MPR5C001R~003 Studio Portfolio 2 & Log Book
Commercial Pop Track
Pre-Production
We wrote and arranged this track ourselves, taking inspiration from the current UK charts at the time. “End Of Beginnings” by Djo was number 1 on the charts so we chose to do a song in the style of that. We planned the chords and structure of the song on the 10th of February by tracking some DI acoustic guitars to act as a base for the track. We decided to arrange it similarly to our reference track, in order to achieve a true “pop” sound, by using the same structure and a similar chord progression. Lucas then added some synths, and i added a lead guitar part on the the 12th of February. This acted as a demo for some session musicians to record bass and drums over.
Recording
On the 18th of February, we had some session musicians come in to record drums and bass onto our track.
We also wrote out a chord and structure sheet to make it easier for the musicians to play along to the track.
This is the mic list for the Drums:
Kick- D6
Snare – SM57
Snare bottom- SM57
Toms – MD421
Overheads – AKG 414s
Heres the mic list for the Bass:
Sontronics Delta 2, D6 and a DI.
We were limited with these mic choices, as this session was organised by the conservatoire and the mics we got were the mics we were given. However, we were pleased with how they sounded, and due to the fact that these were professional session musicians, it meant that the performance was really good. We were also constrained by time, as we had half an hour to set up, and an hour to record both bass and drums. This meant that musician management had to be smooth and professional. It wasn’t a problem however as the session musicians were very compliant and acted with expertise.
We then re-recorded the lead guitar part, on the 1st of April, with me performing it.
Here is a list of the microphones used:
Senheiser 441, Warm Audio WA84 and a Sontronics Orpheus room mic.
We decided to keep the original DI acoustic guitar parts, as they acted more as a textural layer than a focus point of the track. Once we had the whole instrumental track down, we got a vocalist to write some lyrics and perform on the song on the 22nd of April. I booked a 3 hour session in a vocal booth to ensure we had enough time not only for the main vocals, but for harmonies and doubling as well.
I used a Warm audio WA84 for this.
Mixing
I used the Djo track we were inspired by as a reference, as well as classic 80s pop tracks that Djo was clearly motivated by. This is evident in the big sounding drums with lots of gated reverb. We used drum triggering to enhance the snare and kicks, layering drum sounds from logic, and recorded drum sounds from the session with the session player, as we got him to round robin the kit. I did some simple panning and mixing to avoid over-complicating it, due to it being a commercial pop track. I used delay and a long reverb on the vocals in the final chorus, to emphasise the impact and create a larger sound. I used a multi-pressor on the drums to create that big 80s drum sound, as due to us using a simple mic set up, it limited the amount of processing I could do on the kit. I had to use a limiter on the vocals, as during the louder sections in the final chorus, there are parts that clip a bit. I also used an amp simulator on the DI bass signal to enhance the tone.
Project management
Lucas and I were in control of writing, arranging, planning and recording the majority of this track. We managed to record most of the parts in the timetabled studio sessions we had weekly, other than the vocals, and synth textures. We planned to record the session musicians for the bass and drums for this song, so we had to ensure that the bones of the track were done before the session. This was very early in the semester, which meant we were ahead on schedule for the majority of the production of this track.
Acoustic Track
Pre-Production
Lucas had planned to record this track, as he was already working with someone on a track that could be used for this part of the assignment. The artists was already very well rehearsed, and had a comprehensive demo that Lucas could work off. We re-arranged some of the song, and added new instruments throughout the recording stage.
Recording
Lucas had recorded the main parts of the track, with acoustic guitar, vocals and percussion. We added drums to the song with the session musician with the same mic setup as above in the pop song. Then added strings to the track on the 11th of April. Here is some photos from the session:
We used 2 184s in an XY stereo pair with a 414 overhead.
We had just one string player, that we got to record multiple layers and harmonies throughout the song. They even came up with new parts on the spot, such as the pizzicato.
We also recorded some improvised piano parts in one of our timetabled studio sessions for extra texture.
Mixing
This track has lots of different textural parts, so involved a lot of panning. Since it is an acoustic track, I didn’t want to process it that much to keep it’s natural essence. I used lots of light, natural reverb to give it some ambience. On the female vocals, I used a distant reverb, to space it out from the main vocal, and to give it a cool effect. I used lots of EQ to take out some of the ambient noises of fingers moving up and down strings on an acoustic guitar, as since there is lots of guitar layers, it got too convoluted in the track.
Project Management
Since Lucas was already working with this artist, it made it a very smooth process, due to how well-rehearsed he was. We made good use of our timetabled studio sessions, as we got to record piano in one of them and we used the time to organise when each other was free to book studio sessions.
Location Recording
Pre-production
We planned and booked a session in room 219 at the conservatoire on April the 20th, however the morning of it, the booking request got cancelled. Despite this, we managed to get in the room for an hour and try record something, however what we got wasn’t good enough. Here is some photos from that session.
Because of this complication, we had to plan another session fairly last minute. We decided that it would be best if me and my bandmate Ben performed a song that we were already well-rehearsed in. We decided to record a cover that we play in our band at our house on the 27th of April.
Recording
We rented a location rig from the Conservatoire, alongside these mics:
AKG 414
Sontronics orpheus
Schoeps omnis
and an SM57
Here is some photos from the session
We used the orpheus as a room mic, Omnis for the acoustic guitar, SM57 for the electric guitar, and 414 for the vocals. We opened the windows of the room in an attempt to capture some of the ambience from outside. This was a smooth recording process as we were both well rehearsed with this song, it only took 2 takes.
Mixing
We used the Lexicon outboard gear to add some extreme reverb on the vocals to create some ambience. This was controlled on the mixing desk to add more/take some out in certain sections. The electric guitar used a delay pedal, however this didn’t come out in the mix as well as I’d have liked, so I added extra delay and reverb on it. I used the logic stem split tool to separate the vocals from the acoustic guitar, as there was some bleed in the vocal mic. This allowed for more in depth EQ and cleaner reverb. I sent the acoustic to a reverb bus, and EQ’d the bus channel to bring out the sparkle of the high end and cut the boomy low end.
Project Management
Lucas and I planned this after our original recording session got cancelled. Lucas was in charge of renting the equipment, whilst I made sure we were well rehearsed for the performance. We used our house due to how impromptu it was due to the cancellation, and because we didn’t have chance to organise any other space. Despite this I believe the outcome of this was successful.
