Holy.. And I found this magnificent video and the channel only now... I'm so thankful for all these people who sharing their knowledge with everyone and giving help..
It's insane that we live in a time where absolute legends in the field have RU-vid channels giving away what are essentially masterclasses every video. Thank you Steve and everyone at Electrical Audio for these knowledge bombs!!
you wanna know why? cuz the old business model is unsustainable. recording engineers, the studios, their staff are not under appreciated in todays version of the recording industry.. they're not receiving the compensation in line with their value. with everyone thinking they are a producer with FL studio and algorithms like Landr undervaluing the importance of a mastering engineer, these "legends" have to diversify their revenue streams... RU-vid is a good starting point for that since there are already so many wannabe how-to videos spewing wrong info and incorrect practices... Steve should really expand into his own line of beanies. lol he's always wearing 'em so might as well start making some paper will Albini beanies
It’s just occurred to me how lucky we are to have these videos now the man has gone. What a document. The world is going to sound less interesting without him.
I think he believed in and embraced the aesthetic of a technician, a working man in service of the people and project who employed him. Remember, he always refered to himself as a recording engineer, never producer. Seemed to be a pretty humble guy.
@@anthonyc1883 That's correct. Also, he wasn't the only one at EA that wore blue coveralls, most technicians there did - it was easy to see who were technicians that way.
This randomly showed up in my feed and I got emotional. RIP Steve, the music you’ve touched has left such a deep impact on my life and me as a person. The world lost a legend and will never be the same.
What i love in this is that there is consideration for the real world. This isn't a dry technical class with a bunch of waves and things, it's a practical approach. it's really important not only to consider the sound from that amplified, but the effects of it's location. There is a point where the room sound becomes more prevalent than the improvement in cabinet sound, so even if technically you get a better sound at 5 feet away, you may have added so much of the room that it is no longer reasonable to do. Tim Pierce is a very successful session guitarist, and his home studio setup is worth checking out (search for his channel). Thanks Steve for a great video that really considers the real world.
@@profd65 It's the way he talks and wears. He doesn't talk like someone who made very agressive music with edgy lyrics or album titles. He talks like someone you call to fix your defective boiler. That's not a bad thing, it just means he is done to earth, but it's sometimes funny how people who make agressive edgy music sound like in real life. For example the guy from Slayer sounds like a cheerful, friendly and modest dude.
I've picked up so much usable knowledge in audio engineering, studio practices and the physics of sound from Steve's tutorials. I spent 4+ years at an expensive university to get my bachelors degree, taking all the theoretical and practical studio courses and NONE of my arrogant college professors could break down these principles in a classroom the way Steve did in his videos... What a legend.
He's giving us absolute gold here people. It's shocking how much more 'real' an amp sounds just by backing the mic off a few inches. You can instantly hear it. I've always been suspicious of the 'mic at an angle technique' now we have a diagram to annoy the producers even more. Thank you Uncle Steve.
@@DylanPank71 Yeah, I was gonna say that it probably wouldn't be a good idea for a guy who used to be in a band called "Rapeman" to host a children's TV show
I've got to say, as a teacher myself, everything here is explained with such brilliant simplicity. It all makes complete sense to a relative layman - I feel like I've witness a masterclass in pedagogy as well as audio engineering. Steve, when you're ready to quit music you should retrain as a teacher.
Steve's videos are such a valuable resource I'm sure to visit for years to come. I'll always be bummed we couldn't learn even more from him, but I'll always be grateful. What an awesome guy.
And again we have Albini teaching us pro audio engineering for free.... By the way, I never thought of placing the microphone that far from the speaker (10-12 inches he said I believe) to capture the ideal sound of a cab or combo. In most videos engineers put the mics right in front of the speakers, so for me as an amateur this is was quite a surprise
"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough." Albert Einstein. Steve, thank you so much for making yourself available and sharing your expertise.
This video solved most of the problems/bad habits I've had with mic'ing my amps all these years, and were explained with such clear simplicity that even a gorilla like myself may get a decent guitar tone down on tape. Thank you Steve!!!
i want to go back like, 16 years and show this to my recording class i took in college (or 4 semesters of them that i took) Mainly to show the professor, who would name drop his friendship with Danny Elfman and other self-serving egotistical elements that were detrimental to the learning process. i learned more in 20 minutes of this video than most of my time in those classes. Electrical Audio, you are one of my professors now. great stuff!
This is probably the most concise and useful video I have ever seen on the subject. I had never thought about the potential problems of a microphone at an angle. This probably explains why it feels like I got better results when I had my 30W combo amp vs. the 100W Marshall I use now - I assumed that I had somehow forgotten how to place a microphone, never once considering that I was recording an angled cab with a microphone not placed on-center to the actual axis of the speaker I was recording. Suddenly, the last few years of constantly turning knobs on the cab and fighting with EQ are starting to make sense. Thanks!
Hello, dont know if thats your problem or not, but most amps sound best when the master gain is at least 75% cranked, which can be hard with a 100 watt amp if you dont want to make everybodys ears bleed. Also speakers that are able to handle such high volumes (watts) usually tend to be more stiff than speakers made for lower wattage. So it might be a good idear to use a amp atenuator (the cheap one that doesnt fuck with the sound) and a lower wattage speaker to really drive the amp. Driving the normal high watt speaker with the atenuated signal might also sound strange. I dont know maybe that is completly not your problem, but it was mine recently so I thought I could share this 😅
That 20 minute click flew by as I was streamlined with absolute golden knowledge. That was such an informative video on micing I didn't even need time to pause. Thank you so much for that, Steve. RIP.
Wait … what? Steve freakin Albini?! I’m just clicking a random video in nerdy electronic speaker stuff, and frickin Steve albini is hosting! I’m tuned in all day!
So informative, clear, concise, relevant and even funny ! Steve has the heart of a teacher... I want to see the Albini School for The Recording Arts somewhere soon !!
What a great video. I'm blown away not just by Steve's clear explanations and illustrations, but his hilarious sound effects and rushing in and out of frame. I always saw him as a serious grim person, I laughed out loud when I saw this. I'm going to put some of this to use on the new album!
Steve just reinforced my observation about speaker miking. I've tried moving the mic off center and off axis. It invariably sounds like mud or sounds phasey. If it's pointed right at the center of the cone the signal tends to need less eq in the mix. If you're not satisfied with the recorded sound, try a different mic or amp settings. Minimize the mic placement variable. Thanks Steve!
This is one of the best recording 'lessons' I have ever watched on the web (and I have seen - and paid for - quite a few): Very clearly explained theory, practical audio examples and even funny gags! Killer whiteboard skills, too. All all that for free! Amazing. Thank you so much!
@@timstevens3183 That was exactly what I thought of. Steve has always had a sense of humor ... he just had no patience for assholes (even if he was one).
Here is someone who knows his art, and how to explain it, with enough passion to share it with the world for the benefit of anyone loving to perfect it. Thank you, mr. Albini!
The Coles in front of a small amp is a golden technique. For those who havent seen Eric valentines video on No one knows, all of the bass tone on that song came from a tiny peavey decade practice amp with a 4038 mashed up on the grille. It really sounds incredible
Steve’s work always sounds great. That he is willing to tell all is amazing. He is always striving for simple clarity and impact. Let the music speak for itself. Bravo
3:34 this is a great example of a take off axis from the cam mic after a goofy transition :) damn steve is the best ! imagine work with him and learn every day ... this is an excellent tip video and for free ... thank you !
STEVE RULES MAN!!!!! GREAT ENGINEER,GREAT TEACHER,DEFINATLY A HUMBLE GUY,WITH LONG LONG MILES OF ROADS TRAVELLED MIXING,ENGINEERING SOME TOP BANDS THAT PLAY REAL MUSIC,REAL INSTRUMENTS,WITH REAL TALENT. ANALOGE GENIOUS,DEFINATLY TOP 10 LISTING THE GREATS,LEARN SOMETHING VALUABLE EVERYTIME ,CAUSE IT STICKS WHEN ITS EXPLAINED CORRECT,THESE VIDIOS ARE GOLD!!! WISH U-TUBE WAS AROUND WHEN I WAS YOUNG,WOW WOULDA CHANGED MY LIFE EASILY. LISTEN / LEARN / APPLY / RESULTS ARE EXCITING TO HEAR!!!! LEARNED LOTS FROM THIS ONE GUY,AND HELPED ME SO MUCH,JUST SO MUCH EXPERIENCE ,AND CAN STOP,REWIND,WATCH AGAIN,ECT. KIDS DONT KNOW WHAT THEY GOT TODAY COMPARED TO JUST 35-40 YEARS AGO,YES,....ITS JUST AMAZING TO ME STILL. AHHHH,CAPS WERRE ON,SOWRY
I had to rub my eyes and pinch myself when I saw a new Electrical Audio tutorial with Steve hosting. What a treat! May this content be a source of revenue on its own, and may it drive new business through the doors at Electrical! P.S. Watching Stoic Steve Looney Tunes-ing himself about the studio was unexpected albeit entertaining. Made my knees hurt just thinking about it. Frickin' Wile E. Albini over here, amirite. 😁
This video is so funny - it just gets better and better. And the information is by the far the best I’ve seen anywhere about recording speaker cabinets. Absolutely brilliant!
So glad I found Electrical Audio’s YT channel - I’ve admired Steve Albini’s work for years. It’s great to know I can check in on these videos to learn about (and hear) some great techniques.Thank you, Steve, and all at EA!
Another reason for close micing is to eliminate as much reflected room sound as possible. It may be a sound you want, but it all gets much more complicated as you move away from the speaker. Which is part of the reason why drums are the hardest thing to record. Phase can become a monster with multiple mics picking up room reflections. Although generally when the distance between two mics is large and they’re at different heights, as in this example, phase cancellation is not an issue. There is enough delay that it prevents any overlap.
First time the other day micing up my guitar amp for recording. I watched your upload and my recording worked out really well. Thanks for the tip for ambient room capturing.❤
One of the most impressive no bullshit masterclasses not only on the subject at hand but from a teaching viewpoint as well this is amazing. Thank you very much.
since there is no Guitar Center employee hovering in the background, I'm guessing this is his studio. Really shows how far he came from the basement studio interview he gave in 89/90 I just watched. RIP Steve, what a great communicator and artist... love how he keeps throwing himself on screen, ha ha ha.
Live engineers could have developed that “sneaking in” or “angled” mic technique to try and use the Null of the microphones to their advantage; willing to sacrifice some high end clarity for less bleed from the drum kit for example. That’s only the reason I still use that placement I do a lot of live stuff on 4 tracks.
Also most stages are small so mic's sticking out tend to get hit a lot. Sneaking in from the side has less risk of mics getting knocked over. Studio placement does not work on a live stage with sound bleeding all over the place :)
Steve! Wow, a gazillion thanks! for this lesson... you've helped clear up countless questions about the irregularities associated with the perimeter of the speaker. Ha! It's amusing how this idea can apply to micing a singer. At super close range, the sound of nasal passages and saliva can almost reveal what a singer had for lunch. Rock on, bud!
This is the least hype, most straightforward, & most useful explanation of this that I've ever encountered. THANKS SO MUCH for putting this out (& for free).
l love how he's literally dropping in/ thrown into each real world.example. This is solid edutainment. 👍 Someday, all lecturers & tutors will be made this way ; the boiler suit helps, but having a solid career as a producer whilst not taking it all way too seriously helps too.
Ya true ! but i don't need to tell you why its good, cause the records are out there, and you know who I'm talking about ? who used two sm57 on the cab.
@@christopherdunn317 I was just quoting the EA website as an explanation to why you don't see them in his videos, I don't have enough experience with other mics to have an informed opinion on the subject ;-)
Within reason you can match any semi pro mic with a speaker cabinet and get something good. It's just easier and less time consuming to do that with a better mic.
I’ve always thought the tried and true method of using an sm57 on guitar amps was over rated. I like to have options when mixing and the 57 doesn’t have a large enough frequency range. Better to throw a condenser mic and roll off what you don’t need. But using two mics ( one a 57 ) has worked for me.
When he wrote, back in the days, the terms for working with nirvana (on paper) you could tell that he was an amazing guy. It felt like some poetry because it was so honest, direct and amicable. Rest easy, Steve. Maybe its time for me to learn about recording, so here we go.
When Steve pulled out his phone to look through the speaker grill I felt like a god because I already do that, also I expected him to have some old fashioned flood light or something instead of just his phone. Also I emailed Steve some months ago to ask about how Big Black used drum machines live, and he was a class act who was very polite with my small pedantic questions.
@@oversee They used an EMU Drumulator for Racer X and after. Specifically I asked how they controlled their drum machine for section changes, did they program whole songs and play rigid to the machine? Steves response was the Drumulator had two footswitches for Start/Stop and the other one was for Next Section, basically he would have the patterns set up and the drum machine would play the first pattern until you pressed the Next footswitch. Unfortunately my drum machine only has Start/Stop, but it was good info nonetheless! Also before Racer X was when they used the TR-606, but not really at all after.
This is just great, he doesn't try to get my attention by voicing strong opinions or using click baiting. He just explain calmly how to mic up a cabinet (and get all sorts of great inside). but remember, always try by yourself. Sometimes I get a more fitting sound when placing the mic off-axis.
These videos are so useful and fun, it’s incredible this stuff is free. Steve Albini is a great pedagogue and he aged like fine wine, a big thanks to the whole Electrical Audio team!
I distinctly remember being told to place mics off axis and the reason seemed to be "just because" - seems clear now that this is a myth turned into bad habit that's continually spread and handed down. So this video is a great lesson - question everything and experiment. Cheers Steve!