Recording - May 2016 - 4

Miking the alphabet
Paul Vnuk Jr. has been busy
again. The photos below are taken
from sessions where he was testing
two of the mics reviewed in this
issue.
On the left, a cluster of end-address
mics: the Telefunken M80 on the left,
the Audix i5 and Shure SM57 to the
right and bottom, the Shure KSM9 (the lone condenser in this bunch of dynamics) at bottom
left... and at the top and center, the Electro-Voice RE15 and the brand-new Shure KSM8.
The RE15 is a mic with a deservedly classic reputation; its Variable-D design made it the
first commonly available dynamic mic that had essentially no proximity effect. Decades
later, the KSM8 uses a collection of intricately applied new technologies to take things even
farther-check out our review on page 30 for some of the details. While the KSM8 was
primarily meant for vocal use, Paul couldn't resist trying it out on instruments as well. He
even put six of them on a drum kit!
On the right, an array of ribbon mics-a collection of modern stalwarts welcoming a newcomer to its august ranks. Clockwise from the right: the Royer Labs R-121, the sE Electronics
Voodoo VR1, the Cloud Microphones 44-A, the AEA Nuvo N8 and N22... and the very
impressive Model 2 from new firm Mesanovic Microphones. The story of Denial "Deni"
Mesanovic is fascinating and inspiring, and Paul had a great time interviewing Deni as part
of the review process. Read the review and Paul's chat with Deni starting on page 36.

PUBLISHER: Thomas Hawley
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER: Brent Heintz

EDITORIAL

EDITOR: Mike Metlay
SPECIAL PROJECTS EDITOR: Lorenz Rychner
TECHNICAL EDITOR: Paul Vnuk Jr.
EDITOR AT LARGE: Beto Hale
COPY EDITOR: Diana Smethurst
MÚSICO PRO EDITOR: Fernando Curiel

CONTRIBUTORS
Joe Albano, Aaron J. Trumm,
Paul Vnuk Jr., Alex Hawley,
Mike Rivers, Paul J. Stamler, Scott Dorsey
SOCIAL MEDIA
Brent Heintz, Paul Vnuk Jr.
ART & PRODUCTION

ART DIRECTOR: Scott Simmonds
PRODUCTION MANAGER: Colin Courtney
WEB GOALIE: Colin Courtney

PLAYBACK PLATINUM SERIES
Lorenz Rychner

EDITOR/PRODUCER:

CIRCULATION
Tiffany Sepe

CIRCULATION MANAGER:

ADVERTISING SALES AND MARKETING
DIRECTOR: Brent Heintz
CLASSIFIEDS MANAGER: Colin Courtney
ADMINISTRATION
Thomas Hawley

ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE:

EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

PRESIDENT: Thomas Hawley
VICE PRESIDENT: Brent Heintz

SUBSCRIPTIONS/ADDRESS CHANGES:
1-800-783-4903
ADVERTISING/CLASSIFIEDS/MAIN OFFICE:
(303) 516-9118

Creativity and seeing solutions where others just see obstacles... that's the key to so
much of what we do in the studio every day. More often than not, getting a perfect take
involves some maneuvering-whether it's getting the best possible sound from something
you work with every day, or trying to capture something you've never worked with
before. In this issue, we're going to introduce you to a bunch of reliable techniques and
cool new tech for instrument recording.
In addition to the new Shure and Mesanovic mics seen above, we also bring you a
review of the Aurora, the impressive new mic from Roswell Pro Audio. In the realm of
"stuff that can make the difference between a failed session and a home run" in instrument miking, we bring you new ways to set up and use the much-loved DPA
Microphones d:vote 4099 instrument mic, a great new DI from Radial Engineering that
lets you mike a guitar in addition to recording direct and adjust the two signals for perfect phase alignment, and what might be the coolest mic stand ever-the remotecontrolled robot mic mounts from new firm Dynamount.
On the technique side, we go both deep and wide. Aaron J. Trumm returns to our
pages with a really deep dive into the fascinating world of piano miking, with discussion
of placements, mic types, strategies for different rooms and different applications, and
more. And going wide, Joe Albano walks us through a whole alphabet of instruments,
building up a set of basic techniques along the way. Once you've gotten to the letter Z,
you'll find you've learned a few quirky tricks for instruments that can be quite finicky...
but more importantly, you'll have a toolkit of generally-usable methods at hand that you
can pull out as needed whenever you come across a puzzler in the tracking room.
Part of why we record music is because there's a certain sense of fun in problemsolving and a great deal of satisfaction in turning a difficult situation into a successful
session. We keep learning all day, every day, because the more we learn, the better we
get, and the more fun we have along the way. Very few phrases carry quite the same
satsifaction as "Problem solved."
Enjoy the issue!
4

RECORDING MAY 2016

RECORDING MAGAZINE
(ISSN 1078-8352; USPS 002-298) is published
monthly, 12 times per year, by Music Maker
Publications, Inc., 5408 Idylwild Trail, Boulder,
CO 80301-3523.
Tel: (303) 516-9118 Fax: (303) 516-9119
email: info@recordingmag.com
Los Angeles Editorial Office:
beto@recordingmag.com
Periodicals Postage is paid at Boulder, CO and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to
RECORDING, Subscriber Services, P.O. Box 3000, Denville, NJ
07834-3000. Tel: 1-800-783-4903, Fax: 1-973-627-5872.
Subscription rate: $23.97 per year. Distributed to the music
trade by Hal Leonard Corporation. All material is subject to
worldwide copyright protection, and reproduction or imitation
in whole or in part is expressly forbidden without written consent
from the publishers. All reasonable care is taken to ensure accuracy in the preparation of the magazine, but Music Maker
Publications, Inc. cannot be held legally responsible for its contents. The publishers cannot assume responsibility for the return
of unsolicited manuscripts, photographs or materials. All trademarked names, whether indicated as such or not, are owned by
their respective companies.
Canada Post: Publications Mail Agreement #41491032.
Canada Returns to be sent to Bleuchip International, P.O. Box
25542, London, ON N6C 6B2

PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - May 2016