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Using a single microphone, or one stereo mic, to record a musical performance all at once without any overdubbing can result in a recording that is very compelling to the listener. When everyone is performing in the same space at the same time, usually without headphones, there is a musical interaction that occurs that we often lose in the typical session using lots of mics, extreme isolation, and many overdubs.

It’s not for every song or composition. Some music benefits from the usual recording approach. But with a group of players who can play in perfect balance, the result can be amazing, both musically and sonically.

It’s an approach that pushes your engineering talents to their limit. You are doing all the tracking and mixing at the same time, with no ability to change things later.

It is also very demanding of the performers, because if anyone makes a mistake, the take is ruined. But I think the results are worth it, for those situations where it makes sense.

In this episode, I describe several approaches to single-point pickup recording, including a hybrid method that combine single-point with traditional techniques. Some examples can be heard in the releases on the Outer Marker Records label. Here is the link where you can listen to examples:

https://www.nativedsd.com/label/outer-marker-records/

And here is the link to a video that compares both a single-point pickup plus the traditional multi-mic, multi-track method, recorded simultaneously:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eLP1G4LnM0

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When you are just starting out in recording music, you are likely to need microphones. And if you have been recording for a while, you may feel the need to add to you microphone collection.

But how do you make those choices? In this episode, I look at the criteria that I think are important in picking mics to add to your studio. Simply choosing a mic that is what other people use, or was on a hit record, is not always the best way to go about this.

I provide a logical approach to adding to your mic collection, with some real-world examples.

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Joseph Arnold is a talented violinist that has played on a variety of projects I have produced. He is also an excellent writer, who just published his first book, titled, “Soul Force: How to discover your artistic purpose, create more freely, and make art that matters.”

In this conversation, Joseph talks about his career path, his pursuit of art, and how his concepts of Soul Force guided him in his journey. We discuss his book, and its value to anyone who wants to create, well, anything.

Joseph also demonstrates on violin a few short examples of the many musical genres he enjoys playing.

For another great interview with Joseph, watch this conversation with Dennis Tardan:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHB3yIG2C78

And here is a link to purchase Soulforce:  https://tinyurl.com/d2a283xr

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In this last of three episodes on the art of producing, I talk about my process for mixing. It is all part of the concept of a song from the beginning. Mixing is where everything comes together to create the version of the song that the artist and I have had.

As an over-simplification, my approach is to turn up the things I like and turn down, or mute, the things I don’t like. But the details are much more complex than that and I explain what I do and why.

I combine the mastering process with mixing. The result is ready for distribution, whether it is in a digital format or for a vinyl record.

The album used in this example is “Time To Be Brave,” by Corrie Lynn Green. You can listen for free to an mp3 version of all the songs at Native DSD, and purchase a download of the album in a variety of digital formats.

https://www.nativedsd.com/label/outer-marker-records/

And learn more about our record label, Outer Marker, at:

https://www.outermarkerrecords.com/

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This is the second of three episodes on the Art of Producing. In this one, I talk about the mics and equipment I use in my studio, and the reasons why.

The example used for this series features an album project for singer-songwriter Corrie Lynn Green. It is an acoustic-based project, although there are some electric guitars and bass on some songs. I explain why I make certain decisions for this project, and how a recording with a different artist or genre would require a different approach.

Corrie’s album, “Time To Be Brave,” will be released on Outer Marker Records on September 6, 2024, and distributed by Native DSD as a download purchase only. But you can listen to all the songs for free (in mp3) on the Native DSD web site.  https://www.nativedsd.com/label/outer-marker-records/

The third and final episode of this series on producing will look at mixing and mastering.

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The art of producing a record requires knowledge of music, mastering the technical aspects of the recording process, and an ability to work with people.

This is the first of a three-part series about producing. In this episode, I talk about the role of the producer, using a typical album project for Corrie Lynn Green as an example. Not all productions will follow this example, since there are many different styles of music, different artists and musicians, that you may encounter.

My approach to producing and recording is not typical in many ways. I point this out in the episode, and encourage people to find what works best for them.

By the way, "My Take On Music Recording" is now carried by YouTube Podcasts. Just like any podcast provider, this is audio only. You can find it on YouTube by searching for "Fearn" under "Podcasts." All 94 episodes to date are available, and each new one will be added.

The dozens of other podcast providers will continue, of course.

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Our perception of frequency balance varies with loudness, a fact documented by Harvey Fletcher and Wilden A. Munson, two scientists at Bell Laboratories. In 1933, they published a paper called, “Loudness, its definition, measurement and calculation.” It was groundbreaking science in the field of human hearing, and has implications today for how we perceive music. This is especially important when we are mixing.

In this episode, I explain the basics of the Fletcher-Munson Curves and how we can use that knowledge to make better recordings.

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Almost all pop music features someone singing. Getting the best vocal performance is crucial, since most listeners respond to the words of a song and need to be able to hear them.

In this episode, I first discuss the human factors involved in getting a great performance from singers, mostly from a producer’s viewpoint.

And then I focus on the technical requirements of capturing that performance using microphones, mic preamps, processing, effects, and mixing. Often there are problems to be fixed in a vocal track, and I review some of the techniques from salvaging a performance that is less than perfect.

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There are many things that are important to create the proper studio environment for creative success. Most of these things are pretty mundane, but they do make a difference.

Examples I cover in this episode include microphone stands and accessories, music stands and instrument stands, chairs, headphones, studio lighting and climate control, and mic and other cables.

It’s not the most exciting equipment we deal with, but it is still important to get it right. After 50+ years of doing sessions, I have some solid ideas about what works for me. I hope you will find these ideas and suggestions helpful.

And here are the links for the Spring Birds recording I mentioned at the start of this episode:

https://www.outermarkerrecords.com/

https://www.nativedsd.com/label/outer-marker-records/

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Ever since its announcement, I have been interested in learning more about Dolby Atmos. I was skeptical at first, primarily because of my experience with “Quad” back in the 1970s. That 4-channel concept never gain any popularity with either the listening public nor in the recording community. I presumed that Atmos would be similar, just more speakers. The early demo sessions I attended left me convinced that this was going to be another dead end, like Quad. The early mixes I heard were gimmicky and did not serve the musical intent of the artist well.

But as I was exposed to mixers who really understood how to use the expanded format, my interest increased. And for the public? I never thought there would be much market acceptance of a system that required many speakers. But Dolby was smart about their implementation. The system knows how many speakers you have and creates a version that fits your hardware.

There’s more to Atmos, however, because of certain psychoacoustic processing that goes on, the resulting mix, in any format down to plain stereo, sounds better, with more detail and separation of sounds. I hear more things in an Atmos mix, even in headphones, than I did in the stereo mix.

Shawn Dealey is the chief engineer at Sweetwater Studios in Indiana. I have been involved with several mixing projects with Shawn over the past couple of years, and I think he has an effective approach to interpreting the producer/artist/engineer’s intent, and making it into an improved version.

In this episode, I talk with Shawn about his evolution as he explores the new format. I learned a lot from Shawn, and I think you will, too.

This episode was recorded at Sweetwater Studio B, the main Atmos mixing room. We used AEA 44 mics, a VT-2 mic preamp, and a VT-7 compressor, the same chain I use for recording most episodes.

Thanks for listening. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please pass them along to me at [email protected]

email: [email protected]
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