(SGS-Production Y1)

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Live Capture:

> Our plans for approaching this assignment were arranged in-lesson and over a joint group chat. We arranged to record two jazz singles for a year one band, who were covering the songs “Can’t we be friends” by Ella Fitzgerald, and “Polka dots and moonbeams” by Wes Montgomery.

>Their band consisted of four members, so we expected to be recording drums, bass, piano and vocals. This entailed a search for appropriate studio spaces that could facilitate a large group, and would be suitable for the lo-fi ambience of the music. The spaces we decided between were studio 422 – as this space was slightly larger and had a divider that could be used to further separate instrument noise, and studio 104 – which had a setup we were all more familiar with, use and sound wise; was large enough for our band and had a vocal booth which further extended our usable space.

Oli (who contacted the band) booked our studio space, and I spent time assessing microphone techniques that may be suitable. 

This session was relatively short in terms of production as the band still needed rehearsal time, and with booking restrictions on the lead up to Christmas we held a retake session in 104.

The rehearsal allowed us to assess some areas we hadn’t yet considered. Speaking with the band, we could ensure that the vocalist was in the room with the other musicians to make communication easier on their end, find alternative sticks and a drum setup for the drummer, and gave us time to decide how to setup the equipment in 104 for their use. All of these allowed for better musicianship, which relayed a better sound and easier flowing session, avoiding audio clipping and making gain and microphone choices simpler, and altered the way our room would be setup to avoid unnecessary room and reflected noise that interfered with the session.

> The choices we made:

• Removing the unused toms from the drumkit to eliminate added noise
• Moving the drumkit over slightly and removing the unused equipment for space
• Setting up the vocalist outside the doors to the vocal booth (to maintain contact whilst having vocal mics setup on a separate patch)
• Adjusted levels between songs for the drummer, ensuring there were brushes in the studio
• Setting up the amplifier for the bassist, making the tone suitable for capture

Microphone setup (104):

1. Kick:

In: SontronicsDM-1B – large diaphragm (low “pulse”), energy to kick

Out: SureSM-58 – Added variety, captured “boom”

2. Snare:

Top: BeyerdynamicM201 – pencil (spill control), above snare for range

       AKG-C451-B – shotgun (spill control), warmer, bright focused tone captured brush detail

Bottom: ShureSM57 – captures overall lows, off-axis for more “body”, resulting coherent sound

3. OH L/R: NeumannKM-184 – small diaphragm avoided distortion and spill, placing close to kit (controlling phase) created a full, non-aggressive sound
4. Bass: [off-axis per frequency mitigation]

SolomonSub-Kick – large diaphragm (wider tone) on cone edge. Dark, warmer tones

SennheiserMD421 – dynamic mic gave clarity, placed center cone for brightness

5. Keys L/R: AKG-C451-B – pencil mics with warm tone, adjusted *lots* during rehearsal to find clarity between frequencies. Followed 3-1 rule (mics at equal height, 3x value away from eachother – phase control)
6. Vocals:

RE-20 + shield – reliable smooth tonality. avoided vocal pops in close proximity (avoiding instrument spill causing phase)

7. Room:

Rode K2 – added warm tone to sit underneath mix, capturing complete room sound and blending piano and vocal mixes without post-recording mixing

Managing this assignment:

>I suggested including a room microphone for coherency and providing a flat, controlled sound to balance the dynamic range of the mix. This also picked up a wider range of frequencies opposed to the focused microphones, adding ambience to the overall mix. I was active in ensuring the microphone placement was suitable from the control room, and laid out the protools session to help the session run smoothly, making reasonable adjustments to the desk as needed.

>Oli was the main contact for the group, and had a good idea in leading the team, booking session and helping to setup. Lorna, Timmy and Hannah provided help in the live room, getting the artists settled and placed, and moving the equipment as necessary. I spent more time in the control room assessing levels, troubleshooting technical errors, providing adjustments for microphone setups to mitigate phase and ensure the tonality of the tracks were suitable for the musical style. This was definitely a group effort, and Oli was a good team leader in ensuring the band was comfortable and the session went smoothly.

• Evidence:

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Overdubbed Production:

> To complete method 2, it was essential to have a band who would be available for multiple recording sessions to complete the overdub. This unit was admittedly more rushed that the first session, but our group collaborated well to source a suitable band. In this section, Lorna contacted a pop/rock band with two members, who between them played guitar, bass and drums. Their song was an original that they were well rehearsed for, allowing us to better work with them for their desired outcome of the song, rather than our group taking full creative lead.

The drummer, Felix, used his own snare in the recording, and the guitar/bassist provided a pedalboard that he could use for tonal preferences. The benefit of selecting this group was the creative variation that their style of music could have. Beads were used on the ride during the overdub session, further enhancing the high frequencies. In our pre-production Lorna had contacted the group about their song, and we adjusted our microphone setup based on the tonal range we felt was suitable. Having a “fuller” sound with more dynamic range was essential for making the mixing process as straightforward as possible, as not much could be done without headroom for the tracks.

> The choices we made:

• Centralising the drum kit in the room to avoid the acoustic panels dampening the sound
• Setting up the pedalboard and using the valve amplifier in 104 to add grit and tone to the guitar takes (prevented guitar sounding “thin”)
• Removing the unused toms to prevent added noise
• Adding distance mics to our setup, capturing the space of the sound (careful to avoid phase)

Microphone setup (104/initial):

Note: Our microphone setup for the drum kit was particularly chosen to conserve clarity when mixing with the guitars and bass. When the frequencies overlap, it is easy to rely on compressors to ensure drum rhythms are audible. Without this option, I listened carefully early in the session to make suitable adjustments between takes.

1. Kick in: Audix D6 – cardioid pattern rejected the loud distorted guitar, positioned opposite the beater for “thump”
2. Snare:

Top 1 – Shure SM57 – Condenser avoided room spill with appropriate gain, close to rim off axis (for “punch”). Placed almost top down in the center to capture impactful, high frequency pops through the mix

Top 2 – Sure SM57 – Used again to capture full tonal range of the 57. Placed at same height at a flatter angle, providing a lower frequency muffle, balancing the top mic’s frequencies

3. Hi-Hat bottom: 

AKG C451-B – shotgun mic, capturing specific high frequency “spark” clicks that drove through the mix. Almost perpendicular to underside edge to preserve tinniness.

4. Overhead L/R: Neumann KM184 – pencil mics provided focused sound over hats and cymbals. Placed at distance from the kit to preserve overall kit tone, supporting the pulse of the track.

and clarity 

5. Rhythm guitar:

Mic 1- Sure-Sm57 – 45 degrees off-axis, center cone captured specific warmth of high frequencies

Mic 2- Beyerdynamic-M160 – Ribbon mic used side-on to the cab

6. Lead guitar:

AKG-C414-XLS – Captured suitable high end tonality when placed center to the cone

Microphone setup (422/dub):

>During the recording of the drums and guitar in the first session, I spent more of my time in the control room making adjustments and feeding back to Timmy, Hannah and Lorna, who made mic adjustments. At the beginning, I helped them setup a live room layout that had enough space to fit the microphones we used, and moved the drum kit. Having more microphone variety in the initial take allowed us to be more selective during the overdub session, and I sat alongside Oli whilst he set up protools to make the session as clean to reopen as possible.

Microphone setup (422/dub):

1. Cymbals (Overdubbed):

AKG-C414-XLS – 8-Polarity off axis, between OH’s. Placed high up between crash and ride for energy.

2. Room:

Rode-K2- 8-Polarity, added detail when placed in front of kick, giving warmthness to kit and collecting (controlled) ambient sound

3. Bass:

Mic 1- SolomonSub-Kick – large diaphragm (wider tone), perpendicular to cone edge. Dark tonality and warmth

Mic 2- Sennheiser MD421 – Condenser mic placed on cone center captured “punch”

• Evidence:

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Mixing (1 & 2)

With these projects being completed around the break period, Oli took lead in mixing the tracks, using the group feedback over Instagram DM’s to make suitable adjustments. We had a group call to organise and were sent wav files to feed back on.

These tracks were mixed similarly, with adjustments made to the drums presence in the mix. The group decisions were largely on the room and vocal presence, as these were difficult to balance amongst the instrumentation. Adjusting these gave the first track energy and a lively atmosphere, hence the decision to reduce the pulse and enhance the room atmosphere in song 2.

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• Pop track

This track required more energy, and was harder to balance due to the dynamic range. Finding a middle ground that suited both the opening instrumentation and breakdown of the track was hard, and the cymbal overdubs were useful in creating an audible division. Post-production we realised having extra mics on the kick as we did for the jazz group would have helped this tracks dynamic variability, as finding a drum balance was harder to do in this mix.