When I was recording my first album in my makeshift home studio in Argentina, we had limited mic choices. 1 Mic! a $200 AKG 3000B. My friend and producer Chello da Chance assured me that it was all about the recording studio performance. I knew that that was partly true, but that a great mic in the recording studio would make a big difference too.
Recording Studio Energy
There was a strange phenomenon though and this may sound weird to some. The recording studio mic seemed to be plastic to my mood. Whenever I went in their with pressure and wanting something great to happen in the recording studio, the recording would turn out mediocre to say the least.
My recording studio was in my house, so when I went in there with no expectations and no pressure, when I just went in there to have fun, the results were amazing and the recording results were like night and day. Was it the same mic? they recordings were totally different, TOTALLY different. Yet it was the same mic, same space, same distance from the mic, same DAW, same interface, same voice, same EVERYTHING! If everything was the same in the recording studio then why did it sound so different.
I believe the mic in the recording studio and the recording are plastic to our energy. Thoughts are very powerful and “Thoughts are things”. It is my belief that we are here to experience Joy and when we are in it for the fun, the enjoyment everything around us responds to that energy. Even microphones! So mic choice is very important, but mood choice is possibly even more important. When you couple the two, a high end mic and preamp with the right energy, a relaxed attitude and no pressure you will get the best result possible. So the keys to a great recording experience in the recording studio are the equipment, the sound engineer but also the energy of the performance.