# Confused with everything about recording



## ein fisch (Jul 4, 2018)

alright. im gonna ask here.. there probably a thousand qwuestions i have, but i try to keep it simple.

so far i learned that recording vocals is done with a single microphone (mono), for this i got my RODE NT-1A here which i kinda like.

but im confused when it comes to record real instruments, and also what instruments to use.

*lets get to the point:
*
1. How do i record a guitar, flute, or any acoustic instruments (stereo or mono? what microphone? why?)
2. what is the difference between a cheap and an expensive microphone? can a skilled audio engineer also make vocals fit good into the mix with a cheap microphone?
3. what are the different types of mics and where do you use them? like i just heard weird names here like condensator mic etc which i pretty dont know anything about. with what microphone-type do you record vocals, instruments etc?

i just wanna get a base to start homerecording my vocals and my guitar.

please explain things like you would to a 5 year old, because im a n00b.

Thanks
Peace be upon you
Fisch


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## micrologus (Jul 4, 2018)

I bought this book and I found it very good to start understanding home recording:
http://a.co/46kGqS6 (Home Recording For Musicians For Dummies)


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## MatFluor (Jul 4, 2018)

ein fisch said:


> 1. How do i record a guitar, flute, or any acoustic instruments (stereo or mono? what microphone? why?)


I like mono if I want to captrue just the instrument in a controlled environment. If you want to record "in situ" (in seating place) or the like, then stereo. Or is you want to capture some details, or (e.g. a piano) is large and you have a specific use in mind. In the case of a piano, you record stereo, to essentially have "naturally" the lower notes more on one side, and the higher one on the other. Capturing the stereo image. If you want "just a piano in the background", then you can go mono as well - really depends what you want.
But for single instruments, Mono imo. (Drums count as many instruments). So e.g. with drums, all parts are recorded mono, except two overhead mics, which essentially give a stereo image



ein fisch said:


> 2. what is the difference between a cheap and an expensive microphone? can a skilled audio engineer also make vocals fit good into the mix with a cheap microphone?


Mostly noise. Often, cheap microphones have a certain base level of noise in them (due to the fact of electricity, cables and environment factors). High quality microphones do much to get rid of that baseline noise.
Yes, Vocals are a little special case imo, due to the fact how they are mixed in songs, but a good engineer can mix it right. Of course, a good engineer would push to use his favorite mics in the first place  Every mic has a certain character (condensers a little less than dynamic ones) - so the choice of mic on a high level can affect the sound greatly. And to some degree it's "Garbage in - garbage out".



ein fisch said:


> 3. what are the different types of mics and where do you use them? like i just heard weird names here like condensator mic etc which i pretty dont know anything about. with what microphone-type do you record vocals, instruments etc?


1. Condenser mics: they need phantom power of 48V. Meaning the Audio interface gives them power so they can record. They are most often very detailed and chosen e.g. for vocal recording because of these details. they tend to be more neutral in sound imo. You hear every drip of saliva in the singers mouth - but you get the full spectrum. The Rode NT-1A is a nice entry level mic which can get you far. But the price range is crazy - e.g. a nice Neumann will bank you about $4k.
2. Dynamic mics: They don't need phantom power. Mostly, they are less detailed and have a greater impact on the sound. E.g. the very popular vocal mic Shure SM85 is used for live performance. From my experience, it doesn't fit my personal voice, it makes my dark baritone voice too dark and takes the details away that I need. Dynamic mics are good in noisy environments, they are less sensitive than condensers. Popular ones (and recommendable from my personal experience) are Shure SM85, Shure SM57 and Sennheiser ones. But there are tons of other including more high-end ones.
3. Other variants such as Ribbon mics (Bändchen): Ribbons have per se a warmer character and also getting some details. I never really used them, so I can't say much about them.


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## ein fisch (Jul 4, 2018)

micrologus said:


> I bought this book and I found it very good to start understanding home recording:
> http://a.co/46kGqS6 (Home Recording For Musicians For Dummies)


gonna order this! thank you. love those books



MatFluor said:


> I like mono if I want to captrue just the instrument in a controlled environment. If you want to record "in situ" (in seating place) or the like, then stereo. Or is you want to capture some details, or (e.g. a piano) is large and you have a specific use in mind. In the case of a piano, you record stereo, to essentially have "naturally" the lower notes more on one side, and the higher one on the other. Capturing the stereo image. If you want "just a piano in the background", then you can go mono as well - really depends what you want.
> But for single instruments, Mono imo. (Drums count as many instruments). So e.g. with drums, all parts are recorded mono, except two overhead mics, which essentially give a stereo image
> 
> 
> ...



thank you so much for taking the time to give me such a detailed answer. you literally answered all of my questions so far. and got me out of the thinking "every microphone sounds the same". really helpful

Peace be upon both of you
Fisch


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## studiostuff (Jul 4, 2018)

Hi Fisch, 

Get yourself a Shure SM-57 and a Shure SM-58. Buy them used for about half-price... (The SM-57 will get you started on instrumental recording, especially electric gtrs and drums. The SM-58 will work on vocals.) 

These mics will be useful in your recordings forever, they are difficult to break, and can be resold for the price you paid for them used. 

Do not succumb to the strong feeling you will have that your music will sound better if you spend more on a mic. 

You will be able to learn much of what you need to know about recording using these two $50 mics


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## MatFluor (Jul 4, 2018)

studiostuff said:


> Hi Fisch,
> 
> Get yourself a Shure SM-57 and a Shure SM-58. Buy them used for about half-price... (The SM-57 will get you started on instrumental recording, especially electric gtrs and drums. The SM-58 will work on vocals.)
> 
> ...



Agree fully.

my SM-57 is meanwhile 7 years old and had rough tour times behind it - still workf flawlessly, and it only cost $100 (back then, musik-produktiv). So a second-hand option is totally viable.
And yes to the skills aspect. Get those mics and record and learn the basics - then maybe rent some high-end mics and try them out etc. But an *essential *part of recording instruments is the mic positioning. You get better recordings out of a SM57 with a good positioning, then with a $4k Neumann and a bad positioning.


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## micrologus (Jul 4, 2018)

ein fisch said:


> gonna order this! thank you. love those books
> Fisch


Another good book is this: 
_http://a.co/3VoWc9Y (The Recording Engineer’s Handbook)_ by Bobby Owsinski.


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## Jeremy Spencer (Jul 4, 2018)

studiostuff said:


> Do not succumb to the strong feeling you will have that your music will sound better if you spend more on a mic.
> 
> You will be able to learn much of what you need to know about recording using these two $50 mics



^ this! You can't go wrong with a Shure SM-57, Shure SM-58, and a good ol' condenser mic. I actually produced two successful albums a few years back with a Behringer C1 for all the vocals, but if you know your mic and how to apply the appropriate processing you can work wonders. Don't get me wrong, there's something to be said for high end mic's, but they are pointless if you don't have the right room for recording, etc.


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## JohnG (Jul 4, 2018)

great advice guys

I also suggest you experiment how far away the mic is from the instrument. Recording a guitar from 1 metre is one thing, from 3 or 6 is another.

Youtube has some good stuff as well, though so much it's a bit overwhelming.

have fun!


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## wst3 (Jul 4, 2018)

For starters, I'm going to suggest that you will learn a LOT more about recording by, well, recording stuff. 

It used to be (hate to sound like an old guy, but<G>) that one could work - usually for nothing - at small studios where you had the opportunity to learn from folks that had done the same thing. Since that is no longer a reality for most you are left with videos, books, and just doing it yourself.

Books - there are really only a couple of books I find really useful - Runstein's first edition of "Modern Recording" which can be found used, and Swedien's "Recording Method" - the first is very pragmatic, if not a little bit dated. For topics like microphone placement there is no such thing as dated, so it's all good.

The thing you will learn, from both books (spoiler alert) is that you have to start at the beginning - placing the performer in a space and placing the microphone(s) will do more to shape the sound than any processing you can do (although the margin is shrinking.) For this alone the suggestions about buying an SM-57 or SM-58 are spot on. They are great microphones, and you can start experimenting immediately.



ein fisch said:


> 1. How do i record a guitar, flute, or any acoustic instruments (stereo or mono? what microphone? why?)


There is no single answer to this! Mono or stereo? Condensor or Ribbon? Close or Far? straight on or angled? And most important, what is the objective?

We can give you an infinite number of starting points, but that would be pointless (couldn't resist!)



ein fisch said:


> 2. what is the difference between a cheap and an expensive microphone? can a skilled audio engineer also make vocals fit good into the mix with a cheap microphone?



First, and maybe most important, there is a huge difference between a cheap microphone and an inexpensive one. Don't buy cheap stuff - it will make your job more difficult, and you'll end up spending the money twice.

That said, a skilled engineer can make a good recording with a cheap microphone. Typically they know better, but they could. If you are not yet a skilled engineer why place obstacles in your way?

A Shure SM-57 is an inexpensive microphone, but very useful. I won't bother with the list of cheap microphones.



ein fisch said:


> 3. what are the different types of mics and where do you use them? like i just heard weird names here like condensator mic etc which i pretty dont know anything about. with what microphone-type do you record vocals, instruments etc?


The different types are well defined and understood. How they are used will be debated forever!

Broadstrokes...

Dynamic microphones use a magnet and some form of magnetic diaphragm to generate a changing voltage based on changing air pressure. There are two basic types - moving magnet and ribbon. The later is where this whole circus started, but they lost favor for a while. They are back. They can be magnificent in the right application. The SM-57 or RE-20 or MD-421 are great examples of the former. All of them can be outstanding choices.

Condenser microphones use a pair of plates (usually one stationary one moving) to generate the changing voltage, but it is a lot smaller in magnitude, so these microphones usually include a head amplifier which increases the level, and matches the impedance. That's why they require power, which can be provided by a battery, or by remote power (T-Power, Phantom Power, etc).

More important that the element is the polar pattern - cardiod favors whatever is on-axis, bi-directional favors on-axis on both sides of the microphone, and omni doesn't play favorites. The thing is, with any microphone the on-axis sound will be different than the off-axis sound, and sometimes we can use that to our advantage. So pickup pattern is really important.

Sensitivity is almost as important, since it affects how close we can get. Cardiod patterns tend to exhibit an increase in lower frequency pickup (it has to do with how the pattern in created), so getting close can be a cool trick. Getting close can also reduce the contribution from the room (and noise). Getting further away can make for a smoother response, and can let the room contribution come through.

General rules of thumb:

condensor microphones, especially small capsule versions, are better for capturing really fast transients and the upper most octaves. 

large capsule microphones will tend to impress their character on the signal more than small capsule microphones.
ribbon microphones tend to be more easily damaged (this is changing)
ribbon microphones can record those fast transients and upper octaves, but tend to "smooth" them out.
(FZ once said "talking about music is like dancing about architecture" - I try to avoid doing so, but it is nigh impossible)

And so on. There are lots of general rules!

Even more useless information!

I record most vocals with a large capsule condensor or long ribbon microphone, the choice depends on the vocalist
I record most acoustic guitars, mandolins, etc with a pair of small capsule condensers. I will use a pair of large capsule condensors, or even a single small or large capsule condenser microphone depending on the space, the instrument, and the track, but I start with that pair of small capsule microphones.
I record most guitar amplifiers with a ribbon microphone and any other microphone (dynamic, small cap condenser, large cap condenser). Again the space, the amplifier and the song dictate the choices.
I use four microphones (sometimes three) to record a drum kit - a large capsule dynamic for the kick, a small capsule condenser for the snare/hat, and a pair of ribbons (or large capsule or small capsule condensers) overhead.
I use a pair of small capsule condensers to record a piano (sometimes I will use a pair of ribbons).
I hope this helps, at least a little.


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## Mornats (Jul 4, 2018)

Also check out The Recording Revolution, especially the YouTube videos https://www.recordingrevolution.com/


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## dzilizzi (Jul 4, 2018)

Generally, one mic per instrument because if you use 2 or more mics that are too close together you will have phase issues. As in they will start to cancel each other out unless you use the 3:1 rule. 

Here is something about it. https://www.sweetwater.com/insync/3-1-rule-of-microphone-placement/


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