Martin Daley’s Audio Corner.

Our first stop is at one of one of the great audio truths. “If you put crap into your mixer or mic, you will surely get crap out out the other end”. If you can put a exceptionally clean, powerful, dynamic signal into the first chain of the audio path then you stand a good chance of getting near enough the same out. If however the incoming signal is weedy, thin or distorted no amount of tweaking or twiddling is going to restore it to something half decent. So lets look at some of the techniques and equipment which will help on the first stage of our journey to amplify and record.

No 1. The Source.

The source can be anything: vocals, guitars, keyboards, various wind instruments, drums, samples, the posibilities are endless. Each sound has its own foibles. Basically instruments are either miked up or plugged straight into the mixer via an amp or direct injection box. So before we move onto discussing the right mic’s for the job and how DI boxes work let’s look at the sources.

Drums: Drums have come full circle in recent years with a return to the more natural tone, but that still leaves a lot of room for a drummers to define their own tonal style. Before you go into the studio, make sure that parts of the kit are not squeaking or rattling, check out different heads for the toms and snare but don’t be misled into changing your basic sound – not everybody wants a snare or tom to sound like a wet blanket, which is a possibility if you use too much damping.

Accentuate the tuning on the toms if necessary, to get plenty of tonal change when you do a fill. Insist on having the same type of mic on all the toms otherwise they won’t sound consistent. If you want a rich, deep snare sound, try to get hold of a 6.5 inch deep version like the Ludwig Super Sensitive or equivalent. Go easy on the gaffa tape as it robs you of the harmonics.

Bass Drums can be changed by the use of plastics pads to give a bit more of a click but be careful as they can sound a bit thin. The trick in using the studio is to create some dynamics. I have recorded a lot of Reggae where the drummer using brushes has sounded a lot more dynamic than a Heavy Metal session using sticks. If you don’t have the facilities to record drums then check out a drum sample unit like the Alesis D4 or equivalent and use pads to record the song straight into the tape recorder, sequencer or drum machine.

If you are booking a studio that has a kit already miked up, then check it before hand: maybe you only need to bring your own snare, favourite cymbal or special lucky blanket for the bass drum. This can save you at least an hour . A good drum sound is the bedrock of the studio session – get that right and the rest of the band will have something solid to sit on.

Bass Guitar: This can be a hard instrument to get right in the Studio. Make sure that your strings are fairly fresh and there is no fret buzz, also that the jack socket is not intermittent. If you use your own leads, try to get the best you can afford. If you like a bright, toppy sound then use wire wounds. If you favour a deep bassy sound then check out flat wounds which will give a nice deep sound but with the harmonics left intact.

The classic technique for getting basses onto tape is to mix miked up sounds with direct injection version (more on DI boxes later): the miked up sound gives you the power and colour, the D I’d version gives the clarity. If you have spare tracks then record them separately then you can always feed the clean feed back into an amp on mixdown. Try to make sure that it sits in with the bass drum. It is worth persevering to get a good bass sound. Like the Drums it underpins the whole sound and is a rhythmic and melodic foundation to the song. For miking up try the AKG D112, D12, Senheiser 421, SM57 or equivalent. Don’t forget some amps have a clean feed from the back which can go straight into the mixer. never use the speakers outputs without a proper power soak (ask your friendly dealer)

Electric Rhythm and Lead guitars: In many ways like the bass but the search for the ultimate lead or rhythm is one that you will have work on until you find it. Nothing gives a song a major letdown more than a crap guitar sound. The emotional impact of a blistering lead guitar sound can change peoples lives. To capture the right lead and rhythm guitar sound you can sometimes be lucky, like just using a SM57 off axis in front of a small combo or use some serious effects processors. Because guitars can take a lot of processing, we will come back to them in another article.

Acoustic guitars and other natural instruments: On the whole, the way to go with these instruments is to mike them up with a good capacitor mike. However I also like using inbuilt pickups like the Shadow which when D I’d can give a very forward bright sound. Try to avoid clip-on units which use glue or sticky putty – these types don’t make very good contact and can pull off the varnish from Violins and suchlike. There are some extremely good guitars like the Ovation, Takamine, Fender, Martin Etc. which have built in pickups and preamplifiers. Some active acoustics can have noisy preamps. If that is the case, you can always take the pick up straight to the DI box. These type of guitars are ideal for the solo musician who is doing his own recording. It means you can work in the control room and hear yourself through the monitors without worrying about spill. If you don’t use a mic, then be prepared for a slight change in timbre.

Acoustic Piano: I have had very little success with upright pianos, but a nice Baby or Concert grand can sound magnificent. Make sure it is in tune and has no duff keys. Two good capacitor mic’s 2ft above the soundboard can put you in aural heaven.

Electric Keyboards: In a way electric keyboard players have it best: just plug straight into the desk and away you go. That, however, may be a bit glib as there are many ways to enhance the keyboards sound from feeding them from the mixer to an amp and miking up the results for more colour and power, to using a vast array of effects processors to enhance the magic.

Wind Instruments: These instruments can give great deal of character to a track and are very worthwhile. Try to make sure you don’t have leaky pads, have plenty of reeds ready if your favourite is too soft or hard for the track. Make sure that you can can tune up or down to the other musicians or get the rest of the band to tune to you (if stuck use the Varispeed on the recorder). Try not to have sticky or clattery keys (a careful oiling can work wonders). These instruments can sound noisy if they are too closely miked; try to get a bit of distance and let the instrument breathe into the room.

Vocals: Singers stand somewhat uniquely in the studio – they bring nothing but their voice and the lyrics and yet their contribution can mean everything. I’ve heard great backing tracks, which I felt sure would result in a record deal, go down the toilet once the singer opened his or her throat. Vocal technique is not as important as style and lyrical content but it is still worth learning phasing, how to use a mic, how to listen through headphones and how to sing with dynamics.

Next Month: Microphones and how they work. Choosing the right ones for the job and D I Boxes explained.