Audio Files 20.9.2017
Back in the studio again today this time I'm exploring the Audient 8024 console.
Part A
After yesterdays session I was really excited to teach myself grouping on a whole new console and test my skills at patching on a different console. During my 4 hour session I followed the same process as yesterday. Starting out testing my knowledge of sending audio from the live room to the console and back to headphone monitors; once again setting up courtesy reverb.
Then diving into my multitrack collection I chose the classic Joy Division song Love will tear us apart to mix using groups and as much of the outboard gear in that studio as possible. Check out my little video wrap up of the session.
(Doctor Duck, 2017)
This session was great. I've never really used this console and was a little intimidated by it. After my success the day before in the Neve I hit the ground running and everything really just played out in front of me. I am starting to develop confidence in my understanding of signal flow and gain staging across various console as well. Patching was a real challenge however, when you take a breath and start from the beginning of the signal and follow it to where you are trying to make it go everything is easy.
Have a listen to my little mix from this session.
Part B
From there I moved back into the Neve studio with fellow engineer Shay Mitchell where we were working on mastering punk band Permanent Revolution. Our goal was to master their 4 track EP which Shay has been working on. During this session we discovered some EQ work that needed to be fixed to remove mud from the mix. Low cutting the overdriven guitars and a few other channels allowed the kick to come through the mix much better,
We also raised the level on the drum overheads which really brought the whole project together. After the clean up work was completed we moved on to mastering. After some effort diving through presets we settled on some options we liked then tweaked to our needs. I was really happy with our work and the first song was completed in this session. We are back in the studio in a few weeks to finalise the mastering.
Shay and I work very well together, coming from different musical background is a great thing as we both approach it from different angles. Communication with Shay makes for a fast workflow and we get great results together. We brainstorm ideas and really understand each others way of working which really helps in the studio.
Once the tracks are finished I will post links to the final project.
Part C
As our session in the Neve was coming to an end we received a call from Jaxon Arundell who had an idea for a track he wanted to record. As I don't have much experience recording bands I was more than happy to stick around and help out.
We were under a pretty serious time constraints however, in the 2 hours we managed to get the core of the idea onto tape with a guitar and drum track recorded. We miced up the guitar amp, vocal microphone as well as a basic microphone configuration on the drum kit.
As we ran out of time we booked a session for the next day where we had more time to get the idea down and a drummer coming in to make the recording. It was fun to work under a time constraint and I was rather impress by what we actually achieved. Next time (tomorrow) however, we will be more prepared and be able to get something productive out of the session.
It was great to work with Jaxon he has a great work flow and is about getting the job done. In under 2.5 hours we set up drums, guitar and vocals. Recorded a basic idea to pro tools and packed up leaving the studio ready for the next engineer. No photos as we were pushed for time more to come on this little project later.
References
Doctor Duck. (2017, October 3). Audient 8024 Love Will Tear Us Apart [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/-Sy0IULNhAI