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Recording & Tracking

The Production stage of the series begins here. Mic placement, room reflections, and the proximity effect all shape what's captured before any plugin touches the track — and some problems, once recorded, cannot be mixed away.

• How Does Mic Placement Change What We Hear?

  A mic doesn't capture 'the sound,' it captures one specific relationship between a source, a room and a diaphragm. This article opens FREQ's Recording and Tracking cluster by treating mic placement, and mic choice, as an arrangement decision that shapes what the listener perceives before a single plugin is opened.

• Why Do Multiple Mics Sometimes Sound Hollow?

  Combine two microphones capturing the same source and the sound can thin out, hollow out, or turn phasey. This article continues FREQ's Recording and Tracking cluster by treating comb filtering as a question of what relationship between microphones you actually want, not simply a problem to eliminate.

• How Do Room Reflections Change Perceived Depth?

  A room is not silent around an instrument. This article continues FREQ's Recording and Tracking cluster by treating room reflections as information rather than contamination, and asking how much of a source's relationship with its room the listener should hear.

• What Does the Proximity Effect Really Change?

  Move a directional microphone closer to a source and the low end changes too, not just the level. This article closes FREQ's Recording and Tracking cluster by treating the proximity effect as a tool that can be a curse or a blessing, depending on what the source actually needs.

• Why Some Recording Problems Cannot Be Mixed Away

  Mixing can transform what was captured. It cannot always recover information that was never captured. This article closes FREQ's Recording and Tracking cluster by distinguishing mix problems, printed problems and performance problems, and asking when another take beats another plugin.