Well, what have I been up to? I have spent an inordinate amount of time making the website look better. It was sort of alright anyway, but a bit glitchy, so I hope it has improved. It is important that I get the website usable so that it can act as a forum to host my portfolio and ultimately as a shopfront. It’s not a good look for an erstwhile creative techie to have a shabby website!
In the real world, I have been recording a few things using the Audient ASP4816 in the studio. I helped one of my fellow students record his own band and last week worked with a fantastic band whose track I am in the process of mixing in Pro Tools, having done a mix in Logic last week. In both cases we got to use a selection of microphones, including the trusty SM57s, a pair of AKG C414Bs, a pair of SE1As and an AKG D12VR for the kick drum and I’m starting to get a feel for the best placement options for each.
Because the studio records in Pro-Tools, I have decided to mix in the same DAW, which has been quite a refresher course, having not used Pro-Tools for over a year. It really is remarkable how you become accustomed to one DAW over another, and although I keep telling myself that there is not much between them, it is amazing how easy it is to forget simple procedures when you are used to using a different DAW. I’ve done a mix in Logic as well, just for comparison really, but I’ll spend a lot more time in Pro-Tools as I need the practice!
I’ve also got a load of material from my own ‘band’, (you can’t really call us a fully-fledged band, since we never get out of the rehearsal room), some of which is quite promising. I can’t see much opportunity to record any material anytime soon, due to other members’ commitments, so I have to compensate for less than spectacular recordings with some nifty mixing skills! We’re hampered in the practice studio by not having decent mic options, (I know there are people out there who would have me executed for this, but I’ve used an SM58 on a kick drum at times…), so I’m contemplating investing in my own set-up, but with modest funds it takes some research to get the best bang for your buck.
I think a pair of small diaphragm condensers would be useful and maybe a couple of SM57s and a vocal mic with a larger diaphragm, such as a Rode NT1A or the Audio Technica AT2035. Someone told me that the one mic you should get if you can only get one is a decent vocal mic, so maybe that’s the priority…and then there’s the second hand market…where to start?
Phil Wakely Audio 