Track 1 (Guitar-based band production)
For the guitar based production we recorded the band Cab Driver and their song ‘Insincere’.
In terms of pre production we worked out all the sessions we would need and how long each was likely to take as well as what days people were mostly free. This gave us a good idea of timescale and made booking sessions a lot easier.
We started with drums which we recorded in 422. For the kick we used three mics, the Shure Beta 91 as a kick in, the Sontronics DM1B for the kick out and the Solomon LoFreq as a sub kick mic. We ended up swapping out the Beta 91 for an Audix D6.
We used two mics for the snare, the Beyer M201 for the snare top and the MD441 as a snare bottom.
For the high tom we used a MD421 and for the floor tom a D6.
We first used an SM7B as a high hat mic but switched this out for an akg mic. We used a pair of KM184s as overheads which we also swapped for a pair of 414s for a bigger brighter sound as well as positioning them higher up to try and emphasise the cymbals a little more. We also used a Rode k2 as a room mic.
The guitars were recorded with a tely and a fender blues jr, with an sm57 on the left speaker cone and a Sennheiser 441 on the right. The guitar was also going through the guitarists peddle board.
The 12 string acoustic was recorded with a pair of KM184s in an XY set up as well as the Orpheus as a room mic.
For the bass recording we chose to use two re amp boxes to send the signal to a Trace Elliot bass amp as well as a fender guitar amp and used a blend of the distorted sound from the fender and the bassier sound from the Trace Elliot. We also captured the di signal.
The vocals were recorded in 116 with an sm57.
In terms of the mix I first put everything into folders and then group channels to easier process similar elements together.
I started with the main vocal, added a channel strip plugin and used the eq and compression to get a sound I liked. I then when back and put a de esser before the channel strip to eliminate some of the harshness introduced. Then I used a tape saturator to give the vocals some more warmth and power and another compressor to bring them more forwards.
I grouped the drums into kick, snares, toms and overs and room mic. I started with the kick group. I worked on getting a blend I was happpy with from the in, out and sub mics. I used a gate to get rid of the rest of the kit noise then used a channel strip to eq the kick, trying to add more body to the sound and the compressor to add more punch. I did a similar process for the snare, getting a good blend and gating it as well as using the eq and compressor on the channel strip to shape the sound. There is also a saturator on the snare.
I first eqed the overheads to remove everything below about 500hz as i wanted to use them mainly for the symbols, I again used the channel strip to bring out some more air with the eq, boosting around 15k and added some compression.
I gated the toms and used eq to bring out a lot of lower resonance as well as heavy compression for a big sound.
Later on in the mix I wasn’t happy with how the drums were sounding so I used the the audio hitpoints feature in cubase to convert the transience of the kick and the snare to midi, allowing me to trigger samples and layer these with the real drums to create a much bigger more impactful sound.
I grouped the guitars into their respective parts and takes, panned the main rhythm parts varying amounts left and right to create a wider and fuller sound and to separate out the sound a little as the guitars in the track are quite dense. I used the eq on the channel strip plugin on the rhythm guitar group to add some more air and clarity by subtly boosting around 7.5Khz and 1.5khz and cut around 350hz to remove some of the mud and make room for other elements of the mix. I also used compression to bring out smaller nuances and control the large sound a bit. There’s no reverb on any of the guitars as the blend with the room mics provided enough of an idea of space.
I didn’t do too much to the bass as the capture fit the mix pretty well. I just got a blend of the mics on the two cabs I was happy with and ended up not using the di capture. I used a channel strip on the group to compress it quite a lot as well as some subtle eq, boosting lower mids to help bring it out a bit.
Similarly i didn’t do all that much with the 12 string capture. I just used a stereo widener to push the signal even further either side and some eq to help it sit better as well as some compression to bring out some of the attack in the playing.
Track 2 Live in the studio (jazz/folk ensemble)
For the Jazz recording we recorded a second year jazz group playing a jazz standard piece. The band consisted of drums, bass, keys and sax. We chose to record in 113 as we thought the more open sound of the room would fit the recording.
For the kick we used a D6 as a Kick in then the DM1B as a kick out again as well as the Solomon LoFreq as a sub kick. For the snare we again used a M201 as a snare top and a 441 as a snare bottom. We used MD421s for the high tom and floor tom. We again used a pair of 414s as overheads.
For the bass we simply captured the DI signal with a DI box.
For the sax we had the sax player in the vocal booth to avoid sax bleed on the drum tracks.
For the keys we just used the jack outputs on a Nord keybord.
We also again used a Rode K2 as a room mic.
Track 3 Remix track
After putting the vocal into cubase I first worked out some chords for the verse and chorus sections of the song and input them as midi with a basic E organ sound. I used a vocal synth plugin to add a talkbox/vocoded sort of sound to the vocals as well as some distortion. I linked this to the midi so that it followed the chords of the song. I used a channel strip plugin on the vocal and used the eq to shape the sound a bit as well as add some compression to bring it out a bit more. I duplicated the vocal track, removed the synth plugin and added a pre fade send to a large plate reverb going into a subtle stereo delay. I did this so that I could have an unaffected reverb and more control.
For the organ I started with a stock E organ sound, used some eq to get rid of a lot of the mids and added some saturation, tremolo chorus and a compressor and a send for some reverb.
The drums were made from a royalty free sample I found which I slowed down and cut up to fit the track. I also added a compressor eq and some saturation to shape the sound and make it sit better in the track.
The bass is a combination of real bass and a simple suby synth i made. The real bass was recorded DI. I used a compressor first to get a stronger punchier signal then a bass amp plugin and another compressor to bring it more forward in the mix. The sub synth is just a sine wave with a very slightly slow attack to avoid a click.
There are also very harsh compressors on the Bass, sub bass, organ and organ reverb all side-chained to the drum track so that the kick and snare cut through the mix, this is exaggerated slightly as I liked the effect it gave.
There is also a washed out sounding guitar heard in the last chorus, this was achieved by recording a guitar direct into an interface then using an amp sim plugin and the wet signal from a reverb to create the sound. This was then eq’d to sit on top of the organ and compressed to bring it out a bit.
