Mic Techniques?

  • Thread starter Thread starter djdarwin
  • Start date Start date
there are no standards. there are no fixed rules. there is no best or better.

the only rule that you need to know is that there are no rules. Seriously, educate yourself. Dont expect a quick fix, because there are none. Read the books I suggested. Sit in with real engineers. Listen to great albums. Albums that have melody. Try to mimic the sound of those great albums. Learn frequency bands by ear alone....

here are some good starter albums..

http://www.digido.com/portal/pmodule_id=11/pmdmode=fullscreen/pageadder_page_id=93/

the best thing you can do is to bust your ass learning. set the bar really high and maybe, just maybe, one day youll produce some music that transcends this current crop of mindless anti-matter that is known as commercial rap.....

incite your newbie brethren to fits of ambition. educate yourself so that you may educate others...
READ!
 
Mshillarious, PhilGood, Chessrock and others:

Thanks for the info fellas. I knew i was gonna get the whole trial and error answer. The experiment till it sounds "good" answer.

I just wanted a base point to start from. Like Dre sets someone up in the booth at some "standard" set up. Once the artist starts recording Dre changes it up to sound better. Now that i have an idea of the "standard" placement i can experiment accordingly.

Knowing how to avoid the plosives and the higher sounds that might need de-essing is gonna help out a lot.

To the rap/music/pop culture discussion:

Rap is just as much music as anything else. Death metal to folk banjo its all the same and it all exists for the same reason. There is a market for it. People enjoy it. People relate to it. People love making it.
 
9 times out of 10 the vocalist will put his or her mouth right into the pop filter! So keep that in mind when placing your mic! I would bring it in from 12" with an LDC. I like the Shure pop filter with 2 screens. It does double duty on the plosives, and the spit. You have to educate your vocalists. Set the mic up a little higher than their mouth, to "train" them into using their diaphram for best results. Like "Lemmy" from "Moterhead". Google it for a picture! When they have a lyric sheet, tape it to the wall in front of them, so they're not moving their position. You also have to keep them still, and tell them to NEVER grab the mic with their hands! You got to tell em this stuff, before your blowing your monitors! You want to record the voice, not their foot tapping, or punching the walls! I've noticed rappers have a lot of dynamics, so getcha good compressor going in. You gotta give 'em a little lesson, and make sure they are RESPECTING YOU and YOUR EQUIPMENT!
 
roadwarrior said:
Music! :eek: who in the heck EVER called Rap... music? But then AFAIAC the whole world has been, and continues to go to s%it anyway. It's no big surprise....it was all prophesied anyway.....so let it be I guess........

listen to producers like blockhead and madlib and tell me that sampling isn't a beautiful, incredible thing.
 
cappucci11 said:
listen to producers like blockhead and madlib and tell me that sampling isn't a beautiful, incredible thing.
Okay, sampling isn't a beautiful, incredible thing. Hope that helps.
 
djdarwin said:
Mshillarious, PhilGood, Chessrock and others:

Thanks for the info fellas. I knew i was gonna get the whole trial and error answer. The experiment till it sounds "good" answer.

I just wanted a base point to start from. Like Dre sets someone up in the booth at some "standard" set up. Once the artist starts recording Dre changes it up to sound better. Now that i have an idea of the "standard" placement i can experiment accordingly.

Knowing how to avoid the plosives and the higher sounds that might need de-essing is gonna help out a lot.

To the rap/music/pop culture discussion:

Rap is just as much music as anything else. Death metal to folk banjo its all the same and it all exists for the same reason. There is a market for it. People enjoy it. People relate to it. People love making it.

If I'm not mistaken, Dre's favorite mic is a Sony C800G. It's a pretty expensive mic, but it might mean a tube mic is what you're looking for if that's the sound you're after. A C800 has a pretty clean, neutral sound but it's very flattering.
 
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