Sunday, 15 May 2016

Research Bibliography

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Thursday, 12 May 2016

Live Recording Results and Analysis

I feel that my live recordings were partially successful, I feel that my microphone selections were effective in minimising bleed and spill in most instances however I feel that I could have paid more attention to effectively isolating each source and researching effective sound isolation for live recording more thoroughly may have helped achieve this. I utilised sound reflection boards to section off the drum kit as I feel the drums would have caused the most spillage in the recording.

There were however problems that arose as regards to properly isolating the bass and guitar amplifiers and they couldn't be moved from their positions and I had to rely on microphone positioning to try and compensate for this. I feel that the vocals perhaps could have been isolated more effectively as there was a lot of sound spillage onto the vocal microphone. This could also perhaps have been due to my microphone choice, perhaps the large diaphragm Se2200t wasn't the best choice as it would have picked up more spill than perhaps a small diaphragm condenser. 

These issues were rectified by automating the vocal channel in sections in which it they became particularly lost. I also need to apply relatively extreme EQ settings to several channels in order to try and remove frequencies of sources bleeding into each microphone (for example bass guitar was being picked up on various microphones and several high pass filters had to be applied) I had to ensure that I didn't effect the frequencies the sound sources occupied. 

Gates were applied to the drums, however were not effective in isolating any spillage on any of the other sources, therefore it is evident that if I were to approach live recording again in the future I would perhaps as I previously mentioned spend more time concentrating on correctly isolating each individual sound as opposed to relying solely on microphone choices and positioning. I feel that a combination of both methods would have perhaps vastly improved my live recordings.    
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Live Recording Bass,Guitar, Keys & Vocal Recording Methods

After selecting the microphones for recording drums I focused my attention on the approaches I would take for recording bass, guitars and keys in my live recordings. White (2000) suggests that bass guitars and keys are mostly D.I'd for this purpose. This is to ensure the signals are completely clean and refrain from any spillage/bleed from other microphones. The bass amplifier has a direct out on the head itself, eliminating the need for a D.I. box whereas I will have to utilise a D.I. box to record the keys.

When recording guitars I originally opted for using Shure SM57s however these were in use when I had arranged to record the live session and I have to compromise and opt for another suitable option. After much deliberation I decided to use the Sennheiser E906 dynamic microphone. 

The E906 (Sennheiser, 2016) is designed specifically for the recording of electric guitars, percussion and brass. It features a super-cardioid polar pattern and a flat diaphragm allowing the microphone to be placed directly in front of the amplifier. These two factors suggest that the microphone will be apt for this application, placing a super cardioid microphone close to the sound source should pick up a relatively clean signal from the source with little spill. Below are the polar pattern and frequency response diagrams of the E906. 


Finally, I decided to opt for a large diaphragm condenser microphone when recording vocals in order to try and capture as much detail as possible. For this I used the sE 2200T combined with a pop shield and reflection filter to attempt to minimise spill from other sound sources. 

The above diagram details the polar pattern and frequency response of the SE2200T and further information is available to view via the following hyper-link  https://www.scan.co.uk/images/products-extra/ProAudio/Microphones/condenser-mics/LN51384/2200t.pdf  (Scan Computers International Ltd., 2016). If positioned correctly I feel that the SE2200T would be particularly efficient in the live recordings. 
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Live recording Drum Microphone Choices

At this stage, I felt it was necessary to consider what microphones would be best suited for recording a band in a live setting. White (2000) recommends using microphones that would be normally utilised in a live setting for example dynamic cardioid or hyper-cardioid microphones. He also states that some elements in the recording may benefit from capacitor/condenser microphones i.e. vocals.

 Taking this into consideration allowed me to make my selections for microphone choices in for this specific application. I will firstly discuss my microphone choices for the drum kit.

 For the Kick Drum I decided to utilise the AKG D112. Information regarding the D112 can be viewed at http://www.akg.com/pro/p/d112mkii (AKG, 2016)

The D112 is a cardioid dynamic microphone designed specifically for the kick drum in live and recorded situations therefore I felt it would be the most suitable choice for this application.

 Due to limited space and resources, compromises had to be made as regards to the individual drum microphones (toms and snare drums). It was decided that it would be best to utilise clip on drum microphones that are preferential in live recordings based on the initial research. The AKG D440 is a durable dynamic cardioid microphone intended for on stage use and is now discontinued. Further specifications for this microphone are available here http://cloud.akg.com/9557/d440_cutsheet.pdf (AKG, 2016)

 For Overheads I decided to utilise the AKG C451 which is a small diaphragm condenser microphone with a cardioid polar pattern. Futher information can also be seen here http://cloud.akg.com/10243/c451_manual.pdf (AKG, 2016)


Although marketed as a vocal microphone, I selected the AKG C451 to record the overheads based on its pick up pattern and frequency response. I have aimed to utilise mainly cardioid microphones for this purpose due to their directionality, hopefully minimising spill from other sound sources. The raised high end frequency response (roughly 5kHz-15kHz) suggests that the AKG C451 will pick up the high end frequencies produced by the cymbals.

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Live Recording Initial Research

For the final two tracks in my portfolio I decided that I would be beneficial to show variation in my recording techniques and approaches by recording and producing live/on location recordings.

 To begin with, I met with Hull College performance students who had agreed to let me record two of their songs whilst rehearsing. It was decided that I would record their renditions of Proud Mary and Piece of my Heart.

 Following the initial meeting I began to research the basic principles of live recording. The first source I came across was an article by White (2000) featured on Sound on Sound which detailed many of the important points to consider when approaching a live recording as opposed to a multi tracking.

 The article firstly focuses on the application of multi-track recorders in live recording, however I will not need to utilise a multi track recorder for this purpose as the practice room in the college links up to a mixing desk and workstation in an adjacent post production room and is linked via a multi-core. This set up is ideal as it allows complete separation from the sound sources and allows for isolated monitoring acting as a control room and essentially doubling as an extra studio with a large enough space to accommodate for live recordings.

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Beats Reflection

Overall, I feel that the Hip-Hop/beats style tracks I have produced reflect the influences and techniques that I have researched throughout the process and has informed and solidified my processes and approaches to beat making.

 If I were to approach this in the future I would perhaps consider arranging to work with a rapper/lyricist on the project. I feel that as the tracks are primarily influenced by Hip-Hop including rapping, they don't work as strongly as perhaps more instrumental based compositions by artists such as Flying Lotus and Samiyam.
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Beats Sample Selection & Reference Tracks

In order to select samples, I felt like the most efficient way of doing this would be to search YouTube for suitable material to sample. I found it particularly useful to refer to WhoSampled.com Limited (2016) when trying to find inspiration for artists to sample. I began to search influential artists and examined the types of artists that they sampled. For example Thugnificense by Flatbush Zombies (2013) samples Iniuria Palace by Baths (2011). I listened through their discography and decided to sample the introduction from Yawn by Baths (2014) for the first tracks main hook. This was accompanied by vocals sampled from Love Song featured on 'The Flood' by The Lyre Ensemble (2015) along with the aforementioned drum recordings of which individual elements were sampled (i.e. snare drum) and the sourced 808 samples.

 The Second track features samples taken from a track called Dream Lady by Tom Scott (1990) featured on the reissue of 'Blow it Out'. The main elements of this track were sampled from the introduction of this track, and the strings were also sampled from around 14 seconds into the track. This is also accompanied by sampled drums taken from the inital drum recording session at the beginning of this process. 

 In each track, I tried to be as sparing as possible with the amount of elements I sampled, attempting to emulate the limitations held in place by original samplers such as the SP-1200. I found this helpful to an extent as it helped me generate the tracks initial structures. However I eventually found this somewhat counter-intuitive, heeding my work flow and decided to allow myself more creative freedom with each composition.

 In order to achieve this I felt that it was necessary to establish reference tracks that would inform further influence for the pieces. The tracks Fine Whine and Canal St. by A$AP Rocky (2015). I used the following tracks as both mix references and creative references for elements that I would perhaps introduce within my tracks, for example the chime/bell tree samples are influenced by those in Canal St. and are used to add additional layers which emphasise the introductions of new sections/measures.

          
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