recordinghacks

Last summer I conducted an informal test of the idea of putting a voiceover microphone into a foam box to dry out the sound of the room. This seems to be an increasingly common technique for VO artists who don’t have easy access to a proper recording space.

The first comment on that article was written by James Lindenschmidt of RealTraps, to suggest that their “Portable Vocal Booth” might yield results superior to my precariously-stacked box of discarded off-brand studio foam. James subsequently contacted me to offer a PVB for evaluation.

I took the opportunity to compare the PVB to a couple other acoustic treatment products. Read on for the full review.
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Thanks to our friends at MXL, we received an early production sample of the Revelation, MXL’s new flagship microphone.

We’ve had a chance to hear it on acoustic guitar, vocals, and drums. We have exclusive photos and audio samples below.
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One of the biggest trends in the pro audio world in the last 10 years, apart from the resurgence of the ribbon microphone, has been the modification of lower-end gear to yield high-end results. In many cases, a simple tube or transformer swap can immediately make a noticeable difference in the sound. In some cases, additional circuit changes can transform a good piece of equipment into great equipment that might rival the performance of gear many times its price. Perhaps nowhere is this more prevalent these days than with microphones. Not only are there a ton of sites that offer DIY solutions for mic mods, but there are several companies and boutique “mic modders” who offer these services for a reasonable price. Reasonable, that is, when you consider the price of the mics that these modified specimens are said to rival.

For the average project studio owner, spending $5,000 or $10,000 on a microphone is usually out of the question, but spending a few hundred dollars on a mic and a few hundred dollars on modifications is a much more realistic proposition. These modified mics may not have the sex appeal of a vintage Neumann or RCA but they can often hold their own or even outperform their revered competition. Will they help a studio attract clientele? Probably not. Will they get the job done? Judging from my own adventures with mic modding — which I’ll detail in this article — absolutely. Wouldn’t everybody love to have the bragging rights that go with owning a beautiful U-47 in perfect condition? Naturally, but when your clients are paying $50 per hour, it’s not easy to justify a $10,000 mic much less all the other items in the gear lust list. Having an affordable option in the “modded” category is a welcome alternative for a growing number of studio owners on a budget and, let’s face it, these days, who isn’t? (more…)

If you’ve ever tried to match tones across sessions, you know it’s a challenge. Even if you have the same instrument, the same room, and the same mics, the sound can be different. Why? The mic isn’t in exactly the same place. The gain and EQ knobs aren’t in exactly the same place. The weather has changed. You’ve changed.

Now imagine trying to recreate tones from 30 years ago. Gear has come and gone. Studios have been torn down. Playing styles have evolved. It seems impossible.

And yet, legendary producer Ken Scott has done it anyway. (more…)

The Cloudlifter is an inline mic “pre-preamp.” It was designed by ribbon microphone expert Stephen Sank to give low-output dynamic microphones — especially including passive ribbon mics — 20dB boost of clean, transparent gain.

It is essentially the “active electronics” section of Stephen’s new JRS-34 ribbon microphone. The Cloudlifter pairs two of these amplifier circuits into a bulletproof steel box, providing two independent channels of portable gain.

Read on for a full review.
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We’re looking for a couple solid interns to help build the mic database: work from home, on your own time, and get paid to learn about microphones. You *must* be capable of writing clear English. Photoshop skills are a plus.

If you’re interested, get in touch via the Contact page.

Update… 4 hours later, I have more applicants than I can afford. Thank you all for your interest!

The day after returning home from NAMM, my head full of new product news and ideas for many cool articles, I left for a week’s ski vacation at Lake Tahoe. I’m not much of a skier, but I took advantage of the wifi and slammed some brand-new mics into the database during the heaviest snowstorm of the season. At the end of the week, it took my son and I 90 minutes to excavate the car from under approximately 800 lbs of snow. (more…)

I first found out about the 3-Zigma microphones at the NAMM show in January, 2009, when 3-Zigma cofounder Larry Villella pulled a multi-capsule stereo set out from under the table at his ADK booth to show me. “Lipsticks and lollipops, all in one!” he gloated. I wanted a set immediately.

Larry provided a loaner set of 3-Zigma mics for review, from the first batch off the production line. I used them on a couple projects, and loaned them out to several area studios for additional perspectives. At long last, here’s our review.
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Transformer upgrades for ribbon microphones are one of the hot new trends in the industry, with numerous vendors offering “pre-modded” ribbon mics with Lundahl or Cinemag transformers.

If you think your ribbon mics would benefit from a transformer upgrade, you can change the transformer yourself, probably within one hour. It’s an easy process for anyone with rudimentary soldering skills. Read along for detailed instructions. (Click any picture below to see a fullscreen version.)
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Thanksgiving is traditionally a day to remember the things for which one is thankful. I’ve found this exercise to be a lot easier when FedEx drops off a new drum kit on the day before.

Yep, this is my second new drum kit this year; the first one got sent back.

I’ve loved Tama drums and hardware since I was a kid, so when the ‘bargain’ kit didn’t work out I decided to buy the set I’d wanted in the first place. It had to be custom-ordered from Japan; between that and surface shipping, it took three days short of forever to get here. Fortunately, I wasn’t impatient or bitter, not at all. Except, well, maybe for the last six weeks. But no more than that. (more…)