A week after finishing the scratch track for 'Slow the Pace', JP, Mitch and I recorded the awesome vocals of Katy Craine!
- Read 'Producing a Scratch - Hip Hop Production 'Slow the Pace'' first for context.
After producing the scratch track with the guys, I immediately showed it to my good friend Katy Craine and asked if she could write and perform vocals for our track as I've loved hearing her sing in the past. Luckily Katy accepted and together with my team we locked in some time in the studio the next week to record vocals and also the final tracking of guitar.
Set up:
The first thing we did in the studio was set-up the vocal microphones and route them through the desk, I had asked the vocalist to show up an hour into the session to give us time to set up.
Our goal was to make sure to get some really present and clear vocals, easy to follow and hear. Going off my guess of Erykah Badu's vocals in On & On, we miced her up with a Rode K2 tube condenser microphone - to provide warmth and clarity, which we hung upside down directly above a Shure SM7B - which will provide a nice clean low end, and we even added a 6 inch speaker mix behind those two - this was at the suggestion of Mitch and JP and I were unsure about it, but hey, I'm definitely down for some experimentation.
Then we tried to open up the scratch in Ableton aannndd Hold it!
Technical Difficulties!
Our Ableton Live 10 session wouldn't work in the Neve Custom 75 studio as it only had Ableton Live 9 installed (unfortunately Live 10 files will not open in Live 9). Dang! Time to put my problem solving hat on, immediately myself and my two co-producers JP and Mitch realised that we would need to fix this fast as our vocalist was arriving soon and we had limited time in the studio. So then with quick thinking, we all agreed on a plan and implemented it. We would quickly access a computer with Live 10, bounce the stems and import them into ProTools which we would use to record this session in. While JP and Mitch headed off to bounce the stems, Katy arrived and I helped her settle in and get comfy in the studio.
With the stems imported, mic's routed through the Neve console to the DAW and a headphone mix for the vocalist, we were ready to go! (Phew!)
Producing Vocals:
Katy showed us her lyrics and melodies that she'd written to the scratch, and with some discussion we used Katy's material and worked together to produce and refine the vocals. Each of us throwing out ideas to see what sounded best. From when to place low or high harmonies, to whether to use staccato or legato in the choruses, we banded together to create something new!
Roles:
We asked Mitch to head into the live room to help Katy with some vocal coaching, As he is the most experienced of our group with recording vocals and singing. After the session Katy said that Mitchs' coaching really helped her performance and understanding of the recording process (It was her first time recording!).
JP and I switched back and forth between console operator and DAW operator, ensuring that we both knew exactly how we routed the signals and processed them for recording.
We all played a part in co-ordinating mic placement and setting up the signal flow through to ProTools.
ProTools recording tip:
I've found that it's efficient to do a quick comp of the vocals as you go, promote the good takes and playlist the not so good. This will save a lot of editing time later, as well as give the vocalist their best stuff in the headphone mix!
Finishing Vocals:
It took around three hours of experimenting and recording to get something we all loved. With a break in between to give Katys voice a break. Having done a rough compiling of the vocal takes throughout the session we were able to play back the recorded vocals at the end of the session, this prompted Katy to record one final higher octave harmony that she (and we all agreed) felt would complete the vocal mix!
Check out our scratch with the vocal recordings here, click on "Scratch track w/Vocal recording - Slow the Pace (Demo)"
Our mistakes:
Mistake 1:
Unbeknown to us, we had forgotten something quite important. About half way through our recording, Katy asked us "Am I supposed to be able to hear myself in these headphones?". Wow! we had forgotten to ensure that she could hear the vocal mics' in her headphone mix! Unfortunately it took us until this prompt to realise this (Usually it's quite important for the vocalist to hear themselves, so they have a strong and clear reference to be able to tell if they are hitting the right notes and performing at their best.
Ofcourse, we corrected this mistake right away - sending the main vocal mic (Rode K2) to headphone mix A, and double checking it's presence and volume with Katy, while also monitoring her HP mix through the Neve.
- This happened only in part because she was inexperienced in the studio, but mainly because myself, JP and Mitch had neglected to confer with her on if she wanted to be able to hear herself for reference. Next time I'm determined to pay closer attention to the artist and their headphone mix preferences, I really see now how important it can be to achieving a great recording.
Mistake 2:
While we were setting up the vocal mics, I observed that I thought they were too far away from the control room and that the vocal barrier would block the artists view to us. My thinking was that the distance and lack of easy visual might somewhat inhibit the communication and connection between the artist and those of us in the studio. I allowed myself to be dissuaded from moving the set up by JP and Mitch, as they feared that being closer to the glass window would increase reflections - degrading the recording quality.
While their concern was very valid, upon reflection and hearing feedback from Katy 'It feels like I'm singing in a box', I'd have like to have expressed my idea more strongly to JP and Mitch. And even have changed the setup somewhat to accomodate their concern about reflections, perhaps having Katy sing towards the side of the room instead of facing the control room. I'm positive that a better setup could have been achieved easily, with more expression of my concern and thoughts.
Recording Guitar:
After Katy left, we quickly placed down a few ad-lib guitar licks and solos that we could disperse at appropriate places throughout the song to ad some colour to the track. We mic'ed up JP's amp (Mesa boogie maverick with dual rectifier) with a simple but effective SM57 near the centre cone, and complimented that with a Royer R121 ribbon mic around 5cm to the right and angled slightly at the edge of the centre cone. Both mics were placed at the exact same distance away from the amp to avoid any phase issues. Before recording we listened to each mic and made some minor adjustments according to what we liked the most!
Mitch and I manned ProTools and the console while JP laid down some sexy rhythms on his American fender telecaster cabronita, with mini humbuckers.
Have a look at this video for an explanation of this guitar amp setup, our mic positions somewhat resembled what you see at 2:47.
Bibliography:
1. Walden, J. (2011). Vocal Comping |. [online] Soundonsound.com. Available at: https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/vocal-comping [Accessed 16 Jun. 2018].
2. Custom Series 75. (2018). Custom Series 75. [online] Available at: http://www.customseries75.com/site/ [Accessed 16 Jun. 2018].
3. YouTube. (2012). Electric Guitar Recording Techniques - Blending Ribbon Mics with Dynamic Microphones. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-AcDWHOQAA [Accessed 16 Jun. 2018].
4. MESA/Boogie®. (2018). MESA/Boogie®. [online] Available at: http://www.mesaboogie.com/support/out-of-production/maverick.html [Accessed 17 Jun. 2018].
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