Jason Glass, monitor engineer for the Dolly Parton band, Sara Evans, and Tanya Tucker, recently stopped by Equation Audio’s office to give us a video testimonial. Shortly before hitting the road for a world tour, Jason popped in and expressed interest in using Equation Audio’s MicTools For Drummers microphone kit. We weren’t surprised that Jason chose our gear, but we were extremely flattered. Sound engineers such as Jason usually have large budgets to work with, but they choose Equation Audio because of the outstanding quality that we offer. After Jason took the mics out on the road and exposed them to the brutal nature of touring, he happily reported back that they had only one small problem with the gear in a three year span. This is a testament to Bruce Forbes’ vision of building a rugged, quality, affordable product that anyone can use. Whether it’s a platinum recording artist, or a weekend warrior, Equation Audio is the “peoples’ product.”
Archive for the ‘Engineering Zone’ Category
Jason Glass, Monitor Engineer For Dolly Parton Band, On MicTools For Drummers
Thursday, January 28th, 2010German Magazine, Professional Audio Musik And Equipment, Reviews The F.20 Microphone – German
Monday, November 9th, 2009The English translation can be found here.
German Review Of The Equation Audio F.20
Equation Audio’s MicTools For Drummers
Friday, November 6th, 2009Equation Audio’s MicTools For Drummers are extremely versatile, but don’t take our word for it, just look at this small sampling of our artist roster:
Rikki Rockett's Full Drum Kit
Rikki Rockett – Poison
Steve Turner – Dolly Parton
Trevor Lawrence, Jr. – Snoop Dogg
Josh Burris – Contemporary Christian Recording Artist
Equation Audio MicTools For Drummers Drum Clips
Our mics are designed to work with our uniquely crafted drum mic clips (sold separately). These drum mic clips feature an articulated arm that allows the artist to move the mic in and out to adjust the sound as desired. This sets our clips apart from any others on the market!
These different genres are a testament to the versatility of these mics. Find a dealer today and get yours!
Equalization & Your Mix
Thursday, November 5th, 2009Equalization & Your Mix
There is no substitute for a well-trained ear that can distinguish frequencies accurately, and equalization is likely the most important part of creating records, especially rock and pop records. A distinguishing trademark of successful engineers is the ability to understand the relationship between elements in a mix, and how equalization helps them to coexist in an often dense acoustic canvas.
Aspiring recordists often ask, “how do I know what frequencies to add or reduce to my mixes?”
Since the timbre of sound sources vary widely, the answer is not cut and dry. The first step is to train your mind to “hear” these frequencies so that you can identify them in context. The way to do do that is to experiment with each frequency range, and learn how adding/subtracting effects each sound in your mix. With a decent parametric EQ circuit or virtual circuit, you will begin to unlock the secrets to good sound through equalization.
Below is a list of frequency ranges and a description of how each relates to the common elements in a musical recording…more–>
The “First Octave”
The first usable octave for most recording is the 40 – 80 Hz range, or “Low Bass” while frequencies between 20 Hz and 40 Hz are audible, there is little or no sound from instruments. The lowest pitch on an electric bass guitar or string bass is at 41 Hz. Thunder, earthquakes and rumble from the building shaking extend below 40 Hz. It is usually best to filter these out completely.
The first octave that we deal with (40 – 80Hz) gives more of a “feeling” and sense of “power” to the sound. This range is way down or non-existent in smaller stereo systems. This range is difficult to hear at all at medium and low volume levels because of the Fletcher Munson Effect.
To properly set the amount of low bass in your mix or in your instrument sound, you must listen both loud and soft. You also may want to listen to the mix or instrument on large and small speaker systems. Too much energy in this range will make the mix sound muddy on large speakers played loud and still sound good on small speakers played at a medium volume. You want the mix or instrument to sound larger and more powerful over large speakers without sounding muddy.
Rap, Hip Hop and “Dance” music (under various names) often have extra energy in the low-bass range. This is what causes cars equipped with sub-woofers to shake. Usually, however, it is not the entire mix that is boosted below 80 Hz, but just, for example, the foot drum. By boosting the energy on only one or two instruments, “clarity” can be achieved without “mud.”
The Bass Range
Covering about 1.5 octaves, from 80 Hz to 250 Hz, this range of frequencies determines the “fatness” and “fullness” of the instrument’s sound. Equalization is usually applied centered around two frequencies, 100 Hz and 200 Hz.
For guitars and bass, the 100 Hz range tends to add body and fullness. Excessive energy in this range tends to make these instruments sound “boomy.,” This range of frequencies is still greatly affected by the Fletcher-Muson Effect; this means you will need to listen to the mix and instrument both loud and soft. Similar to how the 50 Hz range affects the bass and foot, the guitars should sound fatter when played loud, not boomy. Reducing the 100 Hz energy on the guitar will usually cause distinction between the bass and guitar parts. The lowest fundamental frequency on a guitar is around 80 Hz.
For vocals the 200 Hz range determines the fullness of the vocal. This range can often be reduced to increase distinction on the vocal. If, however, boosting in higher frequencies on the vocal makes the sound “thin” or “small” a boost of 200 Hz. will restore fullness.
When 100 Hz is reduced on a guitar or bass to reduce “boom,” at small boost at 200 Hz can be helpful to keep the instrument from sounding “lumpy” (certain notes hard to hear and others standing out). The guitar and bass have almost equal energy at their fundamental and 2nd harmonic frequencies. Thus if a range of notes becomes hard to hear because of a at lot of 100 Hz, reducing energy at 100Hz and adding energy at 200 Hz will help the notes be heard again.
The Bass Presence / Lower Mid Range
Covering about one octaves from 250 Hz to 500 Hz, this range accents ambience of studio and adds clarity to the bass and lower-string instruments (Cello and Upright Bass). Too much boost can make higher-frequency instruments muffled sounding and low-frequency drums (foot and toms) have a cardboard box quality. Equalization in this range is applied at many frequencies but most often between 300 Hz and 400 Hz.
The lower part of this range (250 Hz to 350 Hz) is sometimes referred to as “Upper Bass” and is used to increase distinction and fullness on the vocal, especially on female singers.
The Lower Mid Range in general can be viewed as the “Bass Presence Range” Increasing this range gives clarity to the bass line and the lower-register of pianos and organs. Clarity and distinction can be obtained between the foot drum and bass guitar by both reducing the foot and increasing the bass guitar in this range, at the same frequency.
This range is often reduced for overhead drum and cymbal microphones to increase clarity and presence on these instruments’ and reduced on lower drums (foot and toms) to reduce boxiness.
The Mid Range
The Mid Range band of frequencies covers two octaves from 500 Hz to 2 kHz. This range can give a horn-like quality to instruments (500 Hz to 1 kHz) and a “tinny” sound (1 kHz to 2 kHz) or a telephone-like quality (all of the range). Equalization usually centers around 800 Hz and 1,.5 kHz.
The mid-range also tends to accent the presence (800 Hz) and attack (1.5 kHz) of the bass guitar. The lower pitches of a rhythm guitar can be given more attack by a boost at 1.5 kHz.
For your Mid Range Instruments (vocals, guitars and piano) this range is most-often reduced rather than accented. Reducing 500 – 800 Hz on an acoustic guitar can remove the “cheep” sound and make it sound more “silvery.” Reducing 800 Hz on a vocal makes it sound less nasal and have more body and presence. For snare drums, a reduction of 800 Hz can take the tinny, cheep sound out of the drum and make the snares have more sizzle rather than rattle.
The Upper Mid Range
Covering about one octave, this range of frequencies is responsible for the attack on percussive and rhythm instruments and the “projection” of mid range instruments. Equalization can be applied at any frequency in this range but still somewhat centers around 3 kHz.
On the foot drum, boosting 2.5 kHz or 4 kHz increases the attack. 2.5 kHz sounds more like a felt beater and 4 kHz sounds more like a hard-wood beater. These frequencies can also be used to increase the attack or “hit” sound on toms and snare drums.
Guitar lines often get more attack and distinction with equalization added at this range. A small boost (1-3 dB) for the vocal will increase projection. Adding too much energy, in this range, makes it hard to distinguish the syllables of the vocal and can cause listening fatigue. This range of frequencies is often reduced on background vocal to give them a more “airy” and “transparent” sound.
The Presence Range
Although this range covers a mere half-octave of 4 kHz to 6 kHz, it is an often-used band of frequencies. This range makes most vocals and melody instruments sound closer and more distinct. Over-boosting causes a irritating and harsh sound. Equalization centers around 5 kHz.
The Treble Range
Covering approximately that last two octaves of sound (6 kHz to 20 kHz), this band of frequencies is responsible for the brilliance and clarity on instruments. Equalization centers around 7 kHz, 10 kHz and 15 kHz.
The vocal “S” sounds are at about 7 kHz, making this a frequency that is avoided for vocals. Care must be exercised in reducing 7 kHz on vocals, however, because the vocal will sound dull very fast. The breath sound of the vocal is at 15 kHz and above, giving a breath quality without much accent on the “S”: sound of the vocal.
The 7 kHz frequency is also the “metallic attack” frequency on drums The “sizzle” of cymbals is at 15 kHz.
When equalizing, 10 kHz and above is often used as a general “brilliance” frequency band.
Exploring Drum Overhead Microphone Techniques
Thursday, November 5th, 2009Exploring Drum Overhead Microphone Techniques
The drum mix can make or break a rock, pop, or jazz recording. In fact, engineers are often judged by their ability to properly capture and mix a live drum sound. Over the years, drum recording techniques have ranged from simple mono room miking, to complex close miking with gated effect chains, to complete replacement of individual drum sounds via triggers or in pro-tools. Fads in drum mixing come and go, and often it is easy to date a recording within seconds of hearing the style of the drum mix.
Although there is a growing trend to create drum recordings synthetically via midi or by editing “canned” beats, acoustic drums played by a living breathing performer still rule in the studio, and the ambient miking techniques used to capture that sound are critical…more–>
Here at Equation Audio, we get questions regarding good miking techniques using our popular and affordable line of Alpha Series drum mics, as well as our premier line of recording microphones. The scope of variables in play with ambient miking are vast, and this article will limit the discussion to placement of your overheads in your mix.
Overheads are not just cymbal mics!
With the popularity of close miking all the skins on your kit, it is a common misconception that the overheads are there only to pick up the cymbals. While the Equation Audio CI.103 condenser microphone features a low rolloff filter useful for live applications where separation from other sound sources is a challenge and the volume of the overheads is reduced, in the studio, full range overheads are the foundation of the overall drum sound, with close mics used to add isolated detail to certain frequencies of each drum. It is possible to achieve an outstanding drum sound with ONLY three ambient room microphones. Classic recordings by Led Zeppelin and countless 70’s rock bands were done this way, and artists such as Lenny Kravitz or indie rock groups still prefer such natural sounds despite technological advances of unlimited multi-tracking. Jazz recordings that preserve the natural ambiance of the drum kit use such minimalist techniques extensively.
A Good Room Sound Means A Good Sounding Room
Real estate is the deciding factor with ambient miking. Assuming you don’t have access to a drum booth designed by an acoustical engineer, the rule of thumb is: “bigger is better.” Small rooms, or rooms with low ceilings cause unpleasant reflections and phasing that ruin a drum mix. A good room should have at least 12′ of ceiling clearance to allow the sound to “breathe.” Lower ceilings can be treated with acoustic insulation to yield a dry sound that can be augmented with outboard reverb to achieve a big room effect, but nothing beats a tall room. Acoustic insulation of larger rooms is also advisable, depending on the dimensions and problematic areas.
Overhead Microphone Placement
There are many different ideas on good mic placement, and while this is subjective, a few techniques have proven the test of time.
There are three ways that the ears and brain can make a stereo illusion: differences in loudness from one ear to the other, differences in time of arrival of the sound waves, and differences in frequency response. While there are fairly narrow ranges of timing and frequency response that the ears can detect, the brain is extremely powerful in detecting minute differences in level and timing between the two ears’ signals, and this contributes to precision in imaging.
Coincident stereo techniques such as M-S or X-Y use only loudness or intensity differences (this is often called intensity stereo between left and right, created by using two directional mics in nearly the same place but pointed in different directions. You probably have seen this configuration often, with two overheads crossed in an “X” pattern, the diaphrams facing opposite directions of the kit.
Semi-coincident stereo techniques use at least two mics, spaced up to about 50 cm (18 inches) apart. The mics are generally directional, and may be angled apart as well. Both intensity and time of arrival cues are used to produce the stereo image.
Spaced techniques primarily use time of arrival differences to produce a wide, spread-out stereo image.
Getting a Good Stereo Image
The limitation with the MS or X-Y techniques is that the stereo image has less separation. The tendency is to make up for this loss during the mixdown phase by panning other mics. However, with a simple tri-mic configuration this isn’t an option. This was well noted by legendary engineers such as Glynn Johns (The Kinks, The Rolling Stones) and Geoff Martin, and they used a different approach to achieving a wider, more musical image.
The natural instinct is often to “see” the stereo image of a kit by standing directly in front of the kick drum, as the audience might hear it. However, a better way is to sit behind the kit, facing the midpoint between your floor tom and the hi-hat (assuming these elements are the extremes of the stereo image). In this case, the snare is slightly to the left, and the middle rack tom is dead center.
* Place your first overhead microphone about 2-3 feet above the kit, facing between the snare and your hi-tom (not directly over the snare and drummer, but positioned more toward the end of the “stage” or the audience).
* Your second overhead microphone should be further to your right, even behind your shoulder when playing the hat and snare, placed about 2-3 feet over the floor tom.
* Snare Microphone (DMI.102S)
* Kick Microphone (DMI.104.SLF)
The Glynn Johns Technique
While the above placement provides a better stereo image, there may be some problems with phasing on the snare, especially if close miked. This is because the overheads are not an equal distance away from the snare, and the sound is reaching them at different times. The legendary Glynn Johns devised a brilliant and simple miking technique to avoid this issue. This scheme requires only 4 microphones, and with a good drummer and room will achieve a natural sound that will be hard to beat, even with unlimited mics!
* First Overhead should be a cardioid such as the Equation Audio CMI.103, or a large diaphragm model such as the F.20 (recommended) about 4-6 inches above Floor Tom facing the Hi-Hat across Snare. This signal should be panned.
* Second Overhead (F.20 or CMI.103) about 2′-3′ above the kit facing between the toms and snare. This signal should be panned.
* Snare Microphone (DMI.102S)
* Kick Microphone (DMI.104.SLF)
The final step is to measure the difference between the center point of your snare drum and both overheads, adjusting the mics and kit so that both are at an equal distance. A piece of string works well for this.
Large diaphragm overheads are strongly recommended to maximize the fullness of the entire kit, however, the CMI.103 also highly effective with the low filter disengaged. Experiment with these overhead techniques, you will be amazed at what is possible with such a fast and minimalistic setup. It could come in handy when time is limited, or when out in the field.