Planning for Final Recording
The people that I shall be working with when recording our final record are Georgia Tomson (me), David Cuff and Maisie GoodmanLocation: Studio:
Time: 8:30 - 10.50
Date: 9th October 2015
Role of Personnel
Setting up microphones - David; this means that he will be going into the studio to get microphone stands, selecting the correct/appropriate microphone, insert the XLR leading into the microphones(s), the will be expected to work along side the rest of the group in discussing the positioning of the microphones in order to get a quality sounding recording.
Mixing desk (e.g. sorting out gain) Maisie; This means that she will be in charge of using the mixing desk, including sorting out the gain of the recording
Controlling Cubase - Maisie
Playing instruments for the recording - Georgia/David
Consideration for our Recording
In our recording, we are planning to record a piano and the drums. For the piano the way that we will be recording this instrument will be buy using 2 AKG C1000 microphones, positioning one pointing towards the far left side of the piano (electric) speaker and the other pointing towards the far right side of the pianos speaker. We do this as the lower notes mostly come out of the left half of the speaker and the higher notes mostly come out of the right half of the speaker, so recording this way will allow the sound to pan from higher to lower. We do it this way, as this is the way you would mic up an acoustic piano, as a microphone will be pointing towards to higher pitches of the piano and the other microphone will be pointing towards the lower pitches of the piano to be able to pick all the notes up clearly.
The other instrument that we will be recording will be the drums. We will be putting microphones to the whole drum kit, which means that all the parts to the kit will require different microphones. This is because, for example, we will need to use an Egg Mic to record to kick drum as this microphone picks up lower sound signals. In total, we will need to use 8 microphones to record each drum separately.
Group Dynamics/Skills required
In order to carry out this recording successfully, communication between all group member will be very important. This will be done by using the 'Talk Back' button, this will allow people in the recording booth to talk to people who are in the studio. It would be useful for all group to have a basic understand of how instruments sound. For example, everyone in the group has the ability to hear to whether instruments are in tune or not. This is to ensure that the recording is perfect.
Another skill that all people within the group would be knowledge on how to use all the technology and computer software. All group members should also be aware of potential risks that can occur when recording for our final recording. For example, all people within the group should know what to do when a microphone or a piece of technology stops working. They should know that if a microphone isn't working, they would know how to overcome it by either checking and swapping the XLR lead or checking and swapping the microphone. all group members should know how to use Cubase as well. Even though there is only one person assigned to be operating the programme, it is also helpful if everyone knows how to use this piece of software. This is people, if the assigned people is having a technical difficulty or struggling with something, another person may be able to help overcome this issue so that the recording process can run smoothly with less issues.
Another skill that all people within the group would be knowledge on how to use all the technology and computer software. All group members should also be aware of potential risks that can occur when recording for our final recording. For example, all people within the group should know what to do when a microphone or a piece of technology stops working. They should know that if a microphone isn't working, they would know how to overcome it by either checking and swapping the XLR lead or checking and swapping the microphone. all group members should know how to use Cubase as well. Even though there is only one person assigned to be operating the programme, it is also helpful if everyone knows how to use this piece of software. This is people, if the assigned people is having a technical difficulty or struggling with something, another person may be able to help overcome this issue so that the recording process can run smoothly with less issues.
What problems may you face and how you will overcome these?
When recording for our final recording, we may experience faulty equipment, for example we may experience failure with the microphones. At this point you would think of issues that may be causing the microphones to stop working. Issues may include faulty XLR Leads, causing no sound to come through in Cubase, or the issue may be to do with the actual microphone. In both scenarios, a way to overcome these problems would be, check the XLR lead and swap it for another lead, if this still doesn't work, then go on to swapping the microphone with another microphone.
Another thing we could experience when recording could be Cubase issues, such as the programme crashing. If this happens, this could result in work/recordings to be lost, and then we would hard to start from the beginning. One way to overcome this issue would be to do something to our recording, whether that we recording an instrument or adding an effect to a recording, and straight after making sure that you save your project straight after. This way you wont loose any work due to the programme crashes, and if it does crash before you've saved the project, then at least you wont loose the whole recording.
Plan of Microphones that will be used in Final Recording
In our final recording, we plan to record vocals, piano and drums (full kit). To recording the piano, we plan on using 2 AKG C1000 microphones and position 1 microphone pointing towards the center of the left cone and the other microphone pointing towards the center of the right cone (of the speaker). This will allow all pitches to be picked up well, as the left half of the speaker (of the electric piano we shall be recording on) gives out the lower end of the notes and the right half of the speaker gives out the higher end of the notes. Using this technique also give up to ability to pan, this meaning you will be able to hear in our recording the sound going from left to right as the pitches of the notes being played changed. For vocals we shall be using a Shure SM58. This is because this microphone is the most universal and therefor has the ability to pitch up both higher and lower frequencies. When recording the vocals we will also be putting a Pop Shield in front of the microphone, this is to prevent the microphone picking up any sounds that we don't want to record, such as the singer breathing in between lyrics. This will hopefully give out recording a much clearer sound. Finally, for the drums we plan on using multiple types of microphone to suit all the pitches of each part of the drum. Here is what microphones we plan to use for each part of the drum kit;
Shure SM58 - High Hat, Snare, Tom 1, Tom 2, Floor Tom.
AKG C1000 - Crash 1, Crash 2, Ride Cymbal.
AKG D112 - Kick Drum (because this is the only part of the drum kit that is considerably low in pitch).
Absorption- Using sound proofing foam to reduce sound reflecting.
Resonance - The quality of the sound of being deep, full and reverberating,
Shure SM58 - High Hat, Snare, Tom 1, Tom 2, Floor Tom.
AKG C1000 - Crash 1, Crash 2, Ride Cymbal.
AKG D112 - Kick Drum (because this is the only part of the drum kit that is considerably low in pitch).
Recording Key Terms
Quality of Sound - The timbre of the sound, e.g. brassy, tinny, distorted.
Acoustic Reflection - Sound traveling; reverb. E.g. Recording Studio: less reflection due to sound proofing.Absorption- Using sound proofing foam to reduce sound reflecting.
Resonance - The quality of the sound of being deep, full and reverberating,
Background Noise - Noise that can be heard/picked up from the environment in which you are recording.
Position/distance: 2 microphones, positioned at the cone of the left speaker and the other positioned at the cone of the right speaker. The microphones are to be positioned 20cm away from the speaker.
I used these kind of microphones as they are are well suited to the instrument I am recording. This is because AKG C1000's because this microphone has a high frequency response, so the quality of the recording will because be better. I kept the microphones 20cm away from the speakers to avoid feedback.
Evaluation of Final Recording
In our final recording, we recording a piano, vocals, and a full drum kit.
Piano Recording
https://soundcloud.com/user-69480508/piano
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| Example of microphone set up with an upright piano |
Position/distance: 2 microphones, positioned at the cone of the left speaker and the other positioned at the cone of the right speaker. The microphones are to be positioned 20cm away from the speaker.
Type of Microphone: AKG C1000
Polar Pattern: Cardioid
I used these kind of microphones as they are are well suited to the instrument I am recording. This is because AKG C1000's because this microphone has a high frequency response, so the quality of the recording will because be better. I kept the microphones 20cm away from the speakers to avoid feedback.
Drum Kit Recording
Position/distance: A microphone 20cm away from the snare, ride cymbal, high hat, floor tom, tom 1&2, kick drum and crash 1&2.
Type of Microphone: High Hat - SM58, Snare - SM58, Tom 1 - SM58, Tom 2 - SM58, Floor Tom - SM58, Kick Drum - AKG D112, Crash 1&2 - AKG C1000, Ride Cymbal - AKG C1000.
Polar Patterns: SM58 - Cardioid, AKG C1000 - Cardioid, AKG D112 - Cardioid.
I used various different microphones to suit the pitches of all all the drums, for example, I used an AKG D112 as this microphone is the best at picking up lower pitches. I also kept the microphones 20 cm away from each part of the drum to avoid clipping and to reduce the amount of feedback to make sure the quality of the recording is high. In our recording of the drums, we used a technique that The Beatles used buy using towels to dampen the sound of the kick drum. If I was to do this recording again, I would not use this technique as it made the kick drum sound extremely quite and was therefor hard to hear.
Position/distance: The microphone was 20cm away from the singers face. In front of
I used a SM58 to record the vocals, this is because this microphone is the best at picking up all pitches, and for the song I got the singer to sing, this microphone was the best for the job as the song required a wide range. I set a microphone with a pop shield, this is to prevent background noise from being picked up by the microphone, such as the singers breath for example. A issue that we cam
e around, that I didn't include in my final recording plan, was having to do multiple takes. A you can hear from the recording, we had had to trim the beginning of the take (due to laughing) to ensure the recording could be of a good quality. This recording was the final take, as we had to do 3 takes previous to the final one as we changed the song to another song that suited the singers voice better.
Type of Microphone: High Hat - SM58, Snare - SM58, Tom 1 - SM58, Tom 2 - SM58, Floor Tom - SM58, Kick Drum - AKG D112, Crash 1&2 - AKG C1000, Ride Cymbal - AKG C1000.
Polar Patterns: SM58 - Cardioid, AKG C1000 - Cardioid, AKG D112 - Cardioid.
I used various different microphones to suit the pitches of all all the drums, for example, I used an AKG D112 as this microphone is the best at picking up lower pitches. I also kept the microphones 20 cm away from each part of the drum to avoid clipping and to reduce the amount of feedback to make sure the quality of the recording is high. In our recording of the drums, we used a technique that The Beatles used buy using towels to dampen the sound of the kick drum. If I was to do this recording again, I would not use this technique as it made the kick drum sound extremely quite and was therefor hard to hear.
Vocals
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| Vocal Microphone Set Up |
Type of Microphone: SM58
Polar Pattern: Cardioid
I used a SM58 to record the vocals, this is because this microphone is the best at picking up all pitches, and for the song I got the singer to sing, this microphone was the best for the job as the song required a wide range. I set a microphone with a pop shield, this is to prevent background noise from being picked up by the microphone, such as the singers breath for example. A issue that we cam
e around, that I didn't include in my final recording plan, was having to do multiple takes. A you can hear from the recording, we had had to trim the beginning of the take (due to laughing) to ensure the recording could be of a good quality. This recording was the final take, as we had to do 3 takes previous to the final one as we changed the song to another song that suited the singers voice better.
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