notesdontmatter

Audio Arts Major - 22/06/2006

Here is my first major project for university. Decide for yourself whether or not I make the cut……..


Recording and Production Documentation:

Your Name: David Dowling

Date/s of Recording and Production: 29/05/2006 – 17/06/2006

Song Title: Ideal Me by Tuscadero

Format: .wav

Sampling Rate: 48KHZ__ Bit Depth: 24__ Duration: 2:45


Ambience Tracks:

Notes/Issues/Commentary on Recording:

The ambience track is actually the product of the original vocal track recorded live. I guess the placement of the mic’s was just right to pick up the vocals and the rest of the band at the same time. The Neumann U87 is so sensitive that its levels barley changed whether or not dale was singing into it along with the rest of the band. I’m glad it worked out this way; otherwise I would have ended up with an ambience track which lacked vocals, and probably wouldn’t have used it.

Track Information:

Track: 11-12. Instrument: Whole Band – Ambience. Performer Name: Tuscadero

Microphone Type/Pattern: Condenser cardioid. Placement technique: Approximately one foot behind pop shield

Microphone Name: Neumann U87. Notes: A great mic, but can be too sensitive and prone to distorting.

Microphone Type/Pattern: Dynamic cardioid. Placement technique: Directly behind pop shield.

Microphone Name: Shure Beta 58. Notes: Not as responsive as the U87 of course but it certainly served its purpose.

Notes/Issues/Commentary on Production:

The Ambience tracks are the product of the originally rejected vocal tracks. They turned out to be suited perfectly for this purpose as they contain a relatively even mix of the whole band.

I may try this technique again in the future as it helps the mix to retain its live feel. In retrospect though I will always anticipate the need for vocal overdubs. Anything that needs to be captured with a condenser mic is subject to a huge amount of bleed if recorded live.

Track Information:

Track: 11-12. Instrument: Whole Band – Ambience. Performer Name: Tuscadero

Production Techniques applied (EQ, dynamics processing, colouration etc) and reasoning for application:

1. Compression at the input stage for dynamic control.

2. These tracks were fed into the vocal auxiliary sub mix. The EQ applied is the same as for all other vocals as I felt this was the part that needed emphasising the most.

3. Reverb as applied to the other vocals is on these tracks.

4. Normalisation to boost the tracks overall output.


Lead Vocals:

Notes/Issues/Commentary on Recording:

I dual miced the vocalist with a dynamic and a condenser mic to give the mix a little more texture. This turned out to be a good move as Dale is a competent singer, but not a particularly loud one. The extra track has served to boost his presence in the mix desirably.

To alleviate distortion from the condenser microphone, I resorted to the technique of placing the dynamic about a foot in front of it. The pop shield was then placed in front of this. Dale has a habit of crowding the microphone when singing, to gain more volume, so this kept him at a respectable distance from the Neumann U87.

Mild compression was used at the input stage to control peaks in the dynamic range.

Track Information:

Track: 1-4. Instrument: Lead vocals. Performer Name: Dale Govett

Microphone Type/Pattern: Condenser cardioid. Placement technique: Approximately one foot behind pop shield

Microphone Name: Neumann U87. Notes: A great mic, but can be too sensitive and prone to distorting.

Microphone Type/Pattern: Dynamic cardioid. Placement technique: Directly behind pop shield.

Microphone Name: Shure Beta 58. Notes: Not as responsive as the U87 of course but it certainly served its purpose.

Notes/Issues/Commentary on Production:

Originally recorded live with the band, I found the vocal tracks had picked up far too much background noise. I opted to have the singer come in for an overdubbing session to rectify this.

I dual miced the vocalist with a dynamic and a condenser mic to give the mix a little more texture. This turned out to be a good move as Dale is a competent singer, but not a particularly loud one. The extra track has served to boost his presence in the mix desirably.

A de-esser plug in was added at the final stage of production to control those annoying sibilants.

Track Information:

Track: 1-4. Instrument: Lead vocals. Performer Name: Dale Govett

Production Techniques applied (EQ, dynamics processing, colouration etc) and reasoning for application:

1. EQ was applied to the vocal auxiliary sub mix to cut unstable frequencies, and boost the vocal presence area at around 3KHz.

2. Mild Reverb was used to give the vocal back its’ natural quality, after the dead room sucked the life out of it.

3. Mild compression was used at the input stage of recording, to control peaks in the dynamic range.

4. The vocal tracks have been duplicated and nudged slightly in Pro-tools to thicken up their sound.

5. Volume automation was used to control peaks in some sections, and also to boost some quiet vocals where necessary.

6. Normalisation to boost the tracks overall output.

7. De-esser was used in the final stages of mixing for silibant control.


Backing Vocals:

Notes/Issues/Commentary on Recording:

The Backing vocals have been recorded and miced using the same set up as the Lead. Nothing much needed to change, as Duane has a similar dynamic peak as Dale.

A couple of extra tracks were added as there were some extra harmonies that Duane wanted to add while having the luxury of a recording studio to do so.

As far as vocal recording goes, this was the easiest of my attempts so far.

A slight issue I ran into was mistaking the duplicate track function in the edit menu for the duplicate function in the edit window. I was continually using the former to perform extra takes, which cluttered the edit window with unnecessary tracks. Had I used the edit windows’ version, it would have kept the unused tracks hidden. Live and learn I suppose.

Track Information:

Track: 5-10. Instrument: Backing Vocals. Performer Name: Duane Degruchy


Microphone Type/Pattern: Condenser cardioid. Placement technique: Approximately one foot behind pop shield

Microphone Name: Neumann U87. Notes: A great mic, but can be too sensitive and prone to distorting.

Microphone Type/Pattern: Dynamic cardioid. Placement technique: Directly behind pop shield.

Microphone Name: Shure Beta 58. Notes: Not as responsive as the U87 of course but it certainly served its purpose.


Notes/Issues/Commentary on Production:

The Backing vocals were no major issue to mix. I have panned some of the harmonies around to give the impression of backing vocalists at opposite sides of the stage. The recording was pitched quite well, which saved me a lot of potential correction work. I only had to perform one instance of time stretching as one harmony was cut a little short.

Track Information:

Track: Instrument: Backing Vocals. Performer Name: Duane Degruchy
5-10

Production Techniques applied (EQ, dynamics processing, colouration etc) and reasoning for application:

1. EQ was applied to the vocal auxiliary sub mix to cut unstable frequencies, and boost the vocal presence area at around 3KHz.

2. Mild Reverb was used to give the vocal back its’ natural quality, after the dead room sucked the life out of it.

3. Mild compression was used at the input stage of recording, to control peaks in the dynamic range.

4. Normalisation to boost the tracks overall output.


Bass Guitar:

Notes/Issues/Commentary on Recording:

No brain surgery here, just an SM-57 in front of Duane’s ridiculous ‘octabox’ (damn that thing is heavy) with a touch of compression at the input. Duane has a very consistent and well-practiced technique so it wasn’t hard to stop him leaping around in the mix. He pretty much did my work for me in that regard, by playing very evenly.

Track Information:

Track: 13 Instrument: Bass Guitar. Performer Name: Duane Degruchy

Microphone Type/Pattern: Dynamic cardioid. Placement technique: Close miced to the speaker cabinet, slightly off centre to control boominess.

Microphone Name: Shure SM-57. Notes: Nothing I would change about this set up.

Notes/Issues/Commentary on Production:

It took a few CD burnings before I was happy with the bass level. It can be very misleading as to its presence in the mix – especially when monitoring with headphones. I found that modest bass settings through headphones could result in booming exaggerated bass on a home stereo.

Track Information:

Track: 13 Instrument: Bass Guitar. Performer Name: Duane Degruchy

Production Techniques applied (EQ, dynamics processing, colouration etc) and reasoning for application:

1. EQ was used to cut the frequencies in unstable areas.

2. Mild compression at the input stage for dynamic control.

3. Normalisation to boost the tracks overall output.


Guitar:

Notes/Issues/Commentary on Recording:

The guitar was miced up the same way as the bass with a close miced SM-57. The final track turned out to be a bit of a problem however. Traditional electric guitar players like Christos, tend to favour amp settings that allow them a fair degree of dynamic range – eg; the harder they play, the louder and more distorted the signal becomes. This gives the guitar a desirable snarling quality when it is attacked heavily. The problem this turned up for me was that I failed to notice the microphone distorting as well, in some of the loud passages. There was a noticeable difference between the two types of distortion produced – the mic’s distortion was not desirable at all.

Track Information:

Track: 14. Instrument: Guitar. Performer Name: Christos Dimitropolous

Microphone Type/Pattern: Dynamic cardioid. Placement technique: Close miced (a bit too close) to centre of cone in front of speaker cabinet.

Microphone Name: Shure SM-57. Notes: Next time, check the signal properly before starting.

Notes/Issues/Commentary on Production:

The final track turned out to be a bit of a problem. Traditional electric guitar players like Christos, tend to favour amp settings that allow them a fair degree of dynamic range – eg; the harder they play, the louder and more distorted the signal becomes. This gives the guitar a desirable snarling quality when it is attacked heavily. The problem this turned up for me was that I failed to notice the microphone distorting as well, in some of the loud passages. There was a noticeable difference between the two types of distortion produced – the mic’s distortion was not desirable at all.

My solution for this was to insert the amplitube plug in under Pro-tools and slightly alter the guitar sound to a more gain heavy setting. The excess mild distortion consistently produced by the plug in has served to mask the undesirable distortion effectively.

Track Information:

Track: 14. Instrument: Guitar. Performer Name: Christos Dimitropolous

Production Techniques applied (EQ, dynamics processing, colouration etc) and reasoning for application:

1. EQ to increase the guitars midrange presence.

2. Panning to give the guitar a left stage feel in the mix.

3. Amplitube plug in to smooth out the distorting signal.

4. Normalisation to boost the tracks overall output.

5. Track duplicated and offset for extra prescence.


Pedal Steel:

Notes/Issues/Commentary on Recording:

The pedal steel was miced with an SM-58 because I ran out of SM-57s. I opted to use it on this instrument because I had read numerous articles suggesting that I use SM-57s on the guitar and bass.

The dynamic range was large with this instrument so input compression was a must. It had to be kept to a minimum though or I would have no dynamics in the mix down.
Track Information:

Track: 15. Instrument: Pedal Steel. Performer Name: Peter Miller

Microphone Type/Pattern: Dynamic cardioid. Placement technique: Close miced to centre of cone in front of speaker cabinet.

Microphone Name: Shure SM-58. Notes: Well recorded despite the dynamic issue. Retained the singing quality of the instrument well.

Notes/Issues/Commentary on Production:

There were two issues with this instrument. One was the dynamic range. I couldn’t use too much compression at the input or I would drain the life out of the musicianship. Instead, I kept the compression mild and shuffled through the track during post production, normalising the quiet sections as necessary to keep its presence felt.

The other issue was caused by a lack in the quantity of headphones available for monitoring. I really think someone in financial management should splurge and by a few more sets, I mean come on – two HD Pro-tools studios and only two sets of headphones. I didn’t anticipate this (who would in a high end studio?) so as a result Peter was forced to hold back on his playing to some extent as he didn’t want to be overriding the vocal track.

Track Information:

Track: 15. Instrument: Pedal Steel. Performer Name: Peter Miller

Production Techniques applied (EQ, dynamics processing, colouration etc) and reasoning for application:

1. EQ to boost the mid range presence

2. Reverb to enhance the singing quality of the instrument.

3. Mild compression at input to control dynamics.

4. Extensive normalising to boost some parts to usable levels.


Drums (Rock Kit):

Notes/Issues/Commentary on Recording:

This was a new challenge for me. I read as much as I could on drum kit micing before the session, so I was as well informed as I could be. I opted for a bit of overkill to make sure I captured everything equally. There were nine mic’s in all on the kit. I used condensers for the overheads and cymbals, and dynamics for the kick, snare and toms.

Setting the levels for recording was pretty straightforward. All I needed to do was have Jonah hit each drum as hard as he was likely to during a song, and set the clip meters to be around 75% at the highpoint. I found it was wise to leave around 20% headroom as there was always the odd hit that came out substantially louder than anticipated.

Track Information:

Track: 16-24. Instrument: Drums (Rock Kit). Performer Name: Jonah Rudd

Microphone Type/Pattern: Condenser cardioid. Placement technique: One foot above high hat, crash and ride cymbals

Microphone Name: Rode NT3. Notes: Possibly could have done without these but they do make the drums sound bigger overall.

Microphone Type/Pattern: Condenser cardioid. Placement technique: Approximately eight feet off the floor above kit, angled left and right respectively.

Microphone Name: Rode NT5. Notes: Very happy with these two.

Microphone Type/Pattern: Dynamic cardioid. Placement technique: One at the edge of the snare and one inside the kick drum.

Microphone Name: Yamaha MD204. Notes: The kick could have had more punch, but it was still a useable signal.

Microphone Type/Pattern: Dynamic cardioid. Placement technique: One in between the two small toms, slightly above them, and one at the edge of the floor tom and slightly above.

Microphone Name: Seinheiser 821s. Notes: Good solid sound for the toms. No complaints.

Notes/Issues/Commentary on Production:

Two sub mixes were created – one for the cymbals and overheads, and one for the kick, snare and toms. This made it relatively easy to find a good balance of drums and cymbals. I have used gates on the kick, snare and toms to reduce background noise. I also opted for independent EQ on each drum and cymbal track, as my research indicated that different frequencies should be cut or boosted depending on the drum in question.

Track Information:

Track: 16-24. Instrument: Drums (Rock Kit). Performer Name: Jonah Rudd


Production Techniques applied (EQ, dynamics processing, colouration etc) and reasoning for application:

1. EQ applied to each drum to bring out its quality and reduce spill from other drums.

2. Noise gates used to control background noise on snare, kick and toms.

3. Volume automation on some tracks to alleviate peaks.

4. Some extra normalisation needed to control peaks.

5. Sub mixes used to give fluent control over balance between drums and cymbals.

6. Panning used to place each drum in the stereo field as they would look from the drummer’s perspective.


That’s it for this semester’s major. Have a listen to the MP3 mix down and tell me what you think. I’m all ears for constructive criticism (except from you Bach).

Ideal Me: MP3

posted by David J Dowling @ 11:53 AM