Unit 48 Brief 2

1: Recording in different locations using different microphones:

Intro:

For this task we were told to produce sound recordings played by guitar in 3 different locations and using 3 different microphones. The locations we used were and office space, a presentation suit and outdoors.



Equipment List:
AKG c1000s
Sure SM58
Rode NT2-a
XLR cable x2
Microphone stand x2
Yamaha acoustic guitar (Steel strings)
Olympus Multi-track Linear PCM Recorder LS-100


To Record the sound we plugged the XLR cable in the recorder, we plugged the male into the female of the recorder and plugged the female into the male of the microphone in the stand. Then we put the microphone near the sound hole nearer to the thread of the guitar to create a mono sound, then we strummed some chords on the guitar. To begin we clicked the record button on the recorder once making it flash red then we had to make sure we didn't have to change the gain, so by clicking the button it comes up with the gain levels and they should be just over half way, then we clicked the button again to begin recording. Overall we used a cardioid polar pattern but on the Rode microphone we used an omnidirectional polar pattern.


LOCATION 1

1. AKG C1000S- Office
In the Office room we set up the c1000s 6 inches away from the sound hole of the guitar and adjusted the gain to ensure we did not pick up any background noise.

2. Mono SM58- Office
We used a dynamic SM58 microphone which was 6 inches away from the sound hole near to the thread, we also kept the gain at 7 as there was no background noise, we used the one microphone to create a mono sound overall.



3. Stereo SM58- Office
We used 2 dynamic SM58 microphones which both were 6 inches away like the first one, the first microphone was placed in the same position as for the first recording but the second mic was placed towards the bottom of the sound hole in order to receive the low frequency sounds. By using both microphones we created a stereo recording. 

4. Rode NT2-a- Office

To begin with we used the Rode NT2- a, with this we had to turn the gain down as it was too loud, the microphone was placed 6 inches away from the guitar, also there is no background noise within the recording.


Overall the best recording in Location 1 was the stereo recording using the SM58 as it has the clearest sound with no background noise heard and is also in stereo to give a clearer 3D sound.


LOCATION 2

5. AKG c1000s- Presentation suit (Hall)
In the presentation suit we set up the c1000s 6 inches away from the sound hole and lowered the gain to cut out any background noise.

6. SM58- Presentation suit (Hall)
We used an SM58 microphone placed 6 inches away from the sound hole and had to drop down the gain once again to cut out the background noise.

7. Rode NT2-a- Presentation suit (Hall)
when using the NT2-a we set the polar pattern to Omnidirectional so that it did not pick up background noise.

In Location 2 there is slightly more background noise than in Location 1 but is still very minimal. the best recording is made using the Rode NT2-a as it has the clearer and crisper sound.



Location 3

8. AKG C1000s- Outside
when outside we set the c1000s up 6 inches away from the sound hole and turned down the gain to try and cut out background noise but were unable to cut it all out and some can be heard on the recording.

9. SM58- Outside
when outside we set the SM58 up 6 inches away from the sound hole and turned down the gain to try and cut out background noise but were unable to cut it all out and some can be heard on the recording.

10. Rode NT2-a - Outside
when outside we set the NT2-a up 6 inches away from the sound hole and turned down the gain to try and cut out background noise but were unable to cut it all out and some can be heard on the recording.

When recording outside the background noise was a lot more noticeable than in the other locations and was difficult to cut out and therefore can be heard on all 3 recordings. The best recording was with the c1000s as it had the least noticeable Background noise.


In conclusion, the Best recording was the stereo recoding with the SM58's in the Office. The stereo recording has a better quality as it picks up the high and low pitched sounds of the guitar and plays them both together.



Task 2: Recording different Instruments in a Studio.

For this assignment we had to go into the recording studio and set up Cubase 7 to record a total of 5 instruments.

Date and Time of recording	07/11/16	09/11/16	17/01/17
Members in group and roles	Ben and Jacob- playing the instruments. James and I- in the studio on the Mac.	James and Jacob- playing instruments/ setting up mics. Ben and I- in the studio on the Mac.	Jacob and James playing the instruments. Ben and I in the studio on the Mac.
Instruments and performers to record	Tambourine- Jacob Piano- Ben	Guitar- James	Cymbal- Jacob Bongo- James
Microphones used	C1000s- Cardioid Polar pattern. SM58- Cardioid Polar pattern.	SM58- Cardioid Polar pattern.	SM58- Cardioid Polar pattern.
How you will set up the microphone	Piano: Place the 2 C1000s’ on a stand just in front of the 2 Piano speakers. Tambourine: Single SM58 6in in front of the tambourine.	Microphone 1 6 inches away from sound hole and a little up and right of it. Microphone 2 6 inches away from sound hole and a little down to the left.	Cymbal- one Microphone underneath, facing the bottom of the cymbal and the other on top, facing the top of the cymbal. Bongo- one underneath the sound hole pointing up the bongo and one on top facing down on the bongo.
Why we chose this Mic.	We chose a C1000s for the piano because this mic is able to pick up more delicate sounds which is essential with a piano. We used the SM58 microphone for the recording of the tambourine as it is able to cope with the louder harsher sounds.	We used the SM58 microphone for the guitar as it is ideal for picking up the lower pitched sounds in the Stereo recording.	The SM58 microphone was chosen to record the Cymbal and bongo as they both have low pitched harsh sounds which the SM58 is ideal for.

Tambourine- Studio  
In the recording of Jacob playing the Tambourine there is no background noise or clipping on the recording which means that we had the gain set at a good level. there is a clear sound of the tambourine in the recording however it is not very loud, this could have been fixed by the microphone being closer or by Jacob playing the tambourine louder.

Guitar- Studio
In the recording of James playing guitar there is also no background noise, however you can hear the vibrations of the guitar being playing which gives the recording a more muffled sound than would be desired. To fix this we could have reset the gain or moved the microphones a little further away from the guitar. we could have also edited it after recording by using filters to block out the sound to give the recording a much clearer sound.

Piano- Studio
The recording of Ben playing the Piano has a very clear and crisp sound to it. there is no background noise, however you can hear Ben pressing the keys before the sound comes from the piano, to prevent this from happening we could move the microphones further away from the piano, adjust the gain to prevent the mic's from picking up the noise or simply press the piano keys lighter.

Cymbal- studio
In this recording of Jacob playing the Cymbal, the quality of the sound is clear and crisp. Although it seems as if the volume dips up and down it was the desired way in which the Cymbal was played with 2 different types of drum sticks.

Bongo- Studio
The Recording of James playing the Bongo has a clear sound to it with no background noise. the fault with the recording however, is that you can hear James' hand sticking to the bongo when he hits it, to prevent this from happening he could have used a beating stick instead of his hands.

Evaluation of recordings.