Here's how I feel about it.....

[flemtone]

I agree, but from a different angle.

I don't record - I perform. Mics need to be played by a singer just like any other instrument. It's one thing to approach and sing, but another thing entirely to play the dynamics of a given mic to make your voice an instrument of everything from whisper to scream without the benefits of studio enhancements. Look at someone like Tony Bennett. His mic technique is flawless, Granted, he has a voice that's been honed by decades of use and a vocal timbre that, to me, is unmatched. But to see him in concert playing the mic to accentuate the emotions playing thru his voice was incredible.

The same could be said for Frank, Peggy Lee, Tina Turner, Ella, Torme, Sammy Davis, Joe Williams, etc. They had to woo the mic in order to woo the audience.

I wonder if this technique is still being used/taught? I'd be interested in hearing what recording engineers have found with their clients in this respect.

[KB Gunn]

Although I agree with Bruce that a quality microphone is paramount, it is just as important to have a listening environment conducive to accurate evaluation of what the mic captures. That means playback on accurate speakers with proper eq compensation for control room acoustics. Of course, having an ASC Attack Wall certainly helps.

What good is a fine mic if you can't accurately hear the results?

Also, this discussion is most applicable to live recording of natural instruments. It is moot when considering modern plug and play recording processors to record typical canned music. When recording cellist Michael Rudiakov Bach Suites for Cello Alone (MMF Records), I found the human ear to be absolutely essential in proper mic placement. With my right ear (non-dominant) directed at the cello and my other ear facing the other way (obviously), I was able to find the perfect position for the mic placement to capture a fine balance of direct instrument v. room ambience. Not only that, but I was also able to move my head up and down on the z axis to find out that a higher placement of the mic lost a significant percentage of the "woodiness" of the instrument. Having the mic in a lower position in relation to the stage enhanced the emotion of the performance.

Clearly, it helps to have a fine and accurate microphone or two to take advantage of that fine tuning of placement. Otherwise, what's the point of bothering?

Kenny B

[Phil O'Keefe]

Here's how I feel about microphone technique. Microphones are The VooDoo-The Magic Wand, the Secret Weapon, of the Music Recording Engineer or Producers trade and craft. Do you agree....... If you don't agree.... get out of my way... I'm coming through! Bruce Swedien

 

 

 

 

I completely agree. Mic technique is one of the things that separates the kids from the grown ups, the amateurs from the pros.

 

I like to use the analogy of a photographer's lenses; microphones are what a recording engineer "sees (hears) the world" through. The ability to choose and use them is crucial to the art of recording. An engineer needs to be just as skillful in their use as a good photographer must be with their choice and use of lenses. An engineer must understand sound - if not technically, then at least instinctively and emotionally - in the way a good photographer understands light.

[Ernest Buckley]

An engineer needs to be just as skillful in their use as a good photographer must be with their choice and use of lenses. An engineer must understand sound - if not technically, then at least instinctively and emotionally - in the way a good photographer understands light.

 

 

Yeah, I think its also knowing when to get the heck out of the way after you have a good signal and the performer is ready. The best engineers I have worked with have everything ready to go before the artist works in. Their work is all about being invisible in a sense... knowing instinctively what the producer wants and what the artist will need.

[Jeff da Weasel]

The best engineers I have worked with have everything ready to go before the artist works in.

An addendum to that is that they're always ready to jump in a tweak things based on the song, the artist's performance styles, and so on.

[T. Alan Smith]

Here's how I feel about microphone technique. Microphones are The VooDoo-The Magic Wand, the Secret Weapon, of the Music Recording Engineer or Producers trade and craft. Do you agree....... If you don't agree.... get out of my way... I'm coming through! Bruce Swedien

While I agree with likening the importance of the mic with "the magic wand," I feel "secret weapon" lie with mic pres & converters. ...but that's just splitting hairs.

[flatfinger]

Which "magic Wand " would you board members reccomend when Recording William Hung ??????






:poke:




.

[Ernest Buckley]

Which "magic Wand " would you board members reccomend when Recording William Hung ??????

Yeah, exactly my point. I`d love to hear the results of a Quincy-Bruce production with Mr. Hung behind the mic. Talent reigns supreme.

[UstadKhanAli]

But isn't that rather pedantic? I mean, obviously, if you have the greatest gear in the world but a complete buffoon in front of those mics with crappy equipment and all that, what's going to happen is that you are going to get a STUNNING PRISTINE recording of complete CRAP! Isn't that obvious? Why is it that every time someone discusses equipment, we have to go, "Well, none of it matters, what matters is the musicians!" Yes. I knew this in 4th grade. No, really, I did.

 

So in the case of William Hung, you'll have a fantastic production of someone who can't sing well. Duh.

 

We can argue other obvious points that we haven't discussed before, like someone with black hair seems to have darker hair than someone with blonde hair, or that a mule kicking someone in the between the legs can really hurt. Then we can make that same point over and over.

[MikeRivers]

 

So in the case of William Hung, you'll have a fantastic production of someone who can't sing well. Duh.

 

It would be a good exercise, sort of like the trick of recording a great sounding song using nothing but SM57s.

 

With a good producer, a good engineer, and the editing and fix-up tools that a modern DAW offers, you could could make a great record of William Hung (sez me, who's never heard William Hung). There reason why there are bad records even in the Pro Tools era is because there aren't enough good engineers and producers. And the reason why so many of the best engineers and producers are bald is because they pull their hair out with projects like that.

[flatfinger]

It would be a good exercise, sort of like the trick of recording a great sounding song using nothing but SM57s. With a good producer, a good engineer, and the editing and fix-up tools that a modern DAW offers, you could could make a great record of William Hung (sez me, who's never heard William Hung). There reason why there are bad records even in the Pro Tools era is because there aren't enough good engineers and producers. And the reason why so many of the best engineers and producers are bald is because they pull their hair out with projects like that.

Maybe all the technoCrowd who say musicians can only make $$$$$ by performing live and selling merchandise are providing a service by weeding it out........From now on if you can't reproduce you recorded sound perfectly live then you are forbidden from having a music career( I would've missed those Steely Dan albums though !!)
......... Maybe the economy will survive( A BIG MAYBEE Looking around these days !!!) If all there are available are SM57's!!!!.

[MikeRivers]

 

Maybe all the technoCrowd who say musicians can only make $$$$$ by performing live and selling merchandise are providing a service by weeding it out........From now on if you can't reproduce you recorded sound perfectly live then you are forbidden from having a music career

 

How about looking at that more positively? There's no reason to expect a live performance to be identical to a recording. Otherwise why bother to attend a live performance when you can hear a perfect playback in the comfort of your living room, without paying $100 for a ticket? But if you couldn't record however you chose to do it) without being able to perform live competently (that's how A&R departments used to find artists to develop), there would be fewer bad or unexciting recordings being made.

 

As a bonus, we'd have more live shows to attend, more performing local artists trying to get their chops honed to make that recording, which will give them some exposure (that always helps to sell records) and would bring the cost of seeing a live performance down to something reasonable.

 

Someone who can put on a good performance can usually adapt to the studio environment pretty quickly. Most who struggle through a live performance (or have never performed their music) will struggle through a studio performance.