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Kook & HoomenNotes from the bench, the darkroom and the mixing desk

SO · 3 pieces

Sound & sessions

Recording a room, placing microphones and mixing a session down, from the first take to the final balance.

Latest piece Kook & Hoomen

Mix Down Low End for Small Speakers

A small home studio at night: a pair of 5-inch nearfield monitors on a desk, a laptop screen showing a mono-summed mix, a measurement microphone on a stand at ear height, and a marked volume knob on the audio interface, lit by a single desk lamp.

IM Photography & darkroom MO Film & motion CR Craft & notes

The other pieces

  1. A seated guitarist in a small treated room, one condenser mic above and in front of the mouth, a second mic aimed at the guitar body, a moving blanket on the wall behind and a rug under the chair, lit by a single window on the left.

    First Pair of Mics: Voice and Instrument

    How to place a first pair of microphones for one voice and one acoustic instrument in the same room: spacing, height, axis, and the bleed you keep on purpose.

    SO-002Sound & sessions

  2. A pair of small-diaphragm condenser microphones on a stereo bar in a narrow home studio, angled outward at ear height, with a mineral wool panel leaning against the back wall and a wooden floor visible under warm afternoon light from a side window.

    Record a Small Room So the Mix Has Somewhere to Sit

    How to place a first pair of microphones in a small room, treat early reflections, and keep the room in the mix without drowning the instrument.

    SO-001Sound & sessions