Audiotuts+ Updates - Workshop #139: Feel the Connection by The Lion

Workshop #139: Feel the Connection by The Lion

Posted: 29 Dec 2010 03:20 PM PST

At Audiotuts+ we regularly put up a reader track for workshopping and critique (find out how to submit a track). This is how it works: you upload your song, and every week or so we’ll publish one here and step away from the podium. The floor is yours to talk about the track and how the artist can fix problems in and improve upon the mix and the song.

This track has been submitted for your friendly, constructive criticism. They have put their track (and their heart and soul) in your hands to learn and get useful feedback.

Do you enjoy the song or track itself? Does it have potential?
Can the arrangement be improved?
How did you find the mix? What would you do differently?
What do you enjoy about the rhythm track? What can be done to improve it?
Is the choice of instruments relevant and effective for the style/song?
Are the lyrics (if any) effective? Does the style, arrangement and genre of the song suit them?
Can you suggest any specific techniques that might improve the track?
Do you have any other constructive feedback?

Feel the Connection by The Lion

Artist’s website: soundcloud.com/the-lion-1

Description of the track:

Second song I’ve made in Ableton Live. Every time I use it I learn something new. This is the best DAW I’ve ever used.

Download audio file (feeltheconnection_master0.mp3)

Have a listen to the track and offer your constructive criticism for this Workshop in the comments section.

Submit Your Tracks for Workshopping

Need constructive criticism on your own tracks? Submit them using this form.

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

When (and How) to Use an Under-Snare Microphone

Posted: 29 Dec 2010 01:45 AM PST

Getting a great snare sound is a crucial aspect of the whole drum recording experience. The snare drives the back beat and is the backbone of the whole drum sound. In order to capture the full sound of the snare drum you must know how to capture and use the snare drum’s most important sound, the snares. If the snare drum didn’t have the snares rattling underneath it would just be a really shallow sounding tom. The best way to capture the snare sound properly is to not use one microphones but two. One on top and one below.

Image by Halocyn

Why Point a Microphone Under There?

Snare drums have a distinct sound. However, most people recognize a snare drum sound from a distance. A microphone pointed directly at one from a few inches away will hear the snare quite differently than the average human being.

The combination of the attack on the topside along with the rattles of the snares creates that distinct snare drum whack we’ve all grown to know and love. Therefore, using two microphones can be beneficial in capturing the different sounds each side of the snare supplies. These two microphones combined with the overhead mics provide the overall snare sound in a natural sounding drum sound.

Type of Microphone

You can use any type of microphone to capture the sound of the snare, but a good bet is to use a small condenser to capture the high frequency rattles of the snare rattles. Even though the safe bet for snare drum miking is usually the trusty SM57 (or a dynamic mic of a similar nature), small condensers have a faster transient response meaning they can more accurately translate the rattling of the snares. Something like a AKG 451 or SM81 is a good bet to get that high energy snap of the snares.

Positioning

Since you don’t have to worry about the drummer accidentally hitting the microphone like you would with the top mic, you can place it as close to the drum and at any angle you prefer. Place it like you would the top mic and listen to the result. A few listens to different positions will give you a good indication of what kind of sound you are looking for.

If you are using a condenser it’s a good idea to place a -10 or -20 pad on the microphone so that it won’t distort as easily. A heavy hitting drummer will definitely overdrive a condenser microphone very easily.

Phase

When using two different microphones for the same sound source, you inevitably run into phase problems. Without going into the issue of phase problems too much let me just say that you will most definitely have phase issues with two microphones pointing at each other with the snare drum in the middle. Luckily, it’s a very easy problem to fix.

If you are recording with a mixer that has a phase switch you can just flip the switch on the under-snare microphone and forget all about it. If you are running your drum tracks into a computer your audio software probably has a way for you to "invert" the phase of your under-snare track. In Pro-Tools you can insert and EQ plug-in that has an invert phase switch and Logic Pro allows you to invert the phase in the Sample Editor. I touched upon this issues in my drum mixing article on Audiotuts a while back, An Effective Guide to Drum Mixing.

Image by Vierdrie

What Does It Sound Like?

It’s easy to get a better grasp of how the whole thing sounds like by listening. In the following audio samples I’ll walk you through both the under and over-snare microphones as well as the whole drum kit mixed together in order for you to get an understanding of how the whole thing sound.

We never really hear the snare like the microphones hear the snare. The microphone is put very close to it and to put your ear in the same position and have your drummer hit the snare a few times would most certainly result in some short-term hearing loss. However, we can easily use microphones as substitutes for our ears. The following samples have a little EQ and compression on them as well as gates to take out the extra bleed from the drum-kit.

The Over Microphone

The microphone that’s positioned over the snare picks up the thicker whack attack of the snare but not as much of the snare.

Download audio file (oversnare.mp3)

The Under Microphone

This microphone picks up all the rattle of the snares and not so much the attack of the drum. I find this sound pretty unappealing but it has its uses in conjunction with all the other elements.

Download audio file (undersnare.mp3)

Both Microphones Together

When both the snares are at the same volume you can still hear the rattling of the snares overpowering the sound of the drum. Maybe some of you might like the sound of it but I feel like it needs to be leveled off a little bit.

Download audio file (unitygain.mp3)

Snares Mixed Together

I’ve pulled back the volume of the under-snare microphone a little bit and given the over-snare a little room to breathe. The attack comes through nicely but you can still hear the snares underneath giving the snare a fuller sound than using only either one of those microphones.

Download audio file (snaresmixed.mp3)

Snares Complete With the Kit

Obviously, it’s much better to gauge the sound of the snares when you have the overheads in the equation. The overheads (and room) microphones play a big part in the overall sound of the snare drum so I’ve gone and mixed three different versions of my drum sound: first with no under-snare microphone, second with both microphones at the same level and the third as a nice sounding final drum sound.

Only Top Snare

Download audio file (drumsnoundersnare.mp3)

Both Microphones at the same level

Download audio file (drumsundersnare.mp3)

Final Mix

Download audio file (drumsmixed.mp3)

Conclusion

Combining the top snare microphone alongside the under-snare microphone will result in a more recognizable snare sound. The top microphone usually captures the attack pretty well but does a poor job of capturing the snare rattles. Blending the two microphones together and adding them to the overhead sound will create that distinct snare drum sound we know and love.