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Microphone Specification

For the drum kit, we used the XY technique with the Rode NT4 microphone. The technique consisted of a paired cardioid polar pattern microphone with two sound sensors with a split XLR, one pointing towards the left of the kit and one towards the right of the kit. This works well as an overhead microphone as it is able to pick up all of the drum kit’s frequencies and it’s set up is very quick and simple. 

Alternately, we could have used the space pair technique, whereby two cardioid/omnidirectional microphones are spaced 3-10 feet apart. This technique however picks up more of the sound of the room, therefore increasing the levels of spill. One way this could be avoided is by angling the microphones towards the kit as apposed to straight out and into the room. To capture more of the room you could space the microphones further apart. I think that we chose the most efficient technique to record our drum kit, the XY technique. The microphone is most well suited and there is less chance of spill. 

With the acoustic guitar, we used a DI box. This means that we were able to get a recording with no spill from other instruments. It does however mean that the sound is very thin and unrealistic. By adding something such as guitar rig you could make the acoustic guitar sound better and richer. Another way that this technique is used is in combination with another set up such as the XY technique using condenser microphones such as the KSM32′s like we did for both Love Me Like a Man and Video Games. When it comes to mixing, the DI is used to provide a clear sound with no spill, whilst the XY technique is used to capture the realism of the room and the acoustics. Both compliment each other in combination and allow for a fuller sound. 

XY technique example

For the vocals of video games we used a condenser microphone, the SE2200A, this microphone is able to capture both the high and low frequencies and gives a nice tone. Condenser microphones require phantom power to become operational.

As an alternative condenser microphone, we could have used a Cardioid 414 microphone for the vocals, this would have worked nicely because the microphone excels in producing a clear and natural sound. This would have added a pure tone to the vocals and allowed the diction of words to pop a little more.

We also used dynamic microphones in our set up. Dynamic microphones are good for recording the louder instruments in the studio. A key example of this is the AKG D112 used on the kick drum. Due to its low resonance frequency, the response is powerful and gives the desired punch of a kick drum, allowing it to cut through the mix. Alternately, we could have used the Beta 52 to record the kick drum. This microphone however takes away from the powerful punch, as it captures mid-range frequencies. This would result in the sound being less dense and the kick drum wouldn’t cut through the mix as well. 

Another dynamic microphone that we used in our set up was the SM57 to record the snare top, it has a high quality sound capture and provides a clear sound that will stand out in the mix. This microphone I believe to be best suited for the snare top as it provides the most clear sound without sounding too bare.

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Mixing Session 2- Video Games

I again used Logic to mix this track. 

Setting levels and Panning 

I begun by putting the piano and acoustic guitar tracks onto a ‘bus track’ so that I could apply the effects to the instruments on one track.

I then set my levels to compliment each other and so that everything can be heard. 

I kept the vocals and acoustic guitar central for this track and panned the bass and piano to allow space within the mix. 

Equalising 

I focussed on minimising spill in this track, as it is a soft track where spill could be heard more easily. I didn't want to take away from the vocals so it is important to reduce spill so that everything sounds together and crisp. 

Piano

I added a high pass filter to minimise the low end to give a brighter sound. I added a low pass filter as the piano doesn’t use this frequency range, to reduce any possible spill. I then boosted the piano in areas to enhance that brighter sounded.

Bass

I cut the bass at that frequency to reduce clash with other instruments and boosted to add punch.

Acoustic 

I added a high pass filter to reduce the spill from the bass and a low pass filter to reduce the spill from the piano. I then boosted to make the piano sound push through the mix. 

Vocals

To reduce the spill from the bass on the vocals, I added a high pass filter . I also boosted where I thought necessary to help the bass cut through the mix.

Compression

I again added compression to all of the tracks to boost the overall sound. This worked exceptionally well on the vocals as before they were very quiet and were being masked by the other instruments in the quieter parts of the song. After being compressed they sound much richer, can be heard clearly and are now the focal point of the song. 

Piano

Bass

Acoustic 

Vocals

Added Effects

Auto Tune 

I again added pitch correction to attempt to rectify the possibility of notes that were off pitch, to add a more professional sound to the track.

Reverb

I added reverb to the vocals as there was enough space in the track to do so, it made the track sound more full and complete. It also compliments the vocals nicely and the sound of the reverb works well with the piano.

Once happy with my track I bounced it down. 

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Mixing Session 1- Love Me Like a Man

To mix my tracks I used Logic Pro X as it is the software that I have used throughout the course and I feel most comfortable using it. 

Setting levels and Panning 

As you can see on the screenshot below, I put some of the instruments into separate buses as they were recorded over more than one track. I did this to the Bass, Electric Guitar and Snare drum. I then set the volume levels of my tracks to ensure that everything could be heard to the desired level and to ensure that tracks didn’t peak and sound distorted. I then went on to panning all of my tracks, I did this to allow space and depth within the mix so that the instruments didn’t sound too overcrowded when listening to it. 

EQ

I then went on to equalise the individual tracks. I used various techniques for this such as the analyser, to boost the frequencies that showed. I also used various guides online that told you the frequency ranges, this gave me an idea of where to cut the high and low frequency passes. 

Drums 

Kick Drum 

This is the EQ for the kick drum. As you can see here I cut the low and high pass filters so that the sound is left with the ‘boom’ of the kick drum and to eliminate the high end. 

Snare

For the snare I cut and boosted to achieve a tighter sound.

High Hat

I boosted the high hat to give a brighter sound. 

Rack Tom

I cut and boosted the track where was necessary to add the desired boom to the tom. 

Floor Tom

I again cut and boosted the track where was necessary to add the desired boom to the tom.

Crash

I boosted where necessary and added a low pass filter to reduce spill.

Overheads

I cut the low end to reduce spill. 

Bass Guitar 

For the Bass, I looked at the EQ for the kick drum and cut and boosted the opposite to allow for space between the two, as the kick and bass have to correlate and compliment each other in sound. 

DI Acoustic 

I again cut the low and high end to reduce the spill.

Electric Guitar 

I cut the low end as the guitar doesn’t use this frequency range and boosted where needed.

Vocals 

I used a high pass filter and a low pass filter to reduce the spill and then boosted where best complimented the sound of the vocals.

Compression 

I added compression to add punch and power to my mix. It also allowed for certain tracks to be ‘louder’ within the mix without them peaking or distorting, as compression automatically makes the average part of the sound more consistent, whilst turning down the loudest. This worked particularly well on the vocals as it just helped them to shine through the mix more. It also made the snare and kick drum have a lot more punch and created a more whole sound.

Kick

Snare 

Rack Tom 

Floor Tom

Added Effects

Guitar Rig 

I added a guitar rig to the acoustic guitar to make the guitar pop within the mix as before it could hardly be heard and it’s tone was being lost amongst the other instruments. It now sounds a lot richer and suits the song much better.

Auto Tune

I added a little auto tune to the vocals just to iron out the possibility any sharp or flat notes that may have occurred within the take. 

Reverb

I aded a little reverb to the vocals to make them sound more realistic as to pick up reverb of the room. The sound also works well with this track and compliments the vocals nicely. I was careful not to add too much reverb as it would sound too heavily processed. 

I bounced down my track and uploaded it to dropbox.

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After setting levels and having a few practise run-throughs, we went on to record the final takes which we would later use for our mixing.

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We then patched in in the control room so that the feed from the live room would reach the mixing desk and so that the signal coming from the mixing desk could be sent to the band members' headphones. The above picture is an example of how we patch in in the control room.

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Patching in

We then patched in the XLR cables to the patching bay both in the live room and the vocal booth. We also allocated everybody a pair of headphones. It would be a lot easier for everybody to hear themselves better because of the fact that there is no drum kit in this track.

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Vocal set up

The vocal set up consisted of a singular microphone, the SE2200a, shielded by a pop shield for the same reasoning as in the other song, to reduce the amount of plosives in the track.

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For the acoustic guitar, we used the same set up as for Love Me Like A Man. This technique we have found to work well with the acoustic guitar and provide a clear sound that still picks up some of the sounds of the room, for an ambient and live effect. 

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Bass set up

For the bass, we used an AKG D112 dynamic microphone, positioned at an axis a couple of inches away from the cone. We used this microphone and this technique to get the right balance of sound (low and high end). 

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Piano set up

In this instance, an electric piano was used rather than the grand piano because it had an effect that simulates the piano sound used on the original recording of Video Games. This meant that the piano was DI’d directly into the patch bay, which required less of a setup. 

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This is the tracking sheet for Video Games. It clearly shows all of the information including the names of the microphones and whether or not they use phantom power.

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Recording Session 2- Video Games

For this session, we recorded for Video Games by Lana Del Ray. For this, we set up for Acoustic Guitar, Bass, Piano and Vocals. 

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After setting up in the studio and the control room we then went on to line check all of the instruments to make sure that the set up has worked and that we were receiving a signal. We did this by adjusting the gain of each channel as the band member played the relevant instrument. We also remembered to phase invert the snare drum channel and to add phantom power to all of the channels that had microphones that used phantom power. 

After line checking successfully, we did a practice take to set everybody’s levels in their headphones. 

We then went on to record three successful takes which we could choose from later in the mixing stage. 

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After setting up our logic project we began to patch in in the recording studio. We used the tracking sheet that we wrote up earlier to make sure that all of the XLR’s were put into the correct inputs in the live room 1 panel. This is very important because if the XLR’s aren't put into the right input then there will be confusion in the control room when trying to manage the levels and the logic project. The vocal microphones and vocalist headphones have their own patch in bay situated in the vocal booth. As well as patching the XLR’s coming from the microphones, we also had to patch in the headphones. Each band member had their own set of headphones. 

After patching in in the studio, we had to patch in in the control room. We did this using red cables to receive a signal from Live room 1 into the mixing desk. The vocals had to be patched in from ‘Live room 1 booth’. We then used the black cables to patch in from the headphone amp to ‘live room returns’ in order for the band members to hear the mix whilst they are playing. 

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Vocal set up

We set up the vocals using a dual microphone technique whereby the microphones are placed settling on top of each other, shielded by a pop shield. The use of a pop shield was important to make the vocals sound less harsh and reduce the plosives in the track. The microphones used were an SE1X and an AKG 414. Being the vocalist of this song, I chose this microphone technique as in the past I have used it many times and I think that the microphones work well with my voice to create a nice tone and overall clarity of sound. 

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We decided to use the XY technique for the set up of the acoustic guitar using KSM32 microphones. The XY set up means placing the microphones at a 90-degree angle to each other. this technique reduces the effects of phasing to provide an acoustic and clear sound. 

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For the set up of the electric guitar, we, first of all, had to find the position of the cones on the guitar amp and listen to see if they were working correctly. We then placed an SM57 over one sound cone and a C1000 S in the center of the other cone. We will then be able to combine the sounds of the different microphones to achieve the best sound.