Before I get all serious with the fun stuff we did today, I want to make clear that this boot camp is a lot of fun.
A lot of fun.
That’s largely to do with the immediate company: Ronan, Marco, Eric, Andrea, Steve, studio owner Jean Charles and Regi, the dog, whose unexpected appearance on the small CCTV behind the mixing console tickled me every time. Thanks Regi.
I must also thank Liz of Veneto West who quietly went shopping, made our lunch with the assistance of Jean Charles, and organised the whole smooth running of the boot camp.
Recording Piano
Todays session began with an in depth look at ways to record piano.
Ronan introduced us to a truly impressive technique called ‘mid side recording’.
Far from a new technique, I was blown away by the sound image and depth it created when compared to mono. What was also impressive is that this technique is mono compatible.
Yours truly got to play the piano for the first time (in a long time) during some of the testing. Ronan played on others tests. It came to my attention quickly that different styles have a dramatic effect on how the recorded sound sounds.
For example, Ronan’s playing sounded much brighter than mine, despite us playing in roughly the same register.
We looked at good techniques to record punchy pop/rock piano and the advantages of building ‘containers’ as well as mic’ing the piano from underneath (grand pianos.)
We explored the advantages of using upright pianos and the challenges they present. We looked at how mic placement made considerable differences to the character and sound of a recorded piano and what we could do to create dramatic room effects.
Then we moved on to recording electric bass.
Recording Bass
“Bass frequencies are a pain in the a***” – Ronan Chris Murphy
Surprisingly to others, as primarily a guitarist, I was very interested in to how to record great bass sounds. For the material I like and write, the bass is often key to the rhythm and groove of a song. It’s so easy to get wrong.
With two bass players in the group of five students we weren’t short of talent to help demo the variety of recording approaches.
We began by looking at the signal path of the electric bass, starting with the instrument, following it through to the point where we take the signal to either the amp, the desk or to both and the issues we face by doing so.
At this point we explored the different types of D.I. box and how to make reliable use of such devices.
We invested our time discussing the relationship between the bass guitar and other instruments, particularly bass drums. It became clear what powerful beasts bass frequencies are and how they carry great electrical energy through the recording signal paths.
EQ
“Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it” – Michelangelo
EQ-ing and mixing have been some of the topics I have been most looking forward to on the course. This afternoon we began to look at EQ and what a surprising session it was busting more myths as we learned systems, tips and some exciting tricks to improve our overall sound.
I’ll just say “less is (much) more.”
We learned about Ronan’s ‘seek and destroy’ method of sculpting sound and how certain frequencies can be covering up something that’s already there. We found that punctuating high-end and cleaning up the low-end gives dramatic results to punchy low-end.
“Would you like to see what I can do with 500Hz?” – Steve Seltenrich, Bootcamper
During a discussion on harmonics we learned about the key frequencies which human hearing is sensitive to. This included the topic of loudness, and how we perceive loudness, with reference to the Fletcher-Munson curve. The conclusion of this interlude was how and when to focus on certain harmonic frequencies when EQ-ing.
This neatly lined us up for the final day, Day 6, of the recording bootcamp where we look at more mixing techniques and mastering.
Recording Boot Camp – Day 4
Recording Boot Camp – Day 3
Recording Boot Camp – Day 2
Abnegat Studios
Recording Boot Camp
Video Credit: © Agenda Red 2011
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