First Recording Assignment

In the first weeks session we decided what we were recording and decided on grand piano and drums together for the first recording.

We started off  by miking the drums with an Audix D6 for the kick drum on a low stand and positioning it to be directly pointing at the kick drum as well as the Rode NT-5 on a high stand facing towards the middle of the drums for the top drums. We decided to use an Audix D6 because it's a kick drum microphone specifically designed to give a good low frequency pick up.  Because the Audix D6 is a dynamic microphone it can handle much more louder noises and give a good recording of the kick drum which made our recording more better.

We used a Rode NT-5 for the rest of the drum kit to pick up the more roomy or ambient sound. Another reason to use a Rode NT-5 is because if you place it slightly further from the sound source it can still give off a nice recording because condenser microphones are more sensitive. Because the Rode NT-5 is a condenser microphone we positioned it slightly further away from the drums to make sure we don't break it since condenser microphones are more fragile than dynamic microphones. We had to use phantom power on the Rode NT-5 because it's a condenser microphone that requires external power.

We then set up a Shure SM-57 microphone for the grand piano on a high stand. We opened the lid of the grand piano to pick up all the rich sounds and positioned the microphone at an angle for it to be slightly leaning into the frame of the grand piano to pick up the more vibrant sound. The Shure SM-57 is a dynamic microphone so it can handle the loud sound pressure levels and still give a nice recording

We recorded drums and grand piano at the same time so to get a better recording we decided to set up a headphone mix for both people that are playing to hear the click and hear each other. We had some difficulties during this stage because we hadn't set up the audio levels properly and lost some time. In the end we managed to set up both headphone mixes so both the drum player and the piano player could hear each other and the click. This meant we had a better recording because if the piano player can hear the drum kit and the click it is much easier for them to get the timing right and making a better recording.

In next weeks studio session we decided to record a synth brass. We set up a Shure SM-57 facing towards the amplifier on a high stand. We also set up another headphone mix so that the person playing the synth could hear the recordings and hear the people in the studio. We used the Shure SM-57 to record the amplifier because it is a dynamic microphone so it can pick up loud sounds without breaking where as the condenser microphone is more sensitive to loud sounds so it could potentially break.