Merry Christmas!

The First Noel by eric chancey

Another Small Treasure

This is the Little Blondie LTD. Another wooden mic.

4 capsules = 1 huge sound!
 I'm not going to compare these microphones with another brand out there, that's not what they are about.

I tried it on acoustic piano and vocals today. On the piano, it was absolutely stunning! A very detailed sound, yet because it's an omni directional mic it had a nice space to it as well. On vocals it was equally impressive, with a nice sheen on the top end. I can see how this mic will help vocals sit well in a mix.
 I'm really happy with what I can capture now with my "Blondie" collection.  A very unique set of little mics that have a huge sound. I'm searching for more!

Finding new microphones

I love finding odd and rare microphones. We can rent the standards from just about any studio. I like having the unusual in my collection. Enter the “Wooden Blondie”.

Hand made by a gentleman in Michigan. The mics are made of aged walnut and lots of magic.   No bigger than salt shakers they boast a huge, true sound that is simply amazing to think it’s coming from these little guys.

  

I recently did a recording of a vocalist and acoustic guitar. I chose to use the Wooden Blondie along with a Royer 121. First, the sound between the two was really close, so close that I think in a blind test it would be hard to tell them apart. The Blondie had a ribbon warmth to it but didn’t sound dull it had a very nice and focused top end, not over the top bright….but “real”.

Honestly I was thinking about selling these but after I heard them, I just couldn’t do it they are now treasures to me.

I’ll be using these more often and on just about anything I can for a very unique but true sound. I’ll post clips soon.

Technorati Tags: Unique microphones,rare microphones,microphone,microphone techniques

Remixing “101”

No, this is not a tutorial on remixing the latest Lady Gaga song. I’ve been asked by a friend to remix his album entitled “101”. I’m going to attempt to document the journey and my findings out during this process. After all, that’s what this Blog is about.
So first up, the weapon of choice,Steinberg’s  Nuendo 5. I really enjoy mixing in Nuendo. It makes me happy and a happy mixer is a productive mixer.  I’ve taken the tracks that have been recorded in Pro Tools LE and have started to load them into Nuendo sessions. There are 10 songs in all.

The first song I have opened in Nuendo is “Amazing Grace”. A simple acoustic guitar and single lead vocal. Pretty easy, added a little EQ  and compression on the vocal, and a little EQ and stereo imaging on the guitar.
I’m adding a little ambience using Lexicon’s pcm native reverbs. Let me share this with you, never use demo plugs on a session! I love these Lexicon reverbs, but it’s only the demo version so now, I’m either going to have to finish this song really quick or pony up the money to make these a permanent part of my arsenal…which, wouldn’t be so bad if they weren’t over $1,000. Well worth it in my opinion, but not within my operating budget at the moment.
So far, I have a nice scratch mix of this song. Vocals are sitting nice, guitar has a little spread on it. The compression on the vocal gives it an up close and personal feel on this song.  I didn’t want to make it feel too big because it’s a very intimate song.
More to come….

Technorati Tags: Matt Swaringim,Lexicon pcm reverb,Nuendo 5,Remixing

Keep the practice.

I was looking through an old notebook that I carry around to seminars that are put on by great recording and mixing engineers and found some cool tricks that I had forgotten about.

Note to self….it’s really good to get all of this great information, but if I don’t put it into practice… then all that great info and time it took to get it is wasted.

The key to becoming great is to put what you learn into practice…. until it becomes second nature. If  it’s something that doesn’t work for you, then chuck it and work on something else until what you like becomes a habit, at the very least, try the techniques before you put the notebook away.

A little something I've been working on.

MIX by eric chancey

The Tale of a Thousand DAWS: The Final Chapter.

  All right, it’s time for me to put this to bed so I can focus. I am loading files into Nuendo and Samplitude and doing a mix. I will be doing a mix in both programs and judging will be on which one has the better mixing tools for my workflow. Also, which one is more enjoyable to work with and gives me the best results. This is in no way to say that one is superior to the other, because there are hundreds of different ways to work.

So, with the files loaded, first thing I noticed from the start is Nuendo loaded the file name into the tracks automatically. Samplitude did not.  Nuendo +1.

The Tale of a Thousand DAW’s.

I got my start in the mixing business many moons ago mixing audio for a national television broadcast. It was music and spoken word, I learned a lot, and wish I knew then….
I used a Sony MCI console and 2” tape machine with a track dedicated to SMPTE time code. I would do the mix for the producers, play back the the 2”  feeding time code to the video deck to keep it all in sync.
About that time digital audio was just emerging. We made the switch from 2” tape to ADAT. Why, I’ll never know.
We also made another purchase at that time. A piece of software “Sound Forge” from a company called “Sonic Foundry”. Now we were able to do editing non destructively but only on two track masters.
Fast forward a few years, and I purchased “Pro Tools 6”. It would allow me to do non destructive editing across several tracks, not only that but you could use it to mix and it had powerful automation features for that time.
Now the problem was if you didn’t have enough TDM cards with processing chips, you ran out of power and couldn’t do any more EQ’ing and stuff like that so it was a lot of money for a lot of processing power. Then, I started to get projects from friends to work on at home. That’s what had me looking into the native DAW world.
The first Native program I tried was called N-Track studio. It had a lot of cool features, but crashed all the time. I then found a program that caught my attention because it had a 30 day working demo, called “Samplitude.” I actually ended up using “Samplitude” for a really long time, and still use it today. But I needed more….
Sonic Foundry released a program called “Vegas” I thought I would try that since I knew “Sound Forge”, but it wasn’t really strong in audio, it became more of a video editing program.
My old console days were still calling from the past, so i wanted to find something that would give me the most power for mixing. I found a program called “SAWstudio”. I owned that for a while, and it was actually very powerful for mixing but it lacked a lot of features most modern DAWs have and some essential ones like being able to import BWF, so long “SAW”.
Back to “Samplitude”.
I demo’ed “Adobe Auditon” because I had used “Cool Edit Pro” to cut dialog at work. It wasn’t any better to me because it lacked serious mixing tools.
In the mean time we upgraded our “Pro Tools” system to an HD system, and WOW was I impressed! The mixing tools are fantastic! This is what I need at home! Alas, the $14,000 price tag  prevented that. So using PTHD at work started a quest for something as powerful for home. I tried “Pro Tools LE” but as the title says, it’s a Light Edition, and doesn’t have the powerful tools that HD does.
Next, I decided to leave DAW’s and used a “Mackie D8b” for a while. I really liked that. I guess mainly because it was a MIXER! Faders, automation…again! Woohoo. then Mackie killed it.
Back to the DAW’s.
So….I’ve had my eye on “Nuendo”,mainly because it came highly recommended by some industry giants… but never tried it because there was no demo. I heard all kinds of good things about it but at $1800 I wanted to test it out first. I made several attempts at purchasing it but never felt right, and at one point cancelled my order and upgraded “Samplitude” instead. Still, in the back of my mind “Nuendo” seemed to have the power I needed, especially with the “Euphonix” automation package.
Then it happened….patience and perseverance pays off! I found a used copy of “Nuendo” for sale! Then, I found a used Nuendo controller locally. At the price, it was worth it to try it out because I could easily sell it again and get my money back out of it.
  Now I have Nuendo and a controller for less than half of the cost of buying just the program new. I found a good deal and upgraded to the new version and am now enjoying the mixing tools that the program has to offer, still at less than half price. IS my journey over? Hardly…but I think I’ll be camping here for a very long time.
Why write this? First to encourage someone to wait for something if you really want it, it will come to you! Second, to help explaining why I have such a hard time with what I call my DAW ADD. I have fun with it on facebook, sometimes stirring up a little trouble, but it’s not meant to be anything but poking fun at myself, and pointing out that no DAW is 100% perfect.

Don't lose sight, it's about the music

 Sometimes when mixing I have a tendency to get too wrapped up in the technical side of things. Sometimes, I'll catch myself thinking...."If I apply ABC technique here that might sound good", "I wonder what kind of noise I can create with all my plugin choices.".
 I have to catch myself and remind myself that mixing is a musical experience and something that should be fun! If it's not fun for you, then it's not going to be fun for the listener (Emo music excluded of course).
 What I'm working on myself is to make my mixing less technical and more musical. It's not as easy as it seems because it is a technical job, true.. but it also is a musically creative one.
 When a listener hears a mix I did, I don't want them to hear the mix. For me, it's all about bringing the listener into the music so that they become a part of what the story is that the song is telling. They can't do that if I get in the way with technology. So for me, it's a new way to view how I work. A new way of working. Musically!

“You'll sound like a pro - even if you've never recorded a note before.”

 

Why does this bother me?  There are lots of lower end recording systems out there. Kids can start to record their own music and feel good about what the music they make but, I think it’s lines like the title of this post that bother me the most.

The title of this post is taken directly from the product description and I’m wondering how is it even possible?  Does the software magically inject years of study and training on proper mic placement, mixing techniques, ear training and mastering skills?  If so, why would one spend thousands of hours and dollars learning these skills when the software can make you sound professional? I know this sounds like what the Pro Tools TDM users were saying when LE first came out, but LE was still marketed to the Professional community, not customers at Toys R Us. What does this say to the value of our skill set? “Why hire an engineer? I can get the same results with little Johnny’s mbox”. Why would someone aspire to be an engineer these days, when there is a perception that if all you have is this product, that’s all that’s needed to get professional results. It is devaluing our craft.

Let’s be honest, I can go into Home Depot and buy a professional hammer. It does not promise that I can build houses just like a professional carpenter. I pound nails into a wall to hang pictures on. That’s the extent of my skill set with that tool. The problem is some of the people who use this product won’t know the difference. Then guys like me will get a call to help and get low balled on our rates to help fix crappy tracks. Or, even worse we don’t.

It’s funny to me to look at the big picture, we have the big studios that dislike me because I have a Nuendo system and mix at home instead of their facility and I get that. The difference here is, I have the training and the skills to walk into a studio and record a session and then take my tracks home to mix. Most of the People who buy this product do not. I have a session now that just sounds fantastic. Of course it does because it was recorded by a well known engineer in a stellar studio. A far cry from a lot of the tracks I get that are recorded in bathrooms and there is no hope of achieving the same results. But they expect the same results because they are told that they can achieve them with this product.

Thus ends my rant. I’m not against home recording at all. I’m just tired of the marketing hype and promises  devaluing a skill set that takes years to achieve. Let’s do what we can to add value to our community not take it away.

Is it too Easy?

I really wanted to hate it…I really tried but failed. I think .

  Waves recently updated the Mercury bundle and this gave me the chance to try the new “Chris-Lord Alge Signature Bundle”. They’re plugins that are supposed to give you instant sounds from the super star engineers. Just apply signal, tweak a few setting and PRESTO! Instant Grammy. No skill set needed. You don’t even need to know what frequency or compressor settings are. You just move the sliders until you get the sound you want. Took me all of 15 seconds. And it sounded good. Really good.

I come from a era when we would take a really long time perfecting our craft. Painstakingly tweaking settings, A/Bing…obsessing. I have a friend that spends literally hours on his drum sounds. 15 seconds! Poof! Killer drums.

Should I be angry about this?

On one hand, it sure saved me a lot of time. But on the other hand, why do I feel like all of my years spent training and perfecting my skills are only worth the price of a plugin now?

Is this devaluing the mix engineer? Why would someone hire me for my skills when they can “hire” CLA as a plugin? Maybe these type of plugins should only be made available to proven audio engineers? Then we can use them as time savers, or on the budget deals we give from time to time.

Am I angry? Heck yes. Am I going to use it? Heck yes! But I ain’t tellin’ nobody.

Time with a legend.

 

I really don’t know how or why I get the honor of meeting so many unbelievable people but I am grateful for each opportunity.

This past weekend I had the privilege of spending time with mega producer  Steve Lillywhite . No one’s work was more inspirational to me in my younger years than his. Listening to the album “War” by U2, I knew what I had to do with my life. I had to make records.

Like most people at the top of their game, he was a very down to earth and gracious guy. Full of life and humour, a true joy to be around and of all that I learned from him, I think the greatest was just how to enjoy life, be friendly and do what you love.

It was hard not to ask millions of questions since he has produced some of the best recordings of all time, but he was always willing to share his experiences and knowledge.

Steve shared some fantastic stories about his career that gave me inspiration to go out and make history by recording great music! He also shared insights into production techniques that are priceless.

I am truly grateful to Steve Lillywhite and all the others like him that are willing to share their unique skills and perspective on this wonderful art of making records!

Obscurities

I like to collect obscure and modified microphones. I mean, when you need a U87, you can rent them just about anywhere. But when you need something funky or different, then where do you go?

Collecting strange and obscure mics to me, is like creating new and original colors. Colors that can be used to paint a picture in a different light.

Here is a recent find, they are hand made wooden omni sdc's called "Little Woodies".

 

These little gems sound fantastic on acoustic instruments and as drum overheads. They have a very different, almost organic sound, especially on strings. What are you’re favorite “hidden gems”?

Good Friday

“Today is the day death died.”

Sobering. I’m feeling grateful for all the things I don’t deserve, and it’s a lot.

This is what I’m talking about.

All musicians playing . A superb recording done live. Dawn Langstroth. This is what can be done, expect better…..Enjoy!

Here’s what a day with George Massenburg will teach you.

The magic has not left the studio.

When you sit for hours on end, lining to a grid, tuning, the compressing the soul out of music it takes it’s toll on you. Not only is it not fun, the end product sucks, and who wants to put in all that time for something that sucks.

Play live, play together. Feel the music being born together. That’s when the magic happens. That’s what I learned this past weekend with George Massenburg.

Is it perfectly timed and tuned? No. Will it be timeless and magical? Yes. Look at all the classics. It’s the little imperfections that give them character. Life. Personality. Magic is born, powerful moments in music are not created mechanically, they are created organically.

I am very inspired to 1) up the level of my tools. 2) Record in high resolution, 3) Record music live, everybody playing together, and 4) Make some magic that will last forever!

The Soul of a Mix.

Wow…how to describe this.

Music is a living, breathing form of communication. It needs to move in order to move the soul. Dynamic range in a song is what creates this movement. Songs getting louder and exciting in parts and softer and intimate in others is what we call a song with good dynamics.

By removing this…the dynamics, you remove the ability for the music to touch the soul. There is no movement, it’s just straight at you full level. no movement, no excitement, nothing to communicate the passion of the musician because the music… isn’t going anywhere. 

I’m not pointing fingers at anyone, but i want to ask the musicians to challenge themselves and the mix engineers to not go with the status quo, remember that your heart is in that piece of music, don’t hide it behind a limiter. Let the music live!

Nix the Niche

In my past rants, I’ve talked about the state of the studio business, the possibilities of post and live sound success.

The reason I brought all this up is I feel that the era of the specialist is coming to an end. If you’re not an already established studio engineer, or live sound engineer, with the over saturation of our field, it’s very hard to focus on one specialty and move ahead.

Let me encourage you that you can become successful as a specialist, but it won’t come easy. You would be doing yourself a favor along the journey if you nix your niche, and try some other things in audio. Sound design, forensics, post, music, live, broadcast, are all just a few of the possibilities to get into. Keep you mind and your focus open and you may find something that you’re really good at and get paid well doing it!

Over time you find come to find your specialty, so enjoy the journey, take in all you can and become the very best AUDIO engineer you can. Don’t get discouraged with closed doors, another will open if you keep looking, you just may have to look in a different place than expected, but keep looking it will pay off.

If you are having trouble finding that place, go volunteer somewhere for a while to keep your skills sharp. Churches, civic theaters, schools, are all places who could use someone with skills. You can’t have anything that is beneath you on your journey up. Do everything you can to contribute and it will come back to you in the form of experience!

Livin’ life live

In previous installments, I talked about  the decline of the recording industry, the decline of our music delivery system and the possibility of making a change from mixing music to mixing audio for video, because of the lack of clients due to the wide spread availability of recording software, and bands recording themselves.

One response I received through email let me know that the post world isn’t much different than music. No budgets for audio post, and low cost elements online have also taken a bite out of the post world. Is there no area in our field that has not been cheapened down?

Live Aid

Now, I am a formerly trained recording engineer. I went to school, interned, have several credits to my name, enough to become a voting member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (the Grammy folks). I like the studio, I like the creativity, being able to lock in and create and take as long as the client needs to get it right. I hated live. I hated the noise, the feedback, the crazy people.

As time went on, I had more and more opportunities to work live gigs, attend seminars on live sound and the live environment has grown on me to the point that now it is my preferred method to work. I still like the studio, but now that I have the skills to handle the live world, I like the immediacy of the mix, the energy of the audience, and the creativity of the moment. The biggest plus in the live sound field, is that bands can’t mix themselves, so the gig is safe and in demand……right?

I’ve actually made more money from working live sound than studio, but I still do studio work because I enjoy it. Now I have several skill sets to draw upon and it’s keeping me busy.

To be continued….

Outline Kanguro

DISCLAIMER* My company Precision Audio is an Outline Dealer. But if this were not a product that I didn’t believe in, I would not be writing about it.

With the introduction Kanguro 1215, by the  Italian based speaker manufacturer Outline has raised the bar on the speaker on a stick market.  Unequalled sound plus an innovative design for portability puts this in a category all it’s own. 

Having demoed a pair of these the best way I can describe them is big concert sound… on a stick! But first let’s talk tech. Here are the specs from Outline.

Technorati Tags: Outline speaker review

FREQUENCY RESPONSE (-10 dB) 37Hz – 17kHz
(±3 dB) 47Hz – 16kHz
AVERAGE DISPERSION >5 kHz 91° x 47° (HxV)
INPUT SENSITIVITY 1,12 V (3,2dBu)
BUILT-IN PWM AMP POWER (WRMS) 2x500W EIAJ 2x1200W Peak
MAX DB SPL (peak @ 1 m) 131 dB

A Kanguro  is a  bi-amp three way- self powered system,  and comes with one top box that has a 12 inch woofer and a 1.75 inch compression driver. The sub is a 15 with a 3 inch voice coil.  And at 130 dB 35 HZ to 18kHZ they can really throw the sound!

The design is very slick in that the top box fits inside the sub cabinet for easy portability! Throw on the optional caster board and moving around is a snap!

 

I really love the design of this system. It’s very high quality and well thought out, even down to the pole which is threaded instead of just sitting in a cup. The cabinets are made from 15mm baltic birch, not plastic. Another nice addition is the amplifier has on board DSP, allowing you to set EQ, limiting, etc. inside the amp further eliminating the need for out board equipment.

Now to the fun part, how this baby sounds! I have to be honest, I was expecting it to sound great, but after I fired it up…my expectations were exceeded! Think of the best sounding concert system you have heard, that’s these…on a stick!

The best thing that stuck out to me was the definition of the sound. Just playing back tracks, These things were clear, crisp and articulate.  The sound felt “real” as if the musicians were there in front of you playing. The sub was full, and filled out nicely but didn’t really move a lot of air. So if you need chest thumping sub, you may want to supplement the system with an additional sub or two.

The Kanguro could get plenty loud (specs at around 130 dB) but it never got harsh or “bitey” in the high end when pushed hard as some speakers tend to do. The horizontal coverage was nice and wide but what I liked was when you stand behind the cabinets you can hardly tell it was on.

The amplifier comes with a set of presets accessed by push button on the back panel. But if you want to get tweaky, you need to hook up a laptop and run the included software. There are also level controls that allow you to adjust the balance between the top and sub boxes. The DSP is nice, and eliminates the need for a system drive rack. A plus if you’re also on a digital console then you’ve already eliminated most of your outboard gear, this just helps even more. Some could just carry a digital console and these speakers and have everything you need!

Now, this high quality sound and innovative design does com at a price. How much would you pay for a Ferrari?  They’re not cheap, costing around three times more than other speaker on a stick offerings, but they are well worth it. Keep in mind the Kanguro is not a plastic molded box made in China. It’s an Italian work of art, that also has the amplifier and DSP included. To me the sound alone is worth the price of admission couple that with the connivance and ease of use Outline has a winner. If you are a small band or a portable church and want sound that stands above the rest I encourage you to check these out!

sales@precisionaudio.biz

Going Post-all

Everyone in life goes through several changes in their careers. I’m now 39 and have been in the same field all my life. The world of professional audio has changed a lot since I’ve first started (see rant below) and it’s become much harder to compete with a bed room market.

I’m considering a change of focus. I’m looking at changing my business to strictly audio for video, or Post Production. I’ve done some post production work in my time and can get around pretty good in that world. My one concern is that at this late in life, is it wise to change your focus and start anew in a different genre of work? It’s not that I’m bored with where I’m at, I just have this why bother attitude when it comes to recording bands when all they are going to do is have their high school buddy mix it on his M-box…..or is it X-box? I’m at a place where I am looking for new challenges but also am longing to work with true professionals who care about quality, where skill and talent actually mean something.

 Post Production is a whole different field with a different way of working  than mixing for a cd. In post work you are mixing dialog, sound effects (sometimes creating them) and music all to video.   Since I was a child I’ve been interested in the world of audio post, especially sound design. When I was just 8 years old, I remember watching a tv special about how Ben Burtt created the sounds for the movie Star Wars. I was fascinated. I knew that’s what I wanted to do! But in a small town in Ohio, there are very few post houses. Fortunately I did still get into audio, I’ve enjoyed every minute of it! And have been able to do some post work. But with what I see as the music recording market becoming overly saturated to put it mildly,now it may be time for me to pursue my childhood dream. Breaking into something new can be scary, but if it’s something you love and enjoy, it’s going to be a fun time!  Stay tuned for more…..

The times, they are a changin’!

When I was a teenager, I dreamt of being in a big recording studio surrounded by walls of gear, working on cool music.
I worked really hard to achieve that dream. I went to recording school. Took tough jobs to challenge myself to grow. Found mentors to learn from and continue growing.
Around the time the I was in recording school, a new thing was just starting to make it’s way into the studios. The DAW. A Digital Audio Workstation back then was a two track editor that allowed you to edit digital audio quickly and non-destructively. Way easier than cutting tape with a razor blade, which, by the way, I can do.
So along comes this tool, everyone…. well, most everyone falls in love with it because it makes work faster and easier. But as anything goes- the DAW is developed, improved and enhanced. Now instead of two tracks they can do hundreds of tracks. Full on mixing automation, vocal tuning and cd mastering are all at your mouse click. And as the features went up, the price came down.  Making it more affordable to buy one of these systems than to rent out a studio to do a record.
Artists were soon buying these systems and recording and mixing their projects in their homes. Booking less and less time in a real recording studio with real rooms. This trend continues to grow as more and more studios are closing their doors due to lake of clients.
Now, I’m all for progress, but one must stop and ask, can this be a good thing?  Are the days of the big recording studio sounds gone? There was a certain magic, a vibe to the process that can’t be recreated with a computer in a bed room.
You don’t do your own dental work at home. You don’t do your own medical procedures, at least I hope not. Some should not be doing their own hair at home! Why try to make your record at home? This is something that is going to follow you around much longer than a bad haircut.
The audio recording industry is the only entertainment industry that has not moved forward in over twenty years. In fact, we are regressing.
 Not only has the quality of our recordings gone down, but the quality of our delivery media has too.
Video has moved from VHS, to DVD to BlueRay all the while, audio moves from the cd to…. well, the MP3. And there we’ve camped for years. Happy to have our ears tortured. There have been a few attempts for advancement, DVD-A, SACD and now BlueRay Audio Disc. But none have been widely embraced, not as much as the MP3. I have to ask why?
Do we as consumers, just not care? Has convenience won over quality? Are we willing to put up with amateur recordings delivered on a substandard format for the sake of a few dollars?
 Remember that record you used to love to listen to over and over again? Remember the cover art? Remember how the music would transform you, energize you and become a soundtrack for what was happening in your life? What has happened to that magic? Sure, today anyone can record, but are we getting the magic, squeezing every bit of tone out of that source that only someone who has studied and practiced their craft can do, or are we putting up a mic and saying, “yep, that’s good enough.”?
It is partly the recording industry’s fault. We didn’t push hard enough for improving our end product. Instead we embraced the faster, cheaper, methods and now look where it has got us. Our industry is proliferated with wanna be’s while studios like Abbey Road are struggling to keep their doors open.
Where do we go from here? How do we turn the ship around before it hits the iceberg? Is it even worth it? Should I just open a “Subway” shop?
Please don't get the wrong idea. I'm not ranting against the recording / mix engineer that sets up shop in their home. They still have the skill and experience that only they have by paying dues. My rant is against the guy who doesn't know the difference between phase and polarity, goes to a music store, buys a $50 computer program and then puts an add on Craigs list to record for $20. Not only does that undermine the true professional, but your total experience is going to reflect negatively on your project. And that will follow you.
 If we enough demand for quality and are willing to pay the price, then maybe....just maybe the future will be bright.

Looking for the best kick drum microphone?

How to Find the Ultimate Kick Drum Microphone?

 You could say that the kick drum is the signature of the song. Rap, Rock, Jazz, R&B all have distinctive kick drum sounds that help define the genre of the music. With that in mind picking the right tool for the right job will make your task at creating the sound you are trying to achieve a lot easier. Here are some tips that may be helpful in making the proper purchasing decision.

1)  Frequency response. Check the frequency response of the microphone. Do you really need a built in 12 dB boost at 40 Hz to mic a jazz kit? Or will a massive 3 kHz boost be helpful for R&B? These are the things you want working for you, not against you. If you put up a microphone on a kick that you don't want all that high end, you're going to immediately go into fix it mode, trying fix the frequency response to get the sound your looking for or to cut back on feedback. Find a mic that compliments the frequency response of the type of sound you are trying to achieve it will save you time and headaches.

2) Ease of use. I can hear you now, "Ease of use? It's a microphone, you put it on a stand and stick it in fron of something." It's not that easy when you are trying to achieve the best sound you can before the signal hits the console.

    What you want to look for in terms of ease of use for a kick drum mic is, Tilt Angle: does the mic tilt properly for you to achieve the placement you want? Connector Position: Does where the mic cable plug into make it harder to achieve proper position? Does it take away from some of the angle when a connector is plugged in? Size: Is it too big to fit through the hole in the front of the kick drum head? That's a real drag when you want to get the mic close to the beater and it won't fit through the hole, what do you do then? All of the previous tips are things that can cause frustration if they are not taken into account when deciding on which microphone you are going to use on your kick drum.

3) Sound. Not frequency response but, how much leakage is there? Does the mic constantly rumble? Microphones have certain physical characteristics that also contribute to how well they sound. Does it pick up a lot of vibrations from the floor? All of these factor into how useful the microphone can be on certain stages.

4) Cost. You may only have a certain budget to work with, but it's always better to just wait and save a little longer to get the right tool for the job. I heard someone say, "Buy once, cry once". Meaning it may hurt a little to get what you really need, but if you buy the wrong tool, you'll end up regretting it and ultimately making another purchase. Make sure you are going to be happy with your investment for the long run. 

5) Quality.  Believe or not, not all microphones are built the same way. Good build doesn't necessarily mean a great microphone, but poor build quality will always mean a poor microphone. Most are made from brass or steel, some are plastic. Do you think a plastic body mic would have the same sound characteristics as a brass body microphone? Some mics have plastic threads that go into the mic stands. It's a way that manufacturers cut costs to bring the product down in cost, but in the end it ultimately costs you.  Also look at how the company stands behind their product with a warranty. You'll find warranty offering range from a matter of a couple months, clear up to ten years. That says a lot about how much the manufacturer believes in the product, and is a good indication how much you should believe in it too.

Summary; Tools should make our jobs easier, and not create more problems for us. That's why finding the right microphone for the right job is essential for having a successful show and as I have talked about above there are a lot of decisions that go into finding the right tool for the job. You'll know that you have made the right decision when the tool works for you, not against you.  It's important to know your toolkit and have a few different choices to select from so that you don't have to compromise in getting that killer kick drum sound. I encourage to do your homework before you buy, look at the specs and see if they will work with your type of music. Find out what it's made of and how long the warranty is for. Some dealers will also arrange for you to try a demo to see if the microphone will work in your setting. If it is a big investment and no demo is available you may want to consider a rental from a local sound company before you spend your money. My hope is that the pointers above will help you make the best decision for your investment.