Vocals:  

When recording vocals for this assignment, I used room 104 to use the busses on the desk and the analogue gear. When setting up, I used two microphones: one was an AKG414 set to a cardioid pickup and the other was a TLM102. I picked these because they are both large diaphragm condenser microphones. They capture high frequencies clearly, which works well with the proximity effect when the gain is low. The reason I wanted to use the proximity effect on these vocals is to make the vocals sit close and up front in the mix. 

I chose to mix both microphones into one recording channel before I started. I did this so that I could use both the microphones going through the Distressor compressor. To do this, I used inputs 1 and 2 on the desk to add an insert using the 1073dpa on both the microphones, making sure the gain is as close as possible into the desk to give me more control with fader mixing. I then used a group bus to group the pair of microphones and sent it to channel 3 on the desk, which then allowed me to use the Distressor on both microphones simultaneously.   

I found this way of recording was a commercially successful way to record vocals in the genre of hip-hop, as they came out very clear before post-production, but still didn’t come out overcompressed or saturated, allowing for post-production to have more control. 

When researching other artists of a similar genre, I investigated Nemzzz, a UK rapper who has a very clear vocal sound, which inspired the post-production mix for mine when researching his signal chain. This consisted of ‘subtractive EQ, compression, saturation/distortion, additive EQ, and aux send effects’ (Audio, S 2025). This vocal chain proved to be successful when compared to my own and could be deemed successful when used on many different vocals and genres. 

808 Bass: 

For the bassline, I decided to keep it diatonic; this simplified it for the average listener. This is a common trait of commercial music such as: hip-hop and trap songs usually they will play low bass frequency sub notes. Additionally, I used the bass sample as an audio only and didn’t put it through a sampler because I preferred the sound from the raw sample compared to when put through the sampler.   

When mixing this bass, I used an SSL EV2 plugin to mix the bass, boosting the low end before putting it through a Saturn multiband saturation to allow the high end of the 808 to come through the mix using a gentle saturation affecting 220Hz – 20kHz, a tube saturation controlling anything below 220Hz. This is more noticeable for phone mixes and is important for this genre, as the bass is so low, it helps bring out the higher frequency tincture of the bass. 

To hold the bass tightly in the mix and reduce the dynamics, I used a limiter to limit the transients of the bass, allowing for an even more controlled low end. 

Drums: 

When selecting my drums, I was aiming to achieve a trap drum sound. I started by selecting sounds with matching tone and pitch to the chopped sample. I then create layers such as the kick, snare, hi-hats, percussion, etc. To create more bounce in the drums, I use the percussive layers to enhance both the kick and snare. This is to create more groove surrounding the main beats of the track. To create a punchier drum mix, I used a compressor with a 30ms attack, 52ms release to control the transient release, focusing on the kick and snare using a side chain. I also used multiband saturation to create clarity with the low and high ends. Finally, I use a CLA-3A to limit the drums. 

The drums are also side chained to the melody to make them punch through the mix. 

Sample/sample chops:  

First, I aligned the audio to the tempo I was using. Then, I chopped it into half bars. Proceeding, I extracted the audio I wanted into a Logic sampler. I changed the sampler settings, taking ideas from producers like J Dilla and Metro Boomin. Both have used the MPC3000. Well, the chopping method is not the same as the MPC; I used it as a reference to the settings on the sampler in Logic. Using the sampler’s modulator, I made the sampler mono so that it would only play one note at a time. This allowed the sampler to work more like an MPC, especially when using the envelopes within the sampler.   

Creative inspiration from Metro Boomin when sampling is his use of ‘rhythmic looping’ and ‘playing with pitch’ (Alistair Gillespie 2023) to change or enhance the timbre of the original sample. Furthermore, I split the sample into several segments. This created a variety of structures and different melodies. The loops were then used for various sections, such as verse, chorus, then editing parts between to create a pre-chorus and a middle section before the last chorus.   

To highlight the sampling’s commercial success when compared to other producers of this genre, I think it holds a strong melody with lots of room for the vocal lyrically with the hook of the song being catchy and easy to follow lyrics during the pre-chorus.  

I also used a de-clicker to reduce the clicks made from the sample being chopped up as well as any clicking from the old tape saturation of the sample.   

Final master:  

I started the master by using a multiband compressor. It focused on frequencies below 90Hz to manage the lower sounds and reduce rumble. This, along with a multiband saturation, helps control the low end even more, especially when targeting the resonant frequency of the kick drum to control the amount of saturation at targeted frequencies. For example, I use a tube saturation on my low mid frequencies, gentle in the middle frequencies, and heavy saturation affecting 2000Hz-20kHz. Heavy saturation being in the high frequencies is due to the most present part of the vocals being around 2000Hz and to create commercial value, I wanted the vocals to be clear for listeners to hear through a range of different output devices. I used master compression, multiband master compression, and limiting. This helped raise the track’s level to the standard LUFS streaming platforms require. To further enhance the track, I also used oversampling and linear phase to create a much smoother, higher-quality master.

Reference list:  

Audio, S. (2025). How to Process Vocals Like a Pro. [online] Sage Audio. Available at: https://www.sageaudio.com/articles/how-to-process-vocals-like-a-pro [Accessed 7 May 2025].  

Gillespie, A. (2023). Produce Tracks Like Metro Boomin Using Free Samples. [online] Sample Focus Blog. Available at: https://samplefocus.com/blog/metro-boomin-song-samples/ [Accessed 7 May 2025].