Task 05 - Full Production
Ok this was my final task for this module and the idea was to make a full production of a recording, using as many FX and plug-ins as desired. I used a song recorded by Danny Allen which I recorded with Alison Quinn. Of course we both did our own individual productions of this record and I am going to document below my account of how I created this production.
Drums
- The only FX I added to any part of the drum kit was to the snare. I added some ‘perc room’ reverb using the SpaceDesigner plug-in in Logic. The gave the snare more of a big classic rock feel to it. I only used a minimal amount of wet signal as i didn’t want to over do it otherwise it would have sounded rather drowned.
- A noise gate was added to the kick drum to give it extra punch, and also to cut out any spill
Vocals
- I decided to add distortion to the vocals as I have heard this technique on other productions and wanted to experiment with something similar. I felt that this gave the vocals more presence. The plug in used for this was the GtrAmpPro plug-in in Logic 8 on the Vintage Stack (Bright) pre-set which gave me a light level on the distortion overdrive but still enough for the effect to sound well balanced. I also used some ptVerb to give a bit of presence to the vocals as the room was quite acoustically dead therefor just a little medium room reverb sorted this out.
Guitar AMP
- I applied some percussion reverb using the SpaceDesigner unit which really brought out this guitar line in the mix and gave it almost a concert feel. I also added some stereo delay to liven it up a bit and then applied another GtrAmpPro unit on the Sparkle Without Speakers pre-set which just lifted it up in the mix giving it real crispness and clarity as it was sounding a little thin.
Lead Guitar1
- For this lead I simply added a stereo spread plug-in to resulting in a wider stereo image across the mix. This added a certain clarity and space and filled out the stereo field as many of the instruments were occupying either central or left and right images.
Lead Guitar2
- I used quite a few plug-ins on this lead guitar as I wanted to differentiate it from everything else in the mix to give a bit of variety.
- I first added an Ensemble plug-in which gave an interesting modulated effect which for me just added an extra richness to the guitar. I also applied another GtrAmpPro plug-in on UK Combo (Fat) setting which really fattened up the sound of the lead and gave it added ambience.
- I then added a phaser which finished off the lead guitar1 with a really nice phasing sweeping effect. This was added purely because I felt this sounded good along with the other FX and just finished it off and it is a popular effect on a guitar.
- Next I added a DelayDesign plug-in to the chain. This effect gives some very nice and complex delay patterns. I used an Ease in & Out preset which gave a nice smooth delay to guitar.
Bass Guitar
- Now the bass guitar was the finishing touch of the recording the gloss over the other guitars so I wanted this part to be as clear and prominent as possible so it shone through without being too high in the mix.
- On the bass guitar I used a plug-in called Bass Amp and this really beefed up the bass, giving it more of a thwang. Before this plug-in was applied, I found the bass guitar to be swallowed up and drowned out in the mix. This effect really brought it out and gave clarity. I used the New American Bright pre-set which was the perfect setting.
Danny Vocals 2
- I decided to double up Danny’s vocals and apply some tape delay, so that certain words were repeated like an echo. This worked really well used sparingly as I didn’t want to flood out the main vocal line too much with it otherwise the words would have become inaudible. I used this mainly at the chorus and towards the end of the song. As they say less is more.
Editing
- I decided that some nice acapella moments and short breaks would work nicely. I simply cut the audio and moved it slightly away from the other audio so that there was a gap where everything stopped apart from the delay of the vocal, before everything came crashing back in again. I did this twice during the production as I felt that was more than enough and they both happened at key moments either just before or just after the chorus as if to let the listener know that a new verse or chorus was beginning.
- At the end of the recording I cut and repeated the end of the vocal line as I felt it ended rather abruptly and well before the music stopped. For me this didn’t sound right so by repeating and looping the end of the vocals, it gave the production a stronger ending.
Automation
- Automation was used very lightly in this production mainly to enhance certain parts of the song.
- The wet signal on the DelayDesign was automated on the 2nd lead guitar so that parts of the signal were stronger when I removed the AMP guitar from the mix. I did this purely to give variation and give other instruments a break allowing other instrumentals and sounds to take over for a while. The wet signal was then swapped with the dry signal once the AMP guitar came back fully into the mix.
- The SpaceDesigner Window Room reverb’s wet signal was automated up slightly while the AMP guitar was temporarily cut out of the mix giving the guitar more clarity and presence as it had nothing doubling up with it. Like the DelayDesign it was automated down to its original setting once the AMP guitar came fully back in.
