1/03/13

Today we were back in the universities multitrack studio, where the rack and floor tom elements were recorded for the first piece. (See project photos Tab). Additionally experimentation with recording techniques was applied with the use of 4 microphones recording 2 to 3 drums at a time. Microphones used included:

2 Beyerdynamic M 201’S for direct miking

Shure SM57  – mid positioning to pick up tom blend and focused rim shots

AKG C414 – Overhead microphone

After initial tracking in the morning, both the previous edits from the last session and the current session worked upon have been exported and have been cut and edited in one of the audio suites on campus. These final audio cuts have now been re exported ready for editing, mixing and mastering within cubase 5 using my bedroom recording setup.

24/03/13

Yesterday myself and Ryan finished the editing elements of the first piece. Editing and layering all of the performed drum parts to interact in time with each other proved a tedious process, however with the help of drum pocketing the final result has proven to be effective. The overall result of the recorded snare has proven to pay off with very little post processing needed to be done. Although this is the case, we found that the rack and floor toms were quite top heavy within the lower frequency ranges and the recorded kick drum appears to be lacking punch and clarity. The kick drum resulted in being cross blended with another sampled kick drum within drumagog 5 – resulting in a positive result when equally blended. Additionally these issues with the other drums were eliminated through the use of compression, EQ and noise gating. After level balancing, all of the drums have been parallel compressed within this piece to give them an enhanced feel of space and attack that is consistent throughout the progression of the track.

 

26/03/13

Initial developments for the second track have commenced, with brainstorming ideas being developed on for the 4 genre bases covered within the second movement of this percussion EP. We discovered that to pull this off, the use of sampling some vocal accapella sections from popular tracks could be used to give an enhanced effect being triggered within the DTX550 Electric drum-set module alongside performed drum elements. Additionally the piece is a form of investigation into both production elements of electronic music and the associated styles of drum performance.

 

29/03/13

Today the beginning sections of the second piece were tracked, and experimentation with rough ideas and drum beats were tracked in a rough manner, in correlation to the diagram created in the last session. We decided that the progression of the second movement will begin with a transitional snare from the first piece into the second to maintain fluidity and flow throughout the entire EP. Furthermore, the genre order has been establish transitioning from R’n’B elements through to dubstep which will then progress to a dance style groove. The piece will come do a close with a tempo rise and progression in the form of popular music genre; drum and bass.