Chapter 2 The Human Element Flashcards
In what situation are open back headphones not advisable
When working with microphones because they let the monitoring signal escape into the room and spill onto your recording, but that doesn’t mean that they’re not fair game in Mic-less situations.
If you don’t have enough headphone outputs what would you use to solve that issue? Is there a cheap route? Recommended?
It is recommended to supplement your rig with a dedicated multi output headphone amplifier that has separate volume control for each output.
The cheap route is just using one of those headphones splitters, but what sucks about those is that you cannot control the output to each individual headphone and splitting a headphone output like this will reduce the maximum volume of the headphone amplifier can deliver for each listener. Meaning, the more you plug in the More volume loss you’ll get.
What are the four ways of “framing the session “
Shrinking the space, choosing the visual focus, setting the tone, sources of inspiration
What does it mean to shrink the space
Performers feel rather exposed or defensive when they are in a large space. Make it smaller to help them feel more intimate and protected.
What does “Choosing the visual focus” mean
Basically this is just saying that some people don’t want to be looked at when they’re recording and some people do. Customizing the room to help each section of the spectrum of type of artist is crucial.
What does “setting the tone “ mean
Basically be careful of how you decorate and keep in mind the big idea of creating a vibe in the studio has a lot to do with the decor.
What does “sources of inspiration “ mean
The main approach of this is having things to make someone think or get inspired by tinkering with it. This could be a weird foreign instrument or a deck of cards with inspirational quotes from other musicians. Keeping in mind that musicians vary on their talents and some very experienced musicians handle pressure and motivation differently from your average musician.
At what latencies do musicians typically notice the delay?
At about 30 to 50 milliseconds
You want to stay less than 30 if possible. At 50 it will become an issue.
Other than using your DAWS standard software monitoring facilities what is another way to monitor the recording?
It is called a low/zero latency monitoring or direct monitoring.
What is the easiest way to reduce the latency of your system?
Go into the audio interfaces drivers configuration settings and decrease the audio buffer size to a normal 41.1 kHz / 48 kHz sample rates you’ll need a value below 300 samples if you’re aiming for a sub 15 millisecond latency.
What is performance headroom and how much performance headroom should you have for singers?
Basically look at it like a grace period but regarding db
Safety area in case the singer… Sings to loudly. Even though you may practice with them and they sung at X db, when you actually record they may sing much higher.
What should be your initial workflow when first working with the musician? 6 things
Think keywords first:
1. Generate some arbitrary output from the instrument so you can LINE-CHECK it
- Play the BACKING TRACK so everyone can find a suitable level for their headphones/loudspeaker.
- With the recording track in it’s Input monitoring mode, ask the performer to play along with the backing mix while you set levels.
- While the performer continues to play, balance their instrument against the rest of their monitor mix using the recording tracks monitor-channel fader (I. E. The main track fader in most DAWS).
- Refine the instruments recorded timbre if necessary, in discussion with the musician themselves and anyone else with a stake in the outcome.
- Hit record.
What is “tackling the sonics” ?
Basically it’s the approach of finding the best sound for that instrument or equipment the musician has.
What are some common pitfalls to avoid? 6 of them, name as many as you can.
Enlist the musicians help - sometimes the musician will have a faster way of getting to the sound you are looking for. Be simple, don’t use complicated jargon.
Listen in context - our goal is to create the best sounding possible. Sometimes we have to give the main instruments have that room to shine. So it’s not about what’s the best sound sometimes, it’s about the right sound for the song.
Flex that monitor fader - if you don’t have move the main mix fader all the time and you can clearly hear all the desirable tonal qualities, that means you’re good. If you do have to move it a lot, fix your levels and sonics.
Go easy on distortion- self explanatory
Look out for the low end - use the high pass filter when recording. Sometimes things like scratch dj turntables or other sound sources provide unwanted high levels of low frequencies. Use this when you are peaking but should be or if the woofer is going crazy when it shouldn’t be.
Check it in mono - Self Explanatory. Especially synth bass, check frequencies below 80 hz. To fix, either change the patch, or high pass filter it around 80hz and fill the blank more powerfully and predictably by recording an additional purpose - designed “subbass” synth line.
What are the few (5) things to “listen” for when recording or before recording.
Emotion - if you’re gonna keep the performance, there has to be a reason why. Your opinion matters though, so don’t only count on the artists opinion.
Balance - SE but key thing is making sure everything is equal. Both hands in the piano are equal type of thing.
Phrasing - while they’re are busy performing, listen to their dynamics, is there something missing? Are they phrasing correctly?
Articulation - think equal note lengths, are the quarter notes played the same. Does it fit into the music?
Pace - does it feel like the musician is dragging just a tad? Maybe they need to rethink the music to add better time to breathe between notes.
Bonus - shut off all distraction and close your eyes and listen. Don’t tap your feet. Don’t look at how they are performing. Just listen.
