Miking Tips
and Techniques
Bad mic technique leads to bad sounds, which distract the listener from your performance. Once you've got the instrument in tune (can't stress that one enough) and have your tone all set, let's go about capturing that sound in a way that will give your mixing engineer the most possibilities in the mix and your music the maximum impact.
Drums — No EQ or Compression to "Tape"
When I say tape I'm mostly referring to your computer/ DAW (digital audio workstation), since few people use tape still...even in the big studios. Using a compressor before the tape machine was a practice that evolved partially to keep the signal above the noise threshold of the tape. Tape inherently has hiss, and the quieter your signal is the more embedded in the hiss it is going to become, so engineers used compression at times to reduce the dynamic range of an instrument and keep it loud and above the noise threshold.
Digital recording has changed this. Even the most modest digital recording setup today can deliver audio with a noise floor that no tape machine manufacturer could ever have dreamed of achieving. You should make the most of this advantage by recording the entire dynamic range of your instrument and compressing after if needed. There are several reasons for this:
Even experienced recording engineers have a need to change their mind about a sound as the song evolves in the recording or mixing process. The idea that you know exactly how each element should be EQ'd and compressed before you hear how they interact in a mix is a little presumptuous. Leave yourself room for refinement and improvement.
If someone else is going to mix your project (or you'd like the ability to remix yourself years down the road) you ought to allow full access to your performance. Compression, especially, can hinder your engineer's ability to capture the excitement of a performance.
Be Careful With EQ to Tape as Well
Remember, you're recording at home so that you can take your time, so don't rush it. Keep these tips in mind before you reach for that EQ (pre tape)
Listen – Go listen to the source. If it sounds how you want it to sound when listening in the room but not through the mic, then either the mic(s) or mic position are not correct. I'll address specific mic position a little later, but just remember to move or swap the microphone instead of reaching for the EQ.
Change the tone of the instrument – If it doesn't sound good to your ear in the room where you are recording it, you need to work on the source. If it's an amp, work on the settings. If it's an acoustic instrument and it's too boomy, make sure you're not in a corner of the room (or conversely, if it's too thin, try playing in the corner). If it's a drum, move the mic closer or further away from the drum head (closer increases bass frequencies, by the way) or closer to a lug if you are experiencing a wobbly, beating sound like the drum is out of tune. Assuming you've tuned it already (see drum tuning in the first recording primer). Do whatever you can to make it sound good in the acoustic space where you are recording before reaching for EQ.
Record Room Mics –
Even if you aren't fond of the sound of your room, make sure and record room mics as well. Just make sure that they are on their own tracks. A skilled mixing engineer can utilize room mics from even a less than ideal room to create a bigger drum sound. A stereo pair located as far away from the drum kit as you can locate them (if it's a small to medium size room) help give dimension to the drums and place them in an acoustic space in the recording.
Notes on Close Mics –
There has long been a debate between close mic and simpler 3 or 4 mic drum setups. If you are careful with phasing I think it is a good practice to record close mics for every drum in addition to a good sounding pair of overheads (and hopefully room mics). The reason for this is to give your mixing engineer as much to work with as possible when trying to achieve the sound you are going for. There isn't enough space here to write about phase relationships between mics, but keep the following rule of thumb in mind.
3-to-1 Rule – Generally speaking, when using multiple microphones set one microphone 3 times the distance of the other microphone from the sound source (from Wikirecording.org). Practically speaking, if you have a mic 3" from the snare, make sure that you hi hat mic is at least 9" from the snare, or you may encounter phase issues. Most of the time this isn't an issue, but if you are wondering if you are having phase problems, check the distances first and then pan the tracks in question to the center (or press the mono button on your interface or mixer). When combining the questionable track with the other mics, you may notice the sound becoming thin. If you are losing low end with the track on you are likely experiencing phase cancellation. Find a different position for this mic and try again.
Guitars
Use Slightly Less Distortion – An amp always sounds more distorted recorded than live. In order to save some articulation and hear your parts better, back off on the distortion and achieve the thickness you may be trying to accomplish that way in other ways, such as layering and combining amps.
Layer with different guitars/ amps – A great way to make your record sound HUGE is to double your guitar tracks with different amp/ guitar combinations. Take extra care to play these parts the exact same way, unless you have a specific reason you want them to differ. If your main sound live is a Les Paul through a Marshall, try doubling the same part with a Fender guitar and the same amp. If you don't have access to multiple guitars, double the take with the guitar in a different pickup position and/ or more or less distortion on the amp.
Record with 2 amps or 2 mics at once – Playing through multiple amps simultaneously can make for excellent sounds that you wouldn't normally hear. There are a number of guitar splitter pedals that can help with this, but the Boss tuner pedal (or a mono to stereo delay set to bypass) can do this as well. Combining a Marshall JMP with a cleaner amp like a Fender Twin is one of my favorite guitar tricks. You get the girth from the distorted amp and note articulation from the clean amp. If you have enough tracks, record these to their own track. If not, be extremely careful in combining them when submixing. A little bit of the clean amp goes a long way, so don't over do it. One more thing to be careful of is grounding issues. Read up about grounding, ground loops and ground lifts. You may need to lift the ground on one amp (NEVER on both!) in order to avoid that nasty ground loop buzz and hum.
Recording 2 mics on one amp also creates some interesting and unique tones. Every mic has a different frequency response and every mic position also picks up different frequencies, so positioning mics of a different design or in different locations relative to the sound source can represent the amp differently. This is another time to be careful of phase. In order to keep the mics in phase, you want the capsules (not just the front of the mic, but the capsule within the mic casing) to be the exact same distance from the sound source (speakers, in this case). If you want to capture room tone with your amp, position the other mic many feet away. Use your ears and check for phase. Remember when checking phase to combine the mics in mono (mono button on the interface or mixer or pan the mics to center) and listen for reduced low end. This is a sign of phase cancellation. If you hear it, move one mic until the sound becomes full.
Speaker Cone=Bright – Take advantage of the variations in tone that a single speaker produces. From a distance, the sounds a guitar speaker produces are blended together by mixing in the air, but up close they are drastically different. Have a friend move the mic vertically closer and further from the center of the speaker (or wear extremely noise canceling headphones and do it yourself) while you play. You'll likely be very surprised how the sound changes. Use this to your advantage when planning out your recording your parts. Even two mics on different parts of the same speaker (when positioned in a proper phase relationship to eachother) can capture a broader range of tone.
