Channel List
The Session:
Firstly for our session we had to leave out the SEZ5600A room microphone as it needed repairing and wasn't available so instead we just used the one room mic. This just meant the channel list didn't have the eighth channel. Apart from that there were no big changes and we proceeded to set up our equipment in the live room. We used the room layout of the plan to set up the equipment and put microphones on it. We set levels for the drums first, playing the kick and snare individually, and then the whole kit to balance the overheads and close mics. Then we did the levels for the bass amp and guitar amp, always keeping an eye on our room microphones level, as it was crucial our instruments were a good volume relative to each other in the room, so the recording from the room mic would sound nice on it's own, and blend with the other sounds in mixing as it couldn't be mixed or tampered with in any way. This was a risky strategy, and could have left us with problems in the mix, but once we had a good balance of instruments both in the live room, and on the levels being recorded in the sequencer, we though it best to just go for it and hope it all came together.
We set this up quickly and then made a first take of the improvised jam, being lead by the drum rhythms and dynamic changes, and the performers played in one scale. When we were happy with a take we tried another, but eventually decided the first would be our best and used that. We ran this session in 1 hour and completed the recording and pack down in this short time, so were very happy with what we'd done as a result.
Mixing:
Fortunately this track only required mixing, and not mastering meaning if our mic'ing technique hadn't paid off it wasn't so costly. I had some immediate timing issues with my room mic and close microphones, so had to pull the room in time with all the others, but then decided to edge it slightly later as this added an ambience which was its intension, and this added character to the overall sound. The guitar amp signal through the SM57 was too quite, which was because we had to turn the guitar amp down after setting the levels in the control room, to get an even level in the live room, and forgot to reset this level, but fortunately it didn't matter as the guitar sound in the room mic was nice, so I began adding effects to the amp close recording, and this acted like having the effects on a send from the signal in the room mic recording, meaning it retained the original guitar amp sound as well as having a swirly phaser effect added to it, which went with our intended psychedelic style. The drums and bass locked in together nicely, and didn't require much work other than the usual cutting off signals above 500Hz on the kick's channel EQ, adding some weight the bass with a peak and then balancing the overheads with the rest of the kit, which was gradual level tweaking to achieve the overall balance of drums and bass. The levels were difficult to get completely right, due to the room mic signal being unchangeable, which could be seen as a drawback to this recording style, but conversely the aim of this recording was to achieve a live jam style which I think isn't always a perfect multi-track studio recording, and working with the live one take material was in keeping with the ethos of a rock jam session. I finally added a Logic organ called Rock Organ 3, which was useful to keep a constant overall level during any dynamic lulls, and covered up any slight mistakes which obviously couldn't be removed from the live recording. This organ tied everything together nicely, and was just a simple bluesy chord pattern in keeping with the style of the recording. Finally to bring the track to an emphatic ending, I automated a delay feedback to increase on the organ at the end, meaning the delay wasn't present for the track but at the end rose up to create a nice touch at the end, as we hadn't planned an ending performing so stopped slightly abruptly, and this again amended a slightly sloppy sounding ending. Overall I think the mix was a success, and although the recording style wasn't the best to achieve a perfect sound, it had character and was in keeping with what I wanted to achieve in my brief, and so therefore could be called a success.
Financial Costs (Task 5)
Session Costs:
1 hour recording = £30
Fender Precision Bass = £15
Fender Telecaster = £15 Session Total: £60
Mixing Sessions:
3 hour session = £60
2 hour session = £40 Mixing Total: £100
Net Total: £160
We were able to keep costs on this session to an absolute minimum due to our clever pre-production and planning. Firstly, this was the only recording of a whole band playing together in one take I've done, but as this band had rehearsed together before the session and enjoy playing improvised jams, I decided we should record one in quick time, with a quick setup where everybody contributed to make the session really fast. I estimated I could do this session in one hour, and did so because I made it clear to the band that even they had to help setup, and as everyone knew the urgency we were able to get it done quickly and properly. This meant we saved money on longer sessions, and kept the overall spend of the session to just £60. I decided for this session not to use any of the expensive microphones, and instead to only use ones included in hire costs, as I felt this was in fitting with the garage ethos of this recording, and that a slightly rough recording might have it's charm if treated correctly. This hole session was a gamble, that fortunately paid off, and did so because of the planning. This session in comparison to EVE residential studio local to me is almost identical in price for the session itself, but again the debate is whether the equipment at EVE would have made for a better recording of this particular track. I believe it would as that recording environment has rooms for bands to play altogether in specifically laid out for band recording, and also they have the option of recording to tape, which although I wouldn't opt to do on many other tracks, would love to have done for this track, as ultimately it's inspired by music of the 1960's and 1970's, so we'd be emulating that music, and also as this was a live recording with no overdubs, our inexperience recording to tape wouldn't be an obstacle as we'd only have to do the one good take an make the mix and master from that. However the drawbacks there would be that we tried a few takes on the session at Ashton, and although we did use the first we couldn't guarantee we'd get the first take right every time, and if we messed up consecutively on tape, it would be more and more costly each time. We know the equipment available and environment at EVE would have suited this session perfectly though, and though it may have cost us more, we would have definitely fed off the vibe there and produced a top class performance and recording.
Session Review & Overview (Task 6)
This was another session where I took the producer role, as well as playing the drums for the band as I play with the group anyway, so felt we shouldn't change this as we play well together anyway. Between me and the other two band members we all doubled with a role as engineers, meaning that at the time of the recording the control room was empty, and one person pressed record in the control room, then came round to the live room to begin, and cut off the silence at the start in the mix stage. This is a highly unorthodox way of working, but on this particular session suited us brilliantly, as we knew exactly what we were doing on the performance, and it was just a case of me taking charge of the setup, and doing the necessary hands on setup to prepare for the recording. All three of us get on well, so naturally this transferred to the recording environment, which was very relaxed, but we still knew our roles and got the job done effectively, as is demonstrated in the hour it took us to complete everything. The roles we took were very connected in this session, as they were only loosely adhered to, as all we needed to establish was that I was running the session and making the bulk of the key decisions, and we were all chipping in and doing whatever needed doing to make the session go quickly. These tactics were very effective, as no one felt they were being bossed around, and was clear on what they had to do.
It's fair to say the lack of the producers and engineers solely fulfilling this role was a negative, as it's a crucial thing to have someone in the control room at all times to oversee the proceedings. If logic would've crashed mid take, we'd have had no idea and been subsequently disappointed when we finished a take and then found out it had been lost. However, with a producer or engineer manning the desk, this could have happened, and they may have kept their cool and told the band to go for another take, and reassure them they could perform better, avoiding the problem altogether, and keeping moral high at the same time. I do however feel given the DIY ethos of much garage rock, the idea of doing everything yourself as a group is very appealing, and therefore the three of us in the band relished the opportunity, and enjoyed the liberation of making a recording we were totally in charge of, so this worked to our advantage despite it's drawbacks.
Taking everything into account, we all completed our roles very well, and as a result produced a solid recording in very quick time, despite our unorthodox working method, so I'm proud of what we did, and think it's a method that should be considered more orthodox than it is, and deployed by smaller record labels in real world situations where money is tight, and recordings done in this way could be of a real benefit to them.
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