Shure Fantastic Scholastic Recording Competition Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music Faculty Advisor Jim Anderson Team Members

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2011-2012 Shure Fantastic Scholastic Recording Competition Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music

1 Shure Fantastic Scholastic Recording Competition Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music Faculty Advisor Jim Anderson Team Members Jacob Blumberg Spencer Doren Phoebe Ryan Vaughn Sulit Damian Wiseman

Song Title "You Won't Be Alone" Song Composer/Copyright Owner Phoebe Holiday Ryan Performers Phoebe Ryan - Glockenspiel, Baritone Ukelele, Vocals Jason Berger - Drums Zach Rosen - Upright Bass Morgan

2 Song Title "You Won't Be Alone" Song Composer/Copyright Owner Phoebe Holiday Ryan Performers Phoebe Ryan - Glockenspiel, Baritone Ukelele, Vocals Jason Berger - Drums Zach Rosen - Upright Bass Morgan Pappas - Flute Beth Maliszewski - Viola Susan Mandel - Violincello Jesse Aicher Background Vocals Jacob Blumberg - Electric Guitar, Percussion Damian Wiseman - Piano A little about the song: Phoebe Ryan writes pop-influenced melodies over complex acoustic arrangements. She also plays in an experimental folk trio called Town Hall and decided to write a new song to be recorded for this competition, knowing that she would have access to some of the members of her band as well as other friends and players we knew from New York University and beyond. The song focuses on a sparse baritone ukelele part and an intimate vocal. Phoebe imagined that there would be added textures to compliment the dynamic evolution of the song.

Basics Tracking December, 17 th 2011 Our initial tracking was done during a 12 hour session in Studio 510 with everything going through our API Vision console into a Pro Tools HD

We started with Phoebe's baritone ukelele part because it goes throughout the entire song and acts as a rhythmic anchor for the rest of the instruments.

We then tracked a scratch vocal using a KSM 42 to help the other musicians follow along. We spent the rest of the day tracking flute, strings, drums, and upright bass.

microphones before settling on the input list below. Because it was the holiday season, the lobby of the school had Christmas lights strung up, which we decided to commandeer.

Source Mic Pattern Baritone Ukelele L Baritone Ukelele R SM27 SM27 Cardioid Cardioid Scratch Vocal KSM42 Cardioid Scratch Bass SM7B Cardioid Flute (close) Beta 181 Cardioid Flute Far

Cardioid Upright Body L SM 27 Cardioid Upright Body R SM 27 Cardioid Overhead L KSM 44 Cardioid Overhead R KSM 44 Cardioid Overhead Mono KSM 313 Bi-directional Snare Top 1 SM 57

3 Basics Tracking December, 17 th 2011 Our initial tracking was done during a 12 hour session in Studio 510 with everything going through our API Vision console into a Pro Tools HD system using a sample rate of 96k. We started with Phoebe's baritone ukelele part because it goes throughout the entire song and acts as a rhythmic anchor for the rest of the instruments. We used a pair of SM27's in an XY configuration, and immediately loved the sound. The 27's became a favorite of ours and was used later on to record the upright bass. We then tracked a scratch vocal using a KSM 42 to help the other musicians follow along. We spent the rest of the day tracking flute, strings, drums, and upright bass. We were fortunate enough to have some really talented friends of ours come and help us out with the performances, and we had plenty of time to experiment with the different microphones before settling on the input list below. Because it was the holiday season, the lobby of the school had Christmas lights strung up, which we decided to commandeer. They quickly became a mainstay in the studio for the rest of our sessions. Source Mic Pattern Baritone Ukelele L Baritone Ukelele R SM27 SM27 Cardioid Cardioid Scratch Vocal KSM42 Cardioid Scratch Bass SM7B Cardioid Flute (close) Beta 181 Cardioid Flute Far L KSM 141 Omni Flute Far R KSM 141 Omni Viola KSM 313 Bi-directional Cello KSM 32 Cardioid Strings L KSM 44 Bi-directional Strings R KSM 44 Bi-directional Upright Bass Neck SM 57 Cardioid Upright Body L SM 27 Cardioid Upright Body R SM 27 Cardioid Overhead L KSM 44 Cardioid Overhead R KSM 44 Cardioid Overhead Mono KSM 313 Bi-directional Snare Top 1 SM 57 Cardioid Snare Top 2 Beta 98a Cardioid Snare Bottom Beta 57 Supercardioid Kick In 1 Beta 91 Half-cardioid Kick In 2 KSM 141 w/ pad Cardioid Kick Out SM7B Cardioid SM57 taped to a Beta 98a on top of the snare with a KSM 141 on the hat Our lovely flute player with a Beta 181 and a pair of KSM 141's Floor Tom Beta 98a Cardioid Hi Hat KSM 141 w/ high pass Cardioid The return of the SM27! Where else would a Beta 91 go? Ms. Phoebe Holiday Ryan with a pair of SM27's SM7B outside of the kick and a KSM 313 ribbon mic as a mono overhead

Here are some highlights from our Basics Tracking session: A goal that we all had going into this project was to creatively experiment with the available microphones and try and use them in new and

We thought we would see the SM57 and KSM141s a lot, but when we put up the SM27 Multi-Purpose miss in an X/Y pattern using the A27m stereo bar on the baritone ukelele we were immediately impressed

Another interesting technique that we were excited to try was using the Beta 181 in conjunction with the KSM141s to capture the flute in both a tight close-mic and a wide stereo image.

Once again we used Studio 510 and the API Vision Console to record vocals, electric guitar, piano, auxiliary percussion, and glockenspiel.

4 Here are some highlights from our Basics Tracking session: A goal that we all had going into this project was to creatively experiment with the available microphones and try and use them in new and unexpected, yet flattering, ways. We thought we would see the SM57 and KSM141s a lot, but when we put up the SM27 Multi-Purpose miss in an X/Y pattern using the A27m stereo bar on the baritone ukelele we were immediately impressed with it's musical detail. We ended up preferring them for upright bass as well. Another interesting technique that we were excited to try was using the Beta 181 in conjunction with the KSM141s to capture the flute in both a tight close-mic and a wide stereo image. The KSM141s stood out as bright and clear room microphones. Overdubs January, 10 th - 11 th 2011 We did our overdubs over the course of two days. Once again we used Studio 510 and the API Vision Console to record vocals, electric guitar, piano, auxiliary percussion, and glockenspiel. Our goal was to complement the string arrangements with some interesting textures and expand the instrumentation of the piece. We found ourselves recording a lot of elements in stereo, so we were able to try out stereo pairs of the beta 181's, the KSM 141's, and the KSM 32's with great results. Phoebe's vocal was the most important part of the song for all of us, so we spent some time shooting out different microphones. We found that we really enjoyed the sound of the SM7b on her voice, but wanted to add some more high-end without having to utilize any EQ. As a result, we tried taping a KSM 141 to the SM7 and it ended up sounding awesome. Source Mic Pattern Glockenspiel L Beta 181 Cardioid Glockenspiel R Beta 181 Cardioid Vox SM7B Cardioid Vox KSM 141 Cardioid Guitar Close Beta 57 Cardioid Guitar Far KSM 42 Cardioid Guitar Back Beta 98a Cardioid Shaker L KSM 141 Omni Shaker R KSM 141 Omni Floor Tom L KSM 32 Cardioid Floor Tom R KSM 32 Cardioid Floor Tom Bottom Beta 91 Cardioid Piano L Beta 181 Cardioid Piano R Beta 181 Cardioid Piano Close KSM 313 Bi- Directional Beta 57 on the grille and a KSM 42 further away Some seriously stereo glockenspiel Phoebe trying out the SM7/141 combo A beta 98a behind the amp. Small in stature but big in sound.

Overdubs Cont. The piano was muted with scarves and sweaters to dull the attack Stereo floor tom?

Overdub Mic highlights Since a big reason we wanted to overdub additional instruments was to add

5 Overdubs Cont. The piano was muted with scarves and sweaters to dull the attack Stereo floor tom? Shaker should always be stereo Vocal mic shootout! Overdub Mic highlights Since a big reason we wanted to overdub additional instruments was to add harmonic and musical color to the track, our microphone technique reflected this goal to an extreme. We mixed a Beta 181 cardioid X/Y pair with the 313 ribbon microphone to get a muted, complex piano tone. We also created a hyper-real guitar tone by combining a Beta 57, Beta 98Amp, and KSM42 focused on the front, rear and room tones of the guitar respectively. But by far our most experimental creation was our vocal microphone(s), which mimicked the Sanken CU-41 dual-diaphram design in capturing an extended and detailed vocal.

Mix January, 17 th -18 th 2011 For the mix we had two sessions, also in Studio 510 on the API console.

We worked in a hybrid set-up, using a mix of plug-ins and outboard processing.

We ended up sending an aux send out to a guitar amplifier which was mic'd with a pair of KSM 141's in cardioid.

6 Mix January, 17 th -18 th 2011 For the mix we had two sessions, also in Studio 510 on the API console. Phoebe's vocal carries this song for us so the mix process was all about creating enough space for her voice to breathe while keeping the other elements full and in a defined space. We worked in a hybrid set-up, using a mix of plug-ins and outboard processing. While we had some great reverb units at our disposal, we decided to try and come up with a more interesting way to add ambience to the mix. We ended up sending an aux send out to a guitar amplifier which was mic'd with a pair of KSM 141's in cardioid. We then tuned an acoustic guitar to the key of the song and placed it a few feet in front of the amp so the body of the guitar acted as a resonant chamber. We were able to fit a beta 98a into the body of the guitar, which picked up a really great resonance. Damian hard at work The beta 98a was small enough to fit in between the strings The aux send was reamped through a Roland Jazz Chorus When we set out to produce a song for the Shure Fantastic Scholastic Recording Competition, our initial goal was to record a song which would flaunt the nuances of the Shure microphones, and also the songwriting talent of team-member Phoebe Ryan. Throughout the recording process, we payed special attention to stereo image, natural room sound, and phase coherence. We used minimal processing in both tracking and mixing. We were familiar with many of the microphones included in the Shure kit, but there were also a number of microphones we used for the first time. In addition to acquainting ourselves with the new microphones, we also aimed to try new methods with familiar microphones. Instead of simply resorting to tried-and-true methods with classic microphones, we wanted to use the gear in unconventional ways. The results were very satisfying, and we feel we achieved original, unique sounds in this way.

7 Source Microphones Placement Notable Signal Processing Aux Floor Tom KSM32 Cardioid, Beta 91a Stereo AB Pair 3 feet above and 1 foot off center from floor tom, Beta 91a under the center of the top, about 4 inches Kick Beta 91a, KSM 141 Cardioid and -20dB pad, SM7B Beta 91a inside the shell, 2 inches away from front head, KSM 141 inside shell, 1 inch away from where the beater strikes. SM7B outside the kick 1 inch away from center of head Snare SM57, Beta 98Amp, Beta 57 SM57 and Beta 91Amp taped together facing over the snare drum at edge, SM57 under pointed perpendicular to head at snares Tom Beta 98Amp Off head 1 inch pointed 3 inches into the head Hat KSM 141 Cardioid, 115Hz hi pass Pointed away from kit 2 inches off hats Overheads KSM44 Cardioid Coincident XY Pair feet above center of kit Compression added with Chandler TG1 Drum Room KSM313 5 feet off ground, 3 feet in front of center of kit Compression added with UA 1176LN Upright Bass SM57, SM27 SM57 1 inch away from neck, stereo XY placement of SM27s 4 inches in front of center Ukelele SM27 stereo XY placement of SM27s 2 inches in front of center Electric Guitar Beta 98Amp, Beta 57, KSM42 Cardioid Beta 57 placed 1/3 of the distance from outside of speaker cone facing the center at a 30 angle. Beta 91Amp in rear of speaker 1/3 of the distance from outside the cone, 1/2 away from speaker. KSM42 was facing 80 off-axis 6 feet away from center of amp Viola KSM313 3 feet above bridge Violincello KSM44 Cardioid 1 foot away from center, 2 feet off the ground facing on-axis Upright Bass (Pizz) SM27 4 inches from bass f-hole3 feet off the ground Flute Beta 181 Cardioid, KSM 141 Omni Beta inches from mouthpiece, KSM feet apart and 4 feet from the player Phoebe SM7B, KSM141 80Hz roll off SM7B pop filter removed, mics taped together approximately 4 inches from vocalist Jesse Vocals SM7B, KSM141 80Hz roll off SM7B pop filter removed, mics taped together approximately 4 inches from vocalist Piano Beta 181 Cardioid, KSM 313 Coincident XY pair 4 feet above highest 2 octaves, KSM inches above highest 2 octaves Glockenspiel Beta 181 Cardioid Coincident XY pair 1 foot above center Shaker KSM 141 Omni Spaced AB Pair 3 feet apart 5 feet from source Reamp Return KSM 141 Cardioid, Beta 98Amp, Beta 181 Omni KSM 141s placed in a cooincident pair 2 inches from amp grille, facing 90 off-axis, Beta 181s were 6 feat apart and 12 feet from source. Beta 98Amp was placed inside an acoustic guitar in the center of the sound hole approximately 1/4 from strings Pop filter, Tube-Tech PE-1C Equalization Pop filter

Suppose you re going to mike a singer, a sax, or a guitar. Which mic should you choose? Where should you place it?

MICROPHONE TECHNIQUE BASICS FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS by Bruce Bartlett Copyright 2010 Suppose you re going to mike a singer, a sax, or a guitar. Which mic should you choose? Where should you place it? Your