Multitracking is a method of recording which allows you to record separate sound sources simultaneously or individually to create a whole piece.

This is useful when, for example, only one part of the song wants to be heard, such as the guitar. By muting all the other instruments you can hear just the guitar whereas if all of the instruments were recorded onto the same channel they would be inseparable and there would be no way to extract the guitar with precision to isolate it. This is also beneficial when it comes to mixing the track as it is easy to retain complete control over sculpting each individual component of the song. Multitracking is useful when recording drums so that it is easy to EQ, compress or add any effects to certain drums. Although audio spill still occurs, it is significantly reduced by using separate microphones for each drum. Overheads: In the studio we use 2 Neumann KM184s for overheads to record overall sound. They are condenser microphones with a frequency range of 20 Hz - 20,000 Hz. It has a cardioid polar pattern to reduce feedback. There are multiple ways to place the microphone one being XY, where the microphones are placed at 90 from each other, or spaced where the microphones are placed and equal distances from the snare drum. XY placement picks up more of the entire sound as it does not direct to the floor, whereas the spaced microphones are more direct. They are commonly plugged into input 7 & 8 on the stage box.
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Multi-tracking

Kick Drum: In the studio we use an Audix F14 microphone. This is a dynamic microphone with a tailored frequency response of 30 Hz - 10 kHz. A condenser microphone is not used as they are too sensitive for a kick drum. It has a cardioid polar pattern to minimize feedback and isolate the drum from the others. Microphone placement is a big factor of the sound produced; whether the microphone is placed inside the hole or outside on a stand, how big the hole is, how many inches from the outside, what angle the microphone is at etc. The kick drum is connected to the stage box via XLR cable and is commonly in input one > channel one.

High Hat: This is miced with the Audix F15. This is a condenser microphone to get a crisp, clear high hat sound. It has a frequency response of 100Hz - 20 kHz. It has a wide cardioid polar pattern along with high sensitivity. The mic is positioned above the high hat towards the centre to get the full spectrum of sounds from the high hat. It is commonly plugged into input 6 on the stage box.

Toms: The toms are miced with Audix F10s. This is a dynamic microphone with a cardioid polar pattern to pick up direct signals and minimize feedback. It has a frequency response of 50 Hz - 12,000 Hz making it good for picking up mid-bass and mid-high sounds. The microphone is put onto a rim microphone clip onto the rim of the drum pointing towards the centre of the skin of the drum. They are commonly plugged into input 4 & 5 on the stage box.

Snare Top: This is miced with the Shure SM57. It is a dynamic microphone with a cardioid polar pattern which isolates the main sound source. It has a frequency response of 40 Hz - 15,000 Hz. This is placed near the snare pointing towards the centre of the skin. It is commonly inserted into input 2 of the stage box. This microphone has the phase inversion button on to avoid phase cancellation where two sound waves clash and cancel each other out.

Snare Bottom: This is miced with the Shure SM58. It is a dynamic microphone with a cardioid polar pattern which isolates the main sound source. It has a frequency response of 50 Hz - 15,000 Hz. This is placed underneath the snare drum to get the sound of the snare drum beads and get a fuller sound. This microphone commonly goes into input 3 on the stage box.

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When recording its good to keep an order of inputs and which instrument goes into where. When recording drums the order is commonly, kick, top snare, bottom snare, hi-tom, mid-tom, floor tom, hi-hat and then overheads. Keeping it in this order makes it simple to remember and easy to put into the mixing desk and onto computer programs. Polar Patterns: A polar pattern is a graph showing the shape of the area that the microphone is most sensitive to the sound. There are 5 different polar patterns.

Cardioids (unidirectional pattern) are most sensitive to sound arriving from one particular direction and less in all other directions. This is the most common type and is used if a more isolated pick up is desired.

Cardioid (unidirectional pattern) mics also come in other variations such as the supercardioid and the hypercardioid.

The omnidirectional pattern has an equal response at all angles. Its pickup angle is a full 360 degrees. They produce a very natural sound, good for ambience.

Bi-directional microphones receive sound equally from both the front and back. Since sound arriving from the side reaches the front and back equally at the same time the microphone has no sensitivity to a certain direction.