Step up ya Game! Production and Technical Tips

Welcome to part 2 of our series of production tips & tricks. Last time did we discuss about choosing the right microphone, polar patterns and then also the buyers tip. Today are we going to cover mic pre- amps, acoustic problems, acoustic treatments, shock mount and pop filter. One thing that is always overlooked by serious producers in the P. So here’s a headz up

Mic Pre-amps

The answer is No you don't NEED them, but it would be nice to use the best Mic-pre's you can get your hands on. My microphone pre-amp of choice is the Focusrite Liquid Channel which engineers use on pretty much everything they record.

Acoustic Problems And Treatments:

Unless professional acoustic designers have professionally designed your studio there will be reflections from lots of different sources in your recording room. If you do not understand what I am talking about then just hit me up and I will cover another issue about Acoustic reflections and how to counter them without breaking the bank.

Why is this a big problem?

Well, if you get the sound you’re after you will still have the reverb and reflections from the room layered over the vocal take. So when adding a nice reverb sound in the mix, you’ll essentially be adding reverb to an already reverberated signal. This is a huge problem in the typical home studio.
Home studios have lots of unwanted room reflections and prevent you from achieving a professional sound. Overlooking acoustic treatment is a big mistake. You could spend thousands on a great selection of microphones and equipment, but without a correctly treated recording booth / room you’ll have problems at the mixing stage.
This is an example of an acoustic treated control room. 

As you can see above the mixer is sonic tiles and as well at your left hand side and front of the mixer is also. Sonic tiles can cost you R250 one tile and up. If you can’t afford to do much acoustic treatment, many home studios simply hang a duvet, blanket or curtains behind the microphone and around the singer. This can go a long way and you’ll be able to notice the difference immediately. This will at least stop the ‘boxy’ type of sound you get when not treating the environment. A rug/carpet rather than wood floor will also help tremendously. If you can afford acoustic treatment there are various products available that wont break the bank and will seriously reduce your room reflections. There is a company in Brackenfell that takes care of that. Drop us a line and we will forward you the info!

If you're a lottery winner there are many professional acoustic engineers available to take your money and get your rooms sounding perfect. A quick Internet search will yield many results.

Shock-Mount & Pop Shield:

While a Shock-Mount is not the most important aspect in achieving a great vocal sound, it will stop those annoying low- end vibrations coming up from the floor. Most decent microphones will come with a Shock-Mount.

You’re almost there. Before you can start recording, purchasing a decent Shock-Mount and Pop Shield is vital. Fitting the pop shield a few inches away from the microphone will stop the popping and booming problems you’ll get in the vocal performance. Certain words and sounds, such as ‘P’ will give that effect, using a pop shield eliminates the blasts of air (called ‘Plosives’) hitting the microphones diaphragm. There is also a cheaper form and that is by taking your mom or aunty or sister or granny…lol… or girlfriends pantyhose and wrap it around a wire. Those wired hangers works very well and I will suggest that. Make a circle and a straight line, and then wrap that pantyhose around the circle. That’s it! Now you have a custom-made granny pantyhose popfilter. You also have the option of buying a pro one, which of course gives better results in your recordings, not, that the panty custom one won’t work. It will set you back R150 up until R350 for one.

So that was part 2 of the series of Production Tips. Check out next week for part 3.