On our next Console Live Chat Live Stream we are actually going to do some recording!
If you’ve joined us for one of our Console Side Chat Live Streams then you know we cover a LOT of topics. The best part being that we get to hang out with all of you!
Since our topic of conversation always centers around recording music we decided to have a little fun and record a little ditty live during the stream! The setup will be drums (2 mics only!), bass, electric guitar and acoustic guitar.
But……
We need your help in selecting the mics we’re going to use for the recording. We’ve created a simple poll with a set of mics for each instrument and we need to you vote. Sunday before the live stream we’ll tally the votes, setup up the session and go live!
The pandemic has pushed us to find new ways to demonstrate gear. While Ultimate Studios, Inc is an official showroom for Roswell Pro Audio the pandemic has made it harder to do in-studio microphone demos.
Harnessing our live-streaming capabilities we helped Roswell Pro Audio develop a Virtual Showroom live stream that allows us to demonstrate how their microphones sound on a variety of sources. In real-time to engineers and producers anywhere in the world!
Iron Point recording EP1-3
To date we have some 4 episodes. In the first 3 episode, featuring LA Rock band Iron Point, we recorded a full song using just 3 Roswell mics and 1 from MicrParts (Matt McGlynn’s other mic business). The Mini K87, Mini K47, Mini K47 KD and the MicParts SDC84. We tracked acoustic guitar, electric guitar, vocals, bass, drums and percussion. All live!
Gabby Gordon recording EP4
Episode 4 featured singer-songwriter Gabby Gordon on Piano and Vocals. We used 2 other Roswell mics for this Virtual Showroom live stream. The Colares and Delphos.
These Virtual Showrooms not only allow us to demonstrate the microphones in real-time all over the world but we can interact with viewers and answer questions. It’s a virtual studio hang!
Ultimate Studios, Inc is a full service recording studio, mixing studio and band development resource located in Los Angeles, CA.Panorama City, CA 91402 www.UltimateStudiosInc.com We believe EVERYONE deserves great sounding music!
For episode 2 of the new Microphone Monday series I decided to make 180? turn and pick one of my favorite dynamic mics. The Heil PR30.
If you have followed my videos you already know that I love the PR30. It’s quite possibly my favorite tom mic ever and also gets used on guitar cabinets a lot. The nice round low mid, tight low end and forward mid-range make it easy to work with in a mix.
Plus it has fantastic off-axis rejection. That comes in real handy when you are miking a tom and there are cymbals in close proximity.
Besides toms and guitar cabs I’ve had great luck with the Heil PR30 on overheads (especially in a live situation), hi-hat and bass cab. Wait till you hear the bass in this video! It’s tight and punchy.
Recording bass with the Heil PR30
Another place I’ve had great luck with the PR30 is vocals. The smooth but pronounced mid-range make it a no brainier on a vocal. Heil Sound also make a handheld version called the PR35.
Ultimate Studios, Inc is a full service recording studio, mixing studio and band development resource located in Los Angeles, Van Nuys, North Hollywood, Panorama City, CA 91402 https://www.ultimatestudiosinc.com
We believe EVERYONE deserves great sounding music! Ultimate Studios, Inc is a boutique production facility for artists and bands to collaborate, create, and record.
Led by Producer/Engineer Charlie Waymire, our team assists artists through the entire creative process including recording, mixing, mastering, and video production.
Our ultimate goal is to help bands and artists build a strong brand for a lasting career!
Contact us for more information about how we can help you achieve your musical goals!
Recording Percussion with Ed Roscetti & Maria Martinez
Getting to work with people that helped shape you as a musician is always a special treat. I had an absolute blast recording percussion with Ed Roscetti and Maria Martinez. Many moons ago I studied with both of them at Musicians Institute. Ed taught me how to play a true shuffle (we spent 3 weeks doing 1 single exercise until I could make it feel right!) and Maria helped me understand that latin grooves weren’t mere patterns to better your independence, they were words of a language.
We spent an entire day recording percussion and shooting promo video for Ed and Maria’s World Beat Rhythms Workshops. These workshops are really cool and are totally interactive. Ed and Maria perform using drumset along with a variety of hand drums and percussion instruments, moving from one instrument to another in the ensemble (exactly how they did it while we recorded). Instruments include drumset, djembe, doumbek, shaker, surdo, d-jun-d-jun, conga, batas, clay tones, mambo bell, shekere, klong yaw, tumbadora. But the cool part is how they get the ENTIRE audience involved. Everyone there gets a chance at hands on learning. It’s cool.
For our day of recording I had the challenge of setting of a mic configuration that would allow Ed and Maria to go to any instrument at any time and still capture that sound well. Whether it was the drumset, djembe, shakers, congas, surdo or tambourine, they needed the freedom to create and I had to capture it. At the same time all the instruments had to be in frame since they were recording with only 1 camera.
After a pre-production call with Ed about how they wanted to stage the instruments in the room I came up with a plan that would hopefully give them freedom to move where they wanted and not miss a note. It worked out really well so I decided to shoot a little behind the scenes video of the setup.
Watch behind the scenes footage from the session below.
About Ultimate Studios, Inc
Ultimate Studios, Inc is a full service recording studio, mixing studio and band development resource located in Los Angeles, Van Nuys, North Hollywood, Panorama City, CA 91402
We believe EVERYONE deserves great sounding music!
Ultimate Studios, Inc is a boutique production facility for artists and bands to collaborate, create, and record.
Led by Producer/Engineer Charlie Waymire, our team assists artists through the entire creative process including recording, mixing, mastering, and video production.
At Ultimate Studios, Inc we understand that the recording process is just the beginning. That’s why we have a full team to help you create an online presence with full web development, SEO, advertising coaching and designing for Facebook, YouTube and Google.
Our ultimate goal is to help bands and artists build a strong brand for a lasting career!
If you’ve followed my recording videos then you know I’m a HUGE proponent of using overhead mics to capture the majority (or at least a large part) of your drum sound. I talk about it all the time…..and now I’m going to talk about it more! 🙂
Over the next couple of weeks I will cover 3 or 4 different techniques for recording overheads starting with mono!
I think using a mono overhead mic gets overlooked all too often. It’s such an effective way to capture a good drum sound. Plus there are other ways to capture a stereo image…but that’s for another video.
In this video we’ll take a look at how the height and placement of the microphone effects your sound.
We’ve been on a room micing kick lately and I want to finish it off with one of my favorite configurations.
The Mid/Side configuration!
Mid/Side is extremely versatile. First off the “mid” mic is actually a great mono room mic. If all else fails you’ll end up with a nice sounding mono room mic.
But for those of us that want some control over the width of our rooms Mid/Side does it the best. By simply adding more or less of the center (mid) channel you can make your room sound very centered (mono) or wide.
Ok enough of me talking. The best way to show you this great technique is to do a demonstration. I promise it will make more sense.
This configuration works in rooms small and large. Give it a shot and let me know how it works for your!
I know what you’re thinking. Do we really need to talk about recording drums, or any instrument for that matter, with 1 microphone again?
Yes.
Capturing any source with one 1 mic allows you to really learn about what you’re recording. Especially on a drum set which has many different parts. By focusing on using 1 mic you’ll learn to get the most of each mic you put on a kit.
In short, you’re multiple mic setups will become more effective by understand how to use only 1 mic.
This video is an excerpt from one of my Live Broadcast Seminars. I’m going to use a single Audio-Technica AT4047 to capture our drum sound. The big focus will be on using mic placement, specifically the height, to act as a natural eq.
Find some time this week to pic a microphone out of your mic locker and try this out in your recording space. I promise you what you’ll learn will make your recordings better!
There is simply no better way to add depth, space, and sometimes excitement to your drum sounds than using room mics. Can you say Led Zeppelin?
However, I realize that not everyone has the space to really explore all the cool room mic possibilities. Yes, you could use reverb to simulate a room sound and it would work nicely, but…..
There is nothing cooler, and more realistic, than the feeling of an actual mic capturing the drummers performance in the room.
Today I want to show you a cool room mic trick that can work in ANY size room. Small or large.
On a recent Live Streaming Seminar I pulled out an old trick I used to do in my first studio that was considerably smaller than my studio now. Actually it was smaller than my current control room!
Best of all this trick used only 1 microphone so all you need is a single condenser (you could try a dynamic mic too).
So watch the video and then go grab a mic and experiment!
When I start preparing for a session the first thing I do is talk with the artist and find out what they are looking for sonically. We’ll talk about their music, their influences, what albums they like and I’ll ask them for references of other artists that fit their music. I’ll also talk with them about what type of recording they want and whether it’s a modern sound vs old school sound, dark or bright, etc..
Based on their answers I start putting my tracking sheet together and make my initial decision on what my signal chain will be. My first decision is usually what microphones I’ll use to fulfill the artist’s sonic vision.
Before the artist even arrives at the studio I’m able to make quite a few microphone decisions simply because I know my mics….really well.
My goal is not just to record a good sound. My BIG goal is to record the “RIGHT” sound for the music. I’m able to do this because I’ve done my homework and spent time getting to know how my mics react in any situation on any source.
So, are you getting the right sound for the music you’re recording? Check out this video to find out why it’s important to know your mics and know them well.
Happy recording,
Charlie
p.s. do me a favor and leave a comment with your experiences with you microphones. What you use, your method for learning how they sound, etc. I would love to hear from you!
In our final installment of “Building A Drum Sound” I’m replacing the mono overhead with a stereo spaced pair.
This isn’t your typical spaced pair however. I approach my overheads a little different than the norm. Actually I adapted this from a setup that I saw George Massneburg use. It’s not the same, but definitely inspired his setup for sure.
This is something that is easier to explain in a video so I’m not going to try and explain it here. You will notice however that the overall drum sound will definitely open up now. We’ll actually have a real stereo image!
I hope you’ve enjoyed this mini series on Building A Drum Sound and I always love hearing from you. Especially about your recording endeavors.
Happy recording everyone!
Charlie
p.s. I’ll be conducting a drum recording master class this coming Saturday at 12pm pacific time. It will live stream from the Ultimate Studios, Inc YouTube channel.
