Jake Coburn
MPR4C001R-003 Portfolio: Production & Log 2 Template
Task 1 – WAV Mixes
Please add your uncompressed audio files to the block below
Track 1 (Genre Specific Emulation)
For the emulation, we chose Chamber of Reflection by Mac DeMarco. This song consists of Bass, organ synth, lead synth, drum kit, vocals, and backing vocals. Chamber of Reflection is defined by its simplistic structure whilst having a slightly detuned melody, minimalist drum grooves, and unique mix which matches the style of 1980s synth pop.
For the pre-production, we started by researching the song by watching YouTube videos and searching through various articles, explaining the mix and instrumentation. Once we were done with that, we stem-split the song to do primary research on each of the individual parts, but also for a backing track for when we would be musicians in to record.
We started with drums. For the drums we first set the kit up with only a kick, snare, hihat, and a crash. We did this because the song only uses these parts of the kit, since the kit is mainly just playing an eight-rock beat. The mics I used were an sm57 for the snare, Scheops omni as a knee mic, WA87, audix d6 for the kick, and a km184 as an overhead. We also set up a room mic which we patched into the lexicon pcm96 as the mix in Chamber of Reflections has a lot of reverb within the kit.
For the bass guitar, we used a DI. We did this to ensure there was a clean signal which we could re-amp through various bass amps to emulate the bass tone as best as we could to the song. For the synths we used the Roland Juno 60 since Mac DeMarco uses it during his live concerts, which shows it can easily replicate his synth sounds in the original song. With this synth, we were able to record both the lead synth and the organ synth. Finally the vocals and backing vocals were recorded with a WA87.
Once we had everything recorded we began working on the mix. I decided to work on tuning the vocals, because our singer struggled singing in the vocal range of Mac Demarco. I used melodyne to my best ability, as it excels with repitching/tuning vocals and then i used EQs, heavy compression to give it that pop vocal style, and reverb to blend it into the mix. The synths were EQ’d accordingly, as well as a light chorus for more width, and the bass also was EQ’d, lightly compressed, and slightly saturated to match the tone of the original song.
Although we did a great job as a group to emulate the song, there are some areas which could be improved for next time. The vocalist wasn’t the best choice for the song, as he struggled to sing in the vocal range of Mac DeMarco, and had to sing it in falsetto. This could’ve been averted by asking him to send a rough demo of himself singing by recording it through his phone, to see if he was able to sing it. We should’ve also took more photos, as it would help to evidence our progress clearer. Greater planning in the pre-production is commonly overlooked, which is something I have now learnt from.
Track 2 (Live In the Studio Stereo Recording)
For the stereo recording, we brought in a string quartet because quartets are best recorded with stereo miking techniques. We planned it by researching which stereo techniques would be best for the recording, and how we would go along with setting them up. For the recording, we did an ORTF because of its ability to capture a sense of spatial depth and characteristics. I also made sure the mics were far enough away from the quartet to pick them all up clearly, but not too far away. We also checked that the mics were at a 17cm distance from each other and 110 degrees to make sure there isn’t any phase. We also made room mics by using 2 delta 2 mics both facing different directions to make it blumlein. We used blumlein as a room mic because of its proficiency in picking up all directions into a stereo image whilst also minimizing phase issues. We also sent the blumlein room mics into the lexicom pcm96 which has various reverbs on it which we used via the patch bay.
After recording the quartet, we sent the recording back through the desk via the DAW to EQ in the desk, as well as the VCA bus compressor to enhance the mix. The reason we decided to mix via the desk is because it adds a natural analogue warmth to the natural sound of the quartet compared to using digital effects on a DAW. We also decided to mix via the desk post recording to make sure it is non-destructive to the signal, so we could reference back to the original recording to see if we had improved it.
Track 3 Remix track
With my remix, I decided to remix the song into a soul song with a lo-fi style on Ableton. I started off by recording my found sound drums which I did by recording various sounds such as thumping my fist into a desk for the kick, jangling my keys for shaker noises, opening and spraying deodorant cans for the hi-hat, and shaking and opening various filled containers to create a snare-like sounds, as well as various percussive noises.
I recorded each one into a single take, and after chopping each sound apart from each other into their own audio tracks, I mixed each oner accordingly, boosting the needed frequencies to help each audio match the drum parts I had set to them and once I had made a drum beat with the audios, I bounced it out and placed it into a simpler. With the now sampled drums I had made, I decided to turn it into a simple eight-rock beat via placing notes into the piano roll. For effects I EQ’d accordingly, whilst shelfing some of the higher and lower frequencies to give the drums more of a lo-fi sound.
Once I had finished the drums, I started making the chord sequence using MIDI keys. I made the chords with an Ableton MIDI effect called expression control, which turns notes into chords, allowing me to quickly come up with chord sequences. I used this MIDI effect on the piano MIDI and a pluck arpeggiator.
I also recorded a guitarist and a bassist for my track in the studios available in uni. At first, I was going to record through the amps available in the studio, however, I decided to record both instruments through DIs since I have guitar rig, which allows me to use a great selection of virtual amps, so I could see which tones and sounds fit better for the style I was still fairly unsure of. I recorded the rhythm guitar playing chords and 2 lead guitars, as well as the bassline which I asked the bassist to play slightly alternative basslines each time so I could cycle between takes in the final product. Throughout the song, I automated filters which would band pass certain instruments like the piano and bass, to create a sudden space, whilst also creating a lofi tone.
I used the raw recording of only the main vocals; however, the singer’s performance wasn’t up to standard, so I used Melodyne to fix his vocals to the best of my ability. Once I had pitch corrected the vocals and inserted it into the audio track, I added three auto shifts, with the third one in a chain linking to the midi of the piano playing quietly in the mix, this makes the vocals copy the harmony of the chord progression and also add an artificial feel to the vocals For the outro of the remix, I made the vocals have only one auto shift, which was 100% and also linked to the midi piano. This gives the vocals a full lo-fi and vocoded sound. I managed to create a riser vocal noise by bouncing out a vocal track with a high wet reverb, as well as a filter delay and an added delay that would filter through various frequencies, creating a unique sound that I used throughout the song.
Once I had everything in place, I wanted to add something to the mix to amplify the LO-FI sound I wanted. I managed to do this by adding another foley sound to my remix which was my sink. I used my rode nt1 mic and held it next to my tap to record the water going down the sink. After heavily Eq’ing the water noise to make it sound more like a calm rain noise, I threw a telephone EQ on, whilst adding a high predelay reverb on to make it sound more distant within the mix.
