one down on the body behind the bridge. More recently I've had them out a bit like a triangle the same joining place. You can pan these in your recording, or put both to one side. Whatever you do it's best to move them around a bit and listen. Use your ears. When it sounds good, use that.
For the EP, and a lot of the new Caedmon's record, the acoustics are mono. I'd just put a large condenser, on the EP the 4047, at the neck/body joint, about six inches away. Usually I'd play the part twice and put them in stereo.
For the vocal, I use the large condenser again. A couple tips are to put the mic slightly above your mouth and then point it down. It keeps the mic out of your direct airflow, which can give you a cleaner sound. I never do that, though. I always just sing right into it, because I forget. Also, you should always use a pop filter. That's the one non-negotiable.
On this it's even more important to use your ears. Set the pre so you've got some room to go even when you're at your loudest, but make sure you've got a good signal.
Try and mess with a compressor. See if it makes it cooler. For energy, put the attack time quick and the release longer. On the dbx, there are just a couple knobs, so I typically turn it UP when I'm singing loud stuff and DOWN when it's quieter and more intimate. It can also be nice to use a little slap-delay or reverb in your track.
Also, if you have any EQ, either in your program, on your board or on your pre, it's usually best to use the HighPass filter on vocals and guitars. This lets the high frequencies pass while blocking the lower frequencies from making everything really muddy. On a voice like mine, which is a little muddy and has too many low frequencies in it naturally, this is really helpful. I often add a little bit of high-end to help it cut, as well.
Some mics have HighPass filters built in and you may see a figure looking almost nothing like this: /""" (that's the best I can figure out on the keyboard) If you have that, turn it on. Take it off when you record kick drum, bass, electric guitars or other low stuff.
--------
I don't know if any of this will help you, but hopefully it maybe answered at least a couple people's questions. There are a million ways to do this stuff, and it's not that hard once you just start doing it. It's often the getting up and starting that's the hardest part.
Having great equipment is fun and can make things go quicker, but great sounding records with bad songs are still records nobody listens to. Once you know you have a good song, just take your time with your recording. Move stuff around. See what it sounds like when you plug THIS into THAT. Use your imagination. Listen to other records and try to hear what other folks did they can add to your vocabulary. There's a history to all of this, and learning some of the history is almost more important than just about anything else.
All right, that's enough from me. Thanks for reading all of this and I wish you luck.
Reader Comments (14)
I am glad to see you write good things about the Rode mics. I have almost snagged some mics from them a couple of times for live recording.
Hey Andy,
As one of the people who was asking you about gear this week, thanks for this post. First, it's nice to know that I was already in the right direction at least...but I tend to be pretty clueless about compressors, so your input will help as I tinker. BTW, I did end up getting one of those BBE Sonic Maximizers. Still not sure if I'm sold on it or not. Might take it back. We'll see. It's a good idea but I'm not sure if it's such a good idea (or makes such a big difference) that I need it in my rack for $80 (even though that's a fraction of what they cost new).
Thanks Again,
Seth
That's pretty fascinating stuff... but frankly, I'm totally psyched up about the haiku contest.
I'm a big fan of Kel mics. Just another boutique company, but with decent prices. The HM-1 is a great sounding and cool looking mic for your guitar amp, and doesn't sound half bad for vocals either. Check them out at http://www.kelaudio.com/index.html.
You may have talked about this before and I missed it, but can you tell me about your guitar?
Holy crap, what a great post. Thanks, Andy. This is good - I've been spending the past several days thinking about picking up an affordable channel strip (if not pre) and am still strongly considering the Joemeek ThreeQ.
This helps me to keep looking, listening and keeping my options open.
Been a while since we've seen the latest incarnation of your pedal board. I heard a guy talking about an overdrive pedal called a "greenline" the other day. Know anything about that one?
First of all Andy, dude, what an awesome post. Second, I think the Rode NT5 for a budget studio is one of the best Mic's I've ever used. And you are right about the SM57. I almost feel naked without it. Espcially on a snare. If anyone out there is looking for a good budget home studio. I highly recommend the Digi 002 or now the 003 which I havent used yet. PreSonus makes fantastic Pre's. The Digimax FS or Digimax LT are great great additions to a 002. Ok enough ranting for me
Great post! A lot of info, makes my head spin.
Posts like these make me happy that I'm a sound guy.
i used to have a gear list on my old website... might not be a bad idea to recreate that...
currently i have a tascam us-422 and want a presonus firestudio to go with it or a tascam fw-1884 to completely replace it...
i have a couple of akg condensers, a couple of octavias, and a nice new sm-58 for mics
i have the presonus bluetube you mentioned and the matching bluemax compressor. the presets are nice for a novice like me and together they take up one rack space... real handy for live shows...
i'm also using cubase sx for recording and plan to upgrade to the current version once i'm done turning the unfinished room into a studio...
at church, we're using the presonus inspire to record the sermons with quite a bit of success...
as for guitar, i mainly play a lowden 025 and wish i played well enough to deserve such a fine instrument...
of course, all of this would probably mean something to somebody if i knew the first darn thing about using any of it....
;)
Holy Moly...The Far Country vocals were done with a 57?!? I gave it another listen today and I think I can hear it. It sounds kind of dry and immediate. But, that seems such an uncommon choice for a studio mic. Can you tell us some of the thoughts and reasoning behind that choice? With so many decent condensors at your disposal, I am surprised at the choice of using a dynamic for recording vocals, and am dying to hear your thoughts on what brought you to that decision.
Thanks Andy
Dude - this was such a helpful post! It will be my recording Bible for the upcoming months!!
WOW! This is insanely helpful as I seek to put together a studio on a budget! Thanks so much for this post!!