24103277 Yuheng Zhai

Project management

Key dates of project management

This portfolio was collaboratively produced by me, Alican, Charlie, and Sophie, from January to April.

Commercial pop

References:
The Weeknd: Blinding Lights (Structure + Synth sound design)
Michael Jackson: Thriller (80s drums)
Kid Laroi: Stay ( Backing Vocal design)
One direction: Drag me down(Lyrics)

Starting from the structure and overall sonic of The Weeknd, we built the song around it, and we were inspired and influenced by various pop tracks throughout time.

My contribution:

My work on this track was centred around sound design. During the initial writing session on 2 March at Studio 109, I worked on bass lines and synth pads within the available setup. I felt the sound design possibilities were limited without access to Serum. This led me to bring my own laptop to the following sessions, allowing me to design sounds from a familiar environment rather than working around unfamiliar tools.

Before the 23 March session, I had created several bass patches at home, and on the day at Studio 420, I designed synth key tones within the arrangement. The synthesis work across sessions included an LFO filter-controlled bass for rhythmic low-end movement, a lead synth, layered pad textures with volume automation to add movement, sub bass, and cowbell as a rhythmic accent referencing the 80s production aesthetic

Post production

The mix requires careful management across multiple layers, due to there being a lot of synth that occupies similar frequency ranges. EQ and panning were used to give each element its own space, preventing frequency clashes between the basses and synths.

In order to create presence to the vocals, a slapback delay and shimmer reverb were applied, aligning with The weeknds vocal production approach.

Evaluation

Sound design was central to this track; bringing an established synthesis workflow into the group helped speed up decision-making and saved session time.
However, the vocal production is the area I am least satisfied with. Compared to the reference tracks, the vocal feels less tight and present, though I struggled to identify the exact cause during mixing.
In the future, I would spend more time experimenting with mixing vocals, particularly on compression, to close the gap between my current and well-polished industry-level pop vocal production.

Track 2 – Acoustic track

References:

Lizzy McAlpine ceilings

Track 2 was built around singer-songwriter Mollie Green. The arrangement was built around acoustic guitars, double bass, piano, drums, and a lead and backing vocal.

The double bass was recorded using a Neumann KM183 and a Sontronics Delta 2 ribbon microphone. The KM183 was selected on the advice that its omnidirectional pattern avoids proximity effect build-up on the low frequencies while capturing the articulation of the strings at close range. The Delta 2 contributed body warmth, and the higher frequencies.

My Contribution:

The initial demo vocal recording was recorded with an SM7B. After reviewing the demo, I felt that the SM7B’s forward, presence-heavy character was working against the track, bringing out a more rock style of the vocal. It has a really aggressive quality, and it felt inconsistent with the arrangement.

I discussed with our tutor, Dan, we discussed about vocal positioning and recording distance that could help to carry out the vocals better. After that, I proposed switching to a WA251 and WA87 for the final vocal sessions, to find out which suits the vocalist the best.

The WA-251 provides a smooth and warm vocal, while the WA-87 preserves a more dark and neutral detail character. After comparing both in the session, I chose the WA-87 as the primary vocal track.

I also propose adding backing vocals to the final chorus, because I think this section could use more vocals to help build up and contrast with the previous chorus.

Post production

The two vocal microphones introduced phase issues in the mix. When two microphones pick up the same source at different distances, phase cancellation can result in a colored, filter tone. (Bruce Bartlett and Jenny Bartlett, 2016) I resolved it by flipping the phase on one track and ultimately using the WA87 as the primary vocal track.

Mollie recorded multiple vocal takes with slight variations and different dynamic levels, giving me enough material to work with in the mix. Most of these were used occasionally rather than as full layers. Certain takes were brought in only at specific sections and with slight textural differences, without overwhelming the primary vocal. Some sections remained with just the lead vocal, but others had additional layers sitting quietly underneath, creating contrast and a sense of movement throughout the arrangement without drawing too much attention to itself.

This was my first time mixing an all-acoustic track, and it was harder than I expected. With a dense production like Track 1, there are enough elements to fill the space — but here, with only acoustic guitar, double bass, and drums as the core, every mix decision was exposed. The bigger challenge was energy management across sections: the song’s structure is not straightforward, and pushing the emotional build through the final chorus required a lot of attention to levels and automation rather than arrangement. In the future, I would plan the mix structure more carefully from the start, mapping out where the energy needs to peak before touching any faders.

Reference: NPR Tiny Desk Concerts

The concept was pitched by me. I was thinking about a tiny desk-style live recording, natural room ambience over heavily processed reverb. The band recorded was Cab Driver performing with acoustic guitar/vocal, electric guitar, and electric bass/vocal.

I contacted Simon to book out the rooftop bar, who directed me to Massie Woods. After no initial response, Charlie followed up, and the booking was confirmed for 24 April 1 to 4 PM.

Room Assessment and Set Up

Before any equipment was positioned, I carried out an acoustic assessment of the rooftop bar by clapping my hands. The room is in a rectangular shape with a curved rear wall, large windows, and glass sliding doors. There are multiple hard reflection points. By clapping, I identified the room’s natural reverb character.

Based on the assessment, I made the following decisions:

• Drew the heavy velvet curtains across the windows and glass doors to reduce flutter echo while preserving the ceiling’s natural reverb.

• Positioned the band facing away from the rear wall to increase perceived room depth

• Using small sofa chairs to physically isolate different amps and facing the bass amp towards the wall and surrounding it with small sofa chairs to control the low-frequency bleed into the other microphones.

• I selected an AB stereo pair of AKG C414S for the ambient microphones instead of using a mid-side configuration. While the mid-side technique offers greater control over stereo width, the room sounded acoustically balanced after being treated with curtains. Therefore, the more open and natural stereo image of the AB pair became the better choice.

• After several takes, I repositioned the electric guitar amp to find a better balance between direct sound and room capture.

The RE20 and MD-441 were chosen for directional rejection, minimizing bleed between vocalists and their instruments. Bass was recorded through both amp and DI. The DI was brought as a backup plan for unfamiliar room behavior.

Production: 

The mix approach was intentionally to be spacious. With only three instruments, I used the Haas effect on the acoustic guitar and backing vocals to create width, and applied panning automation across sections in order to open the stereo field into the chorus. The ambient pair was kept prominent throughout the track to ensure the room remained central to the listening experience.

Evaluation:

The AB pair decision produced a wide and natural stereo image that served the live aesthetic well. However, looking back, I would have benefited from setting up a far pair in addition to the near ambient mics. With only eight channels available, mic placement decisions were limited, but the ambience in the final recording felt less present than I had expected.

The spring reverb-like ceiling, identified during the acoustic assessment, did not translate as prominently as expected, likely due to the performers’ positioning.

A far pair placed deeper in the room would have captured more of that natural decay. In future location recordings, I would prioritise a far pair as part of the standard setup rather than an afterthought.

Across the three tracks, the most significant takeaway was a deeper understanding of spatial production, particularly in the context of more minimal sessions. With Track 2 and Track 3, where the instrumentation is minimal, I had to think more deliberately about how panning, compression, reverb, and EQ could carry the energy of a track rather than the arrangement.

This shift my perspective from thinking purely as an engineer to thinking more from a producer to a composer, asking not just whether something sometimes sounds clean, but how it serves the overall track.

The three tracks also presented fundamentally different mixing challenges. Track 1 required managing a dense layered production, where the problem was frequency clashes and getting complex elements to sit together. Track 2 was the opposite problem, with only acoustic guitar, double bass, and drums. Every decision had a significant impact on the mix. Track 3 was different again. The priority was to preserve the live, recorded feel in rather than construction, keeping the room and the live performance feel at the center, rather than carrying a studio-like mix on top of it.

Another lesson that carried across all three tracks was the value of recording generously but editing ruthlessly. During sessions, I tried to capture as much useful material as possible. But in post-production, it is better to use less. The backing vocal work on Track 2 is the clearest example; most of what was recorded was discarded, and the track was stronger for it. 

Bibliography

Bartlett, B. and Bartlett, J. (2016) Practical Recording Techniques. 7th edn. Routledge.