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Sound Discussion · January 28 · 1 hr 18 min

Mike Senior Returns!

Returning guest Mike Senior joins us for our Season 3 Premier (!!!) to break down one of the most ambitious recording projects you’re likely to hear about: tracking an entire 8-piece band live, on location, at speed — without losing the performance or your sanity. Mike walks us through how he recorded 13 songs in just a few days, capturing real performances instead of chasing perfection. We dive deep into: -Recording full bands live (and why it saves time) -Letting spill work for you instead of fighting it -Editing and fixing mistakes without killing the feel -Why mic choice, placement, and polarity matter more than plugins -How performance beats perfection every time -Building a portable, high-channel-count recording rig -Fast headphone mixes that keep musicians inspired -Mixing decisions that start before you ever hit record If you’ve ever felt stuck chasing “perfect” tracks in a home studio — this episode might completely reset how you think about recording. This is a must-listen for engineers, producers, and musicians who care about feel, momentum, and making records that sound human. Spektakulatius: https://spektakulatius.de/ Album: '10' (2014) Tracking Info: - https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/session-notes-spektakulatius - https://cambridge-mt.com/rs2/ch11-case1/ Mixing Info: - https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/mix-rescue-spektakulatius - https://cambridge-mt.com/rs2/ch11-case1/#mixing-a-small-studio-ensemble-recording-demonstration-videos Mastering Info: - https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/mix-rescue-spektakulatius-0 Final CD: - https://spektakulatius.de/2023/08/06/10/ Album: 'About Christmas' (2018) Tracking Info: - https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/session-notes-spektakulatius-revisited - https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/session-notes-making-custom-baffles Final CD: - https://spektakulatius.de/2023/08/06/about-christmas/ For lots more information on my ensemble-recording techniques (and specifically the 'peer array' methods I used for Spektakulatius), see Mike's book 'Recording Secrets For The Small Studio': - https://cambridge-mt.com/rs2/main/ Gear links: Asparion D400T & D400F hardware controllers: - https://www.asparion.de/en/products.html#tab_d400 Ferrofish A32 A-D/D-A converter: - https://www.ferrofish.com/a32-dante-converter-multimode/ RME MADIface USB: - https://rme-audio.de/madiface-usb.html Superlux R102 ribbon mic (which is still for sale new at £88!): - https://www.thomann.co.uk/superlux_r102.htm Toneboosters freeware plug-ins: - https://cambridge-mt.com/ms3/links/#freeware-top-ten Soundtheory Gullfoss: - https://www.soundtheory.com/gullfoss Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

0:00-1:18:46

transcript

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show notes

Returning guest Mike Senior joins us for our Season 3 Premier (!!!) to break down one of the most ambitious recording projects you’re likely to hear about:

tracking an entire 8-piece band live, on location, at speed — without losing the performance or your sanity.


Mike walks us through how he recorded 13 songs in just a few days, capturing real performances instead of chasing perfection. We dive deep into:


-Recording full bands live (and why it saves time)

-Letting spill work for you instead of fighting it

-Editing and fixing mistakes without killing the feel

-Why mic choice, placement, and polarity matter more than plugins

-How performance beats perfection every time

-Building a portable, high-channel-count recording rig

-Fast headphone mixes that keep musicians inspired

-Mixing decisions that start before you ever hit record


If you’ve ever felt stuck chasing “perfect” tracks in a home studio — this episode might completely reset how you think about recording.


This is a must-listen for engineers, producers, and musicians who care about feel, momentum, and making records that sound human.


Spektakulatius:

https://spektakulatius.de/

 

Album: '10' (2014)

Tracking Info:

      - https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/session-notes-spektakulatius

      - https://cambridge-mt.com/rs2/ch11-case1/

Mixing Info:

      - https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/mix-rescue-spektakulatius

      - https://cambridge-mt.com/rs2/ch11-case1/#mixing-a-small-studio-ensemble-recording-demonstration-videos

Mastering Info:

      - https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/mix-rescue-spektakulatius-0

Final CD:

      - https://spektakulatius.de/2023/08/06/10/

 

Album: 'About Christmas' (2018)

Tracking Info:

      - https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/session-notes-spektakulatius-revisited

      - https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/session-notes-making-custom-baffles

Final CD:

      - https://spektakulatius.de/2023/08/06/about-christmas/

 

For lots more information on my ensemble-recording techniques (and specifically the 'peer array' methods I used for Spektakulatius), see Mike's book 'Recording Secrets For The Small Studio':

      - https://cambridge-mt.com/rs2/main/

 

Gear links:

 

Asparion D400T & D400F hardware controllers:

      - https://www.asparion.de/en/products.html#tab_d400

 

Ferrofish A32 A-D/D-A converter:

      - https://www.ferrofish.com/a32-dante-converter-multimode/

 

RME MADIface USB:

      - https://rme-audio.de/madiface-usb.html

 

Superlux R102 ribbon mic (which is still for sale new at £88!):

      - https://www.thomann.co.uk/superlux_r102.htm

 

Toneboosters freeware plug-ins:

      - https://cambridge-mt.com/ms3/links/#freeware-top-ten

 

Soundtheory Gullfoss:

      - https://www.soundtheory.com/gullfoss


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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