I recorded the guitar and bass in this track both using DI. I used preset tones for each; both being a clean tone. The guitar had spring reverb and very slight overdrive. However this was more due to how hard I strummed the strings with a pick. The sound levels on the guitar track peaked in places but I left them in for the slight distorted effect. For the bass I set the EQ to bass heavy but the way I played it (plucking quite hard) meant that the sharpness came through.
I used an a cappella sample from "Dani California." I tried to keep this track as the main focus of the piece; I did this by boosting the levels higher than the other tracks. Because the vocals were already mixed in the original recording, all I did was add slight reverb to it and adjust it accordingly throughout the song to fit the atmosphere. The problem with using this a cappella was that it wasn't recorded to a strict tempo which meant that it was difficult to keep in time. This led to some areas being out of time, which detracted from the overall quality of the piece. I make the mistake of trying to fit the vocals to the drums, rather than the other way round. Without realising this obvious solution I tried time stretching the a cappella, manipulating it to fit the beat. This worked well in some areas but I couldn't alter it too much otherwise it would've sounded even more out of place.
I created a separate track for the word "yeah" in the chorus. I did this so that I could apply its individual level of effects and EQ. I reduced the treble frequencies, slightly boosted the bass and mids and added heavy reverb and echo.
I recorded the drums using a MIDI synth and adjusted the individual noted on Logic afterwards. Because the vocals weren't perfectly straight, I couldn't just quantize the drums to match it. This led to some sloppy beats, particularly in the breakdown with the rogue kick drum that sounds constantly out of time.
I also recorded another MIDI synth with single notes during the choruses and the breakdown. I manipulated a sine wave and tried to match the oscillation to the beat. I then added reverb so it would sound more appropriate with the surrounding tracks. I finished the song by fading out.
Blood Money (Demo)
This track includes two guitars, a bass guitar, imported MIDI drums, vocals and backing vocals. I asked a friend to play one of the guitar tracks and the bass track for the recording but I took control of the mixing.
The overall sound of "The Blackening" by Machine Head (released 2007) was a big inspiration for this track. We liked the sound of the low-pitched guitars and the fuzzy distortion they used. We tried to emulate this particular tone in this track but it came out much too muddy. This was caused by many things. Mainly, our guitars were both tuned to drop B (B F# B E G# C#) which, coupled with the overly distorted, almost matching guitar tones, led to an inevitable wall of sound. The mix also lacked appropriate registral placement - both guitars were barely panned. This meant that the majority of the sound was in the centre of the mix and neither of the guitars were easily distinguishable. The songs from "The Blackening" tend to accentuate melodic ideas with vocal lines, whereas the vocals in this song were mostly shouts. Although this was the the desired vocal sound at the time, it might have worked better if we'd focused more on pitch rather than rhythm. The cymbals in the drums were also too constant and overpowering.
All the vocals were overdubbed after we'd imported the drums and recorded the guitars and bass. We used a Shure SM57 dynamic mic with a pop shield to prevent clipping. The vocal tracks are probably the clearest in the whole song. This is partly due to the fact that I kept the additional effects to a minimum. I added slight reverb and that was it.
Overall I think the main thing that ruined this mix was the overpowering distortion on the guitars. If we'd replaced the 3-note power chords (added octave) with 2-note power chords then it would have sounded clearer in places. If I'd spent longer on panning each individual track and pushed them wider in the mix then it could've sounded less muddy. Next time I try recording metal or a similar style with distorted guitars, I will spend longer trying to achieve an appropriate tone and adjust the tone of the secondary guitar accordingly so that they are both audible.
Instrumental
The main inspiration for this piece came from two songs:
"Hollow" by Pantera (released 1992)
The harmonised guitars panned left and right with a third arpeggiating guitar and drums in the centre of the mix inspired me to try the same idea.
"Fade To Black" by Metallica (released 1984)
This piece also demonstrates harmonised guitars from 2.33, however in this instance they are both placed in the centre of the stereo spectrum to leave room for the duplicated guitar riff, which is panned to either side. This stereo technique is the opposite of "Hollow," which has the repeated riff in the centre.The difference in sound is apparent; the harmonised guitars in "Hollow" are the most prominent tracks and act as the main focal points whereas the identical guitars panned left and right in "Fade to Black" are initially used to establish a melodic idea. This melody is repeated in the verses throughout the song so a wide mix is essential to give the song a fuller sound. The harmonised guitars in the centre of the mix then act as an intentional "overdub" of this melodic idea, meaning that they are in less need of an encompassing sound. "Fade to Black" also inspired me to switch between clean and distorted tones throughout my piece.
My recording includes a bass guitar track, an imported MIDI drum track and 5 separate guitar tracks:
3 clean tones - one panned left, one panned right and one in the centre.
2 preset crunchy distorted tones - one panned left and one panned right.
I imported MIDI drums because I didn't have a drummer available to learn and perform the piece before recording. The kick drum sounds too punchy for this mix. If I were to re-record it, I would preferably have a drummer to learn and record it. This way I could try using a combination of mics around the kit, giving me more control over the details at the mixing stage.
To create the reverb, I created an auxiliary strip on Logic specifically for it with 100% wet signal. It had 3 millisecond pre-delay and 34% reflectivity. I then proceeded to send varying amounts of signal for each track to the 'bus 1' (reverb) input so that only a fraction of the wet signal would affect the original recording. To make the reverb levels more consistent, I grouped the two clean tones together and the two distorted tones together before sending them to the reverb channel. This meant that both signals for either clean or distorted would have an identical level of reverb.
After listening to the frequency levels in the final mix I decided that the bass was a bit too overpowering. To rectify this I used a multipressor in the mastering stage and cut the low frequencies by 3dB and the low-mids by 1.5dB. I also boosted the high-mids by 0.5dB and the high frequencies by 1.5dB. After listening through different systems such as Mac computer speakers and fairly basic PC speakers at a later date I realised that the mix did in fact sound a bit weak towards the low end of the spectrum. This may have been caused by poor quality headphones that emphasised the bass frequencies too much.
If I attempt to record another piece like this which has duplicated guitars panned left and right, I will experiment with recording styles. I will try using two equidistant microphones to record an amplifier and pan them accordingly rather than using DI to see how the sound differs. It will also be worth experimenting with different choices of microphones. If I intend to use multiple microphones then I will try using condenser microphones as well to capture the sound of the room and give the guitar recordings a thicker sound. Recording amplifiers and the sound of the room could produce a more natural vibe, rather than layering artificial preset tones and effects in the mixing stage.
The area of recording will affect the outcome as well. A larger area with hard surfaces such as wood or stone will produce powerful reverberation. A small space with less surface area for the sound to reflect off will produce a much shorter reverb decay. Soft materials such as carpet will absorb more of the sound, also causing a less prominent reverb. With a piece like this, where the guitars are the main focal point and stereo spread is essential, I think it was sound better with a fairly high level of reverb. A good example of effective reverb is in "When The Levee Breaks" by Led Zeppelin (released 1970). The drums were recorded by studio engineer Andy Johns. The technique used was to place the drum kit at the bottom of a stairwell and recording it from the top using two Beyerdynamic M160 microphones. The force of the reverb produced the distinctive echo heard in the intro of the song.
"When The Levee Breaks" by Led Zepellin (released 1970)
Home Recordings
Reuben Pearce - To Live For Death, Or Fight For Life
Reuben Pearce - Take Off The Edge
For these two recordings I was intentionally trying recreate the DIY sound of folk punk. I didn't mix the song after recording, I left it untouched. Reuben's inspiration for the piece came from artists such as Chad Fontaine and Jesse Stewart (such as the song below). To record them, I used an MXL 2006 condenser mic for the guitar and a Shure SM57 dynamic mic for the vocals. I thought a condenser would be an appropriate choice for the guitar to pick up the resonance and as many frequencies as possible. I used the SM57 because it is a versatile device and can withstand high sound pressure. I positioned the condenser mic as seen in the images above but I brought the SM57 a few inches closer so that sufficient sound was recorded.
I plugged both mics into a Focusrite 2i2 interface and recorded using Cubase. During the soundcheck I adjusted the gain levels to maximise the input without the signal clipping. I assigned the SM57 to the left input and the MXL to the right output and applied phantom power. Obviously there is a fairly high level of bleed in both mics but rather than trying to use each mic specifically for one task I also used the SM57 to enhance the strumming sound of the guitar and used the condenser to pick up the overall sound, including the vocals. I then combined the two signals in the attempt to give a fuller sound. Listening back to the song, I think that the vocals sound a bit too tinny. I will try using a condenser for the vocals next time to give a richer sound.
Jesse Stewart - Broke In Half
This recording is just his voice and the mandolin without any enhancements. This is how I decided to record Reuben's songs. Although my recording doesn't have a rich texture, I think it is suitable for the genre - a genre partly based on a disregard of conformity. Folk punk fans who listen to these pieces might not care how well the songs are mixed because the main reason they listen is for the message. The lyrics are distinguishable and both tracks are audible so I would say the sound suits the purpose.
Jazz Crimes
This is my mix of a recording we recently did at college. We recorded the guitar and bass using DI in the control room and recorded the drums using a basic 3 mic setup. We thought that 3 mics would not only be sufficient for this recording, but also would mean less time setting up and dismantling, as we only had limited studio time. We used an AKG D112 dynamic mic for the kick drum and two M3 overhead pencil condenser mics.
Here are the distortion levels I added to the "Solo Guitar" track. I didn't want the tone too bright because it wouldn't have fitted with the overall warm sound of the recording. I also didn't make the gain too overpowering. I just wanted the distortion to be a slight overdrive to thicken the texture of the guitar, making it stand out from the guitar in the rest of the track.
I added a small amount of reverb to the "Guitar Easy" track used for the pre-head. I did this in order to give the piece diversity and to emphasise the melodic aspect of those sections.
Here is what my final mix looked like with all the EQ diagrams, levels, panning and additional effects/dynamic processors. I didn't adjust the EQ significantly for the majority of the tracks. However, I did try to eliminate the unnecessary frequencies such as the high frequencies from the kick drum, in order to tidy up the mix. I also boosted the bass and low mids of the guitars because they complemented the overall feel I was aiming to achieve.
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