MPR4C001R-003 Portfolio: Production & Log 2
Task 1 – WAV Mixes
Task 2 – Production Log Book
Project Management and pre-production overview
Our group met on February 18th to pick the emulation track and assign roles. We chose “I Wanna Be Your Dog” by The Stooges because of its raw punk energy and pioneering use of distortion.
This repetitive riff and minimal chord changes allow us to focus on the tone and texture rather than complex composition.
Originally, Track 2 was planned as a jazz trio recording, but after losing the files, I took the lead in pivoting the project toward recording a funk trio instead. I helped reschedule sessions and kept the group moving forward.
My roles across the project:
- Playing piano on Track 1
- Helping plan and organizing sessions
- Managing Track 2 after the jazz session was lost
- Participating in all recording sessions ( Mic placement, input checks, helping on the console)
- Contributing to mixing decisions and rough EQ balances
- Producing the Track 3 remix individually
We used shared documents and group chats to manage time and the studio. Each person participated equally. I created a time table in google doc, to keep track on what we did in every session.
Track 1 (Genre Specific Emulation)
Pre-Production
We analyzed the track’s raw, gritty sound and learned the Stooges used iconic gear like Vox amps.
We also decided not to use a metronome, due to the original tracks’ loose timing, so we decided to play along with the original stems.
Recording Process
Microphone choices:
| Instrument/Source | Microphones Used |
| Kick Drum | AKG D112 |
| Snare Drum | Shure SM57 |
| Toms | Pair of Sennheiser MD421s |
| Overheads | Pair of Oktava MK-102s |
| Guitar Amp | Shure SM57 & Sontronics Delta 2 |
| Bass Amp | Shure SM57 & Sontronics Delta 2 |
| Piano | Pair of Neumann KM185s |
| Vocals | JZ Vintage V67 |
These mics helped us capture the vintage ’60s vibe.
We used the SM57 to capture the rawness of the guitar and bass that brings out the gritty, distorted edge to the tone. The Delta2 added more smoothness and warmth to the overall tone.
Regarding mic positioning, the SM57 captures the direct sound from the bass amp. We position it slightly away from the center, capturing fewer low frequencies. The Delta2 is slightly further from the amp, capturing more room sound. We also recorded DI signals for bass and guitar for more flexibility in post production, but dropped the guitar DI in the mix because it was too clean and thickened the tone.
I suggested adding a bitcrusher on lead guitar, which enhanced the fuzz and gave it a more unique distortion.
For drums, we collaborate with a local drummer who was already familiar with “I wanna be your dog” and had experience playing punk-style drums, making him the perfect fit for this emulation.
We aimed to keep it simple and effective to achieve the raw aesthetic from the 60s. We placed the AKG D112 more inside the kick to have a more punchy feeling and tight low-end, making it cut through the mix.
We recorded the piano and vocals at the same time. The piano plays only a single high E note repeatedly throughout the entire song, I first mistake the sound as a cowbell due to its short attack and fast decay. To achieve that, we opened the piano lid to let more brightness and attack come through. The hypercardoid pattern on the KM185s allowed us to minimize the room ambience and have a tighter stereo image of the piano. We angled the space pair to target the piano’s high E to allow more attack.
For the vocals, we used a JZ vintage V67 large-diaphragm condenser mic chosen for its classic tonal character, which added vintage and warmth to the vocals. The mic was then routed through a Neve preamp, which added analog saturation and warmth to the vocal.
Track 2 (Live In the Studio Stereo Recording)
Track 2
Originally, our group recorded a live jazz trio with bass, piano, and drums; unfortunately, due to a technical issue, all the recordings were lost. I quickly arranged a new group of musicians by reaching out to peers and organizing a last-minute recording session. Fortunately, they agreed to play “Cissy Strut,” a funk classic.
With limited time, I asked the musicians what instruments they would be using. They confirmed electric bass, electric guitar, and drums. This was a positive change from the acoustic jazz trio because we could now move the amplifiers for better control.
For the microphone technique, I recommended using the mid-side (M/S) stereo setup with two AKG C414 microphones. I chose M/S because it gives us more post-production flexibility and better control over the stereo width.
One microphone was set to the cardioid capsule for the mid channel, and the other to a figure of 8 capsule for the side channel. The versatility of the C414s made them ideal for this stereo recording session, as their adjustable settings helped us tailor the sound precisely.
During setup, I helped position the microphones and experimented with different polar patterns and settings on the microphone. We finally settled on using a wide cardioid pattern for the mid microphone and the figure of 8 pattern for the side microphone.
I chose the wide cardioid pattern for the mid microphone because it has a good balance between the direct sound and room ambience, and it has a slightly broader pickup angle. I applied a 40 Hz high pass to cut off some bass from the kick drum and the bass. I put a 40Hz high-pass filter on the side mic to cut off some bass and left the MId mic untouched to preserve the natural bass and kick sound.
After recording, I duplicated the side mic track and panned one hard left and the other hard right. I then applied a Gain plugin with phase inversion on the right track to maintain the correct mid-side stereo decoding and avoid phase cancellation.
Track 3 Remix track
You should delete this text and enter the text for your remix track directly in this block.
To add in relevant multimedia for the section, please select in the relevant blocks from the left.
Track 3
For my remix, I wanted to keep the raw, aggressive, and distorted sound energy from the original song, but reimagine it with more electronic experimental sounds.
Found sounds:
The rhythmic sections are all recorded from found sounds by using Voice Memo on my phone. I used techniques like layering, tuning them up and down, EQ, compression, and reverb to make it fit well with the track.
Kick: I layered two kick sounds, both made from punching different walls. One was a more hollow wall that gave a deep, resonant thump; the other was a regular wall that had more surface attack and transient detail. Together, they gave the kick both low-end depth and a sharp punch.
Snare: Similarly, I layered two snare sounds. One was created by smacking a toilet lid with pencils on it, which produced a snappy, plastic sound. The other was created by putting my phone inside a tissue box and hitting the box, creating a softer and boxier tone.
Hihat: For the hi-hats, I wanted to recreate that open hi-hat feel with two main elements: the sharp attack and the metallic decay.
To get the decay, I used water sprayed on plastic bags. There are two layers of sound to achieve that. The first layer is a short spray for a quick release, and the other layer is a stretched version to simulate that metal vibration you get from open hats.
For the attack, I layered two sounds: a soft fork and spoon tap for a light metallic clack sound, and a spoon hitting a metal bowl, both recording using the inner part of the spoon and the fork to keep it tight and controlled.
Ambient: To simulate a vinyl crackle sound and add a gritty, chaotic texture, I filled a plastic bag with rice and gently moved it around, creating organic pops and noise that gave the track a worn, destroyed feel.
To make all the found sound drums sound realistic, I sent them through two types of reverb: a room reverb to give a natural, close-miked feel, and a hall reverb to add depth and space, helping the samples to blend in like they were recorded in the same environment.
Layerd crash
Live Recording instunments:
For the live instrument, I recorded a piano and a guitar. The guitar was recorded directly into the desk. I chose this approach to get a clean sound that has a better contrast to the chaotic vibe that the other sections have, but also maintains that analog vibe. It also gave me more control during mixing, especially adding effects later. For the piano, I used a stereo pair of Neumann KM184s to capture the detail and brightness, and a ribbon mic for warmth and vintage character. This setup aims to record an old vintage sound of an upright piano that doesn’t ideally sound good and clean, to fit in the mix.
Synth:
The whole track was built heavily on synths. The synths mostly use sawtooth oscillators that create the distorted sound. The synths help glue the whole arrangement.
Conclusion:
This project taught me a lot about problem-solving and session management, especially when we lost our recordings and had to quickly reorganize a session. I took the lead in keeping things on track and even improving them. I also explored new ways of using sound, from found samples to layering synth and mic techniques. Overall, this experience pushed me to think, work, collaborate, and stay creative as a producer.
