Getting The Most Out Of VI's Using SDC's
Nov 8, 2018 9:10:45 GMT -6
ragan, kcatthedog, and 6 more like this
Post by cowboycoalminer on Nov 8, 2018 9:10:45 GMT -6
For the betterment of the community, I'm going to give up a secret I stumbled across and I've been sitting on it for some time. I think we can all agree that VI's (as good as they are these days) are lacking as opposed to real recordings. The thought occurred to me a few years back that what they mostly lack is "air" and "feel". That is to say, they lack that natural bounce that happens between 2 mics when we record a piano for example. It's basically the same as re-amping guitars which we probably all do.
I don't have a piano in my space to record but I do have some good VI's. I also have a ton of good mics, a good room and some great speakers that I monitor from. Most do. So it occured to me to try re-recording my monitors using SDC's in stereo to put some mojo back in VI parts. Believe me when I tell you that it works and when you try it, you'll see.
This method lends itself perfectly for guys like me who record 99% of the music I create myself. The trick here is to get the mics placed properly in front of the speakers to capture first the proper tone for an instrument, then to capture the interaction back and forth between the two mics. In most cases we have spaced our monitors properly to get the best listening position which varies from room to room, but this spacing should work for the application I'm describing.
Here's how it works. Record a VI part. Mix the VI part as best you can to the song. Then, place SDC's in a stereo array in front of your left and right monitor. Keep in mind that positioning is critical with distance from the monitors as well as pointing the mic toward the right spot between the tweeter and the mid cone. Also, if one wants more room as in recording an organ part with lots of worrble back and forth, simply move the mics back to pic up more room and more delay between the mics.
For the last few years I've kept a pair of SDC's on stands beside my monitors for this purpose. It takes longer, yes but the payoff is worth it in many cases.
Try this if you'd like.
I don't have a piano in my space to record but I do have some good VI's. I also have a ton of good mics, a good room and some great speakers that I monitor from. Most do. So it occured to me to try re-recording my monitors using SDC's in stereo to put some mojo back in VI parts. Believe me when I tell you that it works and when you try it, you'll see.
This method lends itself perfectly for guys like me who record 99% of the music I create myself. The trick here is to get the mics placed properly in front of the speakers to capture first the proper tone for an instrument, then to capture the interaction back and forth between the two mics. In most cases we have spaced our monitors properly to get the best listening position which varies from room to room, but this spacing should work for the application I'm describing.
Here's how it works. Record a VI part. Mix the VI part as best you can to the song. Then, place SDC's in a stereo array in front of your left and right monitor. Keep in mind that positioning is critical with distance from the monitors as well as pointing the mic toward the right spot between the tweeter and the mid cone. Also, if one wants more room as in recording an organ part with lots of worrble back and forth, simply move the mics back to pic up more room and more delay between the mics.
For the last few years I've kept a pair of SDC's on stands beside my monitors for this purpose. It takes longer, yes but the payoff is worth it in many cases.
Try this if you'd like.
