Tesla v. Edison

Hoyle Brothers at Old Town School 9/17/10

I just found this video of the Chicago honky tonk country group The Hoyle Brothers playing at Old Town School on 9/17/10.  They were opening for the Texas Tornadoes.  I did sound for this.  They kick ass.

Here is another video from that night:

Live Sound For Salsa Music

Salsa music is a genre of latin music with many sub-genres.  I have run sound for many traditional salsa bands from quite a few of these sub-genres.  I will be discussing how to make it sound good in a general way.

First off, as an engineer you must be well prepared.  Very very seldom do salsa bands show up for sound checks, at least from my experience here in Chicago.  I'm not sure why this is.  Everything would be much easier for the band and the engineers if they did show up to a sound check, but as it is,  you must have everything set up, and the monitors rung out in preparation for the musicians to show up at the last minute.

The most common set-up for a salsa band is:

1. A percussion section consisting of congas, timbales, and bongos, cowbell, (or whatever instrument is playing the clave rhythm.) They usually set up dead center stage.
2. A horn section of anywhere from 2 trombones to a full selection of bones, trumpets and saxes.  They usually are upstage left.
3. Bass (usually electric stand-up these days.)  Usually upstage right.
4. Keyboard or piano often are down stage right.
5. Lead vocals get down stage center.
6. With some bands many of the musicians sing back up.
7. I've run into a few salsa bands that have other instruments such as electric guitars, trap kits, or even strings.

Percussion:

1.  Congas should be the loudest thing in the mix, and loud in the monitors as well.  I like to use EV 408s (what they now call the 468) on congas, or Sennheiser 421s.  I definitely prefer dynamic mics, so a 57 is preferable to clip-on condenser drum mics.  There are three types of congas, the tumba is the lowest, then there is the conga, which is the mid range instrument, and the highest toned one is the quinto.  If they have all three (many people only use a tumba and a conga) I prefer one mic on each drum, but often I am forced by lack of channels to use two mics on the three drums.

2. Timbales are very loud acoustically.  They are played very dynamically.  Indoors they often don't need to be miced, however you should always put at least one mic of them, just in case.  I prefer two mics on a set of timbales.  One (a dynamic mic) is placed underneath in between the two drums.  The other mic (usually a condenser) is placed over the various cowbells and percussion toys that are mounted over the drums.  If you have enough channels then you can use one mic under each timbal and two over heads.  You might have to put the bottom mics out of polarity.  Usually there is no need to put them through the monitors.  In general the timbal is lower than the congas in the mix.

3. Bongos Are pretty quiet acoustically, yet need to be nearly as loud as the congas in the mix.  They are played sitting down, and the best way to mic them is from behind.  The mic goes on a short stand, placed under the player's chair with the mic ending up underneath the drum.  Any dynamic mic will work for this, I prefer the EV 408 but a 57 works fine. 

4. The Clave Rhythm is played by different instruments in different varieties of the music.  Often it is played with wood blocks.  In Puerto Rican salsa it is played with a cowbell.  I use a 57 to mic it.  Often it is played by the bongo player.  It needs to be nearly as loud as the congas in both the FOH mix and monitors.  Yes, they will ask for more cowbell in the monitor, and they are not making an allusion to the Saturday Night Live Skit.

The mix:

If you are familiar with the genre, then you will know the how the mix should sound.  If you are not, and are setting out to mix salsa for the first time, do some research.  Listen to as much of the music as you can.  You Tube is free, folks, use it to study any type of music you are going to mix.  This is not an option, it is your job.  Buy music - You can write it off.  I'm working on a blog post about this subject alone, keep an eye out for it.

As I've said the congas should be the loudest thing in the mix.  This idea, that any percussion could be louder than vocals, seemed very strange to me when I first mixed this genre.  After some study, it became clear to me though that this is the right way to do it.  After the congas generally the vocals are little louder than the other percussion.  The next loudest thing will be the piano, bass and the horns, all at about the same level.   All that said, you need to make sure that when there is a piano or horn solo that they are the loudest thing at that moment.  Usually the band takes care of dynamics themselves, with non-soloing instruments playing quieter when others are soloing.  You shouldn't have to actively turn up solos all the time.  I usually don't compress anything too much, allowing room in the mix for the band to mix themselves through their arrangements.

I use very little reverb, just a touch on the vocals and horns, however many sound people use quite a lot of reverb in salsa music.  This is a matter of personal taste I'd say.  My mentor always said, "if you can hear the reverb, you are using too much," a sentiment that I agree with.

All in all, salsa (especially in it's traditional forms) can be a lot of fun to mix.  Once you get the mix to sit right, you should be able to sit back and watch the show.  Usually salsa fans like it loud, so bring ear plugs and crank it up.

If There Is No Quiet, There Can Be No Loud

This video is a great explanation of the loudness wars.  Essential viewing for all engineers.

Sennheiser headphone hack

Cheaper Sennheiser headphones use same driver as more expensive ones.


http://mikebeauchamp.com/misc/sennheiser-hd-555-to-hd-595-mod/

Yemen Blues show 2/27/11 at Old Town School

I was lucky enough to work this show at Old Town School a few weeks ago.  I didn't mix, but their engineer did a great job!

10 Technical Concepts Every Sound Person Should Understand From Karl Winkler

This is a great list of basic concepts any sound person should know, via Karl Winkler on Pro Sound Web.

Danny Barnes on How to Make a Living as a Musician

Danny Barnes, the brilliant banjo player has some great advice for musicians. I have been lucky enough to do sound for him a few times. Once he and Robbie Fulks played a live soundtrack to a silent film. That was cool.

How to Make a Living as a Musician.

Also from Danny, Why the Music Industry is Not Fucked. (My title, not his)

Here is a killer video I found of him playing at Martyr's here in Chicago with Robbie Fulks and Casey Driessen.

Mixing Indian Music

I have worked with quite a few Indian Classical and folk groups. In general I prefer dynamic mics on percussion and condensers on anything with strings. Harmoniums will get a condenser as well, usually.

I will ask them politely to let me mic them up the way I want if they are requesting 57s and 58s for the following reasons...

Tablas:

Although most classical guys like one or two 57s, I have found that two EV 408s sound fantastic on tablas. I have had quite a few tabla players ask me at the end of the gig what the mics I used were called and where can they get them. Just because they mostly get 57s in India doesn't mean that they are the right mic for the job. There are a lot of tones going on with tablas, and while you can make a 57 work, they pale in comparison to a good mic and necessitate a lot of EQ work, especially to get the top end ring to sound right (as well as the low end whump.) The absolute best tabla sound I ever got was with a single 441. 421s, M88s and RE 20s also sound great.

Sitar, Sarod, Veenas, or other stringed instruments:

I don't think a 57 or 58 could possibly have the frequency range to adequately mic these instruments.  I have never had a sitar player turn down a condenser. I use the best one I have handy, small or large diaphragm. I prefer a Neumann km184 , but have made an 81 work. Have the musician play and put your ear close to it. Find the sweet spot.

I have never gone direct from a tambura box. I have always just laid a 57 near it. It is not supposed to be very loud.  For the real instruments I prefer a condenser.

I once miced an Indian flute with a ribbon mic from above. Quite nice.

A few general tips:

Do not over EQ the system.

Once a rug is put on the stage remove your shoes before walking on it. When in Rome. I have a long and very funny story about not doing this that I will not go into here.

Don't mix too much. Don't compress ANYTHING. Give them all the dynamic range you can. They will handle their own mix.

If they want monitors, they will want sidefills only, most likely.

If you are unfamiliar with the music, educate yourself. Buy some Cds of Ravi Shankar, Zakir Hussein, and some other great players so you have an idea of what the balance is supposed to be like. Listen to them play together acoustically before you amplify them. Their instruments should sound exactly the same, but louder. Also, remember that India is a huge place, with many kinds of music. I have run across every type of Indian music from the more folky stuff to Classical, to fusion. Classical guys can be VERY intense to work with. They are picky, as all people who care about their art should be.

Here is a blog post I wrote about mixing Debashish Bhattacharya:

This post comes from a discussion on Pro Sound Web

Post Script:
I recently received an email from a musicology student in Pakistan asking about microphone placement in Indian recordings.  I responded to him from my perspective as a live sound engineer.  Here is my response to his questions:

Hello Sir,

Thank you for writing to me with you questions.  I hope that the recent flooding in Pakistan hasn't affected you or you family and that you are well.

I am actually not a recording engineer.  I am a live concert engineer with many years of experience in mixing acoustic shows of all sorts.  This has included many Indian shows.  Techniques used in live concert production and recording differ greatly, I can only respond to your questions from the perspective of concert sound.

Q1. What basic difference is in recording western and eastern instruments? Which is more difficult to record eastern or western instruments? (To achieve best sound quality)

I believe that the complexity of Indian and Pakistani music makes it far more difficult  to work with.  In the west we only have a 12 tone scale.  Eastern music contains far more tones that need to be represented clearly.

Q2.What is the basic rule for recording an acoustic instrument?

My basic rule for mixing acoustic instruments it to attempt to represent that instrument as perfectly, and naturally as possible. 

Q3. Did you apply western techniques on eastern instruments, or find a sweetspot for the recording?

This is one major way that recording and live techniques differ.  In a recording I would be tempted to use a single ribbon mic or a pair of condensers to record an entire ensemble, especially if recording in a nice room.  It seems to me that "tracking" a recording of ragas (for instance) would be very hard.

In the live setting however, I close mic everything, finding a sweetspot on each and every instrument.

Q4. How many eastern instruments you have recorded? 

I have worked with many instruments from all over the world. 

Q5.How crucial role does “microphone placement plays in recording an acoustic instrument?

In the live setting where I work microphone placement is very very important.  Every instrument has a sweet spot.  I have found that most Indian musicians (especially classical ones and fusion players) are very particular about microphone placement and know exactly where to place the mics for best effect.

Q6. How do u choose between different polar pattern microphone i.e. ( cardioid, omni, bi-direct, hyper/super cardioid) for different instruments.

In my world, I choose mostly different types of cardioid mics, as I have to deal with feedback from monitors are the main speakers systems if I use omnis or bi-directional mics.  In a studio I would use the best mics available.

Q7. What are the basic factors which are responsible for a good recording?

These factors are important in both recording and live mixing, in order of importance:

1. Good quality musicians, instruments.

2. Good quality mics and pre-amps

3. Microphone placement

4. A good room to record/mix in.

Q8.Which technique suits the best for eastern instruments: close miking or distant miking, if individual instruments are recorded?

For a recording I think I would prefer distance miking, or a combination of close and distance miking.  For my world of live concerts I only use close micing.

Q9. Microphone choice/brand

       Microphone placement

       Polar pattern/ Dynamic range

            Above three which plays the major role in getting good quality recording?

Microphone placement is the most important of these, but microphone quality is a close second.  Brand names are just an indication of quality.  Polar pattern/ Dynamic range is also extremely important.

Q10. Is it necessary to put dual microphone in recording an instrument? For instrument such as tabla which has two drums, and sitar which has a long neck and sometimes two drones.

In my blog I go in depth into mixing tablas.  I prefer two mics on tabla, but many classical tabla players prefer one.  I have used two mics on sitar but have also used one to good effect.  I used two mics on Debashish Bhattacharya's guitars and Ronu Majumdar's flute.

I hope that these answers help you.  I would be interested to read your thesis upon it's completion. 

-Dave

Here is a photo from a recent concert I did sound for as part of India Calling, a festival of Indian music that is a part of Chicago World Music Festival.  At this festival I mixed flute player Ronu Majumdar for a second time using an SM81 with a windscreen and a Beta 87 on his flute.  I used EV 408s on tablas all weekend.

What you perceive is not necessarily what you hear

Thanks to Dave Rat for linking to this video from AES:



This discussion is mostly geared towards recording, however much of what is discussed, e.g. the placebo effect, relates to live audio. The first quarter of the talk is especially interesting, regarding how the human brain perceives sound. For my thoughts regarding how our perception effects live mixing see this post.