Listening Test

• A. Unplugging and plugging the di box causes some disturbances that comes through the speakers. 

B. I would solve this by only unplugging the recording after the recording has finished. I could also fix this by cutting the part where it unplugs out.

• A. Microphone is too close to the keyboard, can hear the key presses. 

B. Move the microphone further away, or use a di box to record the keyboard without picking up any other sounds in the room. This is because the line is direct.

• A.  Gain is being changed during the recording, causes a feedback loop which ruins the recording.

B. I would not change the gain during a recording but do it before or after. You could also prevent this by keeping the microphone away from the amp/speaker so it does not create the feedback loop.

• A. Distortion is being created because the gain is too loud.

B. I would fix this by lowering the gain on the instruments. I could even try to fix this using a compressor but it would not be as effective as recording it again with a lower gain. 

• A.  Microphone is too close to one end of the xylophone. This ends up with the lower notes sounding louder and closer and the high notes sounding quiet and further away. 

B. I would fix this by recording the instrument with two microphones, with one at either end to pick up all of the notes. 

• A.  The microphone is too close or the gain is too high, which means that some parts of the drum such as the kick is loud compared to other parts of the drum kit. 

B. I would fix this by making sure the microphone is placed correctly or lowering the gain down. 

• A.  At the end the microphone picks up the sound of a mouse moving and clicking, this makes it sound unprofessional. 

B. I would fix this by cutting it out. I would also wait a longer time before I stop the recording so the strings on the guitar can naturally fade out.

• A.  Drum changes tempo during the recording,

B. I would fix this by making the performer listen to a metronome so they can keep in time.

• A.  A door opens and shuts during recording.

B. I would fix this by keeping the door locked or placing a sign saying, “Do not enter. Recording in progress”. I would then have to record the track again.

• A. Microphone is placed on the other side of the room making it sound very airy. The beginning part is noticeably a different recording to the other part when it should sound like one recording. 

B.  I would fix this by moving the microphone closer to the drumkit, or if that is the effect I wanted then move the microphone in the first recording with the symbols further away to create the same effect so it sounds like it was recorded in one session.

• A.  The bass guitar was recorded first so it becomes out of time with the drumkit. 

B. To fix this I would record the drum kit first so the other instruments have something to listen to so they can keep in time. 

• A. The guitar is out of tune, this means the notes the performer wants to play is not happening due to the strings not being tuned. 

B. I would fix this by tuning the guitar properly and recording the track again.

• A.  The microphone is loose which means it is hitting the drum kit. 

B. To fix this I would record the track again and position the microphone in a better position and make sure it was tight. 

• A.  The guitar is too quiet; this means the track is really hard to hear.

B. I would fix this by increasing the volume of the gain or moving the microphone (if close miced) to a closer position. 

• A.  The performer moves closer to the microphone, or starts playing more loudly. This means the beginning is slightly quieter than the rest.

B. I would fix this by using a DI box or record it again but make the performer sit or not move. 

• A.  The snare drum is vibrating from the frequency of the bass guitar. 

B. To fix this I would remove the snare from the room and record it again.

• A.  The microphone recording the hi-hats and overheads is too louder when compared to the other parts of the drumkit.

B. To fix this I would lower the gain on the microphone, record it again. Or just lower the high frequencies on the EQ.

• A. The metronome can be heard, headphone bleed is occurring. 

B. To fix this I would lower the volume of the headphones so the metronome could not be heard through the microphone. 

• A. Only one microphone is used to record the whole drumkit, this doesn’t make each part of the drumkit stand out, also means you can EQ different parts of the drumkit. The microphone positioning also makes it sound very airy. 

B. I would record it again and place microphones on every part of the drumkit. This would mean I would have different tracks for each part of the drum, allowing me to EQ different parts.

• A.  The two guitar recordings are out of time. 

B. I would fix this by recording one first with a metronome track and then record the other one so they can hear the previous guitar track. 

• A.  The reverb is too high. This makes half of the drumkit sound like it was recorded in a hall and the other half is recorded in a small room.

B. I would fix this by putting reverb on all parts of the drum kit or having no reverb on the drum kit at all. I would also reduce the roomsize on the reverb insert as well. 

• A.  The microphone was hit during the recording. This created a pop noise in the recording.

B. I would fix this by moving the microphone further away from the performer and making the performer stand or sit still.

• A.  The beginning and end is not cut from the recording. This makes it sound unprofessional. The pauses in the drums are meant to be silent but you can hear stuff moving around such as keys. 

B. I would fix this by cutting the beginning out.  I would also lowering the automation at the parts where there is meant to be silence. This would cut out any audio where there should not be and make it sound more professional. 

• A.  The drumkit sounds too loud when compared to other parts of it. 

B. I would fix this by altering the levels till the drum kit sounded whole and fitted together. 

• A.  The performer is moving closer and further away from the microphone. This means the recording is initially really loud and then goes quiet and then loud again. 

B. To fix this I would make the performer not move around or use a DI box so if they do move around it does not affect the recording. I could also fix this using automation on logic by lowering the automation and then increasing it then lowering it again so it sounds consistent throughout the recording. 

• A.  The cut the recording to quickly not letting the symbols naturally fade out. This creates a abrupt stop. Which does not sound professional.

B. I would fix this by letting the recording play on and not stop it immediately. I would use automation to gently fade the drumkit out. 

• A. The microphone picks up a drumkit playing in the background at the end. The guitar is also very loud.

B. I would fix this by lowering the gain on the microphone and recording the guitar part again but make sure there is no noise in the background that could be picked up by the microphone.