- AE240: Analog Recording
Technology = Tape Recorders and Phun fer All!
Winter 2011:6pm - 9pm Tuesday Evenings
Week-10 Daybreak vocal comp
After you all contributed to comping the vocal, I attempted three rough
mixes. For the sake of expediencey, Below is mix-2. Please
let me know what you think as part of your final email. I used the
small speaker on the Otari 2-track to judge levels. The mix went
through the graphic EQ, crane song STC-8 dynamics processor and then to
tape.
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- Week-9: Daybreak Overdubs
Well, despite my instincts, the band insisted on recording more out of tune trumpets. What can I say except that I did not use them in my mix - what horns you hear is leakage in the vocal mics.
Immediately below please find three raw and processed mixes. Please listen to both versions of each and report as part of your final. If you see a fellow student, make sure you ask them if they read this.
I take the time to 'master' rough mixes in order to figure out how to approach my mix the next time - it is incredibly helpful. I think Ian did a nice job of extracting ambience - I think he may have achieved this by his overhead EQ and compression (that I didn't use.)
I think we all generaly like htis song, and I can listen to it until 2:13 before the vocal bugs me. Your feedback and ideas appreciated.
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WEEK-8: Daybreak Session FX Experiments
This was a two-day excursion. On Tuesday, we started Pizza to celebrate the return of the class to LH-1. We then starting with the lead Vocal and perc / vox tracks, premixing / bouncing with FX, helping the dynamics out a bit, adding some echo, muting the background leakage when possible and eleminating a vocal part that will be re-cut.
On Wednesday, we took advantage of Scott LeGere's rotating horn for additonal FX. The sample mix is below. ENJOY!
WEEK-7: "Daybreak" Recording Session
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- Here's the demo version of SITUATIONS
- brushes on the cymbals
- stick on toms
Phew! Tuesday's session was a huge amount of work - work that I wish I had at least an extra day for and for which an entire extra class of just 'technical preparation' would have been a great exercise- ah, hindsight! That said, I think our week-6 exercise will come in handy next week as we do some 'automation bounces' to help tame the wild dynamics in prep for week-9 when tey come in for ODs.
Aside from technical hurdles, the issues were typical of a young band
BASS
Tony wasn't likely playing his own bass,
the instrument needed some mechanical work and it took a while to coax
a decent tone out of his rig.
DRUMS
Travis has a cymbal bashing fetish - the
best solution would have been to break the drum part up into sections.
Even before tracking, I imagined making a loop of the opening percussion
so that the inro coulds be more elaed and soulful. It would have
also allowed us to overdub sound specific sections, like...
VOX
Kalen's vocal 'range' might have required
either two mics - one for each section - plus a frequency sensistive limiter
and some combo of exercises and pacing so that he won't hurt himself during
the intense sections. He has a pretty major sibilance problem that
I tamed a bit in the processed version. We'll get to test all theories
on week-9 when they come in for overdubs...
ROUGH MIX
If you look at the waveform for this track,
you'll see an incredible dynamic build - It took a few attempts to coax
a quick mix out of the wide dynamics. As usual, your feedback
is requested.
BANDMEMBERS and INSTRUMENTATION
Jason- cabassa (opening), organ (synth through an amp), sleigh bells (at ending), BGvox (at the end he also uses a megaphone, which we'll probably save for odubs).
Bret- hand bells (opening), glockenspiel, BGvox, trumpet
Tony- cowbell (opening), bass guitar
Kalen- acoustic guitar, lead vocals (can we use two mics, one with his mic and effects plus one of yours for a dry signal?)
Travis- drums
NOTE FROM DAN ZAMZOW
Thanks for all the extra effort this quarter,
what with moving everything into St.2 each time we do this. I really am
so grateful for your trust in bringing in good musicians, and this week
will be no exception to that. These guys are fun. Earliest I can make it
in is 5:30 on Tuesday after work... Hit me with any questions or concerns.
Week-6: Uma Bara Uma (lame phonetic spelling attempt)
My comments at the bottom of the page via
this
link...
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Week-4: Molly Dean and Dan Zamzow
- Week-3: Machine Alignment and Flanging
Week-2: Test Session
Week-1: Introduction
- The 'big deal' this quarter is that we
will be alternating class between the Control Room of LH-1 and Studio-2.
See the Calendar for details. In preparation,
the good news is that the Control Room of Studio-2 is getting some much
needed acoustic treatment. Now if we could only control 'the weather'
in that space...
Weeks 1 thru 5: Two Track and Four Track experience
On SESSION days, Four students with have defined jobs in the control room as detailed below and will then rotate throuh the jobs so everyone gets a shot. Anyone in the control room should be listening and avoid distracting talk as the engineers (and musicians) will want your feedback and observations.
RECORDING ENGINEER: operates the preamps in the tall rack
MULTI-TRACK TAPE OPERATOR: Keeps track sheets and session log on the 4-track or 24-track. Get song titles, learn the band members names, etc... Machine operates at 15 IPS, the tape will last 30 minutes max.
MIXER / Communicator: Responsible for the rough mix in the Control Room, FX sends / returns and Foldback / Cue (when aplicable). It is very important to comunicate with the band, get song titles, learn the band members names, etc., amd EVEN MORE IMPORTANT to slate each song via Talkback.
Stereo Tape-op: This is a 'logging' job. Unlike the multi-track, which will likely be stopped between takes, the logging machine will operate at 7 1/2 IPS and not be stopped unless nothing it happening.
STUDIO REPRESENTATIVE: At least one person will be in the studio to make sure the band is comfortable and that they are on mic. Other students are welome and encouraged to listen.
Below the calendar is the weekly plan...
Week-s 1 thru 5: 2-track and 4-track techniques and recording
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What's might happen is not in BOLD
Weeks 6 thru 10: 24 track
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What's might happen is not in BOLD
commentary, opinion and perspective
I often help students with mixing problems, much like what happened during our week-6 mix session. Whether arrangement related or simply 'extreme use of excessive plug-ins,' there are more gentle ways of achieving what's necessary to 'affect the effect.'
More often, our goal is to reconcile disparities between various mics and instruments so that nothing in the mix sticks out like a sore thumb. If the rhythm track is trashy and bright - for example - but the vocal doesn't match, it will be hard to hear the vocal. Do you make the vocal bright and trashy OR do you attempt to tame the rhythm section and make 'sonic real estate' for the vocal to fit. The song often dictates the choice, but it's generally better to make sonic real estate. Leave the trashiness or the final polish until after the mix is balanced. Mastering engineers can often help advise you along the way - objective ears can be very useful.
'Air' and other forms of treble enhancement - as one example of abused territory - must be done gradually. Like sculpting, it is important to not chisel too deep too fast. That said, all variations of ART are valid - you can use extreme EQ if that's what the track calls for - but there are often many ways to achieve the desired goal often by applying EQ and processing in stages.
Even as your hearing diminishes over time, your ability to listen will improve as experience adds to your 'sensitivity library.' This is known as knowing what to listen for.
THE LOUDNESS WARS have undone many of our technical achievements. We need to be able to play all different kinds of music - back-to-back, in shuffle mode - and it needs to be 'in the spectral ballpark,' a big field for sure. Future mp3 players will have 'automatic level matching software' that will eventually prove that the loudness wars corrupted rather than enhanced. Consider the following exercise...
If you listen to lots of different types of music - and want to do a compilation of same - you might need to reconcile the differences of the various tracks, especially if they come from extreme audio periods and would be an extreme mastering exercise...
Think about how different the Altecs sound compared to the Polks - and listen to what we achieved week-6. Even though this was only a rough mix for the purpose of evaluating 'what to do next,' it is very much in the spectral ballpark. The top end is there but not painful. There is detail and air. The bottom is perhaps a bit plentiful, but it is not muddy. This is a great foundation from which to start. A mastering engineer could 'tame' this easier than if it were bass light and / or had high frequency harshness.
During the final phase of mixing to tape, Ian noticed the top end was getting messy - and his perception was right - the question is, what could be done to fix it? On listening during the ride home, I noticed that there should either be more bottom snare brightness or less overhead treble. Keep in mind that it is even more important to reconcile the drums with the needs of the song as it is to know how to reconcile all the drums mics / tracks with each other.
Because of the lousy crotch mic I had at the time, the snare brightness will have to meet the cymbal brightness in the middle - help the bottom snare by carefully adding a little top to the crotch mic and possibly tame the cymbals either by lowering their level or treble EQ OR using a high frequency limiter to preserve the air but tame the peaks.
Once a drum track balance is achieved, any additional EQ - to make them fit with the track - can be applied via submix EQ, if necessary. Again, like sculpting, many small steps - small amounts of multiple EQ and compression in stages often works better than one heavy-handed 'attack.'
When the Altecs were THE studio monitor, mixes did not come out too bright - the emphasis was on balancing the vocal or lead instrument against the 'background - the arrangement made sonic real estate, with vocal intelligibility being of max importance. Vocals were mixed way up front because most people listened on AM radios or 'sound systems' without tweeters - kinda like the Altecs, but darker. The u-47 helped with its presence and along with tape and echo, it was the sound of the fifties.
We have not really made any significant fidelity improvements since then - mostly just that miniaturization has allowed more channels and reduced amplifier distortion (and a significant loss of color along the way - not bad, but different).
eddie