Got Mics?

04-29-13

<a href="http://downigo.bandcamp.com/album/this-is-robotcore">This is Robotcore by Down I Go</a>
After my old band Down I Go released our first ‘proper’ record (i.e. on a record label), This is Disastercore, we immediately recorded the next EP to keep the ball rolling. We wanted to return to the original Dinocore format of short songs (because they’re easier to write) and we wanted it to sound different. How we decided on robots as the subject matter, I can’t remember, but I was insistent on adding some electric drums and samples to make it sound a bit more industrial, a bit more robotic. When I’d rigged up my brother’s old Octopad, 80s Simmons brain, and monitoring, and realized what a pain in the arse it all was, I just settled for a timbale by my hihat for the occasional metallic clang. But the electronics still managed to make their way into R5D4, despite Alan’s protests, and some of the vocals got a vocoder thrown on them.
The first to be recorded was T-1000, with Tom Savage (who mixed and mastered both albums) engineering and playing bass. After that first session, enthusiasm waned, and the target of four tracks was only reached by salvaging a track originally recorded for This is Dinocore. Plesiosaurus, who didn’t make it onto This is Dinocore because the lyrics consisted entirely of whale-like mooing (there was talk of recording them underwater for added authenticity) became Mechagodzilla.
Since each song was recorded on a different day with an entirely different set up, mixing them wasn’t going to be easy, so we thought we’d outsource the job to four different people and let them go nuts. The results were varied, and after a rather extreme mastering job at the now defunct Ideal Mastering on Holloway Rd, with added kick track for consistency, the original release of This is Robotcore was noisy at best.
Perhaps the best thing about that release (on mini CD with fold out poster) was Gemma Correll’s artwork (now widely known for her ‘Pugs not Drugs’ shirt). I still have a handful of those CDs in both the UK and the US if anyone’s interested – email ben@gotmics.com, but in the meantime, enjoy the remix, on bandcamp, for free.

04-27-13

Mid-side

Today I drove up to Northbrook, a suburb of Chicago, to record a chamber music recital in a church. I decided to mic the concert mid-side style, since I worked out I could use an X-Y bar to get both mics on one stand. Once the audience arrived, I realized I probably should have just mic’ed it X-Y style. Because the piano couldn’t be lifted on the stage, the performers were right up against the front pew, and the mics were in the aisle, somewhere around the 4th row. With mid-side in this position, you’re essentially pointing a microphone straight at the audience, to pick up their every fidget and sniffle, while X-Y would have been more directed towards the performers. Listen to this small clip of Marvin, a retired dentist, playing Brahms’ Hungarian Dance no.12, accompanied by Laura on the piano.