A box of hand percussion instruments is one of the best investments you can make for your home studio. Shakers, rattles, tambourines and other clicky things can be added to just about any style of music from folk to electronic to heavy metal (hear White Zombie for proof of tambourine in metal).
You can these instruments to fill out sparse arrangements, increase energy in a chorus or to add emphasis to certain beats.
Once you start building your collection it’s hard to stop, most small percussion instruments are inexpensive and many you can make yourself. Having a variety of options will get you closer to the ideal sound for each song and minimal processing after recording.
As with any musical instrument, there is more to playing percussion than just shaking or smacking it. Even the humble egg shaker is capable of a variety of distinct sounds just by changing hand position. I recommend watching some videos on YouTube for egg shaker, maraca, and tambourine for ideas and techniques.
One of the most important things in getting a natural sound from shakers, tambs etc is distance. Ideally you record the performance in a large space with not a lot of acoustic treatment. Hang the mic up high above the player pointed down. I have compared recording a shaker overdub in my control room vs the hallway outside with tile floor and it was dramatically different. Having the reflections from the floor and walls helped create a more 3D sound even with one mic. Placing acoustic treatment behind the mic or on the sides around the mic sucks all the life out. Any shaker tracks I’ve recorded close and in dryer environments (acoustically) have had a harsh, scratchy sound and were much harder to fit in a mix.
If you do prefer the sound of a close miked percussion performance play across the mic, rather than directly towards it for a more even low and mid frequency response.
Experiment with microphone options, condensers and dynamics will bring out drastically different qualities in percussion. Condensers at a distance will capture a more realistic sound, FET models will pick up the fast transients more accurately than tube models. Dynamic mics react much more slowly and have a less accurate but still very usable sound. Combining a few types of mics may help get you the perfect sound.
For music styles like indie rock, an audiophile quality recording of a tambourine isn’t going to be very helpful, you’re just going to have to distort and filter it later! Instead, experiment with different mics, tape recorders, toy mics and effect pedals to make things nasty. Besides being a lot of fun, it can be exactly what the song needs.
For processing these tracks I like short delays and reverb to create a doubling effect but it all depends on what the role of the percussion is in the arrangement, whether it should be drawing attention or just adding texture. Close miked percussion tends to need more processing especially if you want it to sound natural (you see the contradiction there?). Using high and low cut filters to limit the spectrum to only whats necessary often helps when there are many of these parts.
Alright, now that you are prepared, make some noise!
While I was preparing the recent Bass Guitar Recording article I inquired on Twitter about tips for recording bass. Look what happened
@ikmultimedia: Ampeg SVX! bit.ly/l5eNIy
@MarcusSt0ne: Making sure the player is consistent and doesn’t peak random notes.
@jacobgemmell: record a cab and DI two seperate tracks, and when it gets to editing make sure that beast is on beat.
also doubling up with a synth bass can be cool wide
@djdanlib: Yeah, use compression on finger bass, and don’t kill the high frequencies – there is important audio up there
@bobbyjonesmusic: 700HZ is magic for bass recording.
@RecordingBlogs: My very limitted experience with bass on the cheap – bit.ly/qbYfqt – although you sound a lot more professional
@pakit0_Q: Low threshold plus a 4:1 ratio plus high output equals a pretty tight bass
@MrTonyDraper: P-bass into Ampeg! Split into two amps, one clean, one distorted. U47 and U67 both really nice, not too close.
@timgosden: make sure they only play one note at a time with tight note starts AND endings.
@seankalaras: if using DI and amp, calculate and adjust for the delay between the signals. About 1ms per foot off the speaker is usually ok.
@817audio: I once used this configuration on a 10′ speaker. Provided a super punchy sound. #D2 #SM57 yfrog.com/nuwg5fj
@lucesdaniel: you could emphasize the difference of amp versus plain DI, many people go the easy way then struggle to fit a DI in the mix.
@recordinghacks: bass guitar: steve albini uses one of these: is.gd/BFYX0M (not sure that’s useful information though!) (more…)
Bass doesn’t always get the attention it deserves in a recording situation. I see a lot of home recordists rush through bass recording, only to later be frustrated with the bass when it comes time for mixing. It’s really too bad because it’s the foundation of the song. A great bass will groove tight with the drums and support the guitars. Fitting it in the mix will take minimal effort and you will be loving life.
A great recording starts with a great source. When it comes to tracking bass guitar, the source is comprised of many factors:
Musician:
Technique and playing position – Playing with a pick or with fingers or thumb. Intensity, Playing close to the bridge, in the middle or close to the neck. Choose what is appropriate for the song
What is played – playing bass lines that serve the song and don’t clash with the drums or guitars rhythmically or melodically.
Tuning – Check the tuning often
Bass:
Strings – new strings usually sound best and give you the brightest tone to start with.
Electronics (Pickups and EQ) – The pickup selection and tone settings
Wood and construction – The wood used in the neck and body really effect the sound. Maple and Ash are bright and punchy, mahogany is thicker and darker.
DO keep your strings fresh (and keep the ends cut short)
DO wash your hands before and after playing
DO listen to the instrument to find the best mic placement
DO wear closed-back headphones to avoid escaping noise
DO find the spot in the room where the guitar sounds best
DO try to breath quietly through your nose (yes this is a problem sometimes!)
DO try to stay in the same position in front of the mics
DO try different thicknesses of picks for different sounds
DON’T forget to tune often
DON’T place your mics close to the sound hole
DON’T stop if you make a mistake
DON’T assume the built-in pickup actually sounds anything like your guitar, not to say it can’t be useful at times
DON’T forget to empty your pockets of keys, change and cellphone
DON’T rush through the recording, take your time now to get it right.
With direct guitar recording into virtual amps you can now rock out through the guitar chain of your dreams in the comfort of your home studio and without the neighbors calling the cops.
In this article I’ve outlined a few tips and best practices for getting great guitar tones without amps or mics.
Go Direct – ‘going direct’ means connecting your guitar into your recording interface by means of the high impedance (HI-Z) instrument input if available or through a DI box (Direct injection box). A direct box converts the hi-impedance signal from the guitar to low-impedance, mic level signal to connect to any preamp. Great results can be had with either though the best results come from the best signal chain including quality cables and DI box. The Radial JDI and J48 are professional studio standards and are actually quite affordable.
Avoid hum and buzz – LCD and LED monitors (computer screens) are now the norm and while they don’t emit as much noise as CRTÂ monitors some noise can still be picked up by your guitar pickups. Computer fans, cell phones and even a wrist watch can be sources of unwanted noise in your guitar tone. To reduce and avoid the noise sometimes you just need to move around the room a little and the noise will be gone. Additional noise suppression is best done with a noise gate plugin in your DAW.
A virtual guitar rig – The quality and quantity of virtual guitar amps has increased dramatically over the past few years to the point where you may not even want a real amp anymore. Amplitube 3, Guitar Rig 4, and POD Farm 2 (to name just a few) are all top notch virtual guitar processing systems. They’ve really raised the bar in sound quality. The flexibility and ability to select from hundreds of pedal, amp, cabinet and mic combinations at will makes them invaluable tone shaping tools for guitar, bass and beyond.
Latency - With guitar recording, the lower the latency the better. 128 samples is good, but 64 samples or lower is ideal. Latency affects the way you play and you want the immediacy that plugging into a real amp has. You’ll need a good firewire interface to achieve this kind of stable low latency.
Timing and tuning – As always, timing of the performance and tuning of the instrument are so important. Most of the major virtual amp packages have a tuner option, check the tuning often! With a DAW you can actually see and hear how far off your timing is. Record each section of the song multiple times, choose the best or best bits of each performance and edit a composite that’s in time and in tune.
Filtering out the bad stuff – Virutal amps don’t sound 100% real but they’re getting closer all the time. Where the current virtual amp systems fall short is in the cabinet and microphone options. I always use an EQ after the amp plugin to get rid of the harshness and fizz that can make an amp sound fake. If you boost with a sharp Q between 3kHz and 12kHz you can usually find 2-3 really nasty areas. Isolate the frequency and cut it out by a few dB. Here’s how that sounds: No EQ (mp3) | Fizz Cut (mp3)
These are just a few tips to get you started with direct guitar recording. If you’d like to see more on this topic leave a comment below.
A box of hand percussion instruments is one of the best investments you can make for your home studio. Shakers, rattles, tambourines and other clicky things can be added to just about any style of music from folk to electronic to heavy metal (hear White Zombie for proof of tambourine in metal).
