MPR4C001R-001 Production Log Book 1

by

Ben Holleran 24102348

MPR4C001R-001 Production Log Book 1 Template

Task 2: Production 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

Project Management

  • Time management
  • Planning
  • Roles and responsibilities
  • Structure and organisation

Method 1 – Live Band/Ensemble Capture

 

For the Live recording task we recoded two songs performed by a second year folk group comprised Vocalist Lia, acoustic guitar and backing vocalist Isaac and baritone guitar and backing vocalist Sam.

We set up three vocal mics in the live room, making sure that the band would be able to see each other during the recording as they had requested. (as seen in the images) This would be important in order to capture a more authentic performance.

To capture the main vocal we used the Sontronics Orpheus, as we had liked the sound on our overdub recording and thought that it would suit Lia’s voice as well as the style of the music.

For Isaac’s vocals we used a Brauner phantom V for an organic yet characteristic sound that would complement the main vocal without overshadowing it.

We used a Sure SM7B for Sams vocals as the clarity the mic provides would be important for the lower vocal harmonies.

A pop shield was used on the three vocal mics to prevent pops.

For Isaac’s acoustic guitar we again used a pair of Neumann 184s, after using them for the overdub when liked the result and thought that it would also be appropriate for this recording.

We positioned the microphones similarly to last time with one at a 45 degree angle pointed at the twelfth fret and one at the same angle pointed at the body (see photo). However, this time we had the mics slightly further away from the guitar so as not to have it as close sounding as the previous recording.

To record Sam’s guitar we positioned a 414 slightly of to the right of the right speaker cone of the Fender twin reverb, which we had set up in the vocal both and patched through to avoid spill in the other mics. We chose the 414 as it a particularly good mic for recording guitar cabs and is very good at capturing a full sound. Positioning it of centre of the speaker cone avoids the harsher frequencies you get otherwise. The signal was also going through Sam’s peddle board which contained various modulation, delay and other effects.

We used the artist foldback to send everyone their own signals as well as a mix of the other musicians, making sure to have things at their desired level.

I think the tracks ended up sounding pretty good overall particularly the vocals and acoustic guitar. There is some unwanted noise/distortion on the electric guitar, more notable in the first track, possibly clipping although the levels seemed fine whilst recording. If we’d given our selves more time we would have fixed the issue, possibly by turning down the gain and re recorded it. However the band we pleased with the recording and were happy to go away with something they could use.

Method 2 – Overdub Production

For the overdub task we decided to record a version of half the world away by oasis, as it is a relatively simple song with enough parts to allow us to meet the brief.

We started with acoustic guitar as it is the only instrument that play throughout the entirety of the track. Miles offered to play the part as he already knew the song.

We borrowed a Yamaha acoustic from the library. We chose to use a pair of Neumenn 184s for a clear and natural sound. We positioned them, one pointed at the twelfth fret of the guitar at a 45 (ish) degree angle, about a foot away. And one pointed at the body also at about 45 degrees and the same distance back. The intention being to capture the brighter qualities of the guitar with the mic on the twelfth fret and more of the body of the sound, with the mic on the guitar body. And to use a blend of the two to achieve the desired sound.

We set up a reference track for miles to play along to and sent it to his headphones, along with his own guitar signal, using the artist foldback.

Fin sang vocals on the track. We decided to track the vocals live with the guitar to convey a more cohesive performance. We set up a 414 in the vocal booth with a pop filter. Using the artist fold back we sent Fins vocals to his headphones along with Miles’s guitar.

After getting a good take of the track we listened back and decided to swap the 414 out for the Sontronics Orpheus, to get a slightly different vocal sound. After getting a good take with the Orpheus we listened back to Both and ended up going with the Orpheus as we preferred the more characteristic sound it provided.

Next we recorded the drums, which I volunteered to play. We borrowed a set of pop cymbals from the library as we thought the brighter sound would be appropriate for the track. I also used brushes as opposed to sticks as that is what was used on the record.

To capture the drum sound we used the two overheads from the Sontronics drum pack which I positioned (as shown in picture) an equal distance from the snare as to keep the snare centred in the mix once both mics were panned, and an equal distance apart from each other to avoid phasing issues.

On the snare top we used a Sennheiser MD-441U, for its strong directional capabilities and the Snare bottom mic from the Sontronics drum pack on the bottom.

As there isn’t really anything other than snare and cymbals in the track we used the DM-1B from the drum pack as an ambient/room mic, with the intention of capturing some of the sound of the room to blend in with the other mics.

Raph played bass on the track. We borrowed a Fender jazz bass and plugged it into the Ashdown CTM-30. We tried an sm57 at first but ended up going with a 414 for a fuller sound, positioned slightly left of the centre of the speaker cone about an inch from the cab. We used a di box to capture the di signal to potentially blend it with the mic but ended up just using the capture from the mic as we liked the sound.

Overall I’m pleased with how it turned out, particularly the vocal and drum sound, although the drums are quite low in the mix. If we were to do anything differently I think we would priotise allowing more time for experimenting with different mics and mic placement. For example with the drums, having either the mics lower to the kit or the cymbals raised higher to better capture the ride as it is unfortunately inaudible in the recording. Whilst we were happy with the guitar sound it would have been interesting given more time to experiment with multiple mics i.e a room/ambient mic. Given more time we also could have tried recording more of the instruments that are on the original track i.e. electric guitar, and what sounds like a wurlitzer.

All tasks were shared out equally with everyones input being taken into account when making decisions on mic choice and placement I believe we worked very well together and were all happy with the final result.