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Q&A Guide One - The Music Directory
Q&A
Simple and straightforward answers to your every question – we won’t boggle your brain with overly complex technical jargon so if there’s anything on your mind, and no-one else can help, maybe you can email - the Music Directory’s Production Guru Ryan Nolan: Ryan@themusicdirectory.co.uk
QUESTION:
There are so many microphones to choose from out there. Could you recommend a few must haves and their main uses?
ANSWER:
There are quite a few affordable, good sounding and excellent value for money microphones on the market. These are my favourites:
Shure SM57: Possibly the most versatile microphones around and no matter what studio you go to you’ll find at least one of these in the mic cupboard. This will be particularly successful when used for recording guitar amps, bass amps, snare drums, brass instruments and of course rock vocals.
Shure SM58: Similar to the SM57 this is the mic you’ll see just about everyone singing through on stage. Really good to use when trying to avoid feedback on stage this can be used to record all of the things the SM57 can but has the advantage of being able to be thrown around a little more due to the design of the grill.
AKG D112: A great mic for recording bass drum and other high sound pressure or bass instruments. Such as bass cabs or trombones. Don’t worry how hard your drummer kicks his bass drum this mic will take it!
AKG C518 M: A clip on mic primarily designed for stage use on drums and percussion this can be used well in the studio for mic’ing up tom-toms and percussion.
Rode NTK: An affordable and excellent sounding valve microphone. Perfect for vocalists and acoustic instruments.
QUESTION:
I spent ages with a singer recording vocals for my new song.
Finally we got some great performances but I’ve noticed that there is distortion on some parts, is there anything I can do to fix it?
ANSWER:
Quite frankly no, not really. You could try to edit the bits out using small sections from other takes or parts of the song but this could be as time-consuming as re-recording it. This highlights how important it is to listen carefully to each recording when tracking to spot any sound issues that may become problematic when you go to mix. In my opinion you should always beware the engineers who say “don’t worry we’ll fix it in the mix”. Although some issues may be able to be corrected to an extent, they won’t be removed and anyone with astute ears will pick them up. Always get your recordings perfect before going to the mixing stage. It’s useful to keep a note of your recording settings in case there is something you have to re-record later; that way you won’t spend ages trying to replicate the original sound.
QUESTION:
I wanted to invest in some recording equipment, what should I get?
ANSWER:
This is a slightly open ended question that could be a topic for a whole book so I’ll try to give some advice rather than give you specific equipment information.
1) Decide what your requirements are. Will this be for recording yourself as a solo artist, your band or as a commercial venture?
2) Find out what other people use. Visit other studios that are similar to what you want and take note of what they use. Don’t be afraid to ask questions about the gear.
3) Draw up a wish list. Following your studio visits make a list of all the stuff you’d like.
4) Read reviews and forums. Now research your wish list making notes about what people think of the gear you want. Assess how reliable the equipment appears and whether it will be good value for money.
5) Edit your wish list and go shopping. Finalise the things you want and then approach different suppliers to get the best quote for the gear. Try to negotiate a discount if possible; most suppliers will give you something off if you try hard enough. This will leave you with a little money left over for anything you have forgotten….such as the cable you need to plug everything together
Simple and straightforward answers to your every question – we won’t boggle your brain with overly complex technical jargon so if there’s anything on your mind, and no-one else can help, maybe you can email - the Music Directory’s Production Guru Ryan Nolan: Ryan@themusicdirectory.co.uk
QUESTION:
There are so many microphones to choose from out there. Could you recommend a few must haves and their main uses?
ANSWER:
There are quite a few affordable, good sounding and excellent value for money microphones on the market. These are my favourites:
Shure SM57: Possibly the most versatile microphones around and no matter what studio you go to you’ll find at least one of these in the mic cupboard. This will be particularly successful when used for recording guitar amps, bass amps, snare drums, brass instruments and of course rock vocals.
Shure SM58: Similar to the SM57 this is the mic you’ll see just about everyone singing through on stage. Really good to use when trying to avoid feedback on stage this can be used to record all of the things the SM57 can but has the advantage of being able to be thrown around a little more due to the design of the grill.
AKG D112: A great mic for recording bass drum and other high sound pressure or bass instruments. Such as bass cabs or trombones. Don’t worry how hard your drummer kicks his bass drum this mic will take it!
AKG C518 M: A clip on mic primarily designed for stage use on drums and percussion this can be used well in the studio for mic’ing up tom-toms and percussion.
Rode NTK: An affordable and excellent sounding valve microphone. Perfect for vocalists and acoustic instruments.
QUESTION:
I spent ages with a singer recording vocals for my new song.
Finally we got some great performances but I’ve noticed that there is distortion on some parts, is there anything I can do to fix it?
ANSWER:
Quite frankly no, not really. You could try to edit the bits out using small sections from other takes or parts of the song but this could be as time-consuming as re-recording it. This highlights how important it is to listen carefully to each recording when tracking to spot any sound issues that may become problematic when you go to mix. In my opinion you should always beware the engineers who say “don’t worry we’ll fix it in the mix”. Although some issues may be able to be corrected to an extent, they won’t be removed and anyone with astute ears will pick them up. Always get your recordings perfect before going to the mixing stage. It’s useful to keep a note of your recording settings in case there is something you have to re-record later; that way you won’t spend ages trying to replicate the original sound.
QUESTION:
I wanted to invest in some recording equipment, what should I get?
ANSWER:
This is a slightly open ended question that could be a topic for a whole book so I’ll try to give some advice rather than give you specific equipment information.
1) Decide what your requirements are. Will this be for recording yourself as a solo artist, your band or as a commercial venture?
2) Find out what other people use. Visit other studios that are similar to what you want and take note of what they use. Don’t be afraid to ask questions about the gear.
3) Draw up a wish list. Following your studio visits make a list of all the stuff you’d like.
4) Read reviews and forums. Now research your wish list making notes about what people think of the gear you want. Assess how reliable the equipment appears and whether it will be good value for money.
5) Edit your wish list and go shopping. Finalise the things you want and then approach different suppliers to get the best quote for the gear. Try to negotiate a discount if possible; most suppliers will give you something off if you try hard enough. This will leave you with a little money left over for anything you have forgotten….such as the cable you need to plug everything together