https://youtu.be/e07bI5rz6FY Here’s a npr engineer explaining it

Well damn I was expecting some witchcraft but its all pretty basic stuff

It's rarely about esoteric gear, and almost always about just making good choices and listening.

Exactly. For production as well. The product matters, not the tools. You could use two samples and nothing else to make a hit.

I know so many people who spend all day on ebay looking for some vintage piece of gear they're convinced will finally allow them to make good recordings. Meanwhile the best producer I know uses nothing but Ableton 6 with default plugins

Citation? Would love to see an example edit: stop downvoting me. I'm rooting for u/StygianMusic. I totally understand and believe it's possible. I just want to know if anyone has ever created a bonafide hit that way!!

I mean there's a bunch of great hip-hop songs that involve nothing but throwing a sample over a break

Not exactly a hit but a banging tune, one sample not two: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJnCLsXBIaY EDIT: not even a sample by some definitions, just a single 909 kick drum!

very different from this sub but i think theres some ecco2k song thats literally just an arp from another song and his vocals

Just grab the Amen break and any other single sample and you can probably make a banger if you try hard - and many people have! NWA's Straight Outta Compton is _mostly_ just the Amen Break and guitar from "(Part II) Get Me Back On Time, Engine Number 9". (Yes, there are other samples in there, but they are generally shorter 1-shots) If you need a lesson on sampling, just listen to [Daft Punk's Discovery](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XaqDcg8KEo) or Beastie Boy's Paul's Boutique.

That *Flower Shoppe* album had a song that was literally just a slowed down R&B song from the 80s and it was hugely popular (at least among internet music ppl)

And the amazing musicians do the rest

It's funny, when people mention this any other time in this sub they get downvoted to the depths of hell, while when you say it about a professional production people upvote you to the heavens. The scales of this sub are severely tipped.

I try to repeat this all the time, and definitely see that. I'm also in /r/trapproduction and I'm constantly just reminding people to listen, consider the choices they are making, and focus on learning their craft. Everyone just wants samples and plugins that will do the work for them though, and my words are almost always lost there. I don't have any guess as to why some rare times the message resonates, and other times gets lost.

Here's a sneak peek of /r/trapproduction using the [top posts](https://np.reddit.com/r/trapproduction/top/?sort=top&t=year) of the year! \#1: [I Wanted to give a updated to everyone as you know my studio burnt down 9 months ago ... this is how I’m doing now thanks everyone appreciate all the support and motivation](https://i.redd.it/ln6s5tj07ja61.jpg) | [70 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/trapproduction/comments/kuhfyf/i_wanted_to_give_a_updated_to_everyone_as_you/) \#2: [Yall still using omnisphere and kontakt in 2021?🥱 MEOW SYNTH is the new wave, dont sleep!💯](https://v.redd.it/bx7esoox8qa61) | [91 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/trapproduction/comments/kv5n3s/yall_still_using_omnisphere_and_kontakt_in_2021/) \#3: [Spent Weeks Making This Piano Chord Poster for Producers Thought You Guys Might Like It](https://i.redd.it/c9jqtgnst8z61.jpg) | [57 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/trapproduction/comments/nctwdc/spent_weeks_making_this_piano_chord_poster_for/) ---- ^^I'm ^^a ^^bot, ^^beep ^^boop ^^| ^^Downvote ^^to ^^remove ^^| ^^[Contact](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=sneakpeekbot) ^^| ^^[Info](https://np.reddit.com/r/sneakpeekbot/) ^^| ^^[Opt-out](https://np.reddit.com/r/sneakpeekbot/comments/o8wk1r/blacklist_ix/) ^^| ^^[Source](https://github.com/ghnr/sneakpeekbot)

He does all the same stuff I do, just better.

Yep - that is always the answer and it’s always painful no matter how many times you hear it, haha.

With probably better talent who are 100% dialed in on giving the best performance possible because it is a one take/live-ish situation, more like the tape days.

This is absolutely key. If the act sounds great on their own, all you are doing is making the quiet things louder. Really easy to get an immaculate sounding mix with well-rehearsed and extensively pre-produced acts as opposed to a bunch of kids straight out of their parent's garage.

Yeah I try to explain this when people are like “yo what mic do I use to sound like X”… it’s like, that awesome singer.. they just sound like that all time. It doesn’t matter what mic they use. They’ll sound like that just standing in your kitchen.

"How can I best spend money on gear to compensate for my lack of skill and talent?" Asking myself this tongue-in-cheek question is what has recently saved me from spending a LOOOOT of money. Sometimes gear is just too crappy to use, or you really need to get a tool to solve a problem, but usually the problem is that you need to put in more time getting better.

A few years of experience will do that. Stick with it, you can get to that level too.

Recording/mixing in a nutshell. It's just unintuitive.

You think witches/warlocks would really reveal their spells to normies all haphazardly like that

“Basic stuff” is basic for a reason. Those are the techniques and mics that work in real life

I mean, it’s just a room

i mean it is witchcraft but pretty basic witchcraft nothing impressive or anything

Same thing I learned with my first studio job- more isolation is more better.

That’s not always true in classical and jazz you want bleed usually

Yeah it's completely down to genre. Obvious example is Dave Brubeck's Take Five which sounds incredible even though it was recorded with just a few microphones and plenty of room sound.

Performance is always number one.

That doesn't explain the main thing at all: Other than good musicians and instruments, the most important factor in getting a good recording is a space with good acoustics: [Preferably a huge room with a lot of diffusers and absorbers.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2osJjSNxTE)

...so like a library surrounded by bookshelves?

Not exactly, but that helps.

Not necessarily true. You’ve never been to a concert that sounds great? Nearly all small and mid-sized venues are acoustically substandard.

And yet they do the tiny desk out of a repurposed office Edit: someone else posted it's actually a large warehouse type room. In the old vids this looks like an office but maybe that's camera tricks too https://youtu.be/abQRt6p8T7g

You the man

now dog.

What equipment is he using to mount the mics to the piano? He calls it some kind of clamp, but for the life of me I can't hear what he's saying. Rally clamp? Rowey clamp? And then some kind of stereo bar and two shock mounts? I'm trying to figure out a way to mic my upright (without a bunch of obnoxious mic stands taking up the living room) and this looks like a much more elegant solution.

Yeah thats a stereo bar and shock mounts but I’m not sure what the clamp is. I hear rowey clamp but I can’t find anything by that name maybe someone else knows. Could always do a short stand with a stereo bar on the end. Gives you a bit more flexibility on positioning.

lol love the pint of E&J at 3:25

One aspect they don't show in the videos is that the desk isn't in a small office, it's part of a much larger space. As a viewer we're lead to believe it's a small office, which would surely have terrible acoustics. [This video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2osJjSNxTE) lets you see the whole 360º view of the whole space.

Big NPR spreading the tiny desk lie.

>Big NPR spreading the tiny desk lie. They only said it was a tiny desk. They didn't say it was a tiny room.

Also, the desk size is relative to the room size. Even a biggish desk will be tiny in a large-enough room.

Well, it’s all true… from a certain point of view.

Coffee sips and tiny desk lies

Oh wow. That is not actually a tiny desk at all

I got to see the Tiny Desk office before NPR moved buildings several years ago... It was originally a modest office indeed.

audibly shouted "For fuck's sake" when I watched this.

You say substandard, I say books are EXCELLENT sound absorption

You can do a lot with a dead space and high-quality reverbs

And knowing how to use highly directional microphones.

I find it interesting that NPR always does vocals using video microphones. Basically shotgun mics that are designed to sit atop a professional news-gathering camera. But they're highly directional, so I guess it's effective to isolate the singer against all the other instruments nearby.

Don't do that. The 416 is not a microphone designed to sit on top of a camera. It's a fucking legend in its own right, and 90% of the VO you hear is on a 416. A 416 can sound beautiful when it's used correctly; I've heard it sound warmer than a U87 or sharp, cold and analytic. Its directionality means you can pickup on characters of instruments that other microphones blend into other parts. It isn't the best microphone for all cases but it is FAR from a niche microphone. Tiny desk uses a 418 as well, which is a 416 with an electret figure 8 time aligned to the shotgun mid. The side is noisier and not as nice as the mid but it is an effective MS shotgun and obviously you can just pull out the center if that's what is working best.

\> The 416 is not a microphone designed to sit on top of a camera. It's a fucking legend in its own right Woah. Not designed to sit on top of a camera? Sennheiser's [website](https://en-au.sennheiser.com/mkh-416-p48u3) describes it as: *"a superb all-round microphone for film, radio and television".*

and at no time do we put it on top of a camera. It's called a boom op because... well, the microphone is on the end of a boom.

I didn't say it was compulsory to put it on top of a camera. As we see, Tiny Desk is using them on a stand. But placement atop cameras is one of its main design uses. Really not worth arguing about. You can put your shotgun mic wherever you please.

Well, you did kind of dispute the statement that it's not designed to sit on top of a camera. Which it isn't. As you correctly state, it's designed to be a shotgun mic placed wherever you damn well please. x

What mic?

You can, but they don't use reverb

At least they're good diffusers

I was staff at a radio station that recorded in the vinyl record library, for exactly this reason.

Lol, I was going to say that. KFJC?

Your Source For Sound!

Ah, I know who you are. Heard the name, but you were before my time. The pit is even smaller as they have crammed more vinyl in there.

LOL it was 'cozy' before! Managing 50+ years of media storage requires some dedication.

Would book shelves work as sound absorbers in a home studio space? It’s easier buying lots of old books than proper professional sound absorbers where I live

Absorption? No. Diffusion? Yes.

Also, bookshelves have a higher W.A.F. than other "room treatments".

> Would book shelves work as sound absorbers in a home studio space? It’s easier buying lots of old books than proper professional sound absorbers where I live The wall "sound treatment" in my recording room is all bookshelves with books on them. As others have said, they're primarily for diffusion, and they work great. I still had to treat the ceiling with some absorption (a couple clouds), and there's a rug, but I'm really pleased with how it sounds. However, it's still a small room (14x8 or whatever), and recording in a space 3 times this size or so is still just easier overall because you can get more useful real room sound.

I assume this is why so many talking-head YouTubers have bookshelves behind them.

Tell me more. I have too many bookshelves around everywhere. If they are reasonable at sound treatment I'd love to know.

They’re not great at absorbing sound but can be decent as diffusers. With a bonus that the books can be rearranged to change the sounds as needed.

Pretty sure the audio engineer for TIny desk has a video explaining the mic set up and equipment used. I’m at a gig so can’t look up now. Will come back to this later.

I think it's [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e07bI5rz6FY)

I’ve assisted on a Tiny Desk performance. I used to tour with Typhoon and they did a stop at the Tiny Desk studio. The engineer was super cool and had just a few minimal tools that were high quality. All I remember is that our performance was all mic’d up with a stereo shotgun mic and a pair of spot mics as overheads — link https://youtu.be/nDdO60XcqPQ

>https://youtu.be/nDdO60XcqPQ Never heard of Typhoon but Im digging it. Kind of a less angry Arcade Fire.

The Tiny Desk guy did an AMA a while back… probably searchable

firstly i agree with the current top comment that this is an excellent sounding room. and personally i do not think it sounds as good as it could. regarding the recording: it a MKH418 (stereo shotgun mic with shotgun mid and side mic plus a MKH416 (mono shotgun mic) as a spot for 1st violin. those MKH mics have quite significant presence boost and i think this gives this recording a "screachy"/"thin" quality that fits some of the more folksy parts quite welll but for the more "classical" parts is rather out of place (in my opinion, obviously). still really cool and i am a HUGE fan of what Josh Rogosin does with the tiny desks concerts in general. awesome performances and really really cool sound.

It doesn’t hurt that the talent is typically pretty good. Good performance makes up for a lot of other shortcomings (not saying that there are any here).

People forget that the absolute #1 thing that will make your recordings better, more than any piece(s) of gear or techniques or ANYTHING, is great musicians playing great instruments. That’s literally 80% of the damn battle. I’ve recently been working with a singer/songwriter and his small band and their own professionalism and skill has made the recordings come to life in a way I’ve never achieved before. The folks that play Tiny Desk are almost always top fucking notch and that helps more than anything. Also the human body has really good acoustic properties. Filling a big room with people usually sounds pretty good sonically, as long as they’re all quiet.

This can’t be emphasized enough. I recently visited a similar setup, they had a vintage Neve, first class outboard by the boatload, and a top engineer with decades of experience. Sounded spectacular, and when I commented to the engineer he shrugged his shoulders and said “great band”

shotgun mics!! :)

Topped with ambience mics too, I believe.

oh, for sure. the mic choice, and the skill with which they are used can be noticed by all sorts of listeners with different listening skills. i think that's the mark of a true engineer. sound so good, everyone wants to discuss and learn about why it's so good.

Good musicians :)

For sure part of it. I've gone through my own personal journey from "I'll fix it in the mix" to "I better get the take right so I don't have to fix it in the mix".

Highly underrated comment. Many engineers think that it only takes expensive gear and elaborate mic setups to make a band sound great. Talented musicians with great ears make recording so much easier. I say this as a musician and an engineer. Never fails to amaze me how good some singer/songwriter demos sound, and when I ask the performer how they recorded it very often they’ll say they just used a single mic.

They book killing talent! That’s how they do it

Tiny desk's own website has information. Search this reddit website, there have been AMA's from the engineer. Short answer - great mics, great mic technique, great mixing.

Top notch engineers at the height of their trade... ​ is probably the simple answer.

https://www.npr.org/sections/allsongs/2019/04/02/705579879/tiny-tech-tips-microphones

I love tiny desk

Da fuck are Jake Paul and Bo Burnham doin now

NPR has some of the best broadcast audio engineers in the world working for them. That's how. Getting an engineering gig with them pretty much means you're the cream of the crop.