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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)
Pre-Production:
For our Emulation Track, We decided to try to replicate Killing Me Softly With His Song by Roberta Flack. The first steps we took were listening to the track together and in the next couple of days individually, ensuring to actively listen to the finer details of the track. We made a note of the items we would need to record, what the sound source is, and how we think the curators of the song may have achieved their results. This table displays our initial guesses.
Once we had made our estimates as to how we would try to replicate the track, we started collecting musicians to record the parts.
We intended on recording this song as a number of overdubs, but ended up using these individual sessions as a kind of ‘Tech Rehearsal’. During these separate sessions, we tried setups which would mimic the sound of the original track, playing with a couple of different mics, using different players and trying different environments.
We then decided that after having all of these preliminary performances that we had no overall track, as the musicians weren’t playing together and therefore had no feel. The biggest challenge here was trying to keep the adaptive tempo of the original track in our version, so we couldn’t use a click that people could anticipate.
In the end we decided to set up all of the individual setups that we recorded as one large live session. We invited the bassist and keys player back for the final recordings because they gave strong initial performances, and after trying 2 other vocalists who didn’t have the right sound for the track, we found someone who could learn the song and perform it with a similar power to Roberta Flack. We also found a classical guitarist, but due to a last-minute cancellation, I ended up performing the guitar as an overdub after learning the piece at the end of the session.
Recording
The recording heard on the final submission is from a live session done in studio 113, where the drums are separated by 2 baffles in the corner, the keys are a nord going through a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe placed on the opposite side to the drums. The Bass is a LoFreq SubKick and a Sontronics Delta 2, and before the amp, the bass is going through a Line 6 Helix and a Sans Amp DI. A DI signal is being taken from that pedal and going into the wall box too.
Vocals were recorded, but the performance wasn’t of a good enough standard. We still had trust in the player, but she clearly had something beyond the song which negatively effected her confidence and ability, so the final recordings for the lead and backing vocals were done in my bedroom with some DIY Methods of sound dampening. Katie’s vocals were eventually recorded on an NT1A though.
Below are some images of the session and the setups we had. We used a KM184 and an XAUDIA GRX to record the keys, We used a LoFreq Sub-Kick and a Sontronics Delta 2 for the Bass Cab as well as running a direct line out through a sans amp.
Evaluation:
It was a shame that we couldn’t get the vocal performance right in the room. Next time I will try and run more rehearsals beforehand. I would also have liked to have ran the overdubbed vocals through the hardware reverb unit in 113, but the lack of studio hours and difficulty meant I had to compromise. This is my job as a producer to organise musicians.
Track 2 (Live In the Studio Stereo Recording)
Pre-production:
The Pre-production for this song was quite minimal, and more based on the musicians than the studio environment. The Performers (in this case, Lorna and Hannah who are part of our production group)
In this scenario, the duo were to cover About You by the 1975 in their own stylistic cover, where lorna would play the baby grand piano, and Hannah would be singing and playing the flute
For this piece, I wanted to fit a couple of criteria with the overall sound of the duet. The original track is very busy with strings, synths and brass instruments, full, and has a sense of atmosphere with intense reverbs. On the other hand, Lorna and Hannah’s version is a lot less intense, and simpler. I liked the idea of space, though, which played into the live stereo aspect of the brief, so I wanted to capture quite a bit of the room, while finding a way of keeping the flute/ vocal and the piano area separate and controlled.
Lorna and Hannah rehearsed twice and created their version within that time, and we trusted them as members of our studio group to know what to do in those rehearsals to get a good performance. We also planned on having ample time in the studio session for a number of takes, so a period of about 3-4 hours.
Recording:
For this session, I mostly chose microphones I was familiar with, and used them all in a way which would give me a range of different frequencies to work with. For example, I knew that the Neumann KM184’s would provide some clear high-end, so I used them, ensuring to place them high to capture more room, and in an XY position. While all of the microphones were placed in a method which wasn’t to intentionally close-mike the source, I did have one mid/side setup and one Blumlein that biased each of the instruments. The Blumlein pair was a pair of AKG C414’s which were placed at stool-height of the baby grand piano in the middle of the room which complimented the KM184’s with warmer mids and helped establish a bass-foundation for Hannah’s vocals and flute to sit on top of. I also ran the session alone as Marz and Timmy weren’t there.
The Mid/Side setup was pointed toward the general direction of the vocals and flute, and the general idea was to use automation in post to bring the mid out more when Hannah was singing, as the more direct this sounded, the better.
The mixing was just a case of isolating just the frequencies we needed from the separate microphone groups, so cutting some high frequencies in the blumleins to accommodate for the Neumann 184s, and the same the other way. This helped to clean up the track, especially from any phase-related clashes in them areas if there were any.
Evaluation
I could have directed Hannah to step back when switching from the vocal to the flute as to control the gain going into the mic, rather than automate it in post (which we opted to do) or ride the tape send fader. This would have saved us time in the mixing stage, and might have resulted in slightly more room for the flute so we wouldnt have to change the mid/side balance as much.
I also feel like changing the layout to reflect the room a bit more would have been nicer. This could have been similar to the way the NPR Tiny Desks operate with positional panning, and creating a sense of directional space.
Track 3 Remix track
Pre-Production:
For the Remix of Katie’s vocal, I wanted to take some inspiration a lot of the music I write in my own time, so using a lot of ambience. The live instruments I planned on using were guitar and bass because a lot of my original writing is done on these two. I debated using an acoustic guitar but decided against as I was beginning to understand what the piece was trying to do. I felt that as I tried to imagine the piece, it sounded more and more groovy, with elements of early Steve Lacy embedded. The track Uuuu is slightly resemblant of my ideas, and its all very electronic while being built upon a guitar and bass loop.
Recording:
I recorded my guitar parts with a Neural DSP Plugin into an Audient ID44 DI, and then for the bass, I did the same thing, but using a different built-in amplifier, one that instead was much cleaner of an amp, and suited the bass more. I also applied some compression
As for the Drums, I used a couple of methods and some Heavy EQ to create the various different drum sounds I would need. The Kick is a mixture of tapping on an SM57 outer capsule, blended with the clacking of my keyboard and using a gated sine wave to add some more consistent low end.
The Synths are a mixture of Sky Keys presets which I manipulate and adjust the parameters of, as well as the retro synth stock plugin in logic.
Below is a picture of the setup I have for the snare. This is a baking tray on top of two aftershave boxes and there are keys and a little aluminium tub on top. The idea here was to replicate the metallic sound of snare wires. I then hit this with a drumstick and used the sound as a One-Shot for the song.
Mixing:
The Mixing Process was quite minimal, because my writing workflow is usually me mixing as I go, so when I start using Synths, I will already be using EQ, But it was mostly time aligning, writing automation for fading in and out of synths, as well as using a low pass filter and automating that on one or two of the synths. I also added some compression to the whole track using a VCA compressor emulation at the very end.
