MPR4C001R-001
Task 2: Production Log Book
1500 Words
Method 1 – Live Band/Ensemble Capture
For Method 1, the live ensemble recording, me and my group decided to work with my partners folk SGS group that had recently done an assessed performance. We decided to do this as not only did it simplify the rehearsal process (as we knew they were already well rehearsed) but it also made it far easier to communicate between the production and folk students, as other than me and my partner the two groups had never met. The SGS group had prepared 15 minutes of music for their assignment, but because we had recorded our overdub assignment first, we knew we only needed 6.30 minutes to fulfil the assignment brief. We decided to book a six-hour studio session, as we thought this would be an appropriate amount of time due to the ensemble being comprised of second years who would take the session seriously. For this session, I took on a very managerial role, being the bridge between the two groups of students. The ensemble had already discussed the two songs they were going to record for us, these being “Hey, who really cares” (Linda Perhacs) and “Certainty” (Big Thief). We discussed in the week leading up to the recording session about which instruments we would be working with, as there was some uncertainty about whether the piano player from the ensemble would be able to make the slot. Unfortunately, this player could not attend the session in the end, but decided they were happy for the other members to go ahead with the recording. This meant we were working with three vocalists, an acoustic guitar and a baritone guitar. Two of the musicians were not available before 12, so we decided we would go into the studio at 10:30 to set up before they arrived. This setup included figuring out the logistics of where the players would be stood, as seeing each other was very important for their communication during their performance. For the lead vocalist (Aliyah), we decided to use the Sontronics Orpheus to give the lead vocals a clean and soft tone. I also knew this microphone would sound especially good, as me and Aliyah had used it together before in the studio. For the acoustic players vocals (Issac), we went for the Brauner Phantom V as it has a slightly lighter sound as Issac was providing light harmonies in both songs. For the baritone player (Sam), we used an SM7-B with an added preamp to get a slightly higher volume level to match the other microphones. We went with the SM7-B because it gives a clean sound, as Sam was providing the lower harmonies, and we didn’t want his vocals to get muddled in the lower range of the track. After doing a practice recording, we decided to add a pop filter to each microphone, as to eliminate the pops. For the acoustic guitar, we decided to use a pair of Neumann 184’s. We placed these microphones roughly 3 feet away from the guitar, at 45-degree angles. One was pointed at the hole of the guitar, to capture the main body of sound, and the other was pointed at the neck, to pick up the strings for a more natural sound. We thought it very important to capture this, as we thought it gave the whole track a very folky sound and really completed the sound. We then panned both these microphones left and right respectively, as to give the guitar a deeper sound and to immerse the listener more in the tracks. We then ran both of these microphones through the Neve preamp, to boost the gain and make the sound richer. The baritone guitar was slightly more complex. Sam already had a clear idea in his mind about what he wanted the guitar to sound like, so we let him adjust the amp and his pedalboard himself, only making a few adjustments as we saw fit. As we really wanted to avoid any sound bleeding, we decided to amp Sam’s guitar in the vocal booth, and record the sound there instead of in the main room with the other two musicians. We sent his signal through his pedalboard and into the tie-lines in the patch bay, before sending it into the Fender Champion 2 amp in the vocal booth. We recorded the amp using the C414, placed over the right cone of the amp. This allowed the baritone guitar (which was filling out the lower end) to have a meatier and fuller sound. This really helped round out the track, and helped make a bridge between the natural sounds of the acoustic guitar and the layered vocals and provided a strong base for both tracks. Additionally, we monitored everything back through three headphones for the group, as to further ensure there would be absolutely zero sound bleed. As the group had already performed these tracks before, the actual recording process was very streamlined, and they recorded both songs consecutively with ease.
Method 2 – Overdub Production
For Method 2, we took a different approach to the recording process. We decided to record our production group performing a cover of “Half the world away” (Oasis), as we knew this song is not too complicated, and Fin and I had performed this song before in other ensembles, so we had a strong knowledge of the original track. We began the process by figuring out the logistics of our recording sessions. We decided that we would separate this track into two sessions, the first week recording vocals and acoustic guitar, and the second drums and bass. We also assigned everybody in our group instruments: Fin (Vocals), Myself (Guitar), Sam (Drums) and Raf (Bass). In the first session, Raf brought a recording of an mp3, and we recorded this into Protools, so we had a backing track to work to. We then set up our microphones. We began by setting up the C414 in the vocal booth, with an added pop filter, before we moved on to setting up the acoustic guitar. As I was playing this instrument, I was slightly less involved in this process as I had to hold the guitar in position. We positioned two Neumann 184’s roughly 2 feet away from the guitar, one positioned at 45 degrees to the sound hole, and one askew at 60 degrees positioned towards the fret board. We did this as to give the guitar a slightly thinner sound, as it has in the original track, and this would mean we wouldn’t need to add any effects afterwards. We repositioned these slightly between takes, until we got a sound we were happy with, but no major changes were made from the position described above. At this point, we were ready to record, and Sam and Raf sent the reference track to Fin and I via our headphones. We recorded ourselves to the backing track simultaneously, with Fin singing in the vocal booth and myself playing in the main room. After a few attempts, we decided to change Fin’s microphone for the Sontronics Orpheus, as we thought it would help capture his voice in a richer way, adding to the depth of the track and contrasting with the thin guitar. We also ran Fin’s vocals through the PCM-92, to add a small amount of reverb at the recording stage to add to the depth of the track. In the second session, we began by setting up the drum microphones. As the track only has a quiet drum part, using a snare, cymbals and toms only, we decided to use a Sontronics Drum Pack to capture the drums. We positioned the included STC-10’s as a left-right overhead pair, positioned roughly 9 feet away from the snare. Both were angled towards the snare, which itself had both a Sennheiser 411 to capture the top and the included DM-1S to capture the bottom. We used these microphones to capture a clean sound of the top snare, with the added rattle of the bottom through the DM-1S. We also used the included DM-1B as a room mic, but we left this microphone quite buried in the mix as it didn’t sound amazing. We recorded Sam’s drum performance to mine and Fin’s recording from last week, and we finished within a few takes. We then began working on the bass. We set up the Ashdown CTM-30 bass amp, and Raf used a Fender Jazz bass to replicate the subdued nature of the bass in the original track. We used an SM-57 on the left cone, and a 441 on the right. This gave the bass a richer and deeper sound, again to contrast the guitar.
