There are a few things that I would like to do differently next time. I wished we would have experimented with different microphones, just to see what it would sound like (even if we don’t use the recording with that microphone). I would also set up another one or two microphones for the guitar facing the fret board to pick up the sound from that angle and get more of the fretboard sounds. For the vocals, I would have liked to maybe use another microphone, using some kind of recording technique (like placing two mics on top of the other, or placing two microphones side by side). I would also have them being two different microphones so that we could experiment with the different sounds and so that I could layer the vocals (and even the guitar) with it. I would also next time, use a pop shield as we didn’t and that caused for the recording of the vocals to sound slightly distant as Sophie was not singing close to the mic in fear that she would cause the mic to pick up the pops and clicks of her words.

When recording, Dan stopped recording a little too early as the guitar was still ringing out, and so it was cut a little too short. However, when mixing I faded the audio out so that it didn’t sound like it was cut short. Next time I will make sure to let whoever is in the control room to let the guitar ring out, so the song can have a more natural end. 

Making the Intro:

At the start of the song I decided to add a bit in where Sophie talks. She said this before we started to play the song when we were recording one of our takes. I had the idea of manipulating the sound so that it would sound like she was talking through a telephone. I decided to add it at the start as some kind of intro to the song. I then decided that I wanted the guitar to play while she said it, so I copied the guitar track and converted it to a new audio file so that, when I changed it, it wouldn’t affect the original track as well. I then cut it down so that the guitar only goes through the chord sequence once, as that’s the amount I wanted. I had to be careful cutting it as the bit that I wanted the guitar doesn’t really stop (there’s a few pauses but the guitar is still ringing out and so I had to find a little pause at the end of the chord sequence and zoom in to cut at the part where there is less sound but just before the next strum. I then made sure to go into the audio file and make it fade out, and silence the audio that wasn’t being used anymore, that way it makes sure there are no clicks or pops in the track.

Buses:

I sent some of the track through to buses that have effects on (like reverb or delay), instead of putting the effects straight on the channel strip, as it’s easier to adjust the levels of the effects.

Automation:

I also used automation to adjust the levels of the decay in the reverb of the guitar intro. This was so that it would almost distort and ring out for a few seconds before it goes into the actual song. I then used automation again on the volume of the bus with all the effects of the guitar intro, so that I could get the effects to stop as soon as the track comes back in. 

Panning: 

Compression:

I added compression to the guitar and vocals. This is to tighten up my audio by reducing sounds that may go over the level I put the threshold to. This smoothes out the dynamics. It also helps with softer parts of the track not be inaudible. The guitar and vocals were pretty soft so there wasn’t much compression done to them. 

Reverb:

I added reverb to both the guitar and the vocals. This was to add more warmth and space to the track. I did this because the track itself seemed too empty and not full enough (I wanted it to sound more fuller). I didn’t want to make it too dramatic so I kept the levels of it just enough so you can hear it but not too much that it’s overpowering. 

Echo:

Beginning to mix:

My recording session: 

We asked Dan to help us record as we needed someone in the control room. We decided to go for a live kind of recording as the song is acoustic and we wanted to capture it in one take, so that it would be more natural. We had one microphone each, as if we were playing live but with better quality microphones. We chose condenser microphones as these are better for picking up all sounds that are made, especially softer sounds (like singing and an acoustic guitar). They pick up more delicate sounds and have a wider frequency response range as they have a thin diaphragm and increased sensitivity. We chose the Neumann U87 Ai microphone as when researching about mics we found that it was commonly used for studio recording and it sounds very natural and clear. 

The set up:

Before setting up, we discussed how we wanted the microphones to be set up and what would be the best positions for them. We decided that we would each have a microphone on each side of the room with a board in between us. The board would help separate the sound of the guitar and the vocals, so that the microphone that is recording the guitar will only pick up the guitar with only a little bit of bleed from the vocals (and vice versa). We also placed the microphones facing away from each other so that there’s less bleed. To record the guitar, we placed the microphone at the height of the strings, facing the hole in the guitar. This is where the microphone will pick up the guitar best, at a good quality. I had to sit when playing the guitar as I didn’t have a guitar strap, but also because that’s how I’m most comfortable playing, so we got a stool for me to sit on. 

Once the microphones were set up, we then moved onto a sound check. We made sure that we put phantom power as we used condenser mics and they need extra power (48v). When we were doing the sound check for levels, the microphone started to slip down so I had to adjust the mic stand as it was slightly top heavy (the mic stand had more weight on the side of the microphone and so it started to slowly move down). I made sure that the weight was near equal and tightened everything so that it wouldn’t slip down again. We set up talk-back so that Dan could speak to us from the control room and we could hear him through headphones in the live room. We did a run through so me and Sophie were ready to record, but also so that Dan could check the levels and hear what we were going to record. It’s important, when doing a sound check, to play what you’re going to record and play it how you will when you’re recording as then you can set the levels correct. You should play the loudest part so that you can make sure the levels don’t peak at that point.