Commercial Pop Track
RECORDING
We used the Sennheiser MD441 and the DM1b to record all the horns. They have a warm characteristics is their sound capture which helps complement the mid range of the mix. With the Sennheiser capturing a lot of the clarity in the top-end it meant we had a nice blend and a clear recording.
After testing a few microphones, we used the AKG ~C414 on vocals. It had the best capture of both the top and bottom range. As she is a very dynamic and powerful singer, it was important that we used a microphone that could capture all parts of her vocal range well.
We used the DI signal from the bass and the lead guitar and we Re-amped them in the live room using a Fender Hotrod. Re-amping the guitar and bass gave the signal more fullness and body. It helped these parts break through the mix before applying any post production techniques.
MIX
I started this mix by setting the general levels across the whole track. Using a noise gate for the snare and kick tracks to help make them pop and give the drums some instant energy. Due to the style and character of this song I wanted the drums to have a real pop to them, so very minimal reverb was used and lots of saturation and compression was used across the whole kit.
I applied some slight reverb to the vocals with the reverb bus being emphasised more of the BV’s. This was to give the vocals some space and help them blend better within the mix. I used the vintage graphic to control the top and bottom range giving the vocals more presents and power.
Saturation and Overdrive were applied to the lead guitar and some to the horns. This also helped them stand out in the mix and heighten their own characteristics giving them their own space. Panning was also used to help with this, making sure that the horns didn’t sound too dense.
Acoustic Track – Song. She Lives In A Dream, Band – FROGG.
Pre-Production
The track we chose for the acoustic recording is an original track of mine from my band Frogg. This meant that there was no real large rehearsal process for a lot of the pre production elements of this recording. However I did spent half an hour warming up and going over my guitar part prior to recording as acoustic guitar recording can sound very unforgiving if not played correctly. This was similar with the recording of the piano, Nathanial who plays keys in the band knows his part super well so no real rehearsals were needed. We recording a session drummer for this recording and due to time constraints and some un-organisation on our side, the drummer only managed one run through of the song before we recording him. However, we managed to get a couple of really great takes.
The track did have some development throughout the process of recording this but largely it stuck pretty close to the original demo recording I had prepared weeks in advance. The only major development included the 1 bar of 3/4 going into the 3rd chorus and the added Nylon string parts. The bar of 3/4 started as an editing error when comping the drums, but after listening to it we decided that it creates a small area of added interest and seeming as the song is relatively repetitive we thought it was appropriate to leave it in. Similar rational was used when recording the Nylon Guitar.
Recording
Mic Choices for the Drums
| KICK IN | SHURE BETA 91a |
| KICK OUT | EV RE-20 |
| SNARE TOP | SENNHEISER MD-441 |
| SNARE BOTTOM | BEYERDYNAMIC M-160 |
| RACK TOM | SENNHEISER E-604 |
| FLOOR TOM | SENNHEISER E-604 |
| OH L | NEUMANN KM-184 |
| OH R | NEUMANN KM-184 |
| HATS | AKG C-451 B |
| KNEE | WA U-87 |
We only had 2hours to setup and record the session drummer for this recording. Due to this we went for a slightly more minimal mic setup and one that we were comfortable using. We had the kit placed at the back of the live room sandwiched between two sound boards to try and contain the sound and not pick up too much room. Whilst the group were mining the kit up and line checking the mics, I was running the session drummer through the demo track so he was familiar with the his part when we came to record. The only tricky part washing over the bar of 3/4 and making surly we got that recorded smoothly.
MIC CHOISES FOR GUITAR
We used a C-414, Baeyerdynamic MC742N (Stereo) and a WA-87. With these mics having large diagrams and a good mid to low frequency pickup these mics recorded a lot of the body of the guitar and help give the acoustic some width in the mix. We did end up double tracking the guitars in the versus and the chorus’ as even with mix and recording techniques the guitar still felt quite thin and weak compared to the rest of the track.
Mic choices for Piano
| Spaced Pair | Shoepes Cardiod Pair |
| Middle of the piano | AKG C414 |
| Back of the piano | Sontronics Orpheus |
I used the spaced pair to record closer to the hammers of the piano, this helped capture more clarity & detail, whilst the C-414 and the Orpheus were there to capture the lower end and the body of the Grand piano. These microphones having a larger diagram meant that they were able to capture much more of the lower mids which is where the rest of the track felt sparse. So the piano really helps fill that gap in later in the mix.
BASS
Our original bass recoding was done with one of the session musicians. It was recorded using a double bass and after evaluating the quality of the takes we decided that it didn’t sound appropriate for this track so we re-recorded it using an acoustic bass guitar.
We used a DI and went straight into the Goldmike and recorded straight into logic. We decided not to mic up an amp or revamp the bass as the DI signal sounded really great. Later changes were made during my mix process.
MIX
I started the mix by double tracking the guitar as it needed more body. I wanted to mix this track with the intension that it didn’t need to sound completely acoustic, even though all the recorded elements are acoustic instruments.
I didn’t have to do much with this mix as most of the desired sound we managed to capture in the live studio. However, The Nylon string guitar and the bass have some heavy FX applied. I used some heavy flange and Phaser on the bass as I wanted the low end to have this shifting electronic feel to it. Similarly, overdrive, reverb and distortion were applied to the Nylon guitar to give a more electric tone. This also helped extenuate a more electric feel to the track.
I using a vintage graphic EQ to help lift the mix and control the presents of the top end more.
Location Recording – LIVE at Howard Assembly rooms (KINO bar)
Song. Chest Full Of Gold , Performed by FROGG.
PLANNING
A few days before we had Cabdriver and Lauren Emily come in and do a practice run-through of their sets. This was so we could check everything was working smoothly through the PA and help with any teething problems we may have run into on recording day. Learning how to use the PA system and practicing wiring and micing everything up was extremely helpful and made the process on recording day much quicker and easier to execute. (Photo below – Cab driver in rehearsals prior to recording day)
The Gig had three Artists performing; FROGG, Lauren Emily and Cab Driver. Each set was 30 minutes long giving a total of an hour and a half of music to choose from. This was super helpful because when choosing which song to submit for the assignment we could be very picky. It also helped mitigate anything that went wrong in the live performance. We decided to choose Chest Full Of Gold by FROGG because it was the one that we felt had the better all round performance. However, with the sound being very dense we would have a harder time mixing it.
Stage plans
Arthur created stage plans for the Kino Bar (See below appendix’s).
Having Stage plans mapped out before setup was very helpful. It meant the whole setup crew knew where everything was meant to be at the right time. This helped diffuse any confusion and made setup run much smoother.
RECORDING DAY – Setup & Performance
Whilst I helped with the setup on recording day. My role in this was to be the performer. Were as a band needed to make sure we sounding good and our levels were strong and balanced. As there were 6 of us on stage with the space not being very big it meant there was the a big risk to much bleed and a worry that mixing would be very difficult. However, the use of the Seinnheiser MD-441 for the main vocals really helps with bleed as it’s very directional. The vocals came out much clearer than anticipated.
Panopto Links to footage from the live recording. – Short clips of the performance from the audience perspective….
https://leedsconservatoire.cloud.panopto.eu/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=f241128f-8a24-4d0b-a210-b43d00b7a75d https://leedsconservatoire.cloud.panopto.eu/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=1c890b80-dc62-4b81-b5b0-b43d00b7a76aMIX
As this was a live recording I focused on giving each player presents in the mix. I had to do lots of gain staging and fixing levels due to bleed on stage. I struggled with finding clarity between the guitar parts, but the use of saturation and EQ helps separate and re-blend those parts.
The gains during the live recording were being moved around unexpectedly so I had to use automation and added gains to keep the levels equal throughout the recording. As there was no reverb apply on the vocals during the performance I applied some reverb and used a deesser to help bring space and clarity to the vocal part.
Saturation used on the lead guitar.
I doubled the drum tracks to help with volume without making the tracks clip. I also used lots of compression to help the drums levels and presence. The drum level was quiet and felt unrelated to the energy of the rest of the band, the parallel compression and EQ used helped bring the drums back to life.
