Equipment Part 2... Microphones

Having talked about the importance of the signal path in the previous post, our next topic is to discuss the front end of the signal path, the microphones.

We use a number of different microphones depending on the job in hand but there are certain microphones that we use all of the time from the point of view of sonic performance as well as practicality.

If we are recording a voice over, (out of shot) the first call microphone will always be the (Electrovoice) RE20. This is a dynamic microphone, it is durable and totally reliable and running it through the Neve preamp, into the Fat Track and then optically into Pro Tools is the method that we always use. Oh and it sounds great!


Electrovoice RE20

We always put up a pop shield in front of the mic to absorb the plosives. It's a first class microphone and perfect for the VO role.

When we're recording a VO (voice over) to camera, we use a 'shotgun' mic. This type of microphone features a highly focused sensitivity. In the picture below you will notice the ridges along the sides. These result in wave cancellation which eliminates significantly the 'off-axis' sound. Perfect for in-obtrusive, invisible recording. 


Sennheiser 'Shotgun' Mic

Setting up microphones to record drums can involve a single microphone or 10 (or more) mic's, depending on how elaborate you want to make the recording.

The word 'practicality' was mentioned earlier and this is often a defining factor. If you are going to set up 10 microphones to record with, you also have to think about mixing 10 sound sources as well as the inherent issues of 'phase', which I will talk about in detail another time.

Our 'practical' solution is to use a simple but highly effective set up, which accurately captures the sound and sonic space of the drum kit.

The pictures below show a basic three microphone drum recording set up: two spaced overheads (left & right) and a kick drum mic.

The first picture features the two overheads: AKG414's, which are a matched pair (factory paired for similarity of response). The AKG414 is an industry standard which provides a highly accurate and detailed sound.


AKG414's

The second picture features a second option, two Sennheiser 614's, small diaphragm condenser microphones which also provide a high quality sound but at a much lower price.


Sennheiser 614's

Below, for the kick drum mic we have a number of options:

Electrovoice RE20

Shure Beta 52 Mic

Sennheiser 605

Equipment Part 1... The Audio Chain

The recording platform that we use is an Apple iMac (quadcore i7) and Pro Tools 9. We will discuss the computer and Pro Tools in detail in a future post. 

Recording in the digital domain has many wonderful aspects but it is such a faithful reproduction medium, it is essential to remember that the initial signal that you record is exactly what you will get, thus the audio path or signal chain is of critical importance.

Whatever we are recording, whether it might be voice, guitar, bass or drums, all of which we record on a regular basis, there are special elements that we always adhere to... our recommendations are below:

The pre amp:

Microphones need preamps to boost their output to a level that is suitable for recording and we use a number of preamps for specific purposes

The Neve 5032 Mic Pre & EQ

Neve is a name synonymous with audio quality. Rupert Neve and his company has been making all aspects of high quality mixing desks (etc) since the 1960's and many of the greatest recordings of all time have been recorded on Neves. 

As the desks became old and were replaced with newer models many of the channel strips were removed, reconditioned and resold as standalone rack mounted input strips. These are still to be found in quality studios throughout the world. 

TLAudio Fat Track:

All guitarists know the value of valves in creating a harmonically rich sound. The Fat Track by TLAudio 

(a company dedicated to the use of valves) is a valve pre amp as well as potentially being a complete submixing solution, adding valve warmth (and crunch if needed) to anything put through it.

Our unit has an additional advantage and value to us as it provides us with the option to export all of the resulting output digitally using high quality DA converters (which again we will discuss in detail in future posts).

light pipe digital output from Fat Track

light pipe input into Pro Tools 003


Instrument wise we use the Avalon pre amp for both bass and guitar input... stunning!!:

Chroma Key Examples

Below are some examples of how we use the chroma key effect:

The above shot shows the full green screen effect 

This shot shows the luminescent screen but not fully lit

The shot above shows a plain black background 

having removed all of the green luminescence 

This shot shows our logo superimposed

This is the final result with the logo size reduced

Using the technique previously described, chroma key is much easier to achieve

Excerpt from Drum Lesson 2

Below is a 2' 29 excerpt from Drum Lesson #2 which deals with: 

Drum Sticks, Grip and Basic Stroke

Our drum tutor is Steve Wilson... hope you enjoy it...

Chroma Key

We have been using chroma key or green screen techniques extensively and we have experimented with cloths, painted walls, coloured screens... a plethora of options. 

But what we would recommend is a new technique that uses an led ring which is attached to the camera and a special screen (chromatte) which has millions of glass beads imbedded into the fabric. The fabric picks up the light from the leds and feeds it back to the camera lens on the same path creating a smooth and even chroma backdrop. 

Highly recommended, made by Reflecmedia.

Filming

One of the principal activities that we are involved in is filming:

We will be looking in detail at a number of techniques including: cameras (what's best for the money), media, archiving data (choosing the right hard drive), lighting, chroma key (green screening)

Welcome to the iTutorus blog!

Our intention in setting up iTutorus is to present a viable and fully functional methodology for the online delivery of, in the first instance, instrumental music lessons in 

guitar:

bass:

& drums:

The aim of this blog is to document that journey with text, photographs and videos describing, analysing and discussing a great variety of technical and logistical issues... issues that I am confident will be of interest to anyone interested in the future of online education generally and music specifically.