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ecording theroomTECHNOLOGY FOCUSThe sE Electronics Reflexion Filter was developed (under patentpending) by sE in response to an overwhelming demand to providea solution for people without fully treated rooms, or who needa portable system with some degree of treatment (maybe for OB work,webcasting, or just a portable vocal rig they can rely on for a consistentsound). The thing is it’sextremely hard to do this isa small space... and there area number of keymisconceptions which leadeven hardened pro’s, to makebad decisions about treatment.An acoustic treatmentdevice should not have its own‘sound’ since if it does, then itis colouring the mic you justspent lots of money on… notgood. Foam products simplyremove HF above around2KHz, and little below this,despite some manufacturersclaiming otherwise... a pieceof 1” thick foam does virtuallynothing to the frequency bandof 50-500Hz..The sE Electronicsmultiplayer technology was 18months in development anduses several different layers of different materials and air spaces, to give aneffectively colourless, and highly effective (considering the small footprint)form of absorption and diffusion for source audio.www.seelectronics.comDistant RelationsThe directionality of amicrophone is independentof the transducer principle(dynamic/condenser), andthe frequency response ofthe omni (or pressuremicrophone) is independentof the distance.Eddy B. Brixen,Audio Specialist,DPA MicrophonesPiano GlueAdd some vibe to a pianothat is the featured instrument:Often times if thereare other mics up in thestudio that had been used forother things, I will quicklylisten to them to see howthey blend in. A mic pointingthe other way from thepiano that was originallyset up for a snare drum andgoing through an 1176 is thesurprising glue that can reallyadd some vibe.Mike Terry, Grammy nominatedProducer, Engineer, and SoundDesigner c/o Lauten Audio.comDistant KeysPiano as a backing instrument:If the piano is more of a backinginstrument and filling in somespace, but not so prominent, I willtry to determine the frequencyrange it can sit in without disruptingthe more featured parts, oftentimes this means panned off to oneside or another without a detailedstereo image. More distant mikingcan work for this application, forone, it helps add depth by pickingup some room sound that canstick the piano further back in themix, and two, the presence isn’t asfeatured which also helps push itback without hiding it too much.Mike Terry, Grammy nominated Producer,Engineer, and Sound Designer c/o Lauten AudioMyths BustedAs a principle the omni can have a frequencyresponse going all the way down to 0Hz (butis seldom allowed to), and small membranemicrophones pick up as much low-frequencycontent as large membrane microphones.Eddy B. Brixen, Audio Specialist, DPA MicrophonesRecording RoomsPoor room acoustics need help. Are there anyunwanted noises? Can you isolate them? Is theinstrument best placed in the room? Try a differentmic, try adding more dampening to thewalls – or some corrugated metal roof sheetsif you want it more ‘live’. Remember to removeanything that might rattle or make noise in theroom – the usual culprits are someone forgettingto take the snare off the drum. Use carpetfor the mic stand and the singer to try and stopany foot tapping being picked up – and makesure the mic stand is tightly secured. With aheavy mic and noise filter you don’t want itdrooping in the middle of a take.Alan Branch, Producer/Engineer and Audio MediaContributorDrum RollFind the sweet spot for drums in your room:Try setting up and striking the kick andsnare all around the room and just listen, thiswill help you find the spot that works the best.This way, when you do get the mics up, you willhave something nice to listen to pretty quickly.Mike Terry, Grammy nominated ProducerEngineer, and Sound Designer c/o Lauten AudioMakeHistoryM80M80-WHAUDIO MEDIA AUGUST 201117