MPR5C001R~001 Studio Portfolio 1 & Log Book
1500 words
Please use the sections below to evidence your personal contribution to the production for the portfolio. Please include details for all the tracks produced as a part of this portfolio.
Provide rationale for any of the production decisions that you made as a group. Include any multimedia (pictures, videos, audio recordings etc) evidence to the relevant sections.
Consider the following:
Pre-Production
- Rehearsals
- Track development
- Demo recording
- Arrangement decisions
- Session planning
Recording
- Microphone choices
- Room setup
- Musician management
Mixing
- Mix plan/concept
- Balance
- Pan
- Tone
- FX
Project Management
- Time management
- Planning
- Roles and responsibilities
- Structure and organisation
Track 1 (Guitar-based band production)
Pre-production:
The band we booked for these sessions came through Oliver, who already knew the band, which was helpful in that he was aware of their sound. It was mentioned they were similar to an indie band called Pinegrove, who I was already aware of and listened to.
Recording:
19th November 2025 – Session 1
This session was only 3 hours long, which did not leave us with lots of time as we had to mike up a full band and intended using the desk EQ to reduce unwanted frequencies before hitting the DAW. Thankfully, the band were tight and only took 3 takes to get the performance we were after.
We found that there was a lot of harsh frequencies in the overhead microphones. As we were using C414s, this may have been because of the slight lift in the upper mids of the frequency response. This is something we could have thought about prior to the session, however we dealt with the problem successfully.
The snare was unusually tuned, although it may have lacked body, we felt at the time that it suited the track so did not see it as an issue.
The band performed well, however the vocals we needed to re-record, but this was not necessarily an issue as it meant we could overdub them, without any leakage from the other instruments.
Mixing:
Prior to mixing I was listening to Pinegrove and Wunderhorse to get some points of reference, as they were bands that I felt were similar in style and arrangement. Teal by Wunderhorse was the main reference point for this mix. (Wunderhorse, 2022)
The lead and rhythm guitars were panned away from each other, which gives separation between the two and also allows the vocal to sit in its own space in the centre. This was particularly effective in the quieter verses, in the hope that it drives attention towards the lyric, as the vocal is allowed to shine.
The unusual snare sound became an issue when i was mixing. It seemed to suit the rhythm played in the verses but when it was being hit louder in the choruses, sounded thin and tinny. I tried boosting the low mids to try give it more body and used parallel compression to give it some more punch. While I believe it improved the sound, I think this is a problem that should have been dealt with in the recording session. This is maybe where better communication with the performers was needed.
The vocals required some heavy automation, simply because the performance is so dynamic, with the verses being up close and quiet and the choruses much louder. I wanted to do this before putting them through a compressor, so I did not ruin the dynamic quality, and could use it to tame the peaks, instead of slamming it in order to bring up the quieter moments.
Everything was sent into the same chamber reverb, to put everything in the same context and encourage the live sound of a band playing together in a room, as I felt that suited this genre.
Project Management:
Although we managed to get a solid recording, we could have managed our time better, by starting the process of finding a band sooner, which would have then given us more time and flexibility. Because of this, not everyone could attend both sessions and gave us less time when encountering issues, such as the snare sound.
Track 2 Live in the studio (jazz/folk ensemble)
Pre-production:
Our Jazz ensemble which Oliver booked, contained drums, piano, trumpet and bass. I made a mic list for the drums, which resulted from practice based research. Despite a more minimal approach being more typical of the jazz genre, we felt it would be better to have the greater control we would gain from miking up every drum. This way, once we reach the mixing stage we could be more precise with our decisions when using the desk EQ.
Having little experience in recording trumpets, I did some research, which suggested using a large diaphragm condenser, however despite this we ended up using a Beyerdynamic M160, which has hypercardioid polar pattern making it useful in live situation. (Robjohns, 1999)
Recording Session:
8th December 2025 –
This session went smoothly overall as the ensemble were well rehearsed, so once we were ready to record, only a few takes were required to get a strong performance.
When miking up the trumpet, we pointed it slightly off-axis, away from the trumpet. This was to help reduce harshness, which you can get when recording brass instruments. This decision came from the same research I did in the pre-production stage. (Robjohns, 1999)
In this live situation we were aware of the potential leakage, from the different instruments, drums in particular. To try combat this, we used sound proofing around the drum kit and moved the piano and bass amp to the opposite end of the room. This is where the M160 came in useful on the trumpet, as the polar pattern would help cut out the drums which were behind the microphone. I think we dealt with this issue the best we could, in relatively small room. This could have been improved further if we booked Studio 113, which is much larger and would have made this less of a problem.
Mixing Session:
18th December 2025
When it came to the mixing stage we were conscious of keeping the natural quality of the live recording, to keep it in line with the genre.
Using the desk EQ we tried to pull more resonance out the Kick In microphone than we typically would by driving the low mids a little, instead of focussing on the click from the beater head.
We only used some gentle compression on the piano, just to simply tame the peaks and keep the the level more consistent as other parts were quite dynamic. The two piano microphones were panned wide left and right, to give more width while keeping the trumpet and bass in the centre.
I suggested putting the trumpet through a compressor too, as the performance is so dynamic, however for that same reason we decided not to. Since it provides a lot of the melody in the recording, it felt like one of the main focusses, so I think this was a good decision, to keep the performance sounding natural.
Finally, we used a Lexicon PCM92 to send in a small room reverb. This helped put all the parts into the same context again and gave them their own space, this is especially true for the trumpet.
Project Management:
Managing these sessions was successful in some ways, in that prior research was done in order to make better informed decisions on how to go about recording this ensemble. However, ultimately time management let us down slightly, as these sessions were at such a late point, not all members of the group could make both sessions, but it was so late we had little choice but to book the sessions anyway.
Track 3 Remix track
Composition and Arrangement:
The arrangement of my remix is similar to the original, in that the intro is similarly relaxed and sparse. This felt like a good place to start building tension from. This was a main focus of mine when composing this remix. It is only when you reach the second chorus that there is some sort of release, as I felt this would help build tension as it keeps the listener waiting longer.
The third chorus, is built into again after this, however, I altered the instrumentation and arrangement, hoping to avoid too much repetition, although this is key to the genre, I felt the vocal was already providing this.
Mixing:
The arrangement did cause me some issues when it came to mixing the track. I felt the layers of pianos were causing a build up in the mid frequencies, so I used some EQ to eliminate this, instead of getting rid of one of the pianos because the layers gave it more width.
I felt the bass was getting in the way of the kick, so I used sidechain compression on the bass, to make way for the the low end of the kick to come through. This made the track more pumping, helping the track fit into the genre.
In the building section before the final chorus, I automated the low pass filter to create a sweeping effect on a synth, hoping to retain interest of the listener and adding to the idea that the track is building up to a climax.
I added an electric and an acoustic guitar into this arrangement. Although, this may not be so typical of the genre, I felt the acoustic guitar was particularly effective in thickening up the final chorus. By running it through a tape emulator this gave it more bite.
Bibliography:
Robjohns, H. (1999) Recording Brass and Reeds. Available online: https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/recording-brass-reeds [Accessed 8/12/2025].
Wunderhorse (2022) Teal. Cub. [Vinyl] Communion Records.
