EQ Magazine - February 2008 - (Page 42) Columbia College Chicago STALKING THE WILD STEREO IMAGE Recorders often have a mic-gain switch or a pad to prevent mic-preamp distortion. If you have to set the recording-level control less than 1/3 up to achieve a 0dB recording level, use the low-gain setting, or switch in the pad. If you are using large-diaphragm condenser mics plugged into a phantom power supply, you might need to plug the output of the supply into the recorder line input—rather than the mic input—to prevent distortion. You might be able to record an acoustic group on location without a P system or .A. an audience.This situation gives you some freedom to improve the sound: ■ If the room is too live (reverberant), put up some packing blankets, comforters, rugs, acoustic foam, or cushions. ■ Often a good-sounding spot for the musicians is near the center of a large room. Place the musicians around the stereo mic pair where you want them to appear in the recording. For example, you might place two singing guitarists on the left and right, with the bass in the center. ■ Experiment with microphone height to vary the vocal and guitar balance.Try different mic distances to vary the amount of ambience or room sound. A distance of three to six feet is typical. ■ As the musicians are playing (and during playbacks), monitor the mic signals with headphones. If some instruments or vocalists are too quiet, move them closer to the mics—and vice versa— until the balance sounds right. ■ If someone makes a mistake, either record another take of the entire tune, or record starting from a few bars before the mistake, and edit the takes together later. After the Gig it keeps getting better! Garrett CUP Candidate Class of 2010 WWW.MUSIC.COLUM.EDU MUSIC@COLUM.EDU CUPBM@COLUM.EDU 312.344.6300 NEW BACHELOR OF MUSIC DEGREE IN PERFORMANCE: CONTEMPORARY, URBAN & POPULAR MUSIC (CUP) If you’re determined to make it as a professional performing artist, you can get there from here. Our new BM degree is designed for high-level mastery of performance skills plus studio and business know-how. Put your career in fast-forward. Contact cupbm@colum.edu for application and information. Program begins Fall 2008. Audition dates for the CUP program: April 14, 15 & 16, 2008 Photo by Nolan Wells Back in the studio, connect the USB port in the recorder to the USB port in your computer. The recorder shows up as a storage device on your computer screen. Drag-and-drop the recorded sound files to the computer’s hard drive for editing and CD burning. The files transfer in a few minutes. Then, the flash-memory card is empty, and free to make more recordings. Now you can edit the recording, and adjust its tonal balance with DAW software. You might cut a few dB around 300Hz to reduce boomy reverb, as well as to get a clearer recording. If your mics are weak in the bass, compensate by boosting a few dB around the 50Hz to 100Hz range. Try out these tips, and enjoy your recordings! 42 EQ FEBRUARY 2008 www.eqmag.com http://WWW.MUSIC.COLUM.EDU http://WWW.MUSIC.COLUM.EDU http://www.eqmag.com
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