Kina Grannis trying out the Woodpecker

Kina’s new album will be dropping on April 15th and we got a sneak peek of her sound on the Bottle. Check it out here:

She self-released her debut full-length Stairwells in February of 2010 debuting on Billboard’s Top 200 and #5 on iTunes’ Pop Chart. On April 5th, Kina will re-release a remixed and remastered version of Stairwells – which will feature 4 brand new tracks – as well as a deluxe version that will include additional original music, select cover songs from her YouTube channel, exclusive videos and the offical music video for “Valentine,” which has amassed 7-million views on YouTube.  Also, Kina’s North American World In Front Of Me headline tour will begin on April 2 at Chicago’s Lincoln Hall.  Kina’s music is both sweet and melancholy, but always filled with hope.

Podcast

In 2007, Kina joined YouTube, made a music video and entered herself into a contest. A few months later, her video for “Message From Your Heart” aired during the Superbowl and its 97 million viewers (or 194 million eyeballs, depending on how you’re keeping track) and she walked away with a record deal.

Get to know Kina and learn how she turned a YouTube video into a Superbowl ad in our podcast.

Jamie Hill

We sat down with Jamie to talk about how he uses the Dragonfly mic to get the best sound:

1. How do you use the Dragonfly?

I’ve been using the Dragonflies as cymbal spot mics lately for some live work. Not as overheads — the act I’m mixing at the moment has a lot of backing tracks, which takes up a considerable amount of space frequency-wise, so I’m finding myself needing to use spot mics with severely band-limited EQs all around the kit in order to leave space in my mix for everything that’s going on. To this end, I’ve been high-passing the Dragonflies at like 3,500 Hz! My goal is to reject as much of the rest of the kit as possible, not to mention the clang-ier parts of the cymbals themselves. I’m just going for that higher-end sheen.

3. In what ways are you using the mic to get the best sound for your  purpose?

I’m using my Dragonflies to capture the high-end sheen of our drummer’s cymbals. In other words, I’m trying to pick up as little of the rest of the kit as possible, and as little stick sound as possible. With that in mind, I’m positioning each Dragonfly over a cymbal pair (left and right), in-between said cymbal pair, at the outside of the kit (on the opposite side of the cymbal from where the drummer hits it). I’m aiming the capsules maybe 10 degrees outward from straight down, and they’re about 26 inches above the cymbals. I’m actually using the cymbals to block the mics’ line of sight from the toms, the better to minimize any spill that I can. The snare still gets in there a bit, but only the top end of it as I’m high-passing the Dragonflies at 3,500 Hz, and the top-end snare spill actually helps the snare poke through the mix a bit, so it all works out well in the end.

Given that, I feel largely unqualified to talk about anything below 3,500 Hz on these mics! From 3,500 cycles up, though, they’re super. The high end is smooth, detailed, and not crispy in the least — even in 25,000-person concrete amphitheaters, which will quickly betray any shrill tendencies a mic might have.

Also, I especially love how the capsule rotates. For live work, this is a life-saver — loosening and tightening a mic stand to hone in on a position is a drag when your console is 125 feet from the sound source! I can just have a stagehand rotate the capsule a bit if need be, and the rest of the mic stays put. Genius.

4. What is your best advice to other artists/producers using this mic?

Get rid of the case it comes with and put it in a case that allows you to leave the shock-mount on!

This is your one-stop solution for getting the legendary 3-mic technique recording, but why is this the best way to get the best sound? Blue’s Microphones’ founder Skipper Wise explains -

“The unique sonic signature of the Dragonfly was created by boosting the upper bass frequencies at 100-150hz to help thicken up thin signal sources. This character coupled with a slightly depressed mid range at 400hz and an extended top end at 12-15kHz, helps cymbals to be recorded with a live and present rich timbre. The rotating grill which house the Blue hand tuned large diaphragm condenser capsule can be positioned for the optimum placement with ease.

Filling in the deeper bass frequencies, the Mouse microphone takes on the chore of handling loud signal sources (SPL) such as the kick drum. Known for its durability in the recording environment, the Mouse is as versatile as it looks with its shockmounted rotating head.

These three microphones complete the sonic spectrum needed in producing a full-bodied, live recording session for the most discerning drummer and engineer.”

Blue Pro Drum Kit Kit