Archive for the ‘Recording Tips’ Category
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17
Jan
2011
10
Jan
2011
BRUCE SWEDIEN TALKING ABOUT CRITICAL LISTENING
And how important it is to making good music.
29
Dec
2010
20
Dec
2010
JUST MY TAKE
Bruce Swedien and Ramsees Mechan
Just My Take
Life-Music-Bruce Swedien
By Ramsees Mechan.
I truly believe music is one of the “most powerful and influential” forces we have on this earth today. It can inspire and motivate your soul, your heart, your emotions, your creativity, in so many unbelievable ways.
Music is such a powerful instrument and If you listen close enough” it’s seems to be everywhere…
It’s funny how a great musical composition can move your spirit … emotionally, mentally, or physically. Having been involved in music for most of my life, I learned early that music is like a great New Orleans “Gumbo” but the main ingredient in music is ” your soul” …
Music is something written, spoken (either by mouth or instrumentation), then transmitted through some medium, either it be radio, a CD, or like today via the internet. Now it becomes something special an emotion, something inspiring to be whatever it is meant to be!
No one really knows or truly understands the reason why we are so attracted to these unique sounds but man when they sound good, it just feels “Good” and through great music we can express real and true emotion.
Now ever since I could remember I have always been into the arts, either through drawing, poetry, dance, acting, and music… etc.
Music has always had a special place in my heart, because it’s where I can express myself freely, a place where I can lose myself, and then find myself, again, this is why I love making music and recording music.
Being involved with music has been one of my greatest experiences on earth and to be able to capture and express those moments sonically in a studio… I just can’t explain it in words.
The dictionary defines recording as something technical, but I believe it should be considered an art form simply because recording music is more than just pushing faders and turning knobs, it’s about capturing an emotion with an artist, creating a defining moment in time… a moment of real expression.
Many people today recording today’s music, sometimes… well most of the time they forget or really don’t understand why they are in the studio,
I say and truly believe it is to capture the vision, the emotion, and to make a statement to the world!
As engineers/producers, it is our job and responsibility to make sure this happens. As we sit in front of the console and setting up microphones, our client trust that we will do everything possible to help them make their statement the best it can be both musically and sonically.
Now of course at the beginning of my career i truly didn’t know or understand any of these things,
but that all changed when I met Bruce Swedien and meeting him changed my life forever.
Bruce, has definitely been an inspiration to me and I appreciate him sharing his invaluable insight and wisdom of music with me,
and the rest of the world.
Through Bruce I found the missing piece of my puzzle in a musical aspect and he has taught me what it is to truly make a statement through my music
and that making records is not just about the latest technology, it’s a gift from your heart and soul!
Bruce, is unlike anyone I have ever met someone so thoughtful, and respectful to the recording process! He has shown me how to embrace and understand what recording is all about.
Bruce, having worked with and recorded The King of Pop Michael Jackson for more then 25 yrs,
many consider Bruce a musical version of a……..Michelangelo, Pablo Picasso, or Van Gogh even.”
I truly believe that you are an artist when you have a real passion for something,
and to me I would have to say Bruce is The Artist… and Bruce’s art is recording music and bringing it to life thus giving the world a Beautiful Masterpiece!
16
Dec
2010
Bruce Swedien Talking About Martin Kantola’s Signature Microphones
Microphone designer Martin Kantola, is the maker of some of the finest quality, best sounding microphones available.
13
Nov
2010
Bruce Swedien says about mixing
Bruce Swedien
“Anyone who works in the box and thinks it sounds good should hear what they are doing compared to my Harrison desk and they will be able to tell an immediate difference.”
20
Jun
2009
How to record the best vocals
RCA 77dx
I have been asked here at Grace Recording Studio how do you get those great vocal tracks. After the trial and error of engineering for many years, this is what we have found to work for us.
Setup:
First after listening to the singer we look through our microphone selection and choose 5 or 6 that we think would work well with their voice. Than we setup these microphones and go through the process of them singing though each microphone and each preamp, until we find the combination that brings out the quality of their individual voice. Once we find the combination of microphone and preamp, we go though all the compressors until we find the one that tightens up the track and colors the vocal that produces the sound we are looking for.
Of course recording a good singer in an acoustically great sounding room with quality microphones and excellent microphone placement, all plays a major part in creating a great vocal track. Matching these items can make or break a CD as the vocal usually sits out in the front of the mix
Punching In:
Now on the subject of using 15 takes and choosing parts from each one to make one good vocal track doesn’t really work well, because you have different feelings, emotions, attitude, timing etc. on every track you sing. We found that singing the song till you get a take that has life and emotion in it, and only than punch in the spots that need to be fixed, gives you a bigger and better sounding vocal with the same feelings and tone quality throughout the whole vocal track. This way everything works together and sounds consistent. We don’t cut and paste vocal sections because we believe that singing the parts live gives the vocal a more natural, musical sound with an organic feeling. We’re not trying to invent something new we’re trying to capture the vocal at its best and natural state.
Equalization:
We do have certain occasions that we have to use equalization when we record. But we try not to use any equalization when we’re recording the vocals, as we find it works better for us if we rather spend our time setting up the proper placement of the microphones. If we need equalization to fix a problem we can than find the right equalizer with the proper transparency and color without affecting the track.
Doubling Vocals:
We than double or triple the vocal track which thickens it up. We’re not talking duplicating, which only makes the vocal louder not thicker. But we’re suggesting recording 2 or 3 takes which will always be a hair different no matter what you do, but they must be very similar to one another; this makes the vocal tracks to have a slight delay in them and thickens it up, making it sound full and rich.
These are techniques that should be done with an engineer in a professional studio so that the results of the vocal will come out to be world class. One of the advantages of using a professional studio is having a large assortment of microphones and equipment, and good rooms that gives an artist every opportunity to capture a great performance and produce a quality CD.
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29
May
2009
Well, we’re talking about track counts!
I know you folks have Pro Tools, Logic, Digital Performer etc. and tracks are no object, but that’s where the problem lies.
Too many tracks cause lack of space in the mix. There’s only so much room in the picture to be had and with too many tracks there isn’t enough room for everything to sit well, which means instruments and vocals will be seating on top of one another causing a mushy sounding mix.
We need to have room for every sound to have its own space in order to hear each one clearly and to be able to define them. Look at some of the great recordings of the past, they only had very few tracks to work with but the sound was large, defined and full.
So think about cutting some tracks out and saving some time in recording, saving money on recording and saving space in the mix for a larger stereo field and a cleaner sounding mix. Let’s work on the performance instead of adding a ridiculous amount of tracks, it will give you the best sounding CD which is what it’s all about.
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