Live recording and PA duty

Date: 18/12/09
Duration: 8hrs

I was asked by a band I know to manage the desk during one of their performances. They were to be joined by another trio on stage as well as a singer on few of their performances. They never had to manage so many musicians at once so therefore they asked if I could do it for them. Their usual sound man is on holiday and they weren't confident enough to do everything themselves. I agreed to help them and asked if it was okay for me to record their performance for part experience and also to add to my portfolio of work. They agreed and I traveled to the performance venue (smallish pub/cafe) 10 min outside Nottingham city centre.

My equipment:

• Behringer XENYX 2222 FX mixer
• Boss BR-600 Recorder
• 2 Shure SM57 mics
• 2 Rode NT1-A mics
• Pair of headphones
• Assortment of audio cables

When I arrived there I had roughly 1 hour to do the sound check which is normally more than enough but complications with monitor placements and feedback, we were still not finished when the first of the audiences started to arrive. We had further problems when the band's PA desk ran out of inputs. Their mixer was relativity small and quickly ran out of mic inputs when it was revealed that the trio they were performing with were to use multiple instruments as well as backing vocals for the singer.
I overcame the problem (just about) by using inputs on my mixer and sending multiple instrument back to their desk in stereo. This obviously limits the flexibility of having one sound per channel but time was of the essence so we had to go ahead.

 Guitar cabinets were miked up with either my microphone or their own, there was a keyboard which went direct to the desk, and couple of microphone stands for the singers.

To record the performance I took the studio monitors out from the band's desk and fed it into my desk and the headphone outs from the desk which went into the line input of the Boss multi-track recorder. This process worked rather well (better than I thought) and I managed to capture decent quality performances.

A huge problem I faced during the performance was the fact that I had to sit pretty much in front of the speakers and near the band. This obviously meant I couldn't do my duties properly. It was hard to distinguish between the sound coming out of the speakers or the guitar amp and what the overall balance was. After a unnerving first half I managed to get a another sound check during the break. This time I managed to get a sound which both the band and I was happy with.
The second half of the performance went more smoothly with minimal glitches.

After the performance I quickly reviewed the recordings, some of which I was happy with and some of which I was sure could not be salvaged. I talked with the band members and talked about possible future performances and me managing the desk and doing a official live recording for the band. After packing up everything I headed back to Derby.


 Note
The picture at the top of the page is NOT from the date of performance. It was taken after returning home. I had forgotten to take my digital camera with me on the occasion. I took the picture above to demonstrate the setup used. If I obtain photos of the event from the band members, I will update the post or post a link to where these photos can be viewed.

The recordings made at the live performance will be posted on another posting soon. I will need to tidy them up and general enhancements.

Recording Samples for Presentation/Demo

 Date of recording: 11/12/09

 Date of processing: 12/12/09

Total Duration: 3 hours


As part of my module (Computer Music Systems) I have to do a presentation on a piece of music creation/editing software. Aside from doing an overview of the system I have to perform a demonstration showcasing the abilities of the software. The Software I'll be presenting is Pro Tools 8 and I decided to do a short demonstration of its Elastic time/pitch functionality. Demo showing the ability to shift transients and pitch of a piece of a audio fluently with minimal (hopefully none) artifacts.
To showcase this functionality I had to record a piece of audio which has deliberate mistakes in them (this case timing). This was easily achieved by playing the guitar to a click track most of the time but ignoring it at other times.
I used a classical guitar for the recording. I used a large diaphragm condenser microphone running straight into the soundcard. The song in the recording is a extract from the animated movie called the 'Laputa: Castle in the Sky' by Miyazaki (Ghibli studios) and the composer is Joe Hisaishi.

I chose a suitable tempo (95bpm) and arming the click track I hit record. I played it through once and I stopped recording. Judging the length of the track I went back re-recording the track several times (to get the best performance). However I was unable to get a take I was happy with (excessive string noise, weak notes & chords etc) I decided to break it in halves and record the separately. Unfortunately, when it came to joining them together they sounded unnatural and forced. I took an hour off and decided to tackle it again. I took few takes the full length of the extract and finally I managed to get a recording I was happy with.
The only processing the guitar track needed was slight boost on the gain (roughly 4~5dB) just to bring it up to normal level (peaks hitting 0dB or just under). There was no compression applied (that will probably be done at the presentation).

For the drum sample which is supposed to accompany the guitar, my initial idea was to record acoustic drum and process it at the presentation but due to time constraints I used one of the drum loops inside Logic 8 to save time. I chose a sample that I liked and which I felt fitted the guitar track and I loaded it into Sample editor. Here I highlighted a snare (downbeat) and I shifted it so it will go out of time. Idea is to for me to correct this at the demo section of the presentation for Pro Tools using Elastic audio.

Once I was happy with the results (samples sounding good but out of time), I aligned next to each other to see how they sounded together. There is a snare misplacement early in the song plus guitar comes in little late. Drum is fine through rest of the song except the guitar goes way out of tempo near the end which will be corrected in Pro Tools.
I bounced the faulty track in WAV format and I transferred them to my stick drive ready for the presentation.

Mixing & Mastering a Track (Parallel Compression)

Date: 4/12/09
Total Duration: 4 Hours (2hours Mixing + 2 Hours Mastering)

I got a request from a friend to mix a track he has been working on for a week. Fortunately he also uses Logic 8 so it was easy to bring the mixes to my place. He saved his project file along with audio files into a external hard-drive and uploaded all data into my hard-drive using Firewire.

I started by mixing the tracks (correcting level, EQing, compression etc) to give general balance to the song. I added generous amounts of reverb to the drums because the drums dry sounded unnatural and it didn't fit right in the song. Instead of using onboard reverb in Logic, I chose to use the reverb rack inside the Guitar Rig 3.

To do this I needed to create a auxiliary channel to tap off some of my original signal to send to the reverb fx.

The dry and effected signal (wet signal) was combined on a another Bus. I created a another audio stereo track where the input was the Bus where the 2 signals combined. This allowed me to record the 2 signals onto 1 stereo track (requires less CPU power running 1 application rather than 2).
After I finished with the drums, I mixed the guitars then the bass guitar. When I was happy with the final product, I bounced the track to a single stereo WAV file.




Mastering the Stereo Track

Using Parallel Compression

I thought of using this technique (also known as NYC compression) reading a article in a MusicTech magazine. I created a bus where the compression will occur and tapped off some signal from the audio. Idea is to create 2 channels with the same audio (one dry another compressed)and mix them to personal taste. The wet signal will have more extreme compression setting dialed in but this will be mixed with the dry signal to give the desired outcome. This create greater punch to the mix and raises perceived loudness.

I constantly watch the level meter to make sure the signal doesn't run too hot (go into digital clipping)



On the wet signal, I rolled back the high signals because it was running slightly too hot and was audibly unpleasant. After making sure the levels was correct and there was no inconsistency, I bounced the track. (The combined signal after eq was more pleasant)

The Blue signal is the original signal before the Parallel Compression and the White is after. Pictures show the dynamic range has decreased and audibly the perceived loudness has increased dramatically. It increased the punch and presence of the mix.

New Composition 29/11/09

Date: 29/11/09
Duration: 5hrs

New instrumental song created entirely inside Logic 8 (including 3rd party plugins). No external sound source was used in the composition of the song. Guitar and bass was plugged directly into the Line in of the Soundcard (MOTU 828 MK2) and using emulations/digital guitar amps.


Recording Guitar

I originally had few riffs I was playing around with which eventually I added more parts to it, turning into a song. But because I wasn't initially going to record a song, I didn't want to start miking up guitar cabinets and going through the whole process (plus noise issues). So I decided to play the guitar directly into the computer using simulations. I would normally reach for my Line 6 pod but unfortunately its on a loan to my friend so I had to settle for plugins.


Here are some of the plugins I used to record Guitar & Bass:


Guitar Rig 3 is a in-depth guitar FX and cabinet simulation. It allows me to combine loads of guitar fx such as reverb, delay, phaser etc along with my choice of Distortion. Cabinets can also be hand picked (they usually are loaded up with 'matching cabinets' but others can be combined. There are also options to change the miking position/s of the virtual cabinet (close, distant, angled miking etc) and therefore is very useful and adaptive to different projects I'm working on.
Unfortunately I only own the demo version which is a cut down version (and turns off automatically after 30mins) but offers great variety of sounds to work with.

Guitar Amp Pro is a in built plugin for the Logic 8 DAW system. It is no way as variable as the Guitar Rig 3 but has few decent settings. I used it to track overdubs for the guitar to thicken the up.
I also ran the Bass sound through it to add some dirty distortion on some parts of the song.












The simple 'Bass Amp' is also a onboard simulation with Logic 8. The sounds scope is limited and I usually will not use it unless I'm using clean bass sound (even then there are some distortion). I did however manage to obtain a good sound out of it eventually and I used it in conjunction with the guitar amp pro for some parts of the song.














Drums (Sequencing)

I used Ultrabeat found inside Logic 8 to create the drum parts in the song. I had ideas about the drum parts already in my head so it was just a case of entering the data into Sequencer/Piano Roll and adding to it. I added other embellishments after hearing the drums with the guitars (drum fills, odd half-time beat etc) to give it more interesting sound rather than sounding like a drum machine on a loop.
After making sure I had everything I wanted in place, I went about de-quantizing the drums (adding swing). This gives the illusion that the drums were played by a human being rather than a super accurate machine. When drums are too accurate, many people notices the clinical sound and instantly tell you it was a sequencer or a drum machine. Adding swing gives a slight human touch to the drums.


Finishing up

To finish, I listened back to the track many times and making sure nothing was out of place. I recorded overdubs mostly for the electric guitar and added extra snare drum to the existing drum just to add extra punch.
The track has only been briefly mixed so I will probably post another post going through the mixing of the track and possibly attempt at mastering

Classical Guitar Recording & Processing

Date: 23/11/09
Total Duration: 5.5 hrs (2.5hr of recording & 3 hours of processing/mixing)


I first discussed with the musician and planned out the session before we started so I could set up everything before hand. He wanted to record a single track of guitar approx length 4 1/2 minutes long and he would like to play it beginning to end in single take rather than doing sections at a time and merging them together afterward.

Single take of this length is usually problematic because any major mistakes during the performance which cannot be rectified by audio manipulation equates to doing another take. I have had multiple experiences in the past with different artists who wanted to do similar things because they wanted to capture the 'live feel' of a performance. After hours of takes they or I weren't happy with, I convinced them to take it bite sizes at a time and eventually they were happy with the results.
This however weren't the case this time because of the level of accomplishment of the musician I was recording. I have recorded songs in the past with this musician and I was well aware of his capabilities and therefore I agreed to do the single take, no metronome guitar track.


Recording Classical Guitar

From past experiences I knew the best way to record classical guitar is with a condenser microphone. Because the acoustical output of such instrument is quite small compared with other instruments so it makes sense to use a more sensitive mic to pick up the widest range of dynamics as possible.
For this recording I am using a large diaphragm condenser mic with its pad turned off and bass roll off also off. I used generous amounts of gain/trim to set best possible level and started recording the piece. In total, we did 5 takes (with rests in between each take) and once we were happy with the result/take, the musician left and I was in charge of editing the track.



Editing/Processing Classical Guitar Track


The first thing I did was I went into automation. I listened back to the track spotting any unwanted/undesirable sounds (excessive string noises, pops, breathing etc). Once I was happy with that, I then turned my attention to the transients. Because this performance was very dynamic with high transients and low passages, I had to try to balance them out. I didn't drastically reduce transients because some could be tamed using the compressor afterward.


Compressing


For my choice of compressor I was using the Focusrite Liquid Mix 16. I used more vintage sounding compressor for this piece because it felt appropriate and it would eliminate (I hoped) of making it sound too 'modern'. I used the NEVE VR Console compressor with the 4 Band EQ of the NEVE 1073 desk.
I didn't compress heavily because I wanted to maintain the varied dynamic range of the piece.


Finishing Touches
To finish up, I added reverb to the piece to give it that spacious feel and for it to open up more (in terms of stereo) and I was more or less finished

Recording Jam session

Date of Jam: 18/11/09
Time: 12:30-15:00

Duration: 4 hrs

Setting up Drums

• I first began by miking up the drums. I used 7 microphones in total, 2 overheads, snare batter head, 3 tom heads and kick drum.

• I loaded up a drum recording template I created previously with all of its appropriate fx and routing set up to save time (having needed to leave the same day for classes).

• I set uniform gain by asking my friend to play drums and I adjusted the trim/gain to make sure the drum signal doesn't go into digital clipping.

Setting up Guitar

Because this was a jam session being performed live, miking up the guitar cab was going to be unnecessary difficult to control spill from the drums so I decided to record directly using the direct outs from the amp head (via simulated output) straight into the line input of the soundcard.
I asked my friend to play the guitar whilst I adjusted the level.





Recording/Bouncing the Jam

When all the levels were adjusted correctly I hit the record button. We did several takes to begin with and tweaked & fine tuned the trim controls. We practiced between takes and when we had any new ideas I made sure we captured it.
We did numerous takes (of varying lengths) and once we were happy we captured most of our ideas down, I went about bouncing the tracks so my friend can take them away with him and listen back to them for further ideas.

Tracking Guitar

Date: 7/11/09
Duration: 2 hrs

I recorded Guitar ideas down for my composition. I used a condenser microphone to pick up the sound from my guitar amplifier (Blackstar HT-5).










I initially tracked a rhythm guitar part down first over the drums (recorded previously) and then spent the other time playing lead over it finding the right sound. When I was pleased with the results, I selected the input channel my guitar signal was coming through and hit the record button.
Here is the clip:

Afterward I overdubbed extra guitars to thicken up the sound.

Detailed Proposal for Professional Practice

For my Professional Practices I chose to document my various forms of recordings & Processes. Primarily I will be documenting my personal composition and recordings as well as other artists and groups.

I will be recording variety of instruments for example, Guitar (acoustic & electric), Drums, piano, bass, keyboard, percussion etc. Each instrument poses different challenges in terms of obtaining the best possible recordings. I will combine my experience with additional research to get best results possible. I will also document/research new ways in which to process these recordings to further enhance them.

In the past I have recorded a album for Jazz/Classical guitar trio group (based in Derby), recorded backing tracks for a choir (based in London) for use in practice and performance and worked & recorded various artist with varying degree of experience on their instruments. I have contributed instrumentally to works of other artists.
I have on few occasions have engineered live performances but I am planning to move away from live settings and move into production more.

Currently I am concentrating on my personal composition & recording but also expanding my knowledge in post production. Learning different ways to mixing a song, processing audio, compression techniques etc.
I will be recording a EP for the Jazz trio and possibly another group in the near future, both of which I intend to document fully on this Blog explaining all the aspects of recording and post production.
Another possibility is also documenting live performances of a group I am part of. Although the band/group has been on hiatus since July, there are possibilities of live performances as well as recordings.

To evidence my activities, I plan to use different mediums such as pictures (stills) as well as video (screen capture). These will either be embedded to this blog or I will post links to other websites (possibly YouTube, flicker etc) to be viewed. I will also write detailed explanation for the activities (if necessary) on the blog to accompany the pictures and videos.

Drum recording and Mixing

Total Duration: 8 hours

Drum recording

Date recorded: 31/10/09
Duration: 4.5 hours

I recorded drums for a composition I am working on. The drums were recorded in sections varying in length (4-8 bars).
I set up 7 new audio tracks and I set the appropriate input for each channel. The first two channels are the overheads which I recorded with the X-Y configuration, 3rd channel is the snare, 4th rack tom, 5th first floor tom, 6th the second floor tom and the last channel was the kick drum (no microphone was used to record the underside of the snare).
I played to a click track at 140bpm throughout.



Mixing the drums

Date: 01/11/09
Duration: 3.5 hours

The first thing I did was to pan the overheads hard left and right. I placed the snare and kick drum dead centre and the toms were placed appropriately in the stereo field.

I used EQ primarily to cut/reduce any frequencies from a particular part of the drumkit. For example I reduced the amount of bass & lower-mid frequencies in the overheads mics so I am left with mostly high-mids and the highs. Separating drum parts by their frequencies lets them sit better altogether as a 'entire' kit but also when other instruments are added on top of it. During my corrective eq'ing, I discovered unpleasant noise/ring when the snare drum was struck.
I used a technique where by I use a bell EQ with very high Q at around 15dB gain. I slowly scroll through the frequency spectrum and listen out for any oddities (such as overly resonant frequencies).
When I discover the frequency/s responsible, I flip the gain from +15dB to -20dB. This will rid any problematic frequencies from the recording.

After reducing frequencies from various parts of the drumkit I went about adding/boosting frequencies. I added extra bass freq to kick drum, highs to overheads etc.

After EQ I decided to strip silence from recordings (other than the overheads) to control bleed. This will make the various parts of the drum kit sit better in the stereo field and allows for more greater control.
I added compression to the snare and kick drum making sure they were the loudest in the mix and their perceived loudness were about the same.

I Added small amounts of reverb to the snare and small amounts to the entire drumkit using a separate bus. I made sure the reverb were subtle and it did not make the mix sound 'muddy'.
Then I made sure each drum part's was appropriate using the faders and I went about bouncing the drums.
The drums were bounced in sections in the form of a 'loop' instead of a entire performance. These bounces were then transferred to my project were I will be adding other instruments.