Featured Equipment Of The Week: M-Audio Fast Track C400

M-Audio Fast Track C400
The original, best-selling M-Audio Fast Track recording interfaces set the standard for quality and ease of use. Now the Fast Track C400 audio interface makes it simpler than ever to transform your ideas into professional-quality music. Stay in the creative flow and capture amazing performances with convenient controls plus built-in reverb and delay effects. Sound incredible with an all-new signal path that delivers pristine audio quality. Easily check your mixes on multiple sets of speakers using the built-in monitor management system. And enjoy the flexibility to record with your favorite music software—including Pro Tools. Fast Track C400 gives you the freedom to make music at the speed of your creativity.
Find out more: Fast Track C400

Top Features

• Pristine, 24-bit/96 kHz audio fidelity > ensure your recordings sound amazing
• 4-input/6-output design > capture and play back multiple sources
• Top-panel controls and assignable Multi button > get immediate access to the most commonly used functions
• Near-zero latency monitor mixer with built-in reverb and delay effects > inspire great performances
• Built-in monitor management system > verify that your mixes sound great—and translate well

 See all the details: M-Audio Fast Track C400

Featured Equipment Of The Week: Primacoustic London 10

Primacoustic London 10 Acoustic Treatment Kit
Primacoustic room kits have been carefully designed to address primary acoustical concerns that are common to all rooms by combining various components such as wall panels, bass traps, diffusion and hardware into an easy to use format.
The Primacoustic London 10 is the ideal acoustic studio package for office & bedroom sized facilities. It features 20 high performance high density Broadway panels for even sound absorption in the critical listening range.
Find out more - Primacoustic London 10 room kit

• Complete recording studio in a box
• Live-end, dead-end (LEDE) room design
• High performance fabric covered acoustic panels
• Includes easy-mount hardware and screws

Find out more and buy Primacoustic London 10 room kit

Hand Percussion Recording Tips

A box of hand percussion instruments is one of the best investments you can make for your home studio. Shakers, rattles, tambourines and other clicky things can be added to just about any style of music from folk to electronic to heavy metal (hear White Zombie for proof of tambourine in metal).

You can these instruments to fill out sparse arrangements, increase energy in a chorus or to add emphasis to certain beats.
 
Once you start building your collection it's hard to stop, most small percussion instruments are inexpensive and many you can make yourself. Having a variety of options will get you closer to the ideal sound for each song and minimal processing after recording.

As with any musical instrument, there is more to playing percussion than just shaking or smacking it. Even the humble egg shaker is capable of a variety of distinct sounds just by changing hand position. I recommend watching some videos on YouTube for egg shaker, maraca, and tambourine for ideas and techniques.




One of the most important things in getting a natural sound from shakers, tambs etc is distance. Ideally you record the performance in a large space with not a lot of acoustic treatment. Hang the mic up high above the player pointed down. I have compared recording a shaker overdub in my control room vs the hallway outside with tile floor and it was dramatically different. Having the reflections from the floor and walls helped create a more 3D sound even with one mic. Placing acoustic treatment behind the mic or on the sides around the mic sucks all the life out. Any shaker tracks I've recorded close and in dryer environments (acoustically) have had a harsh, scratchy sound and were much harder to fit in a mix.

If you do prefer the sound of a close miked percussion performance play across the mic, rather than directly towards it for a more even low and mid frequency response.

Experiment with microphone options, condensers and dynamics will bring out drastically different qualities in percussion. Condensers at a distance will capture a more realistic sound, FET models will pick up the fast transients more accurately than tube models. Dynamic mics react much more slowly and have a less accurate but still very usable sound. Combining a few types of mics may help get you the perfect sound.

 

For music styles like indie rock, an audiophile quality recording of a tambourine isn't going to be very helpful, you're just going to have to distort and filter it later! Instead, experiment with different mics, tape recorders, toy mics and effect pedals to make things nasty. Besides being a lot of fun, it can be exactly what the song needs.

For processing these tracks I like short delays and reverb to create a doubling effect but it all depends on what the role of the percussion is in the arrangement, whether it should be drawing attention or just adding texture. Close miked percussion tends to need more processing especially if you want it to sound natural (you see the contradiction there?). Using high and low cut filters to limit the spectrum to only whats necessary often helps when there are many of these parts. Alright, now that you are prepared, make some noise!