24100880 MPR5C001R~003 Studio Portfolio 2 & Log Book.

by

Ryan Smith 24100880

Commercial Pop Track

24100880 MPR5C001R~003 Commercial Pop TrackDownload

Pre-Production

As commercial pop was not a genre strongly represented within our groups usual production work, we made the decision to collaborate with an external songwriter in order to guarantee stylistic authenticity and strong foundational material.

First year songwriter Phoebe-Rose expressed, with initial conversations establishing a clear stylistic direction, referencing artists such as Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter and Gracie Abrams. These references informed both Phoebe’s approach to songwriting through vocal delivery and harmonic choices, as well as our arrangement of the track.

The initial guide recording session took place on 04/02/26, consisting of acoustic guitar and vocals. As these recordings were intended for writing purposes, we focused on achieving a solid, well timed performance to work from.

Team Roles

The responsibilities were shared, however within individual sessions we fell into roles which suited our strengths. Myself and Joss focussed on the creative direction of the track, being responsible for the majority of the guitar and synth parts. I also communicated consistently with the songwriter, ensuring additional layers were appropriate with her vision.

Recording

As most of this production was in the box, our use of microphones was limited compared to a typical production. All synths present in the final production were virtual, allowing for greater control over sound design.

For the vocals we used both the AKG C414 and JV Vintage 67, in order to provide greater variation in sonic qualities at the mix stage. These were recorded in Studio 104, with myself communicating with the vocalist about vocal delivery and takes, and Joss acting as DAW operator and engineer. (22/04/26)

The guitar parts were re-recorded at my home studio setup (21/04/26) by myself with Joss engineering, primarily to avoid time pressures and allow the use of my own guitar, as it had the brighter sound I felt was needed for this track. We used a Sontronics STC-2 and AT2020 spaced over the sound hole and 12th fret respectively. This allowed for more control over the stereo placement and width of the guitars at the mix stage.

For the Rhodes we used a Nord Keyboard, and collected both the MIDI and Audio data, in case we wished to adjust the sound at a later date.

(22/04/26)

Mixing

My main goals through mixing were to create excitement and development between structural sections, particularly in helping choruses land well. I did this through a variety of methods, including using filter sweeps, high feedback delay and volume swells to connect sections more effectively. I also researched extensively to compensate for my lack of experience in this area, particularly for my approach to vocal production, arguably the most important part of commercial pop. For instance, The Haas Effect informed my approach to vocal doubles, particularly in layering multiple chorus takes for width and depth.

Evaluation

I believe that the production achieved a convincing commercial pop track with strong melodic focus and momentum. However, I feel that the arrangement process could have benefited from more structure. While our approach allowed flexibility, it reduced efficiency and would have benefited from earlier research into commercial songwriting workflows.

Acoustic Track

24100880 MPR5C001R~003 Acoustic TrackDownload

Pre-Production

I had already been working with third year songwriter Phoebe Dee Little, whose style I felt would be well suited to an acoustic recording. I presented several demo tracks of hers to the group. We settled on the track ‘Your Ring’ because of its intimate and natural sound, as well as clear influences, those being songs such as ‘Run’ by Stephen Fretwell or ‘Iris’ by the Goo Goo Dolls.

Original Demo

Team Roles

Generally within sessions I focussed on the creative aspects of the track due to my closeness with the songwriter and prior experience with the music. This generally consisted of either communicating the groups intentions to musicians, or arranging / recording parts myself.

Arrangement

We largely stuck to the original arrangement of the demo in terms of structure, with our approach involving gradually replacing each element of the demo with higher quality recordings, as well as adjusting elements like the guitars and bass throughout the process.

An example of these improvements would be my re-recording and re-arranging of the guitar parts, focusing on textural depth inspired by the reference track ‘Iris’. This involved layering 6 string parts with 12 string, allowing for a fuller and more varied texture than the demo.

Recording

We recorded the drums and bass together on 16/02/26 using the session musicians provided by the Conservatoire. During this session I took the role of communicating with the musicians, being responsible for talking them through the track as well as discussing any changes regarding the arrangement. I produced a guide drum sheet containing structure and an outline of the MIDI drum track of the demo, and Joss produced basic notation for the bassist to follow and add interpretations where needed.

MicInstrument
Kick InAudix D6
Kick OutAudio Technica ATM250
Sn TopShure Sm57
Sn BottomOctava MK-012
Rack TomAKG C414
Floor TomAKG C414
OH LNeumann Km184
OH RNeumann Km184
OH CentreSontronics Delta 2
Bass NeckNeumann Km184
Bass Bridge 1Sontronics Delta 2
Bass Bridge 2AKG C414

The piano and percussion parts were recorded on 15/04/26 in Studio 104 in order to use the grand piano. We used a XY stereo pair of Calrec CM1050Cs as well as a Sontronics Orpheus to capture both a close and a room sound.

 

 

The guitar parts were recorded using a Sontronics STC-2 and AT2020 at my home studio setup, in the same session as the pop track.

Mixing

As for mixing the project, I focused on creating a musical and natural balance across all the instruments first, before delving into creative processing. Notably, I felt many of the guitar parts sat in too similar a frequency range (being the same guitar and mic setup). To combat this, I processed some of the more textural parts through an amp sim, to give them a more characteristic sound, rather than risk them blending into the rhythm parts. 

Evaluation

I believe we achieved our goals of creating an authentic and texturally interesting arrangement of the track, without straying too far from the original ideas of the demo. However, there are some performance / arrangement issues in the piano and guitars in places, with too many close/similar voicings in quick succession. I also feel more time and attention could have gone into the guitar recording, and would have allowed for using multiple guitars for more sonic variety.

Location Recording

24100880 MPR5C001R~003 Location RecordingDownload

Pre-Production

The idea for our location recording came from a group meeting, in which we discussed what genres / ensembles of musicians would be appropriate, as well as an interesting location with a unique ambience which would be fitting for the music. We settled on the idea of recording a folk ensemble, with Joss going on to find a group of the Leeds Conservatoire Folk Society who regularly host traditional folk jams at the Chemic Tavern. Our point of reference for the atmosphere and overall sonics of this recording is the ‘Music at Matt Molloy’s’ album, a series of traditional Irish folk recordings conducted in a pub environment.

We conducted two recording sessions in total, as we felt our first session lacked the quality we had hoped for. This was partially because we lacked sufficient prior research before conducting the first session. As a group we ensured our second recording would be of higher quality by conducting more research and improving the positioning of both the instrumentalists and the microphones.

Session 1 – 24/03/26 // Session 2 – 28/04/26


Due to the informal environment of the sessions we opted to record the full session, allowing us to go in later to cut out the sections appropriate for this submission. This avoided the recording process from intruding on the environment, and potentially compromising the quality of the performance of the musicians.

Team roles

Joss took on the responsibilities of organising the recording of these sessions, with myself, Joss and Louis sharing engineering responsibilities within the sessions themselves. I prioritised checking our mic placement through monitoring, correcting certain placement to ensure as much isolation and bleed reduction as possible in the tavern environment.

Recording

We opted for a mix of highly directional, cardioid microphones, with the orpheus in omni to ensure we captured the rooms ambience. The C451 in particular proved to be exceptional at isolating instruments due to its cardioid pattern, small diaphragm and frequency response picking up more high mid information.

MicInstrumentalist/ Placement
Sontronics Orpheus in OMNI Configuration Central
Km184Guitar
C451Banjo
C414Fiddle
Km184Percussion
C451Melodeon / Flute
C414 Harp (Did not play in the submitted pieces.)

We positioned the musicians in the centre of the room, with the majority facing the padded booth seats. This proved to be perfect for both the comfort of the session, as well as taming the acoustics of the room.

Mixing

When it came to mixing I took a minimal approach to create a realistic and natural sound expected from a traditional folk recording. My main concern was in the transition from the first tune to the second, in which the Melodeon player switches to a tin whistle. I used panning to compensate for the change in instruments, ensuring a believable balance across the frequency spectrum. As well as this I used general EQ and compression to remove room or low mid information and to tame dynamics to a more listenable level.

Evaluation

I believe we captured the ambience and instruments effectively, creating a believable sound stage for this type of recording. We could’ve utilised almost exclusively pencil condensers for close mics, and another omni or wide diaphragm condenser for additional control over the room sound, rather than the room sound accumulating over the wide diaphragm condensers we used.

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