Mix Blog 3- Main Project

Finally, I can present my very first, co-produced, ORIGINAL EP to the world! During my studies to this point, I have been involved in mostly cover songs recording in studios and using DAW's to produce/emulate original tracks. It is a pleasant feeling putting your time and heart into a project and getting it pretty much completed! An added sense of accomplishment is that I co-wrote the lyrics to the track with our vocalist! Definitely cool hearing your words in a song. Our track has no chorus as yet (I will get into this later) but other than that it's a done deal!! In this blog I am going to talk to you about some elements in the recording process and the mixing process as well! The song is from an EP called 'Perspectives', it is titled' On My Own'.

So to get things started, the group researched some production techniques for recording and here's what was found-

Applying a Distressor to vocals prior to recording for advanced Signal Flow!

Signal Flow- What you are seeing here is using a patch lead, the signal comes out of the Desk on Channel 3 (vocal channel) and goes into the Distressor outboard hardware. The Distressor was set to an input of 5, with a reasonably slow attack and a short to medium release time. Very subtle settings.The signal then comes back out of the Distressor and into the desk on channel 3 to the assigned Vocal channel and back into Pro tools. We then recorded the vocals with the Distressor. This technique is basically used to help cut out abrasive transients. One of our lecturers oversaw the process and assured us we were doing it right :)

Now on this Imperial Distressor, ratios 1:1, 2:1, 3:1 and 4:1 have a soft knee on them, which gives you a reasonably smooth compression effect. Our session ratio was set to 3:1 as this fit best with our vocalist. On the Audio section of the Distressor, we selected the High Pass option to help filter out undesired low end frequencies during the recording. The input knob on the Imperial changes the amount of signal you are actually feeding into the compressor, and the opposite for the output knob. We found that setting both input and output to 5 and having a slow attack and a short to medium release provided a balanced compression for our artist.

A cool video from an SAE Institute instructor in the United States goes in depth on setting up your distressor and explaining how the device works below!

Microphone Placement and getting the recording live room set up-

Potential unwanted reverberation from pesky standing waves can be a producers nightmare! To combat this in our live room, we set-up the space as seen in the picture below.

We barricaded our artist in!!! No, not really, but we closed off the room a little more in front of Jade and to the side of her. The set-up was positioned slightly off center of the room as well to help with unwanted reverberation from the studio walls. It is important to make your performer as comfortable as possible to get the very best out of their performance. Ferry lights were also set up for Jade (which she loved), so that was a nice touch and was pretty much the first thing she saw when she walked into the session. Now with the mic placement, below is a GREAT and informative clip on mic distance to a performer and the importance of gaining-

As stated in Recording Revolution video above, using a pop filter is a MUST. It helps kill the P's, B's or 'plosives' in a recording. Air gushes off the face and can give unwanted additions to your vocals. So this is something we set up in our session. We then got Jade to sing a warm up song to check the gaining of the recording session. A high pass filter was also used in the gaining stage to remove any unwanted room ambiance at about 60 hZ.

Proximity plays a HUGE factor into the outcome of a recording. The closer you are to a mic for a pop vocal, the less natural it will sound. You want the vocals to be 'right there' like you are in the room with them, not being shouted at! Our pop filter was set up about 3 inches or so from the mic, already creating some distance between the mic and our artist. We then instructed her, as per the video above, to try and stay within about 4 to 5 inches of the mic to get her natural tonal qualities whilst still being close enough to capture the power in her voice. She did well, but the distance was inconsistent now that I look at what we have recorded. At a few points in the recording, she is noticeably distant compared to the rest of the song. In the live room, the lights were off and only ferry lights were on. Maybe I or my team would have noticed her moving around a little (as she was getting into the song) if we could see how much she was moving. Or maybe it was ever so slightly, but enough to throw off the recording. Either way it is noticeable and something to keep an eye on in the future.

Now multiple takes were NOT taken of vocals. I know, I know. Shame on us. This really backfired for us during the mixing stage. The lead vocal take that we had was good. Only a few minor pitch issues. I found that hard to bring up to the artist, as it was the first time we had all worked together. Also another point to add; taking control of the session and literally producing it is a must. There are nice ways to say 'we need another take'. It would have made a huge difference to the overall outcome. The following is a step by step of what the group did to remedy the lack of punch in the vocals; Vocal Doubling!!

• First we duplicated the VOX twice, panned them left and right respectively. Keeping the original vocal in the center.

• We then Time shifted the left and right tracks in the opposite direction anywhere between 10 to 20 ms and experimented with the timing to suit the vocal.

• We then Pitch shifted the tracks duplicate tracks -7 cents and +7 cents respectively

• Now the left and right tracks were then reduced on each fader to taste. This helped remove some of the 'processed' or 'robotic' tone of the vocal doubling procedure.

• We then printed the result, which was now thicker, to a new track to apply further processing

• The Compression used was a preset plug-in was a balanced vocal. Basic EQ took out the low end and accentuated the high mids to highs.

• A small room reverb with a 20 ms pre delay was added to the track.

The vocals are now sitting far better in the mix. They have an added depth due to the layering and now some extra warmth from the basic reverb set up.

Upon further mixing, the group felt there was a lack of difference from pre-chrous to chorus. Meaning it was just a flat transition. To help add some aesthetics to the track, we arranged the pre-chorus lines to be sent to a delay as a tension builder leading into the chorus. This is signified by the duplication of the pre-chorus line that is the green track on the bottom.

A Replika plug-in was used as seen above.

Now this pesky chorus I was talking about earlier. Where the fuck is it?? Well, at the time of recording, the chorus you hear on the track now was vastly different. It was previously a higher octave piano melody. It was incredibly hard to write to. It didn't really fit the emotional content of the lyrics and just sounded out of place. The group decided during mixing that we would replace the chorus with a guitar sample that fit in with the backing keys better. I really wish we had thought of this earlier. It added a far more meaningful and emotional feel to the track. As mentioned before, I helped write the lyrics and I am already coming up with some potential additions for the chorus to be recorded at a later date to finish this track off!

The drums weren't too complex in this track, basic kick drum, hi hats and snare, with a few other percussive elements like shaker and bells. They were bussed into a group on a separate stereo auxiliary track called drums to control an overall level after leveling each element individually.

On our 808 bass stabs, they fit the mix very well but drowned out the kick drum when they came in. To remedy this we used a technique called side chaining. A send was created on the kick track and labelled 'Side Chain' for ease of use. A compressor was then added to the bass stab track. Now using the side chain input, we made it the same channel as the kick drum and then activated the Side Chain button. Next was to adjust the compressor settings so that the kick transients engage the compressor. Basically, this allows the kick to be more prominent and present in the mix and not so drowned out by the 808 bass stabs!

Some basic automation was applied to the snare with a pencil tool to increase the sense of urgency leading into each chorus. Pencil panning was also applied to help accentuate the automation present. The piano melody was also automated so that the new guitar on the chorus could shine through more. Doing this allowed more room in the mix and the guitar took the song in a different direction!

Above is the final mix of the track. I think it has most of the bass requirements for a pop/ballad song- Nice vocals and melodic instrument elements. I think the vocals would have been much fuller if the issues during recording illustrated above were handled at the right time. Not taking multiple lead VOX takes hurt us in the long run. Also continuous and consistent distance from the mic to the vocalist was an issue. Being more observant and better managing session time available would have compensated for this. I am looking forward to re-connecting with our vocalist Jade to finish the chorus segments off! Our track will then be complete. The group is also building a brand new continuous working relationship with Jade, whom has previously competed on 'X-Factor'!!! As we develop in recording and production skills, I am excited at the potential for making more complete and polished tracks. Learning from these amateur recording mistakes is vital for a producer. It makes mixing that much easier. This is a learning process and one I am now loving!

References-

Odqvist, C. (2018). 6 Ways to Get Creative with Vocal Doubles. [online] Pro Audio Files. Available at: https://theproaudiofiles.com/vocal-doubles/ [Accessed 30 Apr. 2018].

YouTube. (2018). How To: Use the Distressor // SAE Institute. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tResQVjWKM [Accessed 30 Apr. 2018].

Scienceabc.com. (2018). [online] Available at: https://www.scienceabc.com/innovation/why-microphones-sometimes-produce-a-squealing-sound-when-speaks-into-them.html

YouTube. (2018). Recording Great Vocals In Two Steps - TheRecordingRevolution.com. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpEi_B12DtY&t=451s