Home Studio Handbook

ACOUSTICS &
YOUR HOME STUDIO

GET OPTIMAL RESULTS
FROM YOUR SPACE & BUDGET
f you decide to convert space in your home to function as a project studio, its easy to spend a lot of
money before you plug in your first microphone. While quality recording gear is less and less expensive,
acquiring everything you need to start recording adds up, and that doesnt begin to address the costs
of properly outfitting your space.
For many home recording enthusiasts, doing any sort of construction is simply not an option but that
doesnt mean your dream of a recording space in your home needs to end before it begins. The degree to
how professional your studio needs to be, and therefore how expensive the endeavor, is relative to your goals
for your finished product. At the same time, your budget will ultimately determine how ambitious you can be
in the scope of the project.
YOU CAN START BY ANSWERING THESE FOUR BASIC QUESTIONS:

1. What is the purpose of your
home studio?
3. Are you planning to record a full band

or one or two musicians at a time?
Are you recording new ideas to demo to your
The spare bedroom might be perfectly isolated,
band or producer? Recording, mixing, and mas-
but can you house your gear, monitors, amps, and
tering finished tracks to submit to a music super-
microphones and still have ample room to per-
visor? Is this your bands DIY album for distribu-
form comfortably? What if youre tracking two
tion and sale? Are you planning to record other
musicians at once? Or three? The physical dim-
peoples material? Deciding on the reason you
ensions of your available space are contributing
are getting into home recording is the first step

toward setting realistic goals.
JON MARC WEISS KIVA PRODUCTIONS

STUDIO IN HOLLY WOOD, PA.
As a general rule, the more musicians and acoustic instruments you intend to record, the more
er, and dryer, or you live on a street with busses
expansive your studio will need to be in re-
rumbling back and forth throughout the day,
gard to equipment and gear. In addition, the
its probably not your ideal space.
number and type of live instruments you intend to track will dictate the requirements of
your spaces acoustic environment.
2. What space do you have available?

You need to find the best available, distractionfree environment. Your garage may seem like a
natural location to set up your home studio, but
if its always damp and it houses a boiler, wash-
Very often, a spare bedroom or home office

makes for a good home studio environment
though bear in mind that distractions abound
at home. Normal sounds like the doorbell,
phone, bathroom fan, or heating/AC system can
be the death of a perfect take. Do your best to
isolate yourself from household sounds wherever you decide to record.
CHAPTER 1: ACOUSTICS & YOUR HOME STUDIO
factors to your ambitions for your project studio.
4. Are you using your space for overdubs and mixing, or are you planning
to track everything in your studio?
This will ultimately be the biggest decision you
make before you start down the road to researching, purchasing, and installing your home
recording set up. But the truth is, to get a professional sound out of something like a drum kit,
youll need space, youll need to manage the
acoustics in your room, and youll need lots of
mics and stands. These purchases add up and
will deplete a modest budget very quickly.
YOURE WORKING ON
A BUDGET, AFTER ALL
One modality I often recommend to home recording enthusiasts is, dont outfit your home to
do the big work, says Philadelphia-based producer/engineer/studio owner Drew Raison. If
you have a limited budget to build a studio, why
invest in all the necessary microphones, microphone stands, and cables? You start there and
you could be well into thousands of dollars.
Let somebody else spend that money. Go to a
studio thats already outfitted with all the accoutrements, cut the drums and have the engineer
transfer the tracks or a stereo mix so you can
overdub guitars, bass and vocals at home. If you
have a limited amount of money, why not put it
how sound waves work and how to control the
construction effort that isnt an option for most
way they inhabit and interact in a room.
people. So what can you do?
When a sound wave meets a surface a wall,
ROOM ARRANGEMENT
a couch, a desk some of the wave is absorbed,

some of it is reflected, and some of it gets transmitted through the surface. Most dense surfaces do a good job isolating sound, but will reflect
sound back into the room. Porous surfaces typically absorb sound well, but also transmit sound.
Assuming youre not building a separate control

room, youll be configuring all your equipment in
your designated studio space. So your first task is
to envision where youll be housing your monitoring station and board. If youve got the budget
and are really looking to optimize the acoustics
The best way to stop sound transmission
and sound of your home studio, consulting a pro-
sound leaking in or out of a room is to isolate
fessional at the outset is a good idea, complete
sound from the structure before it has a chance
with diagrams and dimensions of the space you
to vibrate. In other words, walls need to be isolat-
have to work with.
ed from ceilings and floors, achieved by decoupling referred to as floating a room.
Where your mixing/recording station will be is

something that needs to be envisioned specif-
into a vocal recording system? Get the correct
But floating a room is
ically for the space youre in. One general rule
microphone for an acoustic, get the best micro-
precisely the type of
you should follow is to keep your listening
phone for an electric, and cut all that at home.
position somewhere near the middle third
You can leave the big, multi-channel recording
of the room it is very difficult to hear
to a professional studio.
accurately with a wall directly behind you.
CONTROLLING
THE ACOUSTICS
Whatever your expectations, a major component to creating quality finished recordings in a home environment is controlling the acoustics. To really do things
right, it starts with the construction of the
room. The proper angles of the walls and
ceiling, the proper dimensions, state-ofthe-art acoustical room treatments placed in the appropriate places these are
In regard to monitor placement, You want

to come as close to an isosceles triangle as
you can, says Raison. Thats the proportion of the distance between the speakers
to where the engineering sweet spot is.
Its a comfortable listening angle, but its
also a time thing. Sound and time go hand
in hand, so you want to make sure that
theyre evenly balanced. If the speakers
are 10 feet apart, you should be sitting 10
feet back.
but a few of the things that set a profes-
Another thing: dont place one monitor
sional studio apart from your rehearsal
in the corner. In most rooms, if youre in
space and bedroom.

The first step toward achieving an
acoustic environment that will produce great results at home is understanding some of the basic principles of
LONG WAVELENGTH:
LOW FREQUENCY, LOW SOUND, FEWER WAVE CYCLES.
the center of the wall, youre in great

shape. But if you take the table and
move it to the corner, then you have
one monitor that will sound boomy and
the sound gets mushy and imbalanced.
SHORT WAVELENGTH:
HIGH FREQUENCY, HIGH SOUND, MANY WAVE CYCLES.
STUDIO:469, DESIGNED BY DREW RAISON.
EARLY REFLECTION POINTS

Sound bouncing off the walls and floors and surfaces in your room needs to be addressed as the
reflections will cause problems. One fix is to address the reflected sound waves in your environment by adding sound absorbing wall treatments. A controlled, deliberate approach, using professional sound absorption and diffusion
Its the early reflection points on the ceiling,
like comb filtering or flutter echoes. If you have
floor, or desk that most people overlook, warns
a room with parallel walls and you take a super
Raison. Even applying just a thin absorptive
ball and you whip it at the wall, its going to go
membrane on the ceiling can help knock down
bounce bounce bounce back and forth
those highs and mids that can cause the early re-
thats a flutter. And if you clap your hands in a
flection smearage. Youre not trying to keep low
live room, you can hear a flutter. That can kill a
frequencies from bouncing off that ceiling, you
recording. Thats why we do the acoustic absorp-
probably dont have the time or space to do
tion on the walls, to cut that flutter down.
that, so to speak. Just dont overlook the ceiling.

People typically dont do things to ceilings in the
BASS TRAPS
Chances are the room youre considering has
regular world, but in a recording environment
Sound bounces back and forth between hard,
90-degree angled corners. The walls are paral-
it makes a substantial amount of difference.
parallel surfaces, and lower frequency sound
products, will yield the best results.
lel, as are the floor and ceiling not the ideal
waves are longer than high frequencies. For in-
acoustic environment. To improve the acoustics,
50 PERCENT RULE
start with the early reflection points.
When it comes to optimizing the acoustics in a
duces a wave roughly 27.5 feet in length, while
room, you dont want to deaden down every-
a piccolo playing at 3500 Hz produces a wave
Once the direct sound from the monitors has
thing. You want a room that has ambience to it,
thats less than four inches long. Acoustic foam
passed by you, you want something behind you
otherwise what you record and what you hear
effectively absorbs reflected sound, and thicker
to either soak it up or shatter it all over the place,
wont be accurate, and your finished recordings
acoustic foam is better at absorbing low frequen-
says Raison. In either case, you dont want a di-
will suffer. Every room is different, but applying a
cy sounds.
rect early reflection to hit your ears too soon. If it
50 percent rule is a solid launching point.
does, it will completely smear what you are hear-
stance, a bass guitar playing a low E @ 41 Hz pro-
The panels and wall hangings used to absorb
ing and it will give you problems. Its those early
In a square or rectangular room, Id recom-
the early reflection points are going to help with
reflective points you want to knock out.
mend covering 50 percent of the surface area,
the mid and high-mid frequencies, but when it
Raison advises. For example, do one-foot by
comes to preventing lower frequencies from re-
One trick is to use a pocket mirror. If you have
one-foot pyramid foam squares in a checker-
flecting and causing cancellations and boom-
a pair of speakers on a desk in the middle of
board pattern on every wall cover your 50 per-
iness in your recording/listening environment,
a wall and the speakers are sitting on that desk,
cent that way. And it counts on the ceiling, too.
using bass traps and denser sound absorbers
you can look around the room and see what re-
50 percent would be great, but if you cant do
behind your monitoring point is recommended.
flective points youre going to have. Points on the
that, make sure you get that early reflection spot.
walls, and also the ceiling and the floor those
It will knock down the reflections to a degree that
initial reflection points are my first go-to spots for
they wont get in your way and cause monitoring
sound absorption. When were treating a room,
issues.
Ill sit in the engineers seat and have someone
Since low frequency resonances have their points

of maximum (or minimum) pressure in a rooms
corners, bass traps are often triangular in shape
to fit into corners, though studio gobos are also
move a pocket mirror along the wall until I can
You just need to remember, when youre re-
common for lower frequency absorption as well.
see the speaker reflected in the mirror. Thats
cording in a home studio, and youre recording
Remember, once the sound has passed by your
where you want to put up some sort of an acous-
drums in a bedroom, you have all these early
ears, soaking up the sound behind you is critical
tical absorption product.
reflections that are going to bleed into every
so you wont be coping with sound reflecting
microphone and create unpleasant anomalies
from behind you.
GETTING STARTED
MAKE THE MOST OF
YOUR STUDIO TIME & SPACE
f youre recording in a home studio, even if you take the time and effort to address basic acoustics,
chances are your room isnt going to compete with a pro studio environment. There may be some
instances where capturing the rooms ambience and resonance is just what you want, and other times
where isolating your sound source and divorcing it from the room is your better option.
In every studio environment, there are simple things you can do to maximize the quaity of your sound sources, get
the best performances from your players, and record the best possible sounds and tones in your studio space.
FOCUS ON
YOUR INSTRUMENT
Even in the hands of the best player, an instrument with bad intonation wont sound good on
record. Maintaining and preparing an instrument
is the first step to producing a quality recording.
If youre a vocalist, warm up and do your vocal
exercises before hitting the mic. Drinking warm
tea and honey to lubricate your vocal cords can
help, as will wearing a scarf around your neck to
keep your cords warm. Other common sense ad-
too long, theyre going to sound dull and theyre
tionally accommodating can go a long way to
not going to stay in tune. Also, take time to tune
improving the mind set and potential for perfor-
the drums correctly you may even consider
mance from your talent.
tuning the drums differently for different

songs.
Weiss, she was a vocalist, and her dad and her
youre rehearsed and comfortable with the parts
husband were there. We just couldnt get a good
youll be recording, and make sure you enter the
take out of her. Her dad was totally on her, he was
studio well rested and with a clear head.
saying things like, When youre in front of your
CHECK YOUR CABLES
Good cables can make a big difference, so make
products to keep your throat moist and phlegm
sure they all work and dont rely on cheap prod-
free, and avoiding loud environments where you
uct. Make sure all your input jacks and connec-
might speak loudly and tax your vocal cords.
tions are working, and use a can of air spray to
before going into the studio especially if its

an acoustic guitar. If youre a bass player and you
dont change your strings once a month, you
should consider changing those strings before
you bring your bass into the studio. In both cas-
engineer, producer, and studio owner Jon Marc
As a performer preparing to record, make sure
vice includes refraining from smoking and dairy
If youre a guitar player, change your strings
I had one session with a young woman, recalls
clean out any pots or faders that might have dust

built up.
CREATE A COMFORTABLE,
BUT FUNCTIONAL,
ENVIRONMENT
mirror in your bedroom, you do such a good

take, and then we come into the studio and you
can barely perform! Part of the problem was that
they were putting way too much pressure on her.
Youre not going to get a great performance out
of anyone that way.
In addition to that, she was obviously in a comfortable environment and relaxed in her own
room so we brought the mirror, and her bedside table, and candles from her room, and we
arranged them in the studio. Believe it or not, it
worked! She just needed something familiar to
For artists who do not have a lot of experience
make her feel at home. Youve got to be careful
in the studio, the transition from a rehearsal or
as an engineer not to make it too clinical and
performance environment to the studio can be
sterile. Youve got to keep the smiles going and
If youre a drummer, change all your drum heads
very uncomfortable. As a producer/engineer, cre-
keep the vibe going.
before recording. If the heads have been on for
ating an environment that is physically and emo-
es it will help the tone and the output, and youll

stay in better tune.
CHAPTER 2: GETTING STARTED
EXPERIMENT
There is one constant, true for all recording studios and situations: keep experimenting. The
only way to know what sounds good and what
to avoid in your home studio is to try different
approaches to the same scenario. So much of
the art of engineering, producing, and recording comes from trial and error and constantly
departure from a given tonality, but you should

never hesitate to experiment. This is your opportunity. Analyze and decide, Did this work or
didnt it? and What can I do to make it better
next time? Thats what makes a home recording enthusiast become a producer over time.
KEEP IT SIMPLE
GET IT HOT, HOT, HOT

Always try to get the hottest signal you can to
tape. If you dont, youre missing out on some of
the sound from the source. Get the level as hot
as you can without going over the threshold.
Some A/D converters have a feature called a
soft limit, which can help with this.
Dont run too many devices in series with one
Lets say you have a really dynamic part, a sec-
another. Limiting the number of components in
tion of the song where the vocalist is hitting it a
Ive learned a lot watching creative engineers
your chain will usually provide a fatter tone. If
little too hard, explains Weiss. You can try to
at work, says Drew Raison. Steve Albini worked
youve got a mic preamp, an EQ, and a com-
anticipate the trouble spots and pull the gain
in my studio, and he was laying microphones just
pressor in the signal chain, youre probably do-
down on the preamp a little, or you can use soft
above floor level. Theres an evil little echo, that
ing that for a reason, but sometimes that can
limiting. Its kind of like compression but it just
honing your ears and your technique.
limits the output of the digital signal.
There is one constant, true for all recording studios

and situations: keep experimenting. The only way to know
what sounds good and what to avoid is to try different approaches to the same scenario.
TARGET YOUR FREQUENCY

When youre recording and mixing, you dont
want to have lots of overlapping frequencies. If
youre cutting percussion, for instance, and you
dont need anything below 80 Hz, you can use
a high pass filter and allow the highs to pass
through while cutting off the low frequencies so
youre focusing that instrument into the frequency range you want it to occupy in the mix.
first reflection echo you are typically trying to a-
negatively affect the sound. If youre not hap-
void. He wanted to harvest that. To me, that was
py with the tone youre getting on record, try
Maybe the air conditioner thats blowing air in
a huge question mark. Why would you want to do
going right out of the preamp into the console
your direction is producing low frequency rat-
that? And then I heard it and I was like, Well, boy,
and deal with the EQ and compression later.
tle, or the artist whos tapping her foot or mov-
there it is. It is an acquired taste, but his man-
Sometimes simplicity is the way to go, and
ing around in the studio is producing low fre-
agement of acoustic space was eye-opening.
getting a more natural tone to tape should be
quency energy that doesnt need to be record-
the goal.
ed. A high pass filter can eliminate those fre-
I rarely use what I learned from him in my own

recordings because Im not looking for a radical
quencies from the recording.
Conversely, if youre recording bass guitar, you
artifacts like early reflections, reverberation in
LIMIT COMPRESSION &

EQ WHEN RECORDING
general, standing waves, and nodes.
While many engineers will use some compres-
An out-of-phase signal can cause instruments
sion and EQ when going to tape, be cognizant
to disappear from your mix if somebodys
that the decisions you make at the time of re-
speakers are wired incorrectly, says Raison.
cording will remain with that track. Some things
In a home environment, you have to be dou-
can be undone, but others cant, and if you over-
Sometimes, the low end or highs that youre not
bly aware of this because youre working in
compress or over-equalize, youre largely going
capturing (or that you have too much of) are a
smaller spaces and potentially have greater
to be stuck with it. When youre recording, make
result of poor mic placement, using the wrong
possibility of phase problems.
it your priority to acquire the performance to
mic, EQ settings on the instrument or amp, or
the best of your ability. Then when youre mix-
If youre using a computer for your home re-
the angle of the mic in relation to the instru-
ing, make the critical decisions regarding com-
cording there are phase correlation meter plug-
ment. Adjusting any one (or more) of these ele-
pression, EQ, and other effects.
ins that will show you the health of your phase in
probably dont need all of the top end, so take

some off the top with a low pass filter. Filtering
out the frequencies that dont need to be there
will help keep the mix articulate and clean.
DONT JUMP TO EQ
your stereo field. If youre working outside of a
ments can make a big difference without having

to touch the EQ, especially if youre trying to
If youre not making pop music or something
computer environment, you have to be able to
capture more high end. Pushing the high end
geared to the radio, says Raison, then none
recognize it, and that takes a set of ears. A trick
on an EQ can bring unwanted noise into the
of this really matters and you should follow
that sometimes works is to flip the phase on one
track and the mix.
your own vision. But if you want the world to
of the channels in your mix and then put the mix
hear your music and youre working in a home

Much of the art in recording comes from mic
in mono. Most stand-alone units have a mono
studio, I recommend you keep it simple. Mini-
use, placement, and angle. A lot can be accom-
button, so if you flip the phase on either your
mal equalization, and minimal compression at
plished simply by adjusting the angle of the
left or right channel, and you put it in mono,
the time of recording, because you can add that
mic. Testing multiple microphone placements,
youll hear if things disappear. Typically its the
later. Try not to make unfortunate decisions at
both in relative distance to the sound source
stuff down the middle that disappears, which in
the time of recording.
my world means the stuff that splits evenly be-
and where the mic is pointing, will also provide

a variety of tones and sounds to choose from.
GAIN STAGING
Gain staging is another way to get different tones
from the same source. One practical approach
would be to take a microphone with a little versatility, e.g. a 10 dB pad and a bunch of pickup patterns, and experiment with the pad and
pattern combinations.
If youre cutting jazz or something orchestral and
you want something clean and natural sounding,
you typically wont need to use a pad on the mic.
For a different tone, says Weiss, try pushing
the preamp. Use the pad and crank the gain on
the preamp. Now its as if the preamp is waiting
for the sound, ready to suck it in like a vacuum,
and that recorded tone is vastly different than
if you arent taxing the preamp. One thing that
sets pro engineers apart is they know how to hit
their gear. They know they can get different
tones by having the gain in different places.
tween right and left bass guitar, kick drum,
AVOID PHASE
CANCELLATION
While recognizing and avoiding
phase cancellation takes experience and understanding,
using a three-to-one ratio is
a good place to start in your
home studio when using more
than one microphone to capture a sound source.
Three-to-one
means the
second
microphone
should be three times
(or more) the distance from the
source than the first microphone.
Bear in mind, if the sound source
or your microphone is close to a
reflective wall, that could cause
another phase cancellation. In a
gigantic empty space, the threeto-one rule generally works. It
also works in a smaller space,
but you have to deal with other
snare drum, lead vocal.
RECORDING TIPS
FROM THE PROS
TECHNIQUES TO
IMPROVE YOUR RECORDINGS
s weve already touched on, experimenting is the best way to determine the recording techniques that work best for you and your studio. There are many basic rules, and definite acoustic
anomalies you need to be aware of (and typically avoid), but being good at capturing tones and
sounds is largely a matter of practical experience.
That said, as someone working in a home studio environment, dont be afraid to bring in external resources
to help you record a little bit of money can go a long way. If you cant execute the recording of a drum part
because of space or microphone limitations, cut the drums in a local studio and have them give you a stereo mix to work with. If you need help recording vocals, working with an experienced engineer will help you
better understand the process and enable you to hit the mark on your own the next time you record.
Of course, youre ready to record now so here are some basics to keep in mind to help you make the most
of your home recordings.
MOVE AROUND THE ROOM

Before you hit record and capture an instruments tone to tape for posterity, take the time
to physically move the instrument or amplifier to different parts of the room and listen to
how it sounds. Playing an instrument in different parts of the room can make a big difference
thats diminishing your low end, or adding more
the right spot and the proper angle can make
because its vibrating. By pulling the amp off
an enormous difference.
the floor and putting it on a stand, essentially

youre decoupling it. Even if youre angling it,
only part of the amp is touching the floor, so
youre basically removing the floor from the
equation in terms of the tone.
in the tone. If youre recording an acoustic gui-
If you have an amp perpendicular to the
tar, violin, piano, sax, or any acoustic instrument,
floor, all the energy is going forward, and low
and you play it near a wall with a lot of glass and
to the ground, says Weiss. Lets say youve
wood, youll get a more reflective sound than if
got an eight-foot ceiling. Youve got many more
youre up against a baffle. If youre recording an
mic placement options if the amp is kicked up
amp, play around with different spots until you
at a 45-degree angle. Now you can put a mic
get the right tone for the track.
up in the corner to get more of the room. If

youre going for a really tight sound, you might
ANGLE YOUR AMP
just want to leave it on the floor, focus the en-
Raising an amp off the ground or angling it can
ergy, and take the room out of the equation.
have dramatic effects on the tone, depend-
A professional studio is going to have a floor
ing on the room and the amp. The floor may be
built specifically so that it wont have pockets
wood, and it may have a resonant cavity below
of resonance underneath. Your home studio

probably wont be as predictable, so finding
CHAPTER 3: RECORDING TIPS FROM THE PROS
PLAY WITH MIC

PLACEMENT & ANGLES
Mic placement and mic angles go a long way
toward capturing different tones from the same
sound source. For example, to help record a very
sibilant vocal performer, try angling the mic up
toward a 45-degree angle and you might find
a lot of that popping and hissing goes away. Just
by taking a microphone and adjusting it a few
degrees or just a little bit to the left or the
right can make an enormous difference in the
tones and sounds you capture on record.
If you are recording a guitar cabinet, says Raison, the sweet spot will vary from cabinet to
cabinet. When you consider a speaker is a diaphragm that is physically moving air, bear in
mind that the sound emanates from that an-
gled cone no sound comes from the center
ment through a 10- or 12-inch cabinet, it will make
tic foam treatments for this, as you could lose
of the speaker. Aim the mic at the cone portion
a significant difference in the tonality of the in-
too much high end. But something to focus the
of it, or inwards or outwards, upwards or down-
strument as compared to going direct from a rack
energy and cut out the ambient noise can help
wards, off axis a little, or towards the cabinet a-
mount effects processor or a computer plug-in.
you capture the source more effectively.
FOCUS THE ENERGY
Another way to get a tighter, more controlled
way from the speaker in every single case, you

will get a different kind of a tone.
GET THE AIR MOVING
If youre in a home studio environment and you

dont have a lot of control over the acoustics in
If youre recording with a computer, there are
your room, says Weiss you can end up captur-
hundreds of software plug-ins that can emulate
ing a lot of unwanted early reflections, flutter
the sound of an array of guitar and amplifier
echo, and the like. To get a sound thats more
combinations in a variety of ambient settings.
direct, try taking sleeping bags, blankets, or
But in the end, speaker emulators simply cant
cushions off your couch and build a little space,
push the air and do what a speaker does. Even
like a fort or a teepee, and put the microphone
in the most basic situations, if you put an instru-
in it. You probably want to avoid using acous-
sound and get less of the room is to use a filter,

like the Auralex MudGuard. For $100, it will create a baffle around the microphone and focus
all of the energy into the mic so you pick up virtually no reverberation from the room.
MULTIPLE MICS
Before you consider using multiple mics in your
studio, ask yourself how much experimenta-
If youre recording an acoustic guitar, violin, piano, sax, or any acoustic instrument,
and you play it near a wall with a lot of glass and wood, youll get a more reflective sound
than if youre up against a baffle. If youre recording an amp, play around with different
spots until you get the right tone for the track.
tion you want to do, warns Raison. It may not
Ive gone as far as to put a mic one room away,
Taking a clean guitar track and sending it to an
be worth the extra work, as a single microphone
and then another two rooms away, and use those
amplifier gives you a lot of room to experiment
can usually get the job done. When you intro-
different tracks on the left and right for a stereo
with tone and effects and youre using the ac-
duce a second or third microphone into the
effect, says Weiss. I worked on this one project
tual recorded performance to get your sound, so
equation, youre introducing potential phase
where they were recording in an apartment, and
there are no surprises when you hit the red but-
anomalies, e.g. two microphones picking up sim-
the drums werent cutting it. I ended up sticking a
ton. Taking the direct signal recording of a bass
ilar signals and canceling each other out. One
mic in the shower, which was adjacent to where
track and sending that through an amp provides
microphone is safe and easy, with two or more
they were cutting the tracks, pulled up the kick,
the same opportunities.
microphones there are rules you have to follow,
snare, and toms through the monitors, and all of
and theyre not necessarily going to get you a
a sudden it sounded like the drums were cut in a
better or radically different sound.
huge, beautiful sounding room.
The same applies for just about any instrument

you can think of re-amping through a live
amplifier is going to give you a number of options not necessarily available at the time you
RE-AMPING
recorded the performance. There arent any
Re-amping is a recording technique that can sal-
rules youre doing this to get a vibe, create
vage or spruce up tracks recorded in a home stu-
a sound, and capture something special or dif-
dio or less-than-ideal recording environment.
ferent. Experimenting can yield some great and
Its also a great way to experiment with sounds
unexpected results.
and tones without having to constantly re-record a part. You can even totally reinvent a part
Re-amping is another way a lot of home re-
without compromising the original track. The
cording enthusiasts use my studios, adds Rai-
basic idea is to take a recorded track, send the
son. Theyll record everything at home, bring
signal to studio monitors or an amplifier, set up
their tracks in, and we feed that signal through
a mic, and record the re-amped track.
a vintage Marshall, or a vintage Vox. And they

take the bass and we feed it through a vintage
Add Ambience
SVT cabinet all micd up with the expensive stuff
Lets say youve got something on tape, you love
as a way to punch up what they have.
the performance, but in playback youre realizing its just a little too dry it needs a bit of
Getting Creative
room ambience. You can always go to a digital
There was a guy who had me mix a number of
reverb or delay, but if you want to experiment,
songs for him, and the agreement was that he
or you want a sound thats just different from
was just going to leave me alone and take what-
the effects in your software or outboard reper-
ever came up with, explains Raison. He gave
toire, re-amping is another option.
me this one guitar solo that was done on a nylon

string classical guitar. I ended up compressing
Play the track through studio monitors and put
the daylights out of it, feeding it through a full
a mic on the other side of the room, or even a
guitar rig, and bringing it back into the system
room or two away, and pick up the natural am-
and effecting it. It was a classical guitar solo that
bience on a new track. Mix that in and youve
ended up sounding like an Aerosmith track, and
added breadth to the original. If youre working
it worked great. I had actually done the same
in a digital environment, you can move that
thing with a cello. I ran that through a Marshall
reverb around and control where the ambient

track sits in relation to the original track.
rig trying to emulate a Deep Purple kind of a

AURALEXS MUDGUARD
This can be a particularly handy technique for
tone it was awesome.

Ive seen a situation where we were recording
recording drums in a project studio. Often a
Amp Swapping
home studio environment is not ideal for re-
Sometimes you just dont have the means to
ough of the snare sound, we didnt get that rat-
cording drums it might be too small a room,
capture the guitar sound you have in your head,
tle. So we took the snare track, sent that through
or too controlled which can leave you with
or the tone you originally recorded just isnt
an amp, and placed the snare drum next to the
a dry and lifeless drum track. In such a case,
knocking your socks off, but the performance
amp. Every time the snare hit, the live drum would
bring up the kick, snare, and toms in the monitor
is killer. Maybe the recorded bass tone doesnt
rattle, and we were able to record the snare rat-
and put a microphone down a hallway. Youll
have the body you need to hold its place in the
tle we missed in the first pass.
capture a splashy, boomy sound that you cant
mix. Re-amping can be your solution to salvage
really get with a digital reverb.
that great performance.
drums, adds Weiss, and there just wasnt en-
THE HOME STUDIO

MICROPHONE GUIDE
FINDING THE RIGHT MICS FOR
EVERY SITUATION & EVERY BUDGET
fter the instrument and the player, the microphone is arguably the most important element in
the recording chain, as the microphone and your mic placement techniques are the means of
capturing the sounds being created.
There are different types of microphones, but they share a few things in common. All are trans-
ducers, converting acoustic energy (sound) into electric energy, or an audio signal. In addition, every microphone
has a diaphragm, which vibrates when sound waves move the air and converts those vibrations into an audio signal.
One thing that sets mics apart is the price tag. As a rule, the type of mic, the quality and cost of the components,
the artistry involved in crafting the mic, and the science behind the construction all factor into the final price.
While a higher-quality microphone does tend to result in a higher price tag, there are many gems that outper-
form their contemporaries in similar (and sometimes higher) price ranges, and others that are simply better suited
to particular situations.
TYPES OF MICS
Mics are categorized by the type of element used: condenser, electret (condenser), ribbon, and
dynamic. There are a number of other types of
mics (carbon, piezoelectric, fiber optic), but
case of electrets, by the electric charge inherent in the mics materials a condensers capsule is very active and sensitive to even slight
pressure fluctuations, which is the main reason
condensers are so accurate.
condenser, ribbon, and dynamic mics are the
Condenser mics come in different sizes, and its
mainstays of music recording.
the size of the diaphragm that dictates the area
Condenser Microphones
Very popular for all types of recording situations,
condenser microphones provide a very accurate representation of the source. They work well
on quiet and subtle sound sources, like an acoustic guitar, and can also pick up loud sound
sources, like a drum kit, without losing detail.
A condenser mic houses one or two electrically charged plates, usually Mylar sputtered with
gold or nickel, and built into most is a transformer. Because they are electrically charged
through a battery, phantom power, or in the
of concentration. In general, a one-inch diaphragm mic is ideal for vocals and other instruments where youre trying to pick up the low
end. Small diaphragm condensers have a diaphragm thats anywhere from to inch, and
are a good choice for instruments that have a
lot of high-end energy, such as an acoustic guitar. You will often find small diaphragm mics
set in a stereo pattern.
Different model condensers have different characteristics. Some have multiple pickup patterns,
low-frequency rolloffs, or attenuator pads. Some
of them are tube, some of them are FET (field-ef-
CHAPTER 4: THE HOME STUDIO MICROPHONE GUIDE
INSIDE THE AKG C414

XLS (IMAGE BY AKG).
fect transistor), some are transformerless with
Think of those images of Frank Sinatra standing
and without IC (integrated circuit) chips. Each
in front of the RCA 77DX, the pill-shaped mic that
mic produces a very different sound.
was incredibly popular from the 30s through the
Condensers are not commonly used in live situations as they generate feedback fairly easily
10dB
15dB
late 60s. Ribbons were a studio staple through
20dB
the mid 60s.
25dB
and are more fragile than a dynamic microphone.
The use of ribbons faded for a number of rea-
Moisture or a good knock from a drumstick can
sons. You need a very strong preamp to use them,
permanently damage a condenser mic.
ribbon mics tend to be on the more expensive
Ribbon Microphones
5dB
270
90
side of the scale, and most notably, they are

quite fragile. Drop a ribbon mic, blow into it, or
Ribbon mics go back to the late 20s, when RCA
slam a door in a tight room and the element is
embraced the technology and made it popular.
broken and its off to the shop. The element is
180
OMNIDIRECTIONAL
literally a pressed ribbon of corrugated material

(usually aluminum) stretched across a magnet,
and that thin ribbon is liable to break with any
amount of air pressure. Ribbon mics are still fragile, compared to dynamic mics and even condensers, but windscreen technology has advanced to make them less prone to destruction.
A ribbon mic is not the most versatile mic, but
5dB
what makes them so enduring is their mid-range
10dB
detail. Ribbons were, and still are, very popular
15dB
for some types of vocalists, but what they were
20dB
predominantly used for in their heyday were

horns. A saxophone, and most every brass in-
25dB
270
90
strument, has a signature mid-range that plays to

a ribbon mics sweet spot.
Dynamic Microphones
Dynamic mics were originally designed to be
a replacement for ribbon mics because they
can handle high sound pressure levels (SPL) and
180
BI-DIRECTIONAL (FIGURE-8)
can handle being thrown around. Dynamic mics

A DIAGRAM OF A
STEREO RIBBON MICROPHONE.
dont have nearly the character or articulation of

a condenser, but they are very resilient to damage, even if theyre dropped.
Dynamic mics are probably the most commonly
used mic (think Shures SM 57). Dynamic mics are
relatively inexpensive, and there are a host of uses
5dB
for them, including recording drums, guitar cab-
10dB
inets, bass cabinets, horns almost anything. In
15dB
a studio, you wont usually see them on vocals
20dB
or an acoustic guitar, or anything that has a lot

of detail in the top end, though there are not-
25dB
270
90
able exceptions to this rule.* In a live setting, a

huge percentage of the mics being used are going to be dynamic. Theyre designed to withstand
DURABLE DYNAMIC MICS
LIKE THE SM 58 ARE GREAT FOR
STUDIO AND STAGE APPLICATIONS.
a ton of abuse and keep feedback in check.

*Bruce Swedien, who engineered the bulk of Michael Jacksons catalog, used a Shure SM7B to re-
180
CARDIOID
5dB
10dB
15dB
20dB
out sources not directly in front, and have almost

no sensitivity to sounds coming directly from the
the same mic, and the list goes on. The fact that
rear of the mic. This helps reduce feedback and
these industry giants chose a $350 dynamic mic-
focuses on the sound source.
rophone for vocals is the ultimate case in point
25dB
270
cord Jacksons vocals on the Thriller album. Metallica and the Red Hot Chili Peppers have used
90
that a higher price tag doesnt always mean its
Hyper-Cardioid
the right mic for the job.
Compared to a cardioid pattern, a hyper-cardioid microphone has a tighter area of front sen-
PICKUP PATTERNS
sitivity plus a small area of rear sensitivity.
A microphones pickup (or polar) pattern refers
Super-Cardioid
to breadth of its area of concentration. In other
180
words, it refers to how sensitive the microphone
HYPER-CARDIOID
is to picking up a sound source relative to its central axis. Most mics have a fixed pattern, though
some studio mics include a range of pickup pattern choices by way of a switch on the mic.
Omnidirectional
An omnidirectional pattern will pick up 360 degrees around its element. If you have one mic and
5dB
you want to pick up everything going on in the
10dB
room, like a choir or a circle of singers or strings,
15dB
an omni mic setting is the one to use.
20dB
25dB
270
90
Bi-Directional (Figure-8)
A bi-directional mic will pick up sound sources
equally from the front and back of the mic. A bidirectional mic has two elements, one is negatively charged and the other positive. Most ribbon
microphones have a bi-directional pattern, which
180
is useful if you have two sound sources you want

to record, like a duet of singers or instruments.
SUPER-CARDIOID
A super-cardioid pattern is similar to a hypercardioid, with a slightly larger area of concentration in the front and a thinner area in the rear.
Unidirectional
A unidirectional pattern has extreme off-axis rejection, meaning it will only pick up sound sources that are directly in front of the microphone.
Shotgun
A shotgun mic is a unidirectional mic designed
to pick up things that are far away, with a high
degree of focus, so as not to pick up sources it
isnt directly pointed at. Theyre typically electret condensers, and are often used for TV and
field recording, though they can be used to isolate instruments in a studio setting, like a bass
drum or piano.
Pressure Zone Microphone (PZM)

PZMs have a very specific place, and are not
typically used in studio recordings. Most often,
a PZM is an omni-directional mic mounted to a
Cardioid
Cardioid is a tighter pickup pattern, and gets its
name from the heart-shaped pattern seen in the
diagram. The most popular mic pickup pattern,
plate, so that the mic picks up all the reflections

of the sound in an awkward space (e.g. inside a
closed piano).
cardioid mics will pick up sound sources in a fairly wide range from the front of the mic, will taper
0
5dB
10dB
There are different types of microphones, but they
15dB
20dB
25dB
270
90
share a few things in common. All are transducers, converting acoustic energy (sound) into electric energy, or an audio
signal. In addition, every microphone has a diaphragm, which
180
UNIDIRECTIONAL
vibrates when sound waves move the air and converts those
vibrations into an audio signal.
BEYOND THE PICKUP PATTERN

ADDITIONAL PICKUP PATTERNS CAN BE ACHIEVED
BY USING MULTIPLE MICROPHONES, INCLUDING:
XY Small or large diaphragm condensers, crossed at a 90-degree angle, provide a
wider pickup pattern than youll get from a single mic. This technique is often used for a
stereo field, but is sometimes just used for coverage on a drum kit or a piano, for instance.
MS (Mid-Side) The MS technique is slightly complicated, but ultimately provides more
control over the width of the stereo spread than the XY configuration. A cardioid or
hyper-cardioid mic is set facing the sound source (the mid mic), then a bi-directional
mic is aimed 90 degrees off axis from the source (the side mic) and placed above the
mid-mic, as close as possible.
ORTF Devised in the 60s at the Office de Radiodiffusion Tlvision Franaise (ORTF),
this technique uses two cardioid mics mounted on a stereo bar, typically 17 cm apart
at a 110-degree angle. This technique can be used to create depth in the stereo field
for a single instrument, or used in mono to create a wider pickup pattern. Rather than
using multiple mics around a room, you can use this technique to limit and control the
width of your pickup pattern.
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31 MIC PICKS FOR THE HOME STUDIO (and beyond)

UNDER $250
$500$1,000
$250$500
Behringer C-1 $50
Rode NT3 $269
Rode NTK $529
CONDENSER (LARGE DIAPHRAGM)
CONDENSER (SMALL DIAPHRAGM)
For anyone working with a small budget, this cardioid mic delivers crisp,
clear voice recordings and accurate
reproduction of acoustic instruments.
Cardioid condenser recommended

for acoustic guitars, percussion,
and anything where youre looking
to capture mids and highs.
Shure SM 57 $99
Audio Technica
AT4022 $349
A cardioid vacuum tube condenser that works equally well on flutes

and vocals (it was used on vocals for
Nickelbacks Long Road). Described
as warm and flattering without
adding its fingerprint to the recorded
track. Its sister, the Rode K2 ($699) has
multiple polar patterns and sounds
particularly good on acoustic guitar.
DYNAMIC
The cardioid dynamic microphone

you see on so many different instruments and applications. Its versatility
is a big plus. Its also very rugged, dependable, and incredibly affordable.
SM stands for studio microphone, as this was originally to be an
alternative to the notoriously fragile
ribbon mics. The Beta 57A ($139) is
a brighter supercardioid version,
providing more warmth, presence, and a higher output level.
Shure SM 58 $99
DYNAMIC
The sibling of the SM 57 includes the

ball grille with the foam lining to provide an extra degree of pop and
wind protection. Its durability has
made it a live performance staple.
The supercardioid Beta 58A ($159)
is designed to be a live vocal mic,
but its studio applications can be
likened to the SM 57 and Beta 57A.
Audio Technica
AT2020 $99
Omnidirectional condenser at
an affordable price wellsuited for mid-range frequencies.
As with any omnidirectional mic,
a good acoustic environment is
key to capturing great tones.
Shure SM7B $399
A condenser with three polar

pat-terns omnidiretional, bi-directional, and figure-8 this mic
can handle walloping sound levels
and is suited for vocals, acoustic
instruments, and loud percussion.
DYNAMIC
Classic cardioid vocal mic with bass

roll-off and an impressive resume,
including many of Michael Jacksons
most famous vocal recordings.
Also widely used in broadcasting.
Sennheiser
MD 421 II $380
DYNAMIC
Cardioid mic with a five-poistion

bass roll-off switch, which allows
you to filter out unwanted low
frequencies. Good mic for live and
recording situations, particularly for
bass drum, brass, and narration.
CONDENSER (MEDIUM DIAPHRAGM)
This medium diaphragm condenser

was designed with the home studio
owner in mind. Use it to record vocals,
acoustic instruments, strings, or as an
overhead mic for drums
Audio Technica
AT4050 $699
Blue Microphones
Baby Bottle $399
Beyerdynamic M 160 $699

RIBBON
Hyper-cardioid mic with two ribbons

and a wide range of uses, including
strings, horns, electric guitar amps, and
drums. Ever hear When The Levee
Breaks by Led Zeppelin? Thats an M
160 on Bonhams drums. Its brother
is the M 130 ($699) a figure-8 (bi-directional) dual ribbon microphone.
Mojave AudioMA-100 $798

A tube condenser with interchangeable

cardioid and omnidirectional capsules,
the MA-100 gets rave reviews for use on
string ensembles, snare drums, toms,
guitar amps, and acoustic guitar.
Blues entry-level large diaphragm

cardioid condenser is a lot of
mic for the money, recommended for vocals, percussion, and
any acoustic instrument. By the
way, Blue stands for Baltic
Latvian Universal Electronics.
AKG D12 $499

DYNAMIC
The D12 VR is a large diaphragm

cardioid dynamic microphone.
Specifically designed for recording
kick-drum, this mic is widely
used for bass guitar as well.
Neumann KM 184 $850

A studio staple cardioid condenser described as accurate and exceptional on

all things stringed. Best used in rooms
with good acoustics as its accuracy can
accentuate your rooms trouble spots,
particularly if there are any extraneous
sound sources (computers, fans, etc.).
$500$1,000
$1,000-$2,000
AKG C414 XLS $849
Featuring nine polar patterns for a

wide variety of uses, the C414 is a
thoroughbred vocal mic with a long
history (it was first introduced in
1971). It is also exceptional on acoustic guitar and piano. The C414 XL II
($1,099) is an excellent mic for acoustic instruments, and one that adds
a bit of brightness on guitar amps.
Shure KSM44A $999

Multi-pattern (cardioid, omnidirectional, and figure-8) condenser

mic that works well on just about
any sound source, including piano,
acoustic guitar, and strings. Also a
nice choice when a little more richness in tone would benefit a vocalist.
Blue Microphones
Woodpecker $999
RIBBON
An active (accepts phantom

power) ribbon, the Woodpecker
has an output signal that exceeds
typical ribbon mics. Great for brass,
acoustic guitars, and amps, though
the higher output might require mic
placement experimentation to quiet
down some of the
high end output.
Neumann
TLM 103 $1,100
The next step up from the 102,

the TLM 103 is also a cardioid mic
used by professional broadcasters
and pro studios around the world.
Boasting a very natural sound, for a
high-level home studio, this is a
high-quality general purpose mic.
Mojave Audio
MA-300 $1,295
Mojave, which is Royers non-ribbon division, expanded on the

MA-200
tube condenser (a fixed cardioid)
to include multiple patterns
(continuously variable from
omni to figure-8). Use on vocals,
as overheads, percussion, and
especially acoustic guitar.
Royer R-121 $1,295

RIBBON
A figure-8 ribbon mic that delivers

clean and warm tones and can
take a huge amount of SPL. Use
them on everything, from vocals
to drums to horns. The R-101
($799) is a smaller, less expensive
mic which gets accolades for
sounding almost as good. Both
have a bi-directional polar pattern,
and Royer has sound clips of the
101 vs. 121 on their website.
sE Electronics
Gemini II $1,499
A dual tube cardioid condenser

that is physically heavy (a big mic
with two tubes will tend to be),
that provides a balanced sound
with good string definition on
acoustic guitars and colored,
detailed mids on vocals.
Blue Microphones
Kiwi $1,999
Multiple polar patterns (controlled

by a rotary switch) range from
omni to cardioid to figure-8 with
three intermediate positions in
between. The Kiwi is described
as smooth as silk, is ideal for
all kinds of acoustic instruments
and percussion, and provides
clarity in diction for both
male and female vocalists.
OVER $2,000
Neumann U 87 Ai $3,200
CONDENSER (L ARGE DIAPHRAGM)
Professional studio, multi-pattern

(omni, cardioid, figure-8) condenser
mic that delivers unparalleled
detail and dynamic sound, the U
87s sonic signature can be heard
on many hit records. Selected by
Sound on Sound magazine readers
as the best microphone, period.
AKG C12 VR $4,999

CONDENSER (L ARGE DIAPHRAGM)
The AKG C12s history dates back to

the early 50s. Manufactured in
Austria, it is widely regarded as the
most exclusive and sought after
mic ever built. A vacuum tube mic
with nine polar patterns, AKGs C12
VR is a modern take on the original.
MONITORS,
PREAMPS & MORE
THE ESSENTIAL GEAR TO GET
YOUR STUDIO OFF THE GROUND
f youve outfitted space in your home for the purpose of recording music, step two is amassing the gear
for the task at hand. This section can serve as a checklist for things you already have, need immediately,
will put off until later, and what youll be requesting for birthdays and anniversaries to come.
CABLES
Cables are a necessary component in any studio, but may be one of those things you overlook when considering how to spend your money. There is a wide range of options a 20foot instrument cable can range in price from
$9 to $180. As a matter of practicality, if youre
outfitting a home studio, spending hundreds of
dollars on a single cable is overkill. What you do
want to focus on is using the proper cable for
thats why it needs amplification. An instru-
the larger the diameter of the wire, the better
ment cable is a low power/high impedance ca-
the flow of the signal to the speakers. The wires
ble with one small diameter (usually 24 gauge)
are insulated, encased in a filler, and wrapped
positive wire typically copper, silver, or alu-
in an outer jacket.
minum that carries this weak signal.
A microphone cable is also built to carry a rela-
The instrument cable is insulated and shielded,
tively weak signal from the microphone, and
or it would pick up noise from external sources
consists of one pair (sometimes two pairs) of
that would cause humming or buzzing, and could
twisted wire. Those cables are insulated, en-
even pick up radio frequencies. In addition to the
cased in a filler, are shielded (like the instrument
internal shielding, there is the outer casing and
cables to prevent external interference), and

wrapped in an outer casing.
CABLE CHOICES
Performers may already have found their instrument cable of choice, and theyll want to use that
in a recording situation, but having functional instrument cables on hand is necessary, and buying for quality and longevity is recommended.
Depending on the brand and number of cables,
youre looking at spending anywhere from $30
to $150 on instrument cables.
the proper function, and not going to the extreme cheap end to save a few bucks.
Speaker, Instrument,
& Microphone Cables
For your studio monitors, investing in decent

the -inch jacks that complete the cable. The
speaker cables is worthwhile, as is buying the
quality of the material of all of these components,
right length. Likely, youll not need anything
and the quality of the assembly, goes into the cost
much longer than 15 feet, so dont go buying
of your cable.
50-foot cables to plug in your near field monitors. Depending on length and quality, you can
An instrument cable is built to convey a weak,
A speaker cable is built to convey a strong sig-
un-amplified signal. Your guitar or bass is put-
nal from an amplifier to a speaker and has two
ting out a small DC current with a small voltage
wire conductors, with a relatively large diameter,
Microphone cables are more difficult to predict,
to allow greater signal flow. Generally speaking,
it depends on your space and requirements. If
CHAPTER 5: MONITORS, PREAMPS & MORE
spend anywhere from $30 to $100 for a pair.
youre recording drums and miking a rhythm sec-
Another use for a preamp is software moni-
tion at the same time, you could have a need for
toring. If your DAW or computer doesnt have
fifteen mic cables. Length comes into play here
the processing power to utilize your systems
as well, depending on whether you need to make
plug-ins on the way in, or if youre taxing your
it into an adjacent room or not.
DAWs mixer, you can experience latency is-
As such, mic cables can easily add up to hundreds of dollars. Purchasing high-end cables for
every mic in your arsenal is probably not prac-
sues. Using an external preamp will ease the

burden on the mixer and improve your working
conditions considerably.
tical, so obtaining high-performance cables for
Preamps can come equipped with compres-
acoustic guitar and vocal mics is worthwhile, and
sors, equalizers, channel strips, and the like
you can get away with something less expen-
and can cost many thousands of dollars but a
sive for electric guitar, bass, and drum mics.
simple, single function preamp can run anywhere from $70$500.
PREAMP
A mic preamplifier is an electronic amplifier that
prepares a weak electrical signal, such as that
from an instrument or microphone cable, for further amplification or processing. Because microphones provide a low signal, using a preamp is a
way to boost the signal before it gets to the recording console. This helps with the purity of the
signal as well, as the chance of interference can
be lessened. By keeping the sound source close
to the preamp using a shorter and well-insulated
cable, the amplified source will be cleaner, and
the signal-to-noise ratio is solely dependent on
the noise figure of the preamp.
A quality external mic preamplifier is a great

place to put your money, says Raison. A particular preamplifier might represent a certain colored sound, while another represents a very
pure and accurate sound. In Philly Sound Studios, in addition to the various preamplifiers in the boards, we have 20 or more additional mic amplifiers because each one
sounds different. We might use one preamp on bass and another on vocals, one
on
piano
and
another
to
collect
room
sounds based on the color and sound each

produces. Its a great way to optimize sound in
your recording.
Preamps can also be used as signal boosters for

the ubiquitous SM 57 and your other workhorse
mics for much the same reason. The hotter and
MONITORS
When considering what you want from a moni-
cleaner the signal, the better the final result of
tor, consider this: within your budget, you want
your recording.
something that will give you as clear a vision of

what youve recorded as possible. Some of the
less expensive monitors have the byproduct of
being colored in one direction or another. You

can very easily spend more than $1,000 just on
monitors, but if youre relying on your studio to
produce final mixes, there are compelling arguments why they are worth that investment. But
if youre looking for a solid reference point, you
can buy a good pair of monitors and still have
money to spare for all the other gear youll need.
PURCHASING THE RIGHT MONITORS

A lot of what makes a pair of monitors right for you is all about preference. Tweeters and drivers
are made out of different materials. Domes can be made of titanium or aluminum, which will be
a bit crispy, or Mylar or silk, which are softer. Speaker cone can be made of paper, doped paper,
polypropylene, Kevlar, or metal. The enclosure and design of the driver will also contribute to
the sound of the speaker (particularly in reproducing bass tone), so hearing a variety of options
and choosing the one that best suits your ear is recommended.
Another consideration is having two or more sets of monitors. Being able to A/B from a larger pair
of speakers to a smaller pair, for instance, can help give you different perspectives and information on the same mix.
Unpowered (Passive) Monitors
engineers perspective, is one that gives a truly
icantly more abuse. Cheap cables can cut out,
Passive monitors need an external source of
clear representation of the recorded sounds,
headphones get dropped or pulled off a perfor-
amplification to boost the signal between the
without added color or filtering. Consumer-ori-
mers head by accident, and whipping head-
mixer and the monitor. While you may save mo-
ented headphones are designed to boost bass
phones on and off during a session takes its toll.
ney on the monitors, it does necessitate the pur-
and highs and sweep out the mids, which is not
chase of a power amp. Plenty of options ex-
what you want if you are relying on your head-
ist, and a search on your favorite gear site will re-
phones for an accurate mix.
tension cables. Being able to feed a long enough
For a mixing and recording engineer, a set of
line than your headphones will provide, so plan
cans that are sealed and that have a flat respon-
on one extension cable per headphone a set of
se are necessary. You can find headphones mar-
five runs $75.
turn power amps specifically suited to the task of

recording. Make sure your power amp can pump
out 50100 percent more power than the speakers require. If your speakers are rated at 120 W
at 4 ohms, youll want a power amp that delivers
One last thing to consider for headphones is exline to someone recording a part will require more
keted as flat response or reference starting
HEADPHONE AMP
in the neighborhood of 200 W at four ohms.
Youre going to need to feed a head-
A power amp in the chain also requires addi-
phone mix to various musicians simulta-
tional cables. A higher gauge speaker cable (16
neously if youre tracking more than one
gauge or better) is what you need to go from
player at a time, and youll need to boost
the power amp to the monitors, but you can
the signal if youre recording an amplifi-
use 24 gauge cables to go to your power
ed guitarist or drummer. There is a huge
amp. There are a host of good options
variety of headphone amps and mixers
for power amps ranging from $200
on the market, and the price range de-
$350, and passive monitors start a-
pends on the number of inputs, function-
round $200 a pair and go up into the
ality, degree of control, and the amount
multi-thousand dollar range.
of power you want.
Powered (Active)
A really basic four-channel headphone
Active monitors have built-in amplifi-
trols can be found for under $25, but
amp/mixer with individual volume con-
ers, with separate amps for the sepa-
chances are, if you need any degree of
rate drivers. Benefits of powered mon-
sophistication, you might be in the mar-
itors include fewer cables to buy,
ket for a rack mount unit, which starts
less space taken up, and amps that
at about $150.
are perfectly suited to the drivers.

In a good pair of active monitors,
ACCESSORIES
AND EXTRAS
the frequency splitting can be more

accurate than in a passive system.
When an audio signal is sent to your powered
monitors, a crossover splits the signal into the
appropriate frequency ranges before theyre
sent to the individual drivers, and the cabinet
houses an amplifier for each driver. The frequency band splitting is performed on the line input
signal directly prior to the amplifiers.
Active monitors run in desktop sizes that start
at $99 a pair (for a 20 W speaker). Something
comparable to the 120 W passive speakers
referenced earlier start at about $450 a pair.
HEADPHONES
Your accessories list can be extensive, dependat $60, but to step up to mixing quality phones,
ing on your environment and preferences, but
youll find the entry level is probably more like
if youre working with a computer, consider a
$100. You can spend plenty more than that, and
fader port for as little as $60, you can use
a high-end headphone can run up to $400.
faders and pan knobs from a small, eight-fader
Of course, youll need more than one pair of

headphones, and what is true for the mixing en-
port and use your hands to control your software

rather than a mouse and keyboard.
gineer is not true for the recording/perform-
Like cables, microphone stands and accesso-
ing artist. Quality phones that cut out external
ries are an expense you might overlook when
noise will always be valued, but for playback
budgeting for your studio. Boom stands can run
and performance purposes, the artist can get
around $30 each, and mounting clips for drums,
by with something substantially less than refer-
gooseneck adaptors, and a pop filter for vocal
ence headphones.
recording are items youll want to have on hand.
Like monitors, quality and clarity are almost
Here, though, is where durability should be con-
Music stands and guitar stands are also good
synonymous when considering headphones. An
sidered. Youll be sure to take good care of a pair
to have on hand for your performing musicians,
excellent set of headphones, from a recording
of headphones you dropped $150 or more on,
and can run from $10$40 each.
but the cans the artists are using will get signif-
HOW TO RECORD ______

IN YOUR HOME STUDIO
TIPS FOR RECORDING GUITARS,
BRASS, PIANO, DRUMS, & VOCALS
ome truths are universal when it comes to audio recording: quality sounds, quality mics, and proper mic placement are three important variables that contribute to a good recording. Other variables,
including the acoustic environment and type of sound/instrument being recorded, are more spe-
cific to a given recording session, though certain fundamentals will provide a starting point. This
chapter profiles common instruments you might find yourself recording in your home studio, and will start you
off in the right direction. Where you go from there is largely up to the sounds youre chasing in your head.
If you want to add additional mics, listen for the
with. Well assume that youre not going direct
different qualities in the sound of the room as
to tape (or disc), though that is a viable option.
the player is performing and determine if things
Amp emulators are very useful and sometimes
are sounding good. If they are, use a mic to cap-
necessary in a home studio environment, but
ture that quality, using your ears to identify the
well address the prospect of recording a live
best spot in the room to place it.
amp in the studio.
Another option, if you are using an acoustic gui-
A guitarists go-to sound will often include a
tar with a pickup, is to send the pickup signal to
maxed out amp at serious volume levels, but that
another track. Pickups can often deliver a more
might not be a possibility for the studio environ-
focused bass response, so you can boost the gui-
ment, which means you need to be able to get a
tars low end to compliment the mics mid and up-
tone both the guitar player and the engineer can
per frequencies. A final approach is to amplify an
love at a workable volume. Take the extra time
acoustic guitar through a cabinet for a more com-
to do some source monitoring listening back
Experimenting to find the sweet spot of the in-
pressed, focused sound. Rather than plugging
to the recorded tone to make sure what you have
strument is worth the effort, and can be achiev-
straight into an amps input, try going to an ex-
on record matches everyones expectations.
ed by plugging one ear and using the other as
ternal mic preamp, and then into the effect return
a mic, moving around until you find the spot
of the guitar amp to bypass the amps preamp.
ACOUSTIC GUITAR
As with every acoustic instrument you record
with a microphone, the major factors in capturing
great tone from an acoustic guitar are: the quality of the player, the quality of the guitar, the type
(and quality) of the microphones, your choice
of mic placement, and the tonality of the room.
If you have a beautiful sounding guitar, most
any microphone can do the trick, though a
small diaphragm condenser is probably the mic
of choice in this situation, as it will pick up the
transients of the plucked string.
where the tone sounds best. Some ideas for a

starting point with mic placement for an acoustic include: one foot from the instrument, with the
mic pointing at the spot where the neck meets
the body; two feet away, with the mic pointing
at the bridge; 1824 inches away, pointed at the
12th fret. Ultimately, the tone youre looking for,
the amount of pick and string sound, and the
Miking a guitar amp is simple enough, though

there are many variations to consider. Finding the
And no matter what, exclaims Raison, change
sweet spot, just as you would for an acoustic
your strings before you record! And if youre
instrument, requires varying your distance and
smart, youll also hand off your guitar to a guitar
spot relative to the speaker. Dont point the mi-
tech who can check the intonation. Spend the
crophone directly at the cone; you need it at a
$25 or $50, and have your local music store set
slight angle to aim it at the sound source. From
the thing up. Its the best investment.
there its about slight adjustments to the angle,

placement, and distance.
amount of fret noise you want will factor into the
ELECTRIC GUITAR
When it comes to mic choice, dynamic mics are
best spot for your recording.
Before recording an electric guitar, you first have
the overwhelming recommendation, mostly as
to get a tone in the studio that everyone can live
CHAPTER 6: HOW TO RECORD ____________ IN YOUR HOME STUDIO
the tone of an electric guitar, across most any
that low frequency of the bass, you might want
When recording an upright piano, you wont be
genre or style of play, comes down to the mids.
to pull that mic back a few feet. In order to hear
able to get a microphone close to the strings like
a low E on the bass correctly, you need to be a-
you can with the baby grand, so you can mic it
bout 30 feet away.
from above, from the perspective of the player,
The reason why guitarists predominantly use

12-inch speakers, says Raison, comes down
to balance. A 12-inch speaker does not have
lots of highs or lows. Its the middle, the crunch,
the bite. Thats why I tend to use dynamic mics
on amps. If you use an expensive large or small
diaphragm condenser that has lots of high- and
low-end extension, youre collecting sound thats
not going to benefit you but that youll have to
deal with when you mix.
A dynamic microphone close up on the paper
cone gets me the results I want. If I want to add
a second mic, Ill put it elsewhere in the room,
sometimes faced away from the cab. That allows
me to pick up the ambient tonality of the amplifier driving the acoustics of the room.
BASS GUITAR
When youre recording an electric bass guitar,
blending a direct injection (DI) line recording with
a micd cabinet is the safest way to make sure
youre going to get the tone youre looking for.
Somewhere in the blend of those tracks, youll
find the tone you need for each song.
The style of music can certainly dictate the
kinds of mics youre going to choose, says
Weiss, and how far the mics going to be away
from the cabinet. But, its always safe to have the
DI. Theres more unaltered information coming
from the DI, and youre getting the fastest transients you can imagine. I tend to concentrate on
the attack of the bass sound with the DI, and the
or from the back. Of course, you can use multi-
PIANO
ple mics and then decide at the board how they
Pianos are incredibly dynamic instruments. They

are very percussive, and they resonate a lot, so
a lot of microphones can get overdriven with a
should be combined.
Piano plug-ins are a serious consideration for anyone recording piano, in a pro or home studio.
live piano. Also, weather conditions can really
Beware, warns Raison, Piano plug-ins sound
affect a piano. When humidity is high, the piano
spectacular, but they sound so spectacular that
is probably going to sway off of A440 Hz and
sometimes I dont believe them. If youre record-
might have darker tone, which can affect the
ing an acoustic guitar and piano at home, and
sound of a recorded piano from week to week.
the acoustic sounds like a human playing in your
With a grand piano, having the top open or closed will also make a big difference in tone. When
the lid is up, the sound reflects off the bottom
of the lid and is directed outward, and there will
be more articulation. When the top is down, in
most cases, there will be a reflection and resonance from the bottom of the piano.
Microphone placement options vary for a piano
you could potentially use up to five microphones to record a single performance. You can
start with a small condenser microphone pair
in an XY pattern or three condensers split
between the high, low, and middle keys. If a mic
room, and the piano sounds like a Bosendorfer

at The Met, it sounds too good. So even if you
mic an upright with a single dynamic microphone, it will sometimes sound more down-toearth and real, and that has a lot to do with it.
REED & BRASS

INSTRUMENTS
In a recording situation involving brass and reed
instruments, you should probably use more than
one mic, as theres typically a lot of movement and
activity. A professional player who is used to a
studio setting might be able to stay still and work
the mic, but a good approach to get consistent
is placed close to the strings, you can record a
dynamics and a full tone is to use multiple mics to
more percussive sound, where as if youre further
balance the sound as the player moves around.
away, its going to be rounder. Placing a tube mic

next to the players head to get the perspective
The most common approach is to start with a large
of the player is also an option, in addition to
diaphragm condenser mic about 1015 inches in
mics placed in strategic points of the room to
front of the bell. If that sounds too harsh, pull it
collect the ambient sounds.
out a little farther. Dont point the mic directly in-
roundness and the body of the bass I pull out

of the microphone. The micd amp can give you
a lot of that middle and low end tone that youre
not going to get out of a DI.
Just like guitar, the majority of the mics used on
a bass or guitar cabinet are dynamic mics. There
are some situations where you might put a condenser mic on a bass cabinet the Beatles, for in-
Experimenting to find the sweet spot of an instrument can be achieved by plugging one ear and using the
other as a mic, moving around until you find the spot where
the tone sounds best.
stance, often used a Telefunken U47 condenser

on the cabinet. But more common will be something like the AKG D12, which features a larger diaphragm designed to pick up bass frequencies.
For a punchier tone, get closer to the amp with
your mic, says Weiss. For jazz, I might go with a
How important the track is to the song is a big
to the bell, as you might get some wind noise or
influencer in how Ill record it, says Weiss. If its
odd reflectivity back into the mic. Position-
a solo piano piece, and I want the biggest, most
ing the mic at different angles (start at 45 de-
beautiful piano sound ever, Ill place more mics
grees) can help remove the unwanted artifacts.
in the room to collect a variety of sounds.
mic six inches off the cone. If youre trying to get
If your microphone has switchable pickup patterns, set it to a cardioid pattern to begin. You
wouldnt want a hyper-cardioid pattern due to
out of the sax before the threshold is reached.
Of course, another thing thats really important
the movement and activity. Set it somewhere
So much depends on the performer, the room,
is getting the right mic for the right voice. Trad-
between cardioid and omni if your mic has a var-
and the plans for the track in the recording.
itionally, this is where a pro studio will have a leg
iable pattern selector. In some cases, if the room

sounds great, you might consider putting the mic
in omni youll get more of the room sound,
which may work for your recording. The tighter
the pickup pattern, the more directional the mic
will be, and the more focused the sound.
up on a home studio, in owning a variety of
VOCALS
For any recording project that includes a vocal,
capturing the ultimate performance might require
some push and pull between the producer and
the talent, and often the tact and technique of the
high-end vocal mics to choose from. For the

home enthusiast, renting a pro mic is an option,
though you need to know which mic you want
to rent. Allocating money for one or two quality
microphones for vocals is ultimately a good investment, as is having quality preamps to match.
If available, a creative approach for a second mic
producer plays a pivotal role in the quality of the
is to put a ribbon microphone above the player,
recorded performance. The producers experi-
There are other simple tips that will make a big
34 feet above the instrument. One quality of
ence plays a big part in this.
difference when embarking on the vocal take in
a ribbon mic and a reason they were the goto when recording horns is a ribbon mic has a
I usually go in, put the mic up, and let the vocalist
way of removing any of the harsh tonal quali-
run through the track a few times, advises Weiss.
ties from brass and reed instruments.
Ill let them roll for a little bit, and Ill tell them Im
not even listening, Ive got the monitors down,
If youre in a situation where you only have one mic,
but once in a while Ill listen in to see where they
move it around the room until you find the sweet
are. Theres a standard that every producer is look-
spot where youre getting the best available tone.
ing for from a vocal take. The type of song has a lot
In some cases, says Weiss, you might not be

searching for that perfect tone. You already have
to do with how much emotion you want to pull out

of the artists. Youve got to feel the artist out.
your home studio. A gigantic red flag for me,

says Raison, is when I hear a recording done
without a pop filter. The air motion from the ps
and bs, when they hit the diaphragm, will cause
it to break up, and its the worst sound you can
get on a vocal. Im not suggesting you use a
slide on, foam windscreen. Were talking about
a four- to five-inch disk that has thin, acoustically
transparent nylon. When the plosives come out
of your mouth, the pop filter stops the air veloc-
Another must is getting a good mix in the headphones. Work with the vocalist and
make sure shes happy with what shes hearing before you start recording.
your mix, youre recording a sax solo, and you
need it to rip through the mix, so you already
know what instruments you need this to sit on
top of. Move the mic around the horn to find
that sound you need to get the right presence
from the sax.
If youre in a room thats small or doesnt have
great acoustic control, youll probably get a lot of
resonant frequencies from a horn or reed instrument. Using some type of baffle in the room or around the mic is one approach to keep the energy
concentrated and dampened around the mic.
It starts with creating a relaxed environment for

the vocalist, which could mean getting as many
people out of the control/recording room as pos-
to a better sounding recording.
sible. The vocalist is often going to be more com-
Another trick is to try different distances to the
fortable if its just the engineer recording the
microphone. Four inches can make a substantial
performance and maybe a producer or one oth-
difference in the tonality of ones voice. You need
er band mate there to monitor the session.
to be cognizant of the amount of ambience be-
Another must is getting a really good mix for the

vocalist in the headphones. While a lot of engi-
ing recorded on a vocal. One tip I give people

in home recording situations is to build a vocal
booth out of quilts. In a home studio I had, I would
neers wont put delay or reverb on a track until
hang up quilts in the laundry room, just to knock
they mix, with vocals, you might want to pick out
out the ambience. Or stick the microphone in a
a reverb and put that on the track in their cans.
closet between a bunch of coats and sing into
Work with the vocalist and make sure theyre
the coats. Coats are fabric, they absorb.
Another tool to aid in recording sax is to use an
happy with what theyre hearing in their ears be-
audio compressor. A saxophone tends to be very
fore you start the recording process.
dynamic, so the same approach you might use
ity from hitting the diaphragm. Its a $20 solution
DRUM KIT
A recommendation to getting a great vocal track
Recording a full drum kit in a home studio pos-
is to record and keep multiple tracks. What sounds
es numerous challenges. Employing multiple
good at the end of the night might not sound as
mics requires owning numerous microphones,
With a sax, theres a distinct bite at the begin-
good the next day. A rule of thumb is to have three
stands, and cables not to mention utilizing
ning of the sound, says Weiss. If youre using
full tracks recorded, and from there you can build
the proper placement and techniques to avoid
a compressor and youre finding that the top of
a comp track or a finished track thats a com-
phase problems, room anomalies, and acoustic
the note is being lost in the mix, you can pull the
bination of the best lines from the three.
issues. Recording stellar drum kit tracks requires
on vocals also works great for smoothing out the

dynamics of a sax.
attack time up a little bit so that you get that bite
skill, patience, and the right room.
type of drum, tuning, and preference of the play-
But that doesnt mean you cant record drums
(or has removed it) to facilitate the removing
at home. One consideration is to use fewer mic-
and adding of muffling material. Make sure the
er. But in general, its the combination of the top
rophones. Sometimes just a kick microphone,
beater head is evenly tuned before adding muf-
drum head and the rattling snares that youre try-
and a stereo pair either overhead, in front of,
fling. Thin sandbags work very well as a muffling
ing to capture. The snare sound is also going to be
or behind the drummer can provide function-
agent in a kick drum. Pillows, sweatshirts, foam,
judged against the sound of the kick. In a stan-
al tonality and stereo image. Adding another
and blankets can also be used, though be aware
dard 4/4 set up, the snare is the answer to the kick
mic for snare is also an option, and taking the
that some of these materials can absorb some of
drum, and the snare and kick have to work togeth-
time to be creative with your mic placement and
the high frequency energy of the drums tone.
er to pull the song forward.
Mic techniques can run a gamut of possibilities,
Depending on your degree of patience and ex-
but placing one microphone inside the middle
pertise, using anywhere from one to three mics
Tuning the drums before a session is also of
of the drum, pointed at the beater at a 45-de-
on a snare can do the trick. Aim a unidirectional
huge importance. I sometimes work with drum-
gree angle, is a standard place to start. For a
dynamic mic, coming in from the hi-hat side, at
mers for hours to get their drums tuned to where
more tappy sound, push the mic closer to the
the spot where the drummer is hitting the drum.
I think theyre going to reproduce correctly to
head. Using a disc (Remo makes the Falam Slam)
Angling the mic toward the rim will change the
tape, says Weiss. Its not uncommon for a
or even taping a coin to the beater side of the
tone, and give you more of a ringing sound.
drummer to have their kit tuned to where they
drum will also increase that slapping sound of
practice and gig with it, and it sounds great.
the beater striking the drum.
source monitoring to ensure youre capturing a

well-balanced mix is key.
Then you put a mic on the tom in a studio setting and its ringing like mad. Getting the drums
ready for recording is an important step.
Another consideration, not specific to tone, but
rather to performance, is to use a click track. If
its a jazz track, or something more organic that
needs room to ebb and flow with regard to tempo, you can forego this, but a click track not only
promotes a solid tempo for the entire song, it
enables you to edit and add to the track after
the tracks have been recorded. The potential for
rearranging parts, swapping sections, adding
rhythmic elements, altering arrangements for
the drum tracks and any other is made possible with the use of a click track.
Kick Drum
Start by listening to the drum with no muffling.
Ideally, the drummer has a hole in the front head
On the bottom head, to capture the rattle of

the snare, position a large diaphragm condens-
Adding a second mic, placed a foot or more in
er, starting at a 45-degree angle to the head.
front of the front head, is an option, as is isolating
Avoid placing this mic parallel to the head, or
that mic with a heavy blanket or pad.
you could blow out your mic. A third mic that
Ill make a teepee, says Weiss. Ill take a boom

mic stand at a 90-degree angle, and place the
arm of the boom on top of the kick drum making sure theres foam or something between the
stand and the drum so I dont scratch the drum.
Then I take a heavy blanket, like a moving blanket, and make a tent out of it. At the end of the
tent,I put a shotgun microphone, and thats where
I get the extended low end. You can use any mic,
but I prefer the sound of the shotgun. If you have
the mics and the inclination, you can even add an
additional mic on the beater side of the drum.
Snare Drum
The ideal snare sound for any given recording is
going to depend largely on the style of music,
can add a chunky body to your snare sound is a

small diaphragm condenser placed a half inch
off the side of the drum, pointed directly at the
middle of the drum between the rims. Combining these two or three mics can give you a variety of sounds to blend for different tones on
different tracks.
Toms
A condenser or dynamic mic of choice on the
toms is standard, with the mic angled toward the
spot the drum is being hit. As with the snare, angling the mic toward the rim will give more of
a ringing tone to the drum, and damping the
drum with tape or O rings is often necessary
in the studio environment. Some ringing is usually sought after, but an abundance of it can be
a problem.
Overheads
Small diaphragm condensers placed in a stereo
pair above the drums fill out a drum mix and provide the high frequency energy from the cymbals
and snare. Crossing the mics in an XY pattern
above the center of the kit (anywhere from three
to six feet above the kit) or placing one mic over
the bell of the ride cymbal and the other above
the hi-hat are two common approaches to these
mics. As with anything, experimenting is key, as
every drummer and every drum kit will produce
different results in your room.
USING PROCESSORS
& EFFECTS
HOW COMPRESSORS, GATES, REVERB, DELAY
(& MORE) CAN HELP YOUR RECORDINGS
n addition to your microphones, Digital Audio Workstation (DAW), console, and room, an essential part
of any home studio set-up is your signal processing gear. From the dynamics control of compressors,
limiters, and gates to the effects processing of reverb and delay, these tools are integral to producing
a professional-sounding product.
For an inexperienced engineer, the precise functions of these effects can be somewhat mysterious, and the
overuse of plug-ins and outboard gear is commonplace even among the pros. Understanding how processors
like compressors and limiters function, and knowing how and when to use effects such as delays and reverbs,
will make you a better producer and help to enhance the quality of your recordings.
DYNAMICS CONTROL
Compressor
Compressors are typically used on any perfor-
vocal level drops to an intimate, whispery style,
mance that includes a wide range of dynamics.
and the signal is getting lost in the mix. Here is
Lets assume youre recording a song where the
a situation where compression will do the trick.
In audio recording, a compressor reduces the
vocals have verses that are dynamically consis-
amount of output signal level in relation to the
tent, and at a moderate volume, but in spots the
Depending on how great of a dB variation there
input signal level, according to a given ratio, be-
is, start by setting the ratio to approximately half
ginning at your user-defined threshold In other
the difference between the highest and lowest
words, it brings the loudest sounds down, and
vocal level on the track. For example, if there is
brings the softest sounds up.
a 10 dB difference between the vocals dynamic

high and low point, you can set the compressors
To what extent a compressor will affect the dy-
ratio to 5:1. Now reduce the threshold setting to
namics of a track is determined by the ratio set-
the point at which you want the gain reduction of
ting. First, you set a threshold for the output sig-
the vocal to start.
nal, then you set your ratio. A compression ratio

of 2:1 means that for any sound exceeding your
Once applied, you may find that the overall vocal
threshold, you are reducing it by 50 percent ()
level has been reduced considerably after being
relative to your threshold. A sound that is 2 dB
processed by the compressor. It is often neces-
over the threshold will be reduced to 1 dB over,
sary to raise the output gain of the compressor to
something thats 4 dB over will be reduced to 2
bring the vocal back to a usable listening level.
dB. A ratio of 4:1 reduces the output by 75 percent () relative to the threshold, so a sound that
is 4 dB over the threshold will be reduced to 1 dB
over. Its as if you were riding the gain on a console fader: when the input signal gets too loud,
you pull the fader down, lowering the gain. When
the signal gets too soft, you push the fader up.
CHAPTER 7: USING PROCESSORS & EFFECTS
When first applying your compression, you may

actually notice the sound of the gain reduction
being applied, which makes the performance
sound unnatural. This can be addressed by adjusting the attack and release parameters. Attack is how quickly the detector circuit picks
up and affects an input signal that exceeds the
threshold. Release is how long the compressor
the new track and set the limiters ratio to the
Loop the phrase so it plays continuously, then
stays in effect after its been triggered.
maximum value. Now adjust the threshold to a
insert the noise gate on the floor tom track and
point at which both the scream and growl vo-
set the threshold level to the point at which
cals produce the same ouput signal level. With
the hit on the tom just barely opens the gate.
a limiter you can easily knock down the louder
N ow adjust the attack, hold, and release param-
scream so its equal to the growls volume.
eters to achieve the desired effect, reducing the
Lets say you want the bass track to sound punchier that is, you want to make sure the attack
at the beginning of every note gets articulated
clearly. Set the attack time at 10 milliseconds, so
the attack at the beginning of the note doesnt
get compressed, but the body of the note does.
Youre telling the detector circuit not to kick in
right away, but to kick in after 10 milliseconds.
Another setting on some compressors is the
mix button, which determines how much of the
unprocessed signal comes through in the output. You can have it on full, which means, youre
hearing nothing but the compressed signal, or
mix it in so that theres a blend of compressed
and uncompressed signal.
The harder you hit a compressors detector circuit, the more youll hear it, warns Weiss. Ultimately, you want to control the dynamics but
you dont want to hear what the processor is doing. It can severely change the sound of the instrument if its overused. At the same time, its absolutely critical in recording. Ive never heard a
source vocals, guitar, bass that didnt need
compression of some kind.
An expander is the opposite of a compressor.

Where compression takes a given dynamic change
and reduces it, an expander increases it, so louder sounds get louder and softer sounds get softer. Theres a threshold, an attack, release, ratio
the same controls youll find on a compressor.
In fact, some compressors can function as an expander. When a signal comes in that is below the
threshold, an expander boosts the signal to be
above it.
An expander could be used with percussion,
says Weiss, if you really want to accent the
harder strokes, or maybe on bells that have sort
of flat lined and you need them to be more expressive. On some occasions, expanders can
undo compression mistakes. If youve over compressed something, sometimes, if youre lucky,
an expander can bring back some of that dynamic range.
Noise Gate
Limiter
A limiter is basically a compressor, but where
compressors have a variable output level, limiters have a fixed output level. A limiter allows
you to set a maximum output level that will not
be exceeded, regardless of the amount of input
signal level. So while it can be described as a
60:1 ratio, or
Expander
:1 ratio, anything that exceeds
your defined threshold is brought down to the

output level youve defined.
Lets say in your latest recording project there
are phrases where the singer screams and growls
at a much louder volume and with much more dynamic range than the verses. This is where you
might choose a limiter.
First, if the verses and the screaming phrases
are on the same track, its a good idea to separate the sections by copying the screaming and
growling vocals to a new track. Lets say the
screaming is consistently much louder than the
growl, and the growl is near the level you want
the verse vocal to be. Apply the compressor on
Noise gates function by setting a threshold level that determines the amount of input signal required to open the gate, then only letting the
selected audio pass through to the gates output.
Any sounds that come in below the threshold
value will not open the gate in other words, they
will effectively be removed from the track.
Like compressors and limiters, the noise gate has
a user-definable threshold, provides variable
gain reduction, and offers attack, hold, and release time parameters. Some gates also have selectable frequency ranges where you can focus
on everything from 1k down (for example), or 1k
up, or a custom range of frequencies. This func-
long decay.
Noise gates are very useful when you need to eliminate any unwanted incidental sounds that
may have been recorded. For instance, use one
on vocals to eliminate breathing sounds between lyrical phrases, or on a distorted lead guitar to eliminate overdrive noise between lead
passages. Noise gates can even be used on the
stereo mix bus output to really tighten the breaks
in the song.
Noise gates can also create problems, since everything recorded on the track you are gating is
eliminated according to the gates envelope, including any ambient leakage. This can sometimes
cause a perceptible and distracting dropout on
a given track. To address this, many gates have
a balance or mix parameter, which allows you to
choose how much of the original signal and how
much of the gated signal is heard.
With a drum kit, for instance, theres typically
so much noise in the room, and all of that combined noise is contributing to make up the overall sound of the drums. While you might want to
gate the snare and kick, you dont want to do a
hard gate and lose all the ambient noise. Using
a blend of the gated and direct source allows
you to balance the two so you lose the distracting
noise without compromising the overall sound of
the drums.
EQ
An equalizer, or EQ, is a frequency-specific amplifier, and it comes in two basic flavors: graphic or
parametric. Both essentially make tonal adjustments by increasing or decreasing a frequencys
amplitude, but in the case of the graphic EQ, the
tion makes the unit a lot more accurate.
bands are set at fixed center frequencies across
Lets say youve got a floor tom track in which the
may vary from five to 30.
drum was close micd, and listening back critically, the five-second decay blurs the toms definition. You can live with some of the ringing tone,
but you want to clearly hear the attack of each
hit on the floor tom. This is a situation where a
noise gate can be very effective.
the 2020k Hz bandwidth. The number of bands
A parametric equalizer is more complex. It controls more parameters of the sound and can
control the level, the primary frequency, and
the range of each frequency.
To better explain the use of EQ, lets use a drum
ing the EQ to brighten the transient attacks,
the source slightly delayed from the original
track as an example. During recording, its often
the kick sounds fat, but now has the attack to
sound. The effect of the reverb depends on the
difficult to distinguish between the direct sound
punch through the mix without overpowering
size and depth of the space, and where the lis-
of the drums in the room and what was being re-
the other tracks.
tener is in relation to the direct sound. Of course

the reflections off the floor, walls, and ceiling
corded. N ow at mix, youre hearing things you did

not notice during the tracking session, including
the fact that the kick drum sounds a bit tubby.
After placing a limiter on the kick to even out the
EFFECTS PROCESSORS
Reverb
Both reverb and delay are time and space-relat-
also continue to bounce off of the surfaces in the

space, and listeners perceive all those reflections
at slightly different times, creating the perception of a spacious concert hall.
level, you found the overall kick drum timbre did
ed, and they are most easily differentiated by
not cut through. The large diaphragm dynamic
the discrete time that elapses between the orig-
Back in the days at Sun Studios when Elvis was
mic you placed on the kick delivered a deep fat
inal sound and its delayed reflection. Reverb is
recording, explains Weiss, theyd have a tiled
bottom, but the mid-range frequencies are over
one of the oldest and most widely-used time-
room with a speaker on one side and a micro-
emphasized and the top-end frequencies are
based effects. It can add lush ambient room
phone in the other. Using an effects send, theyd
weak. To make adjustments relating to frequen-
sound to any instrument. Like delays, reverbs
send his vocal track through this effects channel,
cy, the EQ is the right tool.
generate multiple wave fronts, but there are a
and re-record the performance from across the

tiled room and achieve reverb.
To fine tune the kick drum, a 7band parametric EQ might do
The next generation of reverb
the trick. In the case of the kick
units were plate and spring re-
drum, the low-mid to mid-range
verbs. Theyd send the signal
frequencies 500 Hz to 2.5k
through a long spring, or a se-
Hz might be the culprit caus-
ries of them, and theyd produce
ing the tubby kick sound.
reverb. Or there was a plate, lit-
Tune the EQs frequency band
erally a thin plate of sheet met-
to emphasize the tubbiness in
al inside of a box, with pickups
both amplitude and bandwidth.
on it, and youd adjust the re-
Dont be afraid to be extreme
verb time by how much you were

dampening the plate with a
with the frequencys amplitude control, you want to
piece of felt. Even now, I
really hear the influen-
dont think digital pro-
ce of the EQ on the kick
cessors can really rep-
drums sound. Once you
licate the sound of that
have found the frequen-
plate reverb.
cy at which the tubby
Todays reverbs emulate a
sound is most extreme,

drag the frequency point
Its easiest to think of these fronts as reflections of the original sound, like the way an instrument
clude a concert hall, room,
into negative values. This

should greatly reduce the
proper frequency range
to minimize the kicks unwanted tone.
wide variety of acoustical

spaces. Some of the more
sounds when played in a concert hall.
The technique of emphasizing and then subtracting unwanted frequencies is one way to eliminate annoying hums, rings,
large number of fronts and the time differential

between each front is extremely short.
Its easiest to think of these fronts as reflections
equalized. This technique will also be very effec-
of the original sound, like the way an instrument
tive on a ringing snare drum overtone.
sounds when played in a concert hall. The sound
nition, you can use the same method of experimenting to find the right frequency to boost
and emphasize the kick drums attack. By boost-
church, arena, club, and

stage. Some reverb plugins offer additional emu-
and any other frequency zones that need to be
Finally, to give the kick drum a bit more defi-
common environments in-
generated by the instrument moves out in all directions. It comes directly toward the listener
but it also hits the floor, walls, and ceiling. The
sound reflections from these surfaces return to
lations taken from the analog reverb days such as plate, spring, and chamber. In all cases there are a few common parameters that can be selected and adjusted.
Reverb type refers to the room being emulated
(hall, room, etc.). Reverb size refers to how large
of a space you can create. Diffusion is a parameter that determines how far apart each reflection
spreads out from the instrument, giving a sense
of depth. Decay adjusts how fast the reflections
die out after the initial attack of the sound. Predelay is the parameter that determines the time
differential between the direct sound and the
point at which listeners perceive the reverb reflections. Finally, most reverbs have low and high
cut filters that can reduce or increase harmonic partials as a part of the reverbs reflections.
These filters are very useful to create transparency within the reverb process.
Delay
A delay is a time-based processor that generates
discrete wave fronts of the input signal according
to the delay time. Delay settings of 250 to 500
UNIVERSIT Y OF CALIFORNIA SAN DIEGOS CONRAD PREBYS CONCERT

HALL IS ONE THAT ANY PROCESSOR WOULD LOVE TO EMUL ATE.
milliseconds will create rhythmic interest while

smaller times such as 20 to 80 milliseconds can
create a sense of depth. You can also create echo
precise delay time. The delay also has low and
church hall, apartment building foyer) and clap
highcut filter parameters, so you can change the
your hands loudly and listen to see if there is a
frequency content of the delay generation when
discrete echo. The smaller the room, the closer
feedback is used. You can also modulate the de-
together the original sound and its echo or ech-
Many delays provide rhythmic note values, such
lay time using the depth and rate parameters,
oes will be. Go into a cathedral, and youll hear
as whole, half, quarter, eighth, etc., and offer a
and create variable moving rhythmic echoes.
how the echo time is increased proportional to
effects by increasing the amount of feedback, a

parameter that returns the output of the delay
circuit back into itself.
sync option that times the delay precisely to the

tempo of the original track. A tap delay lets you
tap a sensor pad in time to the music to set your
One simple way to describe a delay is as an echo.
the rooms overall cubic dimension.
Go into a large rectangular room (gym, garage,
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THE MIXING PROCESS

PRACTICAL ADVICE TO MAKE THE MOST
OF YOUR HOME STUDIO MIXES
hen creating a final audio mix at home, so many variables go into producing a professional
result. It starts with having the best possible sounds recorded to begin with, and hopefully the first seven chapters in this guide have helped you in that quest. But having great
tones recorded can be undermined if your room and your monitors are giving you inaccurate information when it comes time to mix.
ROOM AND MONITORS

The acoustics in your mixing environment will
make a huge difference in your ability to correctly interpret the sounds coming out of your
monitors. If you have reflections, or the bass fre-
When it comes to studio monitors, advises
When setting up your monitors and mixing en-
Raison, you want something that will give you
vironment, remember the isosceles triangle rule:
as clear a vision of your music as possible. Some
the proportion of the distance between the speak-
of the less expensive monitors have the by-
ers should be the same to where your engineer-
product of being very colored in one direction
ing sweet spot is.
quencies are being swallowed up, you will find

your final mixes can be wildly out of balance
when you take them to other listening environments. The first key is to optimize your acoustic
environment,and the second is to recognize the
anomalies your studio might present so that you
take them into account when producing a mix.
You cant go wrong if you use a reference, says
Weiss. If youre mixing, and you put on a reference CD and youre constantly switching between what youre mixing and this source material, it gives you something to reference at that
moment, in that environment, and it helps you
avoid mistakes. At a professional level, I dont
know anyone who doesnt use a reference to
help keep their decisions sharp.
GRAMMY-WINNING ENGINEER MIKE TARSIAS SET UP IN PHIL ADELPHIA.

WWW.MIKETARSIA.COM
The next piece of the puzzle is having a good

set of studio monitors in fact, more than one
or another. There are dozens of manufacturers
Remember, explains Raison, sound and time
pair is the norm in any pro environment. An ac-
out there that make beautiful, sweet sounding
go hand in hand, so balance is key. Like I said, if the
curate representation of the tones youve re-
speakers that truly are a lens to the sound, and
speakers are 10 feet apart, your engineers chair
corded is key to making intelligent decisions
thats ultimately what you want.
should be 10 feet fr om the speakers. In a couple
when you mix.
CHAPTER 8: THE MIXING PROCESS
of listening environments I have, the sweet spot
Putting a mix together is much like piecing together a puzzle, both in terms of
panning and the stereo field and the frequency range of each instrument.
is a couple of feet back from the mixing board

so if Im editing, I know that. When it comes time
to really listen, I pull my chair away, lean back,
and Im in the sweet spot.
STEREO FIELD
One key element of the mixing process is carving
a space for the various instruments and sounds
so they fit together into a balanced whole, where
And once again try to stay out of the corners
each element is individually discernible while
of the room. If you dont, youll have one moni-
contributing to the greater whole. Putting a mix
tor outputting in the corner while the other isnt
together is much like piecing together a puz-
dealing with all those reflections. If you can keep
zle, both in terms of the stereo field, and the
away from the corner, youll avoid the potential of
frequency range.
certain low frequencies and low-mid anomalies.
95 percent of the time, if youre trying to meet
Another common mistake in mixing is to pan an

effect, like reverb, too wide on a given instrument. For a snare drum thats right in the middle
of your mix, dont automatically pan the reverb
hard right and left. For a more natural sound,
pan the reverb channels somewhere around 11
oclock and 1 oclock, so the reverb sits on either side of the snare. If you find that sound is
too tight and you want to open the sound up a
little more, incrementally open the panning of
the reverb.
I always recommend being in the center of the
the normal popular music protocol, says Raison,
wall, and if youre going to drive with big speak-
the bass drum, the bass guitar, and the snare
ISOLATE FREQUENCIES
ers, try to put some kind of absorptive com-
drum are right in the middle. But that doesnt
The next concept to understand in the mixing
ponent in the corner. Auralex makes these big
mean it has to be that way. Listen to the Bea-
phase is that the puzzle isnt just an issue of
wedges, a LENRD (Low-End Node Reduction
tles, the Beach Boys, or Radiohead and youll
panning and the stereo field, but also a matter
Device), which is a low frequency absorber. Just
find bands that have done some radical panning.
of fitting the frequencies of the instruments to-
by putting a couple of those in the corners, it can
But the majority of people I know are trying to
gether so they dont occupy the same space.
help tighten the room up.
get on the radio, theyre trying to climb the lad-
Also use multiple listening sources, says Weiss.

Most studios have multiple sets of monitors, and
der, theyre trying to get their music out there,

so were trying to lower the risk.
You need to ask yourself, What frequencies are

overlapping? says Weiss. Its just so common
with people who are inexperienced, that youre
the reason for that is to make sure things translate
From that point, its a matter of your art. Ive spent
going to take each instrument and youre going
well to multiple sources. Its got to sound good
a lot of time behind the drums, so I have the ten-
to solo it, and youre going to EQ it and add ef-
in headphones, on a boom box, on your iPod,
dency to mix from the perspective of the drum-
fects and say, Yeah! Thats the bass sound I want!
your car stereo, in a huge club with mammoth
mer, but Ill never uniformly pan the toms hard
And then you put it into the track and the bass
speakers. Switching between smaller monitors
left or right thats never been a sexy sound
sounds terrible. Its one thing to solo a track to re-
and larger ones will give your ears a chance to
to me. Ill generally leave the toms between 10
move a click or a buzz or some specific thing. But
hear and concentrate on different frequencies
oclock and 2 oclock in the panning. The over-
when youre dealing with EQ and effects, you
during the course of a session.
heads I want radically hard left and hard right,
need to listen to the track among multiple tracks
that adds a spaciousness you just cant create
to help you to carve out the space.
In fact, when youre taking a break, listening to

the mix from outside the room or from a completely different vantage point can help you hear
things you missed sitting in your regular position
at the board. Make a point to let someone else
otherwise. Ill usually bring the hi-hat just a little

bit left of center, because the hi-hat is so critical in the majority of songs, and I dont want hat
one right smack up the middle.
One method of streamlining each track to help

it occupy your preferred space on the frequency spectrum is to remove the frequencies you
dont need. With a bass guitar, for example, the
sit in the big chair once in a while and move to
Weiss adds that One mistake people often
instrument produces low-end and high-end
another place in the room. Dont use this tech-
make is to pan the drums hard right and left, so
articulation, and you can significantly clean up
nique to mix for EQ, youre going to have all sorts
the hi-hat is somewhere behind your head and
the track by removing all the high-frequency en-
of artifacts introduced to the mix from a vantage
the ride cymbal is on the other side and the drums
ergy you dont need.
point down the hall, and bass frequencies will
are just taking up too much of the stereo space.
probably be more prominent. But its a good
The drums are trampling on everything, fight-
way to double check your levels.
ing with the background vocals, fighting with the

stereo guitars, etc.
The same is true with vocals, get rid of the low

frequency information thats below where you
need the vocal to be. This process will remove
the noise of the singer bouncing around the stu-
dio, or inadvertently hitting the mic stand. Its
This process also can often fly in the face of
That said, turning the mix really low at some
going to allow each instrument to be focused,
what you might consider great tone from any
points can help you isolate particular elements
its going to really clean up the mix, and that will
given instrument. Its happened to me a lot,
of the track, including reverb and other effects.
help it translate to all the different speakers and
says Weiss, where the bass player wants to solo
If the vocal track, bass, or snare drum are notice-
systems its going to be played through.
his track in the mix, and hell start saying, Its
ably sticking out of your mix at low volumes, it
got too much of this upper-mid thing going on.
can be an indicator that they are not sitting in
Then you fix it up and put it back in the mix, and
the mix correctly. Its also valuable to listen on
it doesnt cut. It needs that upper mid. Soloing
multiple speakers, and on headphones, as they
the bass sound and trying to get it to sound its
can really help when choosing the level of re-
best on its own is not going to work in almost
verb and other effects.
If Im mixing a project I produced, adds Raison, I mix it differently than if Im mixing something someone handed me to mix. If its something I produced, I already have a vision, and I
approach every move I make to get me closer
to my vision. If someone hires me to do a mix, the
every situation.
first thing I do is I go and listen to each track in-
The sound coming out of the amp isnt always
CHANGE UP THE EFFECTS
dividually to make sure everything is in compli-
the sound thats going to sit best in the record-
As a general rule, says Weiss, one tip regard-
ance. Ill go to the hi-hat, and the overheads, and
ing. Ive had so much trouble with that. Ive also
ing reverb and other effects is not to use the
roll off the lows. Ill go to the guitars and make
had some incredible outcomes, where in the
same reverb for all the instruments. If the various
sure theyre appropriately beefy and sound
end, the bass players like Wow, that sounds
nstruments were cut in different rooms at dif-
good, and Ill process the dynamics of the vo-
so good in the mix! I totally get why you needed
ferent times, you might think adding the same
cals. Then I go back and pair things up. Ill bring
to put that top end on the bass.
reverb to everything is going to help it sound

like everyone was in the same room. But in ac-
up a kick drum and a bass guitar and I make

sure they work in concert with each other, yet
remain defined. If its multiple guitars, Ill start
bringing the guitars together, and Ill shape the
guitars so that each one has its own voice.
Most instruments have go-to frequencies you
can target if youre trying to boost or control a
particular track. For instance, the go-to frequency to pull out of a bass guitar is 250 Hz, as that
frequency tends to muddy up a mix when combined with guitars, drums, and everything else.
VOLUME CONTROL
There are plenty of engineers who insist on feeling the music as much as hearing it, but a general good tip is to get accustomed to mixing and
listening to your mixes at a moderate volume level. When the mix is too loud all the time, you will
likely experience ear fatigue earlier on, and if
its too low, youll be straining to hear the different frequencies you need to concentrate on to
make good decisions.
tuality, youre not helping the instruments find

their own place in the mix that way. Youre going
to want different reverb on the vocals than on
the guitars, and a completely different reverb
on the drums than you do on the bass and the
rest of the instruments.
TIGHTENING UP
THE PERFORMANCE
Heres a great trick to tighten up a drum track
You start losing the definition of the individual
with the bass, says Weiss. Lets say youve got
instruments. Instrument frequencies will over-
a great drum track, and you wish the bass per-
lap each other, so the trick is making room for
formance was more in sync with the kick drum.
each instrument. That might involve learning
Take the bass and put it through a gate. You
how to scoop out the drums to make room for
then take the kick drum and plug it into the side
the bass, and scoop out the bass to make room
chain detector circuit of the gate, so when the
for the guitar. Its all part of working on the
kick drum is hit, the bass becomes amplified.
mixing puzzle.
At first thats going to sound really bizarre, because the bass will only be heard when the kick
drum is hit, and the bass players probably do-
ing something a little more than just following
When mixing, one way to use a bus is to take all
Try to protect your ears in the hours leading up
the kick. So you go to the mix or ratio control,
of the drums and mix them to the point where
to a session by wearing ear plugs or minimizing
and you make sure youre only using like 25 per-
you can raise and lower the volume of the over-
the amount of sound you are exposed to. Tak-
cent of the gated sound of the bass and the oth-
all drum mix with one or two faders. It makes the
ing frequent breaks is the easiest way to min-
er 75 percent is the original signal. So whats
rest of the process a lot easier you can mute
imize the likelihood of getting fatigued to the
happening is the bass guitar signal is being am-
the drums with one button and you can do things
point where youre unable to discern frequen-
plified by 25 percent every time the kick drum is
like compress the bus instead of compressing
cies properly. A good rule of thumb is to take
hit, and that totally tightens up the bass guitar
each individual element, which can make
a break, maybe 15 minutes every two hours.
and makes it sit better with the drummer. There
things sound a lot more cohesive.
Get up from the console, grab a cup of coffee,
are plenty of other uses for this technique, but

this really illustrates it well.
BREADTH
Its an easier way to mix, particularly when you

have a complicated arrangement or a lot of instruments to manage. You can bus drums to a stereo mix, multiple guitar tracks to another stereo
get a bite to eat, make yourself leave the control

room and give your ears a rest. When you find
yourself turning up the volume to hear what you
were having no trouble hearing earlier in the
day, that could be a sign of ear fatigue. Some-
One thing I do in the big studio that I recommend
mix, and the background vocals to another. Ul-
to the home recording enthusiast, says Raison,
timately, youre working with these various ste-
is to cut one good solid bass track and one
reo sub mixes each of which can have effects,
good solid drum performance. Guitars? Cut it
compression, or panning control. If you decide
Ive definitely been there, where my ears are
two or three times. And if you have two acoustic
that the drums are too wide, you can modify
fatigued, but not only that, my brain is fatigued
guitar tracks and theyre almost identical, hard
the panning and tighten them up. Conversely, if
and Im not in a place to make good decisions,
pan them, and the listener wont recognize them
theyre too confined, you can widen them up.
admits Weiss. So its as much that as the ear fa-
as two separate guitars, but rather as one large

guitar with breadth. Its a fantastic technique to
add stereo field without making things jump out.
That can be a valuable asset to the finished mix.
In the realm of digital, if you tried the same thing
times the best decision is to leave a mix in progress and pick it up the next day.
tigue. Thats when your creativity starts to fail.
EAR FATIGUE
Ear fatigue is one of those nebulous conditions
that can occur while recording and more likely
during mix down that you may not even rec-
by just copying the same track and then hard
Youre not thinking I want to make this sound as

good as possible, or thinking about achieving a
sound, youre thinking, Im exhausted and I just
want to finish this and get out of here. Thats
never going to result in your best work.
pan it, itll still sound mono or worse. If you de-
Everything starts to blend together, and it becomes
lay one track a little bit to add some thickness,

itll sound processed. So I recommend you just
cut it one more time. Same goes with vocals.
Dont end up with one lead vocal track, end up
with two or three lead vocal tracks. That way
you can have your main lead vocal, and then you
can bring in that double vocal track on certain
phrases, or the choruses, or to differentiate the
bridge. It all depends on your vision for the
difficult to determine whether something is sitting correctly

in the mix. You pull up the vocal and it sounds too loud, you
pull it back and it disappears. Thats a warning sign that your
ears are fatigued.
project and the needs of the music.
BUSING
One way to look at a bus is as a sub mix. Technically, a bus is a combining amplifier that takes
multiple sources and puts them through a single
ognize is occurring until after the fact. Youre in

the studio, you think youve nailed the mix, then
FIXING IT IN THE MIX

When youre tracking, the last thing you want
the next day, you pull it up and think, What the
to be doing is fixing a technical problem and
heck were we doing? This sounds terrible.
killing the vibe of the session, but the idea of
source or stereo source. In practice, that trans-
You probably wont get a physical sensation in
lates to being a tool that can be used to control
your ears when fatigue starts to set in, its more
the volume of multiple tracks in a stereo mix with
of an inability to discern particular sounds, es-
one or two faders. And rather than bouncing or
pecially in the mid-range. Everything starts
consolidating tracks, where youre actually re-
to blend together, and it becomes difficult to
cording a new track, busing allows you to control
determine whether something is sitting correct-
a group of tracks while maintaining the individ-
ly in the mix. You pull up the vocal a bit and it
ual tracks as they were originally recorded.
sounds too loud, you pull it back and it seems to
fixing it in the mix is not a mindset you want to

get into as a habit. It can make the mixing process a lot more complicated and difficult, and
instead of a mixing session, youre doing a
whole lot of cleanup work. That can significantly throw off your timeline and expectations
for how long the recording/mixing process will
take.
disappear. Thats a warning sign that your ears
Then again, with computer technology, and the
are fatigued.
use of a click track, post-recording editing can
work wonders with your recorded tracks. From
song with the vocals removed, or making mul-
Most recording software has mastering capa-
a production point of view, one trick that they
tiple mixes with slight adjustments to the vol-
bilities, but theres a reason every major-label re-
use a lot in pro studios that you can do after
ume of certain instruments. Produce a mix with
lease is sent to facilities that specialize exclusive-
the recording process, explains Weiss, is basi-
the vocals where you think they ought to be,
ly in mastering. A fresh pair of ears can be the dif-
cally cutting and pasting. You take the best chor-
then you might push the vocals up a couple dB,
ference between a good-sounding finished prod-
us and paste it into to the vamp of the song, so
and record another, and then a third with the
uct and a great one. An unbiased mastering pro-
the listener is hearing that exact same chorus
vocals down a couple dB.
fessional will evaluate your master, and he/she will
and it sounds really consistent and professional. You can also take a chorus or a vamp thats
not impactful enough and bring up the energy
by replacing it with a better take.
hear things in their environment you wont, es-
MASTERING
After a mix is finished, and typically when an album or EPs worth of material is completed, the
pecially as youve spent weeks and months recording in your own studio, listening to the tracks
and mixes through the same monitors.
Or lets say the first two bars of the drum track
finishing step in the recording/mixing process
Mastering can raise the overall volume level, ev-
are absolutely right on. You can take those first
is mastering. Through the use of equalizers, ex-
en out song levels and EQ across all your tracks,
two bars and paste them into every verse so
citers, compressors, maximizers, and other pro-
correct minor mix deficiencies, eliminate noises
theres consistency in the track. Thats an engi-
cessors, post-production mastering can unify
and set the spacing between tracks, add CD
neering trick that gets used a lot for vocals, gui-
your collective mixes and give them a consis-
text info, and more. Its the last piece of the puz-
tar, and all sorts of instruments.
tency and boost in volume that the mixing pro-
zle in the recording process, and it will make the
cess alone cant achieve.
most of all the hard work and time you put into
Other post-recording options you can employ

include creating TV tracks versions of the
your home recording.
SPENCE BURTONS STUDIO IN THE WASHINGTON D.C AREA

MAKES CREATIVE USE OF A CORNER OF A BASEMENT FOR A MIXING SETUP.
AMBIENCE: The acoustic quality of a room or ar-
COMB FILTERING: A sound with a frequency
DIRECT SOUND (also INCIDENT SOUND): The
ea, including the perceived sense of space caused
response curve that has multiple peaks and val-
first sound that arrives at a listener.
by reflections, reverberations, and the other ac-
leys, resembling a comb. This is caused by reflec-
oustic attributes in the space.
tions arriving out of phase with the direct sound,
EARLY REFLECTION (also FIRST REFLECTION):
causing cancellations and reinforcements, mak-
After the direct sound, the next to arrive is the
AMBIENT: Ambient noise refers to the reflections
ing some frequencies unnaturally louder and oth-
first reflected sound waves, and then the early
and reverberations of the original sound source,
ers virtually disappear.
reflections, which take a little longer to reach the

listener due to traveling a longer path length.
or other sound sources in the acoustic space.

COMP TRACK: A composite track typically reAMPLITUDE: Amplitude refers to the acoustic
fers to a situation where one final track is com-
EQ: Short for equalizer, an EQ is an electronic
energy or intensity of a sound, related to a
posed of elements from two or more tracks. In
filter that modifies the frequency response of
sounds power.
the case of a vocal comp track, the vocalist may
a signal, adjusting the amplitude of a frequen-
lay down three recordings of the lead perform-
cy. EQs were originally designed to correct for
ABSORB: The absorption of sound occurs when
ance, and the recording or mixing engineer will
the losses in the amplitude of frequencies
sound energy is attenuated (lessened, reduc-
take the best phrases from each, cutting and
in the transmission in broadcasting and
ed) when it passes through a medium or strikes a
pasting to a new track, made up of the best lines
recording.
surface. Physically, this is usually the conversion
and phrases from the recorded performances.

FLUTTER ECHO: A flutter echo, which typical-
of sound into heat, i.e. sound molecules lose energy upon striking the materials atoms, which
COMPRESSOR: A signal processor that reduc-
ly occurs in rooms with parallel walls more than
become agitated (warm), and so absorption is
es the dynamic range of a signal, effectively re-
25 feet apart, is an acoustic effect characteriz-
literally the changing of sound energy to heat.
ducing the output signal level in relation to the
ed by sound waves reflecting back and forth at
input signal level according to ratios relating to
a rate of fewer than 15 reflections per second.
ARTIFACT: Any noise added to the original sig-
user-defined thresholds.
GAIN STAGING: Gain staging refers to maximiz-
nal from a sound source.

DECOUPLING: As most sound transfer from in-
ing the gain levels from a given sound source
ATTENUATOR: An electronic device that reduc-
side a room to the outside occurs as vibrations
regardless of the microphone, source, or signal
es the power of a signal with negligible distortion
passing directly through solid structural ele
strength to achieve the lowest-noise perform-
to its waveform. Microphones will often have
ments (brick, woodwork, etc.), breaking the con-
ance and the highest level of flexibility from your
attenuator pads designed to lower the output
nection between the noise source and the out-
recording system. (See the Alesis website for a
level and avoid overloads when recording loud
side is the most effective way to prevent the
more detailed overview.)
audio sources.
transmission of sound. Referred to as decoupling, this typically requires physically detach-
HIGH PASS FILTER (also LOW CUT FILTER):
BAFFLE: A sound baffle is a construction or de-
ing structural elements to improve sound isola-
An electronic processor that allows frequencies
vice that reduces the level of a sound, minimizing
tion. This can be achieved by floating a floor,
above a set cut-off frequency to pass through.
noise and reverberation.
using rubber, springs, and other isolators; using

resilient materials between structural frames,
ISOLATING: The isolation of sound is the process
BASS TRAP: An acoustic energy absorber de-
walls, and ceilings; or inserting spaces and air
by which sound energy is contained or blocked
signed to dampen low frequencies. Most com-
gaps between walls and other partitions.
(as opposed to being converted into heat, as

happens in absorption). Typically what someone
mon are porous absorbers, which tend toward

broadband action, absorbing a wide range of
DIFFUSE: Widely spread out or scattered. In ac-
would mean when they refer to soundproofing
sound frequencies. Resonating absorbers are
oustics, diffusing sound waves reduces the in-
a room: preventing sound from leaving or enter-
narrow band absorbers, targeting a narrower
tensity of the reflected waves, making them
ing a space.
frequency range.
weaker and harder to distinguish.
PICKUP PATTERN (also POLAR PATTERN): A mi-
LATENCY: Inherent in signal and software pro-
crophones pickup pattern refers to the breadth
cessing, latency refers to the delay in the time it
of its area of concentration, i.e., how sensitive
takes for a system or device to respond to an in-
the microphone is to picking up a sound source
struction, for a signal to pass through a device, or
relative to its central axis.
for a command to be carried out.

LOW PASS FILTER (also HIGH-CUT FILTER):
REFLECTION: Just as with light, the reflection

of sound follows the law of reflection (the an-
An electronic processor that allows frequencies
gle of incidence equals angle of reflection). Re-
below a set cut-off frequency to pass through.
flected sound waves can interfere with incident
LOW-FREQUENCY ROLLOFF: A circuit that at-
waves, producing interference which leads to
BIOGRAPHIES
ANDRE CALILHANNA is a writer, editor, and
musician who manages and contributes regularly to Disc Makers blog, Echoes. His band
Hijack has recorded and released numerous
albums and EPs using many of the techniques
addressed in this guide.
standing waves.
tenuates a signal that is above (lowpass filter)

or below (highpass filter) a specified frequency.
REVERBERATION: Reverberation is the sound
For example, microphones frequently have a
remaining in a room after the original sound
bass roll-off filter to remove wind noise and/or
source is silent (the time it takes the sound en-
excessive breath pops.
ergy to decay is called the reverberation time).
MIC PREAMP: A mic preamplifier is an electron-
SIBILANT: A sound characterized by a promi-
ic amplifier that prepares a weak electrical sig-
nent hissing, specifically an ess or shh.
nal, such as that from an instrument or micro-
DREW RAISON is a producer, mixer, studio

owner, and expert in studio management and
artist development. He co-owns and operates
Philly Sound Studios and Fifth Stone Music &
Arts, home to the Modern Media Academy.
JON MARC WEISS is the Senior IT Systems

Engineer for Disc Makers and is also an accom-
phone cable, for further amplification or pro-
SIGNAL-TO-NOISE RATIO: Usually expressed
plished recording engineer, studio designer,
cessing. Using a preamp will help reduce the
in decibels, the signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) is an
and musician with over 20 years experience.
effects of noise and interference from other
audio measurement of the residual noise of a
He owns and operates Kiva Productions right
sound sources and boosts the signal strength
unit, such as a power amplifier or preamp.
outside of Philadelphia in Hollywood, PA to
without significantly degrading the signal-tonoise ratio.

MODE (also STANDING WAVE or EIGENTONE):
develop local and national acts.

SOFT LIMIT: Related to compressing, applying
a soft limiter will allow a digital signal to be recorded several dB hotter while not sounding ov-
A mode is a wave of sound that bounces be-
erly compressed as only the peaks areround-
tween two (or more) parallel surfaces, empha-
ed off.
sizing some frequencies over others, causing a

bump or dip in a rooms frequency respon-
SOURCE MONITORING: The process of review-
se related to the rooms dimension. There are
ing a recorded track for tone, mix, and sound
three types of modes: 1) axial modes, standing
quality through studio monitors or headphones.
waves between two parallel surfaces; 2) tangen-
Often used to ensure mic placement and EQ
tial modes, standing waves between four surfac-
settings are optimal in the course of recording
es; 3) oblique modes, standing waves between
a track.
six surfaces. (For more on modes see Acoustics

Crash Course 1 Modes and Room Modes.)
NODE: A point along a standing wave where the
TRANSIENTS: A high amplitude sound, short in

duration, that occurs at the beginning of a sound
wave, e.g. the sound of a pick on a guitar string.
wave has minimal amplitude.

TRANSMIT: Transmission refers to sound or vi-
PHASE CANCELLATION: When two signals have
bration being transferred from inside a room to
the same time relationship, with the positive and
the outside, typically via mechanical means (di-
negative amplitudes aligned, they are in phase
rectly through solid elements like brick and
and will add to one another (summing). If the pos-
wood). Transmission occurs when the vibration
itive and negative amplitudes offset, they are out
meets with a wall, ceiling, or floor, and the vibra-
of phase and will subtract from one another (can-
tion is amplified and heard in the second space.
celing). As with water waves, one waves energy

grows stronger when waves collide in phase, and
weaker when they collide out of phase.
Much of the information in this glossary was adapted

from Ranes Pro Audio Reference and Wikipedia.
KEITH HATSCHEK is Director of the Music

Management Program at the University of the
Pacific (Stockton, CA) and is a regular contributor to Echoes. Hes authored two books: The
Golden Moment: Recording Secrets of the Pros
(Backbeat Books, 2006), and How To Get a Job
in the Music Industry (Berklee Press, 2007).

Home Studio Handbook

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ACOUSTICS &

YOUR HOME STUDIO

YOU CAN START BY ANSWERING THESE FOUR BASIC QUESTIONS:

3. Are you planning to record a full band

Are you recording new ideas to demo to your

The spare bedroom might be perfectly isolated,

band or producer? Recording, mixing, and mas-

but can you house your gear, monitors, amps, and

tering finished tracks to submit to a music super-

microphones and still have ample room to per-

visor? Is this your bands DIY album for distribu-

form comfortably? What if youre tracking two

tion and sale? Are you planning to record other

musicians at once? Or three? The physical dim-

peoples material? Deciding on the reason you

ensions of your available space are contributing

are getting into home recording is the first step

JON MARC WEISS KIVA PRODUCTIONS

er, and dryer, or you live on a street with busses

expansive your studio will need to be in re-

rumbling back and forth throughout the day,

gard to equipment and gear. In addition, the

its probably not your ideal space.

2. What space do you have available?

Very often, a spare bedroom or home office

CHAPTER 1: ACOUSTICS & YOUR HOME STUDIO

factors to your ambitions for your project studio.

how sound waves work and how to control the

construction effort that isnt an option for most

way they inhabit and interact in a room.

people. So what can you do?

When a sound wave meets a surface a wall,

a couch, a desk some of the wave is absorbed,

Assuming youre not building a separate control

The best way to stop sound transmission

and sound of your home studio, consulting a pro-

sound leaking in or out of a room is to isolate

fessional at the outset is a good idea, complete

sound from the structure before it has a chance

with diagrams and dimensions of the space you

to vibrate. In other words, walls need to be isolat-

have to work with.

ed from ceilings and floors, achieved by decoupling referred to as floating a room.

Where your mixing/recording station will be is

into a vocal recording system? Get the correct

But floating a room is

ically for the space youre in. One general rule

microphone for an acoustic, get the best micro-

precisely the type of

you should follow is to keep your listening

phone for an electric, and cut all that at home.

position somewhere near the middle third

You can leave the big, multi-channel recording

of the room it is very difficult to hear

accurately with a wall directly behind you.

In regard to monitor placement, You want

but a few of the things that set a profes-

Another thing: dont place one monitor

sional studio apart from your rehearsal