Producer Spotlight: Andrew Scheps

Producer Spotlight: Andrew Scheps

Andrew Scheps is a Grammy-Award winning Engineer and Producer and has worked with a range of Artists including: Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Hozier, Adele, Beyoncé and Lana Del Rey to name a few. Scheps’ style of recording and mixing is one that has set him apart from other Producers and Engineers in the Industry and is one that has inspired the way I think about certain aspects of recording and mixing in the studio.

Recording

An interesting recording technique that Scheps will often use is Live Re-Amping on the Drums. In this technique he will use a standard 6-8 close mic setup on the drums and he will bus these close mic tracks to the to one single track which will then be re-amped through an Amplifier. In this case he uses a Roland Keyboard amp as it has a very flat Frequency response so there is no accidental coloration of the sound. After feeding the close-mics into the amplifier, he then Records the driven amplifier using a vintage RCA Large Diaphragm condenser set approximately 12ft above, facing towards the amp in the room. This way this mic captures the full sound of the room. This technique is used as an overdub technique and is blended in with the original drum track and adds an interesting, driven, live sounding element to the drums.

Mixing Techniques

Scheps has quite an interesting approach to mixing, as he is an engineer that had started off working largely with Tape and Neve recording consoles in earlier albums he worked on. More recently he has become more inclined to work in the box when mixing. He stated that he finds it easier and more efficient working in the box and it enables him to be mixing several projects at the same time, not only that but he states that mixing in the box can often sound the same if not better for some things. Another technique used by Scheps is his use of Parallel compression. Often in his mixes from the very start he will use a large amount of in-direct compression. In doing this a technique he uses is, to store the compressors in a template on an aux-track, this way he can audition different compressors in various signal orders to see which react best to what he is using them for.

Cans on for a listening list:

Hozier: “Sedated”

RHCP: “Brendan’s Death Song”

Lana Del Rey: “Paradise”

Audioslave: “Cochise”

Mixing Oceancode

Mixing Oceancode

Following up on my last Blog of Tracking Oceancode, I am going to talk about some of the processes I used when later mixing the tracks. Oceancode is a four-piece band with Bass, Drums, Electric Guitar, Acoustic guitar and Vocals. The mix of these two Tracks was fairly convenient as I had recorded the multi-tracks my-self. This meant that straight away I had well recorded tracks, with the sounds I was looking for and I wouldn’t have to deal with drum tracks being out of phase or other phase cancellation problems.

When communicating with the band on the sound of the mixes that we were aiming for, we decided we wanted to go for a pretty natural recording of the song and let it be more of a demonstration of what the band would sound like Live. In doing this I started doing a rough mix of levels with the whole session to get a good idea of where things were sitting. From there I focused in on mixing specific elements, starting with the Drums first. After fader pushing to get general levels where I wanted them, I then went in to do some Artistic EQ on individual drums. I EQ-d the Kick-drum; boosting 120 Hz, cutting the Mid-range around 2.5kHz and pulling-up the highs around 8k. A large part of the drum sound came from the overheads: I had used quite a lot of compression on the over-heads to bring up the exciting high-frequencies of a kit. This was a technique I had seen used by the Engineer Steve Albini.

When mixing Guitars I started with Electric and then Acoustic, I then grouped them seeing how they would sit together in the mix. Then progressively adding the separate elements together to see how the track was sitting as whole instrumental section. After I was happy with how the Track was sounding instrumentally, I then added the Vocal. The recording of the vocal I had was very good and I basically just wanted to build on how good the vocal was sounding. I used a 1176 Warm Audio Clone out-board for compression on the Vocal as well as using this as a gain stage for the vocal, driving the input. I used a standard reverb plug in on the vocal with 17% wetness and scooping the mid-frequencies on the EQ to give a very sublet Light Reverb sound.

In the Mastering stages of this Track I bounced it down to a Stereo File, putting it back into a separate Pro Tools session. I then sent the Stereo File through a Stereo Channel on the SSL using the SSL’s EQ for some Over-all mastering EQ. After I was happy with my EQs, I then sent the track through the SSLs Bus compressor, I used the compression to help glue the whole track together and also used this as a Gain-stage by driving the Make-up. The final stages of the master I used a Digital Limiter for my final gain-stage and to stop the track from clipping, as well as a  POW-r Dither on the Master Fader in Pro-tools, this made sure the track was of a level that was commercially acceptable and was dithered down to the correct 16 Bit and 44.1kHz.   

Tracking OceanCode

Tracking Oceancode

I was approached by the band Pop/Folk band: Oceancode to record two of their tracks back in May. Having heard their music previously in a live setting and having sat in on one of their Pre-production sessions I was excited to work with the group and knew I could bring something to the table when recording/producing them.

The bands setup is: Bass, Drums, Electric-guitar, Vocals and Acoustic Guitar. The tracking process was fairly standard- starting off with a guide vocal and Acoustic Guitar played to a click track. This meant that the full structure of the songs were laid-down and allowed the Drummer to record to the basics of the track providing more feel for the drummer to record to rather than just a click-track.

Drums

The drums were an 9 Mic setup using; AKG D-112 inside the kick-drum, approx 10 inches away from the beater; AKG C3000 Large-diaphragm condenser on the reso-head at 8 o’clock if the drum was a clock face, this mic was here to transduce the sub-frequencies of the kick-drum. On the snare I used a SM57 with a pencil condenser duct-taped to the side making sure the Capsules were matched, using this mic combination meant that I got some nice mid-range ‘wack’ from the 57 and some more ringy high-frequencies off the pencil condenser. For Over-heads I used a pair of Matched Neumann TLM-105s, I used these microphones for the over-heads as the room I was recording in was very dry and the cymbals I was recording were Dark, this gave a nice balance as the TLM-105s tend to record very bright.

Guitar and Bass

In recording the Guitar I used a SM57 right against the grill of the Cabinet, off-centre from the middle of the Speaker cone. I like using this mic on guitar cabs as it has a really nice mid-range and a High SPL Level, sounding really nice when the cab is cranked. I also used an Audio-Technica AT4040 Large- Diaphragm Condenser behind the back of the cabinet pointed at the back of the speaker. This allowed me to get a really bright bell-like sound of the Speaker.

Bass

Bass was recorded Directly into a channel on the SSL 948, using the SSLs EQ boosting 1dB at 60Hz and rolling-off the high frequencies.

Acoustic Guitar

In Recording Acoustic Guitar I used a matched pair of AKG 414s. Placing one approximately 10 inches away from the 12th fret of the guitar and one over the Player’s right shoulder. Since the player was right handed the addition of this second microphone was meant to give the illusion of listening from the players Perspective.

Vocals

In recording Vocals the singer had a very bright, raspy voice, the microphone we worked out to be best for this was a Rode Large Diaphragm as it had some nice warm High-mids. I also ran the microphone through the 1176 clone compressor to use the tubes in that compressor to warm the sound up a bit. The settings on this compressor were a fairly slow attack and release.

The Art of the Engineer

In 2017 the job of a ‘Sound Engineer’ can mean multiple different things. With technology constantly changing the way that music is made and mixed, the occupation of the studio engineer is one that is ever-changing. With contemporary music production taking a decisively DIY approach to making, mixing and mastering your own music, the roles of a: Arranger, Producer, Mixer and Mastering engineer are often all encompassed in the one mind.

One of the most exciting aspects about engineering, is similar to that of any creative embodiment, whether that be playing an instrument or compressing a pair of over-heads every individual will do it differently and in their own unique way. With this in mind there are certain aspects that the modern engineer should consider.

Often due to a smaller budget of making music, the studio engineer will often have to act as the Producer and arranger of the session. This means that the engineer will have to approach a project from an artistic point of view. Meaning they will need to have an understanding of; the instruments they are recording; song structure; melody and harmony and most importantly how to communicate effectively with the artist they are working with.

The role of the engineer has changed dramatically in the last fifty-years, going from someone who is there to simply capture the best recording and performance of an artist, to someone who can define a composition by the specific recording and creative technology they use. This being said it is important to have a proficient understanding in all major DAWs (Pro Tools, Ableton, Logic) and how they could be used in this creative sense. This is also important as working with different artists, it is likely their soundscape will be ever changing. Having the knowledge of where different DAWs work best is essential in being able to create the most ideal sound.

It is important to have the knowledge of; using DAWs; specific mic-ing techniques and being able to mix and master tracks, one of the most important traits that the modern engineer should possess is being able to think like an artist and the ability to communicate effectively to whoever they are working with. These traits after all are the ones that are most in-line with the end goal of making music.

Producer Spotlight: 'Malay'

Producer Spotlight: James Ryan Ho ‘Malay’

on Lewis Capaldi’s “Fade”

The Producer Malay has worked and collaborated with artists such as John Legend, Frank Ocean, Sam Smith and most recently Lewis Capaldi. Even although the artists he has worked with vary quite considerably in sound, when listening to the tracks that Malay had produced and collaborated with them on, there is a very definite sound and production style that runs consistently through them.

Taking Lewis Capaldi’s ‘Fade’ from his debut EP: Bloom. The track starts with Piano and vocals which is no stray too far from what Capaldi would normally work with, having self-released his debut single “Bruises” as a fully acoustic piece. At the start of the track the you can already hear Malay’s sound by the heavy compression on the vocal, as well as the light airy reverb and subtle delay. As the track progresses there are more signature sounds of Malay’s that are added; such as sub frequency synths that are covered in a lush reverb. This reverb helps push the Synths further back in the mix giving the illusion of the main focus: the vocal being at the very front. This is a technique used by Malay quite a lot and in result can leave a mix sounding very full without a lot of things going on. In the Second Chorus of the song there are Drums that enter. These drums are live drums that have been recorded, sampled and played back from a sampler. Malay is notorious for building his beats this way and I feel that this is one of the things that makes his production unique. The drums even although they are samples don’t feel programmed at all and are played with irregularity and feel. Malay’s drum sound is one of the most recognisable aspects of his production style, being recorded in with feel and human timing discrepancies but also mixed with contemporary sub and drum sounds. These are just a few things that makes Malay’s mixes sound like him.

Cans on for a Listening List:

 Sam Smith: “Say it first”

Lewis Capaldi: “Fade”

Frank Ocean: “Pink+White”

James Morrison: “Heaven To a Fool”

One Mic Drum Recording

One-Mic Drum Recording Technique

Taking inspiration from minimalist drum mic-ing techniques used by engineers such as Glyn Johns (Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Rolling Stones) and Paul Mabury (iwantthatsoundsamples). I experimented in the studio with recording a drum-kit using only using one microphone. The microphone I used was as Large Diaphragm condenser (AKG perception 820), switching the Polar-pattern to Omni so the microphone would transduce from all angles. I positioned the microphone directly over the kick-drum beater, roughly 12 inches above the top of the kick-drum hoop, angled facing towards the snare and hi-hat. I used this positioning so that I could get good attack from the kick-drum beater and a clear defined balance between the snare, hat and cymbal. I was running this microphone through a channel on the SSL aws948 consol. After I was happy with the positioning of the microphone and how it was recording I ran it through the SSL’s built-in bus compressor .I had the threshold around 10 o’clock and the Make-up around 1 o’clock. I did this so I would have some light compression but I was able to drive the make-up of the channel quite a considerable amount. As for the attack and release of the compressor I had quite a fast attack at 3 milliseconds and had the release on Auto so that it would react to the transient hits of the drum-kit. I managed to get a well-balanced, modest recording of the drum-kit using only one microphone. With the additional use of the SSL’s compressor I was able to get a full, punchy and energetic drum sound that could fool your ears into thinking it was a multiple mic setup. 

Producer Spotlight: Jacquire King

Producer Spolight: Jacquire King

Jacquire King (James Bay, Kings of Leon, Tom Waits, Norah Jones, Buddy Guy) is American producer/mixer/engineer that largely works at Blackbird studio in Nashville. King’s approach to recording and mixing artists is one that has had great influence on my own work.

Microphone Recording techniques

Some of the microphone techniques used by King that I found interesting and have utilised in my own recording can be heard in the recording of James Bay’s ‘Chaos and the Calm’. One mic-ing technique I have used is the Kick/snare condenser. In-between the kick drum and snare I placed a large diaphragm condenser that sat parallel to the snare drum stand and roughly 10 inches away from the kick drum beater contact point. I switched the polar pattern to figure of eight so that it would pick-up from all directions. The result I found from using this technique was a great deal more of attack from the kick drum and a soft, detailed snare sound, adding excitement and energy to the drum sound.

Another Mic technique that King uses is the mic-ing of the echo chamber next to the drum live room in Blackbird studio. King will put a large-diaphragm condenser in the echo chamber that is situated next to the live room. He will then open the door to the chamber letting the drum sound enter and reflect off the walls and this is what will be recorded. He will then blend this auxiliary track in with the remaining drum tracks. This adds an overall wet and live sounding drum track, with the addition of compression on this track can make for a very full sounding auxiliary to blend in with your existing mix. As I did not have access to an echo-chamber I bussed my Stereo drum fader to an auxiliary track that had an EQ-ed reverb plug-in on it to give the sound of a reflective room.

Mixing Techniques

Some mixing techniques of King that have found their way into my production style is use of compression and his approach to arranging. King will tend to group the Kick drum, bass and snare together and send them to an auxiliary track. He will then compress this auxiliary track heavily and adjust amount added to the mix by the Aux fader. This technique is called parallel compression. As there is only Kick, bass and snare in this group, adding compression to these elements helps to ‘glue’ the bottom end of the mix together and makes for more exciting, symbiotic low-end. This technique also helps separate frequencies by treating them as one particular frequency group: making it easier to deal with your over-all EQ in mastering stages. Another benefit of using in-direct compression on tracks I found, is whilst adding excitement and gain to a particular element of your track it also makes automation within those groups feel more subtle and natural rather than automating a track that is directly compressed.

A less technical but equally as important production technique that I have found myself using in my own work is King’s approach towards arrangement. An example of this would be in James Bay’s track ‘Let it Go’. King’s arrangement of this song is very minimalist, exposing the bare bones of the song at the start but gradually adding different elements to help the song build. Elements such as programmed percussion, acoustic drums, bass guitar and backing vocals are added to the track gradually. I feel that when this approach is taken, it creates depth within the track, letting it be exposed acoustically bringing all focus to the song before building it into a more accentuated piece. 

Cans on for a Listening List:

Kings of Leon "Use Somebody" 

James Bay "Let it Go" "Collide" 

Niall Horan "Slow Hands" 

"Seems I've Been Waiting"

“Seems I’ve Been Waiting” is the latest single set for release with my three-piece band: Naros Fortuna. The writing process of the song was pretty typical of the way I approach most of my writing. The song started life on acoustic guitar as a chord progression and after spending some time playing those chords the first line and subject for the song shortly followed. As with most of my songs, I will tend to write them so that they can stand by themselves and remain impactful when stripped-back and played acoustically. This way I know if I produce and add more instrumentation it is likely that it will only heighten that impact.

From a production stand-point in this track I knew I wanted to have some element of the acoustic version featured. At the same time had the idea of playing it as a full band and knew that it had the potential to open up and become a powerful, widely dynamic song. This is where the arrangement of the song came about.

The song starts with an acoustic guitar and vocal. On the vocal I used a Fairchild compressor to boost the gain and lightly compress, whilst also using a Moog delay with a fast delay time to thicken the vocal very subtly. Reverb-wise I used a plug-in, shortening the decay time and over-all wetness mix whilst scooping the mid frequencies s to get a very natural room-sounding reverb. Similar processing was done to the acoustic guitar, this was done for this part of the song to emphasise its intimacy. When the full band enters the whole energy of the track is taken to another level. At this point in the song the character of the vocal changes quite dramatically. To accentuate this change and capitalise on the boost of energy I added a ‘Slap-back’ tape-delay to intensify the body of the vocal.

The overall production idea for the track was to keep the instrumentation simple and for everything that was in the track to contribute towards the song living and breathing.

"We're All Gonna Die"

“We’re all Gonna Die”

 Artist: Dawes

Having heard a few songs by Dawes from earlier Albums and I liked their sound of Acoustic Rock with a heavy emphasis on Song-writing and lyrical aspects. When I heard the album “We’re All Gonna Die” I was intrigued with how different the band sounded. The band had chosen to work with producer Blake Mills (Alabama Shakes, Laura Marling, John Legend) for this album and in doing that you can hear Mills’ influence and productions ideas laced throughout.

Mills’ artistic vision with the album was to keep the fundamentals of the group in place but to completely change the way each member approached their instrument. The Track “roll with the punches” demonstrates this. Instead of a lead guitar taking centre of focus and being accompanied by keys as a rhythm instrument they achieve this “Lead Tone” by playing a Clavinet keyboard directly through a Fender Blackface amplifier whilst heavily driving the tubes in the amp. This creates a tone that has a guitar vibe but offers the ability to make the notes much more staccato and harsh. The drum setup for this track is also unique as Mills took all of the sustaining cymbals (crashes,rides) out of the studio, leaving just HI-Hats, kick and snare. This made Griffin Goldsmith (drummer) play in a much more minimalist style

,making the feel of the groove the primary focus. These productions aspects that Mills’ uses on the track are not overly-complicated technically, but instead challenge the performers thinking and in an in-direct way dictate how they react to their instrument, resulting in them playing in a certain way they to which they might not have done before.

Compression

When looking for techniques to liven-up and add body to my mixes, I find compression to be one of the most useful tools available. In mixing my most recent track, “Seems I’ve been waiting”, I used techniques such as Parallel and Side-chain Compression. The track begins with an acoustic guitar and vocal, before launching into a full band (Elec Gtr, Bass and Drums) at the start of the second verse. There is significant increase in dynamics when the band enters and the drums are playing a thunderous back-beat on the floor-tom and snare.

To heighten the energy at this point I used Parallel Compression on a bus from the Drum stereo master channel. This allowed me to use the aux-track to heavily compress the drum sound, adding more thud and air. I compressed the Aux-track to a point in which if it was played on its own, it would sound overly compressed with over-powering highs and lows. My intentions behind this was so that when the aux track was blended with the original stereo track I could achieve a subtle balance between the two, creating a more substantial drum sound.

I used side-chain compression on the start of the track where there is only Acoustic guitar and vocals. I found that in order to achieve the sound I wanted for both the vocal and guitar, meant that they were overlapping each other and clashing. In side-chaining the guitar to the vocal meant that when the vocal transients were happening, the guitar was compressed, making it duck out the way of the vocal. This was a very subtle use of side-chain compression but made a more harmonious relationship between the guitar and the vocal.