Barry Rudolph: Beginning Mic T echniques



  

 




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Augus t 2000

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B eginning Mic
T echniques
B arry R udolph
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S ugges ted R eading

by Michael Gayford

Microphones , for a recording engineer, have been likened to a painter's brus hes . T he choice and us e of
certain mics for recording vocals and ins truments have the greates t influence over the detail of the s onic
pictures the recording engineer helps the producer and artis t create.
Lead vocal recording is probably the mos t s ubjective and mos t variable area when it comes to microphone
choice and placement. Vocal mics garner the mos t fame and notoriety becaus e they can be part of the
catalytic chemis try in the creation and realization of the ultimate vocal performance. S ingers will demand a
certain microphone to ens ure thems elves that they will have their own cons is tent and familiar vocal s ound.
Becaus e of their intangible mys tique - and their truly unique s ound - vintage condens er microphones have
gained tremendous res pect. T he demand for vintage condens ers has als o led to the creation of the
refurbis hing and res toration bus ines s for thes e increas ingly rare treas ures .
A number of vintage condens ers are worth a mention. T he venerable German-made Neumann condens er
microphones remain the mos t widely popularized. T he mos t popular Neumanns include the trans is torized
U87 and the earlier U67 and U47 tube microphones mos tly us ed today. T he es oteric M49 and M50 are quite
good for lead vocals , and Neumann's M149 tube model is a new, modern mic with the vintage heritage of the
M49.
AKG from Aus tria is als o very popular among artis ts and producers with the large diaphragm C12 leading the
way. AKG has recently made a new vers ion of this mic called the C12VR which is proving to be quite good
for the modes t s um of $4,000. Other good choices from AKG are: the C12A, C-414E B P48 or the C-414T L II.
Als o German-made is the T elefunken E LAM 251. T his mic has n't been made for years , finding a res tored
one would s et you back a little bit, but it would be well worth it. T his mic offers a pres ence on vocals that
cannot be duplicated any other way.
However, it is not to s ay only condens ers s hould be us ed for vocal recording. In certain circums tances , there
is nothing like the immediacy and impact that the right dynamic microphone can impart to a lead vocalis t's
s ound. T he S ennheis er MD421, S hure S M7, and E V R E 20 microphones have been us ed on many
recordings to great effect.
Vocal Mic P lacement
Mic placement - particularly when us ing s ens itive condens ers - directly affects every as pect of the s inger's
s ound and performance. As engineer, I am obs es s ed with and s tres s ed over how the s inger addres s es the
mic in every way.
While there are no hard and fas t rules , ideally the s inger needs to s ing directly, i.e. on-axis into the
diaphragm of the mic. Dis tance to the mic is extremely important becaus e our ears relate dis tance to intimacy
with the s inger's voice and emotion: clos er dis tances equate to a more intimate s ound.
Off-axis s inging or changing dis tance caus es a degradation in quality but is all part of "working the mic,"
which is part of a s inger's on-mic s ound. E xperienced s ingers us e thes e phys ics to enhance or color the good

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Barry Rudolph: Beginning Mic T echniques

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and bad areas of their voice. A good s inger will us e s light dis tance changes for dramatic punctuation.
Working very clos e to the mic nearly always neces s itates the us e of a "pop filter" of s ome type to attenuate
air blas ts from the mouth. All cardioid microphones exhibit the "proximity" effect which boos ts low frequencies
as the s inger gets clos er to the diaphragm. S ingers can us e this effect to achieve a larger, fatter tone.
In general, a good s tarting point mic placement is s lightly higher than the s inger's mouth. T he mic is then
aimed downward at the mouth with the exact dis tance at the s inger's and producer's option. I have s een
thous ands of ways s ingers approach s inging into a mic and only cite the above example as jus t one way. I
have recorded s ingers who ins is ted on lying down on the s tudio floor, naked with a hand-held mic, the s tudio
monitors blas ting away, in total wanton abandonment.
Drums
T he miking and recording of percus s ion is als o highly s ubjective in both placement and choice. Drum kits and
percus s ion, being loud ins truments , excite the acous tics of a given s pace and s o the decis ion to utilize this
"room s ound" or divorce it from the recording is crucial in mic choice and placement.
In general, the clos er the microphone to the drum the les s the room ambience will add to the final drum
s ound. If the kit s ounds good and balanced in the room, you may want to mix in the s ound from dis tant room
mics . In pop recordings , engineers and producers us ually prefer a very clos e, pres ent drum s ound (at leas t
as a s tarting point). T hey will clos e-mic every drum in a drum kit, or in the cas e of a percus s ion ins trument
like conga drums , a s eparate mic for each drum.
F avorite mics for this "clos e miking" technique are s plit between dynamics and condens ers . F or tom-toms
and s nare drums I like S hure's Beta 57 or S ennheis er's MD421U. T hes e dynamics can really take the high
S PL s ound level that comes a few inches from a well-hit drum. I like to us e condens ers s ometimes for clos emiking as they achieve a "taller" s ound with more highs and more lows . Condens ers will work better if your
drummer/percus s ionis t has a lighter touch and more "fines s e". My choices for condens ers would be U-87's ,
C-414E B 's or AKG C
-451's or C
-452's .
F or overhead mics that retrieve the overall kit s ound including the cymbals and s ome of the room tone, I like
C-414-T L II's , C12A's or s ometimes-452's
C
. Good condens er choices for s nare drums are: C
-452, Neumann
KM84, S ony C-37A (tube). T his is one method of recording percus s ion ins truments . T here are literally
thous ands of mic choices and placement ideas . I think back at s ome of the better drum s ounds I got, and
recall an whole album I did where I us ed nothing better than $50 dynamic microphones on all the drums . T he
producer got more calls on the great s ound on the drums than anything els e.
Guitars
E lectric guitars are eas y to mic and record. Guitar amps can be miked with dynamic mics like the S hure Beta
57 or E lectro-Voice R E -20 or even a B eyer ribbon mic. T he firs t decis ion is whether you would like a cabinet
s ound or jus t a s ingle s peaker s ound. E ngineers mic jus t one s peaker by placing the mic directly on a s ingle
s peaker in the cabinet (hopefully not the s hredded one but the thras hed one). Moving the mic anywhere from
touching the grill cloth to a foot away will do the job. T he proximity effect works here, s o by keeping the mic
clos e to the s peaker you are enhancing the low frequencies . High frequencies are directional, s o if you align
directly on the center of the s peaker cone, you will get the mos t high frequencies available. As you move the
mic further away, you los e lows and as you move the mic laterally towards the outer edge of the s peaker
cone, you los e highs .
If you are going to go for a cabinet s ound, then everything changes . T he mic is now about a foot or more
from the cabinet and centered on the collection of s peakers in the cab. If you are us ing an open back amp,
try putting a mic behind the amp as well as the front. Phas e cancellation can work for you or agains t you
here. You can als o place a mic out in the room and mix that s ound to the guitar s ound.
I am making all of this mic placement proces s s ound very s ubjective becaus e it is . E xperiment a lot if you
have the wherewithal. E s pecially when miking the s peaker, minute changes in mic placement can make
tremendous changes in the s ound.
T he s ound of the acous tic guitar emanates from the s ound hole, the vibrating top plate and the exact point at
which you are picking or s trumming. I us ually us e a s ingle mic s tarting right over the s ound hole where you
will get the mos t low frequency energy. I put the mic above the low E s tring and point it downward. F rom then
on, I move the mic all over the place looking for the "s weet s pot" that works bes t for the way the mus ician

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Barry Rudolph: Beginning Mic T echniques

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plays , the natural s ound of that particular guitar and the way the guitar part needs to s ound in the production.
Move the mic towards the bridge and you will get les s lows with more attack and brilliance. Move towards the
neck, you end up with les s attack, a little les s low-end, maybe more fret nois e and a more mellow s ound. It is
impos s ible to s ay exactly what I would do in any particular s ituation. T he guitar's s ound is dependent on the
player's technique, the ins trument its elf, the key of the s ong and the condition of the s trings .
I like to us e either a B &K 4001, AKG C-452 or Audio-T echnica AT -4041 condens er mics . One of the bes t
s ounds I got on an acous tic guitar was with a S ony "tie-tack" lapel mic I taped to a s tick from an ice cream
bar and then placed ins ide of the guitar. T his worked, as the player refus ed to s it or s tand in front of a
s tationary microphone.
B as s
Any bas s player will tell you that us ually in the s tudio their ins trument is "taken direct". I always thought bas s
players has it eas y when it came to cartage: they jus t bring their ax and we engineers had to deal with it.
T he "direct" s ound of the bas s guitar is us ed more often than not. I us ually s tart with the ins trument's volume
and tone knobs wide open. S ome bas s players will us e ins truments with active electronics . T hes e active
bas s es can s ound great live, and be a real pain in the s tudio becaus e their s ound is s o hyperactive.
I find that a very good trans former (to change the high impedance of the ins trument's output to the low input
impedance of the cons ole) is the s ecret to a good s ounding direct bas s . What the engineer does with it in
terms of proces s ing is another matter.
I generally always us e a compres s or after the equalizer. T he les s electronics in the s ignal path of the bas s
going to tape, the better. I like the T eletronix LA-2A, S ummit tube or a DBX-165 (without peak s top)
compres s ors . Miking a bas s amp for a more live and realis tic bas s guitar s ound requires a good bas s rig and
mics like the E V R E -20, AKG D-12 or the newer D-112 dynamic mic. Unles s you want room s ound, s tick the
mic right on the s peaker.
F or more great information on recording bas s , read B ruce R ichards on's article, A
" Kick in the Bas s ."
Bas s players are my favorite people, s o I work hard to get them a fat s ound.
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