Recording Fundamentals with ESI Audio

Whether you are working in the podcasting or music recording space, audio capture quality is extremely important for determining how your work is received.

A recording that demonstrates poor audio quality could potentially decrease engagement with your product, as substandard recordings tend to be disregarded by increasingly sophisticated listeners. Content that is well recorded, with clear replication of the recorded source, delivers authenticity and authority to the tone of the product. Building your work from a solid foundation ensures that your recorded output will hit the benchmark professional standard you’ve been aiming for. Arriving at this point is often determined by the recording chain, so getting this aspect of your production right can definitely pay dividends with impressive, professional results.

There are multiple elements that work together to form the basic recording chain. These all work in conjunction to deliver the final result, with each stage being just as important as the last. The relationship between these elements is almost symbiotic, because if one element of the recording chain is weak, then the others will often struggle to compensate. After all, your signal chain is only as good as the component that preceded it. For example, if your monitoring is not translating the recording, then you will struggle to interpret what you’ve captured and your decision making will be compromised-hence the need for quality monitoring and headphone solutions. If the microphone quality is inadequate, then you are doing a disservice to the material from the get go. These concepts are applicable whether you are recording a podcast, or your latest single. That’s because the need for capturing quality audio is universal. Finding the right tools to get you to that point in either production field is extremely important.

So what are the elements of the recording chain? The basic recording chain starts with the source, which could be a person speaking, a musical instrument, or any other sound relevant to the production. Often what determines the quality of the source recording is the space where the recording takes place. Getting the context right is the key consideration here. Having the right instrument, space or voice is just the start of the process of delivering the best outcome possible. Sound waves then travel through the air to be captured by a microphone, which converts the acoustic energy into an electrical signal. What should you be looking for when selecting a microphone for your recording chain? If nothing else, your studio needs a good all-round solution that will capture a wide frequency range and has the ability to handle reasonable sound pressure levels. The electrical signal is then sent to a preamplifier or audio interface, where it is boosted and converted into a digital signal. The audio interface should ideally be able to capture a wide dynamic range. Dynamic range is the difference between the softest and loudest parts of the recording. The biggest issue here is being able to effectively reproduce louder transients, thereby eliminating distortion in the recording. The digital signal is then processed by a digital audio workstation (DAW) software and recorded onto a computer or storage device. The recorded audio is then played back through monitors or headphones to be mixed. The monitors or headphones should be of good quality to accurately represent the recorded sound, with decent frequency response. It’s better to have monitors or headphones that don’t have obvious colouration, so having monitors that have an even or flat frequency response is preferable. It’s important to have a good understanding of the entire chain, as the quality of each component will impact the final recording. It’s also important to note that this chain is not linear; the monitors and headphones can also affect the recording process. For example, if the monitoring situation is less than accurate, a mix that sounds great on them may not translate well to other playback systems. For many budding recordists, this may mean opting for headphone monitoring, to offset the influence of the room and allow for decisions to be made from a relatively unimpeded vantage point.

The key to a great recording is to have high-quality components at each stage of the chain and a good understanding of how they work together. Having a quality set-up that works well together from microphone to analogue/ digital conversion, to monitoring can make the process of getting a quality result simpler to deliver. There are some manufacturers that have recognised the need for bundled equipment that’s designed to work effectively together as a complete recording chain solution. One example of this is the ESI U22 XT cosMik set, which is a complete audio recording solution that includes a microphone, preamp, audio interface and headphones. This bundle offers everything you need to get started with recording audio, from capturing the sound to monitoring the final result. By offering all of these components in a single bundle, ESI Audio has made it easier for content producers and musicians to get started with audio recording and have ensured that all of the components work well together. This is especially beneficial for those who may not have a lot of experience with audio equipment and are looking for a simple, all-inone solution. This bundle includes the U22 XT USB audio interface, the cosMik 10 condenser microphone and the excellent eXtra 10 monitoring modelling headphones. All of these units individually have the specifications to deliver consistent quality audio recording, but together form a comprehensive recording solution. The bundle also offers some nice additional software tools. The modelling headphones can be used in conjunction with the included Realphones ESI Edition. This software re-creates the acoustic environment of a recording studio control room using the eXtra 10 headphones. In conclusion, it can be tempting to view our recording chain as nothing more than a series of unrelated circuits, but given the audible sonic influence that things like microphone selection, preamp colour, conversion and (especially) monitoring environment play on our overall output, doing so would be to miss the obvious symbiotic relationship at play here. Every part of our recording chain informs the next.

BY BRETT VOSS