Pictures from the event
Ryan sent the school numerous boxes packed with various Rode mics, and we quickly assembled a group to come up with a song. The band members were: rhythm guitar, lead guitar, bass, keyboard, percussion, trumpet, male and female vocals. The group put together a song very quickly! While we recorded the instruments John Dai, the male vocalist, started writing down lyrics. With every mic selection, Ryan explain to the students why he decided on a particular mic and its unique characteristics.
We first started with Nate on rhythm guitar. On the guitar cab we had three mics: NT3 condenser, NTR active ribbon, and Procaster front-address dynamic. The rhythm guitar was double tracked with a more distorted sound. Then we had Josiah play the Hammond organ. Two NT5 pencil condenser mics were placed on the rotating horn for the doppler effect. Then, an NT1 large diaphragm condenser was positioned in front of the bass cone.
Tanner then played the acoustic guitar. We reused the stereo NT5 setup in XY configuration, then an NT2A large diaphragm condenser in a figure 8 pattern to get the overall room sound. Kevin played the bass with his home-made cabinet! We placed a K2 variable pattern tube condenser mic in front. Donovan played the trumpet in the iso booth in front of the NTR active ribbon mic, which rounded out the sound. Dante played lead guitar, with NT1 and NT3 mics in front of the cabinet. The final instrument, Ranen on the cajon played the rhythm with a NT1 and an NTR placed carefully below the box to not damage the ribbon.
Then, we moved onto the vocalists. John had written out the lyrics by the time we finished the instruments. We lined up four mics - K2, NTR, NT1, and NT1A for comparison. Each mic had their characteristics, but most in the room seemed to agree that the K2 and NT1 were very complementary of his vocals. Finally, Anna sang the backup vocal to finish the song!
We ended with a well tracked song that came together very quickly! Many thanks to Ryan and RØDE for allowing the students to explore the wide range of products they have available!
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