Setting up a recording studio means making choices; one of the toughest is choosing the right gear. There’s no way around it: you’re going to have to do some work. And even after you’ve purchased gear, there are still choices to make: which mic to use, which reverb preset to apply, and so on.
In the real world, the decision process often comes down to comparisons: comparing two mics, comparing two processor presets, and so on. After doing a lot of studio work, hundreds of product reviews, and consulting with various manufacturers on products, I’ve come up with a few things to consider that may help you make better choices.
- Context – Be sure to consider the context of how your gear will be used. Something might seem great on its own, but nestled into a complete mix, the picture may change.
- Specs – I think of manufacturer specifications as a starting point, and I use them for validation of what I hear: “Hmmm, sounds like there’s a bump at 1kHz on that mic; let’s check the frequency response graph to find out for sure…” But I never use specs by themselves to reach any kind of conclusion.
- Science – I read a post on an internet forum that went something like, “I don’t do scientific comparisons. I just use my ears.” Well, absolutely, you should use your ears. However, if you don’t make “scientific” comparisons, then you can’t be sure you’re comparing apples to apples, and you won’t know if you can really trust your ears to hear objectively. Levels must be precisely matched. You must ensure the performance is exactly the same. Mic distance and placement must be repeated. Everything must be identical except for the one thing you’re changing for comparison, or your ears may be deceived.
- Letting go of bias – We all have preconceptions and biases. The only way to ensure you’ve removed bias is to remove knowledge of what you’re comparing. In other words, devise a blind (preferably double-blind) test, where you don’t know what you’re hearing and must choose based solely on what you hear. If you’ve gotten the “science” (as described above) right, don’t know what you’re hearing, and make a particular choice repeatedly, then you can be sure you’ve made a bias-free decision.
- Have a benchmark – Not the converter company (though I love my Benchmark digital-to-analog converters) but a standard to compare against. I find it impossible to make decisions in a vacuum. So, I’ll devise something to reference against. It may be a commercial recording. It may be an older recording I made. It may be an acoustic sound in the room. “What” doesn’t matter; it’s a reference for comparison.
- Focus – It all comes down to having the focus to listen critically and to be as objective as possible. The subjective is critical, but must be weighed against the objective.
- Listen – Having gone through everything above, turn off all the “science” and objectivity. Trust your ears above all else; the sound is what matters in the final analysis.