Pre-Production

Before our recordings, we had a seminar every Friday, going over different microphone techniques on different instruments, while also learning how to operate the mixing console. These acted as our rehearsals for our studio sessions we booked, as we were able to learn techniques we could use, before we went to record our projects. All of the projects we recorded did not have any demos or any bed tracks prepared for the sessions, especially for the overdub ones. We chose songs that were easy to play and to understand for musicians, meaning we didn’t have a bed track and or demo to play over as a guide. The musicians all performed to a click track, without kind of audio reference or cues to the song structure. For our projects, we decided that we wanted to do covers of familiar songs, and we made sure that with theses covers, that the songs following exact same arrangements as the original songs, with one exception being Superstition, as we had a different style/genre compared to the original recording. Our sessions were pre planned, meaning we chose what song(s) we were recording, which studio we were recording in, which musicians we would be bringing on to our sessions and what time we would be arriving at the studio. If some of us couldn’t make it to one of them, we made sure at least one or two of us could and take over which ever roles we had planned for that session. I couldn’t make it to some of the sessions that were booked, as there were conflicts with mine and others in our group’s schedules. So, our roles were all moved around for whoever was available for those sessions. We would also inform each other what we got up to with each session, providing updates to anyone who couldn’t make it to said sessions.

Recording

When it came time to record our projects, we used similar microphones for some sessions, but if we needed to re-record anything, we would change the microphones, whether or not we wanted a different tone captured. This was similar for our techniques for microphones as well. If we weren’t a fan of how we positioned them, we would change them in the same session, or if we did it in a separate one, where we re-recorded some elements. For our recording of Superstition in our first ensemble capture session, we used two sontronics halo on guitar amps, an MD 421and Sontronics DM 1B on the bass guitar, SM-7b for the vocalist, who also played trombone during the live recording, and as for the drum kit, the microphones consisted of an D112 on the kick drum, a SM57 on the snare, MD 421s on the tom drums and KM 184 on the overheads. We later redid this recording, with different microphones instead and different techniques that we had learnt in later seminars.

Superstition was re-recorded in the same session as the overdub recordings for Stuck in the Middle, so the microphones used for the live band recording were also used for the other one. The microphones consisted of an SM-7B for vocals, K184s for piano, DM1B, 91A and RE20 for the bass, MD421 and Sontronics Halo for the guitar cab, with drum kit having a D112 for the kick, SM57 for the snare, 414s for overheads. The 414s were also used for the acoustic guitar for the overdub recording.

For the overdub session, where we recorded Song 2, we used an MD421 on the guitar cab, C412 XLS for the vocals and for the drum kit, we used a D112 for the kick, SM57 for the snare, MD421 for the tom drums and 412s for the overheads. As for the bass guitar, we plugged the jack cable into a distortion pedal, which was plugged into the desk, rather than miking a bass amp.

For the live band recordings, we made sure that the instruments weren’t all placed so close to each other. We made sure to have them spaced out, so the microphones could solely focus on the instruments they were capturing. For the drums during the live recordings, we placed walls around them, to prevent the sound bouncing around the studio, having them spill into the other tracks on the recording. As for the overdub recordings, we didn’t really think about where to position the instruments in the live room, as we didn’t have to worry about any spill coming from other sounds, as we weren’t recording any other instruments at the same time. We used specific microphone techniques for different instruments. For our redo of Superstition, we used the Glyn Johns technique, giving us that vintage seventies drum sound. We also did a double mic technique on guitar cabinets for two of our projects, so we could create a stereo image for the guitar, when it comes to the mixing process. We also did something similar with acoustic guitars, with two microphones positioned on two ends of the guitar, one on the bridge and one on the neck. When it came to record the musicians, we made sure that they were playing along to the click track, with the set tempo on the project, and we made sure they had learnt the song well enough to record it in less than a few takes. We did have to redo some sessions for a multitude of reasons. For example, our ensemble project had to be re-recorded, as we wanted a good live take, so we booked another session and made sure, and as for our overdub project for Stuck in the middle had to be redone, as the musicians performed to no click track. So when drums were recorded in a different session, the tempo of the performance was all over the place, making it difficult for our drummer in that session. We booked another session, redoing the whole project from scratch and recording everything to a click track, making the tempo consistent throughout the whole track and having the musicians play in time to a click track on our Pro Tools session.

Project Management

Most of our sessions were around four to five hours, making sure we had enough time to setup everything and have every part recorded within that time limit. If our session was coming to an end and we did not have everything done, we would either extend it, if the studio wasn’t booked after ours, or have another session booked for a later date, and have everything we didn’t get finished in that session, done in the next one. With these extra bookings or extended sessions, it made things slightly difficult for us if we couldn’t stay the extra hour or make it to the other booked session, so we would end up missing part of the recording.  I took on role as an engineer and producer for different sessions. With the sessions I took the role as an engineer, I simply followed whoever was the producer, on deciding what microphones they wanted and setting them up into position, while also managing the desk at times and engineering on Pro Tools, recording musicians and making sure all the tracks were set at a healthy gain. As for the sessions where I took on the role as producer, I simply made sure that everyone in the session was following what they were doing and resolving any issues that were there. I made sure everything ran smoothly, without having to book additional sessions.  However, there were some aspects I should’ve done better as a producer, such as pre-planning what microphones I wanted use during the sessions, rather than deciding what I wanted when I arrived at the studio facilities. I also should’ve organized musicians better in the sessions I produced, instead of relying on others, which lead to me having to book three sessions for our overdub recording of Song 2, as the drums were done in one sessions, guitar and bass done in another, and finally vocals done in a separate session. I should have networked with more musicians, with less sessions booked.