This log highlights my contribution to the group studio project, which involved recording tracks as a group and learning the production process, recording, miking techniques, and overall use of the studio. My group’s studio portfolio consists of 2 tracks that explore a variety of production techniques and different genres. The aim was to deliver high-quality recordings showcasing my group’s collaborative effect. I worked mainly as a recording engineer in the studio or helping set up in the live room.
Before recording any bands or musicians, the group needed to learn how to use the mixing desk and how to get a signal from the live room to the studio so that we could then send it back to the musicians. We spent a few weeks up to reading week in October understanding and refining our skills in the mixing desk and live room. This made our process of recording the artists much smoother and quicker.

18/11 – Live Recording

Then we came to record our tracks. The first track we recorded was on the 18th of November. One of the people in my group had brought in a folk singer-songwriter artist who had created a live band arrangement for her song. the instruments included in the song are: vocals, acoustic guitar, bass, drums, piano and cello. It was a really interesting arrangement and a lot of people to create a live session for. however, we had limited time and had to get a move on. We began by miking up the drums first as it was quite easy and we had gone through a basic Glyn John technique prior. I helped set up the drums and made sure the signal was being sent to the studio.

Then came the vocalists and the guitar. We found out that she was going to both play and sing at the same time, meaning we would have to set up two different mics for it. When it came to the guitar, we made sure to put on an AKG C414 but not also DI the guitar, to get two different signals and tones. It created a nice balance and mix in the track. With the vocals, we got an SM7B and miked her up all in the vocal booth, so she was isolated from the rest of the band and would mitigate any bleed that could happen.

The piano and the bass were put in the live room as well. The piano was miked up with two SM57s to capture a nice stereo mix of the piano, whilst the bass was DI’d to save time and reduce any bleed. The group needed a bit of guidance with the piano as it was unknown to us where we should place the mics but in the end, we got a nice and warm sound from the piano. The last step was to set up the cello. the group discussed and thought it would be better to get the cellist in the studio with us, DI him straight there whilst also miking him up with another C414. This way it would reduce the bleed from other instruments and make sure the cello would shine in the mix.

Due to the fact that we had a mic in the studio room recording, we could not play the full mix on the studio monitors. therefore, we connected some headphones in the studio to the mix, so we could hear what the musicians were each hearing in their headphones. One of our group members would listen whilst they were each playing and then discuss what went well and what could be improved. between takes, we would go and change mic placement or style.

As a group, we decided to record around 3-5 good takes, to get an overall feel and live mix to the song. the whole team decided and were super proud of the final project we chose to submit. It showed the different techniques, dynamic range and overall feel of the song that we were trying to achieve. the main role I played was in the studio, making sure every signal was working and also sending mixes to the musicians so they could hear themselves. What I learned from this session was that you have to be quick and effective when working with big groups of musicians, and you have to be able to delegate tasks to each person in the studio group. overall after setting up the mics for several instruments, the session went quite quickly and we got some beautiful music out of it.

2/12 – overdub project

This overdub project was completed with some difficulty. Prior to the recording on the 2nd of December, we had brought in a musician on the 25/11 to play an incredible folk song which we would then later add some drums, bass and piano to create a beautiful arrangement and overdub his vocals. However, when we came to the session the week after, ready to record and create a final mix in the studio, we had lost the files. they were saved in one of the group’s hard drives at the university, not knowing that they wipe each server every 30 days. This meant that all the project and audio files were gone from the week. therefore we had to think on the spot

I had already brought in a drummer friend to play and Ringo style drums on the folk song, so we used him anyway to create a jam session between me, Fabian the drummer and Nate from the studio group who played piano and saxophone. We made an experimental funk jazz song in 10 minutes and used the jam session as a baseline for the overdub project. We were all worried we weren’t going to get this project done in time, but I also realised this was the chance to focus and begin recording drums and piano today.

Therefore, I helped Fabian create a drum groove that we could loop for several bars whilst then overdubbing that with the piano part that Nate created with the chords. After recording the piano with two AKG C414s, Fabian went back into the studio and recorded a drum part over the piano. Now with some guidance of structure from the Piano, Fabian was able to create a funk groove on the drums and the track slowly came together. I made sure to keep Fabian and Nate on the track as I was on guitar in the jam but in the studio during the recording. Then we had the great idea to record some saxophone and have a sax lead during the whole song. We put Nate in the studio with an AKG C414 as well and asked him to overdub both the drums and piano by creating a saxophone melody that would go throughout the whole tune. We were only able to get those three recorded during the two hours.

However, Nate then told us he had 2 hours booked in the synthesiser studio and thought it would be a good idea to get that recorded. We all thought it was a great idea and by the end, a drum machine was added and Moog line and some other synths were put into the song. by the end of the day, the quick fix to a lost overdub project was starting to sound really nice. The final piece to the song that was needed was form e to record some guitar.

8/12 – recording guitar for the overdub project

By this point of the song it was getting a bit crowded, so I made sure to when I would record the guitar, not to make it too overcrowded and a hassle to mix. This was the final day I was going to be at the university and we luckily had Mixing Room 114 booked for 3 hours. We went in there to DI the guitar and then create a rough mix of the track. It was quite fun because by this point we had created a nice funk overdub song with an array of instruments that began to sound good. As a result of thinking of chords with Nate and Fabian from the previous jam session, it was quite simple for me to record on the guitar. we ended up sticking with the 3rd take and began a mixing session. first, it was crucial to pan certain instruments such as the piano and some stereo synths.

Then the next step was to get a balanced level on the faders and make sure everything sounded ok with each other. we went ahead and changed some instrumentation on an arrangement level to create a known structure, but after that, we were happy with the final mix and record that we created.

To Conclude, the overdub project was much more stressful yet the group successfully thought on their feet. We were able to create a solution to a big problem and come out with an amazing track that has several elements and overdubs of instruments. The role I played in this one came for a more creative side in the sense of arrangement, instrumentation and what was needed for the track. Then when it came to mixing, I worked a bit more on balancing the level on the faders and getting an ideal sound. The group became extremely happy and relieved with the final bounce of the track and where we got to.