I'll be in a recording studio on Monday, playing concertina on one track of what will basically be a banjo player's debut CD. This is not a fly-by-night effort, but a project in a high-quality studio with an established producer of bluegrass recordings. Needless to say, I'm terrified!
But I'm not writing here in search of moral support (though of course that's welcome). I'm sure some of you have experience in experimenting with different mic types and configurations in the studio. And I doubt the recording engineers have ever mic'd a concertina ... this is Colorado, after all. So, any words of wisdom that I can pass along to help make my part of this go smoother and quicker?
Full Version: Recording Technique ... Suggestions?
Here are some ideas to get you started, based on somewhat more than a dozen performance experiences in radio and recording studios, as well as time spent as a sound guy and a concertina player for dances and stage gigs.
Your sound engineer will probably be happy to take a little time with you to work out microphone choices and placements. From your description of the studio, there will probably be high quality instrument microphones available.
I prefer to use two microphones - one at each end of my concertina. I find the sound to be fuller and more balanced than with a single microphone. This is even more important for an English than for an anglo. Be prepared to point out to the recording engineer that your sound comes out both ends of the concertina.
I like to place a pair of microphones with matching response characteristics 4 to 6 inches in front of the instrument, and space them a foot to two feet apart. With a wider separation, I like to angle the microphones in toward the ends of the concertina.
I like to use instrument microphones with a flat frequency response. I prefer not to use vocal microphones because they emphasize the lower frequencies. Many concertinas are louder in their lower range anyway, and using vocal microphones would make the low notes jump out even more. If you are lucky and your instrument has even volume across its whole range, the choice of instrument microphones vs. vocal microphones may be somewhat less of an issue.
The closer you place the microphones to the concertina, the more the sound may change with bellows movement. As you choose and place the microphones, you may also want to listen to how the mechanical noises of the instrument are being picked up. Some people thiink that button and lever noise is distractiing; others think of it as a part of a concertina's sound.
Have fun with your recording session. You may be pleased to find your anxiety subsiding in the first few minutes. I think concertina and banjo compliment each other very well. Let us know how it goes.
Your sound engineer will probably be happy to take a little time with you to work out microphone choices and placements. From your description of the studio, there will probably be high quality instrument microphones available.
I prefer to use two microphones - one at each end of my concertina. I find the sound to be fuller and more balanced than with a single microphone. This is even more important for an English than for an anglo. Be prepared to point out to the recording engineer that your sound comes out both ends of the concertina.
I like to place a pair of microphones with matching response characteristics 4 to 6 inches in front of the instrument, and space them a foot to two feet apart. With a wider separation, I like to angle the microphones in toward the ends of the concertina.
I like to use instrument microphones with a flat frequency response. I prefer not to use vocal microphones because they emphasize the lower frequencies. Many concertinas are louder in their lower range anyway, and using vocal microphones would make the low notes jump out even more. If you are lucky and your instrument has even volume across its whole range, the choice of instrument microphones vs. vocal microphones may be somewhat less of an issue.
The closer you place the microphones to the concertina, the more the sound may change with bellows movement. As you choose and place the microphones, you may also want to listen to how the mechanical noises of the instrument are being picked up. Some people thiink that button and lever noise is distractiing; others think of it as a part of a concertina's sound.
Have fun with your recording session. You may be pleased to find your anxiety subsiding in the first few minutes. I think concertina and banjo compliment each other very well. Let us know how it goes.
Firstly Michael you need not be terrified the studio you are going into will make life easy for you.Gone are the days where you sit in the studio in a group and all play, any mistakes, take again and so on.You can now seperate instruments out any errors can be rectified easily by over playing where the mistake is and by computer the new bit slotted in.You can relax and enjoy it have fun.
When I have recorded, one mike either side of the concertina about 600 mm away.
If you tap your feet ,a carpet under your feet to stop this noise.Get comfortable before you start.Only play once through to practice as overplaying will lead to mistakes.If you do have major problems (which you will not) stop playing,have a break relax and then go back in.
My recording for the big band, was on my own in a studio listening to the group through headphones and playing to the sound I was listening to,How lonely is that.
All the best,please let us know how you get on.
Al
When I have recorded, one mike either side of the concertina about 600 mm away.
If you tap your feet ,a carpet under your feet to stop this noise.Get comfortable before you start.Only play once through to practice as overplaying will lead to mistakes.If you do have major problems (which you will not) stop playing,have a break relax and then go back in.
My recording for the big band, was on my own in a studio listening to the group through headphones and playing to the sound I was listening to,How lonely is that.
All the best,please let us know how you get on.
Al
Snap! Brian,we both posted at the same time.
I am going to add a few suggestions which may prove useful.
Firstly if you have a situation similar to mine that you add your playing to existing recording,spend a lot of time listening to that recording so that you get a feel for what has been done already eg speed,where you come in,the introduction,the finish etc.
If when recording you do an acceptable take ask for it to be saved.You will then have the confidence to record another which you can be really excited about.If you are recording using earphones, get the sound exactly right,the best is where you can slightly hear yourself over the top of the music being played.Do not be afraid to request changes,when recording I noticed that our base player`s timing was not the same as the rest of the band and it was putting me off,I asked for the base to be taken off the recording I was listening to and it made a big difference.The base player had a listen agreed with me and did his bit again,and thanked me for it.Above all the sound has to be tight,so much more difficult with large band work.Ensure that you are happy with your recording,there is nothing worse that six months or less down the line and you cringe every time you hear it.
Al
I am going to add a few suggestions which may prove useful.
Firstly if you have a situation similar to mine that you add your playing to existing recording,spend a lot of time listening to that recording so that you get a feel for what has been done already eg speed,where you come in,the introduction,the finish etc.
If when recording you do an acceptable take ask for it to be saved.You will then have the confidence to record another which you can be really excited about.If you are recording using earphones, get the sound exactly right,the best is where you can slightly hear yourself over the top of the music being played.Do not be afraid to request changes,when recording I noticed that our base player`s timing was not the same as the rest of the band and it was putting me off,I asked for the base to be taken off the recording I was listening to and it made a big difference.The base player had a listen agreed with me and did his bit again,and thanked me for it.Above all the sound has to be tight,so much more difficult with large band work.Ensure that you are happy with your recording,there is nothing worse that six months or less down the line and you cringe every time you hear it.
Al
QUOTE(Michael Reid @ Jun 6 2004, 04:27 AM)
So, any words of wisdom that I can pass along to help make my part of this go smoother and quicker?
Yep. You can discuss the sound with the engineer, but when it comes to the technical details I doubt that there's anything you -- or we -- can say that can improve on his/her experience. I certainly hope not!
Studio time costs money, but you have to be willing to start with some experimenting, where he not only adjusts things, but records and plays back, so you can say "can you reduce the clicking of the buttons", or "can you make it sound mellower", or even (especially?) "please cut both the bass and the reverb; we want this to sound like we're playing on the back porch, not deep in the Temple of Doom."
If he doesn't know which technical changes will produce what audible differences, then nothing you can say will help. As an example, when I was helping a friend record shanties for a (non-Hollywood) movie soundtrack, there were 3 of us, and we recorded our voices several times to provide the sound of the "chorus", with the engineer using different microphones and different placements to make us sound like different people. The result after one of the takes sounded horrendous, but the engineer just listened closely, asked Johnny and me to trade places, recorded again without changing any mikes or mike placement, and we sounded great! There are no guidelines in the world that could have told us how to fix that problem, but the engineer's experience made it simple... for him.
So... let him do his job, which is the technical part. But you and your partner -- mainly your partner, I presume -- get to make the artistic decisions.
Recording session report
I don't believe I've ever experienced sweaty palms prior to today. I had to wipe them on my trousers during the breaks so I could maintain a grip on my instrument.
That aside, though, it went very well, and I'm still almost giddy from the excitement of it all.
I got to the studio about 5 pm. All the musicians -- banjo, fiddle, guitar, bouzouki, and concertina -- sat around with the producer and played through the arrangement many times, making changes on handwritten lead sheets as we went.
We then went into individual booths/rooms. Mine didn't have a window into the central studio where the banjo player sat, so all communication was via headphones. One of the recording engineers came in and started to set up a single mike, then asked me if I had any preferences or suggestions. I offered Brian's ideas about two flat-response mikes. He listened to me play a bit then went and got two different mikes and set them up as Brian suggested.
To keep my foot-tapping out of the mix I took off my shoes. Since the floor was concrete under carpet, that was an adequate solution.
A fair amount of retuning (to me, of course!) and adjustment of the levels in our headphones ensued. After some metronome clicks in our headsets we were off and running.
After the first take the producer made another change in the arrangement, deciding that she wanted the concertina and fiddle to kick it off. (Previously I didn't enter the mix for several measures.) My anxiety was ratcheted up another notch.
My anxiety went into overtime on each take when we reached a part in the middle where I was the sole instrument playing melody. Each time I did something wrong, but the producer insisted that she loved what I was doing.
She declared the third take a keeper; the energy level was really good. We all then went into the control room where the producer and engineer went through the whole tune carefully and some parts extra-carefully. She had the fiddler and I each return to our booths to do retakes of some bits that were then seamlessly added back into the mix. (Just as you described, Alan -- digital recording technology is amazing!) There was one phrase I still wasn't totally happy about but the producer said it had "soul" and the lead artist (banjo) agreed. By 7:30 I was on my way home.
The best part was when the producer, who plays steel guitar and dobro, told me that she'd like me to play concertina on one cut on her own next album, which she's planning to record in the fall. I'm psyched!
I don't believe I've ever experienced sweaty palms prior to today. I had to wipe them on my trousers during the breaks so I could maintain a grip on my instrument.
That aside, though, it went very well, and I'm still almost giddy from the excitement of it all.
I got to the studio about 5 pm. All the musicians -- banjo, fiddle, guitar, bouzouki, and concertina -- sat around with the producer and played through the arrangement many times, making changes on handwritten lead sheets as we went.
We then went into individual booths/rooms. Mine didn't have a window into the central studio where the banjo player sat, so all communication was via headphones. One of the recording engineers came in and started to set up a single mike, then asked me if I had any preferences or suggestions. I offered Brian's ideas about two flat-response mikes. He listened to me play a bit then went and got two different mikes and set them up as Brian suggested.
To keep my foot-tapping out of the mix I took off my shoes. Since the floor was concrete under carpet, that was an adequate solution.
A fair amount of retuning (to me, of course!) and adjustment of the levels in our headphones ensued. After some metronome clicks in our headsets we were off and running.
After the first take the producer made another change in the arrangement, deciding that she wanted the concertina and fiddle to kick it off. (Previously I didn't enter the mix for several measures.) My anxiety was ratcheted up another notch.
My anxiety went into overtime on each take when we reached a part in the middle where I was the sole instrument playing melody. Each time I did something wrong, but the producer insisted that she loved what I was doing.
She declared the third take a keeper; the energy level was really good. We all then went into the control room where the producer and engineer went through the whole tune carefully and some parts extra-carefully. She had the fiddler and I each return to our booths to do retakes of some bits that were then seamlessly added back into the mix. (Just as you described, Alan -- digital recording technology is amazing!) There was one phrase I still wasn't totally happy about but the producer said it had "soul" and the lead artist (banjo) agreed. By 7:30 I was on my way home.
The best part was when the producer, who plays steel guitar and dobro, told me that she'd like me to play concertina on one cut on her own next album, which she's planning to record in the fall. I'm psyched!
Michael
What a good description of a great experience for you! And what a compliment of the producer by inviting you to play on her next album!!
Congratulations
What a good description of a great experience for you! And what a compliment of the producer by inviting you to play on her next album!!
Congratulations
Well done Michael and such a descriptive report that all my studio activities came flooding back.It is such a short time that you are in a studio but those few hours remain in the memory forever.Now you have done your first recording and been very succesful ,any more will be easy for you, now you know what to expect.
I hope this is the first of many.
Al
I hope this is the first of many.
Al
Congratulations, Michael. When the CD is released, let us know how to get it.
Brian
Brian
What a great story, Michael.
I hope you are proud. All sounds wonderful.
I second wanting to know how to get the CD.
Helen
I hope you are proud. All sounds wonderful.
I second wanting to know how to get the CD.
Helen
More grist for the mill:
A couple of weeks ago I was in a recording studio to add concertina and octave mandolin tracks on four songs to be included on a CD. For a week beforehand I had access to a rough mix CD. Without it, I don't think I could have contributed so successfully in the studio: the previously recorded tracks limited my options, presented some musical problems for me to solve, and forced a good bit of pre-studio thought and experimentation.
The engineer was a quick study - he welcomed my explanation that concertina sound comes from both ends of the instrument, and listened attentively when I suggested using dual mics, or using my own attachable Microvox system, or using a single mic at some distance (as discussed on the "Miking Concertinas" page on the International Concertina Association web site).
CORRECTION:
There is a LINK on the ICA site to "Miking Concertinas." That link and the link above will take readers directly to Chris Timson's thoughts on the subject. For further clarificatin and comments, see the next message (from Chris).
BH 11 Aug
[Original message continues below:]
This engineer chose a different microphone placement than other engineers I have worked with. He put a condenser microphone about four feet in front of me, in a room that was about twenty feet square (about 6 meters square). On playback, the sound quality from the studio monitors was pleasing and very natural.
The engineer said he chose that approach to create a similar ambience for my concertina countermelodies, harmonies, and riffs as he had achieved for the previously recorded instruments. He set out to capture the reverberation of the room while evenly recording both ends of my concertina. He could have gotten a faithful recording with other methods, but without "recording the room", my tracks would not have blended with the others so easily.
The bottom line: Good microphone placement should factor in room acoustics and the "sound" of any previously recorded tracks.
Brian
A couple of weeks ago I was in a recording studio to add concertina and octave mandolin tracks on four songs to be included on a CD. For a week beforehand I had access to a rough mix CD. Without it, I don't think I could have contributed so successfully in the studio: the previously recorded tracks limited my options, presented some musical problems for me to solve, and forced a good bit of pre-studio thought and experimentation.
The engineer was a quick study - he welcomed my explanation that concertina sound comes from both ends of the instrument, and listened attentively when I suggested using dual mics, or using my own attachable Microvox system, or using a single mic at some distance (as discussed on the "Miking Concertinas" page on the International Concertina Association web site).
CORRECTION:
There is a LINK on the ICA site to "Miking Concertinas." That link and the link above will take readers directly to Chris Timson's thoughts on the subject. For further clarificatin and comments, see the next message (from Chris).
BH 11 Aug
[Original message continues below:]
This engineer chose a different microphone placement than other engineers I have worked with. He put a condenser microphone about four feet in front of me, in a room that was about twenty feet square (about 6 meters square). On playback, the sound quality from the studio monitors was pleasing and very natural.
The engineer said he chose that approach to create a similar ambience for my concertina countermelodies, harmonies, and riffs as he had achieved for the previously recorded instruments. He set out to capture the reverberation of the room while evenly recording both ends of my concertina. He could have gotten a faithful recording with other methods, but without "recording the room", my tracks would not have blended with the others so easily.
The bottom line: Good microphone placement should factor in room acoustics and the "sound" of any previously recorded tracks.
Brian
QUOTE(Brian Humphrey @ Aug 11 2004, 12:34 AM)
The engineer was a quick study - he welcomed my explanation that concertina sound comes from both ends of the instrument, and listened attentively when I suggested using dual mics, or using my own attachable Microvox system, or using a single mic at some distance (as discussed on the "Miking Concertinas" page on the International Concertina Association web site).
This engineer chose a different microphone placement than other engineers I have worked with. He put a condenser microphone about four feet in front of me, in a room that was about twenty feet square (about 6 meters square). On playback, the sound quality from the studio monitors was pleasing and very natural.
This engineer chose a different microphone placement than other engineers I have worked with. He put a condenser microphone about four feet in front of me, in a room that was about twenty feet square (about 6 meters square). On playback, the sound quality from the studio monitors was pleasing and very natural.
This the approach Doug Bailey of Wild Goose Studios adopted when we recorded our CD for the label. It sounded very good, we thought anyway. Doug's had a lot of experience recording concertinas.
A small point of attribution, you got to the text about miking concertinas via the ICA web site, but I actually wrote it as part of the Concertina FAQ.
Sorry to interrupt your enjoyment, but that's what the army's all about!
Chris
So I see, Chris! I didn't notice the big change in the url when I clicked on ICA's link to your page.
You didn't interfere with my enjoyment at all. Thanks for writing and posting that web page, thanks for the correction and thanks for the additional comments.
Regards,
Brian
You didn't interfere with my enjoyment at all. Thanks for writing and posting that web page, thanks for the correction and thanks for the additional comments.
Regards,
Brian
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