Music Tech Focus - Recording & Mixing 2014 PDF

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RECORDING
& MIXING
INCLUDING 100
100s OF SAMPLES, HOURS OF VIDEO
RECORDING & MIXING 2014 ALL NEW TECHNIQUES FOR YOUR PROJECT STUDIO
ALL NEW TECHNIQUES FOR YOUR PROJECT STUDIO
RECORD, PLAY, 2014

MIX. PERFECT
MUSIC NOW!
132
PAGES OF PRO
RECORDING
& MIXING TIPS
ISBN 978-1-909590-27-4
9 781909 590274
MusicTech Focus: Recording & Mixing 2014 8.99
www.musictech.net
The complete, pro guide to music production

15 in-depth workshops for every major DAW
From set-up to mix: produce the perfect track
The best microphones and recording gear rated
100s of samples, hours of tutorials on the DVD
Written & compiled by Music Techs recording & mixing experts
LEARN FROM PRO

MUSIC PRODUCERS
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Welcome MTF
Welcome
to MusicTechs Recording & Mixing Focus 2014. Assembling and mixing your
core sounds are the most dramatic processes in music production, and were
focussing on both processes here. Recording sounds from the outside world that
is drums, vocals and so on into the comfortable and safe environment of your
DAW can be a tough ask. But weve broken it down both in terms of how you set up
your recording session outside of your computer and how to set up the session
within your
computer with
special tutorials and workshops on both
external and internal recording.
Similarly, the mixing process is dealt
with in detail for whatever popular DAW
you employ. Weve also rounded up some
of the best tools of the trade for both
recording and mixing (starting on p114) and rounded up microphones in different categories that will do a
great recording job, whatever your budget (see pages 38 and 80). In short, we want you to record, play and
mix with ease and believe this issue will help with just that. As ever we want to hear the results so
whatever music you make today, send it in. Enjoy the issue!
Assembling and mixing your

sounds are the most dramatic
processes in music production
Andy Jones Senior Editor

andy.jones@anthem-publishing.com
Business Dev Manager Di Marsh

di.marsh@anthem-publishing.com
MUSICTECH FOCUS MAGAZINE
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FOCUS Ableton Live 8 Volume 2
| 03
MTF Contents
Issue 35
Recording & Mixing 2014
RECORD, MIX,
PLAY! PERFECT
MUSIC... NOW!
If you learn how to record, you will be able to get any sound including
drums, guitars and your own voice into your tunes. If you then learn to
mix them all together you will end up with professional-sounding tunes.
This special MusicTech Focus will help you master both processes
MTF Workshops
Feature
Start here
How to set up for the perfect

recording session p18 - 37
press record
Recording &
Mixing Guide
Your complete start-to-finish guide

is right here p6
4 | Recording & Mixing 2014
FOCUS
How to record in the most

popular DAWs p50 - 73
and mix
How to get the best mix in the

most popular DAWs p86- 100
Contents MTF
MTF Issue 35 Full listings
Buyers Guide
FEATURES
Your ultimate
mic guides
006 | Main Feature The complete

guide to recording and mixing
014 | How to record vocals pt. 1
038 | Feature The Ultimate
condenser mic guide
076 | Interview Blancmange
Cheap ribbons and the best

condensers rounded up p38 & 80
080 | Feature The Ultimate

cheap ribbon mic guide
090 | How to record the
complete guide to acoustic drums
102 | How to record vocals pt. 2
WORKSHOPS: SETTING UP
018 | Star
Starting out in Ableton Live
022 | Project set-up in Cubase 7
0
MTF Tutorials
026 | Set-up in Pro Tools 11

0
030 | Comping in Logic
0
034 | Starting out in Reason
WORKSHOPS: RECORDING
How to
record vocals
Your guides are here p14 & 102
050 | Perfect takes in Cubase

054 | Recording in Reason
058 | Get sound into Pro Tools 11
062 |Advanced recording in Logic
066 | Recording in FL Studio
070| Perfect recording in Live
WORKSHOPS: MIXING
086| Perfect mixes in Reason
How to
record drums
The ultimate acoustic
guide p106
090 | Mix perfection Logic

094 | Lives perfect mix
098 | Better mixing in Cubase
SUBSCRIBE
112 | to MusicTech here
REVIEWS
114 | Allen & Heath QU16 mixer
116 | AKG C10000 Mk4 mic
117 | BIAS for iPad recording app
117 | Panning explained book
118 | Warm Audio TB12 processor
119 | Sound Forge audio editor
120 | Fabfilter Pro MB processor
MTF Interview
Blancmange
Rerecording a
classic p76
121 | Lindell Audio 18XS pre amp

122 | Vertigo Sound processor
123 | Syntorial tutorial app
124 | Sontronics Aria mic
125 | UA Fairchild collection
126 | Focusrite Red 1 500 pre amp
128 | Tracktion 5 budget DAW
YOUR DVD
130 | Whats on your MTF DVD
FOCUS Recording & Mixing 2014
|5
MTF Main Feature The Complete Guide To Recording & Mixing
RECORDING
& MIXING
MTF Main Feature The Complete Guide To
Recording and mixing are not the complex technical processes they used to be, although
youll still need the right gear and a sensible approach.
Hollin Jones gives you the lowdown
FOCUS
The Complete Guide To Recording & Mixing Main Feature MTF
heres never been a better time to get into the world of music
production. The technology at your disposal could only have been
dreamt of a couple of decades ago, and the range of tools on offer is
incredible. The flipside of this is that theres a lot of stuff out there,
and choosing where to start can seem daunting. Everyone will
recommend something that they like but that doesnt mean its necessarily the
right kit for you because people work in different ways. So were not going to
tell you exactly what model of interface or what mic you should buy because
there are way too many factors that might determine whats right for you.
What we will do is walk you through the basics of how to get started, what
kind of equipment you
will need and how it all
fits together. With a
little guidance, youll be
up and running in no
time at all
Tools of the trade
The technology at your disposal

is incredible, but the flipside is that
there is a lot of it out there
The chances are you will

be recording using a computer since these are far and away the most popular
way to produce these days. Your battered old home PC is unlikely to serve you
particularly well in the demanding arena of pro audio production so consider
getting something with more grunt, be it a Mac or a Windows machine. You will
want at least a dual core processor and preferably a quad core model, though
these are generally pretty affordable nowadays. Go for at least 4GB of RAM and a
big, spacious and fast hard drive. None of this should set you back a fortune, and
though Macs are more expensive on the whole, many people find that this
investment is repaid in the time you save thanks to their stability and ease of
|7
Ins and outs
Shures SM57 is an industry

standard dynamic mic for
recording high pressure
sound sources like drums
and guitars.
use. Modern laptops of a

decent spec are a perfectly
acceptable tool for producing as they
are powerful and usually well put together.
You will need to get signals into your computer
and you should forget about using the built-in
microphone mini jack as these are not in any way
designed for serious recording. You will need a
proper audio interface and there are a great many to
choose between.
With desktop tower computers making up a
smaller and smaller part of the market, the majority
Try and consider what your

recording needs are now and
what youll need in the future
of interfaces now use a hot pluggable rather than a
PCI card-based connection method. All modern
computers will have USB2 connectivity and many
now also have USB3 and these are the most common
interface types on the market. They can supply
power to all but the largest audio boxes and even
the now rather mature USB2 can stream multiple
audio channels in and out with no problems. USB3 is
much faster and new Macs also come with
Thunderbolt, a rather pricey but nonetheless
extremely quick new connection protocol for
connecting devices.
When thinking about choosing an interface, try and

consider what your needs will be now and in the
future. A small USB2 audio interface is super
portable and great for recording a couple of
tracks at a time but not so much for recording a
live drum kit. Similarly theres no point in buying
a huge 24 in/out box if youre only ever going to
record one guitar at a time. There are lots of models
somewhere in the middle of these two examples. You
might therefore opt for a four- or six-input box with
a similar number of outputs, which would cover you
for potential future needs without breaking the
bank. You usually need more ins than outs as youre
more likely to need to record drums, guitars and
vocals at the same time than to route that number of
signals out. The exception is if you are mixing using
a hardware desk, in which case having lots of
separate track outs is a good thing.
When you record any audio source, the features of
your interface are really important. These boxes use
preamps to amplify the signal you connect to them
and A/D converters to turn analogue into digital
signals. Preamps in particular are crucial because if
youre having to push them a little in order to get
mic or acoustic guitar signals up to a respectable
level for recording, you want them to be good quality
so they dont start to introduce noise. Some also have
their own character, maybe adding a little warmth to
the signal, but on the whole their aim should be to
capture what you feed them with crystal clarity.
Even affordable interfaces are now usually able
to operate at 24-bit resolution and at sample rates of
48kHz and higher some even up to 192kHz. And
while you dont really need to work at the very top
end of this range, recording in better-than-CD
quality of 24-bit, 48kHz is generally a good idea as
computers can easily handle it.
There are some other features that are very useful
to have on an audio interface and top of the list is
MTF Step-by-Step Set up and record a track in Cubase
With the interface connected and

correctly installed and selected in the
Device Setup menu, make sure your
instrument or mic is connected to the correct
input on the hardware and then create an
audio track in Cubase. From the tracks input
selector, choose the same input. In this case
its the stereo input 1 and 2.
01
FOCUS
Play or sing and adjust the level knob on

the interface to control how much signal
is coming through to the computer. Monitor the
level using the meters in Cubase and on the
interface and look for a good healthy signal but
without clipping. If in doubt, run slightly lower
rather than slightly too high.
02
With levels set, activate the click track

or line up any existing material that you
want to record over and press record,
remembering to switch to headphones if you
are recording using a microphone. Record for
as long as you need and then go back and
review the results. The moderate waveform
shown indicates that your levels were decent
but not too high.
03
MTF Step-by-Step Mixing in Reason
Reasons mixer is approachable but

powerful and will help you to get control
of your mixes. Start by soloing up the drums
and the bass and work on those to get them
sounding right. Try adding some compression
using the dynamics section built in to each of
the mixer channel strips.
01
Use the EQ modules to tweak and fine

tune the frequencies of each channel to
make them sit correctly in the mix. If you click
on the EQ button on any channel you can reveal
a larger EQ window which makes manipulating
the EQ points much easier. Use the track name
menu here to move between tracks without
leaving the window.
02
probably direct monitoring support. When you

record into software like Logic or Cubase, what will
normally happen is that you sing or play your guitar
into a mic or down a cable and this is passed
through the interface to the computer, through the
software, back out to the interface and into your
headphones. At the same time, the backing track
youre recording over is also being played down the
same route. What often happens here is called
latency, where this processing creates a slight lag
between you playing and you hearing that playing in
your headphones. Its actually incredibly off-putting,
and for years was the bane of many producers lives.
Direct monitoring works by feeding your
performance back to you before its been passed to
the computer. Its still recorded properly, but you
hear it with no latency and thus are able to perform
much more naturally in sync with whatever you are
recording over. Once the preserve of high-end kit,
direct monitoring is now available in much more
When you are getting close to perfecting

the mix, go to the master buss
compressor at the top right hand corner of
the mixer and try adding some gentle master
compression. This isnt mastering, but it will
help to glue the track together as a whole. You
may need to make some tweaks to the mix
after applying compression.
03
affordable units. Some more advanced models also

have on-board DSP-powered effects, like
compression and reverb, which help you to achieve a
more natural performance without introducing any
extra latency. They should all have phantom power
for powering condenser microphones, and some
models also have sophisticated software control
panels that enable you to build advanced monitoring
and routing setups from your computer.
Recording tips
You will be connecting sources to your interface of
course, be they instruments or microphones and
there are some good general rules to observe here
too. Lets start with instruments since they are a
little more straightforward. Guitars, basses, synths
and drum machines will have jack outputs. Guitars
and basses will benefit from a hi Z input option
because they have a lower natural output level when
connected directly to an interface than synths and
electronic instruments, which have line level
MTF Technique MIDI recording

We have talked a lot about audio recording but MIDI is another
important part of many recording setups. As well as being used to
trigger all kinds of virtual instruments, MIDI is the protocol via which
control surfaces operate, including the models that give you
hands-on control over your mixes. MIDI recording is, on the whole,
somewhat simpler than audio recording because its a defined set of
instructions rather than something with variable levels and signal
issues like audio. MIDI is simply data that tells a
computer when to do something,
like when to trigger a note, for
how long and with what
velocity and sustain values.
Things like latency arent really
a problem when recording MIDI
since theres very little processing
of the input signal to do compared to
digital audio, and the vast majority of
MIDI input devices like keyboards and
pads are now class compliant meaning they require no drivers, and
are connected and even powered over USB.
As with audio, recording MIDI is a case of directing input at a
track, only in this case that track must be connected to something in
order to generate sound. This is usually a virtual instrument of some
kind but could also be an external MIDI instrument like a synth,
sampler or drum machine. The beauty of MIDI is that it is freely
assignable so if, for example, you record a MIDI piano part but
then decide you want that part to be played by a synth pad,
you could just reassign the MIDI track to the new
instrument. Or indeed duplicate the MIDI part and
assign the copied part to a new generator. MIDI
recording is a mature technology these
days and shouldnt present you with any
big challenges.
Mackie make some of the most common MIDI
controllers which can control a lot of different
music software.
|9
Rodes NT-1 is a great

all-round condenser mic
and like all condensers
should be used with a pop
shield for vocals.
outputs. Its common to run your instrument at or

near full volume and then control the input volume
using the gain knob on your audio interface or if
youre using one, your mixing desk. To do it the other
way around low instrument volume being boosted
using the interface preamps runs a high risk of
introducing hiss and background noise to the signal.
The beauty of using a DI (direct input) method of
recording is that you get a clear signal, with no room
issues to worry about. In many cases, though, you
will be using a microphone, which is a somewhat
different beast. Vocals, percussion, drum kits,
acoustic instruments and any guitar or bass sounds
that have first been run through an amp will need to
be miced up. Every audio interface should have at
least one XLR input for connecting a mic, and if it
does it should have phantom power too. Phantom
power is a small electrical charge needed to power a
condenser mic and make it operational, though it
can be supplied using a USB-powered interface.
The kind of microphone you use depends on what
youre doing. There are different kinds of mic though
a condenser is the most commonly used all-round
variety for vocal and acoustic applications. Often
using a large diaphragm, condenser mics are
sensitive and often not particularly directional. They
can have polar pattern switches so that they can be
tailored to pick up more or less sound from certain
angles, and also sometimes have rolloff switches to
cut out unwanted effects like rumble at the
recording stage. Its vital to use a pop shield with
any kind of vocal recording, especially with a
condenser mic, to prevent plosive b and p sounds
from pushing air onto the mic, distorting the signal.
Although most mics can be used for most things,
there are types that are better suited to some kinds
of recording. Sounds that exhibit high pressure and
volume for example like drums or guitar amplifiers
are often recorded using a dynamic mic, as these
tend to be more robust and less sensitive. The Shure
SM57 in particular is a classic studio staple for
recording guitars and there are a range of mics
designed specifically for recording drums. The kick,
snare, hi hats and overheads will all benefit from the

use of a different kind of microphone, and mic
placement for drums is a whole topic in itself.
Recording a single source with multiple
microphones will result in some bleed, whereby
some signal from the snare, for example, will be
picked up by the hi-hat mic, and so on around the
kit. This isnt necessarily a problem, as everything
should still be in sync, but you can use EQ to deal
with some of the more obvious bleed, removing some
signal based on frequency. A lot of producers
actually dont consider bleed a problem, provided
the initial mic placement was sensible.
Pick your route

Whatever you connect to your interface, be it a single
vocal mic or a whole drum kit, you will need to map
the signals through into your software which will
typically be a DAW like Cubase, Logic, Live or Pro
Tools. This is straightforward and involves matching
up the physical inputs to inputs in software, after
installing all the relevant drivers. So, for example, if
you have an acoustic guitar connected directly to
input 1 on your interface and a vocal mic connected
to input 2, create two audio tracks in your DAW and
set the input of the first to input 1 and of the second
to input 2. Record enable them and activate
monitoring (you may be using direct monitoring, as
mentioned above) and then set the input levels based
on looking at the level meters in your software.
Aim for a good solid level but without ever
clipping. A good trick here is to play or sing as loud
as you are going to get and check that the signal
doesnt go into the red. If in doubt, run slightly lower
levels rather than slightly higher, as its easier to
boost gain post-recording than to deal with
distorted audio. The same technique applies to
recording multiple sources, its just that it will take a
little longer to set up. So if you have eight mics on
your drum kit, create eight tracks and set their
levels. Trace the signal from hardware to software,
matching hardware inputs with software ones. It
MTF Step-by-Step Routing setup in Logic
Go into Logics preferences and choose

the Audio section. In the input and
output devices tabs, select the audio
interface that you have connected so it
becomes active. In the buffer section, set a
value of 64 or 128 samples unless your
computer is a little older, in which case try
256 or 512 samples.
01
FOCUS
Create an audio track and then go to its

channel strip inspector. In the Input
section, click and navigate to the Input option
where you should see the inputs available on
your interface. Choose the one to which you
have connected your source and then activate
monitoring for the track and you should hear
play through.
02
If you do choose to route audio outside

your DAW, say for the purposes of
mixing, this can usually be done using a
similar method. In Logic you simply click on
the Output tab and choose from the available
outputs. You will also see a range of busses
here, which can be used for other internal
processing and grouping.
03
MTF Technique A guide to DAWs

The Digital Audio Workstation or DAW
functionality and flagship versions
is the preferred name for the current
having everything. Everyone has their
generation of music production
own preferred DAW but there are
packages. They are no longer really
some particular strengths to be found
referred to as sequencers because
in each. Cubase is pretty easy to pick
although their primary function used
up and learn, and Logic is very well
to be sequencing, they now do almost
optimized for the Mac and comes
exponentially more than just putting
with a great free iOS companion app.
blocks of data in order. The modern
Pro Tools is favoured for its audio
DAW is a remarkable piece of
tracking abilities and SONAR comes
engineering that utilizes the processing power
with a huge complement of bundled
Choose Live! (Or Cubase, Logic, SONAR,
of modern computers to do everything from
instruments and effects. Ableton Live
Bitwig, Pro Tools, FL Studio, Tracktion, DP,
and so on and so on.)
recording at better-than-CD quality through
is great for loop-based composition and
running multiple real-time effects and
Reason is a friendly and powerful all-in-one
instruments, performing automation, detailed editing, time and pitch
system. There are others too, like Tracktion, Bitwig, FL Studio and
shifting, scoring and more.
Digital Performer, all with their own feature sets. Which one you
Most DAWs work on Mac or PC with the exception of Logic which
choose will be a matter of personal choice but they are all amazingly
is Mac only and SONAR and FL Studio which are Windows only. They
powerful and any of them will in its own way let you produce great,
often come in different versions, with cheaper ones offering core
professional sounding tracks.
makes sense to name tracks in software as this

makes things easier to keep track of. Although you
can route multiple sources to a smaller number of
tracks say, for example, submixing a drum kit down
to a stereo pair for recording, this isnt a great idea
unless its unavoidable because it means your mixing
and balancing options become limited. Its best to
keep all sounds on separate tracks where possible.
Listening back
Another important part of the recording process is
monitoring, which you will do on headphones,
speakers, or a combination of the two. Your interface
will have stereo outs and a headphone out with
If you are recording live, you will

need to use headphones to avoid
capturing the backing track
variable level controls and you may well have a pair
of powered monitor speakers or passive speakers
connected to an amplifier. The basic rule of thumb
here is that when you are recording anything live in
the room using a microphone, you have to use
headphones for the duration of the recording
otherwise your backing track will be captured along
with the sound you are recording. Youll also
probably get terrible feedback, which is a massive
no-no. Simply switching your speakers off during
recording will do the trick, then turning off the
power to the mic or muting its input when switching
them on for listening back. With more advanced
setups you are often able to create multiple monitor
mixes for different people. So in a larger studio the
engineer could feed a different balance of
instruments to the vocalist, the drummer and the
guitarist. At the other end of the scale, someone
recording guitar over an electronic track that was

being MIDI-triggered in Logic would need a simple
setup, just hearing themselves and the backing. If
you are recording direct in, with an instrument
connected directly to your interface, you can record
while monitoring on speakers since the signal is not
actually being captured in the room at any point.
The process of recording digital audio into a DAW
is more or less identical across most applications
but they all have their own features. Many offer the
ability to record in a loop, for example, going over
and over the same area and muting previous takes to
let you try various different things as you play,
sorting out which to use after recording ends. Some,
like Reason 7 will automatically analyse all
incoming audio for tempo information and make it
stretchable as soon as its been captured. Cubase
offers a retrospective record feature that starts
recording before you hit go, in case you did
something great before embarking on the take.
Getting to the mix

The processes of composing, arranging and
programming in a modern DAW are whole areas of
their own, but when they are complete you will find
yourself at the mixing stage. There are two main
approaches to mixing which you could term in the
box and using external hardware. Lets look at each
of these in turn, as well as what each one offers.
Mixing in the box is pretty much what it sounds like.
In this technique you use the mixer in your DAW
running on your computer to blend and balance all
the tracks in a project and make a finished product.
There are several advantages to this method that
account for it being a very popular way of working.
It doesnt require lots of cabling because everything
is already routed internally and just needs to be sent
out as a stereo feed to your monitor speakers via
your audio interface. Creating groups, busses and
submixes internally is far easier than externally,
| 11
integrate your computer-based project into a

more conventional studio environment. This takes
more work but its possible if your interface has
lots of outputs.
Getting it right
Steinbergs UR-22 audio

interface and its bigger
brother the UR-44 are great
for small to medium-sized
recording setups.
especially if your setup is more modest. Assigning

the outputs of channels to send effects, for example,
is just a case of clicking a couple of buttons. If
theres a piece of outboard effects hardware you just
have to use, many DAWs include an external effect
option that lets you plumb in a hardware effect to
process a track from your DAW as if it existed
internally, complete with delay compensation.
Mixing in the box also has the benefit of letting
you take full advantage of the automation
capabilities of your DAW. Every aspect of a mix can
Its not about having more gear

but about having the right
equipment for the job
For a weightier recording

solution with lots of ins and
outs, consider something
like Focusrites Saffire
Pro 40
be automated from levels and panning to effects, in

a way that is far harder to do when using external
kit. Working with small on-screen controls can be a
little more fiddly, of course, but many of the MIDI
controllers on the market come with templates for
leading DAWs and if you want to spend a bit more,
dedicated mix controllers can give you hardwarelike control over your mixes with banks of faders
and other controls for you to push around. These
provide a great solution for mixing in the box but
with the best aspects of hardware mixing too.
Some people prefer to mix using traditional
mixing hardware, and this usually requires either
exporting your project as a series of stems a bunch
of individual tracks to be imported onto a system in
another studio or connecting your DAW via an
interface to a hardware mixing console or desk. By
routing each channel out individually you can assign
each one to a hardware mixer channel and thus
FOCUS
The process of mixing itself is as much an art as a

science and every project you work on will require a
different treatment. In all probability, during the
process of arranging a track you should already have
a decent working mix going and it will serve as a
good starting point for refining your final mix. If not
or if you prefer to tackle mixing as a separate
process, it makes sense to start with the basic
elements of a track. Solo up the drums and the bass
and get them sounding good using some
compression, a little EQ and other effects as needed.
Bring in additional tracks as you go, balancing them
with each other and tweaking EQ, compression levels
and more to achieve the perfect balance of tracks.
Remember that the purpose of mixing is to create
a great overall sound, so it doesnt matter what any
one element sounds like in isolation what matters
is how it sits in the mix. An EQd guitar might sound
a bit weedy when soloed, but in the context of the
track it might sit perfectly and thats what is
important. Look out for frequencies that occupy the
same space, like kick drums and bass guitar or
vocals and synths, and be sure to prioritise whats
needed (usually the vocals) and carve each sound out
its own space. Side-chained or multiband
compression can be handy tools to use when dealing
with similar sounds getting the pumping bass
effect in dance music is a good example of this.
The aim of mixing is to balance the track
properly, not necessarily to squeeze lots of power out
of it that is reserved for the mastering stage which
comes next and is the last leg of the whole process.
Take your time and dont make do with an OK mix.
Make sure you deal with that slightly bright guitar,
or that bit in the chorus where the vocal is too quiet.
Otherwise you will notice it every time you listen
back in the future. If in doubt, seek advice from a
trusted friend or engineer. You can fatigue your ears
and lose perspective by listening on repeat. If
necessary, have a break and then come back.
Setting up a modern recording system in a home
studio need not be difficult or confusing. Modern
technology is so good that provided you choose the
gear thats right for what you want to do and invest a
little time in learning it, you can get professionalsounding results with a relatively modest setup. Its
not about having more equipment, but rather about
having the right equipment for the job. Follow the
advice we have given and youre sure to be making
great sounding tracks in no time. MTF
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the Avid logo, and Pro Tools are trademarks or registered trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries. All other trademarks contained herein
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4/28/14 2:14 PM
MTF How to record
MTF How to record...

Lead vocals
The most important instrument to record? Well its
arguably the human voice. John Pickford explains
how to get the best from your singers
FOCUS
How to record MTF
MTF Step-by-Step Preparing For The Session
A great vocal performance, wellrecorded, can often make the difference

between an average demo and a potential
chart hit. Therefore, being well prepared is
essential for the session to run smoothly.
Check your signal chain for faulty leads or
equipment before the singer is in front of the
microphone to avoid momentum being lost. If
you have more than one potential vocal mic,
set them up to hear which is best suited for
your singers voice.
01
Talk to your singer in advance to get an

idea of monitoring requirements. Many
vocalists find a bit of reverb useful in their
headphones. Some singers prefer to use just
one side of the headphones, in which case its
a good idea to disconnect the other unused
speaker to minimise leakage into the mic.
Make sure you can communicate with your
singer through the headphones if you are not in
the same room.
02
Unless everything you record is purely

instrumental, at some point you will
need to record a lead vocal
performance. Nowadays, some very
professional-sounding backing tracks
of all popular musical genres can be created
in-the-box. However, the art of capturing a great
vocal requires the same skills whether you are
recording at home with your DAW or working in a
fully-equipped professional studio. And if you
had a busy day and then rushed to the studio having

quickly scoffed a cheeseburger en route.
And relax
Recording vocals can be quite

nerve-racking, so the engineer
assumes the role of psychologist
can capture a brilliant lead vocal, youre well on
the way to producing an excellent and earcatching track.
After all, the lead vocal is usually the most
prominent sound on the recording, and it has the job
of carrying the main melody as well as much of the
emotional impact of the song. With that in mind, its
crucial to get the best possible performance from
your singer, which means paying close attention to
all aspects of the process; its not just a simple
matter of plonking a microphone in a room, clicking
the record button and hoping for the best. In fact,
before you even think about choosing and setting up
a suitable mic, there are several important factors
that need to be addressed.
First of all, you need to make sure that you have
chosen the best time to record; for example, youre
unlikely to achieve a great vocal take first thing in
the morning after a night out on the booze and that
applies to the engineer/producer as well as the
vocalist! Similarly, satisfying results wont come
from booking an evening session if your singer has
Set the right ambience by ensuring that

the studio is at a comfortable
temperature and the lighting creates the right
vibe for the session. However, if you are using
fan heaters or coolers avoid placing them
where their noise can be heard through the
microphone. Remember that any unwanted
ambient noise will be exaggerated when
compression is applied. This also applies
if you are recording in a room with other
noisy equipment.
03
In this respect, the key to a first-class vocal is

ensuring that the session is conducted at a time that
is conducive to creating a relaxed atmosphere.
Recording vocals can be quite nerve-wracking for
many singers, particularly if he or she is
inexperienced. This is where the engineer has to
assume something of the role of a psychologist,
making sure that the singer is comfortable and at
ease with the situation.
If at all possible, its a good idea to have a chat
before the session to establish how best to proceed
in order to avoid wasting time and losing momentum
during the session. Some experienced singers may
CONTACTS
AKG
01462 480000
www.soundtech.co.uk
RODE
020 8962 5000
www.hhb.co.uk
SHURE
01992 703058
www.shure.co.uk
The Shure SM7B is a fine mic

for vocals and other close
studio work and streets at
around 349.
| 15
MTF How to record
have certain methods or demands and it is useful for

all involved to have some idea of what to expect, as
this will inspire confidence and increase
productivity. For example, the singer might have very
specific monitoring requirements and taking too long
to sort-out the headphone mix could spoil the
moment. If the atmosphere isnt right, or too many
problems arise during early takes, the whole session
can be ruined.
Time permitting, it can be useful to have a
practice session before proper recording begins. That
way any technical problems can be ironed-out in
advance. A little pre-production can save an awful
lot of time on the day and help to eliminate any
anxieties the vocalist might have regarding the
recording session. One factor that needs to be
determined before vocal recording begins is who
should be present in the studio or control room

during the session. Nothing can be more off-putting
for a singer than to have band-mates or session
visitors offering unhelpful advice or generally
mucking about when a take is being attempted.
Sometimes a singer may benefit from having the
encouragement and opinions of fellow musicians,
but more often than not, the presence of the
engineer/producer is all the singer requires,
If the vocalist asks for advice,

make sure any criticism is
constructive and sensitive
The AKG C414 (right) is a widely

used vocal mic (street price
around 640) while the Rode
NT2 (left) is also a very capable
studio vocal mic and streets at
around 230.
especially if his band-mates idea of encouragement

is making silly remarks or mooning through the
control-room window!
If the vocalist does require advice, make sure any
criticism is constructive and avoid insensitive
comments nobody wants to hear that their singing
is as flat as a pancake... Of course, if youre working
alone recording your own vocals, interference from
others wont be a problem, however, being in the
right frame of mind and creating the ideal ambience
is still just as important.
There are several things you can do to get this
right: making sure the singer has plenty of
refreshments to hand to keep the tonsils lubricated
is always a good idea, although its wise to avoid
overindulging in alcoholic beverages. Also make sure
that the studio is at a comfortable temperature; its
difficult to give a good performance if the room is
too hot or cold. Lighting can also be used to create a
good ambience and many singers prefer a dimly-lit
room to a glaringly bright one.
Talking of ambience, do be aware of ambient
MTF Step-by-Step Mic Placement and Vocal Booths
Most vocals sound best recorded

without too much room-sound. Keeping
the singer away from walls will minimise
intrusive reflections so try a spot somewhere
just off-centre of the room. Avoid an exactly
central location as this can cause problems
with standing waves. Very small rooms can
produce a boxy sound, removing clarity and
top-end sparkle. On the other hand,
cavernous, cathedral-like rooms may sound
great with choirs but seldom produce a
workable sound for any type of pop recording.
01
FOCUS
Many professional studios have

acoustically-tailored vocal booths, while
portable booths are available to buy for project
studios. However, you can help your vocal
sound by improvising a booth by hanging
absorbent material behind and, sometimes, to
the side of the singer. Duvets and sleeping
bags are ideal for this job but dont over do it
and completely surround your vocalist; this will
attenuate desirable upper-mid and high
frequencies leaving you will a dull and
muffled sound.
02
The distance between the vocalist and

microphone will have a large impact on
the final sound. Too far away and the room
will become audible, too close and bassfrequencies will be boosted due to the
proximity effect when using a cardioid
microphone. Somewhere between four and
eight inches (10cm 20cm) should give you
all the scope you need. A pop-shield is often
used between singer and microphone to
tame popping P and B plosive sounds.
03
How to record MTF
noise made by fans or computers with noisy drives.

Often, for the home recordist without the luxury
of a dedicated vocal booth, lack of space can be a
limiting factor when it comes to recording. Try to
find a spot where intrusive sounds are minimal.
Depending on where you record, noise from outside
the studio can be a nuisance, especially if youre
located next to a busy main road; and you can bet
your bottom dollar that an emergency vehicle with
sirens blaring will pass by just as youre going for
that intimate vocal pass.
Room moves
Once youve found a suitable quiet space, you can
address the issues of tailoring the room to sound
good for vocal recording. Room sounds have an
enormous impact on live-recorded sounds and while
this is often beneficial when recording other
instruments, vocals tend to sound better when the
sound of the room has little influence on the final
result. In terms of positioning, try to place your
singers microphone well clear of walls that might
contribute unwanted reflections and colour the
sound, particularly from the wall behind the singer.
However, dont opt for a recording location that is
right in the centre of the room as any standing waves
will be most problematic here, emphasising the
room-sound; somewhere a little off-centre is usually
the best place to start. If you can, try constructing a

make-shift vocal booth by hanging absorbent
material behind and to the sides of the singer;
duvets, sleeping bags and heavy curtains are ideal
for the job. Alternatively, you could invest in one of
the many portable vocal booths available.
So, now that we have explored the physical and
psychological aspects of preparing for a vocal
recording session, we can start to think about the
Place your singers microphone

well clear of walls that might
contribute unwanted reflections
session itself and how to capture that killer vocal
performance: choosing the best microphone for the
job, using compression and EQ, comping several
vocal passes to produce an edit of one complete
performance, when and how to use reverb and delay
effects, sitting the vocal in the mix and a whole host
of other tricks of the trade.
With this knowledge you will be able to produce
outstanding results. And now its time to record!
Turn to p102 for the concluding part of this guide to
vocal recording. MTF
Bass Station II is an exceptional synth. For 399 you could buy

a couple of high-end synth plug-ins. Dont. Buy this instead. 10/10.
Andy Jones, MusicTech, October 2013

The Bass Station II is a synth with personality that produces
ripping, gnashy solos as readily as solid analogue bass.
I reckon Novation have a winner!
Paul Nagle, Sound On Sound, September 2013

| 17
www.novationmusic.com/bassstationII
MTF Technique Starting a project in Ableton Live
Ableton Live Become a Live Power User
Starting a project
in Ableton Live
Ableton Live is one of the most popular DAWs around and has lots of features for recording
and mixing. Liam OMullane sets you off on the right track.
hen it comes to starting any kind of work in

Live, there has always been a variety of
ways to kick things off. Live can be used for
traditional song writing with a traditional
sequencing approach in Arrangement View,
or used as an interactive jamming tool for experimental
work in Session View. Live is also capable of being a live
performance tool, too, so theres no wonder many people
struggle to find a good workflow with this deceptively
simple yet incredibly open-format tool.
In this tutorial well take a thorough look at the various
aspects of Live 9. Although there and many different options
for creating music, we will have a single aim in a bid to
On the disc
Accompanying
project file included
on the DVD
No matter what your ability,

and irrespective of the
investment youve made in your
setup, weve got you covered
accommodate them all to make music that is creative,
unique and well produced. Numerous new
tools have been introduced in Live 9, and
the inclusion of Max for Live within Live 9
Suite opens up an expansive creative
playground to all. So irrespective of the
level of investment youve made in your
Live 9 setup, weve got you covered.
Although were catering for all ability
FOCUS ON RECORDING
Many of you will want to record your own sounds a
single event to treat like a sample, a short sequence
to turn into a loop, or a full musical passage which
may or may not be edited subsequent to recording.
Recording to either Session or Arrangement Views
starts in the same way: select the correct input on an
audio track thats armed to record, expand the level
indicator by dragging it upwards with your mouse in
Session View for a more detailed look at your input
levels, then hit record. If you want to set up effects to
help the performer, be sure to get the lowest possible
latency time so that the effects arent delayed too
much, which will throw off the performance. This is
done in Preferences by adjusting the latency buffer
size so you have low latency without any break-up in
the audio signal.
FOCUS
levels, well assume that you at least understand the very

basics of Live. And remember that there are some extremely
useful built-in lesson packs that integrate very well into the
program, so if you find yourself out of your comfort zone at
any point in this series, just go to the View menu and select
Help View. The selection of lessons will then appear to the
right-hand side of everything else in Live.
To begin, were looking at various ways to create and
manipulate an initial idea through the use of MIDI or audio.
Your audio can be single sounds, loops or something youve
recorded yourself. MIDI can be used to control a huge variety
of instruments, but at this stage it doesnt matter whether
its bass, pads, drums or lead lines as well start by
focusing on MIDI note data.
If you can competently manipulate sounds at this level,
youll have very tight control over how the sound can then be
varied throughout your work before getting tangled in a web
of automation, layering effects and so on.
Although a power user needs good ideas and an ear to
produce, workflow is also important to become an efficient
producer so with audio, MIDI and good workflow in mind,
lets get started. MTF
Starting a project in Ableton Live Technique MTF
MTF Step-by-Step Fast, creative MIDI editing
If youre inputting MIDI by hand, try to double-click and hold

down your mouse/trackpad button to create a note and set its
length in one movement. A highlighted note can then be moved from
left to right with the arrow keys; pitch can be altered using up/down.
To move from one note to the next using the arrow keys, hold
down [Alt] at the same time. You can be looping around while
editing to hear your changes, or use the MIDI Editor preview button
(the headphone icon above the vertical piano) so you hear each change
in pitch as you make it.
If youre struggling to get an idea started or just want to explore a

different approach from usual, try inputting successive notes by
holding down the [B] key to momentarily engage Draw mode. This
starts you off in a step sequencer-like way. Now use the key
commands already covered to change a notes pitch and press [0] to
mute any unwanted notes.
No matter how your MIDI part has been created, there are some
great editing tools available in Live, but youll first need to
highlight two or more notes. The mouse is the obvious choice for this
task, but for quick keyboard work, hold down [Shift]+[Alt] while using
the arrow keys. You can alter this section or duplicate your work and
alter the second to extend the phrase.
The Invert (Inv) and Reverse (Rev) buttons to the left of the MIDI
Note Editor will flip all highlighted MIDI notes upside down or
back to front respectively. Both are easy ways to create variation in
your parts. A reverse of a beat or half/a full-bars worth of notes is
useful for creating variation at the end of a phrase. Alternatively,
highlight random sections to alter for a less predictable outcome.
Two other useful functions for creative editing are the half- and
double-tempo functions (these are the :2 and *2 buttons above
Inverse and Reverse). These let you change your MIDI, and doubletempo is especially useful for creating small flourishes within a piece.
You can stretch highlighted content for more control over this type of
change just drag the stretch marker above the notes.
01
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| 19
MTF Technique Starting a project in Ableton Live
MTF Step-by-Step Audio sequencing and editing
There are three ways to manipulate audio: using smaller,

sequenced individual events, manipulating from within a loop or
recording of a performance, or by using Lives Slice To New MIDI Track
function (from right-click menu) to get audio into a MIDI-controllable
form. The latter can utilise techniques from the previous set of steps
here, but our recommendation is to fully explore the presets available.
The first few variables for an audio file can be discovered quite
easily with single sounds. Starting with Warp mode disabled,
Transpose will let you pitch the audio up and down with vari-speed.
Extreme settings of an octave or more in either direction will cause
great sonic changes which can generate very interesting textures and
sounds to start an idea with.
As soon as Warp mode is enabled you open up a whole new world

of possibilities, the first being an overall time-stretch effect
which, like vari-speed transpose, can create dramatic tonal changes at
more extreme settings. Hit the half-time button a few times for an
immediate granular-type effect.
Warp-based time-stretching and pitch change are easily applied

to loops or recordings, but in order for single sounds to benefit
from this you first need to turn them from a sequence into a new single
audio file. To do this, highlight all parts on a track and select
Consolidate from the Edit menu.
To quickly explore the effects of warp markers, use the half- and
double-time buttons. Warp modes can be chosen from the
dropdown menu below the :2 & *2 buttons and all but re-pitch modes
will generate a unique, stretched timbre. Warp markers themselves
can be moved around for an in-loop variation of time-stretch and
compress effects.
Transpose is another useful tool for broad variation. First open

the Envelope box by pressing the small E button underneath the
Clip box, then select Transposition Modulation and alter the envelope
over time. All stretch modes can have their other parameters changed
as well, so explore the new tones these can offer you.
01
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FOCUS
02
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MTF Technique Advanced project setup in Cubase
Cubase Become a Cubase Power User
Advanced project
setup in Cubase
Dont let tedious set-up tasks be an obstacle to creativity have Cubase all ready to go
whenever you are. Tim Hallas explains the importance of being prepared...
hen starting any session within your DAW,

there are many things to do at the start of
the project that will make the whole
recording and mixing process easier down
the line. If you have a solid base on which
to start, your workflow will speed up from the start.
So in this first instalment well be looking at setting up
projects in Cubase and creating a smoother workflow to
enable you to make music without having to bother about all
the boring preparatory stuff. There will obviously be
occasions when youll need to do something different, but
for the most part, if youre anything like me, youll be using
the same basic setup for a range of activities.
Over the last few weeks, for example, I have been
creating vocal arrangements that needed to have a very
specific number of parts, so I couldnt go beyond a certain
number of tracks and I was recording all of the parts to
these tracks separately via one input channel.
To save myself a bit of time I was simply copying and
pasting track presets to allow the project to be tracked
quickly and then adjusting them later during the mix stage.
But how often have you had inspiration suddenly strike yet
have to go through the repetitive process of assigning
inputs to the right channels, loading up a range of soft
synths ready for your project, then
loading up the same set of
plug-ins for the same
instruments over and over?
To speed things up and to
FOCUS ON FX CHAINS
Once your presets have been saved,
they no longer need to be loaded via the
Edit window they can be selected
instantly from the dropdown tabs in the
Arrange window. By selecting either the
Insert, Channel Strip or Equalisation tab,
you can then click on the small cube
icon and load your saved presets
straight from there.
In much the same way, from the
MediaBay window you can find all
completed track presets and load your
ready-to-go track with everything
stored straight into the Arrange window
without having to load a basic track first.
Simply open the MediaBay window,
search for the track name (or search via
the Attributes/ID tag), double-click and
it will create a ready-to-go track in the
Arrange window.
FOCUS
On the disc
Accompanying
on the DVD
provide you with the templates to immediately start writing

and recording music, well look at some of the shortcuts we
can use, which include creating plug-in chains, creating
project templates and setting up in/out templates.
If you spend a few minutes preparing Cubase at this
early stage, and creating presets for most of the typical
types of projects that you work on, these assorted shortcuts
can save precious creative time when the muse strikes and
allow you to get to those all-important recording and mixing
Spend that little bit of one-off

preparation time and save
yourself time later on
stages of the project more quickly.
I would recommend that you spend that little bit of
one-off preparation time and save yourself time later on
youll certainly appreciate it should you need to start
recording at a moments notice. MTF
Advanced project setup in Cubase Technique MTF
MTF Step-by-Step Setting up a project template
Begin by creating an Empty template from which we can work.

This can be found when you open Cubase 7 under the More tab.
Select this option and store the project in the default location or in
your own preferred location. Give it a title such as Blank Project or
similar, then click Continue.
You now need to add the elements that youll want in your project
template. Cubase has a number of typical templates, so check
that what you need isnt already there. If not, make your own, adding
tracks (Project>Add Track) and so on. Most of my projects will feature a
basic soft synth piano for recording a guide track, so even in an
all-audio project, my templates include an instrument track.
You need to set your input and output channels for the project, so
click on Devices>VST Connections (F4) and select the Input tab (it
will normally default to Stereo In). To add more inputs, click on the Add
Bus button. This will open a pop-up box that gives you a range of input
options. Select the type you want and then route your hardware
channels to it via the right-hand column, labelled Device Port.
Once these are set, they need to be saved as a preset click on

the + button to the right of the Preset dropdown and it will ask
you to give it a preset name. Choose something generic such as 8
mono in/4 stereo out, as this will be available in all projects and might
be applicable for other setups.
It is now worth labelling the tracks and checking that the routing
in the Inspector window to the left is correct, as all this
information is carried across to your template. To alter the track titles
simply double-click on the existing name within the Arrange window
and type in the new one. To change input/output routing, select the
dropdown list from within the Inspector panel.
Once all of this is set, you are now ready to save your preset. Click
on File>Save As Template. This will open a pop-up window that
looks similar to the MediaBay window and enables you to save the
template in a location of your choice and give it an appropriate name.
As mine is a vocal project, this is how it is labelled.
01
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| 23
MTF Technique Advanced project setup in Cubase
MTF Step-by-Step Setting up insert effects
Having worked on projects in which all of the tracks feature the

same performer using the same equipment, I often find myself
using the same series of inserts on every track as they are being
recorded to give the basic sound some shape. This can be achieved
from the Channel Edit window, which is opened by clicking on the E
button in the Arrange window.
Once open, start by thinking about the order in which you want
your inserts to appear in relation to the Channel Strip. In Cubase
7, the Channel Strip contains many of the inserts that appear first in
the signal chain, such as gates and compressors, so decide whether
you want inserts or Channel Strip first and use the small arrows on the
Channel Strip column to change the order.
Add the effects that you want in the three main areas of the Edit
Channel window Inserts, Channel Strip and Equalisation. If you
arent sure what youre going to need, cover the basics with a noise
gate, a basic compressor and limiter in the Channel Strip, a delay and
basic distortion in the Insert section, and a basic high-pass filter in the
EQ to remove rumble and background noise.
Once youre happy with your signal chain, youre ready to save. At
the top of each column there is a small cube that accesses
preset information. Click on the one above the Insert column and
select the option to Save Preset. It will bring up the MediaBay labelling
page, which allows you select the ID tags that suit your FX chain.
Once opened, select the appropriate ID tags the labels might

appear a little awkward for a general audio track, but it does
enable you to assign the sort of instrument it might be used on and
give it some general terms that will work. Give it a name and press OK.
This can then be found in the MediaBay, as well as the next time you
open the Edit window and select Load FX Chain Preset.
The process can then be repeated for both the Channel Strip and
the Equalisation tabs within the Edit Channel window. You can
then, if you wish, save the whole track as a preset from the top of the
window, which will include all of the above settings. However, it is good
practice to save the sections separately first so that they can be used
independently if required.
01
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FOCUS
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Advanced project setup in Cubase Technique MTF
MTF Step-by-Step Setting score presets
It is sometimes forgotten that Cubase can generate musical

notation scores and contains some presets for this aspect of the
software in the opening window including some regular ensembles
such as big bands and other traditional groups. However, if you are
regularly working with unusual ensembles it is worth generating a
preset for them as well.
The process begins in the same as any other project: load an

empty project via the opening screen and set up as many MIDI (or
instrument) tracks as you need, then link them to suitable sound
sources to hear the arrangement as it progresses. This can be done
either via VST Instruments (F11) or the Inspector (when using an
Instrument channel).
When the tracks are all set up, Cubase requires that some MIDI
data is present, and you will need to give it some to open up the
Score window. Within the Arrange window, select the Pencil tool and
draw in enough score to keep you going on each of the tracks. It is best
to do this with Snap set to Bar to ensure that you end up with a nice,
simple score.
The last stage within the Arrange window is to label the tracks so
that they appear with the correct name in the Score window.
Cubase is quite smart, and if you load a soft synth it will probably work
it out and copy it across. If it doesnt you can override it double-click
on the existing name and label it appropriately.
Once the tracks are set up with some empty data, select the
empty tracks and either select Scores>Open Selection [Ctrl]/
[Cmd]+[R] or right/[Ctrl]-click and select Scores>Open Selection.
This will open the Score window, with the tracks labelled correctly and
lots of empty bars for you to fill with notation.
Once the Score window is open, resize it to fill the screen and
keep it open. From here, repeat the process described earlier by
selecting File>Save as Template. After you have given it an appropriate
name, save it and close it. It should, when re-opened, reappear as it did
previously, with the Score window open and including the empty MIDI
data tracks.
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| 25
MTF Technique Setting up a power session in Pro Tools
Pro Tools Become a Pro Tools Power User
Setting up a Pro
Tools power session
A stress-free session will always make for a more successful one and good preparation
will make them more likely. Mike Hillier keeps his house in order.
empting though it is when starting a new Pro

Tools session to get stuck in and start recording,
time spent organising before you hit record can
go a long way towards making the project easier
to navigate later on. Simple things such as
naming every track before you start recording will ensure
that all your audio clips have names that correspond to the
track names, rather than leaving you with dozens of audio
files with meaningless names like Audio 06_02.wav...
In this tutorial we look at how best to set up your Pro
Tools rig for a recording session, focusing on the I/O setup
window, routing, preparing a click track and the various
record modes available in Pro Tools.
On the disc
Accompanying
on the DVD
Time spent organising goes a

long way towards making a project
easier to navigate later on
FOCUS ON RECORD MODES
Pro Tools has six record modes. The Standard record mode starts
recording when armed as soon as you hit play, and stops when
either you stop it manually or it reaches the end of the selection.
Each recording made in Standard mode is recorded to a new file,
which youll find in the Clip List.
Loop-record behaves a lot like Standard record, but when it
reaches the end of a selection it loops back to the beginning of
the selection and makes another pass until you stop it.
Destructive mode overwrites whatever audio is currently in the
channel, which can help to save space and keep your projects
organised, but is a risky move unless you know the last take was
of no use. Destructive mode displays a D in the record button.
QuickPunch is one of the most useful modes as it constantly
records files for armed tracks. Just hit the record button during
playback and Pro Tools will start recording. And if you missed the
start, its there: just Trim the start of the clip. Enable/disable
QuickPunch by pressing [6] on the numeric keypad. QuickPunch
displays a Q in the record button.
TrackPunch is like QuickPunch but it enables you to selectively
punch in on record-armed tracks rather than all record-armed
tracks at once. TrackPunch displays a T in the record button and
turns it blue. Individual tracks ready to punch-in on will also
have blue record-arm buttons rather than red ones.
DestructivePunch is a cross between Destructive mode and
QuickPunch and is probably the least common record mode as it
overwrites the existing audio when dropping in. This means that
anything you punch over with DestructivePunch is lost for good,
as if youd punched over a tape recording. DestructivePunch
displays a DP in the record button. TrackPunch and
DestructivePunch are available only to Pro Tools HD users.
FOCUS
To make our sessions run faster we like to get this type of

activity completed long before the artist comes into the
studio, and weve saved as much of it as possible to a
template session that we can import from. When starting a
new recording session, therefore, we know we can always
use the same I/O preset and import a bunch of tracks from
the template folder for what were recording. This way we
can quickly import an entire multitrack drum setup without
ever naming or routing any of the channels.
Once the audio has been recorded we will then do more
organising: colouring tracks, entering markers and grouping
clips such that editing and mixing will be made easier as
and when we come to them.
You will often see DAW users recommend an external
drive for saving your projects to. This is not because of
space issues, but because the first drive will be constantly
in use running the operating system, which will interrupt
and slow down Pro Tools own audio read/write requests.
Make sure you use as fast a drive as possible and that its
not occupying the same buss as high-channel-count
interfaces. You might also want to consider backing up your
drive as soon as the session is finished. Hard drives die
frequently and a backup drive is much less expensive than
losing all your recordings and having to redo them. MTF
PRO TIP
If, like us, you find yourself constantly reaching for the same couple of
plug-ins from a long list of options, you can opt for your favourite EQ and
compressor to always be present at the top of the Insert pop-up list via
the Preferences menu. You can also bring other plug-ins to the top of the
Inserts>Plug-ins list by holding down [Ctrl] (PC) or [Cmd] (Mac) while
clicking on it in the list. This is a great
time-saving feature.
Setting up a power session in Pro Tools Technique MTF
MTF Step-by-Step Project setup
The Playback Engine window has altered a little in Pro Tools 11

from v10. The H/W Buffer size now applies only to record-armed
tracks, so you no longer need to set it to max when mixing and
mastering. You should also spot the Dynamic Plug-in Processing
option, which turns off plug-ins when theyre not passing audio.
If you dont already have a preset I/O set up for your rig, create
one now in the I/O Setup window. In the Input tab, highlight all of
the current inputs and select Delete Path. This will delete your current
inputs and enable you to reassign them.
Select New Path and create sufficient inputs for your audio
interface (for example, if you have an Mbox 3, create two stereo
inputs). For our Lynx Aurora 16, were creating eight stereo inputs. To
create the mono paths, select the Auto-create sub paths option. This
will create two mono paths as sub-paths for every stereo path.
Name the inputs accordingly. We name our stereo inputs as Input

12 and so on, with mono sub-paths named Input 1 etc.
However, if you have an Mbox 3 or similar you may want to name your
inputs Analogue 1 & 2 and S/PDIF 1 & 2. If you have permanently
patched gear, you may want to name the channels after the gear for
example, Minimoog. Repeat this process for the outputs.
We tend to delete all busses other than those mapped to outputs,

since we can create new busses in Pro Tools as and when we
need them. However, if you always use the same routing it can be
useful to set that up here.
If you have any permanently assigned hardware inserts you can

define them now, ready to be routed to as an insert effect.
Naming them according to the equipment can help to keep track of
what is assigned where. We use an external patchbay, so have kept to a
simple naming structure. When youve finished your I/O routing, save it
so you can use it as a starting point for future sessions.
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MTF Technique Setting up a power session in Pro Tools
MTF Step-by-Step Track setup
Press [Ctrl]+[Shift]+[N] (PC) or [Cmd]+[Shift]+[N] (Mac) to open

the New Tracks menu and create two new mono audio tracks, one
stereo audio track, one stereo aux track and a stereo master track. Use
[Ctrl]+left/right (PC) or [Cmd]+left/right to scroll through the mono,
stereo and surround channel types, and [Ctrl]+up/down (PC) or
[Cmd]+up/down (Mac) to scroll through the track types.
Double-click on the name of the first mono audio channel; in the

pop-up menu, rename it Kick. Use [Ctrl]+right to move to the
next track and rename that Snare. Continue, naming the stereo audio
track Overheads, the aux track Drums and the master simply as
Master. In this example were keeping it simple and imagining a Glyn
Johns-style drum recording.
To assign the kick, snare and overheads channels to the drums

aux buss, highlight all three channels and, while holding
[Shift]+[Alt], click on the output assignment for any one of the three
channels. In the pop-up window select Track>Drums and Pro Tools will
create a stereo drums buss and assign that as the input for the drums
channel all named and assigned without using the I/O panel.
Before we start tracking our drummer we want to provide a click

track to play along to. From the Track menu, select Create Click
Track. This will create a new mono aux channel with an instance of
Click II on it. You can edit the meter and tempo from the Transport
window. If you dont know the tempo of the track, with Conductor mode
off, click on the tempo value and tap it out on the [T] key.
If the track has meter or tempo changes you will need to draw
these out in the appropriate lanes. However, this will require the
Conductor to be turned on in the Transport window. Tempo changes
can be drawn in just like any automation, using the Trim, Selector,
Grabber and Pencil tools.
In the Transport window you can give your musicians a count-in,

using either the Count Off function (top right) or the Pre-roll. The
Count Off will play the click for the specified number of bars before
starting playback and recording. Pre-roll will play back the specified
number of bars before recording.
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MTF Technique Quick Swipe Comping in Logic
Logic Pro Become a Logic Power User
Powered by
Quick Swipe
Comping in Logic
Harnessing the full power of Quick Swipe Comping allows your sessions to run smoother
and more efficiently. Mark Cousins polishes his performance.
nless youre lucky enough to work with a

musician who consistently delivers one-take
wonders, its highly likely that your finished
recording will be compiled from a jigsawpuzzle of different takes. Using Logic Pro Xs
Quick Swipe Comping, though, can make the task of
recording and assembling a finished comp considerably
easier, enabling you to record multiple takes and switch
between them with relative ease. However, although a basic
On the disc
Accompanying
on the DVD
Your finished recording will

likely be compiled from a jigsawpuzzle of different takes
comp is easy enough to achieve, its well worth looking at
some of the deeper functional complexities of Quick Swipe
Comping to make the most from this essential feature.
In essence, the Quick Swipe Comping feature is a handy
way of recording multiple passes of the same
musical part, whether its a vocal or
an instrument line. At the top level,
the region might seem like any other
audio recording, but expand the Take
folder and youll see the complete
series of takes, alongside the precise
edit points used to create the final
comp. This functionality not only
makes multiple takes easier to work
FOCUS ON CONTEXTUAL
MENU OPTIONS
Whatever level youre working at in Logic, its
always worth exploring whats lurking in the
Contextual menu. You can activate the
Contextual menu at any time by holding down
the [Ctrl] key and clicking with your mouse. A
different menu will pop up based on the
current window youre residing in, as well as
the object type you click on. In the case of
Quick Swipe Comping, for example, you gain
access to a couple of useful features. My
favourite is arguably Slice at Comp Section
Borders, which is usually applied once youve
created the basic comp. The Slicing option
then makes it easy to time-slip any of the edit
points (remembering first to disable Quick
Swipe Comping) without having to edit the regions first.
FOCUS
with, but also enables you to experiment with the various

edit points with ease, even down to the ability to create
several differently named comps from the same material.
As well see, though, recording and creating your comp is
just the start of the comping process. Once youve made
your edits, you need to consider the options in respect to
how the audio resides in your session. One option might be
to flatten the comp a process that renders it as a series of
regions, which can then be polished and refined using Logic
Pro Xs conventional audio-editing tools. If you want to retain
the option to return to the original comp later, options such
as Export Active Comp to New Track are worth exploring.
With practice, youll soon be recording and editing your
own comps, and creating near-perfect performances. MTF
This tutorial is endorsed by Point Blank Music School, which
specialises in courses on production, sound engineering, the music
business, singing, radio production, DJ skills and film production, all
run by top British music producers and media professionals, with
regular visits from legends in music and media. www.
pointblanklondon.com
Quick Swipe Comping in Logic Technique MTF
MTF Step-by-Step Working with comps
Whenever you record over an existing performance, Logic will

create what is known as a Take folder. The Take folder system is
useful both as a means of handling multiple different takes of the
same musical part and creating comps, whereby edits are placed to
switch between different phrases or words in a performance.
A Take folder looks different from a conventional audio region

notice the addition of some important icons added to its top
left-hand corner. The arrow, for example, allows you to collapse or
expand the folder, displaying the various original takes as well as the
edits point (indicated by the coloured shading) used to switch between
the different performances.
Clicking on the second icon opens the Quick Swipe Comping

menu, which has a series of features and functions that let you
audition and edit the takes. On the uppermost level, for example, you
can see each take. This is a great way of auditioning each performance,
irrespective of how far into the editing process youve gone.
To create your comp, pick the Create New Comp option from the
dropdown menu. The first comp, with the A prefix, is created as a
result of your recording. Your new comp, prefixed with the letter B, can
be made by dragging the edit points or clicking and dragging on the
respective take. The final take can be seen at the top level.
In theory, once youve created your comp you can leave the Take
folder as is. There are, however, a number of situations in which
you might want to flatten, export or unpack the comp. Flattening the
comp (via the Quick Swipe Comping menu) is particularly useful when
you want to refine the crossfades between takes.
Flattening the comp will render the edits as a series of regions on

the same track, with a predefined crossfade between each take.
In most cases, the default crossfade should be fine, but if youve
flattened the comp you can use the Crossfade tool (or region resizing
in the X-Fade Edit mode) to manually adjust each edit point.
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MTF Technique Quick Swipe Comping in Logic
MTF Step-by-Step Working with comps... contd
The only downside to the flattening process is that you lose the
ability to return to the Quick Swipe Comp later on in the
production process. An alternative is to use the menu option Export
Active Comp to New Track, which creates a flattened comp on an
adjacent new track. Simply mute the original track so that you dont
hear the two playing simultaneously.
If you want full access to the contents of the Take folder, youll
need to use the Unpack option. Using Unpack will render all the
current comps, as well as place each and every take on a separate
track. This is useful if you want to explore a completely different
creative direction with the source material youve recorded.
As weve seen in all the unpacking and flattening options, the

final comp is rendered with a series of default crossfades. The
setting for the default crossfade time is part of Logics Preferences,
found under the General tab of Audio Preferences. The default setting
is 10ms, which is usually fine for most editing activities.
Comping between takes is easy enough, but what if you need to

slip a take, or part of a take, in time? The trick here is being able to
disable Quick Swipe Comping editing as part of the Take folder. You can
do this by clicking on the third icon in the top left-hand corner,
switching it to Scissors mode.
With Quick Swipe Comping disabled, you should be able to use

Logics conventional editing tools particularly the Scissors and
Pointer tools as a means of cutting and repositioning any of the
takes. Notice how the comp remains in place youre simply editing
the Take folder through a different portal, as such.
If you want to move the comp to another DAW, its worth knowing
how to render it as a single, contiguous file. One option is to use
the Flatten and Merge feature, which will flatten and bounce the
finished comp as a new audio file. If youve flattened already, consider
using the Join function to achieve the same objective.
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11
FOCUS
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MTF Technique Create efficient projects in Reason
Reason Become a Reason Power User
Create efficient
projects in Reason
Careful preparation and an understanding of how Reason deals with inputs and outputs is
key to smooth music production, as Hollin Jones explains
ne of the most fundamental tasks to smooth

music-making is ensuring that everything is set
up properly before you start. That might sound
obvious, but you may be surprised by just how
much a less-than-perfect setup can hamper
you in terms of performance and workflow. And while the
mechanics of how an application deals with templates and
data I/O might not be the sexiest-sounding subjects on
earth, investing a little time in understanding them can
save you a lot of time further down the road in terms of
potential problems avoided.
Given the multitude of devices now available for getting
sound and MIDI in and out of your Mac or PC, its well worth
knowing how best to set them up. In fact, Reason natively
supports multiple control surfaces both for parameter
tweaking and MIDI note and automation recording using the
Remote system. It also records audio, of course, so getting
your buffer settings right is vital. If you happen to be using
Propellerheads own Balance interface you can take
advantage of nifty features such as Clip Safe mode, which
records a secondary version of any take at a pre-determined
optimum level to avoid clipping.
FOCUS ON BETTER CONTROL

From the Options menu you
can access various control
features to get more
hands-on with the software.
Natively supported MIDI
devices will have their
controls automatically
mapped to whatever device
you select in the Rack, and
these can be locked to any
given device. Theres also
Remote Override Edit mode,
whereby you can choose any
available control on any
device denoted by small
blue and yellow icons
double-click on it and simply
move a MIDI control to
assign the hardware to the
software. This is essentially
MIDI Learn made easy. Even
better, theres an option
called Keyboard Control
mode whereby you can
assign computer keyboard
keys to control specific
things. If youre using a
laptop, for example, make
letter keys cycle between
synth presets, or switch
effects on and off.
FOCUS
On the disc
Accompanying
on the DVD
Reason stores everything inside a single project file, so

there are no folders or file paths to worry about. This means
that if you want to get at content such as loops you either
have to export from inside the app in one of several different
ways or use tricks to access the guts of the project file
and well show you how.
Template files are another great way to start projects
quickly just spend time setting them up and theyll always
be there when you need them. It uses ReFills as sound banks
Getting up and running in

Reason requires only a few steps
but theyre important ones
and these are unique to Reason, but you can create your
own, which we will touch on as well. Starting efficiently in
Reason requires only a few steps but theyre important ones,
so read on to find out how to do it as quickly and
efficiently as possible. MTF
Create efficient projects in Reason Technique MTF
MTF Step-by-Step General setup
The Preferences section contains various tools, so start with the

General tab. The first important thing to look at here is the CPU
usage limit, which can be set anywhere from 70% to no limit. In the
case of most newer computers its safe to leave this fairly high, but if
youre running in ReWire mode, consider imposing a limit on Reasons
resource usage.
The second important option here is to tell Reason what to do

when you boot it up. If you like a completely blank canvas, leave
this set to Empty Rack. If not, click on the file browser icon in the
Default Song section and specify a file to use as a template. The
Factory Sound Bank has a shortcut to the Templates folder.
To save a project as a template file, first set up a blank project to

your liking. For example, you could create a couple of drum
machines and some audio tracks and synths configured to use your
audio/MIDI input devices. Save the file and lock it using your operating
systems Get Info or Properties window. Place the file somewhere
sensible, and every time you open it, resave it under a new name.
Moving on to the Audio panel, you can tell Reason which audio
device to use. Select your connected device from the list and set
a sample rate (this will usually be 44.1 or 48kHz but may be higher if
your device supports it). In the Active Input/Output Channels section
you can manually set which ins and outs are used.
From the Monitoring section its possible to control how audio is

monitored. Probably the most useful option here is Manual, since
it means that tracks wont automatically be monitored but rather only
when you specify that they should be. If you have Reason plumbed in
to a desk, choose the External option to bypass internal monitoring.
Now go to the Control Surfaces section. This refers to any

connected MIDI devices, be they simple keyboards or advanced
controllers. Some devices are supported natively, so you can try hitting
the Auto Detect button to see if Reason will pick up and load the
drivers for yours by itself. If it doesnt, dont worry.
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MTF Technique Create efficient projects in Reason
MTF Step-by-Step Controller setup
To add a device manually, click on the Add button. Choose from

the Manufacturer and Model dropdown lists to see if yours
appears if it does, choose it. Any natively supported devices will load
templates automatically that will map controls from the MIDI
hardware straight to the many devices inside Reason. Again, dont
worry if it doesnt appear.
To set up a generic device, choose Other from the manufacturer

dropdown menu and then choose the device type from the list
below. Dont panic if you cant think of the best description, everything
should still work. To force it to look for a device, press the Find button
and press a key or move a controller, whereupon it should be found.
In the Advanced tab you can specify MIDI inputs to be used to

play Reason from other hardware. This isnt like ReWire, which is
software-only, but applies to using external workstations or signals
from other DAWs via hardware. You can also sync Reason to other kit
using MIDI Clock, with optional offset to correct timing.
At the base of this window you can alter the Scratch Disk folder.
This is where Reason stores temporary recording data such as
audio files that you record as well as new, unsaved songs. Its possible
to redirect this file path if, for example, you are using a laptop with a
small SSD but a large, secondary USB hard drive.
You should now find that data is flowing in and out, provided all
your interface drivers are up-to-date and working. Try creating an
audio track and setting its input, then making a sound to check the
level is coming in. If its not, check the gain level on the hardware and
that the correct channel and type (mono or stereo) is selected.
Repeat with an instrument or MIDI track to see that MIDI is

coming in. You should see a green level icon appear on the tiny
instrument picture in the sequencer, denoting that signal is being
received. If its not, check the MIDI setup and also that your hardware
is transmitting on the correct channel (usually channel 1).
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Create efficient projects in Reason Technique MTF
MTF Step-by-Step Latency, appearance & ReFills
If you experience latency, youll need to go back and tweak your

audio buffer size in the Preferences or in your audio interfaces
control panel software (this will vary with every model). Here, the
buffer size has been reduced to 256 samples. This will offer very low
latency but impose a higher CPU hit on the computer.
In this example, a much higher buffer size of over 2,000 samples

has been set. This will give poor latency but better overall
performance. As a rule, set a small buffer for recording audio and MIDI
when latency is key, and a higher one when mixing, for which smooth
playback is essential. Youll get a feel for what works best for you.
From the Window menu in Reason you can control what is visible
and which sections are integrated or split off to separate
windows. A two-monitor setup is ideal if you have one, but if not, each
of the different sections is freely resizeable, and keyboard shortcuts
are available to zap straight to different parts of the app.
The ReFill Packer is a free download from the Props website and
enables you to take specially ordered folders containing your
patches and sounds and embed metadata before creating your own
ReFill. These can then be stored, shared or even sold, as many
independent sample creators have been doing for years.
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PRO TIP
Reason stores all
associated recordings
and samples for each
individual project inside
a single main file. To get
at these you can open
the Tool window and see
them, then select any
sample and edit,
duplicate, export or
delete it as required. So
although you do have
access to all your data,
in everyday use
everything remains
safely inside one
self-contained file. This
approach to storing your
projects assets makes it
very hard to accidentally
lose anything, meaning
that Reason projects are
thankfully relatively
immune to corrupting or
otherwise breaking.
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PRO TIP
To get access to entire
recordings from inside
Reason you can simply
solo up the relevant
track, set the left and
right markers
appropriately and
choose to export the loop
or the whole song as an
audio track. Alternatively,
use the Bounce Mixer
Channels option from the
File menu and choose
only the channel or
channels you want. Its
also possible to export
the section between the
markers specifically as a
loop simply choose
Export Loop as Audio File
from the File menu. In
both cases you will be
promoted to select a
destination for the
exported file.
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MTF Feature The Ultimate Microphone Guide
FOCUS
The Ultimate Microphone Guide Feature MTF
MTF Feature Studio Gear
THE ULTIMATE
MICROPHONE
GUIDE
If you want to make recordings youll need a microphone and there are many out
there to choose from. MusicTechs resident mic expert Huw Price looks at the most
popular condensers and guides you through what to look for and reveals the best
ones out there, whatevers in your wallet
his article is a major, in-depth guide about microphones of many

varieties. Over the course of it well be taking a close look at the
features, sound quality and technology behind a lot of different models
to help you decide which microphones best suit your needs and, of
course, your budget.
Microphones come in various guises, but they all perform exactly the same
function: theyre transducers, which means they convert one form of energy into
another. Microphones convert acoustic energy into electrical energy ie, an
alternating current that is analogous to the original sound wave.
There are various ways to achieve this transformation but most studio and
stage microphones can be divided into three categories: moving-coil, ribbon and
condenser. Condenser microphones are usually subdivided into two categories
determined by the size of the capsule large or small.
Commercial studios are obliged to provide a large selection of microphones,
although PWL Studios famously owned only one microphone a Calrec
Soundfield when they were creating Rick Astley and Kylies timeless hits. And
while this is unusual, many home recordists might need only one or two
microphones, especially if they record only lead and backing vocals with a bit of
occasional percussion or guitar.
With that in mind, were focussing this article with a look at large-capsule
condenser microphones. This is almost certainly the most popular and biggestselling category because theyre widely regarded as the best type for all-round
recording duties. Even so, large-capsule microphones come in various forms and
with a wide variety of features that affect their sound and suitability for certain
applications. Buying a microphone is one of the most important gear choices you
can make, so its worth familiarising yourself with the sonic and technical
features that will help you to identify the one thats right for you. Although this
feature is about large-capsule condensers, much of what follows will apply to
small-capsule condensers, dynamics and ribbons, too.
| 39
Mics & micing:

terms & technique
Picking a microphone that will suit your needs

requires getting to grips with the terminology...
he perfect microphone would be able to

capture pure sound without distortion or
deviation in the frequency content of the
source. Some get close to this theoretical
ideal, but they tend to be niche products used for
critical recording and measurement rather than
general-purpose recording.
Most large-capsule condensers impart some of
their own characteristics to a greater or lesser
extent. This is called colouration, and many mics
have acquired cult status due to their ability to
enhance or flatter certain voices and instruments.
This colouration can take various forms. For
instance, the treble region may be accentuated to
create an airy sheen; the midrange may be
Pick it up
If you record a wide variety of

musicians, buying a coloured
mic may limit your options
beefed-up to add body and presence. Some circuits
will impart a subtle degree of harmonic distortion
that creates an effect often described as warm.
Close proximity
Cardioid and figure-8 microphones also exhibit
something called the proximity effect. This
manifests itself as a lift in the low-mid and bass
frequencies as the microphone is moved closer to
the sound source. Some microphones are more
prone to this than others.
Colouration can be hit-and-miss. If you plan to
record only one singer or one instrument, then,
providing youre able to audition the mics first,
you may select one that provides the sonic
character youre looking for. On the other hand, if
you record a wide variety of singers and
musicians, buying a heavily-coloured microphone
may limit your options. If you are unable to try out
a microphone before buying it, you should read as
many reviews as possible.
SPL handling (Sound
Pressure Level) is also
important. Youd expect
any large-capsule
condenser to be able to
cope with acoustic
instruments, but you
may encounter
FOCUS
unpleasant distortion if the wrong microphone is

exposed to high SPLs inside a kick drum, in front of a
guitar amp or even a very powerful singer.
Distortion can occur in the capsule itself, in the
preamp circuitry or both. If its occurring in the
preamp, an onboard attenuation pad may provide a
workaround (see HPF & pad switching). If you think
that high SPLs may be an issue with the work that
you do, check out the maximum SPL figure for any
microphone youre considering buying.
Although condenser microphones are capable of
capturing frequencies at the upper end of the human
hearing range, not all do. For instance, the frequency
response of most early Neumanns starts to roll off
above 15kHz, and those mics designed to emulate the
Neumann sound may do the same. If you need a mic
for recording drum overheads, acoustic guitar or
piano, treble roll-off may be problematic.
At the other end of the spectrum, theres no point
in using a microphone with inherent bass roll-off
when recording instruments with very low-frequency
content, so consider the frequency range you need a
mic to cover when youre deciding which one to buy.
If youve used only hand-held dynamic mics, your

experience will be limited to a fixed cardioid pickup
pattern. Large-capsule condensers commonly have
pattern selector switches offering omnidirectional as
well as figure-8. Some provide intermediate patterns,
too, taking the total up to five or even nine.
Omnidirectional settings allow the mic to pick up
in a spherical pattern around the capsule so it can be
addressed from the front, back or sides. This is very
MTF Pro Technique Microphone preamps

Standalone and desk-mounted microphone preamps are essential for bringing
very low microphone-level audio signals up to the line-level we need to process
and record the sound. They must present suitable input impedance to the
microphone and be able to add gain without adding noise or distortion. Actually, a
bit of distortion can sometimes sound good, but only if you can control it.
A good preamp can significantly enhance the sound of a cheap microphone,
and a really fine preamp can make a decent microphone sound fantastic. However,
a high-end Neumann or Telefunken will still have that sound even if youre
recording through a Mackie 1604. The upshot is that if your mic sounds dull, lacks
detail or is coloured in a way you happen to dislike, upgrading your microphone
preamp isnt the fix, but even so, a decent mic deserves a decent preamp. The
preamps found in most audio interfaces tend to sound decent enough, but they
wont enhance the sound, add character or bring out finer details in a recording.
There are many parallels between choosing a mic pre and choosing a
microphone. Some sound coloured while others are neutral. Some overload in a
warm and pleasing way while others are engineered
Universal Audios Twin-Finity 710
preamplifier has both tube and
for vanishingly low distortion levels.
solid-state signal paths.
You can also choose between valve, discrete
solid-state and op-amp circuitry with inputs and
outputs that are balanced electronically or by
transformers. Many also feature switchable bass
roll-off and attenuation pads and some provide a
high-impedance (Hi Z) input for direct guitar and
bass recording. Dont forget that phantom power
(nominally 48v) is essential if youre planning to use
Having a dedicated space lets you use larger kit like drum kits or
condenser microphones.
amps
MTF Pro Technique Connecting to your DAW

So youve got a microphone and youve got a Digital Audio
Workstation (DAW) running on your computer, but how do
you get the microphone signal onto your hard disc and into
your DAW? For that youll need an audio interface to convert
the analogue signal into binary data.
Some computers will accept microphone signals, so you can
The Scarlett 8i6:
use the digital converters on the computers soundcard.
eight inputs/six
outputs, plus two
Unfortunately, the preamp and converters are unlikely to sound
much good and the absence of phantom power means you wont of Focusrites
award-winning
be able to use condenser microphones. A proper audio interface mic preamps.
will have better-sounding digital converters and many provide
one or more mic inputs with phantom power. Check out the Alesis
i02 and the Focusrite Scarlet. If you need to record several musicians
simultaneously, you can investigate interfaces with more mic preamps, such as
the MOTU 8-Pre, ART Tube Opto 8 and the PreSonus FireStudio.
Alternatively, you may opt for an interface with two or more mic inputs and
several line-level inputs. That gives you the option of using onboard mic preamps
or external mic preamps that can be plugged directly into the line-level inputs. Try
the MOTU 828 MkIII, RME Fireface UC, Focusrite Saffire and UAD Apollo.
Audio interfaces can connect to computers in various ways, including USB,
FireWire 400, FireWire 800 and Thunderbolt. Consult a dealer to learn which
interfaces will be compatible with your computer, DAW and operating system.
useful if youre recording several singers at once

because they wont have to bunch up together at the
front of the mic. Omni can produce excellent results
as room mics and it allows for close placement
because omni mics dont exhibit any proximity effect.
A figure-8 will allow you to record two vocalists
simultaneously, with one at the front of the mic and
another singing into the back. The null point can be
aimed towards unwanted sounds to minimise spill
and a figure-8 mic can be combined with a cardioid
microphone for mid/side stereo recording. The mics
dont even need to be matched.
Switching from one pattern to another will also
produce subtle shifts in frequency response that will
allow the microphone to interact with a variety of
sounds. For instance, omni settings often provide a
deeper, flatter bass response. You will also be able to
dial in various amounts of room ambience to keep
things dry or add a degree of space to the sound.
Even so, cardioid remains the default setting for
most condenser microphones, and if you anticipate
recording only vocals and occasional instruments in
less than ideal acoustic environments, a fixed
cardioid may be all thats needed.
On a roll
HPF stands for High Pass Filter, which is also
known as bass roll-off. Removing bass may
seem anathema to many, but it makes a lot of
sense when youre using microphones.
Unless youre recording instruments
such as kick drum, bass guitar or
double bass, theres unlikely to be
anything musical going on below
about 100Hz. However, you are
likely to pick up varying amounts
of low-frequency garbage,
especially if you record at home.
Engineers such
as the legendary
Bruce Swedien
routinely engaged a
bass roll-off when recording
anything other than low-frequency
instruments. They would swear its the only way
to achieve clear, punch and tight low end in a
track recorded with multiple mics. HPF switches
are also used to counter proximity effect when
circumstances make close-micing unavoidable.
An attenuation pad can be used to avoid
overloading the microphones onboard circuits
when its located straight after the capsule, but it
will not cure mechanically induced distortion
coming from the capsule itself.
Many microphones feature pads with one or
two levels of attenuation, but some methods used
to achieve the attenuation such as negative
feedback are considered to cause phase
distortion, and since the noise floor of the mic
remains the same, signal-to-noise ratio becomes
worse. We wouldnt recommend using attenuation
pads unless you have to.
A right state
With very few exceptions, condenser microphones
have onboard preamps that serve two functions.
Firstly, they amplify the signals coming from
MTF Pro Technique Portable acoustic treatment

These days, most of us record in less than perfect acoustic environments. When
were not achieving the sound quality were aiming for, its tempting to blame the
gear, but its worth considering how the sound of a room influences the tone of our
recordings. Its pretty obvious when you think about it.
For instance, if youre recording in a room without carpet or soft furnishings,
the nature of your recordings will be bright, containing lots of room ambience
because there is nothing to soak up the sound waves and theyll keep bouncing off
the hard surfaces for some time before they fade away.
Conversely, the carpet, curtains and soft furnishings in a bedroom or living
room will absorb sound energy, particularly in the mid and high-frequency regions.
Try singing or playing guitar in your bathroom then your bedroom youll hear the
difference right away.
In professional studios its standard practice to record vocals with as little
room ambience as possible. In order to achieve this a lot of time, money and effort
must be expended to control room acoustics and create vocal booths. Most
project studios are multi-function environments, so installing permanent acoustic
treatment solutions will probably be impractical as well as too expensive.
Fortunately, there are plenty of portable acoustic treatment solutions that can
be used wherever theyre needed. Companies like GIK Acoustics produce a variety
of panels that absorb and diffuse sound waves. You can hang them on walls and
ceilings or mount them on stands to build a booth around an artist. You can install
panels in a mix room and borrow them to use elsewhere when you need to record.
Most revolutionary is the sE Electronics Reflexion Filter and the host of
imitators it has spawned. The Reflexion Filter is a semicircular
absorption screen that mounts on a stand and wraps around a
microphone. Essentially, it soaks up reflected sound waves
and prevents them from reaching the back and sides of a
microphone. The effect is dramatic and it can enable you to
sE Electronics
Reflexion Filter
make viable recordings in the most challenging acoustic
spawned a host
spaces. If you place an absorption panel behind the singers
of imitators...
head, its even better.
| 41
the capsule; secondly, they lower the output

impedance. Condenser microphones have been
around for almost a century and up until the
1960s valve preamps were the only option. During
the 1960s the major manufacturers began using
transistors rather than valves. They were cheaper,
more reliable and they could be powered from the
mixing desk. Valve mics must be used in
conjunction with dedicated power supplies.
Despite the practical advantages, though,
many recording engineers preferred the smoother,
fatter and larger-than-life sounds of certain
vintage valve microphones. The value of many
mics made between the 1940s and the 1960s
gradually increased because valve mics were no
longer being produced. Today, theyre once again
commonplace. Some are amazingly affordable,
others are high-end replicas of historic models.
condensers. Some are balanced electronically, others

continue with transformer-balancing. Neither is
intrinsically superior because so much depends on
the circuit design and the quality of the transformer.
You may also find that transformer-balanced mics
tend to sound better with transformer-balanced mic
preamps. Conversely, the low output impedance of
many transformerless mics may not interface too well
with vintage mic preamp designs.
Sensitive issues
Colouring sound
It all goes back to the colouration thing. Valve
mics tend to be coloured, and some manufacturers
at the cheaper end of the market go a bit over the
Some valves have a justified

allure, but the mere presence of a
valve guarantees nothing
top to satisfy customer expectations. Solid-state
microphones are still easier to use; theyre often
more versatile and they can have plenty of
character, too. While some valve mics have a
well-justified allure, the mere presence of a valve
in the preamp circuit guarantees nothing.
Once the capsule and preamp have performed
their functions, the signal must be balanced in
order to travel along the length of the cable. The
signal is split in two and the polarity of one side
is reversed. This process is reversed when the
signal reaches the preamp. When the polarity of
the signals is put back in-phase, any noise picked
up by the signal wires is combined out-of-phase
and therefore cancelled out.
Two methods are used to balance the output of
If you place two microphones in front of the same

singer and the output from one is higher than the
other, the higher-output mic is said to be more
sensitive. Manufacturers publish sensitivity ratings
for their microphones and most state the sensitivity
in dB relative to 1v/Pa. Because the reference level of
one volt exceeds the output level of most
microphones measured in millivolts the quoted
dB figure will be negative. So, a mic with a sensitivity
of -45dB is more sensitive than a microphone with a
rating of -65dB.
All microphones generate some noise regardless
of whether sound waves are present. This is referred
to as self-noise or equivalent noise level and it
indicates the pressure level from sound waves that
would be required to create an output voltage equal
to the voltage being generated by the mic itself. A
noisy mic will present problems if youre trying to
record quiet singers and instruments because there
will be too much noise in the signal-to-noise ratio.
Two scales are used: dB(A) and CCIR. A good noise
rating will be below 15dB(A) on the dB(A) scale and
below 30dB on the CCIR scale. Condensers have
become quieter over the decades, but most engineers
accept that valve microphones vintage and modern
tend to be noisier.
Condenser mics are susceptible to transmitted
noise and suspension mounts are traditionally used
to alleviate this. In this competitive market,
manufacturers often add value to their products by
including a suspension mount as part of the deal.
Other bundles may also include a pop shield, wind
shield or a cable. Although your priority should be
the microphone itself, its worth checking out these
extras if your budget is tight.
Read on for the best mics in every budget.
MTF Pro Technique Suspension mounts

There is a distinction between acoustic treatment and
soundproofing. Professional recording studios are often obliged to
spend significant amounts of money ensuring that noise is contained
within the studio building and, just as importantly, outside noises
are prevented from getting in.
In an office building, flat or house there will be vastly more
ambient noise. Suspension mounts wont help with airborne noise
but will help to reduce rumble and vibrations from traffic, lift shafts,
heating pipes and so forth from travelling up through the mic stand
into the microphone. They may also help when youre recording
musicians who like to tap their feet.
Most mics come with suspension mounts, but at the budget and
ultra-high ends of the market you may have to pay extra or source
FOCUS
your own. We recommend

Rycotes USM: they
accommodate all shapes/
sizes of microphone, weigh
next to nothing and never fall
apart. Enhanced Audios M600
is another universal mount, but
it isolates a mic from
transferred noise by minimising
contact area. It also dampens
ringing in the mic body and
makes an audible improvement
to sound quality.
Rycotes USM
has a patented
Lyre mount.
Budget mics
under 200
ALCTRON HST-11A
On a tight budget? Youd be surprised

by what you can get for your money...
AUDIO-TECHNICA AT2020
Price 89 Contact Audio-Technica 0113 277 1441

At 16mm, the diaphragm in this microphone falls somewhere
between small and large, but the side-fire body means we can
include it here. The capsule is also a permanently charged
back-electret rather than a traditional condenser. There arent any
pad or HPF switches, but the AT2020 can handle an impressive
144dB SPL.
The sound quality is impressive, with a negligible noise floor
and very healthy output level. The high frequencies have a crisp
and sweet sparkle that adds a degree of presence, but not in any
artificial way. The midrange is very well defined there are no
obvious colourations and the bass is solid.
Web www.audio-technica.com
Price 159 Contact Life Long Music via website

This nine-pattern valve microphone is sold under a huge
variety of names. The Alctron HST-11A comes straight from
the factory and its the cheapest and best stock version to
buy. Loosely based on the AKG C12, the HST-11A features a
12AX7 valve preamp, transformer-balanced output and
ships with a windshield, power supply, suspension mount
and interconnect cable.
Although coloured in a valvey sort of way, the HST-11A is
a match for many more expensive valve condensers.
Commonly used for DIY upgrades that range from cheap
and easy to expensive and delicate, this microphone can
sound amazing.
Web www.lifelongmusic.co.uk
RDE NT1-A
Price 149 Contact Source

Distribution 020 8962 5080
Australia-based mic-maker
Rde was among the very
first companies to enter the
fledgling budget condenser
market, with a U87
lookalike called the NT2.
The fixed-cardioid NT1-A is
a substantially upgraded
version of Rdes
entry-level classic that
comes with a metal
shockmount and zip-up
pouch. A gold-sputtered
one-inch diaphragm feeds
a transformerless JFET
preamp; frequency range is
quoted as 20Hz20kHz.
Regarded as an
all-round recording mic
with a bright sonic
signature, plenty of treble
detail, defined low end and
a slight boost in the upper
bass, it can handle SPLs up
to 137dB and has an
impressively low noise floor.
Web www.rodemic.com
FOCUS
Australia-based
mic-maker Rde
was among the very
first to enter the
fledgling budget
condenser market
SE ELECTRONICS X1
Price 119 Contact Sonic Distribution 0845 500 2500

Finished with an unusual black rubber coating, the sE X1 is
a fine-looking microphone. Its not sold with a suspension
mount but sE Electronics does offer one thats suitable.
The upside is a switchable 10dB attenuation pad and
switchable bass roll-off starting at about 600Hz.
Sensitivity isnt amazing but the noise floor is very low.
Test recordings revealed a very detailed sonic character
with surprisingly little midrange colouration and a nice
tinselly top end thats bright but not edgy or harsh. Slightly
lean low mids were our only reservation.
Web www.seelectronics.com
MXL V67I
Price 179 Contact

Musictrack 01767 313447
A fixed-cardioid with a
dual-diaphragm 32mm
capsule. Unusually, the
diaphragms are
mismatched to create a
dual sonic signature. The
front houses a brightsounding six-micron
diaphragm, and theres a
warm eight-micron
diaphragm at the back. You
can switch from one to the
other and there are HPF
and 6dB attenuation
switches, too. The output is
transformer-balanced.
The effect of the voicing
switch is fairly subtle,
yielding a hint of extra
sheen in the high
frequencies in bright
mode. Even so, the V67i is a
capable all-rounder, though
some may consider the
150Hz HPF frequency point
slightly high.
Web www.mxlmics.com
Mid price mics

200450
Choosing a mic in this price bracket

opens up yet more tempting choices...
SE ELECTRONICS 2200A II
Price 280 Contact Sonic Distribution 0845 500 2500

The 2200 has gradually evolved from a simple, no-frills
fixed-cardioid condenser to this multi-pattern version with
added 10dB attenuation pad and switchable bass roll-off. This
model has won several awards and was most famously used
to record Amy Winehouses vocals for the Back To Black
album. The package includes a shockmount and pop shield.
Cardioid provides a bold sound with detail, some
high-frequency sparkle and just enough midrange-enhancing
colouration. Omni sounds open and deep, but figure-8 has
slightly lower output, more colouration and thinner mids.
Web www.seelectronics.com
JZ MICS V11
Price 327 Contact JZ

Microphones +37 167
246 648
The body has a wide
and flat oval shape,
which obviates the
need for side support
pillars and allows
sound waves to reach
the edge-terminated
27mm capsule
unobstructed. JZ also
uses Golden Drop
technology to make
diaphragms that are
faster to respond,
resulting in low
coloration/distortion.
Bass is full and
vibrant, but stops just
short of boominess.
The midrange is
natural and theres no
discernible treble
hype. The V11 has a
wide sweet spot so is
ideal for vocalists who
cant keep still.
Web www.jzmic.com
AVANTONE CV12
Price 444 Contact SCV London 020 8418 1470

With a transformer-balanced output and a 12AX7 valve,
the CV12 trumps HST-11A-derived mics with its 10dB pad
and 80Hz bass roll-off. Nine polar patterns are selectable
and it ships in a metal case with a power supply,
shockmount and wood microphone box.
Delivering what you might hope from a large-capsule
valve condenser, its round and smooth with nicely
weighted mids and an impressively detailed treble
response. The CV12 distinguishes itself on vocals,
generating a full-bodied sound with plenty of low-mid girth
and clearly defined consonants. Suitable for any recording
scenario where a little softening and smoothing is required.
Web www.avantonepro.com
M-AUDIO SPUTNIK
Price 405 Contact

M-Audio 01252 896090
With its distinctive looks
and chrome finish, the
Sputnik does have a
space-age vibe. Inside its
just as interesting, with a
military 6025M valve and a
JFET biasing arrangement
to maximise headroom and
dynamic range. Features
include a 10dB pad and
switchable 80Hz HPF. It
ships with a dedicated
power supply and
seven-pin cable,
shockmount, soft bag and
custom flight case.
Some contemporary
valve mics are heavily
vintage-voiced but the
Sputnik produces clean,
natural-sounding
recordings without obvious
colouration. Cardioid
sounds best, but omni and
figure-8 are excellent too.
Web www.maudio.co.uk
The Sputnik
produces clean and
natural-sounding
recordings without
obvious colouration
BLUE REACTOR
Price 425 Contact Sold at Maplin, PMT, Dawsons stores

The capsule is based on the B6 capsule used in BLUEs
flagship Bottle and the housing rotates 90 degrees to
refine the aim of the three patterns. A discrete Class-A
preamp feeds a transformerless output stage and the
Reactor ships with an aluminium flight case and a wire
mesh pop filter.
Cardioid is bright and sparkly without being harsh,
capturing complex harmonic overtones. The quick
transient response provides a sense of detail and realism.
This brightness makes the bass seem a little light and
sibilance may become an issue. Omni is more coloured but
the bass integrates better , while figure-8 sounds fatter,
with rolled-off highs.
Web www.bluemic.com
| 45
High-end mics
450850
As the numbers start to get serious,

so too do the potential contenders...
LEWITT LCT640
Price 779 Contact JHS 0113 286 5381

Lewitts founder formulated his ideas about microphone
design and manufacture while working for AKG. Lewitts
are designed in Austria and manufactured in China. This
multi-pattern large-capsule condenser has solid-state
components and electronically-balanced output. It ships
in an aluminum carry case complete with a suspension
mount and wind shield.
Front-mounted push-buttons control the five pickup
patterns, four-stage HPF and three-stage pad. Settings
can be locked and automatic attenuation prevents
overload. The 640 exceeded our expectations, sounding
balanced, uncoloured and full. A real Swiss Army
Knife-type of microphone.
Web www.lewitt-audio.com
RDE K2
Price 469 Contact Source

Distribution 020 8962 5000
Rdes valve condensers
have a good reputation, and
the K2 stands out from the
crowd thanks to its
continually-variable
pattern selection. It ships
in a moulded plastic carry
case with a suspension
mount, interconnect cable
and dedicated power
supply. Other features
include a 1-inch capsule, a
6922 valve, transformerless
output and a very
impressive 162dB max SPL.
The K2 is known for its
bright and present upper
mids and a tasteful degree
of valvey midrange
colouration. Although it can
be sibilant on some voices,
the sound quality is
generally considered to
very smooth and self-noise
levels are far lower than
most valve mics.
Web www.rodemic.com
FOCUS
AUDIO-TECHNICA AT4047 MP
Price 670 Contact Audio-Technica

0113 277 1441
This is Audio-Technicas take on a certain
classic FET microphone the model
number holds the clue. Three pickup
patterns and a transformer-coupled
output combine with an 80Hz filter and a
10dB pad to allow SPL handling up to an
impressive 155dB. A suspension mount
is provided in the box.
High frequencies are bright but sweet
and full of detail. The midrange is
uncoloured and the bass is tight, well
focused and solid. It captures the
woodiness of an acoustic instruments
sound and a sense of air. Vocals are
clean and crisp with no trace of sibilance,
and it sounds amazing on bass and
inside kick drums.
The K2 is known for

its bright upper mids
and a tasteful degree
of valvey midrange
colouration
ADK TT MK10
Price 572 Contact Golden Age Music Group

+46 322 66 50 50
High-quality components, thick copper PCB traces and an
inverted 6072a valve with a 1-inch dual-diaphragm capsule
providing nine patterns. Apparently this was Ray Charles
favourite vocal mic, and he used one on his last three CDs.
Recommended for male and female vocals, acoustic and
electric guitar, sax, strings, double bass, drum overheads
and broadcast applications.
In cardioid it has a full and clear midrange with intimate
and larger-than-life presence. The lows are deep and
sonorous, but tight and focused with a useful treble
emphasis. Omni and cardioid settings sound quite similar,
although omni has smoother low-mids and figure-8 has a
slightly hollow midrange.
Web www.adkmic.com
Top level mics

8501,250
In this territory, some of those

legendary mic tones come into reach...
PELUSO 2247
Price 999 Contact KMR Audio 020 8445 2446

The Peluso 2247 is to the Neumann U47 what the P12 is to
the AKG C12. Again, the only Chinese components in
evidence are the body, grille housing and shock mount.
The BV8 transformer comes from Cinemag and a 6072A
valve is used in place of the ultra-rare VF14. The
nine-pattern switch may not be vintage-correct, but its
welcome nonetheless.
With rolled-off treble, larger-than-life midrange and a
soft but clear bass, its a distinctive tone that will suit
some vocalists better than others. Stunningly intimate,
this effortless and natural sound genuinely evokes the
vintage Neumann spirit at an affordable price.
Web www.pelusomicrophonelab.com
PELUSO P12

Peluso is very honest about basing the nine-pattern P12 on
the Alctron HST-11a, but crucial components are upgraded.
The preamp circuit is a near copy of an AKG C12s, with a
selected 6072A valve and a reproduction T14 output
transformer. The edge-terminated CEK-12 capsule is
assembled in Pelusos own lab.
We were hoping for a bright, tinselly treble with smooth
but present mids and a full but not overblown bass. The
Peluso P12 didnt disappoint. Vocals had breathy presence,
acoustic guitars sparkled with woody warmth and
enhanced realism, and cymbals floated over mixes.
AKG C414
Price 987 Contact Harman Pro 01707 668222

Described as the fourth-generation descendent of the C12, the
C414 has remained an industry standard since the early 1970s. The
iconic design featured body-mounted switches that provided four
pickup patterns and multiple pre-attenuation and HPF filtering.
The model has undergone continual evolution as AKG tried to
improve performance while retaining the signature sound.
The current XLII version handles 140dB SPL and has 6/12/18dB
pad and 40/80/160Hz HPF settings. Output is FET-balanced and it
comes in an aluminium case with a shock mount, pop filter and
windshield. Bright, clear, versatile and easy to use, the C414 is a
bona fide all-purpose mic.
Web http://uk.akg.com
TELEFUNKEN USA
CU-29 COPPERHEAD
Price 1,078 Contact Unity

Audio 01440 785843
Selected components
include WIMA, Sprague and
Russian-made capacitors
with low-noise resistors
and a custom-wound
transformer. The valve
itself is a new old-stock
Telefunken 6AK5W
pentode. The Copperhead
ships in a wood box with a
suspension mount, link
cable and power supply.
The larger-than-life
presence is striking, with a
fat midrange and beefy
valve colouration. It has a
velvety Neumann-like
quality with a hint of
upper-frequency glisten
that helps to make the
Copperhead warm but
detailed. If fixed cardioid
isnt restrictive, the CU29
wont disappoint.
Web www.telefunkenelektroakustik.com
VIOLET AMETHYST
Price 989 Contact Violet Design (+372) 645 5007

Violets designs invariably provide a refreshing blast of
freshness and fun. The Amethysts capsule sits in a
housing above the preamp section, reducing reflections
and allowing the fixed-cardioid capsule housing to be
shock-mounted. The all-discrete Class A preamp feeds a
transformerless output stage.
The Amethyst Vintage delivers very clean, intimate and
high-resolution vocals, and proximity effect adds body to
the impressively detailed sound. High frequencies are very
clear without sounding too bright, and the fast transient
response produces lively and punchy recordings with
strong, clear bass.
Web www.violet-design.com
The Peluso 2247s

effortless and natural
sound genuinely
evokes the vintage
Neumann spirit at an
affordable price
| 47
Ultimate mics
1,250 and up
You wont want to take chances if

youre spending this kind of cash,
so here are some of our top picks.
TELEFUNKEN USA ELA M250
Price 7,320 Contact Unity Audio 01440 785843

The Telefunken ELA M250 was introduced in 1958.
Originals are rare and ber-expensive, but Telefunken
USAs ELA M250 is a very close replica. A pattern selector
sits under the capsule housing and a 6072A valve drives a
vintage-correct transformer.
Push up the fader and youll immediately realise that
youre dealing with a special microphone as the high end
lays over everything like tinsel. The detail and transparency
are quite remarkable, yet it sounds intimate rather than
forced. Describe the sound as a glorious hybrid of U47
fatness and C12 silky highs and we could only concur.
Web www.telefunken-elektroakustik.com
AUDIO-TECHNICA
AT5040
Price 2,548
Contact Audio-Technica
0113 277 1441
Rectangular capsules are
nothing new, but combining
four in a cardioid condenser
certainly is. AudioTechnicas designers
intended to combine the
fast response and
extended high frequencies
of small capsules with the
sensitivity and high output
of large capsules. Divided
into pairs, the polarity is
reversed, ensuring
balanced audio throughout.
The AT5040 excelled in
each and every test with its
effortless and natural tone.
The treble was wide-open
without sounding forced
and the midrange was so
true that, where we might
usually apply EQ, none was
deemed necessary.
Web www.
audio-technica.com
FOCUS
MICROTECH GEFELL CMV563
Price 4,930 Contact Sound Link

01869 600817
Gefells long-awaited CMV 563 reissue
includes an M7S cardioid capsule and
bayonet-style fixing for Neumann, BLUE
and Violet capsules. The originals never
came with suspension mounts but the
reissue does, along with upgraded
Tuchel connectors. An EF86 valve
replaces the original EC92 and the
output transformer is made in-house.
The reissue capsule sounded a tad
brighter than our original, but ours
probably sounded that way when it was
new and the preamps were
indistinguishable. The sound is massive,
smooth and authoritative, with deep,
solid lows and rolled-off treble. For
full-fat, velvety classic Neumann tones
its the real deal.
Web www.microtechgefell.de
Youll immediately
realise that youre
dealing with a special
microphone as the
high end lays over
everything like tinsel
PELUSO P67
Price 1,699 Contact KMR Audio 020 8445 2446

Having worked its way through the catalogue of
classic mics, Pelusos version of the Neumann U67
was inevitable. This nine-pattern replica is based on
a mint and unused original in Shures lab. The
onboard HPF and pad switches are vintage-correct,
but a 6AK5 valve replaces the EF86, necessitating a
minor transformer modification.
We were hoping for an unfussy, general-purpose
mic with a thick, velvety midrange, solid bass and
smooth high frequencies. Thats exactly what the
P67 delivered, albeit with a touch more gloss in the
treble. The P67 is not fussy about placement it
makes recording easy and it just works. Really well!
NEUMANN U87 AI
Price 2,227 Contact Sennheiser 01628 402200

The Neumann U87 has been in production since 1967 and was probably the worlds most
widely used studio condenser until the early 90s. Introduced as a solid-state successor to
the U67, onboard switches provide 10dB attenuation at 100Hz and three pickup patterns.
The midrange is full and plummy and the treble is smooth but slightly attenuated. Its a
mic that can be used on just about anything always sounding good and sometimes
outstanding. Post-1986 U87 AI models have improved sensitivity and SPL handling, but
most modern mics have superior specs. Even so, only a U87 really sounds like a U87.
Web www.neumann.com
JOSEPHSON C715
Price 3,000 Contact KMR

Audio 020 8445 2446
The mechanical cardioid/
omni switch is accessed
through an opening in the
foamed aluminium grille.
This rigid structure
obviates the need for
reflective flat metal
housing rings and contains
the single-sided capsule.
It captures whatever
youre recording with a
disarmingly natural quality.
Transients are fast, the
midrange is full and
up-front, and the lows are
solid without boominess.
Overall theres an effortless
sense of detail and
transparency to its work.
Web www.josephson.com
LEWITT LCT940
Price 1,649 Contact JHS

0113 2865 381
The transformerless
LCT940 allows you to select
a valve or FET signal path
and even combine the two
to taste. This nine-pattern
condenser microphone has
a feature-packed external
power supply/control unit
with auto-attenuation plus
multiple pad and HPF
settings. The flight case
contains a suspension
mount, foam windshield
and interconnect cable.
Noise levels in both
modes are extremely low
but sensitivity is higher in
tube mode. With equalised
volume, there is a
discernible difference in
tone. The valve side sounds
fatter and richer, with the
FET side a little dryer and
more realistic. FET
provides more definition in
the high end and the tube
thickens things up nicely in
the low mids and
smoothed-out the treble.
Web www.
lewitt-audio.com
MAGAZINE October 2013
| 49
MTF Technique Recording & editing audio
Creating & editing

audio recordings
Now that your Cubase setup is primed and ready to go, its time to explore your options for
recording and editing audio. Tim Hallas gets behind the mic.
eve looked at the very basics of creating

projects in Cubase (see p22 for more on
this). In this tutorial we move on and start
getting sound in and out of a project.
There are essentially two different
types of file that we will primarily be working with in
Cubase audio and MIDI. Audio is sound that is captured
from a real-world sound source via a microphone. The other
file type, MIDI, is simply data that can be used to play
On the disc
Accompanying
on the DVD
Regardless of what genre you

work in, audio is going to play
a part to some extent
instruments remotely or from within the software. In this
second tutorial we will take a look at audio how to
capture it in the software and then how to edit it.
Good and efficient audio recording is essential to any
good DAW music production. It is, of
course, the bread and butter of what
we as musicians, engineers and
producers work with on a daily
basis. The fact is that, regardless of
FOCUS ON INS & OUTS

Some things to check initially within Cubase
are the input and output routings the most
common reason for users being unable to get
sound in or out of Cubase. To determine
yours, click on Devices>VST Connections and
you will see a window with tabs for input and
output that displays the number of busses
(the term for input and output channels) and
where they are sending audio to and from. To
add a new buss, click on the Add Bus button
and select how many input channels you
need, whether you want them in mono or
stereo, and name it.
Once this is done you can save the setup
as a preset by pressing the + button; this is
worth doing if its a frequently used
configuration. I have some basic presets
configured and saved, including an
8-in/8-out setup that I can quickly customise
for typical sessions.
If you are still getting no sound from
Cubase, click on Devices>Device Setup and
check the VST Audio System tab, ensuring
that the correct audio card and driver is being
used for your computer.
FOCUS
what genre of music you work in, audio is going to play a

part to some extent. Whether you are simply recording
guitars and vocals for a folk album or using cut-up samples
for a Fatboy Slim-style mash-up, audio is something that
you cant escape.
There are many different ways of getting audio into
Cubase, the most obvious being to record it into the Arrange
window. It also has the ability to import existing audio for
you to work on, either for mastering or to chop up and use as
a sample. Although I would hope that most users can
already do this, its worth refreshing the basics as
sometimes things get forgotten and some more efficient
working practices might come to light.
Cubase is a great program with which to record audio it
features everything that the musician and producer might
need. We will look at how to incorporate other types of
music data into the project in a future article, but for now,
have fun recording and editing audio. MTF
Recording & editing audio Technique MTF
MTF Step-by-Step Setting up audio recording and getting audio into Cubase
Start the project by creating some audio tracks click on

Project>Add Track>Audio. Once the pop-up window appears,
select how many tracks you are going to need and whether they are
going to be mono or stereo. You can also give each track a name at this
stage. Click Add Track to place it in the Arrange window.
You will also see a button labelled Browse, which expands the
window to display assorted track presets, including appropriate
output effects. However, try to keep it as basic as possible when
tracking it is good to hear the audio as near to neutral as you can
because effects can mask issues with the capture.
When you have your tracks in the Arrange window you need to
make sure that the routing is set up appropriately, as unlike some
DAW software, Cubase does not automatically increment the inputs
sequentially on new tracks and everything will default to the first input
buss. To change this, click on the Input Routing dropdown menu on the
Channel Inspector panel and select the correct input source.
You now need to check that the signal is at an appropriate level.

On each channel header there is a small speaker icon; this is the
input monitor button and when active illuminates in brown. Pressing
this enables you to see and hear the incoming signal level from the
microphone. Set the gain to an appropriate level for capture by
adjusting the controls on your interface.
Youre now ready to record. Select the channels you want to

record to, press the Record Enable button and hit the magic
record button in the transport window. Congratulations! Your audio is
now recorded and ready to edit.
If youre importing audio to a project as well, click on

File>Import>Audio File, select the file you want and click Open.
Cubase will ask you if you want to copy the audio to the working
directory, then place it into the project on the currently selected track
at the position of the playback head.
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MTF Technique Recording & editing audio
MTF Step-by-Step Editing audio from the Arrange window
After your audio is tracked, you will need to edit it so that it fits
within the project. Start by setting Snap (where the cursor makes
the edits) to an appropriate level by clicking on the grid type and
choosing a level of detail that allows accurate selection. Beat is usually
detailed enough, but you can sync it to the quantize settings if you
need to be more precise.
It is very likely that you will have multiple takes of each recording
and need to create a composite of the perfect take. Start by
clicking on the button in the track header labelled Show Lanes; this
opens the takes below one another. Select the Comp tool (the finger)
and simply swipe the different sections of takes that you like; Cubase
will do the rest and make edits at the appropriate points.
If you havent comped or are using multiple tracks for different

takes, you will need to do some basic editing. To remove the end
from an audio file, either use the Scissors tool and cut at the
appropriate point. If you just want to tidy up the end of a file, hold the
cursor over the bottom corners of the file and drag to shorten or
lengthen an element in the Arrange window.
If you need to create a crossfade between two takes, make sure

there is a little overlap between the two Arrange window items
and drag them into place. When the two ends are overlapping, press [X]
on the keyboard; Cubase will automatically add a crossfade. If you
need more control, press [X] again and Cubase opens the Crossfade
window, in which the fade curves can be adjusted.
If a file needs to loop, select the item that you want to repeat and
click on Edit>Functions>Repeat ([Ctrl]/[Cmd]+[K]). In the pop-up
that appears, select how many occurrences you want. These are
proper copies rather than ghosts of the original, making them easier
to edit later on.
The Arrange window is also where you find automation tools.

Volume and any other parameter can be adjusted by dropping the
little arrow in the bottom-left of the track header. To activate this,
press the Read button on the track header and draw in adjustments in
control that are needed. This is a great way to make manual crossfades
between takes and cover up glitches that havent been edited out.
01
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FOCUS
02
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06
Recording & editing audio Technique MTF
MTF Step-by-Step Editing audio with the Sample Editor
The Sample Editor (double-click on an audio file) is the window

in Cubase that allows detailed processing of audio files. It gives
you access to all the expert tools that can be used to make the
elements of you project as good as they can be before they are
assembled within the Arrange window.
Try starting with Gain, often needed if a track has been recorded
a little quiet. When selected, it opens a pop-up window that
allows for settings to be adjusted; in this case, how much gain to add.
Tread carefully as all the processes are destructive, so everything you
do cant be undone once its done, its done, and cant be bypassed in
the same way as if you were using a plug-in.
The Sample Editor also includes tools for audio quantization.

Start by selecting the Definition tab and choosing the level of
detail that the grid uses up to 1/16 (semiquaver) then use the
Auto-Adjust tool. This generates a template to synchronise the music
to the project and tightens up the timing of a file.
VariAudio is a tool that enables Cubase to correct the pitch

manually when a performer is slightly out-of-tune. The Pitch and
Warp tool analyses the notes and then draws blocks similar to MIDI
data that the user can drag around (use the Quantize Pitch slider for
multiple notes). The Straighten Pitch slider removes vibrato and other
pitch variation from notes for a smoother sound.
The Hitpoints tab enables you to generate slices of audio. This is

particularly useful if you are turning audio into samples or
chopping-up drum sounds for really mechanical quantization. Click on
the Create Slices button and Cubase will generate short audio files of
each hit, placing the resulting slices into the Arrange window for
further timing adjustments.
At the top of the Sample Editor window there is information

regarding the file itself, including original tempo, number of bars
and time signature. All of this can be changed for example, if Cubase
analyses the tempo incorrectly during the Hitpoints process, it can be
corrected here. The panel also includes general information about the
file, such as the resolution it was recorded at and so on.
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MTF Technique Audio recording in Reason
Audio recording
in Reason
Whether youre recording a lone vocalist or a four-piece band, audio recording in Reason
is now easier than ever. Hollin Jones sets the stage...
or much of its life, Reason was a MIDI-only

sequencer and a very good one, too. Then
Propellerhead came up with an interesting new
application called Record, which added
professional-quality audio tracking to the Rack
system from Reason. Fairly quickly, the two applications
were combined into one for Reason 6, which offered the
best of both worlds. In Reason 7, the audio features are
more powerful than ever. In this tutorial well be looking at
setting up your project for recording, assigning inputs,
understanding metering and using insert effects during
recording and multitracking, among other things.
Record brought
professional-quality
audio tracking to
the Rack system
from Reason
Reason will record through any audio interface, even
your computers built-in hardware, although thats not
recommended. Propellerhead actually makes its own audio
interface specifically for Reason called Balance, and as
well as typifying the companys friendly approach to
design, it has a couple of interesting features.
Firstly, you can leave everything connected and then
switch inputs from the front panel. Even better is Clip Safe
mode: press the Clip Safe button and Reason will
automatically capture a second take at the same time as
your first, but at an automatically optimised volume level.
This means that if you have set your input gain too high and
FOCUS ON MONITORING
When you record anything using a microphone its essential that you turn
off your speakers if they are in the same room as the mic youre recording
through. If you dont do this you will in all probability get a horrible feedback
loop that is awful to listen to and can damage your speakers. If you are
recording something that doesnt need a mic the stereo outputs of a
keyboard or a drum machine, for example then its fine to leave the
speakers on during recording as there is no live open device in the room.
Obviously, when you turn the speakers off youll still need to monitor the
sound, so a good pair of headphones is a must.
FOCUS
On the disc
Accompanying
on the DVD
your take is distorted or clipped, you can simply revert to

the safe version. Even for experienced producers this can
really save your bacon if anything goes wrong.
Another nice feature of Reason is that it stores all your
recorded audio inside a single project file. If you look at a
Reason project, it is basically a single file, and everything
associated with a project is contained within it. This
makes it impossible to mislay or delete audio files
accidentally since they are self-contained. To export them
to the Desktop you can simply use the Bounce command
from the sequencer. Theres also some excellent timestretching and slicing technology going on, but well get to
that in a later article. For now, read on to find out how to
record audio in Reason. MTF
Audio recording in Reason Technique MTF
MTF Step-by-Step Recording audio
Connect your audio interface to your Mac or PC and make sure its
drivers are current and working. In Reasons Preferences, go to
the Audio tab and, in the Audio Device list, make sure that your device
is selected. Switch its sample rate to your desired setting before
starting any recording (44.1 or 48kHz is usually the best setting).
In the Active Audio Channels area, make sure that you have
switched on as many channels as you need. This may be only two
if you are doing simple stereo recording, or more if you are
multitracking. At the bottom, choose a monitoring option. The safest is
to select Manual, which activates monitoring only when you tell it to,
helping to prevent feedback.
Come out of the Preferences and choose Create>Audio Track. Go

to the resulting audio track module in the Rack and expand it. In
the centre you will see an Audio Input selector. You can use this to
choose which of the available inputs will be used to record from. An
acoustic guitar or vocal might need a mono input, a keyboard might
need stereo.
Use the Level slider (now found directly on the Rack module in
Reason 7) to set a level for the input. You can also adjust gain
controls on your instrument and interface. Generally speaking, its best
to run instruments and interfaces at around 7580% volume and do
the final control in the software. The main thing is to avoid clipping.
01
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PRO TIP
Press the [F3] key and you can call up a large recording meter window. This is handy
because it enables you to monitor your levels from across the room. Imagine you are at
a drum kit or sitting with a guitar and trying to change levels. With this you can see
your level from a distance.
Click on the Show Insert FX button on the audio track module.

Here you can add insert effects to the signal, which will be heard
but not recorded as part of the take. This can be useful for adding
reverb to vocals while monitoring, or guitar effects, for example. Be
aware that this can introduce latency more on this in a moment.
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MTF Technique Audio recording in Reason
MTF Step-by-Step Recording audio... contd
Click on the Show Programmer patch and you can access a way
to use insert effect patches. Find the Patch Load button and
navigate to the Sound Bank, then the Effect Patches folder. In here you
can find various presets for vocals, guitars and other track types. Try
loading one, and you should hear it applied as you sing or play.
If you find that using insert effects introduces latency a

time-lag between making a sound and hearing it back through
your headphones go back into Audio Preferences and try lowering
the buffer size temporarily. This will deal with the latency problem, but
as you add more tracks to a project youll need to push the buffer size
higher to help overall performance.
Record-arm your audio track by pressing its Record Enable

button; if youre recording with a mic, make sure your speakers
are muted before pressing the Monitor Enable button. Hit the Record
button in the transport bar and youre away. Record as long as you
need then press the Record button again to stop recording, or the Stop
button to stop both recording and playback.
Another technique is to record in a loop. Imagine you have a vocal

line that you are struggling to get right, or you want to try several
variations of a melody but without duplicating lots of stuff in the
sequencer. Set the left and right markers over the bit you want and
activate looping in the transport panel.
06
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PRO TIP
The clips will record in a loop, each one muting the last. When
done, stop recording and double-click on the clip. From the
left-hand side of the track, select Open in Comp Edit to reveal the
various takes. We will look in a future tutorial at comp editing, but this
is how you access material recorded in a loop.
10
FOCUS
Theres an
input selector
on each audio
track in the
sequencer as
well as in the
Rack. You can
use this to
quickly assign
any available
audio input to
any audio track.
Remember that
you can assign
the same input
to more than
one track, or
multiple inputs
to one track,
should you
need to for any
reason.
Audio recording in Reason Technique MTF
MTF Step-by-Step Recording audio... contd
To record over a section of audio you can simply scroll back to

before it occurs then record as before; Reason will automatically
mute the clip as you pass over it. It will then be accessible in Comp
mode, to arrange the different parts into one continuous take. You can
also use the Dub button on the transport panel.
Press the Dub button during playback and a new audio track is
added to the Rack that has the same settings as your first track
but no content. You can keep recording onto this new track without
stopping playback, then edit the audio on both tracks independently.
Its like old tape overdubs, but much more flexible.
Another option is to do as before but use the Alt button instead.

Whereas the Dub button creates a track and leaves the original
playing, the Alt button creates a track and mutes the original, so its
good if you want to try some new stuff without hearing whats already
there. Dub is good for creating harmonies.
To record multiple tracks at once a drum kit or several mics, for

example you simply repeat the single-track technique but
assign different inputs to each one. Here you can see four tracks
selected, each with a separate input assigned. Check your routing and
levels, record-arm each track, then press record.
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PRO TIP
You can get creative with the way audio is routed inside Reason by hitting the [Tab] key
to spin the Rack around and re-patching the audio inputs. Using this trick you can send
certain sources straight to specific destinations. This approach is useful when using
Reason with external mixing hardware.
To get an audio clip out of Reason and onto your Desktop, select it
in the Sequencer and right-click on it. From the Bounce menu
choose Bounce Clip To Disk and it will be output. Otherwise, the audio
remains inside the project file. You can also export stems from the File
menu, but this method is quicker if youre dealing with smaller clips.
15
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MTF Technique Prepare to record!
Pro Tools Become a Pro Tools Power User
Prepare to
record!
Following rules and regulations might seem counterproductive to creativity, but youll sure
appreciate it when it comes to the mix. Mike Hillier puts everything in its place.
ro Tools can be a confusing place in which to

work, especially if that work involves big sessions
with huge track counts and various different
musical sections. Finding your way around these
sessions can be a nightmare, but Pro Tools has a
variety of tools for aiding navigation around a mix.
In this tutorial we look at how best to set up your Pro
Tools rig for a recording session, focusing on the I/O setup
window, routing, preparing a click track and the various
record modes available to you.
The first thing we do when we start a new session is to
go through and make sure that everything is named
appropriately Audio_01_bip provides no useful
On the disc
Accompanying
on the DVD
A good engineer will have

ensured files were appropriately
named before the mix
information as to what is on the channel, and while a good
recording engineer will have ensured all their files were
appropriately named before the mix, we still encounter this
problem frequently. Going through and listening to each
channel can be time-consuming, especially if theres an
unexpected instrument change on a single channel, but it
can still save a lot of time later in the mix.
With everything named correctly, we then like to sort all
the instruments into groups usually the
drums and percussion first followed by bass
FOCUS ON
MEMORY LOCATIONS
Memory locations are most commonly used to mark
out the various sections of a song, providing a means
for the engineer to see quickly where each section
starts and finishes and to skip to those sections from
the keyboard. However, selections can also be
retrieved with Memory Locations, so we like to also
create Memory Locations for things such as the whole
track making it easier to bounce the track or bounce
sub-mixes. We also like to create Memory Locations
for specific tasks, such as drum editing. A Memory
Location can recall which tracks are shown and which
are hidden as well as the track heights and zoom
settings, all of which make it ideal for quickly hiding all
the non-drum audio channels and zooming the Edit
window to the perfect settings to begin editing audio.
You could even include a Window Configuration with
Beat Detective already open.
FOCUS
PRO TIP
Window Configurations can be useful for common tasks. We like to
create Window Configurations that show and hide the Mix and Edit
windows in various configurations, as well as configurations that show
our master channel metering plug-ins. It can also be useful to create a
Window Configuration that hides everything so you can listen to your mix
without following it onscreen. This can help you listen to the
mix as a whole rather than as a
series of decisions.
instruments, midrange rhythm and pad-type

instruments (guitars, synth pads, strings, brass, piano and
so on), lead instruments and, finally, vocals. We then colour
channels to provide visual identification at-a-glance. The
exact order can change from track to track, but its useful to
stick to the same colour scheme.
Grouping clips can be useful from both a visual
perspective as well as for when youre editing. More useful,
however, are Mix/Edit groups, which can be activated
whenever necessary to perform grouped fader
moves, grouped edits, and to show/hide whole
channels quickly. Showing only the section you are
working on at any one time can be very useful for
navigating larger Pro Tools sessions. In addition to
Mix/Edit Groups for each instrument group, we like
to create groups of all the audio channels, so we can
quickly show only audio channels in the Edit window
and hide aux busses. Furthermore, if you are using
sub-groups it can be useful to create a Mix Group of
all the sub-groups, enabling you to quickly work on
these channels to get your mix working at a more
macro scale.
Memory Locations and Window Configurations
can be incredibly useful for speeding up your
workflow once the mix gets under way, making it
easy to quickly skip to the start of any verse and loop
sections without taking your fingers off the
keyboard. Indeed, a good Pro Tools operator will
make very little use of the mouse. MTF
Prepare to record! Technique MTF
MTF Step-by-Step Preparation & navigation
Open the 02 Organising Sessions session file from the DVD. The
session has part of a mix newly imported into it ready to begin. All
of the tracks and clips are named, some even have notes. Quite often
you will get mixes that simply come with clips named Audio 01 or
similar; if this happens, you will have to solo each one and name them
before you even get started.
Were going to start by creating Clip Groups in the Edit window.

Highlight all of the nine drum clips by [Shift]-clicking on each clip
and then group them by pressing [Ctrl]+[Alt]+[G]/[Cmd]+[Alt]+[G] (PC/
Mac) to group them as a single Clip Group. Repeat this to group the
bass, vocals and guitars. Clip Groups are useful for any clips that you
want to edit together.
Open the Color Palette by clicking on the blue bar to the left of
each channel in the Edit window (or at the bottom of each
channel in the Mix window). Alternatively, if you have the Track Color
hidden, you can open the Color Palette from the Window menu.
Select all the drum channels (not the clips) and select a colour for
drums. It helps to remain consistent from one song to another
with your choice of colour, and keep similar tracks in similar colours
you might choose dark-blue for drums and light-blue for percussion
and so on. Repeat this process for the other instrument groups.
If your tracks are now coloured but your clips remain the same, go
to Preferences>Display and, in the Color Coding section on the
right, change the Default Clip Color Coding to match Track Color. This
will change the colour of all your clips to match the Track Color choice.
You can, of course, choose to colour clips individually if you prefer.
When we created the Clip Groups, Pro Tools simply names them
Group_##; by double-clicking on the Clip Group we can give each
one a more descriptive name. This is especially helpful if youre
collaborating on a session, as your collaborator may not follow your
particular colour scheme.
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MTF Technique Prepare to record!
MTF Step-by-Step Preparation & navigation... contd
Clip Groups are useful, but Pro Tools has another, more powerful
grouping tool: Mix/Edit Groups. Highlight the two kick channels in
either the Edit or Mix window and press [Ctrl]+[G]/[Cmd]+[G] to group
them. With a Mix Group active any fader-moves, solos or mutes will
effect all grouped channels equally, while an edit will effect clips in all
grouped channels equally.
We like to create as many Mix/Edit Groups as we think were

going to need early on, creating one for every kit piece in the drum
kit and another for the kit as a whole, plus additional groups for every
instrument that has been tracked on multiple channels. This can come
in very useful for gain-staging later on in the mix. Groups can be turned
off individually from the menu.
Not all of our groups need to effect both the Edit and Mix
windows. We like to create a group for all audio tracks that
effects only the Edit window, and many of our instrument-specific
groups may need to effect only the Mix window, especially groups of
aux channels.
Once weve grouped our tracks we like to place markers on the

timeline to make it easy to see where on a track were working,
and to provide a means to skip to different sections easily. The obvious
choices are to place markers at the start of each different song
section, marking Start, Verse 1, Chorus, Verse 2, Bridge and so on. To
add a Memory Location at the timeline simply press [Enter].
With markers in place you can jump to any Memory Location by

pressing [.] then the number of the Memory Location followed by
[.]. You can also highlight a region from the current position to a
Memory Location marker by holding down [Shift] while pressing [.] then
the number then [.].
Once youve placed quite a few markers it can be difficult to

remember which number each one is. To bring up a list of Memory
Locations press [Ctrl]+[5]/[Cmd]+[5]. This list shows the number of
each Memory Location in the left-most column, with the other
columns showing what makes up that Memory Location.
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MTF Technique Advanced recording in Logic Pro
Logic Pro Become a Logic Power User
Powered by
Advanced recording
in Logic Pro
Establishing an efficient recording workflow and monitoring setup is vital to the success of
your Logic projects. Mark Cousins puts the studio back into Logic.
nless you decide to stay firmly rooted in the

virtual universe, its highly likely that the
majority of your Logic projects will begin with
some form of recording, whether youre laying
down drums and bass lines, for example, some
guide guitar parts or a string quartet backing. Most of us
should be familiar with the basic processes of recording
into Logic, but what happens if your plans are slightly more
ambitious than simply capturing a performance by a single
musician? Once you move beyond basic single-track
recording, a new set of challenges presents themselves,
On the disc
Accompanying
on the DVD
A more refined monitoring

setup can be of benefit to
you and your musicians
whether thats having to deal with multiple takes or setting
up complicated monitor mixes.
In this tutorial were going to take a look at Logic Pros
application as a true multitrack recording studio laying
down performances with multiple instruments as well as
creating a completely customisable monitoring
environment that ensures both you and the musicians hear
the correct parts. As youll see, the skills explored here
cover a wide range of features within Logic Pro aspects
that you might not be so familiar with, but when combined
in a dynamic way, enable you to create an efficient and
productive workflow.
Our initial exercise looks a typical production for which
you need to record multiple parts at the same time
whether its a drum kit, for example, or a complete band
line-up. The challenge here is how to negotiate the best way
of working with multiple tracks, takes and audio files. To
FOCUS ON LATENCY
Latency is a key issue in any computer-based recording and needs to be
taken into consideration when youre working with musicians. One option is
to use any DSP-assisted software that comes with your audio interface, but
this two-layered approach can become confusing when youre moving
between Logics mixer and the control software supplied with your
interface. Another option, therefore, is to reduce your latency setting (Logic
Pro>Preferences>Audio) when youre recording, reducing your buffer size as
low as it will go without incurring noticeable clicks and pops in the output.
When it comes to mixing for which you might need to run lots of
CPU-hungry plug-ins increase the latency to around 256512 samples.
FOCUS
achieve this, well need to look at some new techniques in

the mixer, Arrange area and Audio Bin.
As well as recording, well also see how a more refined
and considered monitoring setup can be of benefit to you
and your musicians. All too often, musicians are simply fed a
duplicate of the main control room mix, which ultimately
means a compromise both in what you can listen to as well
as what your musicians use as a guide to construct their
best performance. By creating separate and distinct
monitor and cue mixes, though, you can mirror the practices
adopted in a professional studio techniques that
guarantee optimal sound and performance long before you
go anywhere near your plug-ins folder. MTF
Advanced recording in Logic Pro Technique MTF
MTF Step-by-Step Recording multiple sources
Create the required number of audio tracks using the Track>New

local menu option. Clicking on the Ascending checkbox next to
the Input dropdown menu will create an auto-incrementing input
assignment in accordance with your audio interface. You can even
highlight the Input Monitoring option if you want to immediately listen
to the signals present at your interfaces inputs.
A problem with recording multiple inputs is the task of moving

several tracks in and out of record-ready mode. One easy way
around this is to use Logics grouping functionality. Start by placing the
faders into the same group, using the Group Assignment box just
above the automation mode. Make sure that the record option is ticked
in the Group settings, as this isnt applied by default.
Once weve completed our first pass, we need to perform some

organisational tasks to ensure we can keep track of the files. In
the Bin, for example, highlight the newly created audio files in the
current pass and select View>Create Group. You can name the group
accordingly, permanently assigning the audio files to a given take.
As well as tidying up the Bin, we also need to prevent the Arrange

area from becoming overcrowded. A good option is to use the
Folder functionality, selecting the last pass in the Arrange area and
selecting Region>Folder>Pack Folder from the local menu. The Folder
can be named and muted from playback, and youll also clear the
current tracks ready for the next pass.
Carry on with your recording, creating a folder for each new take
and accompanying groups in the Audio Bin. Using the mute on
each folder track is a good way of switching between the different
takes to audition them, without having to run multiple track lanes in
the Arrange area. Also consider using colour assignments to
distinguish takes more clearly.
You can view the contents of a folder at any point by doubleclicking on it. Return back up a level by clicking on the arrow in
the top left-hand corner of the Arrange area. If you decide on a
preferred take, you can also choose to unpack the folder using the
local menu item Region>Folder>Unpack Folder (Use Existing Tracks).
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MTF Technique Advanced recording in Logic Pro
MTF Step-by-Step Monitoring and click
Create new buss sends for each of the channel strips you want
present in the cue mix this could include playback tracks and
the performers themselves. Change the assignment of the buss faders
so that theyre all set to Pre Fader status this will ensure that your
fader levels wont affect the monitoring level in the headphones.
The combination of the buss sends will now be sent to a newly

created aux master fader. Change the name of this fader to Cue
Mix and set its output assignment to the physical output on your
interface that the headphones are connected to. This should be
different from your main monitor outputs, which are usually set to
Outputs 12.
Thinking of your mix as two layers your monitor mix and the cue
mix fed to the headphones will help to create a comfortable
working environment for everyone involved. One aspect that can help
singers is the provision of a small amount of reverb in their
headphones. Use a pre-fader send for the reverb, sending the reverb
output to the cue mix buss.
Another interesting option is a customisable click, independent

of Logics internal metronome. To create your own click, create a
new instrument track and then instantiate Logics Klopfgeist
instrument. The default setting is the same as Logics metronome
assuming that you feed it the correct MIDI data, which well explore in
the next step.
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Create your metronome sequence with a G5 note on the first beat

and a C5 note on the second, third and fourth, all with a velocity
of 127. The principal advantage of the click system is that you define
when and where the click appears, giving musicians a precise two-bar
count-in, for example, as well as dropping out the click at the end of
the track.
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with the other elements of our cue mix, youll need to route the
06 As
new click through to the output that your headphones reside on.
For reference, its worth having your own pair of cans in the control
room so you can monitor what the musicians are hearing, and set up
the cue mix in a way that mirrors their listening experience.
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MTF Technique Audio recording in FL Studio
FL Studio Become an FL Studio Power User
Audio recording
in FL Studio
FLStudio has one of the biggest user bases of any DAW, simply because it is feature-packed
and can cover all production tasks. Hollin Jones explains FLs recording highlights
L Studio comes in several editions and the

Producer Edition is the one that has full audio
tracking and recording capabilities. As good a
MIDI sequencer as FL Studio undoubtedly is,
most users will find it incredibly useful to be able
to capture audio parts into their projects, whether its a
simple guitar line, a full vocal track or even multitracking a
live drum kit or a band. Its often in blending real and
synthesised sounds that the most interesting results are
On the disc
Accompanying
on the DVD
Most users will find it incredibly

useful to be able to capture audio
parts into their projects
achieved, and you can, of course, subsequently process any
audio you record using the many excellent audio effects
included in the software.
FL Studio Producer Edition has two main methods for
recording audio, plus a third technique for printing audio
internally. If you are working with one or just a couple
of audio parts or working with
a loop its recommended that
you use the Edison recorder
module. This acts as a sort of
mini wave recorder/editor and
FOCUS ON AUDIO
Its possible to print audio parts
internally inside FL Studio. This can be
done in real time or non-real time
modes, with the latter providing a slower
but higher-quality render. Detailed
instructions are available in the manual,
but essentially what you do is
record-arm the mixer tracks you want to
record, then, in the Mixer menus Disk
Recording submenu, select Auto Create
Audio Tracks; this will place a copy of the
track into the Playlist after recording
has completed. From the Disk Recording
submenu, choose Render to Wave File,
set the required options and press Go.
There is also an option in the Export
Project menu called Split Mixer Tracks,
which will create a separate WAV file for
each track in a project great for
creating stems for moving a project to
another app or for backup.
FOCUS
has a range of sample-editing tools. It can then be triggered

inside the Playlist, a bit like a very advanced version of a
MIDI keyboard/hardware sampler setup. Naturally, you can
use as many instances of Edison as you require.
If you are recording longer parts or multitracking audio
through a multi-input interface perhaps a drum kit or
several musicians at once it is often a better idea to
record-arm mixer tracks in the Playlist and record directly
into these. This is a more conventional, linear approach to
recording and is preferred by some. Although it doesnt have
all the bells and whistles of Edison, its better for some
kinds of audio-recording tasks. Last but not least, using the
softwares internal routing features you can freeze or print
down audio internally to new, simple audio parts. This is
useful for conserving CPU power on tracks where you might
have lots of effects running, so that you can lower your
buffer size for more latency-free recording of new parts.
However you approach audio recording in FL Studio
Producer Edition, theres sure to be something for you to
learn, so read on MTF
Audio recording in FL Studio Technique MTF
MTF Step-by-Step Recording & editing audio
Although FL Studio should record from your computers built-in

soundcard, you really need to use a dedicated audio interface for
recording and playback, even if its just a simple 2 x 2 USB device. To
record multiple tracks at once you will need the corresponding number
of physical inputs. Go to Audio Preferences and check that your device
is correctly set up.
Set the buffer size so that you get as little latency as possible
when playing a sound in from a mic or a guitar. Generally this
means a smaller buffer. Remember that to avoid feedback you will
need to switch off any speakers while recording and use headphones
to monitor with. The exception is when you DI an instrument, perhaps
by plugging a guitar straight into the interface.
Unless you have customised your setup you should find Edison
inside the Misc folder of your Plugin Database in the Browser.
First we will look at recording into Edison, so create an instance by
dragging it into your project. Alternatively, click on the Record button
on the transport to see the recording options.
Click to choose to record into the Edison module and one will be
created (if you havent already created one). FL Studio will show
the audio input level at the top left and also in the mixer, if you happen
to have that open. Check your levels you should be aiming for a
decent signal, into the yellow but not hitting the red at the top.
There are various options for recording: on input, on playback or

now being the main ones. To record along with a click, activate
the metronome or have a beat playing in a track, then press the record
button in Edison and perform. The sounds you make will be captured
and you will see the waveform display update.
The other options are good to know about. On input allows you to
set a threshold trigger level by left-clicking on the peak meter
and dragging up/down. You will see the level displayed in the Info area
at the top left of the app. On Play will start recording when play is
pressed on the transport (useful for recording multiple takes).
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MTF Technique Audio recording in FL Studio
MTF Step-by-Step Recording & editing audio... contd
In the Max box in Edison you can set the maximum recording
time. Since it operates in RAM, its better suited to working with
shorter sections of audio than long takes. For that, use the Mixer
recording mode. Activate the Loop button on Edisons transport if you
want to loop playback within the module.
There are lots of tools inside Edison for working with audio. If you
click on the button with the spanner icon you can access a range
of functions, including time/pitch-stretching, normalization, noise
gating and more. Interestingly, at the bottom of this list is the option to
analyse the clip and send it to the Piano Roll as Score data.
Under the Sequencing section at the base of this menu is an

option to send the audio clip to the Playlist or to send it to the
selected channel. These are both ways to take captured and edited
audio clips and make them part of a project. Use Edison to work on
audio clips prior to sending them elsewhere in a project.
At the bottom left of Edison is a tiny button that, when clicked,

provides access to a File menu. As well as getting to the
audio-processing functions from the previous step, this allows you to
import a sample from your hard drive into Edison and also export the
current sample as a file to your Desktop.
To edit other parameters of an audio part, such as envelopes, use

the tiny buttons running underneath the main waveform display.
Here you can set things like panning, volume and stereo envelopes as
well as an all-purpose envelope that can be assigned to different
parameters. Use these for things like setting volume fades or pans
within a clip independently of the main mixer.
Use Region tools to slice and analyse audio clips so that they can
be made more flexible within your project. In Edisons toolbar,
click the Regions button to reveal the options. These include audio
slicing, loop selection and the ability to manually identify a downbeat.
These will help FL Studio more accurately incorporate rhythmic and
other loops into a project.
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Audio recording in FL Studio Technique MTF
MTF Step-by-Step Recording & editing audio... contd
The second main way to record audio is to place it straight into a

mixer track. You can do this by using the shortcut of clicking on
the Record icon in the transport and choosing it, or opening the mixer.
For a given track, select it, then go to the Input menu at the top right of
the mixer and choose the relevant input. To multitrack, assign each
input to its own mixer track.
Click on the tiny disk icon at the base of an audio track and you
will be prompted to set a record destination location for the audio
that is captured to that track. This can be handy for sending different
takes to different locations all drums to one folder, for example, all
vocals to another and so on.
Its possible to send the signal from one channel directly to

another by using the Send button in the mixer. Using this trick you
could, for example, record several versions of the same take, but
process each one differently using effects. It would also be possible to
set a separate record location for each one, giving you more control
over your recordings.
When you press Record in the transport your audio is captured

directly as a clip in the Playlist. This is perfect for longer
recordings since it records directly to disk. The tools that you use to
edit MIDI clips in the Playlist can also be used to manipulate the audio.
To record in a loop in the Playlist, do as follows. Go to the

Recording Panel and select the button for Blend Recording/
Overdub. Select Song mode and create a loop area using the markers
in the Playlist. To toggle audibility of recorded parts as you loop, go to
Options and turn Blend Recorded Notes on/off.
To edit a recorded audio clip in the Playlist, simply double-click

on it and you will open its Control Panel, from where you can
change almost anything about it. From the waveform display at the
base of this window you can drag and drop the clip anywhere into the
Playlist area to duplicate it.
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MTF Technique Audio recording & editing in Live
Audio recording
and editing in Live
Whether you intend to record a multi-miced performance or just the odd found sound, youll
need to understand how recording and editing works in Live. Liam OMullane explains...
o, after explaining how to set up a typical

project in Ableton Live on p18 of this
MusicTech Focus guide (like there is such
thing as a typical project!), now its time to
turn our attention to the recording process
within the Live environment. And this is where the fun
really starts!
Like many aspects of Live, theres more than one way to
skin a cat, and when it comes to recording audio, the main
option is whether to record in Arrangement or Session
View. The first two walkthroughs will guide you through
On the disc
Accompanying
on the DVD
Like many aspects of

working in Live, theres more
than one way to skin a cat
both approaches but, like the different approaches to
editing described in the third step-by-step, one size does
not fit all. So take the techniques discussed onboard, but
its only through repeated use that youll gain a personal
context for their use. This time is needed to decide which
approach best suits your own preferences for workflow
and the tasks you will typically undertake. For instance,
pitch-correction (covered in the third walkthrough) can be
applied by using many of the excellent Warp modes
available. While these will allow you to preserve the timing
of your recordings, a side effect can be that the sound
quality is compromised as it stretches or condenses your
FOCUS ON CUE MIXING

When recording, you may need to create a custom headphone mix for a
performer that differs from the mix you want to listen to as you record. This
headphone mix could include lots of reverb for a vocalist, helping them to feel
comfortable while performing, and perhaps a loud melodic instrument to help
them stay in-tune. A drummer may want everything but themselves in their
headphones as their drums are already loud enough. Whatever your
requirements, you will most likely need to route the Cue output of Live to the
relevant output on your interface to feed the headphones. This needs to be a
different output from that used for the Master output of Live, otherwise it will
merely copy the main mix. The Cue output will play back any pre-count and the
metronome, if required, but it can also send other audio from your project to the
performers headphones. A Cue option appears above the Cue level control after
selecting its separate audio output settings. When enabled, this will turn all
solo buttons into a headphone icon. For quick set-up you can simply enable the
relevant icon to send those channels to the headphones. For an independent
mix of tracks, send only a single return track to the Cue out and instead use the
other tracks send controls to blend the desired balance of instruments to the
headphones via this return track.
FOCUS
audio to keep it in-time after re-pitching. You can minimise

this by using different Warp modes on either a global or
edit-by-edit basis as required, but the good, old-fashioned
vari-speed approach can also come in handy when you
want to completely avoid any time-stretch-based
artefacts. But this isnt artefact-free, either, as the sound
will suffer from timing distortions as you alter pitch. So
after hearing the differences between the two, youll have a
better idea of which approach is the most appropriate for
the task at hand.
Before hitting record, also make sure that youre set up
for the desired bit-depth and sample rate. Bit-depth
dictates the available dynamic range in your recordings,
with 24-bit being a typical choice. Sample rates represent
the highest frequency limit (once halved) of your
recordings, and there are all sorts of arguments as to
which setting is best. In general, the higher the fidelity you
want, the higher the sample rate needs to be. Orchestral
recordings tend to be recorded at 88.2kHz or above. Most
electronic music can be set to anywhere from 44.1kHz and
above. Sample rate can be altered after opening
Preferences from the Options/Live (PC/Mac) menu and
selecting Audio from the left-hand tab. For bit-depth, click
the Record Launch Warp tab. MTF
Audio recording & editing in Live Technique MTF
MTF Step-by-Step Recording in Arrangement View
You can choose to record in both Session and Arrangement

Views. This can be when Live is already in the middle of playback
or you can use a pre-count to count in the start of both recording and
playback at the same time. The metronome button has a menu for
tailoring the duration of pre-count for the performers needs.
To capture a natural performance, its best not to focus on

smaller sections and loop around them. Instead, use Live in a
purely linear mode by making sure that Loop Switch is disabled, then
record the performance from start to finish. This will result in a much
more natural-sounding recording than working in small sections.
If you want to record multiple takes with this non-looping

approach, its best to record each new take to a different track.
You can then accurately split each part by disabling Snap To Grid from
the Options menu and using Split from the Edit menu. The [0] key can
be used to disable takes when determining the best ones.
If a performer cant quite nail a full take or did a good job but
small sections might benefit from a re-take, you can use Lives
punch-in/-out function. Click and highlight the area to focus on and
select Loop Selection to move the Loop Brace. Press the Punch-In/Out Switch (in yellow) to map to the Loop Braces start and end points.
Recording will now take place only between these two points.
Another approach is to track multiple recordings by cycling over a

small section repeatedly. This is useful if you want to ad-lib and
try out multiple different ideas. Start by looping around the area of
focus, then record various times until you think there are sufficient
decent parts to work with.
The audio clip that youve recorded will have an internal Loop
Brace thats the length of your clip. To audition the other takes,
simply move the Loop Brace around to change the content of the clip.
This avoids the alternative, lengthy approach of moving and extending
the clip to gain access to the other takes.
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MTF Technique Audio recording & editing in Live
MTF Step-by-Step Recording in Session View
Session View can be useful for Arrangement View-like cycle

recording, except that clips are recorded to separate slots, which
keeps things easier to deal with visually. If you intend to work in a
linear way you can simply hit record in an empty clip slot and record
continuously, then drag the file into Arrangement View for editing.
Multiple takes can be recorded separately by creating multiple

tracks with their Arm buttons enabled. Then, as long as Start
Recording on Scene Launch is enabled from the Preferences menu,
you just trigger a scene to start playback and recording of your
multiple takes. Alter each clips Loop Brace position as in Step 6 of the
previous walkthrough so that they represent each take.
Now that you have your recordings, you can either drag them into
Arrangement View for editing, or use an exclusive method within
Session View. This technique is much more hands-on and less
graphically-based. Once youve set up your Loop Braces to represent
each take, drag the recordings to one track so you can play back only
one take at a time.
Highlighting your recordings, open the Launch Box, enable Legato

mode and set Quantization to none. Legato allows you to move
from playing one clip to another without losing the playback position.
This lets you jump between one take and the other like a manual edit.
The lack of Quantization means launching of clips will be immediate.
Next, assign computer keys or MIDI notes to each clip using

either Key Map mode or MIDI Map mode from the top right of the
screen. Now you can launch the takes with your fingers and jam out
potential edits of the recordings. We find that this helps you listen to
how the edits alter the performance, and you can practice until you
think it sounds right.
When youre ready to commit your compiling to Live, hit the

Arrangement Record Button to capture your performance in
Arrangement View. From here you can fine-tune and edit between
parts. Drag the takes back to Session View if necessary after
consolidating it to a new audio file via the Edit menu.
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Audio recording & editing in Live Technique MTF
MTF Step-by-Step Editing techniques
There are several key tools youll need to work with when editing
a performance. If youve already compd from various takes youll
have multiple clips sequenced one after another. Live will
automatically smooth-out the edits youve made with a crossfade. To
view and edit these, select Show Fades from the Create menu.
Fade-ins/-outs can also be controlled in this way.
When trying to improve the timing of smaller edits, rather than

trying to move the clips, move their content instead just grab
the Start Marker in the Sample Editor window to move the content and
disable Snap To Grid for more accuracy. Re-size the clip to avoid
abruptly chopping off the sounds start or end points.
Disabling Warp mode from the Sample View allows you to

re-pitch your audio clips for correction purposes using varispeed. This means that the audios duration will expand or contract as
you go down or up in pitch respectively. Use the Transpose and Detune
amounts to correct your audios pitch.
Lives Warp mode can be used when you want to edit the timing
within an audio clip but leave the pitch information intact.
Pseudo Warp Markers will appear above the waveform in the Sample
Editor. These can be double-clicked and dragged to condense or
expand the clips content.
Like tuning a non-warped clip, Transpose and Detune can be

used with Warp mode enabled as long as its set to anything but
Re-Pitch mode. Finer tuning through Detune is best for minor
corrections, but this can have only a static setting per clip, so Split
each area to be corrected and set the Detune on a part-by-part basis.
If you plan on warping a multi-audio recording like drum mics or

various instruments from a live performance, first ensure that all
audio to be edited is the same length (Consolidate all pieces to a new
length from the Edit menu if needed). Highlight the parts, edit one
clips Warp Markers and the others will follow. The striped pattern
across the top of the clip confirms you are in a grouped Warp mode.
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MusicTech.indd 2
11.03.2014 12:02:08
MTF Interview Blancmange
MTF Studio Session
A classic album
re-recorded
It sounds like a dream assignment in many ways: using the latest software to record a
classic album. But as Blancmanges Neil Arthur reveals, the re-imagining of the bands
debut album Happy Families was not all plain-sailing, as Andy Jones finds out.
ack in the early 80s, Blancmange was a band at a

peak creatively, commercially and technologically.
They were scoring regular chart hits, selling
records by the bucket load, enjoying the success
(not so much the fame) and employing the then
cutting-edge synths, drum machines and recording
technology to produce their first album, Happy Families. Its
an album that has achieved classic status in the intervening
years, with lush down-tempo tracks acting as a fine
counterpoint to the up-beat and energetic singles that
include the bands biggest hit, Living On The Ceiling.
Peak performance
Cut to 30 years later and were sitting in the incredible Twin
Peaks Studios in the heart (and height) of the Brecon
Beacons to discuss the re-recording of the album. Lead
singer Neil Arthur is joined by long-time producer Adam
Fuest to discuss the project, and while you might think that
modern technology would help to smooth the process, it
didnt solve all the problems. But before we get in too deep,
lets step back a moment and ask why the project is
happening in the first place
We were asked to go out and do a classic album tour,
Neil explains. I wasnt happy about going out to repeat
myself but what I said would do is go out and give it a fresh
interpretation, whether people liked it or not, because that is
how we are and that is like it was the first time. I dont have a
problem with the original or how it was recorded in 1982, I
can live with that, but I dont want to cheat people or myself
by just repeating the past.
The project was completed with the blessing of long-time
Blancmange member Stephen Luscombe (Hes part of the
happy family but is not well and has to be careful with
movement so touring is out. Hes contributed a small bit,
some stuff on Gods Kitchen and Living On The Ceiling) but
mostly with great mate Adam Fuest, and original
Blancmange touring players David Rhodes (guitar) and
Pandit Dinesh (percussion) both guesting.
I thought wed re-record it with todays technology and
thats what we set about doing and its been a heck of a
journey! Neil says. The weird thing was that when we
started I imagined that wed not recorded the album the first
time around. I imagined that the songs had been written with
FOCUS
On the disc
Teaser video
of the live
performance.
lyrics and melodies and now they were going to be recorded.

So I didnt listen to any of the original songs I know them all
anyway. I analysed parts of the demos but only small parts.
You end up going into the audio with a microscope and it
brought back very specific memories like one where me
and Stephen were standing over the LinnDrum of 808 and
both programming at the same time.
So, no listening to the original tracks nor revisiting the
original multitracks for good reason: They are lost, Neil
reveals. Living On A Ceiling is lost. Paul Oakenfold was going
to do a remix and London Records asked us where the
multitrack was and neither of us had them, so that has been
missing a long time. It is somewhere but we dont know
where. Its not frustrating now but it was when Oakenfold was
looking for it!
Track specific
While Neil tried to re-create the songs with just the melodies
and lyrics in place, he was very much aware that certain
characteristics of the originals had to be preserved
I wasnt happy about

going out to repeat
myself but what I said
would do is go out and give
it a fresh interpretation
I wanted to absolutely understand the originals by
analysing an early demo or an element, he says. With the
percussion on Living On The Ceiling, for example, I looked at
the hi-hat pattern and realised that no one would normally
program that pattern because we did it as non-musicians
but just recorded it anyway. But that pattern actually makes
the song, so on the new version that pattern stayed
absolutely faithful to the original. And apart from the bass
Blancmange Interview MTF
drum now being four-to-the-floor, the rest of the percussion

stays faithful to the original too. With the bass line I added a
sub and a bass line with more movement that is easy to open
and close [the filter] now, but would have been harder to
control back then.
What I also wanted to do was pare everything down and
make performances very direct, he continues. So Ive
stripped back all the extraneous stuff to get a more direct
delivery. I imagined each time that it was like a live
performance. For example, I Cant Explain is all about the
groove, essentially an ad lib in terms of a song, just a groove.
With Feel Me, I stripped it right down and my daughter did
backing vocals through a vocoder! I just wanted a different
take. She was just in the house so I asked her! She has a
lovely voice
Time travel
Neil has already mentioned the memories that revisiting
these three-decade-old songs triggered, and the process
became even more personal and emotional at times
Adam and I recorded all the vocals in three days at my
place, start to finish 11 songs in total, as Ive now added the
track Running Thin, which wasnt on the original album. That
Adam Fuest (left,

owner of Twin Peaks)
and Neil Arthur.
(Right) Neil plays
some classic
Blancmange gear.
was incredible as a person who is 31 years older than the

person who sang them initially. And some of the songs, like
Cruel and Kind, I havent sung in 30 years. It was bizarre
meeting myself again, really bizarre I was like: Neil, this is
fucking weird. It was really moving for me to go through that
experience but the thing is it wasnt me I was seeing; it was
the other people who were there. It was very weird and very
moving and quite a journey
He is clearly back in the moment as he describes the
memory but quickly quips, And were only having a thousand
copies pressed! Im a fool!
| 77
MTF Interview Blancmange
MTF Insight A limited run

You wont be able to buy Happy Families Too unless you see
Blancmange live, as Neil explains
The album is only available at gigs, which I thought was the
honest and best thing to do. I dont want it to go out for review and its
not going to go out for sale to the general public. This year theres
been talk about doing a remix album. Vince Clarke has done one and
Greg Wilson, plus my son Joe who goes by the name Applebottom
and is doing pretty well for himself musically is doing one. He does
electronic stuff, remixes and DJs. He loves music and hes been
around it all of his life, but he didnt know anything about
Blancmange until we did the tour in 2011. When he saw us, he went:
ooh, Dad!.
Moving further into the technology and we have Logic

firmly at the heart of the process (Ive used Logic since it
was Notator, so I know my way around that. Many people look
at it and say its not logical, but Ive worked with it for so long
that I know where to go with it.) but it wasnt all new tech
some of the bands original equipment had to be used,
specifically two items
The first keyboard that Stephen bought for Blancmange
was the Roland Super Jupiter, and the first thing we ever
bought was this TR-808. In fact, we had two of them. The
reason we got them was that it was before computers were
used so this was the way you sequenced, so youd send the
output of the 808 to trigger a synth, for example. So wed use
the cowbell part, which we never used, turn down the volume
and it would trigger 16 beats in the bar, sending it, for
example, into the Korg MS20 synth. And that would be the
bass line on Ive Seen The Word.
But the 808 also has a lovely sound which we now take
out and sample, morph it with other bits and pieces, and use
it in with other things. This Super Jupiter was bought a bit
later. Its called a Super Jupiter though its actually slightly
different, but it has the most amazing sound. People have
this and find it a bugger to program, but the beauty of it is
that it plugs into this, the MPG-80, which does all the
business. That is obviously MIDId so you can set it to an
external MIDI device so as long as Logic sees it, then great.
It has some fantastic sounds. So those the TR-808 and
Roland Super Jupiter were the backbone as far as the old
technology goes.
The 808 has a lovely

sound which we now
take out and sample,
then morph it with
other bits and pieces
Thats the older kit out of the way, but what about newer
additions to the Blancmange setup?
My default soft-synth is the G-Force impOSCar 2 and the
Oddity, just for its oddness its just so out there as soon as
you put it on, says Neil. I worked with both the originals,
particularly the latter. Playing around with a synthesizer like
that, its just amazing what you might come up with. I write on
a guitar I can play enough to get an idea down but the
amazing thing with a synth is that you just put a bass part in
and fiddle around, and its like: wheres this going to take
me? Its lovely; I can have a great beer and just sit and fiddle
and its a lovely thing, like Ill have half an hour of that until
its like, suppers ready!
Neil lists various other plug-ins used across the album:
Weve got Waves, Logics Bass Amp, ES1 I tell you what I do
use: Audio Damage Filterstation; Smart Electronix LiveCut,
that gets used quite a lot. It gives you a random, weird,
chop-up on different parts of audio. I like that and it was
used on [the last and most recent Blancmange album] Blanc
Burn and on this record.
Problems solved?
The heart of Twin Peaks is a superb TLA desk. Adam preferred Cubase for mixing the album, porting
the audio stems over from Neil's Logic set-up and shown here on the screens above the desk.
FOCUS
So has the latest studio technology eradicated all of the

original problems the band faced three decades ago?
Actually, its created problems, Neil laughs. I now dont
get think time. When you used to have a tape machine
running with a sync tone on it and you were trying to get
whatever it was to run in time whether it was a LinnDrum or
an 808 or a sequencer there wasnt just the rewind time
that gave you pause for thought, there was the moment the
tape got back to the front and decided whether it was going
to go forwards again, and then you had to wait for everything
else to jump in and that was your think time. Now
he turns to Logic, presses the space bar to start, stop
and start again for instant rewind to start
Blancmange Interview MTF
there is no think time! It was something that was

built-in to your session. Recording sessions back then were
actually quite long, but the actual recording time wasnt
always the biggest part of it.
Adam adds: And people would make judgements entirely
on what they heard, while now they often look at the screen
for confirmation.
Neil: Yes, there was nothing to look at so you had to listen,
and a lot of people now look at audio.
Adam: Its like they check their timing by looking at it, not
listening to it.
Neil: Ive spent so many years quantizing stuff that I do
think I can hear when something is even slightly out and it
will take something to convince me otherwise. But Im not a
square-basher. I was lucky enough to get to see Kraftwerk
playing at the Tate, and what was really interesting about the
sound is that when they did the melody lines, sometimes
there was some movement. They are such bloody good
melody lines: really considered, so bloody good and yet so
simple. The most simple things are often the most difficult
we all know that. Its so difficult not to add something but
they dont.
But when they were playing not on every song but on
some of the songs they would just move it a little bit and
somehow give it that kind of humanity. It wasnt the velocity
or the touch-sensitivity, it was just a little bit forwards or a
little bit behind, so good that it made it feel just so fragile,
that it was going to fall to bits, but that I absolutely love in
any kind of music where its just holding together I just love
stuff like that. If we have achieved anything like that on this
With Happy Families

Too in the bag, Adam
and Neil can relax at
Twin Peaks.
Its up and down and you

certainly wouldnt do it
for the money but I
absolutely love doing it it
helps keep you young
album, where it kind of goes in and out and it feels so

delicate at times and that tension is there, then that would
be bloody brilliant.
And the future?

And although this particular project is nodding back to a
30-year-old album, Neil already has his sights fixed on the
future for Blancmange
Ive already written the fifth Blancmange album, which
Stephen will come in and help with, he says. Im always
looking around the corner, looking for the next thing and
getting ideas. Sometimes they are musical or from
something someone says. Youre sitting on a bus, on the train
or in the pub and something someone says you think thats
funny and I have several notebooks and Im always doodling
some bloody rubbish!
It is good fun, he says of the bands continuity. Its up
and down and you certainly wouldnt do it for the money but I
absolutely love doing it it helps keep you young! Back in the
day youd meet people on tour and it was a much different
game; you were always being whisked off to be somewhere
that you probably didnt really want to be. Now I meet people
at the merchandise stand and its great to meet people and
they tell me their stories; we just chat and I get more
ammunition for songs. MTF
Stay up-to-date with Blancmange tour dates, music and
merchandising at: www.blancmange.co.uk
SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/blancmange
MTF Insight From Logic to Cubase

Producer Adam Fuest reveals what happened to the audio after the
songs were (re)composed in Logic (Living On The Ceiling shown right).
Whats interesting is that the composition was all put together in
Logic but we mixed in Cubase. I like Cubase, but also we were using
UADs and UAD plug-ins and sticking to the same palette and
outboard that we were using in the 80s, basically, so 1176s and EMTs.
Theres something straight down the line with Cubase that is just nice
and I like the Mixbus in Cubase.
Part of the process of doing that is that you refine the
composition work in Logic. You need the stems with a finished album,
you cant just leave the edited arrangement, so that process is a good
focus point. You start to cut away the things you dont need. Its
taking on the idea and some of the practices you used when this
album was made in the first place, which was that it was all about
decisions. Youd have 24 or 48 tracks if you could sync two machines
together so it was all about decisions.
| 79
MTF Feature The Ultimate Guide To Ribbon Mics
MTF Feature Studio Gear
THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO
RIBBON MICS
The technology may be nearly a century old, but the ribbon mic is making a huge
comeback. In this guide, Huw Price reveals how you can kit your
studio out with a ribbon or two for less outlay than you might think.
ibbon microphones were the first high-quality microphones available

to recording engineers. They may have their limitations, but the sound
of the best examples can compete with any condenser. Even so, they fell
out of favour for many years, but the last decade has seen a huge
resurgence in their popularity. Some are very expensive, while others
offer amazing sound quality for an incredibly low price.
Here well be examining whats available to smaller budgets based on the prices
we found online at the time of writing (these tend to be lower than recommended
retail prices). Well also be discussing how to combine placement technique and
equipment to get the very
best results. First, a brief
history lesson...
Genesis of the ribbon
The last decade has seen a

huge resurgence in the popularity
of the ribbon microphone
The work of RCA employee

Harry F Olsen during the
late 20s culminated in the
RCA 44A. This was the first commercially-available ribbon microphone and many
are still regularly used in top studios today. RCA ribbons set the tone for
countless landmark jazz, country, soul and early rocknroll recordings, but they
were rarely seen here in the UK. The BBC got hold of a 44A in the early 30s, but at
130 a pop more than 5,000 in todays money it was deemed too expensive.
The corporation decided to design its own ribbon mic and engineers came up
with the BBC Type A. Manufactured by Marconi for 9 each, variations on this mic
continued to be used until the early 50s, when it was superseded by the 4038.
How they sound

Prior to discovering ribbon microphones, this correspondent would habitually
combine a moving-coil dynamic with a large-capsule condenser when recording
electric guitar. The moving-coil filtered out the unwanted frequencies and
FOCUS
The Ultimate Guide To Ribbon Mics Feature MTF
provided all the midrange, while the condenser

captured more of the natural tone, along with a dose
of extra detail.
It was immediately apparent that a decent ribbon
mic could cover all bases, combining the best
qualities of both mics in one convenient package.
Further experimentation demonstrated a smooth but
uncannily lifelike and natural quality that seemed
the perfect antidote to the harsher attributes of
lesser-quality digital converters.
The lightning-fast transients and airy treble of a
quality condenser may be absent and sticking them
on snares or inside kick drums isnt usually an
option. Even so, ribbons make almost everything
sound good and recordings made with them sit easily
in mixes. Whats more, some ribbons make recordings
sound massive and larger-than-life.
Theres more to making a ribbon

mic than lashing a strip of tin foil
between two fridge magnets
Many associate ribbon mics with the smooth tones
of the jazz era, but they have featured on seminal rock
recordings, too. Eddie Kramer used Beyerdynamic
M160s to record Hendrixs guitar tracks, and the
drum sound from Led Zeppelins When The Levee
Breaks was captured with M160s too. Recordist Steve
Albini favours the Coles 4038, Royer and RCAs,
particularly for electric guitar. Bob Rock has used
4038s for drum overheads with Metallica, just as
Abbey Road engineers did for The Beatles.
How they work

Compared with condensers, the operating principle
of ribbon mics is straightforward. A very light, thin
strip of corrugated aluminium foil (the ribbon) is
suspended in the gap between two pole pieces, which
are attached to a permanent magnet. As sound waves
cause the ribbon to move inside the magnetic field, a
voltage is generated within the ribbon itself. This is
called induction, and the signal is fed to a step-up/
impedance-converting output transformer.
This is similar to the way in which a moving-coil
mic works in fact, theyre both dynamic mics.
However, the clever bit is that the ribbon itself acts
as both the diaphragm and the conductor. Compared
to the stiffer, heavier moving-coil arrangement, a
ribbon is ultra-light and has far more
freedom of movement. There is therefore
greater potential for accurate
frequency and transient responses.
Even so, theres more to making a
ribbon mic than lashing a strip of tin
foil between two fridge magnets. The
ribbon has to be loose enough to move
backwards and forwards freely in
response to air pressure. Sideways and
twisting movements are undesirable, so
most manufacturers corrugate their
ribbons at either end, or along the
entire length, to increase stiffness.
A ribbon is comparable to a guitar string because

it can have harmonic nodes. If these nodes are
audible they will colour the sound in an undesirable
way. To avoid this scenario, ribbons are kept very
loose to maintain a resonant frequency below the
hearing threshold. However, if its too loose, the
ribbon may sag when the microphone is used
horizontally. The BBCs target resonance frequency
was around 45Hz.
Magnets must also be very powerful in order to
achieve sufficient sensitivity. Consequently, many
vintage ribbons are unusually heavy. In recent years,
ribbon microphone manufacturers started using
neodymium magnets from China, which have huge
magnetic flux and low weight.
A simple formula defines the relationship between
the physical elements of ribbon mics and how they
determine the output voltage (e). Consider that l
equals the length of the ribbon, u equals velocity of
movement and B equals the strength of the magnetic
field e = Blu.
Sound pressure waves reach the ribbon from the
front (P1), then flow around the mic body to reach the
rear of the ribbon (P2). So the pressure that drives the
ribbon is P1 minus P2. Sound waves arriving from the
side of the microphone exert equal pressure on the
front and rear of the ribbon, so it doesnt move and
output level is zero. This is why the natural pickup
pattern of a ribbon microphone is figure-8.
Over the following pages, check out the best mics
available at lower price points.
MTF Technology Clone zone

If youve done research on ribbon mics at the low to medium end of the price scale,
you may have noticed that some models look remarkably similar and some even
appear identical, brand name notwithstanding. Thats because they are.
Badge manufacturing is equally prevalent with ribbon mics and condensers. For
instance, the T-Bone RB100 and Nady RSM-3 are essentially re-badged versions of
the Alctron RM-10. Similarly, the yoke-mounted T-Bone RB500 and Nady RSM-2 are
both based on the Alctron HRM-1, and the Alctron HRM-15 is the progenitor of the
T-Bone RM700, TNC Audio ACM-2, Nady RSM-4 and the Cascade Fat Head.
However, some of these mics, like the Cascade Fat Head, have upgraded
transformers and ribbons. They may also come with improved grilles, wood boxes
and suspension mounts. If the specs and sonic performance exceed the stock
donor microphone, a price hike is justified. The same cant be said if a re-badged
mic is more or less identical to the basic model.
You can check the manufacturers specs to assess whether a microphone
really does represent value for money. Since this is a buyers guide, its more
useful to be aware that there are just three types of ribbon motor/assembly found
in most of these Chinese mics, and each one has its own sound characteristics. If
you want a thorough explanation, check out Michael Jolys fantastic
Chinese Ribbon Microphone Buyers Guide article
on the Recording Hacks website.
Joly identifies just three basic ribbon
assemblies that are found in the majority of
Chinese-made ribbon mics. He also outlines the
sonic characteristics of each one. So its
relatively straightforward to figure out which type
of ribbon mic youre looking at and how it might
sound before hitting the Buy It Now button.
A DIY impedance converter for low-impedance ribbon mics,
made with a Sowter 8754f transformer, an effects pedal box
Having
a dedicated
space lets you use larger kit like drum
and a couple
of XLR sockets.
kits or amps
| 81
Budget options
under 150
Bringing that ribbon sound to your

studio neednt cost the earth...
T-BONE RM700
Price 71 Contact Thomann +49 954 692 2355

This is the T-Bone version of the Alctron HRM-15 that
also shows up as the TNC Audio ACM-2 and Nady
RSM-4. SPL handling is the same as the RB100, but
frequency response is given as 20Hz10kHz. A
shockmount is included and it ships in a wood box.
Its reported that the RM700s ribbon motor is
mounted towards the front of the mic. This off-centre
design produces different sounds from the front and
back, with extra brightness at the back. The downside
is that using the RM700 as the side mic of a
mid-and-side arrangement is not ideal. Ribbons with
this motor have an upper-midrange resonance peak
just before the roll-off frequency. Consequently,
theyre well suited for electric guitar.
Web www.thomann.de
MXL R144
Price 129 Contact

Musictrack
01767 313447
The R144 is a sideaddress figure-8
ribbon. Accessories
include a cleaning
cloth and suspension
mount. The 47mm
ribbon is fairly long but
the R144 isnt overly
sensitive, even by
ribbon mic standards.
Frequency response is
given as 20Hz17kHz
with 250-ohm output
impedance; SPL
handling of 130dB
means you will need to
take extra care in use.
The response graph
shows bumps in the
upper bass and upper
mid, so most users
report that the R144
works best with some
help from an equaliser.
Web
www.mxlmics.com
FOCUS
T-BONE RB100
T-BONE RB500
Price 80 Contact Thomann +49 954 692 2355

Of all the T-Bone models here, the RB500 ribbon
microphone has the most extended high-frequency
response, with an upper figure of 18kHz. It also has a
relatively long (2-inch) ribbon, -60dB sensitivity and SPL
handling of 148dB. It comes in a soft carry bag and a yoke is
used rather than a suspension mount.
The motor grille is sizeable, so it seems the designers
were trying to evoke the RCA look. Inside theres a nylon
mesh for extra protection from wind blasts. Unfortunately,
the side effects it creates are phase-shift in the bass and
treble attenuation. Removing the nylon protection is a
popular modification that most consider an improvement.
Web www.thomann.de
Of all the T-Bone

models here, the
RB500 ribbon mic has
the most extended
high-frequency
response
SUPERLUX R102
Price 105 Contact Wild Distribution 01342 841637

The idea of an active ribbon for around 100 seems
incredible. Goang Fann, of Taiwan, makes microphones for
name clients in its Chinese factory, but Superlux is the
companys own premier brand of recording microphones.
The R102 ships in a hard plastic carry case along with a
yoke mount and six-metre cable.
Acoustic instruments present no problems and trebles
sound true and natural. On electric guitar, the R102
effortlessly captures finer details, and proximity effect
doesnt get too extreme. Vocals sound fat and smooth,
with a larger-than-life character and crisp consonants.
This mic really is outstanding value for money.
Web www.superlux.com.tw
Price 65 Contact
Thomann
+49 954 692 2355
Another T-Bone offering
that as with the others in
this price range of our
buyers guide is a
re-badged Alctron mic from
China (you can buy the
exact same microphones
under a variety of different
brand names see the
Clone Zone box on p81).
The RB100 has a figure-8
pattern with a quoted
frequency response of
30Hz15kHz that starts to
roll off at around 6kHz.
Thomann is clearly
confident about the quoted
148dB maximum SPL rating
because the company
provides a three -year
warranty. It ships with a
suspension mount.
Web www.thomann.de
Our picks in the

150300 range
Spending a little extra on a mic will

bring you considerable sonic rewards...
GOLDEN AGE PROJECT R1 TUBE ACTIVE
Price 288 Contact Golden Age Music +46 322 665 050
The R1 is also available with onboard valve circuitry,
but theres no pad or HPF. The specs are much the
same but maximum SPL is an impressive 165dB and
output impedance is 200 ohms. The idea of mixing a
ribbon transducer with a valve preamp may seem like a
perfect match, but the concern has to be noise levels.
Reports are that this valve version has a treble lift
that aids clarity and gives a hint of valvey graininess
combined with the fat lower midrange that
characterises the classic ribbon sound. However, the
noise floor of the valve circuit may be noticeable when
used to record quieter sources. Mixed results are
reported for vocalists, but the R1 Tube fares well on
acoustic guitar.
Web www.goldenagemusic.se
GOLDEN AGE
PROJECT R1
ACTIVE MK3
Price 193 Contact

Golden Age Music
+46 322 665 050
The R1 Active MK3
combines a ribbon
motor with a FET
buffer amplifier and
switches for low cut
and 10dB pad. Output
impedance is low at 50
ohms and SPL handling
is high at 150dB.
Users report low
self-noise with a
natural, balanced tone
thats useful for
mellowing harsh
edges. The switchable
bass roll-off is a
welcome feature that
overcomes the
proximity effect and
enables the R1 Active
Mk3 to be used in a
variety of closemicing situations.
Web www.
goldenagemusic.se
SAMSON VR88
CASCADE FAT HEAD
Price 202/282 Contact Studiocare 0845 345 8910

Although the Fat Head may appear to share the bodywork
of the T-Bone RM700, there are some substantial
differences. Most notable is the centred ribbon motor that
ensures the Fat Head sounds the same from the front and
back. So mid-and-side as well as crossed figure-8 stereo
is back on the menu.
We have provided two prices because the Fat Head is
available with a stock output transformer or an upgraded
Lundahl transformer. Various colour options are available
too, and the mic ships with a wood box and suspension
mount in an aluminium case. The fat, clear and smooth
sound has earned this mic a fanbase for guitar recording
and more besides.
Web www.cascademicrophones.com
Be sure to examine
the frequencyresponse graph when
choosing a mic rather
than relying on the
raw figures alone
Price 249 Contact Korg

01908 304600
The VR88 combines a
2-micron Japanese ribbon
with neodymium magnets
and active electronics. It
ships with a suspension
mount and a yoke mount
for close placement.
Samson offers a lifetime
ribbon replacement service
for the original purchaser
and even suggests using
the VR88 on kick drums.
The frequency range is
30Hz16kHz.
The high-frequency
response really breathes
and sounds not unlike a
very smooth and unhyped
condenser. The tone is well
balanced; however, the
transient response and
detail isnt quite up there
with the very best and the
top end rolls off above
6kHz, but its less coloured
than most other ribbons in
this price range.
Web www.samsontech.com
OKTAVA ML52
Price 235 Contact Oktava +49 711 5045 2415

The claimed frequency response of 20Hz20kHz is
somewhat misleading because theres a substantial dip
between 5kHz and 16kHz and its about 18dB down at
20kHz. The lesson here: be sure to examine the frequencyresponse graph when choosing a mic rather than relying on
the raw figures alone. Two metal ribbons are suspended
side-by-side for increased sensitivity and the onboard
transformer provides 300-ohm output impedance.
Its not the fattest or most detailed-sounding of ribbon
mics, but the ML52 has an enjoyably real quality while
adding a little of its own tone and personality to the brew.
Supplied in a plastic carry case with a rudimentary stand
clip, an optional suspension mount is available.
Web www.oktava-online.com
| 83
Options ranging
from 250500
Bigger bucks bring bigger expectations

and you wont be disappointed...
SHINYBOX 46MX

ShinyBox is the brainchild of Jon Ulrigg, who
assembles ribbon mics and studio electronics in
Washington State. The metalwork is done in China to
his specifications, then he assembles each
microphone cutting, corrugating and tuning the
ribbons to match ShinyBoxs various output
transformers. Theres the stock item or, for extra
bucks, a Cinemag or Lundahl transformer.
The 46MX kicks out an extremely healthy signal
level with a nicely extended high-frequency response.
It sounds pretty wonderful, with natural detail and
controlled proximity effect. On vocals its present and
intimate, and it cruised through our loud-guitar test.
Web www.shinybox.com
BEYERDYNAMIC
M160 & M130
Price 420 Contact Polar

Audio 01444 258258
We have included both
these Bayers because they
cost about the same. The
main difference is that the
M130 is a side-address
figure-8 and the M160 is an
end-fire hypercardioid.
Together theyre ideal for
mid-and-side stereo. These
dual-ribbon designs have
also been around for
decades and both sound
very natural. With its wide
and gentle presence lift,
the M160 is popular for
electric guitar and drum
overheads. The M130 is
smoother up to 8kHz,
where treble roll-off
begins. The M160 is down
only 2dB at 18kHz.
Web europe.
beyerdynamic.com
FOCUS
SONTRONICS SIGMA
Price 446 Contact 01202 236862

The Sigmas superb shockmount allows you to get this mic
right up against the grille cloth of a guitar amp, and this
active ribbon design is apparently capable of taking some
punishment. The designers wanted to re-create the soft
trebles of jazz-era American recordings and the Sigma is
voiced accordingly.
It may seem odd to design-in a sonic signature by
reducing the top end of an already warm microphone. On
the plus side you get instant vibe, but on the negative side
usefulness is restricted. Even so, the Sigma has its charms,
produces instant results and the active electronics make it
easy to use.
Web www.sontronics.com
The designers
wanted to re-create
the soft trebles of US
jazz-era recordings
and the Sigma is
voiced accordingly
PELUSO R14
Price 499 Contact KMR

Audio 020 8445 2446
Based on the Alctron
HRM-10, Peluso performs
all the mods for you
including a redesigned
head basket, a custom
Cinemag transformer, and
the installation and
tensioning of a new ribbon.
The R14 comes with a
velvet-lined oak case and a
suspension mount.
The front side combines
fat mids with solid lows to
produce smooth and big
sounds. If you need to
control boom or emphasise
high frequencies, simply
record into the rear. For
vocals, the rear tames
proximity effect and its
superb for clean guitar
tones. The front sounds
smoother and more
powerful, for rockier tones.
Not quite as sparkly as
some other ribbon designs,
its still very natural and
theres a stereo version
called the SR14.
Web www.peluso
microphonelab.com
Top-end choices:
500750
Ribbons in this bracket should satisfy

all but the most demanding recordist...
COLES 4038
Price 749 Contact Coles Electroacoustics

01992 466685
This is the big beast of British ribbon mics. Output
impedance is now standardised at 300 ohms rather
than 30 ohms, but nothing else has changed since
1956 they got it right first time.
The 4038 has an extraordinarily smooth and
larger-than-life sound with better than average treble
response and very healthy output level. Proximity
effect can be extreme, so you may need to place this
mic at a greater distance than usual. Even so, this was
the standard BBC mic for decades and it seems
incredible that one of the very finest ribbon
microphones ever made can be bought brand-new for
the price of mid-level condenser.
Web www.coleselectroacoustics.com
BLUE
WOODPECKER
Price 749 Contact Maplin,

PMT, Dawsons stores
By BLUEs standards, the
Woodpecker is unusual
because it actually looks
like a regular mic. BLUE
promises the warm, classic
sound of a ribbon without
sacrificing the bright
presence of top end. It
ships in a wood box with a
gold-coloured shockmount.
Its also active, having
Class-A electronics.
The three-year warranty
doesnt cover ribbon
breakages except those
caused by manufacturing
defects (good luck arguing
that one). Reviews have
been generally positive,
although the frequency
response is not particularly
flat. Along with the 20kHz
upper frequency, expect a
fair degree of bass tip with
an upper-mid boost.
Web www.bluemic.com
AUDIO-TECHNICA
AT4080
ROYER R101
Price 660 Contact Funky Junk 0207 281 4478

Royer Labs has probably done more to rejuvenate ribbon
microphones than any other company. Royer mics have
become industry standards in pro studios and the passive
R101 is the companys entry-level model. Featuring an
internally shockmounted offset motor and a 2.5-micron
ribbon, the R-101 is built in California for home studio use
and live applications.
The R101 has a multi-layered windscreen for superior
protection from air blasts and plosives, and the patented
offset-ribbon transducer has reduced proximity effect for
close-micing. The offset design also provides a dark/bright
option and the brighter rear side is recommended for
vocals, acoustic guitars and other stringed instruments.
Web www.royerlabs.com
The Audio-Technica
AT4080 achieves a
wonderful sense of
intimacy to create a
convincing being
there impression
Price 732 Contact

Audio-Technica
0113 277 1441
The AT4080 is an active
dual-ribbon design with an
extended high-frequency
response, a specially
designed acoustic baffle
system and an extra-large
output transformer to
provide a natural lowfrequency response with
an extended dynamic
range. Like the 4081, it
ships with a suspension
mount and case.
Its a very sensitive
ribbon mic with a big,
larger-than-life presence,
strong mids and huge bass.
However, extra detail and
sparkle in the treble region
are the characteristics that
really set it apart. The 4080
achieves a wonderful sense
of intimacy to create a
convincing being there
impression of sitting in the
room with the instrument.
Web
www.audio-technica.com
AUDIO-TECHNICA AT4081
Price 617 Contact Audio-Technica 0113 277 1441

The grille of the AT4081 is particularly eye-catching. Being
made up of tiny circular holes in a wafer-thin metal, it
allows you to see the motor assembly quite clearly. The
4081 is intended to be a general-purpose active ribbon
microphone for use on horns, strings, drum overheads,
orchestras and electric guitar amps.
The 4081 has a level of detail and transparency often
associated with high-quality small-capsule condensers,
but the smoothness and absence of hype is pure ribbon
tone. With its brightness and well controlled bass, the
AT4081 looks and sounds like an update on the ribbon
theme for the digital recording age.
| 85
MTF Technique Mixing in Reason
Mixing in Reason
Reasons mixer is friendly yet powerful enough to help you take your
mixes to the next level, as Hollin Jones explains
hen Reason first came out, its mixer was a

breath of fresh air in the DAW world.
Simpler and more approachable than other
software mixers of the time, it used the
same real-world analogy as many of the
other modules and was really easy to get to grips with. Since
then much has changed, not least the incorporation of full
audio tracking, and the mixer has had a complete overhaul
to match. The similarity to a real mixing console is still
evident, only now its a much bigger and more capable desk
that youre working with.
The Props have been careful to keep things usable
even when adding loads of new functionality. The
mixer uses a scrolling system to navigate its many
sections and you can split the mixer window off to a
second screen if you have one, or expand it to full
screen to maximise the space on offer. As well as
pro-level components like dynamics, EQ and insert
sections with preset facilities you also get eight
effect send and return slots, a master insert effect
facility with presets and a master buss compressor
that can be used to add some gentle but important
glue to the overall mix.
Mixing is an art as
much a science and
every project you mix
will be different
Mixing is of course an art as much as a science
and every project you work on will have different
requirements. In truth, you should probably have a
good working mix going as you put a track together,
since you will be listening to it repeatedly and
probably making small changes as you go. When it
comes to the actual mixdown process however, it
makes sense to really spend some time getting it
right. Start with the bass and drums, soloing them up
FOCUS ON
CHANNEL SETTINGS
Sometimes you will want to apply the same or similar settings to
multiple tracks, but setting up everything more than once can be
incredibly time consuming. Luckily, you can just right-click on any
channel in the mixer and choose Copy Channel Settings. Inside the
resulting submenu you will see the option to copy only specific
settings, or all settings. Repeat on another channel and this time
choose to paste the settings and you can quickly transfer whole
sets of parameters between channels quickly and easily, making
the task of mixing a great deal easier in the process.
FOCUS
On the disc
Accompanying
on the DVD
and checking their compression levels. Reintroduce other

elements to the track gradually, making sure they sit in the
mix correctly. Remember that a sound doesnt have to be
amazing in isolation, what matters is how it fits with the
other elements of the production. Use the channel strips to
EQ and add just the right amount of compression and other
effects, and automate faders and panners if necessary to
add interest. MTF
Mixing in Reason Technique MTF
MTF Step-by-Step Setting up a mix in Reason
Channels in Reasons mixer can actually be rearranged by picking

them up from the base and dragging them. This doesnt affect the
routing at all, but it can make mixing easier by allowing you to place
similar channels together. Linking isnt possible yet and nor is changing
channels visibility but you can at least place similar groups of sounds
next to each other.
You can rename channels, of course, by double-clicking on their

name fields and entering something new, to make everything
easier to keep track of if you have large projects. Another mixing trick in
Reason is creating parallel channels, which can be used to feed in
alternatively-processed versions of the same track without having to
duplicate anything in the sequencer.
Here, for example, we have created a parallel channel based on

the drum channel. Initially, it will simply duplicate the sound of
the drums. But by using some alternative EQ and processing like
adding heavy compression, then balancing the fader accordingly, you
can blend some of the processed with the original drums to create a
more interesting sound.
You can also create multiple output busses in Reason in order to

get better control of a mix. Right click on a channel and choose
Route To > New Output Bus. This creates a new buss which you should
probably name so you know what it is. The output tab at the base of
the channel you just assigned should update to reflect the new routing.
You can route other channels from the mixer to this buss channel
in order to effectively group them together. By submixing, say,
some percussion or backing vocal tracks together and then routing
them to their own buss, you can control them all from a single fader. So
by using fader automation you could for example raise or lower the
level of lots of sources at once using this trick.
The channel strip is a great place to start dealing with the mix. Go
to the top of a strip and you will see a dynamics section where
you can add compression and gating for each channel as well as
switching whether the dynamics section works pre or post-EQ, which
can alter its effect.
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MTF Technique Mixing in Reason
MTF Step-by-Step Mixing in Reason contd
Moving down you will find the EQ section. Click on the waveform
window and you will get a much larger EQ window where you can
manually set and adjust EQ points, a much more precise approach
than using the tiny on screen dials. If you use the track name menu
here you can flip between channel EQs without leaving this window.
A little lower down you will find the insert section where you can
assign shortcuts or load and save presets. The Factory Sound
Bank contains some instrument-specific effect combi patches and
many others that you can add to a channel to get the sound you want.
Alternatively, manually add effect modules to a channel in the Rack.
In the Master Inserts section on the right you are also able to
access effect presets, though the factory ones tend towards
mastering processing rather than mixdown processing. If you are
comfortable combining the two you can do this, though its usually
better to separate the two. You can, of course, build your own tailored
mixdown master processing chain.
master buss compressor is actually really useful for adding

10 The
a sort of audio glue to your track. You should do the majority of
the tweaking before activating it, then when you think you have a
good sound, add a little master compression and go back and fine
tune the balance of the different channels to account for any changes
it has introduced.
If the mixer is a bit overbearing and you find youre not using
certain sections, you can use the buttons at the right-hand
corner of the mixer to show or hide various things. You, might for
example, want to hide the input and FX Send sections as these are
probably used less during mixing than the other sections. You can
always unhide them at any time.
Remember that many mixer channel parameters can be

automated just like the modules in the rack, and this is a good
way to add interest and dynamism to your tracks. Simply move
controls with record enabled and you can edit the automation data
using automation subtracks in the sequencer, just like you would for
any instrument or effects.
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FOCUS
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MTF Technique Better mixing in Logic Pro X
Logic Pro X Become a Logic Power User
Powered by
Better mixing
in Logic Pro X
Logic Pro X comes packed with features to help you mix effectively. Mark Cousins reveals
the best ones for your perfect Logic Pro mix
ixing is easily the most creative part of the

recording process, so its reassuring to note
that Logic Pro X has a range of features that
can aid the mixing workflow, as well as
ensuring your mix is as musically effective
as it can be. However, in the virtual domain its easy for the
task of mixing to become a sloppy exercise, often tagged
onto the process of writing and recording the track rather
than a distinct and separate part of your creative workflow.
Creating a better mix, therefore, is often more about how
youre mixing, rather than finding that elusive quick-fix
plug-in setting that makes everything sound good!
In this workshop were going to explore a number of key
On the disc
Accompanying
on the DVD
It helps create a soundstage

where your music is presented as
effectively as possible
With a more organized project in hand, the second section

explores where best to instantiate FX plug-ins, both in respect
to channel inserts and bus sends. In many ways, this is where
the finesse of a mix really lies whether a compressor sits
before an equalizer, for example, or the ability to precisely
place a delay tap in the stereo field. Ultimately, it all helps
create a more reasoned soundstage that ensures your music is
presented as effectively as possible.
In our final section we take at the real secret weapon of
a good mix automation. While its possible to get 80%
there with a static mix, automation offers the icing on the
cake, ensuring every piece of your music puzzle is
articulated throughout the entirety of the track.
Understanding Logics various Automation modes Touch,
Write and Read will allow you either to record fader moves
in on-the-fly, or take a more methodical hand-drawn
approach that lets you tweak a mix right down to 0.1dB. MTF
processes that can improve your mixes. Well start with the
basics of a more methodical approach, taking time to
organize your session so that its conducive to an effective
mix. From an improved use of bus
sends, though to Track Stacks and
Groups, well see how an organized
mix can often end up sounding more
defined and less haphazard.
FOCUS ON CREATING
ALTERNATE MIXES
Logics Alternatives feature found under
the File menu is a great way of exploring
different mixes of a given project. Rather
than re-saving a project, the Alternatives
feature offers a duplicate arrangement
and mixer, all sharing the same project
data. As such, you can quickly create
alternative versions of your project like
an instrument mix, 30-second commercial
cut, or even a remix without having to
open a new document. The Alternatives
feature is also useful if you want to explore
a different take on the mix, all with the
option of restoring your last stored
alternate mix if you decide that the
approach is wrong.
FOCUS
Better mixing in Logic Pro X Technique MTF
MTF Step-by-Step Cleaner mixing
Creating an organized mixer layout can really aid your mixing

process, especially if youre running a large number of tracks. To
begin with, consider how best to order your tracks so that you can
navigate the mix effectively. As long as the mixer is set to Track Mode,
the order in your Tracks Area will be reflected in your mixer.
If youve used the Library, its likely that youll be left with a large
number of dormant bus sends and auxiliary channels. Consider
removing the unwanted bus sends, therefore, and deleting their
associated aux channels. It also worth instantiating the bus sends so
that Bus 1, for example, is only ever on the first send slot.
To create a defined depth to soundstage, its often the case that

you only need to use around three reverbs, each with a
progressively larger size setting Small, Medium and Large. In this
example, weve instantiated and named the three reverbs, as well as
made the relative bus sends clearer by their slot assignment.
Where you have groups of sounds - like a collection of drums, for

example its well worth creating a Track Stack. Create the Track
Stack by cmd-clicking on the desired tracks, and then selecting the
menu option Track > Create Track Stack. When prompted, select a
Summing Stack so that you have a master fader.
You can open and close the stack using the small arrow in the
Track List. Its also worth naming the Summing channel (currently
labeled Sum 1) and possibly colour coding it for clarity. On the whole,
the mixer is clearer with Track Stacks placed towards the end of the
mixer, so consider moving Summing Stack accordingly.
An interesting alternative to Track Stack is the Group function. A

Group links the faders movements, rather than sending them to
a summing fader, but you dont get the option of hiding the tracks.
Assign a Group using the Group slot just below a faders output
assignment. You can suspend Groups at any point with the keyboard
shortcut Shift + G.
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MTF Technique Better mixing in Logic Pro X
MTF Step-by-Step Using signal processing
As youre piecing together the mix, try to make a distinction

between the signal processing applied on channel inserts and via
bus sends. On the whole, inserts should be reserved for changing tone,
timbre and dynamics. Also, experiment with the order of processing as
this can have a subtle but important effect on the cumulative sound of
the plug-ins.
By contrast, bus sends are reserved for ambience effects

namely, reverb and delay where its important to control the
amount of effect, also referred to as the wet/dry ratio. If youre using
reverb, consider using the Post Pan option on the Bus Send slot as a
means of preserving the signals stereo position.
With both reverb and delay, we can control the amount of effect
in the mix either with the relative level of bus sends, or by
modifying the aux channel accordingly. From a mix perspective, you
also gain the option of applying processing solely to the reverb
rolling-off the bottom end with an equalizer, for example, or adding a
touch of chorus.
When youre applying delay, its well worth considering how its
placed in the stereo field. For example, the Telecaster in our Logic
project is panned slightly to the left. Sending the Telecaster to a 16th
tape delay, though, we can pan the delayed signal to the opposites side
of the mix, adding a unique dimensionality to the mix.
With every rule theres an exception, and in this case its the
application of compression as a send effect, creating what is
often referred to as parallel compression. Create bus sends from the
main drum channels, and instate a compressor plug-in across the
newly created aux channel. Setup a fast-acting compression on a 6:1
ratio, yielding around 10dB of gain reduction.
As with reverb and delay, the added dimension of parallel

compression is decided and the amount of squash injected back
into the mix. In this case, the level of the aux channel sets the density
of the effect, and the amount of body added to the drums. Remember
to route the signal through to the drum bus as well.
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Better mixing in Logic Pro X Technique MTF
MTF Step-by-Step Adding automation
Although its possible to control a lot of the mix using dynamic

processing, theres still often a need to tweak the mix using
automation, usually to help accentuate a particular part of the mix
thats getting lost in the body of sound. The first stage of adding
automation is to enable the Automation View using the keyboard
shortcut A.
The automation modes found in the track header, and as part of

the mixer are important in defining how you apply the
automation. Use the Touch mode for example, for manual on-the-fly
fader moves. Automation is written while you hold the fader. When you
release, the fader returns to its original level. Read, of course, is the
safe playback mode.
For more precise control over signal levels, consider using the
Tracks Area and drawing the moves by hand either using the
Pointer or Pencil Tool accordingly. If you need to raise a specific
section, consider using the Marquee tool to define the area, and then
use the Pointer tool to create the desired amount of lift or cut.
While most automation moves are concerned with the volume,

its also worth noting that you can automate any plug-in
parameter in Logics mixer. Use the drop-down menu in the track
header to change the currently viewed parameter (listed by plug-in).
For example, try changing the filter cutoff on the Rhodes track so that
it slowly opens over four bars.
One potentially annoying aspect of automation can be re-gaining

the current settings lifting a track by 2dB, for example, once a
series of moves have been written in. Use the Trim control, therefore,
as part of the Track Header to attenuate or lift the level globally across
a track, keeping all the moves in place.
In situations where the automation has gone horribly wrong, or is

simply becomes redundant, consider exploring the various delete
features found under the menu option Mix > Delete Automation. You
can delete visible automation data, for example, automation data on a
selected track, or all automation data across the entire project.
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MTF Technique Mixing tools and techniques in Live
Mixing tools and

techniques in Live
When it comes to mixing, Live offers both classic and contemporary mixing
tools for a variety of sonic options. Liam OMullane walks you through his
main choices of devices and editing tools to make your mixes shine
ixing is a process that can happen in one or

two stages of the music production process.
The first stage is creative and composition
based, where people may mix as they go.
Here theyll solely concentrate on mixing as
the track comes together with possibly a separate
tweaking stage at the end.
The second stage is after all composition is complete
and sounds are in place, to then mix with a subjective
outlook. Some people will ignore major mix decisions until
this stage as it gives them the most mix options as
possible while they only have their mix engineering hats on.
On the disc
Accompanying
on the DVD
It is a good idea to try and

separate your mixing stage
from your creative stage
Although mixing has creative sound design aspects, it also
has many practical tasks and assessments that need to be
carried out. With your creative hat on, you can find this
difficult to do, and if you do stop to take care of these
matters, they can have a negative affect on your creative
FOCUS ON EXPANDING YOUR GO TO TOOLS

The library of audio effects in Lives browser offers a good range of functional and
creative mixing tools to choose from. EQ Eight and Compressor/Glue Compressor are
the most obvious choices for frequency and dynamics control, but there are many
other devices which are worth exploring for frequent mixing tasks.
Although you can use a low- and high-cut EQ to bracket a sounds frequency range
using an EQ Eight, a Cabinet device can achieve a similar effect with much more added
character. This is partially due to its narrower frequency bandwidth that creates a
telephone like effect. But this can be balanced with the original signal using the Dry/
Wet control to return a sense of fidelity. The range of the bandwidth restriction, or
bracket, is selected through the Speaker setting. Transient smearing is at its most
affective when you select a dynamic mic from the microphone
list and explore its position.
Cabinet adds an element of
dynamic control as part of its
processing as well, but other
options like Saturator and Dynamic
Tube devices can do this while
offering a different character. Use a
careful balance of drive and output
you can either go for a
fully-processed and clipped sound,
or balance the dry/wet amount for a
balance of the original signal to retain
some dynamics.
Reduxs Bit Reduction can be used
to reduce a sounds dynamic range, but it will
FOCUS
workflow. So there is a good reason to separate these two

processes if you can.
To help commit to this separation, its worth rendering
out all of your tracks to new audio. This helps you decide
when youre truly ready to mix, while also removing the
temptation to tamper with compositional aspects during
the mixing stage. Rendering out your audio also frees up
computer resources which means more processing power
for plug-ins. Finally, if you intend to send your work out to
be mixed by an engineer, this process will create files that
they can use.
To export your projects tracks to new individual audio
files, highlight the duration of the whole song and then
select Export Audio/Video from the File menu. This opens
up a large range of options and we recommend you remain
at Lives native bit-depth of 32-bits, and stay at the same
sample rate youre working at. The sample rate youre
currently using is signified by having a small speaker icon
next to it. The only other option that needs configuring for
this task is the Rendered Track menu (all other options
should be disabled). Select Individual Tracks for rendering
and then select a new, clean, mix project folder to put
them in after clicking the Export button. You will now have
a new file for every track which can be imported into a new
project. Until next time, happy mixing MTF
create a dirty, lo-fi characteristic. This can be useful for giving one or two sounds a
distinct tone of their own in the mix. Harmonics can also be introduced using
Downsample when set to use its Soft mode. Use a very small amount to introduce a
glassy sounding top-end for dull sounds.
Whatever tools end up being your favourites, save some time and create a default
processing chain by Right [PC] / Ctrl [Mac] + Clicking on a tracks name. Here you can
save a default opening state for future new MIDI or audio tracks. After loading in your
preferred mix-tools to a track, select Save As Default MIDI or Audio Track respectively.
Now all new tracks will be created with this chain of devices
pre-loaded.
Mixing tools and techniques in Live Technique MTF
MTF Step-by-Step Processing, side-chaining and automation
Although Lives Compressor Device is perfectly functional, Glue

Compressor can be used to add some character for dynamic
processing. Glue is a great channel, group and mix buss compressor
with its SSL-like smoothing effect. Enable the Soft Clip function and
explore driving the signal using the Makeup gain for a hot sound. You
can always then use the dry/wet dial to make this a parallel effect.
If you need to remove unwanted sounds, try editing the unwanted

portions out rather than using a gate device. This offers a higher
level of individual control to tidy up audio over a more set and forget
approach used with a gate. After highlighting the portions you dont
want, delete them, then select Show Fades from the Create menu. You
can now drag these start and end fades to suit each audio event.
As compression is the process of level control, you can also

control dynamics using Lives editing functions. You can automate
volume, but this limits you for making level adjustments down the line.
Instead, add a Utility Device at the end of the Tracks processing chain,
then automate its gain parameter. For more natural automation
changes, hit Alt on automation lines to drag and create curves..
Use an EQ Eight before any processing to remove unwanted

frequencies. Add another at the end of the chain for re-balancing
the frequency curve of a sound. Check unnecessary bottom-end that
needs removing using the analyser on the first EQ. The second EQs
analyser monitors how your processing is affecting the frequency
content useful when trying to fill out holes in your mix.
Many devices have the ability to be side-chained, so respond to

the amplitude levels of an external signal. Most people only use
these on single or grouped sounds, overlooking the option to
dynamically control ambience effects. Try adding a compressor to
each Return Track and set them to take Audio From the drum group.
This make your mix move with a pumping, rhythmic sound.
Those with Live Suite can get creative with side-chaining using
its Max For Live based Envelope Follower. Place this on the track
to be the source sound for side-chaining, then click map before
clicking a parameter you wish to control. This moves in time with the
audio events on the track with the device on. Use a multimap device to
multiply and started mapping this source to various destinations.
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On sale now 8.99 with free DVD. Digital version 5.99

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Mixing tools and techniques in Live Technique MTF
MTF Step-by-Step Advanced and unique processing
An Overdrive device is useful for thickening up the harmonic

content of a sound. First find the right frequency area and width
of focus using the devices bandpass filter. Then control the density of
distortion using drive and its brightness using tone. Finally compress
the signal as required using the dynamic amount, then dry/wet can
blend the processed signal to taste.
Another option for thickening up specific frequencies is the Vinyl

Distortion Device. The tracing model graph can be used in much
the same way as the bandpass filter on an overdrive device. Its the
pinch graph below where things get interesting as harmonics are
distributed across the stereo plane, making it useful for also
enhancing its stereo width.
We discussed setting up mid and side processing using Audio

Racks in Part 5 of this series. This simple process lets you add
different processing to the middle (mono) and sides (stereo difference)
for a higher level of control. To get used to how these sound, after
setting-up, solo each one and play with their respective balance to
hear which part of the sound each chain represents.
If you have a stereo signal, a good way to enhance how stereo it

sounds is to compress both the mid and sides of the signal
separately. This way you can reduce the dynamic range of the sides so
the stereo aspect of the signal is more consistent in volume. Raising the
level of the sides will then make the sound more stereo than mono.
Another good place to consider processing mid and side signals

on their own is for ambience effects. Try using a different reverb
device, or Max For Live Convolution Reverb on each signal with unique
settings. This creates a much deeper and engaging ambience
soundfield. A shorter decay time on the middle and longer on the side
works well for an enhanced sense of stereo spread.
Lives Vocoder device can function as a noise based exciter. With

the carrier set to noise, the reverb like noise effect can have its
decay time altered using the release value. After setting the device to
40 Bands for the best fidelity along with a maximum frequency range,
explore the depth and formant controls to tune its noise to best suit the
source sound and EQ it to taste drawing into the filter bank.
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MTF Technique Easier mixing in Cubase
Easier mixing
in Cubase
Tim Hallas, the MusicTech Focus Cubase expert, looks at the process that he believes
many of us take for granted. In Cubase, though, mixing can be easy
ixing is something that we often take for

granted and it is sometimes assumed that
we all know how to do it possibly even that
we are experts in the field. But with many of
my students it becomes very clear that they
dont have a clue. They know what the outcome should be,
just not necessarily the process of getting there. In this
article we will look at how to use Cubase to mix and the
On the disc
Accompanying
on the DVD
We take mixing for granted

and assume we all know how to
do it. That is not the case!
features that it has within it to make the whole process a
lot smoother.
When mixing its very easy to forget that every process
we do will have an impact on the level and the balance.
Dynamics processors obviously adjust the volume (the clue
is in the name) so in between each adjustment of
compressors or other dynamics plug-ins, make sure you
re-adjust the levels roughly to maintain the balance in the
FOCUS ON
SIGNAL CHAIN
To adjust the signal
chain in Cubase, open
the edit window for the
track and click on the
relevant Insert and
drag it up or down to
rearrange the order in
which the elements
operate. Be careful to
move it so that the
order is changed rather
than replaced by using
an empty slot below if
necessary. In addition
there is a Global Signal
Chain that can be
rearranged by clicking
on the Channel Strip
tab next to the Inserts.
Now, the whole order
can be moved to send
the effects post or
pre-EQ, or similar if so
desired. To move these, select the
heading and move it to the new position in the chain.
FOCUS
mix. This is also true of EQ as, when working with specific

frequencies, the adjustments you make here will either
boost or reduce the volume. Just changing the tone of sound
can also affect the overall balance of the mix. Therefore
within my teaching I maintain the mantra for my pupils of
Effect adjustment -> balance levels-> effect adjustment->
balance levels etc.
Signal chain is something that often gets ignored and I
see so many projects with plug-ins in an order that doesnt
allow for the best optimisation of the devices. For example,
a gate operates best when the difference between signal
and noise is high. However, if a compressor is placed before
the gate it reduces this difference and makes the margin for
the gate to work within smaller. This needs to be given some
thought so dont just place plug-ins in randomly think
about how each will affect the next.
Steinberg has made the process of mixing very easy
since the update to Cubase version 7, including the new look
MixConsole and the addition of channel strip processors
and even more new plug-ins in version 7.5. In this article we
will look at the process of operating all the different devices
within the mix process, how to get them to operate to their
optimum level and how to automate any controls that might
be needed. MTF
Easier mixing in Cubase Technique MTF
MTF Step-by-Step Opening and operating the mixer
To open the mixer from within your project click on Devices>

MixConsole or press F3. This will bring up the window floating
above the Arrange window. To re-size it, move the cursor to the bottom
right corner and drag it to an appropriate size for the inserts, sends
and EQ being used.
Begin with the channel strip drop-down menu by clicking on the

header in the window. You can activate an element by clicking on
its name. In certain cases these elements can load alternatives. For
example, by clicking on the Compressor header you will see that three
different compressors are available to be used in projects and each
has a different characteristic.
To activate or bypass a device, click on the left hand side of the

header. A small power button will appear that allows the
device to be activated or bypassed as required. Clicking on the right
hand side is where the different models of processors can be loaded
and changed.
EQ can be edited by clicking on the header and adjusting the

controls on the four channels of semi-parametric EQ available for
each channel. Alternatively, for those who like a more graphical
representation of EQ curves, click on the black box below the header
and the EQ can be adjusted with the cursor and the relevant bands will
select automatically.
To change the type of EQ each band uses, click on the right hand
side of the selected band and all the different options available
for that band will appear. These include two types of parametric EQ as
well as shelf EQs and cuts & passes for the high and low bands. To
deactivate a band, click on the left-hand power button to bypass it.
To adjust the volume and pan, as you would imagine they are
simply moved with the cursor or an attached hardware controller.
However, there are some options here that can be changed, including
different panning options and different meter views that can be
chosen by right/ctrl-clicking on the selected device. This allows you to
view the meter post-fader or panning.
01
03
05
02
04
06
| 99
MTF Technique Easier mixing in Cubase
MTF Step-by-Step Edit window and automation
Many of the controls mentioned above can also be viewed and

edited from the Channel Edit windows. These can be found by
clicking on the E button on the fader from the Mixer window or in the
Inspector Panel for each channel in the Arrange window. This allows
for a greater level of detail when looking at the controls for devices.
When balancing sound it is unlikely that all the volumes will stay
the same throughout the project. Dynamics processors allow for
a certain amount of control of volumes as they limit the range but
automation is needed for really detailed control. This can be found in
the Arrange window by clicking on the down arrow in the bottom left
corner of any channel header.
Once opened, the automation needs to be activated for that

channel as the line wont be adjustable to indicate that it is
inactive. The quickest way to activate a channels automation is by
clicking on the R button on the track header to activate the
automation Read mode. At this point the line will become adjustable
and Cubase will start reading the automation.
To edit the automation, click in edit points with the cursor and
adjust the levels as necessary. To make more generic
adjustments, select the pencil tool and simply draw in the shape that
you want the automation to have. This also works with the line tool and
there are other types of lines available including parabola for
logarithmic fades.
To change the automated control that you are adjusting, click on

the box in the automation track header and select an alternative
control to automate. Cubase can automate any control, including the
bypass controls of effects for bringing different inserts in and out.
Perversely Bypassed is at the top of the automation lane rather than
the top representing the effect being active.
If you want to edit several pieces of automation simultaneously

on one track (which is relatively common when adjusting
controls that are linked) Cubase allows you to do this by simply
clicking in the bottom left of the automation lane header in the
Arrange window to add another lane below, which can be assigned
to any automated control.
01
03
05
FOCUS
02
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MTF How to record
MTF How to record...

Lead vocals Part 2
On p12, in the first part of this major feature on recording, John Pickford looked at how
planning and preparing help create the right atmosphere for recording a great lead vocal
performance. Now he explores the tools and methods required to capture the perfect take
FOCUS
How to record MTF
So, you have prepared your recording

space, free from extraneous noise and
acoustically well-damped. Now you can
think about choosing the best
microphone for the job. The most
popular type of mic for vocal recording is a
large-diaphragm condenser, as these tend to have a
more detailed sound and wider frequency response
in comparison to dynamic types. Thats not to say
that you cant achieve excellent results with a
dynamic mic; many hit records feature vocals
recorded with an inexpensive Shure SM58. Having
said that, hand-held microphone recording is best
avoided unless thats the only way the singer can
perform, and if your stand-mounted vocal mic has
a shock mount, do use it as this will further
decrease noise from mechanical vibrations.
Many condenser mics have selectable pick-up
several mics, its a good idea to set up two or three

different models and have the singer sing a few
lines into each in order to find out which one best
suits the voice, remembering to make your choice
quickly so as not to tire the singer and lose
momentum. Once the selection has been made, fine
tuning of the tone can be made by optimising the
position of the mic in relation to the vocalists
mouth. There are three factors to consider here:
firstly, the distance between the singer and the
microphone will have a huge influence on the final
sound. Very close micing, with a distance between
2 and 3 inches (5 to 8 centimetres) might work to
capture a very soft and intimate performance,
revealing every nuance including mouth noises.
However, in many cases such close micing can
induce unwanted plosive pops and increase
sibilance. Also, especially when a cardioid pick-up
pattern is employed, low frequencies will be
The most popular mic for vocals

recording is a large diaphragm
condenser for a detailed sound
patterns, the three main types being cardioid,
figure 8 and omni-directional (hyper-cardioid is an
increasingly popular fourth option). However, most
engineers select the cardioid option for recording
vocals as this usually gives the best vocal to
room-sound balance. Ribbon mics can sound lovely
in the right circumstances but they are delicate
beasts that can easily be damaged by wind
pressure, so are not an ideal choice for loud vocal
work. Also, ribbons are bi-directional (figure 8) so
will pick up more of the room-sound than a
cardioid condenser or dynamic mic.
If you are lucky enough to have the choice of
CONTACTS
AKG
01462 480000
www.soundtech.co.uk
AUDIO TECHNICA
0113 277 1441
www.audio-technica.com
SE ELECTRONICS
0845 500 2500
www.seelectronics.com
The Audio Technica ATM510 is

a great vocal mic and very
reasonably priced at
around 90.
MTF Step-by-Step Microphone Selection and Positioning
Choose the microphone that best suits

the vocalists voice and the style of
track being recorded. Large-diaphragm
condensers are usually preferred although
singers with a very bright sound often sound
better with a dynamic mic. If possible, set-up
two or three mics and have the vocalist sing
briefly into each at a starting distance of
around 6 inches to find the best voice/mic
position. Unless you want a particularly
roomy effect, use a cardioid pick-up pattern.
01
Determine which side of the vocalists

mouth produces the better tone by
moving the microphone from side to side or,
alternatively, ask the singer to step to the left
and then right of the mic. Next, experiment
with the height of the mic. Increasing the
height will generally produce a fuller sound,
adding body and richness to thin-sounding
voices, while lowering the mic can restore
definition and brighten-up wooly-edged voices.
02
Fine-tune the optimum distance

between the singer and the mic during
the first vocal run-through. For an intimatesounding vocal try a close-miced method; 3
or 4 inches (7 to 10 centimetres) will give a
sound with lots of detail but also a full
bottom-end, particularly when using a
cardioid pick-up pattern. Louder vocals are
better captured at between 6 and 10 inches.
Always use a pop-shield between the singer
and mic to prevent unwanted popping.
03
| 103
MTF How to record
increased due to the proximity effect. At the other

extreme, with distances greater than 12 inches (30
centimetres), more of the natural room sound will
be captured. Occasionally, these room reflections
can be used to create a desirable effect David
Bowies vocal on Heroes for example was recorded
with three mics: a standard close mic along with
two ambient mics at a distance of 20 and 50 feet,
with a gate employed to open the ambient mics
during the loudest passages. Usually though, a
As a general
principle, the louder
the vocal, the
further away you
can place the mic
sE make some great vocal mics

(below) plus the Reflexion
Filter (right) designed
especially for vocalists.
side in order to get the best possible tone. Thirdly,

experiment with the height of the microphone in
relation to the singers head, as this will also
present tonal variations. Its a common
misconception that positioning the mic above the
singers mouth produces a brighter sound while
lowering the mic will bring out a more chesty
quality, when actually the opposite is true; increase
the height for a fuller sound and lower it for treble
emphasis. Positioning the mic off-centre has the
added advantage of reducing pops and wind noises
from the mouth, speaking of which...
Its always advisable to use some form of pop/
wind-shield between the singer and
microphone. Some mics come with a foam
wind-shield that fits over the microphone
itself, however, these arent very effective
at reducing pops and will likely
compromise the treble-response of the
microphone. Far better is to use a
distance somewhere between 4 and 10 inches

(10 to 25 centimetres) is a good starting
place for a natural-sounding vocal that
can be processed with ambient effects
such as reverb and delay during mixing.
As a general principle, the louder the
vocal, the further you can place the mic.
The second factor to determine is which
side of your vocalists mouth produces the
best sound. Its tempting to place the
microphone directly in front of the singer,
however, we all sing (or speak) with
emphasis on either the left or right side of
our mouths to some degree and usually
one side will sound brighter than the
other. Try moving the mic from side to
MTF Step-by-Step Monitoring On Headphones
Feeding the vocalist a good headphone

mix will make the difference between
capturing a pitch-perfect performance and
an uninspired, flat-sounding take. Create a
dedicated headphone mix and feed that to
the singers cans rather than just feeding
through the control-room monitor mix. Listen
on headphones with the same mix so that
you know what the singer is hearing. Once
you have achieved the desired sound
continue monitoring on cans to know exactly
what the singer is hearing.
01
FOCUS
The vocalist will not necessarily need to

hear everything thats been recorded,
especially if its a busy track. Prioritise
instruments such as bass guitar, kick and
snare drums, which contain the fundamental
elements of tune and rhythm. This should help
with pitching and keep the singer locked-in to
the groove of the track. Add a little reverb to
the cans to create atmosphere but dont over
do it a short reverb-time usually works best.
And dont record the reverb onto the vocal
track as it cant be removed later.
02
Keep the headphone mix at a

reasonable volume. If the mix is too
loud, the singer may perceive some notes to
be either sharp or flat when they are not, and
in an attempt to correct this will end up
singing off-key. Sustained loud headphone
monitoring can be quite tiring as well as
potentially damaging to the ears. Also, if the
singer prefers to monitor with one side on the
cans removed, the sound from the unused
speaker might leak into the vocal mic.
03
How to record MTF
pop-shield placed in front of the mic. If you dont

own a commercially available pop-shield you can
improvise by using some stocking material
stretched over a metal coat-hanger.
One of the most important aspects of vocal
recording is ensuring that the singer has a good
headphone mix. It wont do to just send your
monitor mix to the cans, you need to set-up a
dedicated mix that has the right amount of
fundamental tune and rhythm to help the
headphone mixes can affect the singers ability to

pitch properly. Some vocalists prefer to monitor
through just one side of a set of cans John
Lennon preferred this method and had his own
set with one channel permanently disconnected.
With this in mind, if the singer wants to use this
method, mute the unused side to prevent
unwanted spill leaking into the vocal mic.
Many engineers like to compress the vocal
track as its being recorded. Care must be taken
here as once compression is applied it cant be
taken off. You may be better off riding the vocal
fader if there are just a few loud peaks and leave
compression for the final mixdown. If you do
compress as you record, be quite gentle with a
compression ratio of around 2:1 and aim for no
more that 5 or 6 dB of compression on the loudest
parts. Remember, you can always experiment with
heavier compression at the mixing stage. This also
applies to other processes such as gating, which
can ruin an otherwise good take if its not
correctly set-up. Capture the performance first
then you can try-out various effects and
treatments in a non-destructive way.
Next month we will explore how to treat
vocals once they have been recorded, including
how to compile (comp), a great performance from
several recorded takes; how to de-ess an over
sibilant vocal and how best to use effects such as
reverb, delay, compression and equalization to help
the vocal sit in the final mix. MTF
Some prefer to
monitor through one
can. John Lennon
had one permanently
disconnected
vocalist pitch correctly and stay in the groove of
the track; bass guitar and kick drums are good
for this. A little reverb added to the vocal
foldback is usually helpful but make sure the
reverb is not recorded along with the vocal. If
possible, wear headphones with an identical mix to
monitor what the singer is hearing, making sure
that the level is not to high, as overly-loud
Another fine mic: the

C414 from AKG.
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Our new valve mic

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Paul Epworth, Producer (Adele, Paul McCartney, Coldplay)
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PJ Harvey, Singer/Songwriter/Composer
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FOCUSRecording
& Mixing
2014 |big
105band
stephen street the vaccines dave grohl keane pj harvey turin brakes chase & status athlete and many more!
MTF Feature Recording Acoustic Drums
MTF Feature Studio Tutorial
RECORDING
ACOUSTIC DRUMS
Elsewhere in this MusicTech Focus we look at recording vocals. Now its time to get
out-of-the-box and record and mix acoustic drums. Huw Price has the mics
or the longest time, all drums were acoustic because that was the
only option. Then drums became electronic because that was the
fashion. Eventually, samplers came along and enthusiastic
programmers began grabbing acoustic drum sounds from other
recordings and chopping-up and looping real drum parts.
The distinction between
acoustic and electronic
drums has been thoroughly
mashed-up ever since and
that derisory term real
drums, so beloved of
musical Luddites, has
almost fallen out of use.
For a while, musicians
and programmers were content to spend countless hours trawling through the
most obscure funk, reggae and soul records in shabby second-hand stores. The
object was to find groove-tastic beats that were unrecognisable to all but the
very few.
Then, during the mid-1990s, something interesting happened: some big-name
jungle and D&B producers who were very switched on to classic drum sounds
That derisory term real drums,

so beloved of musical Luddites,
has almost fallen out of use
FOCUS
Recording Acoustic Drums Feature MTF
decided it was preferable to commission their own

drum recordings rather than live off scraps from old
records and deal with the legalities of sampleclearance. Many tracks from that era feature
world-famous drummers who had been engaged to
jam along to click tracks.
Although drum sample CDs covering every musical
genre are now readily available, many of us still enjoy
making our own samples and loops. You can work
with pre-mixed drum tracks or start with multitrack
drum recordings and mix your own. But for this
feature, well look at the real thing, from scratch, as
well be examining some of the tricks and techniques
that can be used to record and mix drums for
customised beats and signature sounds.
On the record
If we want to create our own loops and beats, the
first thing we have to do is record the drums.
Budding sound engineers are often told that
recording drums is hard, but this isnt necessarily
true. Although you can take a complex approach to
Not sure about the wallpaper,

but that is one dry room
For funk and soul you may want

to keep the drums as dry and as
free from ambience as possible
MTF Buyers Guide Microphone suggestions
KICK
drum recording, there are also very simple methods

that can produce fantastic results. The way you
choose to do it will depend on the type of sound you
are chasing and the gear at your disposal. But before
we get into recording techniques and microphone
placement, lets take a look at other factors that can
influence the sound.
Changing rooms
Using microphones means that, in addition to the
sound of the drums, you will be recording the sound
of the room. To an extent, this is unavoidable.
For funk and soul sounds you may want to keep
OVERHEADS
Large-cap condensers: Alctron

HST11A, Neumann U87,
Audio-Technica AT4050, Peluso P67.
Small-cap condensers: Josephson
C42MP, Neumann KM84,
Avantone CV28, Oktava MC012,
M-Audio Pulsar II.
Ribbons: Beyerdynamic C160,
Royer 121, Cascade Fathead,
Coles 4038
Dynamics: Electro-Voice RE20,

Shure SM7 & Beta 91A,
Sennheiser 421, AKG D12VR,
Audio-Technica ATM25, Audix D6,
Beyerdynamic M99.
Condensers: Neumann U47FET,
Audio-Technica AT4047.
Boundary: Sennheiser e901,
Shure Beta 91, Beyerdynamic
Opus 51.
Hybrid condenser/dynamic:
Audio-Technica ATM250DE
SNARE
Dynamics: Shure SM57/SM58,

Beyerdynamic M201,
Sennheiser 421 & 441.
Condensers: AKG C414, Neumann
KM84, Shure Beta 98 A/C
HI-HAT
Dynamics: Shure SM57,

Beyerdynamic M201.
Condensers: Neumann KM84, AKG
C451, Shure KSM141, Oktava
MC012, Avantone CV28, Josephson
C42MP, AKG C1000
TOMS
Dynamics: Sennheiser 421, e906/

e609, Audix D2.
Condensers: AKG C1000, Neumann
U87, Shure Beta 181
| 107
Try draping blankets or duvets

over microphone stands as
makeshift gobos
the drums as dry and free from ambience as
possible. Many of the original recordings were made
in specially constructed drum booths that were
designed to minimise early reflections. Close-micing
was also one of, if not the main method of choice.
Then again, plenty of classic break beats do sound
quite roomy.
The opposite end of the sonic spectrum would be
the big drum sounds beloved of 1980s stadium rock
bands. Many productions combined close drum mics
with heavily compressed room mics in studios with
massive live rooms. Setups tended to be complex and
time-consuming.
Unless you live in a mansion, its easier and more
practical to get dry and intimate drum sounds when
recording at home than big, ambient drums. If you
want the latter and you cant afford a studio with a
large live room, consider recording on location in a
village hall or somewhere similar.
Recording in a living room with a carpeted floor
will result in a drier sound. To minimise ambience
further, try drawing all of your curtains and then
closing blinds to prevent sound from bouncing off
windows. You might also want to drag in some
mattresses to soak up high frequencies. You can lean
them against the walls around the drum kit to stop
hats and cymbals bouncing around. If you have any
spare mic stands, try placing them a few feet apart
and drape blankets or duvets over the top as
makeshift gobos.
Set-up is key, whichever method

you go for
MTF Technology Got any skins?

You wouldnt use a Fender Telecaster to play death metal or an
analogue synth to play bebop jazz, and drum kits are no
different. Trying to get a jazz sound on a kit thats designed
and set up for rock, or a tight 70s disco sound on a ringy jazz
kit, will not produce the desired result. Microphones can only
record whats put in front of them, so successful drum
production depends on getting the sound right at source.
Like guitar strings, drum skins have a big influence on the
sound. They are made in various ways, they require tuning and
they wear out. Most are made from Mylar just like condenser
microphone diaphragms. White-coated heads have a bright
attack with a warm tone and good projection on a resonant
shell. Theyre popular with jazz players, and rockers who
prefer a ringing, open and resonant sound.
Clear heads sound brighter and cut through mixes well,
while two-ply heads are more muted and less resonant, but
they can have a strong attack. They provide a strong and
well-defined tone for drier sounds and they work well with
close mics. Unlike coated skins, they dont really project into a
room, so theyre less effective with ambient microphones.
Oil-filled heads are even more muted and dark. Each type of
head will be available in varying thicknesses, which also
affects the sound.
FOCUS
Tuning basics
Well-tuned drums sound bright and clear, but when
they are carelessly tuned they can sound dull and
lifeless. You may also get strong harmonic overtones
that dominate the sound. Unfortunately, drummers
cant always be relied upon to tune their kits, and
close microphones tend to expose sonic issues that
may go unnoticed with ambient microphones. The
only way to take control is to learn the rudiments of
tuning yourself. Fortunately, drum keys are cheap
and online video tutorials are easy to find.
Assuming youve created a suitable recording
space and have an appropriate, well-tuned drum kit,
its finally time to mic it up. Lets examine the various
ways to do this, starting with a simple mono setup.
Mono tones
If you want your drum track to sound like a kit being
played in a room, then theres not much point in

sticking a microphone on each individual
component, stripping everything back and trying to
piece it all back together again. You wouldnt mic-up
individual strings on an acoustic guitar or a grand
piano, so theres no overriding necessity to take that
approach with drum kits.
Walk around the drum kit as its being played and
try to identify the areas where the sound is clear,
powerful and well balanced. When you have identified
a sweet spot, simply place a microphone right there
and take a listen. You may get good results with the
mic a few feet above the drummers head, or even set
back behind the drummer. However, for a mono
sound, most engineers place the microphone out in
front of the drums, a few feet above the top of the
kick drum.
Simple stereo
Like mono recording, the easiest stereo techniques
stem from conceptualising the kit as a whole rather
than a collection of individual parts. However, you do
need to think outside-the-box regarding mic
placement if you are to capture a balance that
corresponds to the actual sound of the kit.
Unfortunately, two microphones in conventional
overhead configurations like spaced and
coincident pairs are unlikely to produce the desired
results because the cymbals will dominate the toms
and the kick drum. Whether youre a novice recordist,
a pro engineer who has become sick of putting up
loads of drum mics that never make it to the final mix
or you have only two microphones to play with, the
Glyn Johns approach is the ideal solution.
Glyn Johns stumbled across his trademark
technique while recording John Bonham for Led
Zeppelins first album. A condenser or ribbon mic is
placed between the drummers shoulder and the ride
cymbal and aimed across the drum kit towards the
snare. A second (preferably matching) microphone is
placed directly above the snare drum.
You should use a cable to check that the distance
from the centre of the snare drum to the capsule/
ribbon is identical for both mics. One variation is to
place the second mic in front of the kit, aimed
towards the snare in the gap between the hi-hat and
the first rack tom.
Pan your overhead mics left and right until the
snare just begins to lose focus, then toe the pan pots
back in very slightly (they usually end up around 10
and 2 oclock). Blend in a kick drum, mic panned
dead-centre, and the result should be a sound that
accurately represents the drummers natural balance.
For a more natural sound,

consider placing the overheads
in front of or behind the drum kit,
using a more conventional
stereo microphone array such
as spaced omnis or a near
coincident pair.
Placing the overheads close to

the cymbals will give
better separation, but this may
be at the expense of a
recording that captures the
sound of the kit as a whole.
practical issues. We suggest deciding on your kit

mics/overheads configuration before placing any
close microphones. The kit/overhead mics can then
be moved around freely and left in the optimum
position while the close microphones are set up.
When using multiple microphones on a drum kit,
its vital to ensure that all the signals are in-phase
or at least as close as they can be. Switch your desk
or monitor controller to mono or simply pan
everything dead-centre. Push up the two kit/overhead
mics and flip the polarity of one channel using the
phase button on your mixing desk or preamp. If the
sound gets thinner, flip it back. But if it gets fatter,
leave it flipped.
Starting with the kick, add just enough to the
overheads so that the kick track is at about the same
volume as the kick in the overheads. Flip the phase of
the kick track and check out which setting sounds
best. Its sometimes hard to be entirely sure, but the
process becomes quicker with practice. Mute the kick
track and repeat this process, one at a time, with
every other microphone.
You will often find that the snare sounds fatter in
combination with the overheads when the top snare
Multiple mics
Most engineers will close-mic drums, even if they are
uncertain whether or not the close mics will be used
in the final drum mix. After all, theres no reason why
close-miced drums cant be combined with a mono
mic or Glyn Johns pair to add punch or enhance
definition.
Before we look at micing individual drums, its
worth being aware of some of the technical and
| 109
John Bonhams signature drum

sound was largely defined by
engineer/producer Glyn Johns.
mics polarity is flipped. If thats the case, mute the

overheads and check that the underside snare mic is
still in-phase with the top mic. This is important to
know because you might dive into compression and
EQ to fatten up a snare sound when all thats really
wrong is a phase correction.
Drum overheads
Unless a lo-fi sound is required, dynamic
microphones are seldom used. Condensers are the
usual choice and ribbon microphones are becoming
more popular. Small-capsule condensers provide fast
transient response with plenty of detail, crisp stereo
imaging and extended high-frequency content.
Large-capsule condensers image less crisply, but they
may sound smoother and more full-bodied. Ribbon
mics sound fattest and smoothest of all. The majority
will attenuate high frequencies, which is ideal if
youre recording trashy-sounding cymbals in a bright
room. Fortunately, ribbons also respond well to
equalisation when they need brightening up.
Typically, a pair of microphones (matched if
possible) is used in a stereo configuration. Spaced
stereo is common, but make sure you measure the
distance from the centre of the snare drum to each
mic. They should both be at an identical distance
Whether youre a novice recordist

or a pro engineer, the Glyn Johns
approach is the ideal solution
from the snare if you want to minimise phase-shift.
Coincident stereo techniques produce crisper and
more sharply focused images than washy spaced
pairs, but if the centre focus of the two mics is
directed straight down, the snare drum will appear
off-centre in the stereo image. The solution is to turn
the microphone, or stereo pair, to centralise the snare
drum. If you dont, the stereo imaging will be vague
and smeared when you add the close-miced snare to
the mix.
inside a bass drum, but you should check with the

manufacturer before risking a ribbon mic. Most
condenser microphones are capable of capturing very
low bass frequencies, but not all can handle high
SPLs. Attenuation pads sometimes help, but they
wont prevent capsule distortion.
Although small-capsule condensers are rarely
selected for bass and kick duties, many are ideally
suited due to low proximity effect and very even
low-frequency response. Switching to omni might
extend a condenser mics low-frequency response,
but spillage may become an issue.
Engineers sometimes build drum tunnels using
packing blankets, duvets and whatever else might be
Here an AKG D20 is placed inside

the kick drum shell with a Red 5
RV15 tube mic out front.
Hand-held dynamic microphones designed for

vocalists tend to have bass roll-off. This is done to
overcome handling noise and proximity effect and,
as such, they are unsuitable for recording bass
drums. In fact, achieving an extended low-frequency
response presents a challenge for any moving-coil
microphone manufacturer and moving-coil mics for
kick drum and bass are specialised items.
These days, most are voiced for instant results in
a rock sort of way ie, lots of treble and bass with
pre-scooped mids. Predictably enough, older designs
are more likely to get you old-school kick sounds, but
beware of vintage AKG D12s, D20s and so forth
because AKG no longer supplies spare parts.
Some modern ribbon microphones, like Royers, are
able to handle the high sound pressure levels (SPL)
FOCUS
Photo Getty Images
Bass drum
available. Wrap them around the outside of the drum

shell and use a stool or chair to extend the tunnel
while sealing the edges with gaffer tape. This can
dramatically reduce spillage, and the second
microphone can be placed further away from the
drum for deeper tone.
If the front skin of a kick drum is left on, in the
jazz style, it produces a boomy, more rounded sound
with a discernible note. Some recordists favour
placing one microphone actually inside the drum
moving it closer to the beater for a more attacking
sound or further away or to the side for more tone
and low end. You can also use two microphones in
combination maybe a moving-coil up-close for
attack and a condenser set back to capture a little
more natural tone.
Try using a second bass drum with the front skin
left on as a resonant drum. Place your close mic
inside kick No1 and the second drum directly in front
of the first with microphone No2 inside it. With two
drums, the tunnel will be easier to construct and the
blast from the first kick will set the second drum skin
in motion. You can get your punch from drum No1
and your low end and tone from drum No2.
The woofer from an old set of monitors (like a
Yamaha NS10) can be set up in a clamp next to the
kick and used as a second dynamic mic. It will
Placing a condenser mic a

few inches away from
where the stick hits the
hi-hat provides the most
natural sound. If your
mic supports it, try using
some bass roll-off as well.
The woofer from an old set of

monitors can be used as a
second dynamic mic
capture some serious lows, but since its not fullrange, youll notice less phase-shift when you
combine it with the close microphone. A PZM/
boundary mic placed inside the drum is a funky,
decent-sounding alternative.
Snare drums
Nobody in their right mind would place their ear
right next to a snare drum. The sound we associate
with snare drums comes from listening, at a
distance, to a combination of the top skin and the
resonance of the metal wires beneath. However, to
minimise spillage we are obliged to use close-mics,
so to capture the full snare sound its common
practice to use two mics placed top and bottom.
All things being equal, the two signals will be
out-of-phase. Check that the top mic is in-phase with
the overheads then balance the volume of the top and
bottom snare mics and reverse the phase of the
bottom mic. Theyre in-phase when tone is fattest. You
may choose to record the top and bottom snare mics
to separate channels to give yourself maximum scope
for tone-shaping later. Other interesting techniques
include placing a lavalier mic through the vent hole
or on the side of the snare shell.
Condenser microphones often have a fast and
realistic transient response. While this means theyre
technically good, spiky kick and snare transients

arent necessarily desirable and they will require
limiting somewhere in the production process. Many
engineers are happy to use moving-coil mics, but
small-capsule condensers provide extra fidelity. You
could also try aligning the capsules of moving-coils
with a condenser and taping the microphones bodies
together to capture more of the snares natural tone.
This works particularly well for drummers with a
lighter touch, or those who use hot rods and brushes.
Snare drums are naturally ringy. Sometimes a
snare with a distinct tone works well, but a drier
thud may be preferred. Drummers often use gel and
dampening rings on the top skin, but you may achieve
the required degree of deadening by sticking
rolled-up kitchen paper to the skin with thin strips of
gaffer tape. Other old-school techniques include
draping a tea towel over the snare or the disco wallet
trick. It may seem implausible, but placing a wallet
on top of the snare drum can be a shortcut to
authentic 70s snare sounds. MTF
An additional phase-inversed
bottom dynamic mic can be used to
pick up the crack of the snare wires.
| 111
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MTF Reviews Allen & Heath Qu-16
digital outputs and can connect to a

USB drive or Mac/PC for streaming or
recording audio.
All hands on desk
ALLEN & HEATH
Qu-16
Choice
9/10
9
9/
10
Allen & Heath compresses some of the technology from the iLive
series into a smaller format. Mike Hillier explores the Qu-16.
Details
Price 1,992
Contact
Audio-Technica
0113 277 1441
Web www.allenheath.com
n paper, the Qu-16 is an

impressive beast. Taking
digital technology from the
iLive series, the Qu-16 may be
small but it packs quite a punch. It fits
in a 19-inch rack-mountable chassis
but it is stacked with 16 mono input
channels, each with both line-level TRS
and mic-level XLR inputs feeding
recallable AnaLOGIQ preamps. Each
channel has a motorised fader and
there are two stereo TRS pairs on the
rear panel and a single stereo 1/8-inch
TRS input on the front for an additional
six input channels. Mixers arent
required to lose a channel for talkback,

either, as a dedicated talkback input is
included at the rear.
However, there are no hardware
inserts, either on the individual
channels or on the mix buss. Instead,
The Qu-16 is intuitively laid-out,

with dedicated controls for the
most important functions
each input channel is equipped with a
high-pass filter (sweepable from
20Hz2kHz), four-band parametric
equaliser, compressor, gate and delay
(up to 85ms and intended for signal
alignment rather than as an echo
effect). The master channel has its own
four-band parametric EQ, 28-band
graphic EQ, compressor and delay (up
to 170ms). Furthermore, there are 16
internal busses and four stereo FX
engines with their own dedicated
return channels.
The Qu-16 is equally well equipped
in terms of outputs, having no fewer
than 12 XLR outs located at the rear in
addition to two TRS Alt outputs and two
TRS 2Track outputs. It also has AES
Taking digital technology and features from the

iLive series, the Qu-16 may be diminutive in size
but it packs quite a punch.
FOCUS
The Qu-16 is intuitively laid-out, with

dedicated controls for many of the
most important functions and a
touchscreen for navigating the
additional functions. We took it along to
a rehearsal and while it isnt quite as
quick to get up and running as a simple
analogue desk adjusting even
something as simple as gain on each
channel involves selecting channels as
you adjust each gain knob individually
it does have the advantage of being
able to store your settings for later
recall. This offers a huge bonus for
touring engineers or bands working on
their own rig, who can store and recall
their settings from a previous night,
enabling a soundcheck to go quickly,
with just a few alterations (especially
once the room has been EQed with the
master channel 28-band graphic EQ).
The other obvious advantage of
recall in a live console is that you can
soundcheck the headline act first, save
all your settings and then soundcheck
the support act, knowing that you can
change any parameter on any channel
as it will have been saved. In our
opinion, these advantages more than
compensate for the omission of

dedicated knobs for every parameter
on every channel.
Once we had all the channels
line-checked and set a basic gain
structure, we started EQing and
compressing to taste. It has become
standard on digital desks to include as
few controls as possible to keep down
costs, with many desks offering only
four rotary controls that cover all the
duties from EQ to compression and pan,
so its encouraging to see that Allen &
Heath hasnt skimped here and has
given dedicated controllers to each of
these controls, enabling you to control
both EQ and compression
simultaneously should you wish to.
However, you are still stuck with
being able to work with only one
channel at a time unlike on analogue
consoles, which provide controls for
every function on every channel. This
Allen & Heath Qu-16 Reviews MTF
Alternatives
The Yamaha LS9 is easily the most
common digital mixer weve seen in
small venues. The current range comes
in 16- and 32-channel configurations
and the layout is well known to live
engineers across the globe. The Qu-16 is an
exceptional alternative to this desk, though, and should find its way into
plenty of small venues and touring rigs.
The Qu-16s 16 AnaLOGIQ total-recall preamps, designed for transparency, minimal distortion and
an ultra-low noise floor, feature zero-crossing detection and a padless 1dB-step gain stage.
means it isnt possible, for example, to

EQ the kick and bass guitar against
each other, ducking one while boosting
another at the same time. However, the
EQ section of the desk has 12 knobs
controlling gain, Q and frequency of
each of the four bands alongside an on/
off button. The high-pass filter is
controlled from a separate section via a
single dedicated knob and its own on/
off button, making it incredibly easy to
quickly set this up on each channel.
The 800 x 400-pixel touchscreen
displays the EQ curve as you adjust it,
and you can quickly flick back and forth
between channels, seeing at a glance
the settings being applied to each
channel. The channel currently active is
displayed in the top-left of the screen,
and it is worth keeping a careful eye on
this as its all too easy in our
experience at least to EQ a channel,
wrongly thinking youre working on
another channel entirely.
As with the high-pass filter, the gate
and compressor each has their own
rotary encoder and on/off switch, which
makes it simple to set up dynamics on
each channel, with the actual settings
again being displayed on the
touchscreen. Wed have liked to have
seen a little more attention given to the
dynamics section a single knob
controlling more or less might make
setting compression nice and easy, but
it doesnt provide more experienced
engineers with the control they might
want. This wouldnt be so bad were the
Qu-16 to have hardware Inserts, as
then you could at least insert the
dynamics processor of your choice, but
since it doesnt wed like to see more
powerful dynamics options.
Like the EQ and HPF, the two
dynamics have their own on/off
switches, all fitted with LEDs, that show
whether the module is on or off. These
enable you to see at a glance which EQ
or dynamics modules are in use for
each channel as you move through the
channels. The Pan module is similar,
but in this case employs seven LEDs to
display where the pan parameter is

currently set for each channel.
Ahead of the curve

Once wed set up, working a mix was
easy. As well as the insert effects, the
Qu-16 has four iLive FX engines with
reverbs, delays and modulation effects.
These have dedicated returns, so you
dont have to tie up your inputs, and
each return has a four-band parametric
EQ, giving you the opportunity to tune
your effects exactly as youd like.
The SMR Live algorithmic reverb was
making this desk incredibly popular,

both in venues and in project studios.
Where things get really interesting
for project studio owners is that you can
assign MIDI to each fader, enabling you
to control them from channels in your
DAW. This makes for a great hybrid
mixing environment: making the most
of the desk, the built-in effects and the
flexibility of a DAW. This can be done
using the class-compliant USB MIDI
drivers or the Ethernet port.
No digital live console is complete
without an iPad app and the Qu-16 is no
exception, though theres no Android
version. Allen & Heath has developed
the Qu-Pad app for the Qu-16. This free
iPad app provides wireless remote
Allen & Heath has pulled together the

best features from its GLD and iLive series
and created an exceptional desk
a favourite of ours, providing a variety of
room and plate emulations via a clean
and easy-to-use interface. However,
unlike many other desk effects, since
the Qu-16 has a touchscreen you arent
limited to only a few parameters,
meaning with the SMR Live as well as
the six basic parameters, more
advanced users can jump into Expert
mode and get to grips with a selection of
17 more advanced parameters.
Having four dedicated engines, each
returning on their own dedicated
channels, meant we were able to set up
dedicated reverbs, delays, vocal doubles
and then ride each of these during the
mix. Furthermore, Allen & Heath has
said that the list of effects may grow
with future firmware updates.
The best of digital

A USB port on the Qu-16 enables you to
attach the console to a PC or Mac for
recording; alternatively, you can attach
a USB drive and record directly to that.
The Qu-16 can record up to 18 channels
at 24-bit/48kHz enough to record all
16 inputs and the stereo mix buss. This
is a great feature, and one we can see
mixing, which can be used to create a

monitor mix while onstage or adjust EQ
while walking around the venue. The
Qu-16 does not, however, have a built-in
wireless receiver, so to set up the
Qu-Pad app you must connect a Wi-Fi
router to the Qu-16s network port.
For the Qu-16, Allen & Heath has
pulled together the best features from
its GLD and iLive series (which the
Qu-16 will integrate happily with via
dSNAKE) and created an exceptional
small-format desk. MTF
MTF Verdict
+ 16 mic inputs
+ iLive digital effects
+ EQ/dynamics on every channel
+ 800 x 400 touchscreen
+ iPad app
- Limited dynamics control
- Control of one channel at a time
The Qu-16 is a great desk with a
wealth of useful features, meaning
it should fit into just about any
scenario, from studio to live installs.
9/10
Key Features
16 mono inputs
3 stereo inputs
4 iLive FX
engines
800 x 480
touchscreen
Multitrack
record over USB
DAW MIDI
control
Recallable
automated
Faders
iPad app
| 115
MTF Reviews AKG C1000S Mk IV
response, the other is a presence

booster, providing a 5dB lift between
5kHz and 9kHz.
Adapt or die
Fitting these adaptors is easy: simply
unscrew and remove the bottom half of
the mic to reveal the capsule and the
adaptors push-and-click into place.
Removing them can be more
problematic our first attempts
resulted in pulling the rubber capsule
holder/shockmount away from the
body. Fortunately we were able to refit
it, and then we figured out that the
adaptors have to be carefully prised
away from the capsule. Long fingernails
help, by the way.
Unscrewing the mic also reveals the
battery compartment. The C1000S
operates on phantom power by default,
C1000S Mk IV
AKG claims that the Mk IV version of
the C1000S is more versatile than ever.
Huw Price puts it through its paces
Details
Key Features
End-fire electret
condenser
Cardioid/
hypercardioid
Presence-lift
adaptor
Bass roll-off
(80Hz)
10dB pad
50Hz 20kHz
200-ohm
impedance
Battery or
phantom power
On/off switch
character in the low midrange. Fitting

the hypercardioid adaptor increased
output level and gave the C1000S an
even fuller sound; however, the 900Hz
resonance was accentuated.
The bass roll-off frequency is set
fairly low at 80Hz, so it had relatively
little impact on the sound when the
C1000S was used at a distance. Closer
micing revealed a bit of proximity effect,
and the HPF certainly tightened up the
lows and eliminated boominess without
causing any noticeable nasties.
The latest version is still an

affordable, fine-sounding,
all-round condenser
AKG
Price 179
Contact Sound
Technology
01462 480000
Web www.akg.com
Alternatives
Other affordable electret condensers
include the Audio-Technica AT2031
(135) and the Lewitt LCT140 (199). The
true-condenser Oktava MK012 (199)
comes with interchangeable cardioid,
super-cardioid and omnidirectional capsules,
plus an inline -10dB pad.
his reviewer must confess to

having a soft spot for the AKG
C1000. During the mid-1990s,
condenser microphones were
starting to become an affordable
proposition for home recordists, and
many completed their first projects with
earlier versions of this microphone. They
cropped up in pro studios, too, where
many of us discovered just how
effective they could be when higherfidelity tom and snare sounds were
required. They were also small enough
for most drummers to miss but cheap
enough not to worry about if accidents
occurred. They often performed
surprisingly well on guitars and drum
overheads, too.
The Mk IV version of the C1000S has
moisture-resistant gold plating on the
capsule housing/XLR pins and it ships
with two plastic accessories that slip
over the end of the capsule. One
focuses the cardioid response a little
more to achieve a hypercardioid
FOCUS
but you can now use two AA batteries

rather than an expensive 9v PP3. This
means the C1000S is well suited to
location recording. Tiny switches are
located on each side of the battery
compartment. One provides 10dB of
attenuation, the other an 80Hz bass cut
to counteract proximity effect.
The switches are a welcome feature
but their location inside the body is less
than practical. However, this does
provide protection considering that
C1000s are often used for live work.
Consider attaching the mic clip to the
rear section of the body so youll be able
to adjust settings without altering the
mic placement. Unfortunately,
close-micing scenarios will require the
C1000S to be removed from its clip.
Sounding out
The C1000S has a full and fairly
neutral-sounding midrange, although
we did detect a bit of ringing around the
900Hz point. The treble response is not
hyped at all, and initial arms-length
recording tests on acoustic guitar
demonstrated a fairly natural and
smooth sonic signature.
The C1000S is nowhere near as
bright as Audio-Technicas AT2031, but
the transient response and level of
detail falls a little short. Compared to
the Lewitt LCT140 and LCT340, the
C1000S has a fuller tone, but the
Lewitts have a slightly plummier
Its suggested that the presenceboost adaptor can be used to improve

the intelligibility of speech, but its by no
means a necessity. The C1000S sounds
sufficiently clear and defined on its
own, and the presence boost may cause
sibilance with some vocalists. Even so,
we found it added a treble sheen and
enhanced the sense of detail with
acoustic instruments.
The C1000S doesnt have a
particularly wide sweet spot so the
talent must be encouraged to stay
on-axis otherwise treble loss will
become noticeable, especially when
using the hypercardioid capsule.
Without breaking much new ground,
the latest version of the C1000S is still
an affordable, fine-sounding, all-round
condenser. If it aint broke MTF
MTF Verdict
+ Solid build
+ Good all-rounder
+ Pad & HPF switching
+ Adjustable pickup pattern
- Switches hard to access
- Slight colouration around the
900Hz region
Same old sound and looks but
with useful additional features
providing sensible upgrades on a
budget classic.
8/10
Reviews MTF
BIAS for iPad

Manufacturer Positive Grid
Price 10.49
Excellence
Contact via website

Web www.positivegrid.com
ositive Grid makes a range of

guitar-centric software
and hardware
products centred
on the iPad platform, and its
latest is BIAS, an amp
designer, modeller and
processor for the iPad 2 and
later, and requiring iOS7.
Processing guitars through
an iPad is nothing new, but
the company firmly believes
that BIAS has more focus on
the achieving of great guitar
tones than its competitors.
It certainly looks good,
and there are nine presets
categorised by type covering
blues, rock, metal and more.
Along the base is an
omnipresent toolbar with in/
out volume controls, configurable noise
Key Features
Price $25 download and stream

Contact via website
Web www.groove3.com
mix can only ever be truly

great if you
can master
panning
and stereo effects.
This tutorial from
Groove 3, by veteran
producer and
engineer Kenny Gioia,
aims to provide both
basic and advanced
panning tips and
techniques.
It can be
downloaded, viewed
online or streamed
and contains 12
chapters, with a
running time of 98
minutes. Everything is
presented in Pro Tools
11, but the techniques
Choice
from the gorgeous interface, and tap

and drag to swap components and
change settings.
There are 36 amp models included
as well as different tube and
transformer types and behaviours as
well as a nifty drag-to-position mic
interface that enables you to change
the tone easily. You can save setups and
send them to JamUp XT, the companys
other guitar performance app, and it
works with GarageBand for iOS via
inter-app audio. All major iPad guitar
interfaces are supported, too.
This is an excellent guitar processor
thats highly configurable but easy to
use and has a powerful, meaty sound.
Youll believe that the company spent
some considerable time getting the
tone just right, and some of the demos
on the website are simply blistering. For
the price its an absolute bargain one
that will have guitarists of all kinds
riffing like mad. MTF
MTF Verdict
Multiple virtual
components
iPad 2 or higher
Highly
configurable
Excellent sound
Panning Explained
Manufacturer Groove 3
gate and room sections, plus eight

Quick Snap slots for flipping between
presets. Tap the Settings icon to be
taken to a rather cool customisation
section, where you can tap and drag to
reorder any of the components in the
signal chain, including preamp, EQ, tone
stack, power amp, transformer and cab.
Tap on any of these to edit it
Say it very loud probably the best

guitar amp sim on the iPad today.
10/10
are transferable to any DAW. Gioia

begins with a simple intro before
discussing pan laws and how
brightness, transients and instruments
are affected by panning.
There are three excellent chapters
on panning FX, creating stereo from
mono, and stereo FX. Topics include
auto-panning plug-ins and Leslie-style
speakers; doubling-up for
thickness and width; and creating

super-wide chorus, flange and
slap-back delay sounds using mixer
sends and ping-pong delays. The
second half looks at a real-world mix,
with Gioia working through the
elements of a heavily-layered pop track.
There are chapters on percussion, bass,
keys and piano, guitars and vocals.
Each of the tracks is gently processed
via buss sends, balancing instruments.
A final video looks at the L/C/R mixing,
in which each channel is panned hard
left, hard right or to the centre.
Although the mix itself has obviously
been worked on, its fascinating to see
how using panning can help separate
instruments, and stereo thickening can
gel parts together and help them sit in
the mix, especially the vocal. Its a well
thought-out tutorial, and could help you
get closer to mix nirvana. MTF
MTF Verdict
A relatively short but solid tutorial
thats easy to follow and packed
with tips on how to enhance and
balance the stereo field in your mix.
9/10
| 117
MTF Reviews Warm Audio TB12 Tone Beast
WARM AUDIO
Choice
TB12 Tone Beast
9/10
9
9/
10
That retro space-hopper glow returns to these pages once more as

Warm Audio unveils its new Beast. John Pickford seeks to tame it.
Details
Price 549
Contact Nova
Distribution
020 3589 2530
Web www.
warmaudio.com
e were quite taken with

Warm Audios first mic
preamp, the WA12,
praising it not only for its
funky-vibe character but also its
tone-switching feature, which adds a
rather nice vintage flavour to its sound.
Now the Texas-based company has
expanded on that original design to
produce the TB12 Tone Beast, a 1U,
19-inch rackmount unit that offers a
vast array of tonal options, ranging from
clean and open to thick and meaty.
Whats more, the Gain and Output
controls can be set up to introduce
varying degrees of saturation, enabling
the user to achieve that hot and
crunchy overdriven sound often heard
on classic recordings from analogues
glory days of the 60s and 70s. And like
the earlier unit, the Tone Beast is
finished in a funky space-hopper
orange that was all the rage in 1974.
Subtle transformations
Key Features
2 discrete
op-amps
2 CineMag
output
transformers
Mic, line and Hi-Z
DI inputs
Capacitor switch
Saturation
control
LED meters
What sets the Tone Beast apart from

basic mic preamps is that apart from
the standard features you would expect
to find phantom power, 20dB pad,
phase-invert and high-pass-filter it
also offers a number of switches that
send audio signals through a choice of
op-amp, capacitor, impedance and
output transformers. The discrete
op-amps on offer are clones of the
much-loved 1731-style op-amp,
revered for its big, warm and distinctly
vintage character, and the more modern
918 type, which is less characterful but
Alternatives
The basic Warm preamp sound without the switching options is
available as the WA12 (349), saving you 200. If you have an API
500-Series rack, Cartecs Pre-Q5 (699) can also be driven into
musical saturation and features high and low EQ boost. Lindells
6X-500 (229) is another Lunchbox-format preamp that features
Pultec-style EQ at a bargain price.
MAGAZINE
offers a more neutral, open window to

the sound of your microphones. If thats
not enough, the op-amps are socketed
so that users can remove and replace
them with op-amps of their choice
without the need for soldering.
The push-button Tone switch
determines the input impedance of the
Tone Beast: disengaged its 600 ohms,
while switched-in is 150 ohms.
Selecting 150 ohms increases the gain
of the unit by +6dB to a maximum of
+71dB, which we found particularly
useful when using our Coles 4038
ribbon mics. While the 600-ohm setting
is standard for dynamic and condenser
mics, its worth comparing the two
options on all of your sources,
remembering that the units line and
Hi-Z DI inputs are also affected by the
change in impedance.
The Capacitor switch offers clean
and vintage flavours by switching two
capacitors in the circuit from tantalum
to electrolytic, and while the company
admits that this feature is quite subtle,
we struggled to hear a change in several
of our tests. Much more obvious was
the tonal characteristics of the two
selectable output transformers. Both
are high-quality CineMag devices that
feature either a steel core or a bespoke
50% nickel core; these can be switched
out of circuit for a more transparent
sound, although a -8dB reduction in
signal level occurs with the
transformers bypassed.
Testing times
During testing we used a wide range of
microphones, ranging from our
inexpensive Shure SM57 right through
to our highly prized valve Neumann U67,
as well as DIed bass guitar and some
vintage keyboards. As you might
imagine, the number of tonal options is
extensive and users will discover their

preferred combination of op-amp and
other settings over time. However, to
give an overview, we found that using a
vintage-style setup of 1731 op-amp
with the steel-core output transformer,
the sound was up-front and had plenty
of presence, sounding great on drum
overheads and electric guitars.
Selecting the 918 op-amp produced
a fuller, more rounded sound, while
using the nickel-core transformer with
the 918 offered the cleanest tone,
eliminating a certain amount of grain
that the other combinations gave while
remaining full-bodied, open and
even-handed across the entire
frequency spectrum. This was the
preferred setting for a lead vocal and
also sounded very nice when using an
AKG C414 to record an acoustic guitar.
We also tried the Tone Beast with the
transformers bypassed, but felt the unit
lost some of its mojo, even though the
sound was quite pure and natural.
The quality of sound the Tone Beast
provides in all configurations is
excellent, and its certainly capable of
holding its own even when compared to
other preamps costing several times
the asking price. The musical
saturation the unit provides when
driven hard is quite delicious, and while
the preamp may not be the last word in
high-end transparency, it does have
bags of character, which will, no doubt,
win it many friends. MTF
MTF Verdict
+ Choice of preamp flavours
+ Musical saturation
+ Insert facility for compressors
and equalizers
+ Fun to use
- Wall-wart power supply
The Tone Beast is a very versatile
preamp, offering a wide range of
tonal options. The vintage settings
exhibit a warm colouration with
plenty of presence that flatters
many audio signals, while the
cleaner tones give a more accurate
account of your source material.
The saturation effect is very good,
adding a crunchy, overdriven edge
that is quite seductive.
9/10
Sony Sound Forge Pro Mac 2 Reviews MTF
Alternatives
Steinbergs WaveLab 8 is a
more fully featured audio
editor but has the price tag
that goes with that. WaveLab
Elements, however, can be picked up for under
90, and although it lacks the smoothness and
some of the features of Sound Forge, is still a
decent audio editor.
SONY
Sound Forge
Pro Mac 2
For
Mac
Sony has wasted no time in updating its flagship wave editor for
the Mac. Hollin Jones forges ahead to find out whats new
Details
Price 184.
Upgrade 92
Contact SCV London
020 8418 0778
Web www.sony
creativesoftware.com
Minimum system
requirements
Mac OSX 10.7
Key Features
Up to 64-bit,
192kHz
32-channel
recording
Mastering
effects from
iZotope
Restore and
Repair/Nectar
Elements
plug-ins
zplane time/
pitch-shifting
Auto input
monitoring
Audio processing
Customisable
window
Batch
processing
application
Work with FLAC
files
ony surprised us all by

releasing Sound Forge Pro
Mac last year, a completely
new version for the Mac that
was built from the ground up. This being
the case, it was perhaps not surprising
that it lacked a couple of features one
might have expected to see, but version
2 seeks to remedy that. Sound Forge
Pro Mac 2 shares the very Mac-like
interface that we liked in the first
version and will run on any Intel Mac
with OSX 10.7 or later. Its highly
configurable, having resizable sections
and the ability to show/hide various
panes complete with presets and
shortcuts to rearrange open waveform
views. Multiple documents can be
opened via a tab system and you can
record directly in, too, in high quality.
The way Sound Forge presents its tools
is still really nice, with channel meters
and an info area as well as a
configurable media browser all at your
fingertips. Also still in evidence is the
excellent plug-in chooser and Chain
system, which makes sorting, locating
and loading plug-ins a breeze.
In with the new

Lets move on to whats new in v2. First
up is interoperability with
SpectraLayers 2, Sonys advanced
spectral-editing software thats also
available as a bundle with Sound Forge.
You can now send selections of sound
between the two programs seamlessly
and thus perform forensic edits without
having to export/import stuff
repeatedly. If you work extensively in

audio repair, this will be a great
time-saver. There have also been
improvements to Event mode, so that
more things can be locked to events for
more flexible editing. CALM-targeted
metering lets you master your audio
while staying within the specified limits
of broadcasters (an increasingly
important feature of wave editors and
mastering software) and FLAC file
support has been added for those who
use this lossless format.
Plug-in power
Sound Forge 2 can see AU and VST
effects plug-ins on your system and
also comes with a few of its own. You
get some of Sonys processing tools as
well as iZotopes six-strong Mastering
Effects Bundle and the Restore and
Repair Tools comprising three iZotope
models. You also get Nectar Elements, a
vocal-processing suite, which will be
great for anyone working with voices.
The iZotope additions are well worth
having and Nectar Elements is a really
solid tool for working with vocals.
The selection of processing
functions has been expanded too and
you get an audio trim/crop tool and a
volume plug-in as well as lastique
timestretch and others. The editing
toolbar can now be customised, so you
can group your favourite tools together.
One of the big omissions from the
first version especially for an
application that had pro in its name
was a batch processor. This has been
remedied with the addition of Convrt, a

separate application into which you can
drop as many files as you like and make
settings for how they are processed.
You can create a plug-in chain in the
same way you do in Sound Forge and
also add multiple metadata fields and
artwork before specifying one or more
output formats complete with quality
settings. Its all nicely put together and
simple to use, making short work of
batch-converting audio files.
Forging ahead?
Sound Forge Pro Mac 2 addresses
many of the workflow issues and
omissions from version 1, to the extent
that you could make the argument that
this is what version 1 should have been.
The realities of software development
and deadlines, however, mean that
companies cant always include
everything they would like to in a new
software release. Version 2 undoubtedly
represents better value and a more
attractive proposition to professionals
than the first version, even if it still lags
some way behind its Windows sibling in
terms of sheer functionality.
That said, there are important steps
forward here, and the fact that it has
been built as an entirely Mac-centric
application pays dividends. The price is
still a little high, but the selection of
excellent iZotope plug-ins along with
the inclusion of Nectar Elements helps
to mitigate this somewhat. MTF
MTF Verdict
+ Flexible workflow
+ Batch converter is powerful
+ iZotope plug-ins add value
+ In-depth editing tools
+ Multitrack recording
+ Interoperability with
SpectraLayers 2
- Metering is good but could be
more comprehensive
- Still lacks support for native
video playback
- Third-party plug-in support is
64-bit-only
A great package that does a variety
of studio production jobs without
any fuss and nonsense.
8/10
| 119
MTF Reviews FabFilter Pro-MB
Alternatives
There are a few potential
options if youre after
a dynamic EQ plug-in.
MeldaProduction MAutoDynamicEQ (99)
is arguably more powerful and features a
sonogram overlay as well as a spectrogram, but
isnt as easy to read and doesnt have the same
degree of visual feedback. Waves C6 ($250) has
a fairly similar feature set but a much less fluid
workflow (and no spectrum overlay). Finally,
ToneBoosters TB Fix (15) offers fully featured
dynamic equalisation for a budget price.
FABFILTER
Pro-MB
Excellence
For PC
& Mac
10/10
FabFilter steps up to the plate with a new dynamics plug-in but

has it bitten off more than it can chew? Alex Holmes finds out.
Details
Price 139
Contact via website
Web
www.fabfilter.com
Minimum system
requirements
Windows 7, VST 2/3
host or Pro Tools
Mac OSX 10.5, AU/VST
2/3 host or Pro Tools
s anyone who regularly reads

this magazine will know, were
big fans of FabFilter plug-ins,
thanks to the slick GUIs and
incredibly smooth and well thought-out
workflow. The company has already
covered EQ, compression, limiting,
gating and de-essing in its Pro range, so
it seems a logical progression for the
next release to combine many of these
elements in a multiband dynamics
processor. However, working with
multiple bands can prove confusing,
and the sheer amount of power it
provides can have disastrous results if
you dont know what youre doing...
A band apart
Key Features
Multiband
processor with 6
flexible bands
Downward
or upward
compression/
expansion
Crisp GUI with
spectrum
analyser and
visual feedback
Dynamic Phase
mode reduces
phase artefacts
4x oversampling,
sidechain and
M/S per band
VST, VST3, AU,
AAX, RTAS &
AudioSuite
formats
Pro-MB is available in VST, AU and

various Pro Tools formats and features
up to six bands of compression or
expansion. The first thing you notice is
that the bands can be placed anywhere
in the spectrum, allowing you to focus
on specific frequency spots and
essentially making Pro-MB more of a
dynamic EQ plug-in. Like FabFilters
Saturn, you simply hover over where you
want to add a band and then click. If
two bands are near to each other they
will snap together to form a more
traditional crossover system, but they
can be easily broken apart again by
clicking on the unzip icon. You can also
control the steepness of each crossover
slope and boost or attenuate the band,
much like a traditional EQ.
FOCUS
Things get more interesting, though,

when you turn to the dynamics controls.
Here youre presented with threshold,
range, attack, release, output gain, ratio,
knee and lookahead, plus an Expert
panel that accesses controls for M/S
and sidechain input. Everything links
directly to the exquisite main GUI, so its
easy to see what effect your tweaks are
having. Notably, the input level for each
band shows up as a volume meter
around the threshold knob, which
makes setting the right threshold a
breeze, and the amount of gainreduction is subsequently shown
across the middle of the spectrum
analyser as a crisp yellow line.
Other key features include a global
dry/wet mix dial for parallel processing,
up to 4x oversampling, band solo/mute
and bypass options, and M/S volume so
you can expand or narrow the width of
any band. Luckily, context-sensitive
help hints appear when you roll over an
item, helping you to understand all the
various controls.
Just a phase
The key word for Pro-MB is flexibility,
with a large collection of presets
showcasing what the plug-in is capable
of. Whether you want to use the
expander to add some 2kHz transient
energy to the middle channel of a drum
buss or carve out space by feeding a
vocal into the sidechain input on a
full-sounding guitar part, it can all be
done with speed and precision. The

sidechain section also has a Free mode,
where you are presented with a
frequency slider and can choose a
different part of the spectrum to trigger
the compression or expansion.
However, one of the most impressive
features of the plug-in is the Dynamic
Phase processing mode. Given how
much damage can potentially be done
due to phase shifts in Minimum mode
and transient smearing in Linear mode,
FabFilter has developed an algorithm
that employs dynamic filtering instead
of splitting the bands. The result is a
more transparent sound that achieves
the same frequency response but
avoids latency and smearing, and
introduces phase changes only when
the volume of the bands is changed.
Tool for the job?

Some may consider 139 to be steep for
a single multiband compressor plug-in,
but when you consider that youre also
getting a flexible EQ, transient shaper
and M/S stereo width controller, its a
good-value package. Features aside, its
the fluidity, ease of use and exceptional
sound quality that make Pro-MB such a
great asset. The excellent visual
feedback combined with the Dynamic
Phase mode mean you can make
accurate adjustments that sound
natural and transparent, whether youre
working on a single instrument channel
or mastering an entire track. MTF
MTF Verdict
+ Beautiful GUI
+ Highly flexible bands/crossovers
+ Transparent sound
+ Several tools in one
- Band frequency width not small
enough for scientific sculpting
FabFilter has combined the ideas
and experience gleaned from the
last few years of developing
plug-ins and created another
classic. An incredibly powerful and
easy-to-use tool that well be using
on every track from now on.
10/10
Lindell Audio 18XS MkII Reviews MTF
Alternatives
The Aphex Channel
(1,032) is a solid-state mic pre with EQ that
incorporates the companys renowned Aural
Exciter alongside a compressor and noise gate.
Lindells 6X-500 mic pre (229) is a Lunchboxformat unit with transformer-balanced inputs
and outputs. It features a degree of Pultec-style
compression, too.
LINDELL AUDIO
18XS MkII Microphone

Preamplifier/Equalizer
Hot on the heels of the 17XS MkII compressor comes Lindells new
take on the mic pre/EQ combo. John Pickford checks it out.
Choice
9/10
9
9/
10
Value
$
Details
Price 779
Contact Nova
Distribution
020 3589 2530
Web www.novadistribution.co.uk
Key Features
Mic/line/DI
inputs
65dB
microphone gain
Pultec-styled EQ
Unique parallel
EQ mix
Quality Alps,
Alpha and Wima
components
indells excellent 17XS MkII

compressor came out a few
months ago, and is a
supercharged rethink of the
legendary Urei 1176 design. Here we
have Lindells latest top-of-the-range
single-channel mic pre/EQ. The 18XS
MkII is a discrete, transformer-coupled
Class-A mic preamplifier that also
accepts line-level sources as well as
featuring a high-impedance DI input.
And just as the 17XS pays homage to an
audio design classic, this unit features
an EQ section based on what must be
the most revered equalizer of them all:
the Pultec EQP-1A. That design is now
over 60 years old and was originally
valve-driven; however, while this model
faithfully replicates the Pultecs EQ
curves, it employs solid-state
technology. As designer Tobias Lindell
told us: The microphone preamplifier
uses a transformer on the input and a
hybrid op-amp to amplify the signal.
Theres a transformer on the output as
well. The 18XS features a passive Pultec
EQ but with a hybrid op-amp gain-stage
instead of tubes.
On the front panel are two highquality Alps rotary pot controls for input
and output on the mic preamp. Indeed,
Tobias informed us that specially
selected components have been used
throughout, including hand-wound
exclusive transformers, Wima caps and
Alpha switches, housed in a one-of-akind 10mm aluminium chassis. Along
with the aforementioned pots, the
preamp section features a row of
coloured, illuminated push-buttons to
engage mic/line inputs, invert polarity
(phase), 48v phantom power, mute and
EQ in; the DI jack input is also located on

this section of the unit. The equalizer
boasts similar user controls to those
normally found on Pultec-style EQs but
with several additional features. This
means that the low end offers
step-switched EQ points at 20Hz, 30Hz,
60Hz and 100Hz as per the original
design, while adding a fifth option at
200Hz. As with all equalizers based on
the EQP-1A, these low-end shelves can
be simultaneously boosted and
attenuated to create some useful
curves. Experimentation is key here, but
try a 30Hz boost and cut on a kick drum
to add a bit of low-end heft and reduce
boxiness. The high-end boost offers
15dB of peaking EQ, with frequencies
centred on 4kHz, 6kHz, 8kHz, 10kHz
and 16kHz; a Bandwidth control
determines the width of the EQ curve.
High-frequency attenuation
incorporates the original Pultec options
of 5kHz, 10kHz and 20kHz while adding
8kHz and 15kHz for good measure.
The most interesting feature of the
EQ section is the wet/dry Mix control,
which allows the EQed signal to be
blended with the unprocessed sound.
This feature can be found on Lindells
17XS compressor to perform parallel
compression effects, but a parallel EQ
function is totally unique to this model
and, in practice, can produce some
really interesting tones.
Sounds right
Plugging in a variety of microphones, we
noted immediately the units
impressively low noise floor, even when
cranking up the input gain with our
insensitive Coles 4038 ribbon mics.
Tonally, the preamp slightly emphasised

upper-mid/low-treble frequencies
while remaining full-bodied and
extended at both frequency extremes. A
high-pass filter would have been nice,
but with a powerful onboard equalizer
this didnt seem too problematic. The
equalizer itself is superb, sounding
exactly as a Pultec-styled device
should. Although its solid-state
throughout, it displayed a very
convincing valve-like sound that was
quite beguiling. Even when boosting
and cutting dramatically, audio
remained focused and musical. The
wet/dry Mix function seemed like a bit
of a novelty at first but we were soon
charmed by its tone-shaping abilities,
which added an extra dimension to the
classic sound.
Build-wise, the unit is top-class,
looking very smart with its black
brushed-aluminium case and
retro-style VU meter. And, like its 17XS
stablemate, it comes with a pair of white
gloves to avoid sticky fingerprints!
Lindells 18XS MkII offers a lot of
audio bang-for-buck for anyone in the
market for a standalone mic/line
preamp with EQ. The DI input is very
handy for tracking keyboards, bass and
guitars, while the mic preamp, with
65dB of gain available, will do justice to
all types of microphone, from
inexpensive dynamics to esoteric
condensers and ribbons. Best of all,
though, is the lovely EQ, which, even
without the mic pre, would be worth the
price of admission. MTF
MTF Verdict
+ Flattering preamp
+ Classic EQ curves
+ Unique parallel equalization
+ Nicely laid-out and built
- Slightly forward mic sound
- Lacks high-pass filter
The 18XS MkII is a great-sounding
mic/line amplifier with an excellent
EQ section. The parallel EQ mix
function is unique while offering the
authentic sound of an all-time
classic analogue equalizer. A very
good product for the price.
9/10
| 121
MTF Reviews Vertigo Sound VSP-2
VERTIGO SOUND
VSP-2 Mic Preamp 1976

Vertigo Sound unveils another product in its growing range of
high-end studio gear. John Pickford puts it through its paces.
Details
Price 2,250
Contact KMR Audio
020 8445 2446
Web www.
vertigosound.com
ay back in the dim and

distant past over three
years ago, actually the
very first unit your
correspondent reviewed for this
magazine was Vertigos excellent VSC-2
compressor. We instantly fell in love with
its superb sound, so when we heard
that the company was launching a
discrete dual-channel mic preamp, we
couldnt wait to get our hands on one.
The VSP-2 is a very elegant design
without unnecessary bells and
whistles, so theres no EQ enhancement
and only very basic signal-level
metering. What you do get, though, is
very high-quality components, some of
which are in-house designs, and all of
the features essential to serious
microphone preamplification.
Each channel features two knobs to
control gain, the first of which is a
ten-position Grayhill rotary switch that
increases gain in 6dB steps from +12dB
to +72dB. The second, smaller, pot is an
Alps design, which provides 0 to +6dB of
fine-gain trim in 41 increments this is
gain-setting precision at its finest. Both
knobs are very pleasant to use and the
indentations make accurate recall of
settings easy. Toggle-switches are
provided for a low-cut input filter that
Key Features
100% discrete
twin op-amp
circuit
Jensen JT-16 mic
transformers
Grayhill and Alps
switches/pots
Signal/clip LED
Instrument DI
input
operates at either 80Hz or 120Hz, 48v

phantom power, phase-invert and a
20dB pad. Purists will be pleased to
hear that the pad is switched out of the
input stage when disengaged and,
unlike in many cheaper designs, it
doesnt affect the input impedance
when in use. A DI input is provided on
the front and features its own toggleswitch; output is muted when switching
to prevent unwanted pops and bangs
Choice
9/10
9
9/
10
Racing Green finish. A peek under the

hood revealed a very neat layout and
top-quality components, further
reinforcing our opinion that this is a very
serious piece of kit.
To begin our tests, we set up two very
different-sounding condenser mics a
Neumann U67 and an AKG C414 B-ULS
and recorded some speech, always a
good test of a units character. It was
immediately clear that the VSP-2 has a
very even response right across the
audio spectrum, with no nasty peaks or
suck-outs, allowing the character of
each mic to be heard to full advantage.
The VSP-2 has all of the

features essential to serious
microphone preamplification
coming through your monitors. A single
LED provides basic signal metering,
glowing green when a reasonable
signal level is reached and turning red
when the unit is close to clipping. The
power switch is sensibly located on the
front while the rear panel features XLR
inputs/outputs for each channel.
First impressions
On removing the VSP-2 from its
packaging, we were impressed with the
units solid build and handsome British
The valve U67 sounded big and

fulsome, with a rich and slightly dark
midrange, while the C414 sounded very
crisp and extended in the treble, with a
nice, woody midrange. Comparing the
unit against our reference Thermionic
Culture Earlybird mic pre and the amps
in our DDA desk, we could detect more
body than our desk could muster, while
a side-by-side comparison with our
reference valve mic pre revealed the
distinct sonic differences between valve
and solid-state amplification.
Although the Vertigo has a
very clean and glossysounding top end, it couldnt
quite match our valve units
silky-smooth upper registers.
The VSP-2s broad mid-band
The rear panel features only XLR
ins/outs and mains in, everything
else is located at the front.
FOCUS
VSP-2 and Syntorial Reviews MTF
Alternatives
At the heart of the VSP-2 is Vertigo

Sounds own 1976 op-amp, a fully
discrete operational amplifier.
response reveals an almost

holographic hear-through quality that
captures fine detail superbly, if not as
sweetly as our reference. Where the
VSP-2 couldnt be out-shone was in the
lower registers, where the units grip
and authority allowed the full weight of
bass instruments to be both heard and
Thermionic Cultures Earlybird 2.2 (2,750) is

a Class-A valve, two-channel mic pre with an
active EQ section that sounds absolutely wonderful. For those who
require only one channel of mic preamplification, Lindells 18XS MKII
(649) is a single-channel, transformer-coupled mic pre that features a
Pultec-style passive equalizer and punches well above its weight.
without adding any

unpleasant artefacts but thats
not to say that it lacks character, it just
doesnt stamp its signature over
everything you put through it. Rather, it
seems to complement the nature of
An almost holographic hearthrough quality that captures

fine detail superbly
felt a kick drum miced with a
Neumann FET 47 had considerably
more low-end heft through the VSP-2.
Throughout our auditions, the unit
impressed us with its expansive, warm
nature a testament to Vertigos use of
the much-revered Jensen JT-16 mic
transformers along with its own 1976
discrete op-amps. The VSP-2 offers an
impressively open window to your mics
signals passing through it, whether the

source is a high-end condenser, a cheap
dynamic or a DIed instrument.
Midrange and HF responses are
excellent, while the VSP-2s handling of
the lowest registers is second-to-none.
If you want to treat your microphone
collection to serious high-end
amplification, the VSP-2 should be high
on your audition list. MTF
MTF Verdict
+ Expansive, full-range sound
+ Top-quality components
+ Superior build and finish
+ Comprehensive fine-gain control
+ Easy to use
- Limited metering
Vertigo Sounds VSP-2 offers a very
high quality of microphone
preamplification that is even
across the entire audio frequency
range. The midrange is clear and
clean, while both frequency
extremes are beautifully extended.
Bass instruments are particularly
well served, with the lowest
frequencies reproduced with plenty
of low-end welly and grunt.
Gain-setting is comprehensive,
with indented controls for precise
setup and recall, and only a lack of
detailed metering might put off
some potential buyers.
Syntorial
Manufacturer Audible Genius
Price $129.99
Contact via website
Web www.syntorial.com
here are countless books and

videos on the topic of synthesis
that aim to explain the theory
and give you tips for
programming your own sounds.
However, it takes a certain amount of
discipline to pause at a given point and
then load up a synth to explore what
youve just learned. Audible Genius is a
new company from New York that aims
to offer a completely new take on synth
training with its first release, Syntorial.
Unlike traditional video tutorials,
Syntorial runs as a standalone program
with interactive lessons and challenges
and its own built-in subtractive synth,
called Primer. You also get a copy of the
synth as a VST and AU so you can use it
in your DAW.
Syntorial works through each
section of the synth, starting with the
basics of the oscillators and filters and
Excellence
10/10
Innovation
Key Features
Interactive synth
programming
tutorial
Comes with
built-in synth,
plus VST and AU
version
129
programming
challenges
147 videos and
39 quizzes
showing
you only the parts you
need for the lessons in question. Youre
presented with a video explaining each
section and then given a series of
challenges where you hear an example
sound and then have to re-create it
using just your ears and the controls. To
make things easier, parameters are
notched, so you might have to choose
from, say, five different envelope attack
times. Once youve made your settings
you submit the sound and Syntorial
gives you a score based on how close
you are to the original. The early lessons
may prove easy for anyone familiar with
their synths, but, rest assured, once
9/10
more parameters such as unison,

effects, distortion, ring modulation and
LFOs are added to the pot, things
become much more challenging, with a
total of 64 synth parameters to tweak
by the end. There are 129 challenges in
total, interspersed with videos,
ear-training quizzes and tasks that
require you to use what youve learnt on
a different soft-synth of your choice.
We found Syntorial to be well
presented and fun to use, and unlike
other tutorials weve seen, the training
is on getting your ears to re-create
sounds and determine the intricate
differences in the settings. On the
surface it may seem a little expensive,
but its a large package that youll get
hours of training from. There are also
plans for expansions that will look at
advanced patches, different forms of
synthesis and other effects. MTF
MTF Verdict
The best training in synth sounddesign weve come across. A unique
and fun way to train your ears in
re-creating synth sounds. We look
forward to future updates.
10/10
| 123
MTF Reviews Sontronics Aria
lift. The Aria is fixed cardioid but the rear

diaphragm means that pattern
switching could have been an option.
Design philosophy
Sontronics has adopted a distinct
philosophy when it comes to
microphone design. Trevor Coley from
Sontronics says that they seek to create
application specific mics to help the
end user. This is an acknowledgement
that many of the great sounds people
associate with classic condenser
microphones were only realised after a
fair amount of processing.
Many of todays recordists havent
had professional training, and may not
have access to the signal processors
required to finesse raw microphone
sounds. So Coleys approach is to create
mics that sound right for specific
Choice
9/10
9
9/
10
SONTRONICS
Aria
Designed for vocals, Sontronics Aria

looks classy and has an impressive
range of accessories, sings Huw Price
Details
Price 899
Contact
01202 236862
www.sontronics.com
Key Features
Response: 20Hz
to 20KHz
Sensitivity: 18mV/
Pa -33dB 1.5dB
(0dB=1V/Pa
1000Hz)
Polar Pattern:
Cardioid
Pad: -10dB
Filter: 75Hz
Impedance: <200
Ohms
Equivalent Noise
Level: 18dB
(A-weighted)
Max SPL for 0.5%
THD@1000Hz:
125dB
Power Supply:
SPS-2 115/230V
Connector: 8 pin
screw on
y Sontronics standards, the

new Aria is borderline
conservative in appearance,
but we think its all the better
for it. The cylindrical body has a chubby
5cm diameter and a very attractive
silver-metallic finish with a greenish
tinge. The company logo is cut into the
metalwork and highlighted in black,
with a contrasting silver ring separating
the body from the screw on base.
The head grille looks like a hybrid of
the classic AKG C12 and a tapered
Neumann design. The outer mesh is
nice and chunky with at least one fine
extra layer on the inside. Its also nickel
plated, which gives the Aria a very classy
appearance and nothing obstructs the
capsule itself.
Although the capsule is well
protected, its still possible to see that it
has AKG-style edge termination rather
than a Neumann-style centre tap. So
wed expect an extended high frequency
response with some degree of presence
FOCUS
Alternatives
The Avantone CV12 (400) is a nine
pattern valve microphone with -10 dB
pad and 80Hz LF roll off switches and a
Russian made 6072A tube. The Peluso
P12 (999) is inspired by the AKG C12
but it has nine polar patterns.
Assembled in the USA, the output
transformer is a custom unit made by
Tom Reichenbach of CineMag Transformers.
low mid boost only becomes obvious

when placed within a hand span of the
talent. We also noticed that the cardioid
pattern is fairly wide, so the off-axis
response is forgiving for singers who
struggle to stay on mic and its possible
to achieve dry, up-front vocal sounds
without filter-type screens.
The Aria isnt a cheap microphone so
it may be seen as an extravagance if its
only suitable for vocals. Fortunately its
Shipping with a lovely box and

superb flight case its Sontronics
classiest offering yet
applications in this case, vocals.
The design process took over three
years because Sontronics wanted to
avoid simply rehashing a classic mic.
Extended tests were carried out with
top engineers like Paul Epworth and
several in-house guys at Abbey Road.
Sontronics selected a JJ-branded
valve made by Tesla in the Slovak
Republic. The often-overlooked power
supply is a complete revision from past
designs with extra mains filtering to
reject external interference.
Interestingly, some of the technology
used is taken from power supply
designs used for hospital equipment.
a very capable all rounder too, with the

silky and shimmering highs providing
impressive detail resolution for delicate
acoustic guitar picking, percussion and
even clean electric guitar.
Shipping in a lovely engraved
wooden box with a generous length of
quality interconnect cable and superb
flight case, wed say that this is
Sontronics classiest offering yet. The
excellent military-grade screw on
connectors are also a massive step up
from the flimsy multi-pin Cannon
connectors that come with so many
modern valve microphones. MTF
On the vox
MTF Verdict
We jumped straight into some vocal

tests and we were not disappointed.
The Aria has a breathy presence,
flattering yet well-controlled mids,
ample cut and definition and no
low-end boominess. We encountered
no sibilance issues whatsoever.
We sensed theres a degree of very
low frequency roll off way below the
vocal frequency range thats intended
to eliminate rumble and undesirable low
frequency content. This may
disadvantage the Aria as a bass or kick
drum mic, but its the frequency range
that many pro engineers habitually filter
off when recording other instruments.
The Aria particularly excelled when
we used it up close. Proximity induced
+ Excellent detail resolution

+ Bright but smooth sound
+ Subtly flattering mids
+ One-stop solution for vocals
+ Fine build quality
+ HPF and pad switching
+ Stand clip included
+ Fine accessories
+ Low noise
+ Lifetime warranty
- Cardioid only
- Bulky suspension mount
A superb-sounding valve condenser
with a airy, detailed tone, high build
quality and great looks. Fixed
cardioid pickup is the only
compromise.
9/10
UA Fairchild Tube Limiter Plug-in Collection Reviews MTF
Key Features
Includes the
mono 660 and
stereo 670
Models entire
electronic path
Lat/Vert mode
All-new digital
only features
Excellence
10/10
For PC
& Mac
UNIVERSAL AUDIO
Fairchild Tube Limiter

Plug-in Collection
With the release of a remodelled Fairchild, Universal Audio
completes the updates to its triple crown of vintage
compressors. Mark Cousins gets stuck in.
hether or not the current

value of a Fairchild 670
(somewhere around the
30,000 mark at the time
of writing) is testament to its audio
quality or its apparent scarcity is hard
to determine. Certainly, the few
engineers out there who have been
lucky to use an original Fairchild 670
will wax lyrical about its unique sound
and how its 20 valves impart a highly
musical form of gain control. However,
for those of us who cant afford such an
extravagant outlay, theres always been
the option of using Universal Audios
excellent Fairchild 670 plug-in, which
has been a mainstay of the UAD
platform since 2004.
Child of our time

Having seen updates to the Urei 1176
and LA-2A plug-ins, it seemed only a
matter of time before Universal Audio
turned its attention to its venerable
Fairchild compressor. The new
Fairchild Tube Limiter Plug-in
Collection actually comes as two
plug-ins: the refreshed Fairchild 670
and the new mono Fairchild 660,
available for both mono and stereo
operation. As well as demonstrating a
completely revised approach to
modelling, the new Fairchild plug-ins
include additional controls, taking
Details
Price $299
Contact Source
Distribution
020 8962 5080
Web www.uaudio.com
Minimum system
requirements
PC Windows 7
Mac OSX 10.7
Alternatives
Despite not being
an explicit copy
of a Fairchild
compressor, Slate
Digitals Virtual
Buss Compressors
($249) does impress
us. Technically
speaking, the
package includes
three different
designs of buss
compressor, one
of which is the
Fairchild-like
FG-MU. Of course,
the advantage with
VBC is that it runs
natively, without
needing a UAD card.
them well above and beyond the scope

of both the original hardware and
software versions.
As youd expect from a variable-mu
compressor, the controls on the
Fairchild 670 arent entirely
conventional. The most notable
omission is the lack of the traditional
ratio control youd expect to find on a
VCA or FET compressor. Instead, the
Fairchild uses a form of ultra-wide
knee, so that the ratio effectively
becomes harder the more you work the
compressor. The two main controls,
therefore, are input gain and threshold,
both of which can be used to coax a
variety of tones from the Fairchild
thanks to the distinctive movement of
the compressor and the colouration of
the amplifier circuitry.
As well as lacking a ratio control,
youll also find attack and release
omitted in favour of a unique Time
Constant control. In effect, the Time
Constant offers six preset attack and
release settings (although, of course,
the units operation is far more complex
than this might suggest), moving
between a relatively fast limiting setting
and something considerably smoother.
Ultimately, the Fairchild isnt a tool that
you pick for its sonic dexterity, but
instead a compressor that oozes sonic
charm and character.
Having produced such a faithful

version of the Fairchild 670 in 2004, its
inevitable to compare the differences
between the current version and the
original legacy edition. One
immediately noticeable difference is
the gain staging, which is arguably an
attempt to better preserve the intended
signal levels of the original Fairchild. As
a result, theres a need to push the input
gain harder on the new Fairchild 670 to
achieve the equivalent amount of
gain-reduction on the legacy Fairchild
670, but this arguably produces an
output thats closer to the original.
As with the 1176 and LA-2A
revisions, theres a defined
improvement in the modelling, with the
new Fairchild sounding silkier but with
the rich sonic colour youd expect from a
Fairchild. In that respect its worth
noting the addition of the Fairchild 660,
which delivers its own distinct style and
colour of compression thats slightly
less refined than the 670. The added
controls including a sidechain filter
and a mix control significantly add to
what can be achieved with these
intriguing compressors, not forgetting
the Lat/Vert mode, which is also carried
through from the original.
Future classic?
The Fairchild Tube Limiter Plug-in
Collection is a timely update on a true
classic of both the hardware and
software worlds. As with the original
hardware, the Fairchild is a somewhat
idiosyncratic musical device thats able
to confuse and delight in equal
measure, but its also a creative tool
that reveals hidden, often unexpected,
powers the more you explore it.
Although there are plenty of
passable emulations available,
Universal Audios skills at analogue
modelling are ably demonstrated here,
delivering a near-perfect software
replica for a fraction of the cost of the
original hardware. MTF
MTF Verdict
+ Exemplary modelling
+ Added sidechain, mix controls
+ Lots of colour
- Esoteric operation
- Not a super-fast compressor
Easily the best Fairchild emulation
weve heard to date an intriguing
and delightful compressor that
delivers bags of character and
sonic colour.
10/10
| 125
MTF Reviews Focusrite Red 1 500
the same wide bandwidth as the

original (Focusrite boasts near-linear
response from 10Hz140kHz), but also
the same large headroom for coping
with loud transients.
Tracking guitars
We dropped the Red 1 500 into our
Lunchbox alongside our CAPI VP28 and
Avedis MA5 and took it along to a guitar
tracking session. Using a Shure SM57
on subtly overdriven picked electric
guitar, the Red 1 captured a strong,
bright tone, with more upper harmonics
than either the VP28 or MA5. The VP28
stood forward a little more, with plenty
of strong mid frequencies, while the
MA5 had a darker tone that was
actually our favourite of the bunch on
this particular sound.
Alternatives
The Red 1 500 is a stunning
preamp with a beautiful top end
and a classic, clean, British sound.
The Neve 1073LB has a similar
British quality but would give you a little more
gain while also providing an output trim that
lets you drive the preamp into overdrive and
then back off so as not to clip your AD
converters. However, compared to our Neve
1081 which was the closest we had to a
1073LB we found the Red 1 to have the edge
in both the low and top ends.
smooth enough for most other genres

and we were quick to drop it from the
shoot-out, but the Red 1 and 1081 both
had characteristics that we loved for
our vocal track. The Red 1 had slightly
more low end than the 1081 as well as a
gorgeously open top end. The Neve, by
comparison, was a little smoother, with
The extended high end really

helped to bring out the natural
sound of acoustic guitar
FOCUSRITE
Red 1 500
Focusrite has relaunched the Red 1

preamp as a 500-Series module.
Mike Hillier packs his Lunchbox...
Details
Price 799
Contact
Focusrite
01494 462246
Web
www.focusrite.com
Key Features
Original Red 1
circuit
Lundahl
LL1538 input
transformer
Custom
Carnhill output
transformer
Grayhill gain
switch
he Focusrite Red range took its

circuitry straight from the
Focusrite Studio Consoles of
the early 1990s and was a huge
hit among tracking engineers at the
time. The Red 1 500 is essentially a
single channel from the original
four-channel Red 1 2U outboard mic
preamp. Like the original, the Red 1 500
has a fairly minimal feature set,
providing a single knob for between
-6dB (removing the need for a separate
pad switch) and +60dB gain.
The gain knob is switched in 6dB
steps for accurate channel matching
and recall. Below the gain knob is a red
48v phantom power switch and a yellow
polarity-invert switch. The only
remaining feature on the Red 1 500 is
the porthole-style VU meter, providing
quick visual feedback of signal levels.
Inside the Red 1 500 are the same
Lundahl LL1538 input and custom
Carnhill output transformers as the
original Red 1 units, ensuring not only
FOCUS
Switching to heavy, distorted guitars,

the Red 1 demonstrated plenty of bass
and a biting top end that really brought
the guitar tone forward quite different
from the mid-present VP28 sound,
which while still heavy in the low end
had a more aggressive midrange and a
slightly less present top end that
pushed the guitars a little further back.
The MA5 was the softest-sounding of
the three, with a similarly distant sound
to the VP28 but with more focus on the
low end than the midrange.
On acoustic guitar, the extended high
end of the Red 1 really helped to bring
out the natural sound of the instrument.
The recording had tremendous clarity, a
strong low end and more detail than any
of the other preamp choices. For
complex picked acoustic guitar patterns
the Red 1 500 would easily have been
our favourite choice from these
preamps, while for more brash,
strummed acoustic guitar, the big, bold
bass coming from the Red 1 500 would
still put it into competition with the
other two. However, in busier mixes the
VP28 probably has the edge thanks to
its more forward midrange and the
useful high-pass filter options.
On song
At a vocal tracking session we shot-out
the Red 1 500 against a Neve 1081 and
again against our VP28. The VP28 has a
very rock-friendly sound but isnt
less of an extended, open top end. The

Red 1 also seemed a little clearer, and
in the end was our preamp of choice for
this vocal session.
Because of the switched gain control,
we would be interested in getting a pair
of Red 1s for stereo recording. And
because there is also a fixed unity gain
point, we could see ourselves using a
pair as an outboard saturation effect,
simply feeding signals even the
master buss out through the preamps
and back in for a little colouration
(although dont expect to get much
saturation out of the Red 1 as its a very
clean circuit). The only real problem we
can foresee coming up against is the
fairly low amount of gain available when
paired with older ribbon mics. However,
this problem can be easily remedied by
using an inline preamp such as the
Cloudlifter CL1 before the Red 1 to get
an extra 25dB of gain. MTF
MTF Verdict
+ Classic British sound
+ Switched gain makes for easy
recall and stereo matching
- No high-pass filter
- Only 60dB of gain
The Red 1 500 is a classic preamp
with a great sound one we would
love to add to our collection.
8/10
Tracktion 5 Reviews MTF
Alternatives
There is competition at around
this price point from the entrylevel versions of some of the
major DAWs. Cubase Elements
7, for example, costs 82, and
although it doesnt have unlimited tracks, it
does share much of the technology of its bigger
brother, like MixConsole, the Chord Track and 44
audio effects including pitch control.
plug-in first, which is useful for

programming beats. The Piano Roll
Editor also gets per note automation
that lets you paint automation of many
different MIDI parameters directly onto
individual notes. MIDI Learn is nicely
implemented and theres support for a
range of MIDI control surfaces built-in.
For PC
& Mac
TRACKTION
Selective freeze
Tracktion 5
If youre looking for a genuinely alternative DAW, the latest version

of Tracktion may be just the thing. Hollin Jones feels its pull...
Details
Price $60.
Upgrade $30
Contact via website
Web
www.tracktion.com
Minimum system
requirements
PC Windows XP
Mac OSX 10.7.5
he DAW world is quite crowded

and arguably dominated by a
few major players, but the rise
of the web in the last decade
has enabled more smaller developers to
create and distribute their own
alternative music-production apps.
They are often free from the restrictions
that can go with being a big-name
developer, and so are able to experiment
a little more. Tracktion has actually been
around for over a decade, but for much
of its life was closely associated with
Mackie, the company that distributed it.
Now controlled by its creator once
again, development on this innovative
DAW has resumed apace.
Making tracks
Key Features
Unlimited tracks
Tri-platform
Edit Clip mode
Modeless
operation
Tabbed projects
and edits
VST and AU
plug-in support
Resource
Manager
Freeze Point
Technology
If youre not familiar with Tracktion, a

brief recap. Its a DAW that runs on Mac,
PC and somewhat unusually, Linux. A
modest download, its inexpensive and
can see VST/AU plug-in instruments
and effects as well as coming with
some of its own. Graphically, its fairly
pared-down and business like, but it
doesnt lack features. In practice,
usability is more important than glitz
and Tracktion certainly simplifies things
with its modeless interface, which
forgoes multiple floating windows in
favour of a simpler approach.
Setting up and recording audio and
MIDI is straightforward, though if youre
new to the program its worth spending
time figuring out its particular ways of
doing things. Theres much use made of

drag-and-drop as a means of working
and on the whole this feels natural.
Theres an interesting system for mixing,
too, called an in-line mixer. The area to
the right of each track is its control
section, with plug-ins, volume/pan and
metering shown as blocks that can be
edited and rearranged. You also get
unlimited audio multitracking, a clever
Rack system for managing effect
chains, and a browser with tag support
for easy location of data.
In with the new

So whats new in Tracktion 5? First up is
the idea of multiple edits, with a new
tab system allowing you to open
different versions of tracks or edits
side-by-side and work on them. Related
to this is the new Edit Clips
functionality, designed to help with
arrangement, among other things. You
can create an Edit Clip for any area of a
song (verses, choruses and so on) and
place it into a new tab as a single audio
clip. By moving these clips you can work
on arrangements while leaving the
original multitrack session intact. And if
you make a change to that multitrack it
is updated in the Edit Clip version. Its a
nifty idea that works well.
MIDI is well supported and you now
get the new in-line step-sequencing
feature that lets you integrate stepsequenced material directly into a clip
without having to open the target
Also new is Freeze Point Technology, an

interesting system whereby you can
select any point in your mixer chain and
freeze the track there but leave other
processes unfrozen for better flexibility.
So you might, for example, freeze a
complex reverb and a heavy compressor,
but leave a delay and EQ as well as pan
and volume levels unfrozen. This is
really useful stuff, since some bigger
DAWs provide much less flexibility in
this regard. Tracktion 5 also sees a new
Resource Manager another feature
that competitors would do well to pay
attention to. Ostensibly a CPU-usage
window, it shows what every plug-in in a
project is using in terms of CPU and
allows you to freeze them one by one.
And dont let the relatively sparse
interface fool you Tracktion 5 is a
powerful DAW. It may lack the depth of
features of some of the heavyweights,
but its far more affordable. In terms of
actually creating music it provides
everything that many users will need
and is geared towards maximising the
performance of whatever computer it is
running on. With a demo version
available, its well worth checking out if
youre looking for an alternative take on
music production. MTF
MTF Verdict
+ Attractive pricing
+ Uncluttered interface
+ Good workflow
+ Useful new MIDI tools
+ Novel new arrangement features
+ Freeze Point is very handy
- Visually quite stark
- Lacks higher-end features
A genuinely alternative approach to
music production with sufficient
tools for numerous tasks.
8/10
| 127
MTF Back Issues
VOLUME 29:
RECORDING 2013
Make the most of
your recording
sessions and get
perfect takes.
VOLUME 30:
LOGIC PRO 2013
All you need to know

to become a master
with Logic Pro 9.
VOLUME 31:
PRO TOOLS 2013
Pro tips and tricks
revealed in this
definitive guide.
VOLUME 32:
ABLETON LIVE 9
2013
Get more from

Abletons all-round
DAW, whether
Available as both printed

and digital editions
complete your collection!
VOLUME 33:
LOGIC PRO X 2014
All the new features in

the latest version of
Logic explained.
VOLUME 34:
MASTERING 2014
How to give your

music the pro edge.
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host of videos, including chapters that look at
recording kick drums, snare drums, drum
overheads, and drum room mics, plus a video
on how to pan drums and percussion tracks
in your DAW.
RECORDING VOCALS & GUITAR

Getting a great vocal recording requires
many things to be taken into consideration.
Weve got two videos looking at setting proper
recording levels, and microphone technique,
plus recording in guitar tracks.
EQ, COMPRESSION & REVERB

Groove 3 has also provided a host of
tutorials covering various mixing techniques
with topics including graphic equalisers,
panning laws, using compression on both
acoustic and electric instruments, adding
vocal ambience, and dual reverb strategies.
POINT BLANK
London-based music school Point
Blank presents two videos on Logic Pro X that
look at recording and comping male vocals in
the studio, and also at using Pedal Board to
build interesting FX chains for processing
drum tracks.
LOOPMASTERS
Weve got some heavyweight house and
DnB samples from Loopmasters for you, with
loops taken from Shades of House, Leftwing
And Cody Into The Deep, Iconical Vocal Aapellas
3, Metteo Di Marr Big House Drums, Octane
Drum And Bass Core, and Underground City FX.
PRIME LOOPS
The good people at Prime Loops have
provided a mix of quality samples, with a
range of loops, vocals and sounds taken from
Cinematic Moods 2, Indie Dance Bass, Neo
Disco Guitars, Pop Pianos, Stevan Lloyd Vocal
Sessions, and Unusual Percussion Samples.
01
04
FOCUS
02
05
03
06
On Your DVD MTF
MTF Your Disc
For PC & Mac
MTF DVD35 Recording & Mixing 2014
MTF DVD 35
PROMOTIONAL
VIDEOS
COPYRIGHT ANTHEM PUBLISHING 2014

FAULTY DISC?
Check www.musictechmag.co.uk for known issues
Return to: Anthem Publishing (disc returns),
Suite 6, Piccadilly House, London Road,
Bath BA1 6PL, UK
Weve got over 1GB of

videos showcasing the
latest recording and
mixing software and
hardware. Theres top
quality mics and mixers
from Sontronics and
Allen & Heath, high-end
audio interfaces from
Apogee and Universal
Audio, and studio
monitors from PreSonus.
Youll also find pro
outboard gear videos
showing kit, and audio
examples from Elysia,
Golden Age Project,
Overstayer and SSL, plus
the latest killer software
and plug-ins from Fab
Filter, Image Line, Sonnox,
Sonokinetic and
Steinberg.
SOFTWARE DEMOS
From cutting-edge
effects processors to
meticulously modelled
vintage gear, weve
rounded up a range of
demo and freeware
plug-ins for you to try out.
Youll find plenty of EQs,
compressors, limiters,
stereo spread tools, audio
analysers, reverbs, and
saturation plug-ins
courtesy of Fab Filter,
iZotope,
MeldaProduction, NI,
Voxengo, PSP, Blue Cat
Audio, Flux and
Wave Factory.
For PC & Mac
USING OUR
WORKSHOPS
Whether youre working

in Cubase, Pro Tools,
Logic, Ableton Live,
Reason, or FL Studio,
weve got you covered
with a host of recording
and mixing workshops.
Where appropriate youll
find images, project files
and audio so you can
follow along. Copy files to
your computer before
opening a project.
ROYALTY FREE
SAMPLES
MTF DVD 35
One of the best ways to

fine tune your skills is to
listen to highly-polished
audio,crafted by the pros.
We have over 500MB of
royalty-free samples
from Loopmasters, Prime
Loops, Equinox Sound
and MT covering a range
of styles to use in your
tracks. All are 24bit
/44.1kHz Wav format.
COPYRIGHT ANTHEM PUBLISHING 2014

FAULTY DISC?
Check www.musictechmag.co.uk for known issues
Return to: Anthem Publishing (disc returns),
Suite 6, Piccadilly House, London Road,
Bath BA1 6PL, UK
On the disc
YOUR DVD CONTENT FILES
ZIP FILES
To maximise the amount of content we can bring you on
each DVD, the video, tutorial and samples files are
supplied compressed (zipped). Mac users should be
able to decompress ZIP files simply by double-clicking on
them; PC users may need to download a utility such as
WinZip (www.winzip.com).
TUTORIAL FILES
The software tutorials that feature in each issue of MTF
are almost always accompanied by files and audio so you
can work through them on your system. These files are
zipped to reduce the space they occupy on the DVD.
Download them to your hard drive and unzip them to

access the individual files (remembering to eject the DVD
to prevent your computer from slowing down).
WHAT IS ROYALTY-FREE?
Any MTF DVD content marked royalty-free can be used

in your own original compositions (even commercial
ones). You may not, however, resell these samples in any
other form.
DEFECTIVE DISCS
endeavour to supply you with a replacement disc

immediately. Please note that were unable to provide
technical support for the software on the MTF DVD
please check our website at www.musictech.net for any
known problems.
MISSING YOUR DISC?
If your disc is missing, contact us at editorial@anthempublishing.com with your full postal address and the
issue number.
In the unlikely event that your disc is defective, please

return it to: Disc Returns, Anthem Publishing, Suite 6,
Piccadilly House, London, Bath BA1 6PL. We will
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FREE INSIDE

ALL NEW TECHNIQUES FOR YOUR PROJECT STUDIO

RECORD, PLAY, 2014

MusicTech Focus: Recording & Mixing 2014 8.99

The complete, pro guide to music production

Written & compiled by Music Techs recording & mixing experts

LEARN FROM PRO

Assembling and mixing your

Andy Jones Senior Editor

Business Dev Manager Di Marsh

Editorial Director Paul Pettengale

Subscriptions to MusicTech Magazine

Distributed by Marketforce (UK) Ltd

Recording & Mixing 2014

How to set up for the perfect

Your complete start-to-finish guide

How to record in the most

How to get the best mix in the

MTF Issue 35 Full listings

006 | Main Feature The complete

Cheap ribbons and the best

080 | Feature The Ultimate

026 | Set-up in Pro Tools 11

Your guides are here p14 & 102

050 | Perfect takes in Cubase

090 | Mix perfection Logic

121 | Lindell Audio 18XS pre amp

MTF Main Feature The Complete Guide To Recording & Mixing

6 | Recording & Mixing 2014

The Complete Guide To Recording & Mixing Main Feature MTF

Tools of the trade

The technology at your disposal

The chances are you will

FOCUS Recording & Mixing 2014

MTF Main Feature The Complete Guide To Recording & Mixing

Ins and outs

Shures SM57 is an industry

use. Modern laptops of a

Try and consider what your

When thinking about choosing an interface, try and

MTF Step-by-Step Set up and record a track in Cubase

With the interface connected and

8 | Recording & Mixing 2014

Play or sing and adjust the level knob on

With levels set, activate the click track

The Complete Guide To Recording & Mixing Main Feature MTF

MTF Step-by-Step Mixing in Reason

Reasons mixer is approachable but

Use the EQ modules to tweak and fine

probably direct monitoring support. When you

When you are getting close to perfecting

affordable units. Some more advanced models also

MTF Technique MIDI recording

FOCUS Recording & Mixing 2014

MTF Main Feature The Complete Guide To Recording & Mixing

Rodes NT-1 is a great

outputs. Its common to run your instrument at or

snare, hi hats and overheads will all benefit from the

Pick your route

MTF Step-by-Step Routing setup in Logic

Go into Logics preferences and choose

10 | Recording & Mixing 2014