Ditto, Chief! Warren Huart is one of two RUclipsrs that I have notifications switched on for. I don’t have time for advice that isn’t practical and easy to understand. Warren satisfies both categories and keeps it entertaining.
i've had in my past a half dozen RE-15's and swear by them on anything and everything. they just sound amazing and take a beating like a 57, seriously.
This is really interesting! I mostly work with "beat" based music where most of my recordings are vocals and guitars, so watching you talk about drum recording is really fascinating. Thanks for sharing, Warren!
Great video. I love the room sound. It would be so cool to have some IRs of the room and the chamber. Thank you ever so much for taking the time and the effort to give us a deep insight into your tracking technique.
Hello Warren, it's always a pleasure and honour to learn from your videos and from your experience! I have a "mixing" question: when you mix drums you prefer to EQ > Comp or the opposite? Which are, in your opinion, the pros and cons of these two methods? Thank you!
And... that chamber is insane in the most positive way. To create something like this, I'd have to break in the local church :). What the hell, already a dislike? What for? Because you used the word highpass, even without setting it up?
5 dislikes now... some people are crazy... by the way yes the chamber sounds incredible doesn't it! I once enquired about hiring a church hall for drum recording and they were surprisingly ok with it! Never did it in the end but no harm in asking, right?
Of course not! If you could setup a drumset in church. From my experience priests are not very flexible in the terms of use for their house of god. Well maybe that changed since I left church :). Anyway that was I very kind reaction from your local church. Another possibility could be an old and empty industry complex. But honestly? With great sounding reverbs and impulse responses and me using samples most times, the need for making thyt effort isn't to high anymore. It would be fun and a great experience for sure, at least for one time.
Hi Peter Brandt Thanks ever so much my friend! Yes, the chamber is amazing! The dislikes? Apparently RUclips said it’s mainly other channels! Haha funny! Blessed that we have an amazing community my friend!
Could be. I'm watching other channels as well and I can just hope, that none of them behaves like this. I would instantly unsubscribe and spread the word. Otoh, most music channels I watch are friends of PLAP, or appeared here, so there's hope, that these won't behave in such a childish way. Keep up the good work, you're stuff is extremely helpfull and not at least entertaining.
i found myself at about 1/2 way through this one going back and watching the sunset tour vid mic locker tour again thanks for always making learning fun warren
Very inventive video guys! I have a little home studio which produces quite a good drum sound - i have picked up some great tips here! Every part of the kit sounds spot on here. Tiger.
Hi Warren, thanks for doing these vids, although I still have massive amounts to learn, I wouldn't have a clue if it wasn't for you, thanks again, all the best, Darren Ross.
Something that would be good to do a video on is potential phase issues that can occur when EQing. This happens a lot when recording/mixing drum kits especially. That would help us out a lot, cheers for now
when mixing try the ua Little labs 'in between phase' plugin. i think it's like 50 bucks! i use the analog little labs IBP and it is magical. seriously- but the analog is limited to one phase-adjusted output, so it sounds like you need the plugin. plus i'm assuming you're talking about phase corrections during DAW mixing, not recording/summing? either way, try out one of the Little Labs IBP's. you won't be disappointed. the analog one is about 600 USD new, but you can find them used for around 350. of course you'd need one per drum, or at least one per dual mic'd drum.
Thanks, Warren. I've seen them all and thought that was the process but wanted to confirm in this case as well. I will throw a pop filter up in front of any ribbon mic I use on kicks to protect from an unplanned blast of air from the batter/sound hole. I may stop after seeing the ribbon in action here.
Warren, can you explain please why we usually use dynamics on close micing drums and condensers further out? I thought condensers would capture transients better on close up? Is it just because of sound levels? I thought condensers would mostly be ok for high spl? Thanks!
here's a dumb question, is that control room tuned enough so that if you have to walk over to the EQ's on that far wall, you can tweak the settings by ear and not have to keep running to whatever "sweet spot" there is?
doubt it. i think they just know their gear really well, and have a very, very good idea (from years of experience) what's gonna happen when they turn a pultec knob just like so. That'd be my guess. but i've never worked in anything remotely like that. it's definitely a fair question. (or maybe it's setup like that because they charge by the hour! lol kidding, kidding).
Seems like a realistic answer, probably correct. Or have an assistant turn the knobs if you need maybe? I'm sure you're right, these guys know what they're doing!
So what's the point of room mics if you cover (muffle) the kick drum with blankets? How much of the room mics did you end up mixing in, and was the kick a consideration?
Hi Homer, thanks for your interesting question/statement! Haha The Kick Drum projects great through the front of the tunnel and of course develops from the batter head as well. I never felt it compromised at all. I'm assuming you've tracked at Sunset Sound with that method and had issues? Engineering under guys like Jack Douglas etc this has always worked fantastically well and is on so many records we know and love!
i was amazed on the room U67 that the kick was loud and clear. prescient, focused, tight. gorgeous. (i kinda wanted to throw all the other mic tracks away! lol). it was so good. i've blanketed guitar cabinets before but never kick drums. definitely going to have to try that! great vid! thanks Warren and Sunset studios! (also, love the idea of an iso-cab as a reverb/plate/cahmber area! would've taken me a couple more years at least to think that up. i mean, it's a room that's a dedicated re-amped iso cab)! really cool!!!!!
Hi Slaves Forging I agree 100%! The kick sounded great in the rooms! The prof of the pudding is in the eating as they say, or in this case the listening! It’s always best to listen rather than look!
Also, any general tips for improving noise to signal ratio? I seem to get noticeable hums or fluttering static from my mics when I turn up the monitor volume slightly over half way and compressing only pushes it closer to the foreground. My signal chain is mic (Condenser/ Dynamic) > Yamaha MG206c > DBX 166A compressor > Scarlett 18i20 > computer (Cubase). I suspect it's the old preamps on the first gen MG206c, but thanks in advance Warren!
first thing i'd do is check the recommended gain settings in the manual on your mixer. chances are, your board has different sweet spots for different gains. i know my old Carvin mx1644 does. but honestly, if it's 90's or newer the signal to noise should be more than good enough. it's all about gain staging. some gains you can crank. others you can't. as a general rule, i crank nothing and read my manuals for recommended settings on all my gear. (this really helped on my mesa amp- understanding the signal chain really helped me dial the eq better). if you're running a first gen 18i20, (that's what i run) i know from experience that i shouldn't crank the gain on any input orther-wise i almost definitely will get hiss. nothing over about 85% as a general rule. channels 1&2 will hiss slightly easier if you have them boosted by setting them on 'instrument'. my second gen 18i8 doesn't do this quite as easily. remember, the louder you can turn up your source instrument/speaker without it hissing significantly more, the less gain you'll have to put on your mixer, interface, etc., to get the level you want. ie the less hiss you'll get down the signal chain, as you won't be boosting the crap out of the signal with your mixer, preamp or daw. as a general rule, i make everything at the beginning of my signal chain as loud as i can, without it hissing significantly, and while maintaining the timbre i want. it's easier to turn down a clipping signal, than to turn up a hissing one! i also use cubase. don't be afraid to raise the gain inside your eq on individual channels too. (near the phase button) it works really well used lightly, and often can save the day. it might also be your monitors if they're old, or have lots of hours on them. i had a pair of first gen krk's i bought in 2008 slowly die on me. one, the sound just slowly imperceptibly faded away. the other developed a really quiet hiss super slowly over the years. (but this sounds different from what i think you're getting). but it's almost definitely your gain staging. read those manuals and recommended settings!
Do you have clean power issues? I’m sure you have a power conditioner, but if the Elec. in the building isn’t grounded properly you can still get that EMI which comes across as a hiss. I went ahead and bought some Ferrite chokes for literally every Cable (USB, XLR, headphones, Power) and it seems to lowered that hiss significantly. They’re super cheap and simple to install.
You added 50hz to the toms. Isn't it common to high pass toms around that or even higher around 100hz? Would love more info on the reason for the 50hz boost. Thanks!
nice video warren !! can you tell whish preamps you use ? are they directly from console ? and it looks like the Harrisson Console ? But i see Api Eq´s in there
how do you approach (any tricks / advice) phase issues with the duel mics on the high hat, and would it apply to the same way with duel mics for vocals?
Love all your videos Warren, thank you. Did you ever work at paisley park? I'd love to see you do a tour of there and run through all the gear. Would that be something you'd see yourself ever doing?
Great info, Love these walk through videos of mic setups and techniques! Thanks Warren! Just wondering would you usually use all the room mics in the mix or would you ever mute some
Warren great video, please can you explain how you get the chamber and plate sound as in how you set it up? Do you have a speaker in the chamber playing the snare hits and a mic in the chamber recording the speaker ? Cheers
yes, that's exactly what he said. he even said what speaker it was, although i don't recall it, as i wasn't familiar with it. actually the other fella said it. i don't think they said what mic, but that would probably depend on what your taste is and what's best for the Chamber (room) you use. to be honest i don't even know exactly what real (original) plate reverb is, but i imagine it can be googled easily enough.
That chamber and plate made me smile :) ...I've once experienced a "perfect" snare chamber room for my taste. It was an empty small commercial space. Now there's a pedicure parlour. I even took the measurements of that space. Maybe I should ask for permission to reverb snaresounds there ;)
i like the fredman clip form wilkinson audio because i do lots of metal recordings, but they also make X, XY and a couple others i think. certainly saves on mic stands and space. it's so tidy!
Thanks Warren, beautiful video! Might be off-topic but you showed the C12-A in the sound hole of the grand piano (in fact it was the second time you showed that technique evolving from an accidental, haha :-) My question: how do you mix the C12-A in the piano track? Dead center? With the two U-47 completely L/R? Reason I'm asking is because I often record grand piano with a pair of Rode NT5 positioned like the U-47. I really like the sound character of that spaced pair technique. The only problem sometimes is the lack of mono compatibility. So last time I've recorded an additional Rode NT1 in the sound hole and mixed it dead center. But the result wasn't beautiful at all, no definition, no sense of space. What am I missing? Hm ... maybe that's a question for FAQ Friday ?!? Thanks a lot, you rock man!
i do this trick very often, though never with a c12. i use a neumann 105 most times. ive auditioned all the sound holes in my grand and chosen the best sound to my ear. i use that one straight up the center and use whatever pair of mics i choose (DPA, AKG, Townsend, Telefunken, Neumann, Royer) and spread those to give me the image and width i want. the hole mic just fills in the gap of the spectrum. much like the ribbon under the piano does. i also use that mic when i do this live as the feed to the monitors for the musicians. its the best at rejection and still gets the full sound. you do have to eq it a bit..but worth the time in the big picture.
Thanks a lot @@realitykorupter! That's very precious information and makes absolutely sense! I'm curious how the different holes sound in our grand piano. I'll check that at the next session. Cheers!
I'm happy to see some recording videos again. First of all, it's refreshing memories of what I've seen before, but it also allows me to see how your technique has changed over time. And that's the interesting thing. Thank you so very, very much! But I have a few questions: 1. If I remember correctly you never used a sub kick mic before. Do the large diaphragm mics give you enough low end? When would you use one? 2. The APIs can be switched to shelfs and bells. I assume from the Pultec remark you were using bells for the LF and HF filters. Am I right or wrong? 3. Will we be able to watch you mix the recordings? Cheers!
i thought that outer mic captured the subs rather nicely in this example. i noted it because i was thinking the same thing until i heard that mic. (granted, i listened on my desktop speakers, not my studio monitors, so... for what it's worth).
@@slavesforging5361 Hey, I referred to the large "mics", which actually were loudspeakers with an XLR-cable soldered. The original subkick mics were made out of white NS-10 woofers. But it appears they've gone. I'm expecting an answer along sub-harmonic synthesis.
sure. you definitely got me on the sub harmonic synthesis or analysis. that's too fancy for me. but, yeah i've made a few sub kicks before. used an old set of krk-5 speakers for one (only set that didn't use a guitar speaker), but i'm still experimenting with different speaker sizes. maybe my comment didn't make sense, but i really didn't think their setup needed the extra sub from a reverse wired speaker, or a 'really, really large diaprhagm mic'. i thought it would have been superfluous was my point. i mix mostly metal, so i always use one. (and usually make a new one purposefully for that particular kit) but maybe it just isn't necessary for all music types, or in this particular case? can someone else chime in on any frequency tests they've done of various sub kicks compared to large diaphragm condensors? Anybody from Yamaha perhaps?
printing, is when you are editing or mixing a raw track, and you put eq, compression, fx, and everything else on it you want to make it sound pretty. then you record it or save it as a new track with all those sounds recorded permanately onto the new track, and use that new track from then on out. creating the new track with all that set into it is called 'printing'. it's like creating a finalized version of that track, or even buss/ group mix. (like printing all of your guitars onto one stereo track because you're done adjusting them). it's a way of saying you're done with that track or group/buss, and you want to save it and move on. printing helps save cpu usage on plugins- becasue you're no longer running the plugins to play the track-they're recorded onto it now. Printing also can save hard drive usage if you are using samples/midi on the track. but mostly it's a useful way to commit to a sound for that instrument, and a way to send your stems or prints to others for review or for them to work on. say if you want a band to approve of a guitar sound, or if you are sending your recordings to someone else to be mixed. hope this helped! it took me awhile to figure out too. i just kept watching videos until i got it. lol. it's just saving a track with the adjustments and fx you put onto it hardwired into it, thus saving your computer or fancy rack fx from having to work so hard every time you playback something.
Literally every video i've watched entitled "recording drums", never actually has any recording going on. Just lots of talking about micing and signal chain. I want to see a recording session and how things are managed within the DAW!
I've been lazy lately and have recorded drums past few days with just one condenser mic lol. Find the sweet spot,compress to taste, watch the high end on the snare... Done😁
if it works! i noticed in this video i liked the sound of the U67 room mic better than the full mix that was initially played! lol. oops. but all those mics are just for fine control while mixing, not necessarilly because they always sound better in the strictest sense. totally depends on the mix though. i find it good to always put that one mic in the sweet spot anyway if you have enough inputs for it. adds so much punch and unity. it's the glue AND the hammer! like mjornir or whatever the crap that sparky god's flying mallet thingy is called.
I think that we hear sound routed specifically for the video (maybe directly from protools) most of the time, but sometimes if Warren is speaking we also hear sound captured through his lava mic, hence the phasiness! It also happens every once in a while on his videos where he plays music through his studio ssl console.
Yep these answers are right, I make videos for a living mostly and seen this (or heard this!) many times at live events when a presenters mic gets mixed with their sound from the PA, same effect. This parts are just where Eric or whoever has brought up Warren's mic when he comments.
they recreated the Van Halen setup at sunset using the original hand-drawn diagrams from the session in that same room! it was really cool, they even had some bitchin kids come in and cover the van halen tunes. it was really, really sweet. those kids were amazing, and the drum setup was very, surprising! it was a truly amazing video! so good. great white buffalo (but whispered dreamily).
Never understood the necessity to time align when people made amazing sounding records for decades without the need for it. Seems like a bit of wank if you ask me. It wasn't even possible until protools came along. Plus consider this. No the kick is time aligned to the snare but guess what? It's now out of time alignment with the toms... Absurd.
Great, no I need a room, a drumset, mics and ... ah that's it: A drummer :). Honestly, good video as always, but I think I stay with sampled drums, since I'm alone, when it comes to music.
Of course :). I started ages ago with a Boss DR-550, then various samplers and now Strike2, Battery etc. I'm pleased with the way they sound. I always wanted to try DrumMic'a, not only because it's free, more because it comes with a huge library.
![Recording Drums With Steve Albini [Third Circle Recordings]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/kmP9z-xTRz0/mqdefault.jpg)
Loved it! Was cool to see a real elaborate drum recording setup like that! Loved the real chamber and the plate reverb
Hi Scott Chandler thanks ever so much my friend! I really appreciate it!!
Whenever i see in my YT notifications "Warren Huart" + "Recording" i stop what i'm doing, put my headphones, press play and pay attention.
Thank you ever so much my friend! That means a lot!! I really appreciate it!
Ditto, Chief! Warren Huart is one of two RUclipsrs that I have notifications switched on for. I don’t have time for advice that isn’t practical and easy to understand. Warren satisfies both categories and keeps it entertaining.
The drums sound like i'm standing in the live room... Great sound Warren! Greetings from Surinam
Hi jetrixx kas Thanks ever so much!!
Thanks for the walkthrough Warren, it’s great to see the inner workings of a recording setup. I’m sure you’ll enjoy your time at Sunset.
Great stuff Warren. You're inspiring this 56 year old drummer.
Thanks ever so much my friend! Thanks for the marvellous comment!! I am so glad to be able to help!
Dang, that's a great drum sound!
Thanks ever so much Dave! You Rock my friend!
i've had in my past a half dozen RE-15's and swear by them on anything and everything. they just sound amazing and take a beating like a 57, seriously.
Hi David Palmer Thanks ever so much for shying your insight my friend!
David Palmer by the agreed 100%! Amazing mic! So much body on the snare!!
My favorite console and room! I will watch every second of this later when I'm off work.
Always good drum tones when you go to Sunset Sound!
Ken Bennett yes Sir! We love this Studio!!
This is really interesting! I mostly work with "beat" based music where most of my recordings are vocals and guitars, so watching you talk about drum recording is really fascinating. Thanks for sharing, Warren!
I really appreciate videos like this! Keep them coming!! Thank you!
Hi Loretta Studios Thanks ever so much I really appreciate it!
Unbeatable, Unstoppable ‘n Untiring and the Greatest Rocker Warren ✌️
Hi E.D. Duro you are very kind my friend!!
With great skill comes great sounds...……...you guys have nailed it!! Great work Warren- as always!
I’m heartened to see all the cheap packing blankets. Even the most State-of-the-Art studio uses a diy tool that’s accessible by everyone.
Love this "recording drums at..." videos, thanks.
Thanks ever so much Victor! You Rock my friend!
Oh i love every minute of this!!Thanx for sharing this moment Warren!
Room mics...wow, they do hella job!
Agreed! Thanks ever so much!!
Yes, we love these walkthroughs Warren. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Backspin66 thanks ever so much! I’m so glad to be able to help!
This place is looking great!
Superb sounding drums!!!!
Thanks for the marvellous comment!!
Great video. I love the room sound. It would be so cool to have some IRs of the room and the chamber. Thank you ever so much for taking the time and the effort to give us a deep insight into your tracking technique.
Be careful what you ask for my friend!! Hahaha
Great vid. Recorded drums in a very similar way on Sunday. Got great results, looking forward to mixing the track.
Been looking forward to another of these types of videos for a while, should be good viewing when I can watch it later! Thanks Warren! Ps First!
Hi royglennie wow! Thanks ever so much my friend!
No probs, I'm about to watch it now!
royglennie fantastic!! Thanks my friend!!
Fantastic, interesting to see a different approach with more baffles etc - changes the sound quite a bit. Good stuff!
Hello Warren, it's always a pleasure and honour to learn from your videos and from your experience! I have a "mixing" question: when you mix drums you prefer to EQ > Comp or the opposite? Which are, in your opinion, the pros and cons of these two methods? Thank you!
And... that chamber is insane in the most positive way. To create something like this, I'd have to break in the local church :). What the hell, already a dislike? What for? Because you used the word highpass, even without setting it up?
5 dislikes now... some people are crazy... by the way yes the chamber sounds incredible doesn't it! I once enquired about hiring a church hall for drum recording and they were surprisingly ok with it! Never did it in the end but no harm in asking, right?
Of course not! If you could setup a drumset in church. From my experience priests are not very flexible in the terms of use for their house of god. Well maybe that changed since I left church :). Anyway that was I very kind reaction from your local church.
Another possibility could be an old and empty industry complex. But honestly? With great sounding reverbs and impulse responses and me using samples most times, the need for making thyt effort isn't to high anymore. It would be fun and a great experience for sure, at least for one time.
Hi Peter Brandt Thanks ever so much my friend! Yes, the chamber is amazing! The dislikes? Apparently RUclips said it’s mainly other channels! Haha funny! Blessed that we have an amazing community my friend!
Could be. I'm watching other channels as well and I can just hope, that none of them behaves like this. I would instantly unsubscribe and spread the word. Otoh, most music channels I watch are friends of PLAP, or appeared here, so there's hope, that these won't behave in such a childish way.
Keep up the good work, you're stuff is extremely helpfull and not at least entertaining.
Yeahhhhh!!! Great stuff Warren, drumrecordings are magic, good luck there guys!!! Cheers, Jeroen
love it!
Thanks ever so much Mike! You Rock!
i found myself at about 1/2 way through this one going back and watching the sunset tour vid mic locker tour again
thanks for always making learning fun warren
Amaizing ! Thank You!
Thanks ever so much Levon!!
Superb!! Thanks man
Great drum sounds and great video!
Thanks for the marvellous comment!!
Excelente Studio
Is there a video of you mixing this in the box after it was recorded? I would love to see how you balanced the three kick mics etc.
ive got like 4 re15's and i have had no idea what to use them on, totally throwing them on snare next time!
Great! Send me one! Hahaha Thanks for the marvellous comment!!
Very inventive video guys! I have a little home studio which produces quite a good drum sound - i have picked up some great tips here! Every part of the kit sounds spot on here. Tiger.
Any tips when drummer is working on a sizzle cymbal that has more resonance and high frequency washes than a typical ride? Thanks!
Marvellous question!! The Royer 121 would be perfect for that my friend!!
Thanks, appreciate it! 🙏🏻
Very cool.
Thanks ever so much Elroi!
RE-15 a blast from the past
Have not used one in 30 years
Hi Warren. What are the polar patterns on the multi-pattern mics (like the overheads, rooms and piano mics)?
Nice stuff, Warren. Thanks!
The original print and the low microphones sounded best to my ears, Warren.
COOl!
Thanks ever so much Sheila!
Enjoyed it thanks Warren!
Hi Warren, thanks for doing these vids, although I still have massive amounts to learn, I wouldn't have a clue if it wasn't for you, thanks again, all the best, Darren Ross.
You are very kind my friend! Thanks Darren!
Great video. It gives me some ideas on recording my drummers kit
Something that would be good to do a video on is potential phase issues that can occur when EQing. This happens a lot when recording/mixing drum kits especially. That would help us out a lot, cheers for now
when mixing try the ua Little labs 'in between phase' plugin. i think it's like 50 bucks! i use the analog little labs IBP and it is magical. seriously- but the analog is limited to one phase-adjusted output, so it sounds like you need the plugin. plus i'm assuming you're talking about phase corrections during DAW mixing, not recording/summing? either way, try out one of the Little Labs IBP's. you won't be disappointed. the analog one is about 600 USD new, but you can find them used for around 350. of course you'd need one per drum, or at least one per dual mic'd drum.
AMAZING video! Excellent❗
I just wonder what makes people go for a punchy kick vs clicky kick drum?!
Love that RE15 on the snare, never been a fan of the SM57 on it myself. Any chance these tracks will end up being used in the academy?
Hey Warren, do you time align the three kick mic's?
was thinking the same G Baxter
Hi G Baxter yes! Please watch some of my drum mixing videos you’ll see that I use time adjuster!
Thanks, Warren. I've seen them all and thought that was the process but wanted to confirm in this case as well. I will throw a pop filter up in front of any ribbon mic I use on kicks to protect from an unplanned blast of air from the batter/sound hole. I may stop after seeing the ribbon in action here.
Warren, can you explain please why we usually use dynamics on close micing drums and condensers further out? I thought condensers would capture transients better on close up? Is it just because of sound levels? I thought condensers would mostly be ok for high spl? Thanks!
here's a dumb question, is that control room tuned enough so that if you have to walk over to the EQ's on that far wall, you can tweak the settings by ear and not have to keep running to whatever "sweet spot" there is?
Ah great question, yes I'd like to know too!
doubt it. i think they just know their gear really well, and have a very, very good idea (from years of experience) what's gonna happen when they turn a pultec knob just like so. That'd be my guess. but i've never worked in anything remotely like that. it's definitely a fair question. (or maybe it's setup like that because they charge by the hour! lol kidding, kidding).
Seems like a realistic answer, probably correct. Or have an assistant turn the knobs if you need maybe? I'm sure you're right, these guys know what they're doing!
So what's the point of room mics if you cover (muffle) the kick drum with blankets? How much of the room mics did you end up mixing in, and was the kick a consideration?
Hi Homer, thanks for your interesting question/statement! Haha The Kick Drum projects great through the front of the tunnel and of course develops from the batter head as well. I never felt it compromised at all. I'm assuming you've tracked at Sunset Sound with that method and had issues? Engineering under guys like Jack Douglas etc this has always worked fantastically well and is on so many records we know and love!
i was amazed on the room U67 that the kick was loud and clear. prescient, focused, tight. gorgeous. (i kinda wanted to throw all the other mic tracks away! lol). it was so good. i've blanketed guitar cabinets before but never kick drums. definitely going to have to try that! great vid! thanks Warren and Sunset studios! (also, love the idea of an iso-cab as a reverb/plate/cahmber area! would've taken me a couple more years at least to think that up. i mean, it's a room that's a dedicated re-amped iso cab)! really cool!!!!!
Hi Slaves Forging I agree 100%! The kick sounded great in the rooms! The prof of the pudding is in the eating as they say, or in this case the listening! It’s always best to listen rather than look!
Do you bring your monitors into the studio you're visiting?
Great walk through - nice work. What are the dimensions on that chamber....it sounds quite large?
Also, any general tips for improving noise to signal ratio? I seem to get noticeable hums or fluttering static from my mics when I turn up the monitor volume slightly over half way and compressing only pushes it closer to the foreground. My signal chain is mic (Condenser/ Dynamic) > Yamaha MG206c > DBX 166A compressor > Scarlett 18i20 > computer (Cubase). I suspect it's the old preamps on the first gen MG206c, but thanks in advance Warren!
first thing i'd do is check the recommended gain settings in the manual on your mixer. chances are, your board has different sweet spots for different gains. i know my old Carvin mx1644 does. but honestly, if it's 90's or newer the signal to noise should be more than good enough. it's all about gain staging. some gains you can crank. others you can't. as a general rule, i crank nothing and read my manuals for recommended settings on all my gear. (this really helped on my mesa amp- understanding the signal chain really helped me dial the eq better).
if you're running a first gen 18i20, (that's what i run) i know from experience that i shouldn't crank the gain on any input orther-wise i almost definitely will get hiss. nothing over about 85% as a general rule. channels 1&2 will hiss slightly easier if you have them boosted by setting them on 'instrument'. my second gen 18i8 doesn't do this quite as easily.
remember, the louder you can turn up your source instrument/speaker without it hissing significantly more, the less gain you'll have to put on your mixer, interface, etc., to get the level you want. ie the less hiss you'll get down the signal chain, as you won't be boosting the crap out of the signal with your mixer, preamp or daw.
as a general rule, i make everything at the beginning of my signal chain as loud as i can, without it hissing significantly, and while maintaining the timbre i want. it's easier to turn down a clipping signal, than to turn up a hissing one!
i also use cubase. don't be afraid to raise the gain inside your eq on individual channels too. (near the phase button) it works really well used lightly, and often can save the day.
it might also be your monitors if they're old, or have lots of hours on them. i had a pair of first gen krk's i bought in 2008 slowly die on me. one, the sound just slowly imperceptibly faded away. the other developed a really quiet hiss super slowly over the years. (but this sounds different from what i think you're getting).
but it's almost definitely your gain staging. read those manuals and recommended settings!
Do you have clean power issues? I’m sure you have a power conditioner, but if the Elec. in the building isn’t grounded properly you can still get that EMI which comes across as a hiss. I went ahead and bought some Ferrite chokes for literally every Cable (USB, XLR, headphones, Power) and it seems to lowered that hiss significantly. They’re super cheap and simple to install.
You added 50hz to the toms. Isn't it common to high pass toms around that or even higher around 100hz? Would love more info on the reason for the 50hz boost. Thanks!
nice video warren !! can you tell whish preamps you use ? are they directly from console ? and it looks like the Harrisson Console ? But i see Api Eq´s in there
how do you approach (any tricks / advice) phase issues with the duel mics on the high hat, and would it apply to the same way with duel mics for vocals?
Brilliant, as always, Warren!
I have a question, what is the BIGGEST drum sound you've ever got with a very small number of mics?
and tighter with more mics.
Love all your videos Warren, thank you. Did you ever work at paisley park? I'd love to see you do a tour of there and run through all the gear. Would that be something you'd see yourself ever doing?
Great info, Love these walk through videos of mic setups and techniques! Thanks Warren! Just wondering
would you usually use all the room mics in the mix or would you ever mute some
Do you do exact delay compensation for the kick mics? For the phase.
Warren, do you know any great replacement tubes for a 2006 ART MPA Gold dual channel mic preamp? Thanks!
awesome
Thanks from Ukraine Warren! Lot of information as usual!
Warren great video, please can you explain how you get the chamber and plate sound as in how you set it up? Do you have a speaker in the chamber playing the snare hits and a mic in the chamber recording the speaker ? Cheers
yes, that's exactly what he said. he even said what speaker it was, although i don't recall it, as i wasn't familiar with it. actually the other fella said it. i don't think they said what mic, but that would probably depend on what your taste is and what's best for the Chamber (room) you use. to be honest i don't even know exactly what real (original) plate reverb is, but i imagine it can be googled easily enough.
That chamber and plate made me smile :) ...I've once experienced a "perfect" snare chamber room for my taste. It was an empty small commercial space. Now there's a pedicure parlour. I even took the measurements of that space. Maybe I should ask for permission to reverb snaresounds there ;)
yeah X Clip is cool... Greg Wurth sent me one when they first came out. nice chap cheers
i like the fredman clip form wilkinson audio because i do lots of metal recordings, but they also make X, XY and a couple others i think. certainly saves on mic stands and space. it's so tidy!
Did they move the console back? (Why am I thinking the couch was against the back wall?)
Are these bottom boosts shelves or bells on the API 550?
Thanks Warren, beautiful video!
Might be off-topic but you showed the C12-A in the sound hole of the grand piano (in fact it was the second time you showed that technique evolving from an accidental, haha :-) My question: how do you mix the C12-A in the piano track? Dead center? With the two U-47 completely L/R?
Reason I'm asking is because I often record grand piano with a pair of Rode NT5 positioned like the U-47. I really like the sound character of that spaced pair technique. The only problem sometimes is the lack of mono compatibility. So last time I've recorded an additional Rode NT1 in the sound hole and mixed it dead center. But the result wasn't beautiful at all, no definition, no sense of space.
What am I missing?
Hm ... maybe that's a question for FAQ Friday ?!?
Thanks a lot, you rock man!
i do this trick very often, though never with a c12. i use a neumann 105 most times. ive auditioned all the sound holes in my grand and chosen the best sound to my ear. i use that one straight up the center and use whatever pair of mics i choose (DPA, AKG, Townsend, Telefunken, Neumann, Royer) and spread those to give me the image and width i want. the hole mic just fills in the gap of the spectrum. much like the ribbon under the piano does. i also use that mic when i do this live as the feed to the monitors for the musicians. its the best at rejection and still gets the full sound. you do have to eq it a bit..but worth the time in the big picture.
Thanks a lot @@realitykorupter! That's very precious information and makes absolutely sense! I'm curious how the different holes sound in our grand piano. I'll check that at the next session. Cheers!
Is the c12a In Omni or cardioid?
Typically Cardioid, however Omni might work great! I've found Omni is fantastic on Pianos!
I'm happy to see some recording videos again. First of all, it's refreshing memories of what I've seen before, but it also allows me to see how your technique has changed over time. And that's the interesting thing. Thank you so very, very much!
But I have a few questions:
1. If I remember correctly you never used a sub kick mic before. Do the large diaphragm mics give you enough low end? When would you use one?
2. The APIs can be switched to shelfs and bells. I assume from the Pultec remark you were using bells for the LF and HF filters. Am I right or wrong?
3. Will we be able to watch you mix the recordings?
Cheers!
i thought that outer mic captured the subs rather nicely in this example. i noted it because i was thinking the same thing until i heard that mic. (granted, i listened on my desktop speakers, not my studio monitors, so... for what it's worth).
@@slavesforging5361 Hey, I referred to the large "mics", which actually were loudspeakers with an XLR-cable soldered. The original subkick mics were made out of white NS-10 woofers. But it appears they've gone. I'm expecting an answer along sub-harmonic synthesis.
sure. you definitely got me on the sub harmonic synthesis or analysis. that's too fancy for me. but, yeah i've made a few sub kicks before. used an old set of krk-5 speakers for one (only set that didn't use a guitar speaker), but i'm still experimenting with different speaker sizes. maybe my comment didn't make sense, but i really didn't think their setup needed the extra sub from a reverse wired speaker, or a 'really, really large diaprhagm mic'. i thought it would have been superfluous was my point.
i mix mostly metal, so i always use one. (and usually make a new one purposefully for that particular kit) but maybe it just isn't necessary for all music types, or in this particular case? can someone else chime in on any frequency tests they've done of various sub kicks compared to large diaphragm condensors? Anybody from Yamaha perhaps?
Hey Warren. Great video as usual! Sorry if this is a silly question, but when you say “print”, what do you mean?
printing, is when you are editing or mixing a raw track, and you put eq, compression, fx, and everything else on it you want to make it sound pretty. then you record it or save it as a new track with all those sounds recorded permanately onto the new track, and use that new track from then on out. creating the new track with all that set into it is called 'printing'. it's like creating a finalized version of that track, or even buss/ group mix. (like printing all of your guitars onto one stereo track because you're done adjusting them). it's a way of saying you're done with that track or group/buss, and you want to save it and move on. printing helps save cpu usage on plugins- becasue you're no longer running the plugins to play the track-they're recorded onto it now. Printing also can save hard drive usage if you are using samples/midi on the track. but mostly it's a useful way to commit to a sound for that instrument, and a way to send your stems or prints to others for review or for them to work on. say if you want a band to approve of a guitar sound, or if you are sending your recordings to someone else to be mixed. hope this helped! it took me awhile to figure out too. i just kept watching videos until i got it. lol. it's just saving a track with the adjustments and fx you put onto it hardwired into it, thus saving your computer or fancy rack fx from having to work so hard every time you playback something.
Literally every video i've watched entitled "recording drums", never actually has any recording going on. Just lots of talking about micing and signal chain. I want to see a recording session and how things are managed within the DAW!
Quick tip, Warren. Want a good B15 Ampeg Bass sound. Check out Amplitube Ampeg 2........ DI / re-amp your bass brains out. Have fun.
Thanks Piedscooter1! Haha I try it out!
I've been lazy lately and have recorded drums past few days with just one condenser mic lol. Find the sweet spot,compress to taste, watch the high end on the snare... Done😁
if it works! i noticed in this video i liked the sound of the U67 room mic better than the full mix that was initially played! lol. oops. but all those mics are just for fine control while mixing, not necessarilly because they always sound better in the strictest sense. totally depends on the mix though. i find it good to always put that one mic in the sweet spot anyway if you have enough inputs for it. adds so much punch and unity. it's the glue AND the hammer! like mjornir or whatever the crap that sparky god's flying mallet thingy is called.
@@slavesforging5361 right on😁
WOW BIG SOUND for time in the studio at sunset $ ?????? just for fun Warren
Hi Dan Peltier yes, indeed! Great times!! You can book time there are record! Plus we do Master Classes there!
What tracks did Prince cut at Sunset?
Like and Snare this video!
VIGO Recording Studio thanks ever so much my friend
What is going on with that phasing sound on the hats at 14:09? Do you put a phaser plugin on the hi-hat mics?
I think that we hear sound routed specifically for the video (maybe directly from protools) most of the time, but sometimes if Warren is speaking we also hear sound captured through his lava mic, hence the phasiness! It also happens every once in a while on his videos where he plays music through his studio ssl console.
Agree with Nikrooz. pretty sure that's it.
Yep these answers are right, I make videos for a living mostly and seen this (or heard this!) many times at live events when a presenters mic gets mixed with their sound from the PA, same effect. This parts are just where Eric or whoever has brought up Warren's mic when he comments.
I assume the NS10s are off :P
Nice snare :D
Knew it would be Blair!
Yes Andrew! He's a marvellous drummer!
Why 2 mics on the hats??
What was the affectionate name for the dums? Dying to know. Begins with S I presume...
this is no c12 in the piano frame - its an old 414
Will we win anything if we guess what he calls the color of the drum kit?
Haha I'd be interested to see if you can guess my friend!!
I’m thinking it has to do with “reproduction,” and I’m not talking about sound reproduction.
@@Producelikeapro the C-men
Produce Like A Pro piss? :)
oh, so I just need to utilize ALL my vintage Neumanns. Got it...
😊
I learned a bunch from this. Thanks so much. Good rooms mics are essential clearly.
Band member and engineer . No Plexiglas and No Blankets Ever Live or Room !
YOU DID VAN HALEN?!?!
they recreated the Van Halen setup at sunset using the original hand-drawn diagrams from the session in that same room! it was really cool, they even had some bitchin kids come in and cover the van halen tunes. it was really, really sweet. those kids were amazing, and the drum setup was very, surprising! it was a truly amazing video! so good. great white buffalo (but whispered dreamily).
P.S. OK. Plis, giv me 1 trek atalon world, maybi Gramy. Ggiv me pliz. Sorri from may English. I love yoe
Never understood the necessity to time align when people made amazing sounding records for decades without the need for it. Seems like a bit of wank if you ask me. It wasn't even possible until protools came along. Plus consider this. No the kick is time aligned to the snare but guess what? It's now out of time alignment with the toms... Absurd.
Great, no I need a room, a drumset, mics and ... ah that's it: A drummer :). Honestly, good video as always, but I think I stay with sampled drums, since I'm alone, when it comes to music.
Nothing wrong with that if you can find good sounding drum samples :P
Of course :). I started ages ago with a Boss DR-550, then various samplers and now Strike2, Battery etc. I'm pleased with the way they sound. I always wanted to try DrumMic'a, not only because it's free, more because it comes with a huge library.