Midi to maxi-Session Plan

play the fool Remix:

The microphone setup for the drum kit of play the fool was in my opinion quite complicated. The Audix D6 used the on the kick drum. This was because it was a very resilient mic that could pick up low end sound really well. for the snare and the high hat, sm58's were placed both underneath and on top so that the sounds could be blended further down in the mixing process. Sm57's were used for the toms and finally two NT5's were placed in stereo position, used as overhead mic's. I chose these because they were condenser microphones that could pick up very good high and mid range, which was exactly what I needed to grab detail from the whole kit.

Sade used a Rhode NT1A to record her vocals, we decided that this mic was most suitable for her voice because it gave a really nice tone that complimented the atmosphere of the song. 

on the piano we used an sm57 for the body and mid and we used a NT5 for top end because the NT5 has more detail and detail is essential in the top end, this is where the complex part of the sound is.

We also used the JUNO synth, we decided we would record it using a D.I. Box so it would have a nice clear signal.

I was a musician in this piece as the drummer. I informed Sade that I needed some drum sticks and some ear buds. she made this possible, so when I arrived to the session we were able to get started fairly quickly after setting up the mic's and I was able to start recording pretty much after that. I also felt very comfortable in the environment and was encouraged which allowed me to perform better.

we set logic up with multiple audio tracks and labelled each instrument and each microphone. we did this process because it helps keep everything else organised when it comes to the mix. When recording, we did individual takes where we would record to a baking track. We also did takes where everyone would record at the same time to get more of a realistic groove when playing as a band.

jazz inspired piece:

to record the piano I decided used I was going to use the..... i decided to use this mic because it is one of the best mic at picking up all the frequencies in the mid to high. All of these frequencies make a difference overall because they are located in the high end, an area where our ears listen in more detail.

To record the french horn and trumpet I used the SE Titan FET condenser. I selected this microphone because not only is it really good at recording the detailed harmonics, but it also allows you to change the polar patterns of the microphone. I found this feature to be very interesting because you can generate quite a few different sounds from the same mic.

 For the trumpet section i recorded in the omni-cardio setting. This was to ensure that I could achieve a nice stereo sound that i would then boost further in my processing in logic using the direction spreader. For the french horns I used the cardiod polar pattern setting to ensure I got a nice clear, clean crisp sound and then i processed it in logic by adding some saturation and reverb.

For the bongo's i used an SM58 i decided on this because i really like how it picks up the snap of the snare, i wanted to recreate that on a more subtle level.

Brief:

A comprehensive session plan outlining what you did to record your instrument(s). This should cover:

An itinerary of how your time will be distributed over the session for:

·      DAW setup

·      Microphone setup

·      Musicians and their needs

·      Tracking/bouncing/saving and exporting

The 2 or more original demo songs in MIDI format and the final 2 mixed songs.

These must contain 4 instruments recorded on each showing a variety microphone techniques and an evaluation of the final mixdowns and how they fare against the original demo’s and your expectations.

This is where you get extra technical. Talk about the equipment and its suitability in relation to the final sound. 

For example:

The Stereo pair of Rhode Nt5’s on the Bass Amp was unnecessary and didn’t create the presence of the midrange I desired, it would have been better to record in mono and do some stereo effects processing inside of the DAW to create a fuller sound. 

For that, I would have used a dynamic microphone such as the Shure SM-7 which has a distinction in the mids and coupled that with a condenser such as the…..etc.