Learners will evaluate their performance in a professional recording studio environment,
what they have learnt through completing the project, strengths, areas that may require
further development and how they would approach similar recording projects in the future.
Working in the Sound Gallery studios
I worked in the sound gallery studios alongside The Chow Chows, we recorded their song Stuck In Rewind. We had a 4 hour session from 2:30- 6:30 at the Phoenix in Exeter, we ensured that we arrived 5 minutes early in order to have time to speak to our producer Harry. Harry had previously recorded the bands demo track for the song therefore the band decided that they wanted to work with him again as it went so well the first time. Overall our production team took around an hour to set up the studio and make sure all the mics had been correctly set up, we worked with Duncan who works at The Sound Gallery and he showed us around and explained how we would be doing the recording. The band recorded to a click track of 148 BPM to make sure everyone was in time with each other and the way in witch that we recorded it was really efficient and quick. We recorded all the instruments together and overall i think we ended up doing this three times until it was pretty much perfect. I was set up in a separate room to record the vocals so that you couldn't hear all the instruments coming through my mic, after everything was recorded with the vocals as well i added some really nice but minimal vocal harmonies to make the song sound a bit more interesting. Lydias bass was ran through a DI box in order to make the mixing process a bit easier and more efficient, we ended up finishing the recording process at around 4:45 as we all worked so quickly and efficiently. after all the instruments and vocals ha been recorded i decided that i wanted to add some vocal harmonies in on the spot, i didn't really prepare beforehand what i was going to do but i think that the minimal harmonies i added really gave the song a boost. Also compared to the first demo track, i did slightly change the way the song was sung by opting up in the last chorus as i felt the song sounded very much the same throughout the whole song.
As i only joined this ensemble a week before the session in the sound gallery, i did have an issue of how much time i had to actually learn the song. For me it was quite difficult as i only sang through the song three times before the sound gallery session therefore i wasn't very confident walking into the session as i didn't want to mess any part of the song up for the rest of the band. Though i was nervous during the time we spent there, the band made sure i knew what i was doing and really helped me with the timings of the song by giving me a look when i needed to come in. Whilst in there i also ended up having to use the lyrics which isn't something i would usually want to do whilst being in a professional studio environment but due to the amount of time i had been with the band it was expected that i would be using the lyrics.
First mix
https://on.soundcloud.com/w9joq3jFtkYdMQMp6
This was the first mix of Stuck In Rewind and we collectively agreed that it was in need of just a few minor tweaks. We had a conversation with Harry and pretty much said to him that we overall wanted the vocals to be louder as in some parts of the song it sounded like i was being a bit drowned out by the other instruments, specifically Finns guitar within the choruses. Overall this was a great first mix of the song, with the slight adjustment of the levels the final mix will sound amazing.
Final mix of Stuck In Rewind
This is the final mix of Stuck In Rewind, Harry did an amazing job at listening to us and changing the parts that we wanted to be changed. Harry adjusted the levels making me stand out more, he turned down all the instruments and turned my vocals up along with Lydias bass as it was quite quiet. The mix overall was done very well and i think it sounds exactly how we wanted it to sound, the mix sounds very clear and the tone of everything sounds perfect.