Shure Fantastic Scholastic Competition

Transcription

1 Shure Fantastic Scholastic Competition Delta State University Faculty Advisor: Mike Iacopelli Student Team Members: Laeitta Wade Travis Calvin Mathew Coleman Horace Willis Curtis Nunnery Scott Stogner (Former Team Member) Now What Do We Do 2005 Big Front Porch Words and Lyric by Tricia Walker

2 DSU Shure Microphone Recording Journal Delta State University's Shure Team: (Left to Right: Horace Willis, Mathew Coleman, Laeitta Wade, Curtis Nunnery, Travis Calvin) We appreciate this opportunity to use a wide variety of Shure's excellent microphones to recreate our own fantastic recording! It was an honor to participate in such a fun and educational experience. We hope the judges enjoy our take on a vintage recording. -DSU Shure Team The Song: Now What Do We Do Written by Tricia Walker and Composed/Arranged by Charly Abraham Our original goal was to record an edgy jazz-fusion piece with guitar and a big horn section that would utilize the full potential of the microphones. This direction changed over time; we decided to capture more of an intimate recording comprised of a four-piece ensemble with a clarinet in the place of a guitar. Tricia Walker s song, Now What Do We Do, has a vintage, torch sound with elements of jazz. We wanted to give the listener a feeling of being in a laid back jazz bar or an old cabaret. We are confident that with the selection of Shure microphones we used, mixed with our own experience, our goal was accomplished. Performers Vince Barranco: Drums Tricia Walker: Piano/Vocalist Barry Bays: Upright bass Bret Pimentel: Clarinet

3 Recording and Tracking Our goal was not to create the perfect recording. Instead, we wanted to capture the mood of a live performance. This led us to making some traditional microphone choices while incorporating our take on some old school recording methods into what we envisioned. To get more comfortable with the microphones we experimented with them in various ways on drums, guitar and bass amps, as well as, trying unique microphone placements around our recording space in Studio A. We decided to use the control room of Studio B and the tracking room of Studio A. Studio B houses a ProTools HD3 system, 24 channels of analog inputs via 3 Digi 192 i/os with a DigiDesign ICON controller, and JBL LSR4328 monitoring for 5.1 surround sound or stereo mixing. The tracking room of Studio A is relatively large and provides a warm and clear sound. In order to use the control room of Studio B, we routed a 100 ft audio snake between each tracking room. The drums were center and placed towards the reflective side of the room. Both piano and upright bass were recorded in separate iso booths. Vocal overdubs as well as clarinet overdubs were also recorded in iso booths. Microphone Choices For the kick we used the beta 91a over the beta 52. The beta 91a presented a unique audience perspective to us which fit more into our vision of the song. The same can be said about the other microphones we chose for the rest of the drum kit. When it came time to choose microphones for the piano our first choice was two KSM 44s but, the omnidirectional pattern seemed too boomy. After comparing the KSM 44 (cardiod) to the KSM 32, we favored the 32 for its true cardioid directional pattern. While recording vocals we used three different microphones, the KSM 313, SM 27 and KSM 32. Surprisingly, the SM 27 made our vocalist more prominent in the mix. Our biggest challenge was dealing with unwanted drum overtones that did not blend well with the overall sound of the song. Vince, our drummer spent an addition fourtyfive minutes re-tuning the drum toms. Later, we also spent additional time in the mixing stage fiddling with levels of the toms. We ultimately determined that the overtones added to our kick drum sound as well as the overall feel of the drums.

4 Tracking List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

5 T88)! $+2,+'+3!.R!H'8)!%#$%!3'()! NWAR!H'8)!,G+!;'8(23!! <#-28!P! XD!1+2,+'+3!-E8F+!-5!E-55! 5,'#2;5!!! <#-28!T! -E8(,!,'+E7+!E'#3;+! *-55!*'#3;+! AJXD!E+,:++2!,G+!E'#3;+!-23! HJG87+!! AJXD!E+,:++2!,G+!E'#3;+!-23! HJG87+! U8$-7! 17-'#2+,! 5#2;+'!97-$+3!?D!H'8)!,G+! )#$! XD!H'8)!,G+!7+H,!8H!,G+!%+S5! E+,:++2!,G+!(99+'!-23! 78:+'!Z8#2,! 0)E#+2$+! 5,+'+8!9-#'!97-$+3!#2!8)2#! E+G#23!,G+!182,'87!T88)!8H! =,(3#8!0! Where there is multiple microphones, the * represents the microphone chosen in the mix. Mixing In the mixing stage, we wanted to create static mix with very little processing. We strived to give a true representation of the Shure microphones and what they can achieve. While discussing the best way to limit the amount of processing, the idea of creating a recording chamber was mentioned. Since we did not have access to recording chamber, we improvised and made use of room ambience in Studio A's tracking room. We started by placing two KSM 44s behind the control room of Studio A. Doing so, enabled us to create our very own reverb for the vocal, snare, and clarinet tracks. After creating a stage plot, we place a monitor where we would our typical instrument, and recorded the ambience. 5/2""(1) 6-&%,() 0%-,(##+"7) 6("8#) 02"#! /! "#$% 1+2,+'! N! =2-'+!>89 1+2,+'! Q! =2-'+!*8,,8) 1+2,+'! K! I#JI-,5 /L!8R$78$%! A! >8)/ //!8R$78$%! X! >8)N K!8R$78$%! B! OF+'G+-3!P I-'3!P+H,!

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his project has not only taught us about proper microphone usage and placements, but how to properly manage time and deal with multiple personalities. For a few of us, this was the first time we had ever experienced creating our own recording. For others, it was just another chance to perfect their craft. Overall, it was an enriching, enlightening, and educational experience. We are all excited and happy about how the project turned out, even though it was lot of hard work. At times, it pushed us physically, emotionally, and mentally, but we all came out to be better students and engineers. Thank you, Shure, for this amazing opportunity.