At long last Phil English’s ‘Full English Podcast’ is here!

This brand new podcast runs for an amazing two and a half hours so make a flask of coffee or tea and settle down to the latest issue.

This month Phil joins new co-host Neil Morgan to look at monitoring and mastering.  After discussing the latest monitors Phil’s been trying out with Neil, Phil heads over to leading London mastering facility Fluid Mastering to talk with mastering engineers Tim Debney and Nick Watson about stem mastering, loudness, dynamic range and lot’s more .

Fluid Mastering Studios

Click here to get the podcast and catch up if this is the first time you’ve been here.

WATCH PART FOUR OF THE INTERVIEW RECORDED AT ABBEY ROAD

Part Four of our exclusive video interview with legendary recording engineer and producer Ken Scott shot at Abbey Road Studios with Russell Cottier asking the questions.

In this fourth part we looked at Mastering, working with technology and working with limitations and how they can actually help. Come back soon for the next part of our interview!

All of the Ken Scott Features

WATCH PART THREE OF THE INTERVIEW RECORDED AT ABBEY ROAD

In this third part of the interview series we found out from Ken about how using less impressive microphones when recording drums needn’t be a problem, talks about dynamic range, the importance of good monitoring (again) and making a decision to keep a session moving. Come back soon for the fourth part of our interview!

All of the Ken Scott Features

Part Two of our exclusive video interview with legendary recording engineer and producer Ken Scott shot at Abbey Road Studios with Russell Cottier asking the questions.

In this second part we asked Ken about his microphone choices and placement when recording drums and came back to making decisions as you go along when recording and how important good monitoring is.

Come back just before Christmas for the third part of our interview!

WATCH PART TWO OF THE INTERVIEW
RECORDED AT ABBEY ROAD

Last Week’s Part One is here 

Ken Scott’s video guide of how to record and mix drums for students and engineers is a superb DVD pack. Find out more about the EDU version by clicking here!  Its videos cover everything from basic mic techniques to mixing and everything in between. Ken walks you through the recording process and on the second disk you get to play with the drum tracks that he recorded so that you can understand how he does things.

Special thanks to Ken for giving up so much time and to everyone at Abbey Road but we’d like to mention Mirek Styles, Colette Barber and Simon Campbell for their help in making this possible! We would also like to give special thanks to Russell Cottier  for coming all the way from Liverpool to record the interview!

Come back just before Christmas for Part Three!

OTHER EXCLUSIVE KEN SCOTT VIDEO FEATURES

- Watch Ken recording the Epik Drums Samples (5 Videos)

- Watch Ken talking in an interview with Nijel Jopson at Abbey Road

Ken Scott is a legendary British recording engineer and producer who recorded The Beatles, David Bowie, Elton John, Supertramp, Pink Floyd, Jeff Beck, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Billy Cobham, Duran Duran, Dixie Dregs, Missing Persons, Devo, Lou Reed, America, George Harrison and many other iconic artists in music history. He had his start in the 60’s working as a Tape Operator at Abbey Road Studios and from there went on to engineer and produce some of the most acclaimed albums of the 20th Century. Ken has recorded timeless songs such as “I Am The Walrus”, “Rocket Man”, “Ziggy Stardust”, “Dreamer”, “Walk On The Wild Side” and many others. One of the unique aspects of Ken’s career in music is the diversity of iconic styles he has been a part of from the 60’s to today.

“EpiK DrumS – A Ken Scott Collection” is a Sonic Reality virtual instrument/plug-in for drum kits and grooves with the authentic sound and feel of timeless classic albums. Expanding the Drum Masters series with high resolution vintage drum sounds, EpiK DrumS features drum kits and grooves of 5 of the world’s best drummers all recorded and mixed by legendary producer/engineer Ken Scott.

In this first massive volume from the Ken Scott Collection, Ken has recreated the drum sounds in the style of multi-track studio sessions he recorded with David Bowie, Supertramp, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Dixie Dregs, Missing Persons, Elton John and The Beatles. These authentic classic sounds were achieved by using the same rare recording equipment, drum kits, percussion and expert technical assistance from Ross Garfield “The Drum Doctor”, advanced programming by Sonic Reality and collaboration with the original legendary drummers Bill Cobham, Terry Bozzio, Woody Woodmansey, Bob Siebenberg and Rod Morgenstein. All together it is one the most EPIK productions ever done for a software drum and groove instrument.

Welcome to Russell Cottier’s Video Blog!!!

This month recording engineer and producer Russ looks at the Haas Effect and how it can be used by anyone looking to  widen the soundfield.

Please let us know what you think of this effect and if you have any interesting techniques that you’d like to share we’d love to hear from you.

More posts by Russell Cottier

Look up Russ on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/russell.cottier

Just kidding, it isn’t 1964 – that was just a cheap shot to get your attention.

Some readers will perhaps be shocked and puzzled as to my equipment choice and methods for this live recording at the Cavern in Liverpool. A domestic cassette recorder? One cheap mic? What’s he playing at? Why not a nice little modern handheld digital recorder and a couple of high end condensers? Why not a direct feed from the desk? This isn’t a 60s bootleg, is it?

No,but it’s a 60s sound, for a genuine, authentic beat group, no less; The Beat Rats, all the way from new York City. so they deserved an appropriate treatment. In this case the monster Sony 138SD cassette recorder, and a single Sony F99 stereo dynamic mic, both circa 1972. A 1/4″ machine or anything with valves in would have been an option, but too unwieldy for a superfast set up,and way too fragile in this kind of environment.

The stereo mic choice was partly to cover myself in case of drop outs, or incorrect balance; so left and right could be readjusted on mastering if needed.  The cheap mic sonic was useful(!) – the restricted frequency response knocked out low end rumble by default, so I knew I wouldn’t have problems with muddiness or spiky high end transients. The result would be most reminiscent of a 60s sonic. Theoretically.

I’m familiar with the Cavern – and the shortcomings of its sound system. In such a small venue, the PA system is often overpowering, and configured for one-size-fits-all. So an important aim was to  bypass the house sound as much as possible. My solution was to place the mic very close to the stage, to pick up the natural balance of the instruments, and grab enough vocals from the stage monitors (with perhaps just a little from the PA).

Time was very limited in setting up; no more than 5 minutes to unpack my gear, set the mic, and check everything was working (ie holding a cigarette lighter above the recorder to make sure the tape was turning!). There was no possibility of any soundcheck, and monitoring was well nigh impossible due to the external noise level, so a little intuition was necessary. I set the mic at ear height, roughly 5ft in front of the centre of the stage, with the recorder to the side. To show how small the place really is, I should note that the cable for this mic is a mere 6′!

Other than an unruly drunk bashing into the mic stand during the second song, I just moved the mic once – a foot further back, as I’d noted the vocal was more evident in that position. That always seems to be the the battle in live sound – getting enough vocal in the mix.

But let’s not forget to give credit where it’s due. The band played splendidly and did all the hard work – all I had to do was press record.

In post production, I just eq’d slightly, adding a little more mid range, and a tad of compression on mastering, then culled the set for a 6 track EP.  My benchmark for this record was The Big 3 Live At The Cavern from 1964, which is frankly not that brilliant. Did I do better? Did I do worse?

Admittedly, my choices were a risky strategy – especially opting for a lo fi sonic from the outset. But sometimes you just have to go with your instincts and hope for the best!

The Big 3 here:
http://www.merseybeatnostalgia.co.uk/html/the_big_three.html

and you can watch the gig here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jg9byWEm31Y&feature=related

The Beat Rats website:
http://garagepunk.ning.com/profile/THEBEATRATS

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We have been working with a number of top producers, studios and engineers to create unique recording tutorial masterclass series under the umbrella of Singing Canary productions – You can purchase the complete drum recording tutorials (and many others) that we have published on MacProVideo.com. Click HERE to browse our recording tutorial videos that are all available as HiDef downloads.

Watch out for the next short video next month!

Welcome to the New Russell Cottier Video Blog!!!

First off in the new Video Blog, Russ takes a look at Impedance when recording guitars and helps point at getting a fatter sound. It’s one of *those* subjects that leaves many confused so Russ has decided to try and make it really simple!

More in this series will be coming soon. Please add your comments and feedback in the box below so that we can cover subjects you’ve requested.

(The) Art of Audio Recording

Recording Vocals

85 minutes | by Singing Canary Productions

Whether you’re working in a world-class audio environment with a million dollar console, or your spare bedroom with a beat up old ball mic, this tutorial shows you everything you need to know to record platinum sounding vocals into your DAW.

About Singing Canary Productions

Singing Canary Productions specializes in the production of video tutorials covering audio recording and production techniques. This unique collective of expert audio engineers, producers and trainers share their extensive knowledge of everything audio in beautifully produced live action videos created exclusively for macProVideo.com

From professional engineers to weekend warriors…..Singing Canary takes you into the inner workings of the commercial recoding studio. They explore and demonstrate audio recording techniques covering every aspect of the recording process from mic placement to mastering!

Some leading recording engineers and record producers gathered at Modern World Studios in the UK countryside 2010 to record a series of drum recording masterclass videos. Each contributor covered drum recording, microphone placement, drum tuning and much more from their point of view and experience.

This video features George Shilling and requires Quick Time 7 or above and a fast internet connection.

George is a successful record producer, recording engineer, musician and journalist writing for leading music industry magazines. In this video George takes the ‘recording on a budget’ perspective.

Special thanks to everyone that attended, Sean Genockey, Simon Turner, George Shilling, James Towler and Greg Haver. Special thanks also to everyone at Modern World Studios for making us so welcome that we have come back to do more of these!