1500 words

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Track 1 (Guitar-based band production)

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Pre-Production

• Rehearsals
  • The guitar-based band rehearsed extensively before the session; their parts were performance-ready.
• Track development
  • They played the track after they had been practising it for their shows. Except for the live drummer, the band usually plays with electronic drums.
• Demo recording
  • A mix of the track with electric drums had been posted on Spotify before our recording; we were aiming to capture a cleaner mix and live drums.
• Arrangement decisions
  • Minor adjustments to guitar and bass placement in the mix were discussed collaboratively.
• Session planning

• The screenshot above is from 20th Oct when we first found out about the assignment. Because it was early in the year, we decided to leave the recording session till closer to Christmas.
  • Responsibilities are shared in the four-person group; tasks are allocated according to strengths.
  • Dates coordinated with musicians, requiring follow-up to confirm availability.
  • Technical planning included microphone selection, room layout, and headphone mixes.

Recording

• Microphone choices
  • Sennheiser MD 421-II/Di box – Bass
  • SM57 – Guitar
  • C414 – Vocals
  • Drum Pack + clip on tomb mics + MD 421 – Drums
  • D112 – Kick (in)
  • MD 421 – Kick (out)
  • SM57 – Snare
  • MD 421 – Rack/Floor tom
• Musician management
  • Headphone mixes created and adjusted to musician feedback
  • Continuous communication and shared decision-making
  • Roles shuffled according to strengths: setup, desk routing, gain staging, problem-solving, pack-down
• Room setup

Mixing

• Mix plan/concept
• Balance
• Pan
• Tone
• FX

Project Management

• Time management
  • Session scheduled around musician availability; pre-production planned early
• Planning
  • Track selection, rehearsal assessment, demo recording, arrangement decisions
  • Technical prep: mics, room layout, acoustic panels, headphone mixes
• Roles and responsibilities
  • Flexible role sharing; I led mic setup, desk routing, gain staging, headphone mixes, problem-solving, pack-down
• Structure and organisation
  • Clear communication maintained; tasks documented to ensure efficiency
  • Group collaboration ensured smooth workflow from setup to session completion

Track 2 Live in the studio (folk ensemble)

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Pre-Production

• Rehearsals
  • Folk band rehearsed vocals, guitar, drums, and violin to be performance-ready
• Track development
  • The track was written by the band
• Arrangement decisions
  • Instrumental dynamics, violin placement, and harmonies were discussed collaboratively
• Session planning

• The screenshot above is from 20th Oct when we first found out about the assignment. Because it was early in the year, we decided to leave the recording session till closer to Christmas.
  • Folk band available week starting 3rd December.
  • Studio setup planned: microphone selection, acoustic panel placement, headphone mixes.
  • Tasks are shared across the production group according to strengths.

Recording

• Microphone choices
  • D112 – Kick (in)
  • MD421 – Kick (out)
  • SM57 – Snare
  • Clip-on mics – Toms
  • SM57 – Hi-Hat
  • C-2 – Overheads
  • SM7B – Vocals
  • AT8004 / C414 – Guitar
  • SM57 – Violin
• Room setup

• Musician management
  • Three musicians: guitar + vocals, violin and drum
  • Headphone mixes provided; A/B mix filtered into the wall box to musicians’ headphones.
  • Visual communication is maintained through studio windows and talk back mics
  • The wall box in the vocal booth was not working; to solve this issue, we rerouted the cable to wall box A. This is because we knew that it wasn’t worth spending 20 minutes trying to figure out when the headphone outputs on wall box B (vocal booth) weren’t working anyway.
  • Group decisions on mic placement, room layout, and performance adjustments. We also gave the band quite a lot of flexibility about where they could play, which meant they were better set up for the recording, having better non-verbal communication and therefore getting a better performance.

Mixing

• Mix plan/concept
  • The aim of the mix was to retain the natural, live feel of the performance while ensuring clarity between vocals, guitar, violin, and drums. The mix was completed collaboratively in the studio using outboard gear, allowing immediate group feedback and decision-making.
• Balance
  • The initial balance focused on the rhythm section, with vocals placed clearly above the instrumental bed. Particular attention was paid to managing the spill between the drums and the violin. Because we didn’t set up the drum panels properly, mixing became harder. We had to mix the violin whilst dealing with a drum spill. This meant we had to balance the EQ; for example, increasing the high-mid frequencies made the violin sound bright and better in the mix, but the spill would also get louder, so we had to balance the best of both worlds without the instruments clashing.
• Pan
  • Panning was used to create separation and a sense of width, reflecting the live setup while keeping vocals central. We panned the two separate guitar tracks to create stereo width. This did a good job of adding stereo width without overdoing it; it was subtle but helped significantly.
• Tone
  • EQ was applied to reduce frequency clashes and enhance warmth, particularly on vocals and violin. The vocals and guitar recorded in the separate vocal booth ended up clashing quite a bit (most likely due to an incorrect recording pattern on the mic). This made it more challenging to mix the vocals, as removing the low mids resulted in a loss of warmth and a tinny sound. We used the EQ on the desk to remove some low, mid frequencies, as well as increase some high mid frequencies (kHz).
• FX
  • Subtle reverb was used to add space without detracting from the performance’s intimacy. It also helped make the snare feel warmer and less tinny; for this, we used the Lexicon with a chamber preset. The snare was a week-dry sound, and. been able to get a warmer sound out of it if wewe wouldn’t have it slightly.

Project Management

• Time management
  • Session scheduled according to the musician’s availability; pre-production allowed for preparation time.
• Planning
  • Pre-production included demo recording, mic and room setup planning, and arrangement adjustments
• Structure and organisation
  • Clear communication and shared decision-making ensured efficient workflow
  • Documentation and group collaboration supported smooth technical and creative process
• Roles and responsibilities
  • Responsibilities shuffled to suit strengths: I helped with mic setup along with the rest of the group, from working with my group before we all tend to gravitate towards certain instruments, to mic up. This worked to our strengths and made the mic setup quicker. I focused on the drum mic setup. I decided to keep the drum mics to a minimum due to time constraints and because the drummer didn’t need all the drums. I also took a lead, routing all of the mics into the desk and getting a signal. This was quite simple; the only thing that I wouldn’t normally have to set up was shifting the bus routing for the vocals and guitar in the vocal booth so that the desk was taking the signal from wall box b instead of a. I gain-staged the track with Sarah to make sure everything was hitting around -12 dB of input. This kept the track sounding clean and helped avoid clipping. For the headphone mixes, I used the A/B filters to route to the headphone mixes; the A/B knobs are located under the auxiliary send knobs. I also helped with other things during the session, including troubleshooting the wall box headphone outputs, packing down the mics, and zeroing the desk.
    

Track 3 Remix track

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Pre-Production

• Rehearsals / Preparation
  • Solo project; rehearsals not required
  • Focused on listening to the original acapella, finding its key and which chords would work well with it, to base the vocals around.
• Track development
  • Concept: create an R&B remix from the original a acapella and make it more down-tempo.
  • My main plan was to stick to a similar song structure to the original track, but to extend it, as this would work well with what the brief is asking of us.
• Demo / Planning
  • I went through the track, figured out what chords worked well with what phrases, and created an eight-bar loop. I then took a section of the vocals and time-stretched it to fit the chords better. I then made more eight-bar loops and then put the tracks together like a puzzle using the different sections I had created.
  • When I started this track, I knew that I wanted to use live bass as well as a synth
• Session planning
  • I also planned how I would mix the track because I always knew my main aim with R&B is to create a clean, balanced sound with warmth.
  • I planned what plugins to use for the chords because I like to layer different instruments (e.g. guitar, rohads, piano) to create a fuller sound.

Recording / Editing

• Imported the acapella into Logic Pro and went through the track recording the chords I worked out worked well with the vocals. I then cleaned up the chords and put them in time.
• Then aligning the acapella with the new instrumental arrangement
• Programmed drums, keys, and pads to fit R&B style, as well as recording live bass and synth.
• Edited vocals to fit the remix with both timing and phrasing

Mixing

• Mix plan/concept
  • Retain original vocal clarity while integrating R&B instrumentation
  • The mix should sound warm with very little distortion to retain its definition

• Balance
  • Levels adjusted to ensure instruments complement vocals
• Pan
  • Drums, bass, and keys panned for depth; vocals remain central
• Tone
  • EQ and compression applied to each instrument and vocal
• FX
  • Reverb, delay, and modulation applied subtly to create depth and RnB feel

Project Management & Workflow

• Time management
  • Tasks planned in stages: arrangement, editing, instrument programming, mixing
• Planning
  • Workflow structured in Logic Pro to maintain efficiency
• Roles and responsibilities
  • Solo project; all technical and creative decisions made independently
• Structure and organisation
  • Self-review is used to maintain quality and consistency across arrangement, editing, and mixing