Digital Music Production

Carlos J. Ochoa Fernández © 2015

Madrid

Sound and Signal Flow

Recording Acoustic Instruments Parts 1 & 2


Recording Acoustic Instruments Part 1

• Introduction The main objective of this task is to learn about the music production process—for home-recording acoustic instruments and vocals— to create your own music on your computer with all your soul and power. “Hi I am Carlos Ochoa from Madrid in Spain. This lesson is for week 1 of Introduction To Music Production at Coursera.org. I will be showing a recording of acoustic instruments using 2 simple different configurations in my home studio.” Lets go to Part 1.


Recording Acoustic Instruments

Part 1 Beginners recording system

Carlos J. Ochoa



The Basis: Part 1 is based in a very simple and economic Home-Studio configuration for Recording Acoustic instruments. This could also be very useful for demo recording. This is why I called it “Beginners Basic Home Studio”. The gear I used for Part 1 is: 1 CAD USB microphone, A/D converter 1 USB cable 1 ASUS A53S computer, 8Gb ram, 500Gb Hd, Altec Lansing Monitors Power Tracks Professional License 1 Sennheiser HD 202 headphones A Gibson J 150 Acoustic Guitar A Loar LM 500 Mandoline



CAD U37 Usb microphone A/D converter

Sennheiser HD 202 headphones

ASUS A53S Laptop

Power Tracks Professional



CAD U37 Usb microphone A/D converter


ASUS A53S Laptop




CAD U37 Usb microphone A/D Converter

ASUS A53S Laptop


Usb cable

The microphone converts the pressure variations into voltage variations. Inside the device (microphone), the analog signal is converted into a digital signal, a stream of ones and zeros.


Instrument / Voice

From CAD usb microphone, the binary signal goes to my Lap Top DAW: Power Tracks I need to configure the Mic Input in my Laptop to USB input Microphone. Then I open the Recording Program and adjust the configuration to USB Mic Input and latency:0. I select a new project and select a track to record the digital input signal onto an audio track, I monitor the project with my Sennheiser headphones while I record the sounds (guitar, voice) to adjust the input level. Then I proceed to record the first track demo.

Once I finish the recording, I can convert the project file onto an audio file and the I can play the track back from Power Tracks in any other audio software using external monitors or headphones.


Recording Acoustic Instruments

Part 2 Intermediate recording system

Carlos J. Ochoa


This is my favorite method for recording acoustic guitar and vocals. It involves two condenser mics (AKG for guitar and Behringer for voice and instrument too), located in the best place around the singer. Notice how, the null of each mic is facing exactly what we want to reject: the null of the instrument/vocal mic is facing the guitar, and the null of the guitar mic is facing his mouth. The downside - the acoustic guitar mic ends up being fairly awkward to position, the isolation between the mics is great.


Portable Digital Home- Studio

Condenser microphones & XLR cables



The Basis: Part 2 is based in a complex Home-Digital Studio configuration for Recording Music and Acoustic , Electric and Digital instruments. This could also be very useful for high quality demo recording and “Live Recording Sessions” The gear I used for Part 2 is: 1 AKG C1000 S condenser microphone 1 Behringer B-1 condenser microphone 2 XLR (balanced) cables 1 Digital Mixer (A/D converter) Mackie Onyx 820i 1 firewire cable 1 Dell Inspiron computer, 4Gb ram, 500Gb Hd Tracktion V5 Power Tracks Professional License 1 Sennheiser HD 280 pro-headphones A Gibson J 150 Acoustic Guitar A Loar LM 500 Mandoline


AKG C1000 S condenser microphone

Behringer B-1 condenser microphone

1 XLR (balanced) cable

A Sennheiser HD 280 pro-headphones







Sennheiser HD 280 pro-headphones





Traktion Digital Recording

Dell Laptop Mackie Onyx 820i / Digital Mixer

A/D Converter

Firewire cable In/Out

Stereo Out cable





Dell Laptop Mackie Onyx 820i / Digital Mixer

A/D Converter

Firewire cable In/Out

Stereo Out cable




Mackie Onyx 820i / Digital Mixer A/D Converter

Firewire cable In/Out to Mixer

Stereo Out cable

Firewire cable In/Out to Laptop


Dell Laptop



Instrument / Voice AKG C1000 S condenser microphone



Dell Laptop

XLR (balanced) cable



Instrument / Voice




Dell Laptop

XLR (balanced) cable




Sound starts when I play guitar as longitudinal pressure variations in the air. The microphone converts the pressure variations into voltage variations. We used two condenser microphones with different frequency range. AKG for instrument and Behringer for instrument and vocal.

Instrument / Voice

Voltage variations that travel along the balanced XLR cable to the Mic (Phanton) input of my Mackie audio interface.

Cable mic goes to the microphone preamp, and I adjust the Trim control to get a good signal without distorsion. I tried several times until I feel comfortable what I listen. Condenser Mic needs to switch the 48V switch phantom power on. Inside the Mackie interface, the signal is converted into a digital signal.

XLR (balanced) cable Condenser microphone

Mix Pre-amp and Phanton Power





Once I finish the recording, I can convert the project file onto an audio file and the I can play the track back from Traktion into any other audio software using external monitors or headphones.

The output of Mackie Onyx is Firewire 400 and the input of Dell Laptop is Firewire 800, so I used a special cable for that connection. This is an in/out connection and allows the system to use in real time all plugins from my Laptop.

The digital signal goes into the DAW: Traktion, integrated with Mackie A/D. First I have to adjust the input signal in the mixing console with the gain button, checking the levels once more setting the microphones preamp carefully, preventing distorsion. Second I have to configure and adjust the audio parameters and recording options into Traktion. Third I record the signal in the selected audio tracks (one per mic), Along this process, I check the levels on the output, setting microphones preamp carefully.


“Recording this lesson was an amazing experience. The material wasn’t new to me but I needed to write a script to make sure I used all the terms correctly. Also I have had to check the complete recording process for two different parts of the activity. I used Windows Movie Maker, due the feasibility and easy editing tools and facilities. The most complex work, due the lack of time, was the difficulty of getting a good audio recording mix for the video. In any case, I hope I covered all the main aspects of the Lesson and I hope to improve my staff along the course.


“Believe me when I tell You that I worked hard on this and I would love to know if I got everything right. I did the best I could though my main issue was to be clear, focus, consistent and provide good value to You. Is there anything I missed or could have explained better? What do you think of the acoustic audio recording? Thank you for watching, critiquing, be patient and love music as I do.”


Madrid

Sound and Signal Flow

Recording Acoustic Instruments Parts 1 & 2

Digital Music Production

Education