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I was The Funk

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    The Performance Curve - everyone should read this article

    in Phil O'Keefe: In The Studio Trenches

    Posted

    Good stuff. It usually takes me 3 or 4 to warm up, then I can hit it consistantly until my voice gives out, which is after about 20 and it's all downhill from there.


    The one I can't stand is the "ANYTHING GOES". It's too hard to advise how to make the performance better since it keeps changing. I just shake my head, and hit record like a monkey. Rarely does anything good come of it, because I lack the patience.

     

    I often work with a bass player that was like that. But I found that his vision for the par was often clearer than mine (not in terms of notes but in terms of flow). Since he had a small setup at home with a decent preamp, I just give him bass-less comps and he takes them home and comes back a week later with the whole record perfect. Way less frustrating then being there for the whole thing (especially since he likes to augment and play around with his mistakes), and I can concentrate on recording the other parts knowing I'll get perfect bass overdubs soon.

    Miking amps and drums

    in Phil O'Keefe: In The Studio Trenches

    Posted

    So I had sort of a breakthrough type thing last night when I was recording a JET song to test my ability at recording.


    I had a 57 a couple inches away form the speaker while he was recording his guitar part: Orville SG through a Musicman 50w 1x12". It sounded great in the room, and sounded like crap when coming out of my headphones and speakers. I was wondering what the deal was, since most articles I've read about miking amps said to stick the mic a couple inches away from the cone and it should be fine.


    Well, it just sounded fart and full of mid range and distortion. I had him play the part again, and recorded the sound while I moved the microphone around in various positions. I played back what we had recorded, and 99% of it was crap. For a split second though, I had the mic positioned so that it sounded great: crisp and clear, with plenty of brightness and the same overdrive I was hearing in the room.


    Is this how it is most of the time when miking stuff? Do mics need to be positioned so carefully in order to get amazing sounds? It seemed as though the slightest angle changed everything. Also, is this the same situation with drums? I've been trying to get a nice snare sound with the 57, but it just ends up being dull and decaying awfully fast. Overheads as well?


    Any help is appreciated
    :):thu:

     

     

    Do mics need to positioned carefully?

     

    Well, yes. If they didn't there wouldn't be much skill to it, would there?

     

    Also, mic choice makes a difference. And different mics might need to be positioned differently. With drums the positioning is more complicated because you are dealing with multiple mics that all need to be positioned correctly not only to capture what they are recording, but also to avoid phase issues with the other microphones.

     

    Most of your drum sound should actually come from the overheads. The secret to drums in order of importance is:

     

    1. Great drummer

    2. Great kit, well tuned

    3. Great room

    4. Great mics, well positioned.

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