 |
Recording in the 21st Century A musician
contacted me recently to master his album. We e-mailed back and forth and I
asked my usual set of questions: format of finished mixes, recording bit
rate and resolution, style of music, etc. After all the rudimentary
information was covered, we set up a time for the session. When I dropped
his recordings in to my mastering workstation a few things became apparent:
he tracked his instrument with only one mic (in mono) and his levels were
very hot (some clipping was audible). I went to work minimizing the problems
and maximizing the strong points, but it soon became clear that the best way
to improve his project was to re-record it…properly. Usually this isn’t an
option with clients, but this was a solo instrumentalist utilizing a home
studio, so the idea of re-recording was actually a possibility.
I explained what I felt the best solution for a re-recording was. The client
was a solo instrumental piano player; so proper micing technique and
placement were crucial. I explained the virtues of stereo micing over mono
and told him what mic array I thought would work best given his instrument
and style of music. After the new modus operandi was agreed upon, he said
he’d contact me when he had the new recordings ready.
A few days later he e-mailed and said he set up his studio per my
suggestions and wanted to know if he could re-record and come back for
mastering. I thought this was a fine idea, but was afraid of him showing up
again only to have me send him home with more instructions. I had a
brainstorm. I asked him to take a picture of his piano and mic placement and
e-mail it to me, accompanied by a corresponding MP3 clip. This way I could
hear the results of my advice and give him further suggestions to refine
what his audio clips were telling me.
I listened to the new sound clip and heard a great improvement. However,
there were still a few problems. I originally had asked him to set the mics
to 90° (commonly called “near coincident” array), and after hearing a bit of
phase in that setup now thought that 100° would be better. After that was
taken care of I suggested boosting the mic preamp input gain to deliver a
stronger signal. Finally, there was an issue of matching cables for more
consistent results between the mics. All this took place over the course of
about two days through four e-mails, each e-mail containing an updated photo
and sound clip. Finally, I heard exactly what I was looking for: a spacious
stereo sound that was fully mono-compatible. The signal was strong without
being too hot and the mic placement captured the full range of his
well-tuned Yamaha grand piano. All of this was recorded at 32bit/96kHz for a
real audiophile experience.
After this new setup was established and agreed upon, he re-recorded all
tracks and arrived back at my studio for the mastering session. With new,
well-recorded tracks the mastering process was a breeze, requiring only the
slightest bit of equalization and limiting to fine-tune the overall program
material. After the fades, song order and PQ encoding were taken care of, a
red book disc was created and he was on his way with a CD that compared
favorably to any piano recording either of us had ever heard.
When most people talk of modern recording techniques, they make reference to
samplers, software plug-ins, endless overdubs or edits, and lots of other
"cutting-edge" technology. I believe that the basic means of creating a
great sounding recording are the same as they were 50 years ago: a talented
musician playing a good-sounding instrument captured by a quality microphone
in the proper position. With a little ingenuity, creativity and
stick-to-itiveness my client and I were able to apply these techniques to
create a great sounding album without either of us leaving our respective
environments to get the job done. To me, that’s using technology to your
advantage.
© 2002
Paul Abbott. |
|
