Music Recording & Production at SHStudios

Gettin' Heavy With Guitars - amp & mic setups 2    Here at The Coolest Recording Studio in London Town - we like microphones - they are somewhat of a passion of ours - why we have so many & so many different types .  But - you don't need a whole gamut - nay plethora ! - to make things sound big, bad & beautiful - with just two of the same mic (like the sm57 as used here) you can achieve a vast array of differing spaces & tones. This particular setup is pretty superb at adding well a defined bottom end to whatever you use it on - in this instance it's a guitar cab - but you can use it on vocals / drums / bass / horns etc. Take two identical mics - & tape or cable tie them together so that one of the capsules is one capsule depth in front of the other: The one closest to the sound being recorded will be the main mic if using them in mono - you fade in the second mic to add body & tone - this second mic will be out of phase with the ...

Gettin' Heavy With Guitars - amp & mic setups 1    Here at The Coolest Recording Studio In London Town - we do a Lot of guitar tracking - funk, jazz, soul, reggae, metal - you name it - we record & produce it. Today we're recording an alt metal band who utilise a mix of Meshuggah like heaviness with clean jazz / psyche tinged chordal flows - so we need plenty of options at mixdown. First thing you do - turn the gain down on your pedals or amp - we're going to layer the takes which will compound the overdriven tone - plus we'll be adding distortion at the mix stage - so Turn Down the gain ! - you want to hear some clarity. Always put three mics on the cab - One should be a dynamic like a Sennheiser 421 - the next should be a ribbon mic - & the third can be another dynamic or a condenser mic. The 421 will give you bottom end, a slight mid scoop & a warm top end, the ribbon will give you a clear image with a soft top end - plus since they are ...

Recording Drums, Percussion - & Dealing with People Who Like to Hit Things 10 .  Here at The Coolest Recording Studio in London Town we got a lot of faith in abstract thought . So ...... there are general ways of doing things - & there are less common practices , which some folks might be a tad nervous about trying - for WHY???? Aint audio capture in a music studio supposed to be part of the creative process? Here - we have a few methods of capturing drums developed a ways back in some Nashville studios.  Both are only concerned with ambient miking techniques using only 3 microphones .  The first has two microphones (no.s 2 & 3 - preferably ribbons) placed behind & to the side of the drummers shoulders - facing slightly down (experiment with your angles - deeper angle = more kick drum) & towards the third microphone (no. 1) which is placed approx 6 -8 feet in front of the kick drum. So your stereo field is generated by the two reverse mic...

Recording Drums, Percussion - & Dealing with People Who Like to Hit Things 9 .  Here at The Coolest Recording Studio In London Town - we got ways & means - & we got magic trix up our sleeves !!   Drums - are generally close mic'd - this gives producers the opportunity to manipulate the audio with precision - in case the room mics sounded bad, or there was bleed from other sound sources - or if the space was different sounding to what the audio now requires - i.e. - production ideas have changed.  Plate or boundary mics are great for picking up / recording ambient spaces - either creatively (put one behind a piano or guitar amp - or on the ceiling)  - or as a strait resource - 6 feet in front of a guitar amp facing up - or as a drum overhead.  In this picture - we have all thr drums close mic'd - but there is also a mic behind the drummers head, and another 6 feet in front facing the kit. These two mics will be out of phase with e...

Recording Drums, Percussion - & Dealing with People Who Like to Hit Things 8 .   Here at The Coolest Recording Studio in London Town - we like our different mic preamps - & we got a bunch of types & flavours.  Drums!  Generally speaking - you want a nice Fast Solid State mic preamp to capture the whip & crack of a drum - & to keep the metalwork ( cymbals etc) bright, crisp, shiny & clean.   Also - you'll be recording the space around the drum - the ambience of the room - so you'll mainly be after some sharp, quick preamp to pick up the nuances of the player.   So why use a valve / tube preamp?  rft neumann gefell mic pre   Yep - tube preamps are Much slower to track audio waves than solid state pre's - but boy do they add personality, warmth & a depth that only tubes can. There's a "thickness" to tube preamps - a kind of golden solidity - so while you may not want them as a stereo pair for your ...

Recording Drums, Percussion - & Dealing with People Who Like to Hit Things 7 .   Here at The Coolest Record Studio in London Town - we got a Big thing for Microphones & Texture.  You can kinda manipulate any audio - guitars / keyboards / bass / tuned percussion etc to taste using eq & compression - but vocals - & especially drums - they need to be captured right at source .  So - you can use a mixture of microphone types - just as an artist would use different colours - to elaborate on your sonic vision.  Dynamics -  add serious colour - & also a tad of natural compression when pushed, they're also punchy, moreish & gorgeous. These mics will give you added tone.  Condensers - are in some way opposite - they are very clear - & are meant to faithfully reproduce what they are recording without adding anything of themselves tonally. Ribbon Mics -  ..... are very natural sounding - & are excellent at...

Here at the Coolest Recording Studio in London Town - we got All kinds of approaches to audio capture & production. One hard & fast rule is to discuss with band & production team - what it is they are after before we even hit the button!  Making a Record That old carpenters maxim "measure Twice Cut Once" - also applies in the recording / production world - & How! There will be sessions where you either can't talk to the producer - or no one really knows where the song is headed sonically speaking - & it's all a bit experimental. So - Always close mic your instruments - this is just good recording practice - will keep bleed to a minimum, & will provide the producer with a basic, solid background to work with. To Compress or No?  Compressing on the way in (at recording stage) is generally frowned upon - for novices or people starting off in the recording world - as it's easy to screw it up. It's very common practice ...