Update: FMP Finances

From the beginning of the FMP each person given a budget of £1500 that we would be able to use for the creation of our tracks, if we run out then thats it, since we never actually received £1500 and it is all an exercise that in reality teaches us financial responsibility and pragmatism as well as it simulates what it would be like in a real life situation of paying for a session in a recording studio.

Here is a complete look at my finances:

During the whole project financial planning was key to keeping positive cash flow that would allow me to do what I wanted, I would also make sure that i noted down exactly what I spent on each session this was so it would be as accurate as possible. Session one and two I have previously talked about before of the blog as they were key to that session process, however session 3 and 4 which I have rented an instrument for 1 hour is a result of just borrowing an instrument for a few minutes to tweak and change parts, then being put back but they still need to be paid and accepted for.

The biggest session that cost the most money to fund was the recording the drum kit for my track, this I planned out well in advance and set aside £500 from the original £1500 to do so just incase I wanted to actually record them, and since i did the money that was set aside from the start was a great fall back just in case.

Since I have £730 left over from the original budget it shows that perhaps i was a little to financially conservative and i could of spent more and utilised some of the facilities that would have perhaps given my track a different audible aesthetic

Thanks
Dan

Update: Alex Dudley's session

Meet the engineer

The third recording session that I took part of was as an engineer for Alex Dudley's session in which we recorded live drums again, being the audio engineer was a new experience than before as it is the first time doing that specific role in the studio for the Alex and the group. I felt that as the engineer I was pushed a little more than before, because in previous sessions I have been the assistant many times now and the producer once, all have varying degrees of difficulty but often in different areas which can take a short time to get used to.

In the session went we encountered a few problems, the first of which was when setting up the drum kit we were missing the snare for some reason, when we searched for it we found what appeared to be a different one altogether, to resolve this problem we asked Harriet about it and we were allowed to use this new snare, fortunately the new snare had a much greater tone to it and it really helped out with the audible aesthetic of the track.

The next problem that we ran into was a missing memory stick in which contained the backing track so that our performer could play along to it precisely. Fortunately we were able to resolve this Alex Dudley had to borrow someone else's memory stick and go up to the library where he could download a copy of the backing track from Google drive, to make the best use of the time we continued setting what else we had to do while Alex was retrieving his copy. He later found his memory stick and all was resolved.

Overall the session went very well and we manage to record the drums in 3 takes, all of which we different to each other but obviously were still well suited to the track that Alex was creating, this is good because it Alex to be able to chop and change between tracks should he desire to, it also shows that we have gotten to the point where even with quite large set backs we can set up, record and pack away perfectly in no time at all.

I felt as the engineer I did a great job as I was able to set everything up that needed to be in the correct order as well as being able to level and record the audio in with no problems and I was also able to utilise my communication and team working skills when talking to all of the team, which therefore allowed me to get the best out of my self as I was able to do what the producer wanted with out any miscommunication and mishaps.

Thanks

Dan

Update: Session review

How did it go?

Did I achieve what I wanted?

Now that my recording session has finished it is time to assess and to see if the work we did in my session was what I planned to do and weather I am happy with it, the plan for the session was straight forward as it was to record the drum tracks via protools to a standard that I am very happy with that I can then work with and place into my track. The session started well and we set everything up at a lightning pace ready for levelling the audio, the pace continued through out the session as we swiftly moved on to the recording after the levelling done by our engineer, fortunately there were no problems with the inputs like we had in previous weeks when levelling audio for the track.

In regards to the actual recording of my track my performer, Alex Ross, was very competent and after a few run throughs, some without recording and some with, we finally got the complete solid recording that I was looking for from the out set, nothing to flashy that detracts from the piece and nothing too simple either. The plan with that was to play my backing track when Alex was performing thereby giving him an idea of what I wanted as well as to hear the section changes, rather than getting him to record a predetermined drum track that I had decided upon beforehand, this is because as I am not a drummer I do not really have the necessary experience when creating a realistic and more importantly complimentary drum track that can be added to my piece to add the finishing touches, therefore utilising our performers more superior experience in this situation. The only time when I stepped in to offer some guidance to what I wanted was at the ending, I felt the one that Alex had done was lacking something and it needed more emphasis, this small section was recorded in and as a result I had one really solid take that I was extremely happy and an ending that was recorded adjacent to the take, we did this rather than to punch record strait over the old one was be cause it gave me the option of choosing between the two at a later date, this is because at a later date when i come work further on the piece I may find that I originally preferred the first.

Edit: I believe the microphone choice and placement was good with only one exception, I would change the Shure Beta52A for the AKG D112, this is because the Shure Beta52A did not work out quite as planned with it giving me the crisp punch that I wanted from it due to its heightened response times when it is closer to the source, instead the recording for the kick drum was a bit flat and muddy which will require me to spend more time in the EQ stage to get it to sound right, therefore the use of the D112 would have been the better option as it would have provided a much clear recording from the start. The position for the snare and toms worked especially in conjunction with the overheads making it sound a bit more crisp but even with the position that I thought would minimize the bleed over from the rest of the kit there was still a bit which remained, therefore required more work on it reducing it through EQ to a point in which it can no longer be heard. Finally the positioning of the overheads worked well as there was no problems with the stereo balance or any problems with phasing and once it is panned into each ear it really helps to fill out the entire sound and capturing the best of the rooms ambiance.

During the session we were extremely fortunate as we encountered little to no problems at all with the whole process, from getting there and setting up to dismantling and leaving, we even managed to a avoid delays in regards to the illusive microphone clips that are always hiding in different more hard to find areas, which again helped as it reduced any potential delays that might have arose. The only real problem that we encountered and it is really more of a silly mistake that a problem was that when it came to bounce out the separate drum tracks at the end of the session there was not enough space on my memory stick to hold all of them, so to get around this I borrowed my performers memory stick so i could then place all of the recordings on the computers hard drive in the Mac room.

Was health and safety met?

We were very resolute about health and safety that it had to be a priority, so therefore we made sure that all of the wires from the microphones we the right length for the microphone, for example using longer XLR cables for the overhead microphones as they are high up and further out of the way and a short XLR cable for the Kick drum as it the closest to the patch bay at the wall. Continuing on from that we made sure that any cables, especially the longer ones, were properly wrapped around the stands which reduces the excess that could be laying on the floor that could be a potential tripping hazard, along these lines we also place any wires that had no option to being on the floor out of the way so that no one would walk around them, again reducing tripping hazards, we felt there was no need to duct tape any cables down as it would be over kill and that they were already take care of.

I made sure that there was no food or drink inside the live or control room as spillages can happen as well as again causing hazards if it was to spill on the laminate flooring as it can get slippery. When moving any of the heaver instruments or amps in the live room to make space for the drum kit I made sure that anything lifted was done properly so there is no injuries. Finally we made sure that our drummer had a good pair of headphones on that helped to reduce some of the loudness from the drum kit as we wanted him to not permanently damage his hearing.

How well did the others do?

Engineer - Alex Dudley
As the engineer Alex was more than up to the task at hand and was able to set up the computer in the control room and protools with ease with no errors which is, apart from the physical setting up of the drum kit plus microphones, the key process that allowed us to continue with such a good progressive pace that allowed us to get recording that much more quickly. Alex was polite and professional and handled any work or change of situation thrown at him to a very high degree, which helped to make my role easier as it meant that I did not have to go into any great lengths to describe what I wanted he understood and just did what I asked which defiantly saves time and reduces any consequences of miscommunication.

Producer - Me
I believe I did a good job as I was able to make sure that what I wanted to express and get out of the session that I had planed for previously, which is all down to good communication and team working skills as without them the group could not function and in the end nothing would get done. Overall, as the producer I believe that i had a good professional attitude and was able to get the best out of my team on that day as well as to take any criticism and advice from different angles that I had not thought of before from people about my track and to take them on board for the future, as we heard it many times while Alex Ross was either recording or just having a run through. I also helped to set up along with Dan as it was the best thing to do as well as it saving time which could be invested elsewhere

Assistant - Dan Burrows
As an assistant Dan was excellent when setting up it was almost like muscle memory and that he knew exactly where to place each and every microphone as well as have good communication with our performer, so when setting up he could make sure that it is in the best possible position for Alex Ross and best suited to his style of playing, which therefore means that the more optimal position the better the performance with less interruptions for incremental changes as one thing is in the wrong place, for example. Dan was hard working and very active when setting up anything we needed him to do, from setting up microphones to hunting down microphone clips, Dan really helped to reduce any potential problems as he did what was asked of him ease and efficiency.

Performer - Alex Ross

As a performer Alex was fantastic in his role and very professional, he was able to perform at the best of his ability as well as applying his one knowledge and experience to the recording as while he was performing, following the backing track as a guide he as able to create a better more complimentary drum track for the song which allowed for some good improvisation especially when doing fills. He also had excellent communication skills with all involve, from setting up the kit with Dan to talking through the talk back microphone that we had set up with Alex between takes, but more so I feel with me as he showed me some different techniques of playing that I might be interested in for the piece for different sections which really added to the piece because of how it variates from the rest of the track.

How well did we work as a team?

Overall I feel like as a team we were highly motivated and had a great work ethic and knew what they were doing from the start which really shows through, the work that we produced was excellent and proves how professional we can be when we work together as a team, like with previous sessions, there were great team working skills being utilised with positivity radiating outwards which created an excellent working environment, with everyone working collectively towards one end goal. I feel like if there were any serious problems that would have arisen that we as a team would find a solution relatively quickly with a positive attitude that it could be resolved not matter what it would entail.

Main strengths of the session?

The main strength of the session is clearly our chemistry when in a team collectively working towards a target as it really shows our skills as well as our ability to stay cool under pressure. Another strength that is more in tune with what we did during this session is that as a group our collective pool of knowledge and experience has expanded in relation to setting up the drum kit as well as microphone placement, or any instruments really, has allowed us to get an edge that means we reduce any time wasted with could be invested elsewhere. Finally a strength that is specific to this session is that we were incredibly fortunate to only run into one minor problem which was resolved with ease, which was the issue with a memory stick, this allowed us to save so much time and effort and actually contributed to the relatively stress free and positive work environment as everyone just knew what they were doing it allowed them to just get on with it.

Thanks
Dan

Update: My session plan

My session plan

Overview
When listening to my track I realised that it was lacking an authentic feel even with the guitars and bass done at this point, so I decided to book a time slot for a recording session both in the live room and control room, as they will both be needed in conjunction for the session, and this session will take place on the 30th of April at 9am - 12pm. In the session I am going to record drums for my track as they will help to sonically fill out the sound and to give a realistic live sound to the track, which will help to make the track sound more complete as a hole rather than lacking something. Another reason for doing this is that I wanted to replace the midi drums that I was using, as they felt too robotic and that if I was to use a real acoustic drum kit, when used by a drummer they can make the track really stand out, again adding to the overall effect.

What's my role?
My role is the producer making me responsible for getting any work that I want done in the session complete on time, to a standard that I am happy with that is in time and a complete piece, meaning that I wont have to spend time later on in logic working with it to get it how I could have done in the session beforehand. My other responsibilities included making sure that all of the people I have brought in to work on the track from the assistants to the performer work well and do not slack which would therefore ruin my session leaving me loss of money and no result at the end which would mean I would then have to do another session costing double for what I should have gotten at the end of the first. My role also requires me to be an assistant as well to a degree, getting hands on and getting involved can be some times more beneficial than to do sit back and tell others what they should be doing, this is because I can just get it done what ever is in my head rather than have any miscommunication, apart from that it also just saves time when setting up which is important as it gives us more time to work on the performance, by that I mean more time to do more takes if needed.

Equipment list and cost's

Setup of drum kit and Microphones

Edit: Microphone placement

As you can from this picture I will be setting up the microphones in a more orthodox fashion by placing a microphone on each drum, that will pick the best quality sound it can from its corresponding drum, and then using a set of overheads that will be able to record the entirety of the drum kit as well as some of the rooms natural sound and ambiance. The distances give will be an estimate in inches as it will be difficult and far too time consuming to determinate and measure the exact distance of each microphone placement, so therefore, when setting up I will just determine the best place for each microphone by eye.

The kick drum on this particular kit is often notorious with sounding flat and lifeless sometimes, so i wanted to make sure that I could try and capture the most out of its initial punch as well as trying to cut down on the muddiness that will be recorded. To do this I will position the Shure Beta52A around 3-4", facing directly towards the beater, into the cut-out on the exterior skin of the kick drum, as this should encapsulate the microphone enough to reduce some spilling that may occur from the rest of the kit if it is too far out, as well as increasing the treble that will be picked up and using the increased response times of this mic to its fullest potential.

The microphone on the snare will be place about 2" away from the skin as well as being at a fairly straight angle, around 120 degrees as well as trying to face it away from the rest of the kit. The microphone will be placed like this for a couple of reasons, the first of which is because of how the instrument is played, since it is struck the microphone needs to be positioned well enough so it gets a solid recording of the sound but mainly so it is not knocked by the snare drum or the performer which could ruin a recording. It will be positioned at the top of the snare with an angle of around 120 degrees and 1-2" over the rim, this is so it does a couple of things, the first of which is so it facing away from the rest of the kit which should help to reduce any spill from the rest of the kit but mainly so that it can capture the sharp, high attack sounds as well as some of the more subtle nuances like rolls and positioning on the snare itself, I also wanted it to maintain some of the snap that the snare naturally possesses which is why it is more to the edge rather than the middle.

This drawing just shows an out line of what it would look like, the snare itself will generally not be completely flat as the performer will angle it to suit them, thereby making the positioning of the mic more effective.

The position of the microphone on the high tom will be around 2" from the skin of the tom to avoid problems with any movement with the drum itself and to get a solid tone, to get the best tone i could from the high tom I positioned the SM57 2" in towards the centre with an angle around 120 degrees like previously with the snare. The angle and position all work towards giving the best tone possible to far out or high will produce a thin sounding tom which would sound week to the ear. With the positioning I have chosen I should get a great tone with plenty of mid-high frequencies while capturing some of the low-middle frequencies to complete the sound. 

The microphone placement for the low tom will be similar to the high tom as it will be about 1-2" of the skin of the drum and about 2" in towards the centre as well as at an angle of around 45-50 degrees, this is because I am looking to capture good solid mid tone with enough lower tones to really give a more powerful sound while still getting some higher tones that will just add to the overall sound by brightening it.

For the floor tom I will again position the mic in a similar manner like with the other toms as I am looking for a quality tone more than anything else. It will be at an angle of around 45-60 degrees pointed towards the centre at a height of 2" off the skin so I can get a good lower-mid tone which shouldn't be too muddy. The only difference between the floor tom positioning and the others will be how far in the mic is positioned as it will be about 3" in towards the centre, this is due to the drum just being larger and therefore the mic needs to be moved closer to get the best tone. 

The overhead microphones will be at a height of 6' from the ground meaning they will be about 2-3' from the highest point on the drum kit and will be angled at around 60-70 degrees so the cover the entirety of the drum kit. These mics will be a stereo pair which means they must be positioned at the same angle and height otherwise phasing will occur and could ruin a take due it giving off an effect that will be clearly audible and would be difficult and long winded to remove, the best option is to make sure they are properly set up before any recording starts. The overheads will be positioned like this for a few reasons, the first is that the microphones are extremely sensitive and have a delicate diaphragm which can break if something too loud is played, particularly snare drums when recording a drum kit. Another reason why they will be positioned like this is again because they are extremely sensitive, but in a positive way this time, by that I mean that they can capture a rooms natural sound profile and ambiance that helps to bring out the liveliness of the drum kit and make it sound less artificial. The angle of the overheads is also key to getting the sound just right, subjectively depending on the producer, because if the are too horizontal they will record little due to the particular polar pattern that condenser microphones like the ones I am using, AKG C1000, have as they are incredibly point able, therefore a good balance is required.

Microphone choice

As you can see from this chart I have comprised a list of microphones that I will be using in the following session, each microphone that I have chosen has been picked out because of a particular feature or role it is best suited to, such as having a high sound pressure level, SPL, which means the amount of volume (DB) it can record without it being damaged or losing any quality in most cases the higher the better.

The reason why I chose to use a Shure Beta52A to record the kick drum, firstly due to it being designed as a purpose built microphone for recording kick drums or bass guitars which means it has features on it, for example one feature is its super cardioid pattern which means it picks up the majority of sound from the front and very little from the sides and generally very little to none from the rear.

The main reason why I have chosen this microphone is because of its higher frequency response at louder volumes/closer to the source which should compensate for the initial lack of frequency response when compared to the AKG D112. This is what will give the best response from the initial impact from the beater onto the drum skin which will be the loudest point and therefore give the best bass frequency response out of the available microphones.

However when compared the AKG D112 has the better low end as it can pick up lower frequencies than the Shure, which is disappointing as it will perform slightly better than the Shure, however the reasoning why I have chosen the Shure Beta52A remains as it is more responsive at the higher volumes and frequencies which would therefore allow me to get a more sharp rock style sound for the kick drum recording when in comparison to the AKG.

I chose to use a Shure SM57 which is a dynamic microphone to record the snare, Low tom and high tom because of its great frequency range and its ability to handle high SPL levels at those ranges which is needed in the case of the snare drum as the volume it produces could damage more fragile microphones like condenser mics. Firstly this microphone has a cardioid pattern which records most of the sound from the front and some from the sides and back, therefore with this recording things like the snare and toms I may get some bleeding from the rest of the kit, however, with the correct positioning like I mentioned earlier it should minimize any excess sound that I will get.

As the SM57 has such a wide frequency range it can be used for the toms to help get the best possible tone when positioned right, however this mics can often sound like they have too much bass which means that the recorded instrument can sound muddy but I think with the specifics of the room and the positioning of the microphones like I mentioned earlier I will get a great tone from the use of these microphones and if the sound is still slightly too muddy I can EQ them at a later stage, however to do that I will have to make sure the recording sounds excellent as I will only really have one chance due to the studio and live room being in popular demand meaning it will be hard to get a booking to re-record anything should it sound wrong. 

For the overheads I chose to use a stereo pair of AKG C1000, this is because they are condenser microphones which are incredibly sensitive to sound and can capture sound from a greater distance than almost any dynamic microphone. being able to record sound from a distance is important because they can not tolerate the SPL levels of a dynamic microphone like a SM57, further more if they were to be used in a similar way to a SM57 recording a snare, for example, then they would break as the diaphragm inside the microphone would break as it would be too much for it too handle. Therefore, it means that you would then have to go and replace it, or if it was on stage at a performance it could ruin the whole thing. In order to be able to do all of this condenser microphones require phantom power, which means that they need to be powered through a mixing desk or patch bay. The AKG C1000 are hyper cardioid patterned microphones which means when they are extremely point able, by that I mean they record only in the direction they are facing and very little from the sides if any at all, this is good for a pair of stereo overheads as you can position them so they are capturing the kit the best as well as any ambiance of the room due to their heightened sensitivity. The frequency response is almost flat through out almost with it dipping in the low end and peeking at the high, this means that it is good at capturing all of the frequencies present with the exception of the very low end and therefore means they are well suited to record the entire kit as other microphones would not be able to do it well even at all.

The last microphone I used was a Shure Beta57 which is very similar to the normal SM57, however where it differs is that it is a super cardioid where as the SM57 is has just a cardioid polar pattern which means that it is a bit more point able recording more from the front and records less from the sides and back. The other change is that it has a better frequency response the closer it is to the sound source than a SM57 meaning that at a much closer range it potentially would be able to record an instrument with a bit more clarity than a SM57. However, the only real reason why I would take this mic to record the Floor Tom is because there is only three SM57's and this does the same job as them but slightly better depending on the final positioning of the microphone and what you are recording, since it is a floor tom I still want it to capture a great tone.

The Other studio roles

Engineer
The engineer for my session is Alex Dudley whose role is to level the audio and to make sure there is no clipping when recording as well as to apply any necessary enhancements to the audio like a compressor and finally to set up the computer and Protools.

Performer
The performer for this session is Alex Ross whose role it is to play the drums to best of his ability for the track, for my session I have told Alex to play roughly along to the backing track for an idea of what I what, but I also wanted him to mould it around his style to make it as authentically real as possible to help the track really stand out.

Assistant
The main assistant for the session is Dan Burrows whose role it is to help set up any equipment that we ask him to as well as to fetch and carry anything we need of him, in this case through his role will mainly consist of setting up the drum kit and microphones as well as to take it all down at the end of the session. When it comes to assistants however, even though Dan will be the main assistant we will all be helping to set it up and to dismantle it at the end of the session as it will inevitably help to save time that otherwise would have been wasted

A final note, this is obviously being written up later than the session and has already taken place, this is because I had already done one session plan at the time but I did not upload it via the blog so this is that however, I have also added a lot more detail as the original was extremely Spartan in detail and only covered the basics.

Thanks
Dan

FMP: Overall update

What's going on...

This is just to let you know that the track is progressing nicely and that at the stage I am mainly making tweaks to the track here and there adjusting synths, guitars or the effects to get the track sounding how I want it to in my head. I feel like I have not mentioned the main theme of the track and EP entirely until know, the idea is to have a story driven EP that like most stories progresses from point A to B and my track is the introduction to the that being the first track on the album. The setting of this EP is in space, we chose this location since it is synonymous with psychedelic and modern electronic music, obviously to varying degrees, but mainly that setting works best with the styles of music that we are creating our music in and around, it is also the epicentre of mediums in which we, as a group, are generally interested in I.E books, films and video games.

Thanks

Dan

Update: Mat's guiar recording session

Mat's recording session

Acoustic guitar

The second recording session that I took part of was as an assistant for Mat Quinn in which I helped to set up the equipment for recording acoustic guitar or his track. We first moved he acoustic drum kit as well as any equipment out of the way so we have a comfortable space for Mat to record his guitar as well as enough space for the microphones to stand without getting knocked by anyone, which could ruin and disrupt the take.

Once the space was cleared we set up the seating position for our performer that he was comfortable with we then set up the microphones around Mat which means that we can set them up optimally for our performer as well as for tone, we were using two SM57's one placed a the sound whole and the other at the neck and ran them in protools, we also used a SM58 for a talk back mic which when used in conjunction with head phones allows us to communicate clearly without any miscommunication.

There was only a few problems that we encountered, first of which was trouble with XLR cables for the microphones, due to them being just worn out with constant use which meant that they needed replacing to make sure that we had a good quality recording. The next issue that arose was a problem with Protools, when we were recording the audio in a stereo track with the two mics it would cause the left mic, which is placed at the fret board to become incredibly quite, to fix this we had to work around it and record the mics in two mono channels one for the left and one for the right, this was a pragmatic solution, by meaning what we did worked but it then requires a little more effort to get it to sound completely stereo, meaning to sync both tracks up perfectly otherwise there will be problems which can be heard immediately. The final problem that we encountered was with one of the rotary pots on the desk itself, top left, as it had a loose connection and would not allow us to properly level the audio, to fix this our engineer used a Digi 003 to increase the gain on input one to properly level the audio. One thing that should be noted which is an issue that occurred when recording the guitar, was that a compressor was needed for the recording as it goes from loud to quite regularly and that it needed to be evened out, I do not believe that this is necessarily a big problem as it is quite common with the style of playing Mat did for his track.

Overall I feel like the session went extremely well everyone was in a positive frame of mind and worked hard, we managed to get the sessions recording done, with all the problems, in a relatively short space of time without rushing and getting great quality recordings with plenty of tone for Mat's track, we then carefully packed up what we had used and left

Thanks
Dan

Update: FMP Guitars

Update: FMP Guitars

For the latest update I have been working on the guitars for my FMP track, both the rhythm section and the lead. The goal that I had set my self at the start of the session was to get the rhythm guitars recorded in at a standard that I am happy and comfortable with as well as to record the lead guitar in at the same level of quality. Fortunately from the last session that I had done I managed to get some of the recording complete, but I felt it was lacking something as well as feeling a bit rushed, however this has allowed me to save some time on finding an amp as I have already got one that I like, chosen and set up from the last session as well as blocking out each section that I will do in a demo form so I can just re-record it but in a better manner.

The equipment that I will be used was:

• Epiphone electric guitar (£20)
• Jack cable (£20)
• Scarlett 2i2 Focusrite audio interface (£0)

The total cost for all of this is was £120 for three hours, this is not the cheapest option but it is extremely convenient as all the equipment is already here with no need to transport it around with the fear of it breaking or getting stolen. I recorded the guitars in a similar fashion to the bass, as I recorded them in sections instead of one long passage, the reason for this is that I felt that I could record it just as well if not better in the sections than one long continues section, but mainly i felt that trying to record the whole thing would take longer as any mistake during in the recording would halt progress and cause me to start ageing, therefore recording it into small sections was there better idea as it gave me greater accuracy as it could really scrutinises that section until i felt it was right and speed.

Rhythm and Lead guitar parts

When I finally recorded in the Rhythm guitar to a level that I was happy with, in time and to a good quality, I then duplicated it so I could pan one guitar into each ear to give the track a much thicker fuller sound that hopefully would really resonate with the listener and to give an overall better sound. After I recored the rhythm guitars I then moved on to the lead guitar which I wanted to originally have a Q & A feel to it but then I changed my mind thinking that it did not really work for me, however I did keep an element of that with the main riff at the start of the track. After that I wanted the lead to harmonise with the rhythm more rather than be too overt and in your face, I also changed the amp settings to make it cut through the mix more by increasing the top end EQ and boosting some of the gain as well as reducing some of the bass and the middle EQ therefore giving it a more specified place in the mix rather than mixing too much with the rhythm guitars and becoming too muddy. Finally I added an additional guitar to the song, the reason for this is that since this is meant to be an atmospheric space track it felt that it was missing some of the atmosphere so the added guitar track giving a almost frantic and discordant sound in small specific sections of the track give it that darker more atmospheric feeling.

Edit: I chose to record the guitar parts through DI because of a few reasons, firstly I applied the experience from recording in the bass through DI and it made the recording very clean and pure which would allow me to change it how I wanted, again from effects to amps, without having to worry about noise from the recording and forcing me to compensate through the use of EQ to cut it out. Another reason is that I wanted to record in the parts and then arrange the recordings on the Mac as I went, this would be possible if I was to record in the studio with an amp or with DI in the control room, however it would be an extremely longwinded and time consuming processes that I could do easily within the mac room at my workstation not to mention a waste of resources, and I would only be paying for the guitar and lead rather than a studio/control room. Another reason why is that since some of the lead guitar parts had not been decided upon I would therefor need to think of them as I go, which would still be possible to do in the control room but be again longwinded and wasteful of resources since it would be exactly the same as doing it in the mac room.

Thanks
Dan

Update: Mat Quinns Session Review

Recording assistant for Mat Quinn
Session Review

The first session that I was apart of in the studio was as an assistant for Mat Quinn who was recording the drums for his track. However, immediately we ran into some pretty major problems; first and foremost the Hi hat for the drum kit was broken, the chain had been snapped that allowed the Hi hat to function, this therefore halted any progress while we had to decide what we were going to do although ultimately it was Mats decision as he was the producer and his session we were working on.

With the Hi hat broken and it being key to Mats recording, we had no real other option than to use the electric drum kit otherwise the session would have been completely wasted. When using the electric drum kit we firstly brought it in to the control room as there was no real need to patch it through from the live room as that would have just being creating work that doesn't really need to exist, next we brought in a monitor wedge so our performer (Alex Ross) could hear himself when playing as well as being able to hear the metronome, therefore being able to play in time and at the same standard when on the V-drums as the acoustic drum kit. We ran the electric drum kit through Riches laptop using logic to record both audio and midi, which would therefore allow Mat to choose what he wanted to use from the two.

As one of the assistants my job was to just help with the set up process and to dismantle when we are finished this can take a while with the acoustic drum kit as there are many microphones that need to be set up on stands; plugged in, as well as moving anything that could be in the way or even trying to find items that are needed but have been misplaces, this usually is the microphone clips as they are never put back properly meaning a lot of time can be wasted just finding them. However in this case since the Hi hat was broken rendering the acoustic drum kit out of order, I helped to move the electric drum kit into the control room as it was the best solution to the problems that presented themselves, as we were still isolated from others, meaning we went disturbing anyone else's doing work while still being able to record drums. We were happy that it worked out in the end but remained a little disappointed because we wanted to set up the drum kit but obviously not had the chance, but the drum track was recored well with the V - drums with plenty of time left for the session which allowed us to really scrutinise and get as meny takes as we wanted but it only took a few takes which allowed us to really get one that we like and then put back the kit with time leftover to then work on other things.

Cheers
Dan

Update: Bass session .5

I forgot to mention a few things

I did get the bass recorded in with time to spare and because of this I did move onto recording in some of the rhythm guitar parts, with the guitar I managed to get the chorus section and the into done with the remaining time that I had left. However, to me if felt rushed in parts so that for the next session, in which I was going to be recording in the rhythm guitar anyway, I will be re-recording in the parts again; this may sound like a waste of time but through doing this I had found the sound that I want with the guitar amps in Logic, which can take a long time due to it being solely personal preference. I can also use the parts that I have recorded in as a guide which will help when I come to record in the guitars again it will help to hopefully speed up the process without feeling rushed or lacking in quality.

The plan for the following session is to record in the guitars competently with no mistakes, in time with a good quality timbre to them, the goal is to get them recorded in and if there is time to move on to the lead guitar parts.

Thanks
Dan

 

First update: Bass DI session

update *Edited*

This first update is what happened when I recorded in the bass, as I mentioned in the previous post I was going to record in the bass and then if there was time I was going to record in some of the rhythm guitar parts as well, due to the fact that it would save some time in the next session and it would not take any more money out of the budget because of the face that after you have rented one instrument you can use any others at no extra cost.

At the start of the session I decided and planned out what I was going to use, instrument wise, as well as any additional items that would need to be budgeted for like leads or microphones, fortunately I only needed the bass guitar and one jack lead, this cost me £110 for the full 3 hours at £20 per hour, this is expensive for what I am doing but for that price you are paying for convenience since the instruments are already in the room with no transportation required. I also set myself an end goal for that lesson which was simply to record the bass in to a standard that I am happy and comfortable with and then any extra work done is a bonus. I recorded sections one at a time, so chorus and verse for example, this meant that if I get one really good take for that section I can then duplicate for the next time that part would be used I.E for all of the choruses, this meant that it would not only be able to record in the parts accurately but also save time as I would not need to keep recording in the same section over and over, wasting time that could be invested in elsewhere.

I did eventually get the bass guitar was recorded in to at a nice quality that I was happy with that was in time and had a great sound to, like I said I recorded it section by section progressing through the piece, in most of the sections I created new bass lines rather than recreate the midi outline that I originally set myself as an idea. This is because I felt that the bass was bland and had no real depth to it and in some parts it would sound discordant, therefore, creating new bass lines was the best solution as instead of working around the problems in with other instruments I created better more lively bass sections that actually work better with the theme and the track as a whole providing great tone as well as melody that adds to the track.

Edit: I chose to record the bass through a DI rather than to mic up an amp, or to even run a DI through it, because of a few reasons the most important is that the DI box, in this case the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2, gives the bass a much cleaner tone than an amp as the DI gets rid of any line noise that could occur when recording which therefor makes for a more pure tone and gets rid of any noise that you would then have to EQ out at a later date, that's if it could be done at all. The other positive effect that it gives is that its easier to control as well as manipulate at a later stage with EQ or effects, such as the wide and varied assortment of amps that I could choose from, rather than having one tone recorded in a separate studio that I would have to stick with unless I went back at a later date and re-recorded the bass track. The final reason why I recorded it through DI rather than an amp or other means is that since I am recording at my workstation I can edit and change what I am recording in on the fly. I could do this for example, if a note was clashing with the synths and needed to be altered, whereas if I recorded it separately and then found out something was amiss then I would have to book the studio time again, which I may not necessary get, and would cost time and money to do so, and would therefore just add pressure to the rest of the track.


 Thanks
Dan

The first of many...

What's going on...

This blog is a little belated, and for that i offer my most sincere of apologies, so first I shall talk a bit about what it is that i am doing, why and how it is going. To start with this is a blog detailing the creation progress about a track that i am doing for my Final Major Project (FMP), my track is part of 5 tracks on my groups EP that can only be described as an experimental electronic surfer rock and symphonic EP witch is centred around a space theme in which a pilot gets lost in space. This blog though will mainly cover the more important and complex parts around it but mainly any recording sessions with acoustic instruments like guitars and drums, midi generally will only be mentioned in passing as it is for the most part not that note worthy. Next i want to explain why, in short this is for helping to document progress as well as to help keep me up to date and focused on what is planned for the next recoding session.

Now to make the first update of the track and talk about how it is going. The entire track has been finished in a demo form, as it blocked out in midi. What? this means that I am at the stage where I can record the live instruments and replace the midi, this therefore is progress and will be what is happening in the next session, as I will record in the bass guitar through DI and if there is time I will record in the rhythm guitar parts as well. However, I would rather take another session to record in the guitar separately on a different day than rush any attempts with the bass. I have Chosen to DI the bass directly on to the computer that I am using as it is much simpler and any use of a studio just to DI a bass is a waste of time and money as I would be doing the exact same thing, however it would be something to consider if I wanted to get a specific sound from an amp, for example, as then I could record it in the studio using a microphone without disturbing anyone else but also getting the sound that I want, but that being said for me in this case, it is completely unnecessary. Normally the first live instrument to be recorded in would be the drums, however, in this case I will have to book studio time which at the moment is going to be sometime in the future due to me not finishing the track idea before now meaning the drum recoding has been pushed back further and further therefore recording the bass and other instruments in first is the smarter move as the midi drum track will give me the guidance I need to Finnish those instruments and then book session time later in a week or so probably. This will eventually make for the a much more full sounding track once all of the parts for the track have been added and turned into fully flushed out track with all the trimmings. Boom That is all.

Dan