Radical Recording Tips

Apr 1, 2009 12:00 PM, By D. James Goodwin

SOMETIMES DOING THE WRONG THING GETS THE RIGHT SOUND

Roll Tape

In some studios, the venerable tape machine has been relegated to archiving duties or, worse yet, the junkyard. But in my studio, these old beasts are used as an unparalleled vehicle for sonic manipulation. From subtle color to outright destruction, tape recorders are your most trusted accomplice in the quest for quirk.

You can find a unique and usable trait in any tape machine, whether it's a shaky transport or a slightly overdriven front end. Many decks allow you to adjust the equalization and bias for alignment purposes; be sure to tweak those parameters. And if your older machine has a tube circuit, check out how it distorts.

Tape itself is very durable and can withstand quite a bit of abuse, so don't be afraid to get physical with it. For example, while recording the Portland, Maine-based band Timesbold, I wanted an “underwater” vocal sound for one of the songs. To get this effect, I spooled about 3 minutes of ¼-inch tape to the floor, scrunched it up in my hands, and wound it back onto the supply reel of a friend's Voice of the Music 2-track machine. Next, I recorded the isolated vocal part from Digidesign Pro Tools onto the scrunched-up tape. Then I played the recording back into Pro Tools and edited the timing so that the vocals were in the right place. The result was the creepiest and most unsettling and warbled sound I've heard (see Web Clips 1a and 1b).

Cassette machines are also useful audio processors because of their inherent design limitations. Many of the old consumer decks include features such as a limiter, noise reduction, and EQ options, all of which you can misuse. For instance, the built-in limiters are usually of poor quality, but they add plenty of vibe to a track. If the deck has a built-in mic or mic inputs, try recording through the device in real time. By simply sending audio through the input circuitry, you're bound to walk away with something interesting.

Garbage In

Filters aren't new, but we mostly use them as passive utilities instead of active tools for recording. One of my favorite implements for filtering is a metal garbage can.

On a recent session at the Clubhouse in Rhinebeck, New York, with the band A Million Billion, I suspended a large, perforated garbage can above a grand piano (see Fig. 3a). Inside the can, I placed two Oktava lavalier mics as a spaced pair (see Fig. 3b). I pointed them toward the bottom of the can, away from the piano. (I also miked the piano in a traditional way.)

I ran the trash-can mics into my modified Scully mic preamps and then into Pro Tools with no additional processing. The sound was incredible (see Web Clip 2). The holes kept the garbage can from having an inherent pitch or sympathetic resonance, but it retained all of the interesting reflections that galvanized metal provides. By adding a bit of slow compression, I was able to create the longest and spookiest sustain I've ever coaxed from a piano. At times you can even hear the handles on the can rattle, which adds some extra fuzz.

I've also used sheet metal as a reflective source. Place a piece of thin sheet metal underneath a snare drum, and aim a mic at the metal itself. This trick works great when you need a bit of spit on an otherwise mundane snare-drum track. You can accentuate the effect by running the track through an aggressive limiter. It'll also put a little hair on your kick drum sound because the snares vibrate every time the kick drum is hit.

When I used this technique on a tracking session with the Brooklyn band Stars Like Fleas, the new drum sound immediately changed the direction of the song. We'd created something like a strange, short reverb, without taking up the space that a normal reverb would (see Web Clip 3).

New Resonances

You can use other common items to create twisted reverb sounds. For example, a piano is a great resonator. Try putting a small amp or speaker under the lid of a grand piano, or in front of an upright piano, facing the strings. Send some audio into the amp, and when you depress the sustain pedal, the piano strings will vibrate sympathetically. Mic the opposite side of the soundboard and print the track. Swapping positions of the mic and speaker will yield different timbres. Try loosely weaving aluminum foil through the strings to get light buzzing and rattling.

A large drum, such as a double-headed kick drum or floor tom, also works well for reverb. Aim the speaker at one of the drum's heads and mic the opposite head. Adjust the tuning of the drum to get the desired tone or resonance.

A classic reamping trick is to send individual drum tracks out to a speaker that is aimed at the appropriate drum, while miking the other side (see “Better Tone Through Reamping” in the October 2008 issue). This can quickly add fullness to anemic instruments.

Parting Thoughts

Sometimes I find that a simple experiment can lead to a windfall of new timbres. For instance, try building a song with adventurous sounds from the ground up. You'll find that the track will take on a much more specific direction right away, and you won't spend as much time trying to find one down the road.

Don't be afraid to commit to sounds. If you like it, print it. Don't get squeamish and print a “clean” version for safety. The only way you can move forward is if you get rid of old habits and think in new ways.

Similarly, it's good to move quickly and not overthink what you're doing. The more you analyze, the less honest and direct the results will be.

Be sure to let the musicians hear the sounds you're recording while they play, no matter how weird the sounds are. They'll react to what they're hearing and play differently, giving you a more engaging performance.

Above all, don't be afraid to experiment. Ideas that may sound dumb and useless on paper will sometimes be the funnest and most rewarding to try. Just keep an open mind and try something new. You'll be glad you did.

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D. James Goodwin is a producer-engineer in Woodstock, New York. He is also the cofounder of the independent-music consortium the Satellite Union. Visit him at www.djamesgoodwin.com.