My Specialist Group Study group consisted of me, Lorna, Olli, Mars and Hannah. We were tasked with recording 2 groups, one through the use of overdubbing and the other by recording a live jazz band. We set up meetings in advance to decide which drum mics we should use during the actual recording sessions and we reached out to the performers we wanted to record around 1-2 weeks in advance.
Recording a Jazz Band (Part 1)
Pre-production/planning
- Our first part of the project consisted of us recording a jazz ensemble with drums, bass, piano and vocals. We brought in a band that already had chemistry with each other so they could readily give us 2 pieces to record.
- The pieces they performed were “Polka Dots and Moonbeams” by Jimmy Van Heusen, and an up-beat rendition of “Can’t We Be Friends” by Ella Fitzgerald.
- Elsie-May (vocalist) didn’t want to be put in the vocal booth as she felt the band vibed better when everyone was in the same room. We figured a happy band would produce the best end result, and so we accommodated for this, using the vocal booth as a storage space for unused amps/equipment and empty mic boxes.
- We first recorded the band in 422, but due to the file corrupting, we lost all the progress and had to re-record Elsie and her band in 104. Though a major set-back, this also acted as a way for us to practice setting up and taking down equipment efficiently, as we effectively had to do that twice as much in this project.
- We talked to Felix (drummer) about his choice of sticks, eventually having him switch between brushes and sticks mid-take. This ensured we could get a more mixed-down take easier, as the sticks were noticeably louder in comparison to the brushes.
- We removed the parts of the drum kit that Felix was not planning to use, such as the toms. Doing helped take out all the unnecessary resonance that the mics were picking up, making the mixing process easier.
- Felix also brought drum accessories, such as a string of metal beads that hung on the ride. This gave the ride a natural reverb-like effect that worked very well in context with the rest of the piece.
- To absorb the sound between the drummer and pianist, we used a baffle. This ensured there was no spill throughout our performance, making it easier for us to mix in the later stages of this project.
- We added a second kick-mic to the drums, namely the Shure SM58. This mic was placed on the outside of the kick, and aided with adding more low-end frequencies to the piece, effectively giving the kick a more ‘punchy’ feeling.
Jazz Band Mic List
| Input: | Instrument: | Mic: | Notes: |
| 1 | Kick | Sontronics DM-1B | Positioned on the edge of the porthole |
| 2 | Kick Out | Shure SM58 | Positioned right outside of the kickdrum, facing it |
| 3 | Snare Top | Beyerdynamic M201 | Facing down towards the kit, perpendicular to the rim |
| 4 | Snare Top (2) | AKG C451-B | Perpendicular to the drum skin, facing above |
| 5 | Snare Bot | Shure SM57 | Mirroring the M201 (input 3) |
| 6 | Overhead Left | Neumman KM-184 | Placed close to the other overhead to have more control over the drum’s sound |
| 7 | Overhead Right | Neumman KM-184 | Placed close to the other overhead to have more control over the drum’s sound |
| 8 | Bass | LoFreq Sub-Kick | Positioned facing the speaker cap edge on an axis |
| 9 | Bass (2) | Sennheiser MD421 | Positioned facing the speaker cap edge on an axis |
| 10 | Keys Left | AKG C451-B | Used the 3-1 rule |
| 11 | Keys Right | AKG C451-B | Used the 3-1 rule |
| 12 | Vocals | RE-20 | Used a pop shield and placed the mic close tot he vocalist for better rejection in the room |
| 13 | Room | Rode K2 | Positioned behind the piano but above the singer, about 6 feet high |
Microphone Summary
- We used the DM-1B as our main kick drum, using the SM58 as an extra ‘experiment’ drum to add more depth. Its high SPL (dB level) made for a very punchy sound, and so we decided to keep it.
- We decided to use the M201 for our snare top, because of it’s tight cardioid polar pattern. This meant that it would be good at reducing the spill from the rest of the drum kit, particularly the hats. This helped it have an isolated sound that sat nicely in the mix. As for the snare bot, we used a SM57 as they are generally considered to be good, very versatile microphones that can fit many scenarios.
- For the bass, we used the MD421 as the main bass mic. We also decided to pair it with the Low-Freq Sub Kick, which helped us with capturing the initial impact of the bass.
- For the piano, we used 2 AKG C451-B’s, setting it up using the 3-1 method to avoid any phasing issues.
Mixing
- The levels of the overheads are much louder in comparison to the rest of the drum mics, meaning they can make up the majority of the drum mix. We felt that this produced the best-sounding end result, as the overheads already carry a large amount of the sound from the other mics, but not vice-versa (due to the placement of the mics).
Overdubbing a Pop Band (Part 2)
Pre-production/Planning
- Our second part of the project consisted of us overdubbing 2 members of a pop band. We brought in a bassist and guitarist. Unfortunately, we were unable to contact the rest of the band, however as they were both multi-instrumentalists and we were overdubbing anyways, we simply recorded bass, lead guitar, rhythm guitar and drums with just them.
- We removed the parts of the drum kit that Ollie (drummer/bassist) was not planning to use, such as the toms. Doing helped take out all the unnecessary resonance that the mics were picking up, making the mixing process easier.
- We decided to move the drum kit to the center of the room, so that the drums had a more full sound as the sound bounced from the walls and back into the mics.
- This time, we placed the overheads far apart from each other. This aided us in creating a ‘bigger’ sound, giving us more natural reverb from the room that we would not have to add in post.
- Charlie (guitarist) brought his pedalboard with him, and so we used a blend of distortion and reverb to help us create a gritty, processed sound for the guitar.
Pre-production/Planning
| Input: | Instrument: | Mic: | Notes: |
| 1 | Kick | Audix D6 | Positioned pointing at the beater internally |
| 2 | Snare Top | Shure SM57 | Positioned at a 45-degree angle, mirrored with the snare bot |
| 3 | Snare Bot | Shure SM57 | Positioned at a 45-degree angle, mirrored with the snare top |
| 4 | Hi-Hat | AKG C451-B | Positioned underneath the hat, pointing upwards |
| 5 | Overhead Left | Neumann KM184 | Positioned further away from the kit to create more space |
| 6 | Overhead Right | Neumann KM184 | Positioned further away from the kit to create more space |
| 7 | Room | Rode K2 | Figure-of-eight polarity, positioned off axis and in front of the kit |
| 8 | Cymbals (Overdubbed) | AKG C414 XLS | Figure-of-eight polarity, positioned in between the ride and the crash |
| 9 | Bass | LoFreq Sub-Kick | Positioned directly at the speaker cap at an axis |
| 10 | Bass | Sennheiser MD421 | Positioned in the middle of the cone at a 45-degree angle |
| 11 | Rhythm Guitar | Shure SM57 | Positioned in the middle of the cone at a 45-degree angle |
| 12 | Rhythm Guitar | Beyerdynamic M160 | Positioned at the outer edge of the speaker, 0 degrees |
| 13 | Rhythm Guitar | Rode K2 | Positioned at the outer edge of the speaker, 0 degrees |
| 14 | Lead Guitar | AKG C414 XLS | Positioned at the center of the cone |
Microphone Summary
- Like in the jazz recording, the sub-bass was used to give the bass control over the extreme low-ends of the track.
- The AKG C414s were used for the hats as they have high dynamic range and flat frequency response. This means that the high frequencies of the hats can be captured by these mics without any distortion.
- A M160 was used for the rhythm guitar. We decided on this due to the 160’s hyper-cardioid polarity. This made it efficient at capturing a precise, balanced sound, whilst also providing warmth.
Conclusion
Project Management
- By far the biggest problem for us was time management. For the Jazz session, Olli and I booked 6-hour studio slots respectively in 422 and 104. This meant that we weren’t pressed for time when it came to setting up and packing down all of the equipment we used. However, in our overdubbing session, we were only able to book a 3-hour time slot, which meant that with less time to waste, we felt a lot more pressure on having to set up everything much quicker.
- As well as this, a big problem for our group was punctuality. Sometimes members would not show up, which greatly disturbed our workflow. When group absences were communicated, this was much less of a problem, however when we didn’t expect an absence, it made working a lot harder.
