Friday, January 18, 2008

How I would record Lung Rip --

01. I would set up the drums in my spare bedroom. First I would sound-check the band all playing together in this room. I would start off by measuring the dB level of the room with only the drums being played. I would then adjust the level on the bass amp so it was mixed with the drum kit, followed by the guitar. I would have the band play a song to make sure everything was "mixed" -- I believe in this recording process all mixing should be done in pre-production.

02. I would leave the drums in the spare bedroom and have the bass & guitars set up in my basement. Before recording anything I would adjust the EQ settings on both the bass & guitar amps to match the new environment (leaving the volume the same -- so it is already "mixed" with the kit). I will also measure the dB level for the guitar & bass in the new sonic environment.

03. Using very long cables or wireless headphones the entire band could play together being on opposite sides of the house. Doing this will help isolate each instrument so all sonic properties are documented and recorded.

The microphones I will use:
Drums: Sound Professionals TFB-2
Guitar: Sound Professionals TFB-2
Bass: Sound Professionals TFB-2

04. I will then have the band play the songs live and record the three instruments using only three microphones.

05. To mix the music I will set the drums to the playback volume of whatever the dB level was when played in the room. After the drums are playing back at the natural volume I will mute the drums and play the bass back at the natural dB volume. In theory the bass will be mixed since this was done in pre-production. Last I will mix in the guitar. Evey thing will be done in levels and will be presented in the most natural & organic way possible.

06. I will set up a PA System. I will move all of the instruments back into the spare bedroom. I will set the PA System to a natural mix with the band playing. I will then have all three members sing at the same-time and match the band dB level to the sound of just the vocals alone. I will use these numbers to mix into the Music Mix. I will record the room using the TFB-2 microphones.

07. When the vocals are done the album will be done. I will have four stereo tracks. Drums, Bass, Guitar, Vocals. Everything will be mixed because all mixing will be done in pre-production using dB readings. The dB readings will be carried over into the simple mix-down of these four .wav files.

Recording Lung Rip in this fashion will be a very scientific recording process that will best represent the energy & natural organic sound of the instruments, the rooms & environments the instruments are recorded in, and the performances of the band.

1 comment:

My Idea of Fun said...

Let's give it a whirl...