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Sound Recording

Capturing sound well enough that the mix becomes a choice rather than a rescue operation.

Black-and-white photograph of a bass drum set up with two microphones: a dynamic microphone inside the port hole and a condenser microphone in front of the head.

Recording is where the largest gains are available. A well-captured source needs little help later; a poorly captured one cannot be fully repaired, whatever the plug-in manufacturers imply.

The module works through microphones as tools with measurable behaviour. A polar pattern is not a marketing feature — it tells you what the microphone will reject, which is usually more important than what it will pick up.

Multi-microphone work is treated carefully, because it is where most avoidable damage happens. Two microphones on one source can sound better than either alone, or considerably worse, and the difference is a matter of distance and phase rather than taste.

[ 01 ] Curriculum

Curriculum

  1. Microphones

    • Dynamic, condenser and ribbon designs
    • Polar patterns and what they reject
    • Proximity effect and off-axis behaviour
    • Choosing a microphone for a source, not by reputation

  2. Recording systems

    • Preamps and their audible character
    • Interfaces, converters and I/O planning
    • Cabling, phantom power and pad/filter switches
    • Monitoring and talkback during a take

  3. Studio recording

    • Microphone placement and distance
    • Multi-microphone setups and phase coherence
    • Working with a performer during a session
    • Take management and notes

  4. Multichannel workflows

    • Planning a session with many simultaneous inputs
    • Drum and ensemble setups
    • Stereo techniques and their trade-offs
    • Session organisation for a large track count

  5. Live and concert recording

    • Splitting from a live console
    • Working with limited setup time
    • Ambience and audience microphones
    • What can and cannot be fixed afterwards
[ 02 ] What you will be able to do

What you will be able to do

  • Choose and place microphones with a reason you can articulate.
  • Set up a multi-microphone session that stays phase-coherent.
  • Plan and run a session with many inputs without losing track of it.
  • Record in a live situation where there is no second attempt.
[ 03 ] FIGURES

Curriculum

  • Polar diagram of an omnidirectional microphone: the response circle is almost equal at every angle from 0 to 360 degrees.
  • Polar diagram of a cardioid microphone: full sensitivity at 0 degrees, falling away to the sides and rejecting sound arriving from 180 degrees.
  • Polar diagram of a figure-of-eight microphone: equal sensitivity at the front and rear, with deep rejection at both sides.
[ 04 ] Practical components

Practical components

This module carries the most studio time. You set up, record and immediately listen back, then change one variable at a time to hear what it did.

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Sound Engineer Training

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