audio technica

New!! Microphone Monday EP1: AT4047

New!! Microphone Monday EP1: AT4047

recording bass with 1 microphone
Audio-Technica AT4047 recording bass

I’m really excited about this new series on the Ultimate Studios, Inc YouTube channel. It’s called “Microphone Monday”. Ernesto and I will record a short little ditty using only 1 microphone at a time. We tracked drums (using only 2 mics!), bass, guitar and piano.

Every Monday for the next 6 weeks we’ll feature a different mic from the mic locker at Ultimate Studios.

This is something I’ve wanted to do for quite sometime now and we are finally doing it.

Why have I wanted to do this?

recording electric guitar with 1 microphone
Audio-Technica AT4047 recording guitar

First off I love the challenge of recording something with only a few tools. It puts more emphasis on the player and makes the engineer focus on the best mic placement possible.

Second, I was really interested in hearing how each mic would contribute to the overall sound when being used on ALL of the instruments.

And thirdly, to hear each mic on every instrument at the same time was also a great reset for the ears. Like many engineers working on a daily basis we tend to fall into patterns that we know work. Using one mic on all of these sound sources and then another and another was a great way to really hear the difference in how they capture a source.

This really helps in knowing what tools to use for a particular color or vibe. After all microphones are basically paintbrushes for an engineer.

The approach

recording piano at ultimate studios inc los angeles with 2 microphone
Audio-Technica AT4047 recording piano

We setup each mic in pretty much the same position for each take. There are a few differences but the setups are very similar. There are multiple ways we could have approached each mic but we felt it was best to setup them up as close as possible. It seems to have worked well and makes it possible to get an idea of how each mic works.

To kick off the new series I chose the Audio-Technica AT4047. It’s a fantastic microphone and one of my favorites. Check out the video below and please subscribe to the YouTube channel!

Happy Recording,
Charlie

Posted by Charlie in Recording Ninja Workshops, Recording Tips, 0 comments
Building A Drum Sound pt1

Building A Drum Sound pt1

 

 

“I put a mic on every drum. Why doesn’t it sound good?”

I’m sure at some point we’ve all asked ourselves that question. I know I have! Either it just didn’t sound good or it was completely the wrong sound for the music. Building the “right” drum sound is about more than just setting up mics on all of the drums.

The drum set isn’t a collection of different instruments. It’s one instrument made up of different pieces.

This is a very important, and often overlooked, aspect of recording a drum sound that has body, depth, and punch. For this very reason I always get the majority of my drum sound from as few mics as possible.

Even if I’m setting up 20 mics on a drum set the majority of my tone will come from 3-5 microphones. This is how I make sure that I’m capturing the drums as one instrument as well as getting a nice, full tone. From this point on I let the music tell me what mics I need to add to achieve a sound that works for the song.

In part 1 of “Building A Drum Sound” I’m going to show you how to capture the drums with only 2 microphones. I’ll explain what mics I use, where I positioned them and why I chose them. Then you’ll hear those mics with our song to see how they fit.

My challenge to you this week is to pick 2 microphones out of your mic locker and get the best drum sound possible. This is also a great way to experiment and learn how your mics sound!

I’ll see you next Tuesday with part 2. Happy recording!

Charlie

Posted by Charlie in Recording Tips, 3 comments
Good Vibrations Debuts On DrumMagazine.com! (w/video)

Good Vibrations Debuts On DrumMagazine.com! (w/video)

I am stoked to announce that “Good Vibrations”, a new column on DrumMagazine.com, has officially launched! In each installment I’ll discuss how I work with drummers to get a great sound in the studio. “Good Vibrations” is designed to give you a quick look at how I go for a particular sound to fit a session or song. I’ll be working with different artists in each installment, including some familiar names in the industry.

There are plenty of articles all over the internet that talk just about the gear. I want to focus on “why” I choose to use something and how it relates to the other pieces in the setup and, more importantly, the song. Don’t get me wrong, gear is great and I a super gear nerd but at the end of the day the song is most important and that’s how I’m approaching this column. From the perspective of the song, not the recording gear.

The first episode of “Good Vibrations” features a great friend of mine and an awesome Drummer/Producer Mike Avenaim. We filmed this while working together on a new artist that he’s producing named T’Lark. I hope you enjoy!

Charlie

 

Go to DrumMagazine.com to watch the episode and see complete session notes.

 

Watch “Good Vibrations” EP1 below!

 

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Posted by Charlie in Charlie's Big Mouth Blog Entries!, News, Recording Tips, Tracking, Video Posts, 0 comments
Marty O’Reilly Live in Studio! (w/Video)

Marty O’Reilly Live in Studio! (w/Video)

I love working with bands live in the studio. It’s such a wonderful way to record. It’s not always easy when you have drums, amps, and vocals in the same room playing at the same time but I love the challenge. When it works it’s just fantastic! Recently I got to work with Marty O’Reilly and the Old Soul Orchestra. They were on tour and had a day off after their show in LA. Derek from PMI Audio had worked with them before and wanted to get them in the studio to track through the Trident 88 console and shoot some video.

Our goal was to capture true live performances of Marty and his band with no overdubs whatsoever. Marty has such a cool vibe and the band really felt comfortable playing together in the room with no monitoring or headphones. Very, very organic.

For this session bleed had to be my friend because everything was bleeding into everything! Because of that I wasn’t too worried about getting a lot of separation and decided to use as few mics as possible. The drums have 4 mics, guitar has 1 mic, vocals, 1 mic, the upright actually had 3 mics but I only ended up using 2. I had 2 room mics, one in the middle of the group about 2 feet off the ground set to omni, and a spaced pair of condensers facing the wall behind the band. Getting the mic placement correct was imperative since I wouldn’t have a ton of control after the fact.

Everything was recording through the Trident 88. See below for a complete list of mics used.

Enjoy the music!
Charlie

 

 

Kick: Audio-Technica AT4047
Snare: Audio-Technica Pro63
Overheads: Studio Projects C4s
Guitar Amp: Cascade Fathead II
Bass Amp: Audio-Technica AT4047
Clipped to Bridge: Audio-Technica ATM350
Mounted on bass: Troll Ribbon Mic
Room 1: Audio-Tecnica AT4047MP set to Omni
Stereo Rooms: Audio-Technica AT4050

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Enjoy some photos!

Posted by Charlie in Charlie's Big Mouth Blog Entries!, News, Recording Tips, Tracking, Video Posts, 0 comments
Potluck Audio Conference & FREE eBook!

Potluck Audio Conference & FREE eBook!

The Potluck Audio Conference is an annual trade show for audio engineers; studio, live, and broadcast. It’s held at the luxurious Hilton El Conquistador Resort in Tucson, AZ. PotluckCon is small and, unlike NAMM, very laid back. But what it lacks in size it makes up for in quality. Among the attendees were Audio-Technica, PMI Audio, Universal Audio, Sweetwater, Neve, API, Royer, Mojave Audio, Empirical Labs, to name a few.

The weekend also featured many great seminars on recording, mixing, acoustics, broadcast audio, DIY room treatment, hybrid studio setups, and all kinds of other audio and studio related subjects. It was a fantastic weekend of learning from some of the best in the business in an environment that made it easy to learn. It was awesome!

Perhaps the best part of the weekend was the “Casita Gear Crawl”. There is a long row of outdoor suites that are turned into mini studios and feature hands on demonstrations, recording seminars, and more.

Charlie's Recording Setup for the Potluck Audio Conference 2014

Charlie's Recording Setup for the Potluck Audio Conference 2014

I was privileged to be asked by Audio-Technica to put on a seminar about minimal drum miking. The setup in the suite reminded me of being a kid and recording on 4-track cassette recording in my parent’s basement and friend’s houses. It was a lot different (and more challenging!) than working at the studio but I had a blast. We were able to make the room sound pretty nice by using about 16 Cylinder Traps from Aural Endeavors. Everyone at the conference was an amazing help in getting all the gear together and having extra help on hand. Luckily I had my gorgeous girlfriend on hand to help me setup too. It’s a little unnerving to put on a seminar using a rig you’ve never used!

I did a lot of experimenting before the seminar to figure out what I would do. Minimal miking isn’t a new concept but Craig Schumacher, PotluckCon’s driving force, asked me to approach it from a modern recording perspective and not from a classic point of view. That proved quite challenging but I think I came up with a few twists on the classic minimal miking techniques and put my ideas down in a handout, “The Art of Recording Drums – 4 Twists On Minimal Drum Miking”, for all the attendees. Since I think there are some pretty good ideas I thought I would share them with anyone interested in recording drums. These techniques don’t require lots of microphones or lots of gear. They will provide some pretty amazing drum tones and are great for home recording enthusiasts as well as the seasoned pros.

I’ve recorded some amazing sounding drums with these techniques and I hope they can help you do the same!

Enjoy!
Charlie Waymire

Get Your Copy of “The Art of Recording Drums – 4 Techniques On Minimal Drum Miking” FREE eBook Here!

4 Twists On Minimal Drum Miking

 

Photos from PotluckCon 2014

Posted by Charlie in Charlie's Big Mouth Blog Entries!, News, Recording Tips, 0 comments
New Drum Micing Series From Audio-Technica (w/video)

New Drum Micing Series From Audio-Technica (w/video)

The FullOnDrums crew has produced a new series of basic drum micing videos for Audio-Technica. The first series features 7 basic tips for micing drums. Once you watch this series you’ll be armed with all the information and techniques you need to start micing drums and getting killer sounds!

Learn how to mic your kick drum, snare drum, toms, hi-hats, overheads, rooms and more. Each video walks you through the separate steps needed to get a great drum sound.

All the videos were produced by Scott Francisco and Charlie Waymire for FullOnDrums and shot at Ultimate Rhythm Studios.

 

Learn more on the Audio-Technica Blog
7 Basic Tips for Drum Mic Setup & Recording
Two Quick Tips on Recording a Jazz Drum Kit
Audio-Technica Official YouTube Channel

 

Posted by Charlie in Full On Drums, News, Video Posts, 0 comments
FullOnDrums Open House & Seminar!!!

FullOnDrums Open House & Seminar!!!

Ultimate Rhythm Studios will be sponsoring the first ever Open House Extravaganza by FullOnDrums! The event will be held on December 7, 2013 between 1pm-6pm at Ultimate Rhythm Studios.

 

 

Have questions about recording drums? Want to learn more about drum micing, tuning, head choices, and more?

Then come to the FullOnDrums Open House Extravaganza where you can hang out with the FOD crew and get your questions answered. Charlie, Scott, and Kurt will be on hand to talk about any part of the recording process.

The day will feature demonstrations (full schedule below) on how to record drums, tuning, anatomy of a drum, and much, much more.

Lucky attendees will have chances to win one of two microphones from Audio Technica and drumheads from Evans Drumheads!

Drummer extraordinaire Glen Sobel (Alice Cooper, Six A.M., Paul Gilbert) will give tips about recording and treat us all to a killer performance.

 

Please RSVP at FullOnDrums.com if you plan on attending.

 

The goal is to create a community for drummers and recording enthusiasts to hang out and talk about the art of recording drums!


OPEN HOUSE SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:

1pm – Come hang out and talk about everything drum recording. There will be plenty of gear setup to check out!
2pm – Minimal Micing Demonstraion featuring Audio-Technica Mics – approx. 30min
2:30pm – AT2020 Giveaway
3pm – Kurt Berger Tuning Clinic / Drumhead Giveaway featuring Evans Drumheads- approx. 30min
4pm – Kick Drum/Snare Drum micing demo – approx. 25min
5pm – Glen Sobel guest Clinic/Performance – approx. 30-40min
5:30pm – AT2020 Giveaway
6pm – Closing down the studio for the night.

 

Posted by Charlie in Full On Drums, News, 0 comments
Johnnyke DuBose Tracking Drums

Johnnyke DuBose Tracking Drums

Songwriters & producers Jay Liu and Jessica Gents were back at Ultimate Rhythm Studios recording with drummer Johnnyke DuBose. Jay and Jessica are prolific writers and brought in a little Country Pop for JD to lay down some tasty grooves on.

 

“JD sounded fantastic on this track. Jay has always has pretty specific things that he like to hear and then he lets the drummer add to that. It was a fun afternoon in the studio with these 3!” says engineer Charlie Waymire.

 

Here are a few photos from the session!

Posted by Charlie in News, Tracking, 0 comments
Jeff Bowders Records w/FullOnDrums (w/video)

Jeff Bowders Records w/FullOnDrums (w/video)

Rock drummer extraordinaire, Jeff Bowders, joined FullOnDrums.com at Ultimate Rhythm Studios and put on a clinic of power precision and groove! Jeff has played with some very talented artists (Paul Gilbert, Puddle Of Mudd, Justin Derrico) and we were thrilled to have him in the studio.

 

 

“Jeff makes it easy to record drums. His precision is second to none and he’s powerful but still has finesse. Not too many drummers have that combo.” says engineer Charlie Waymire.

Check out FullOnDrums.com for all the details of the session and check out the episode below. You won’t be disappointed!

Posted by Charlie in Full On Drums, News, Tracking, Video Posts, 0 comments
FullOnDrums.com Tackles Your Room Sound!

FullOnDrums.com Tackles Your Room Sound!

Get Big Rooms Sounds In A Not So Big Room!

Room mics can really add a great depth to your drum tracks…if they’re recorded correctly. Unfortunately most of us don’t have a million dollar room. Never fear FullOnDrums.com is here! To help you get great room tones that is.

In this two part series Charlie & Scott show you how to get a lot more size out of your not so big room. From different micing techniques to mix tricks all you’ll need get great room tones are in these two episodes. Try these techniques out and let us know how they’ve helped your drum recordings!

For more specific information visit the FullOnDrums.com website or click on the links below.

Episode 12 – Room Mics pt1
Episode 13 – Room Mics pt2


Room Mics Part 1:


Room Mics Part 2:

Posted by Charlie in Full On Drums, News, 0 comments