Recording March 2022 - 40

" A GREAT MIC DOESN'T SOUND LIKE A MIC.
RATHER, IT GETS OUT OF THE WAY AND LETS
YOU EXPERIENCE THE SOURCE. THE
PELUSO P-49 DOES JUST THAT. "
-PROFESSOR DAN, ETSU
LISTENING TO ARCHITECTURE
The Russ Berger Interview
So, first, it's understanding the goals
for the project: who is doing what, when
and where, what do they need to see
and hear, and are they working collaboratively?
Is it a control room? Are they
mastering product? Is the space just for
the engineer or the artist? Is anyone going
to be performing and recording in
the same room they're mixing in? Will
we need separate isolated spaces? Will
we be capturing or producing video content?
Are we mixing stereo or immersive
multichannel audio? Do you need it to
just 'sound good' or be reference level?
What level of sound isolation is needed
to support the type of sources being captured?
Those are only a small number of
questions considered during the initial
programming of a project. And we always
have to keep the budget in mind.
What about HVAC, mechanical, power
and grounding systems? If you're planning
a room full of analog equipment,
you better have a good independent
technical power and grounding system.
It's not about just driving a ground rod
and tying everything together. It's how
you cable it, how things are terminated.
Sometimes you even have to do RF [radio
frequency] mapping because how
you orientate the analog gear in the
room may pick up more RF than another
way, and that can even vary over time.
K49 34mm gold capsule
Mid-range clarity
High-end smoothness
Balanced transformer output
Mini glass triode 5744WB tube
9 indexed polar-patterns
Heavy-duty 8-pin connector
3-year warranty including tube
Handmade in USA
PELUSOMICROPHONELAB.COM
What about multiple
monitor setups?
Ultimately, we always strive for one
accurate reference because you have to
have confidence that what you're listening
to will translate to other spaces. Some
folks want big main monitors, plus some
small monitors. Confucius say, " Man with
two watches never knows what time it
is. " It's better to focus on one good set of
speakers, the best you can afford, work
with them and learn them. If you want a
big PA system to blow away the client,
that's a whole other thing. Don't confuse
that with the accuracy required for a productive
workflow.
Peluso Microphone Lab
So, you're not a fan of
multiple monitor setups?
We always have them, but no, I'm not
a big fan.
40 RECORDING March 2022
I use two pairs, and I
figure if I can nail a mix on
both of them, I'm good.
Using two monitors is like people
who shoot test tones in their room and
go, " Look at this, there's a wiggly line.
I have a wiggly line problem! " [Help! I
can't stop laughing! -Copy Ed.] What
does that mean? Because two things
are different doesn't tell you what to do
or provide inherent judgment abilities.
It will only reinforce what you already
know or think, but that's all.
Using those alternate monitors to get
a different perspective, to explore the
emotional content of a mix or performance-how
it makes you feel, or to see
if something in the mix is getting stepped
on-perhaps the limited bandwidth of
small monitors will help you understand
if the piano is stepping on the vocal or
if that last guitar overdub can be heard
buried within the five other guitar overdubs
played exactly in the same range
and level. However, switching back and
forth between alternate monitors and relying
on comparison of the differences
will not guarantee the desired result.
When I learned to trust my
monitors, I stopped doing
car tests. I have clients who
want me to come out and
listen to the mix in their
cars. I won't because I don't
know their car. If you want
to listen in your car and
make some notes for me,
like " more vocal " or " turn the
snare down, " that's great.
But if I start second guessing
a mix in a random car, I'll
end up chasing my tail.
Instead of using small monitors,
sometime we'd walk outside the control
room and crack the door a couple of
inches to listen to the mix. It's now a
band-limited mix shelved on both
ends-you hear midrange mostly, and
it helps you understand the balance.
It also reduces the stereo aspects
to mono, eliminating panning and
phasing effects that may sound great,
but can distract from understanding the
balance and essence of the mix.
FOR CLEAN WARM VOCALS
STUDIO TUBE MICROPHONE
P-49
http://www.pelusomicrophonelab.com
Recording March 2022

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