People moving microphones

[jruberto]

On recent sessions, I've been completely hassled by people moving microphones.

I generally hold a quick group meeting once it's almost time to get started and say something like "hey, these microphones are placed in very specific places, please don't touch them, and if you accidentally bump a mic, please just let me know. also, that vocal mic is worth about $5k and if I bounce it off the floor it's my problem, but if you do... then we have a problem." I'm especially wigged out when i have a glyn johns setup going, and just a small movement can really F the whole thing up.

Recently:

- videographer moving the vocal mic and the popscreen to get a better shot. I asked him "do you think that's a ****ing prop? don't touch my **** again". (same guy who plugged his 1k light into my "clean" outlet when i gave him clear instructions not to, and his own 20' extension cable plugged into the correct circuit to use.)

- kick mic mysteriously moved right in front of the port, nearly destroying it (ribbon). twice in one day, nobody would own up to it.

- guitar amp sounded really weird. walked into its little iso room and the mic had been moved so it was centered on the amp, but way off to the side of the speaker (my marshall has one 12", and it's not in the center of the amp). nobody would own up to it. this was after i spent 10 minutes destroying my ears with my head right up next to the amp finding the good spot. thanks for the "help", whoever.

- many a rapper just grabbing the ****ing thing and trying to move it. my main vocal mic stand is a 60 pound beast that ain't going nowhere without loosening.

WTF? I'm going to start gaffing everything, and knockin' suckas out.

[AllAboutTone]

I have one guy that must put his mouth inside the u87 seemed like, I got tried of it, he sounded like sh*t anyways so I gave him a AKG c3000 and let him have a field day.

I have drummers that move mics all the time, sometimes on a playback the drummer might say, where is the floor mic or turn it up, I get up and go to the drum room to find it in the corner after we have had a drum check, all artist are worried about is self and not that mic placement is important, most ALL always move the snare mic, really pisses me off.
It's always drums or some dumb vocal thing for me.

[Beat Poet]

Drummers will want to move mics around to save hitting them, though yeah, it's best to ask first! Judging by the condition of my tom heads at gigs where I've had to lend my kit, there are alot of drummers around who just can't consistently aim for the centre.

[psycho_monkey]

Originally Posted by Beat Poet

Drummers will want to move mics around to save hitting them, though yeah, it's best to ask first! Judging by the condition of my tom heads at gigs where I've had to lend my kit, there are alot of drummers around who just can't consistently aim for the centre.

Well, any good engineer has already checked with the drummer that his mics aren't in the way, and if there's a problem it should be worked out together.

Accidents happen, people knock things and either do or don't notice. But moving things deliberately is counterproductive and above all rude!

[Torea]

I recorded a rock band where there was a DJ guy playing with them. At the last second, they decided his DJ-congas weren't good enough for the track, let's add a cowbell. Fine with me, the drummer passes his cowbell over. I went over and mic'd it up (w/ SM57 knockoff) so it sounded good and this is the conversation we had:

DJ: no man, it shouldn't be so close, it's gonna clip. Why don't you put it over there?
Me: Five feet away? Right next to the guitarists amp and even closer to the drummer?
DJ: Yeah man, it won't bleed or anything.
Me: ... No, it'll be fine here.

I go back to my seat and try to do a sound check and I'm not getting much out of the cowbell mic. Walk back over there and find out he moved it further away.


As a performing musician, I've moved mics a bit to get more room on a crowded stage, but I wouldn't touch an engineer's mics. So much can go into setting them up.

[2manyrocks]

If you are working with kids live, one of them will hold the mic at their side directly pointed at the nearest floor monitor.

[jruberto]

Originally Posted by 2manyrocks

If you are working with kids live, one of them will hold the mic at their side directly pointed at the nearest floor monitor.

count on it!

[jruberto]

Originally Posted by psycho_monkey

But moving things deliberately is counterproductive and above all rude!

It's the former that makes me crazy. I record flat for the most part, and mic selection & positioning is really my only tool for getting the sounds I want. I also record without an assistant for the most part, and the hours (and miles!) of back & forth between the live room & the control room... often wasted.

I'm also big on getting details beforehand on new clients -- recent client agreed that they would use the studio drumset on my promise that it sounds great & that it will be all set up and that will save us an hour. I set it up, tuned & tech-ed it, Glyn Johns setup sounded wonderful. Band shows up and (wait for it...) the drummer is a lefty. Start over.

[bassplaya07]

Definitely a bust...the thing is though, there needs to be a balance between making the player comfortable and getting the right placement...having that said, the story about the cowbell is sooooo stupid haha. You'd think more artists would trust that the engineer who RECORDS for a LIVING would know how to best record things. (*durrrr*) ha

[ears2thesky]

I have found that more times than not I get the sound on a drum that I'm looking for by aiming the mic at the strike point outside of the hoop an inch or two rather than have it peek over the side close to perpendicular to the head. That technique gives more ring of the shell when I go for more of the attack. If the drum has very little in the way of overtones then I might cheat it over a bit, but on a well-tuned drum (with decent heads and not overdamped) I don't need to accentuate the shell ring so I avoid it.

It suffices to say that both in the studio and (especially) live performance situations, the mics I put on drums migrate to over the rim. 421s seem to get a lot of "help" since most folks don't get the front-address of this classic. I can't tell you how many times this has occurred and forced me to correct the situation. It one of my top pet peeves.

[jruberto]

Originally Posted by ears2thesky

I have found that more times than not I get the sound on a drum that I'm looking for by aiming the mic at the strike point outside of the hoop an inch or two rather than have it peek over the side close to perpendicular to the head.

true.. my usual snare/tom mic postions are in no danger of being hit except by the sloppiest of the sloppy (which i can gauge instantly -- and the 414s go back in their cases & the 57s come out)

[Torea]

Originally Posted by bassplaya07

Definitely a bust...the thing is though, there needs to be a balance between making the player comfortable and getting the right placement...having that said, the story about the cowbell is sooooo stupid haha. You'd think more artists would trust that the engineer who RECORDS for a LIVING would know how to best record things. (*durrrr*) ha

Glad I'm not alone!

[2manyrocks]

Originally Posted by jruberto

true.. my usual snare/tom mic postions are in no danger of being hit except by the sloppiest of the sloppy (which i can gauge instantly -- and the 414s go back in their cases & the 57s come out)

This gives me visions of someone moving their mics outside the glass cage where the drummer is playing. Then I think of some engineer putting dummy mics in where the drummer is and dubbing in another drummer entirely.

[suedesound]

421s seem to get a lot of "help" since most folks don't get the front-address of this classic. I can't tell you how many times this has occurred and forced me to correct the situation. It one of my top pet peeves.

not quite in relation to this thread but i was helping out a budding engineer setting up a session and they refused to believe me that an re20 is front, not side address. i let them record the bass amp with it aiming up at the ceiling after this debate.

as a drummer i have had engineers put mics in very inconvienent places (live especially) and asked to move them, a few times i had to take matters into my own hands. that said i feel you.

[jruberto]

Originally Posted by suedesound

as a drummer i have had engineers put mics in very inconvienent places (live especially) and asked to move them, a few times i had to take matters into my own hands. that said i feel you.

and that's a crap engineer who doesn't put the player first and make sure the mic positions work for the player. I watch the drummer play for a minute & ask them to do snare/tom fills to see what that looks like before I put up anything other than the overheads. then check with them after the mics are up -- most players know & i'm grateful when they say "um, yeah i'll probably hit that if its right there."

[Ward Pike]

I'm a pretty big guy and can intimidate people pretty easily. The second I think there might be a problem, I lay down the law. I can't say this has never happened to me, but it'll only happen once with any person I'm recording. Once. (Just like Johnny Dangerously LOL)

I feel your pain. I would've immediately ended any session with that much grief.

[doom64]

Originally Posted by jruberto

...I'm especially wigged out when i have a glyn johns setup going, and just a small movement can really F the whole thing up.

Ironically the Glyn Johns drum setup was found by mistake when his assistant moved a guitar amp mic and left it near the floor tom drum... Or so I've read/heard.

[Jeff Hayat]

Originally Posted by jruberto

...same guy who plugged his 1k light into my "clean" outlet when i gave him clear instructions not to, and his own 20' extension cable plugged into the correct circuit to use....

Clean outlet? Could you explain? Thanks!

[jruberto]

Originally Posted by doom64

Ironically the Glyn Johns drum setup was found by mistake when his assistant moved a guitar amp mic and left it near the floor tom drum... Or so I've read/heard.

I've definitely had good results with that kind of error! I've loved an inadvertent room mic or two.

Originally Posted by Jeff Hayat

Clean outlet? Could you explain? Thanks!

Separate circuits for audio gear and... anything else. Weird shorthand, sorry. Dude plugged in to the same strip with the Neumann power supplies.

[Jeff Hayat]

Originally Posted by jruberto

Separate circuits for audio gear and... anything else. Weird shorthand, sorry.

Ah, gotcha. No need to apologize.

Originally Posted by jruberto

Dude plugged in to the same strip with the Neumann power supplies.

Probably didnt know any better.

[slaves666]

what I hate is when a drummer hits the mic, usually a tom or snare, and fails to mention it...most of the time I hear it, but on occasion it's just enough to move it out of place...and always to one that sounds worse.