Jay Pemberton
09-14-2008, 02:53 PM
Here's a pair of versions of a song called 'My best friend' I recorded by local bluegrass group Blue Dogwood in the studio.
We began the recording on 4th September. It was a long session fraught with many difficulties and frustrations. After several hours, it was finally decided to let the song's writer simply play acoustic guitar the way he had done when he wrote the song, and sing it at the same time, with minimal participation by anyone else in the group. The group's leader sang harmony backup while the acoustic bassist played as well. No punch-ins or overdubs or editing, this is one performance from start to finish. The three other members sat quietly in the studio; the recording went onto 4 tracks. This is a quick stereo mix made at the end of the session:
'My best friend (Mk 1)' (http://www.mediafire.com/file/nntyt10iyhj)
Mikes used: Lead vocal, Neumann U47fet; compressor, UREI LA 4; acoustic guitar, Neumann U87, as cardioid, with bass rolloff engaged; harmony vocal, AKG C451E with CK1 cardioid capsule; acoustic bass, Marshall MX 603; compressor, modified Rocktron 360.
The group's leader thought the recording needed a bit of help, as it was thought just a bit too 'raw' as is. A week later, along with the group's lead acoustic guitarist, they added some extra parts to the above recording. Sorting out just what 'worked' also took many hours in the studio. In order, the overdubs were: acoustic rhythm guitar, acoustic lead guitar ('fills', they called the bits), mandolin (which was played by the group's leader), and a second harmony vocal part the lead guitarist added.
Mikes used for these overdubs: acoustic guitar bits, Neumann U87, as above; mandolin, the U47fet; for the vocal, the 47 again, through an LA 4.
All recorded at 30 ips on my Fostex E-16 on Quantegy GP9 tape. Mixed at 24/96 onto my Alesis Masterlink.
The mixing of this version also required a lot of preparation, including spot erasing of mouth noises on the original lead vocal track, which didn't seem obtrusive on the first version; but with the added compression required (LA 4 to the rescue) to make it 'sit' properly in this second mix, they were magnified and sounded like bursts of static!
Here's how the song will appear on the album:
'My best friend (Mk 2)' (http://www.mediafire.com/?1axebcd3ml1)
Enjoy!
We began the recording on 4th September. It was a long session fraught with many difficulties and frustrations. After several hours, it was finally decided to let the song's writer simply play acoustic guitar the way he had done when he wrote the song, and sing it at the same time, with minimal participation by anyone else in the group. The group's leader sang harmony backup while the acoustic bassist played as well. No punch-ins or overdubs or editing, this is one performance from start to finish. The three other members sat quietly in the studio; the recording went onto 4 tracks. This is a quick stereo mix made at the end of the session:
'My best friend (Mk 1)' (http://www.mediafire.com/file/nntyt10iyhj)
Mikes used: Lead vocal, Neumann U47fet; compressor, UREI LA 4; acoustic guitar, Neumann U87, as cardioid, with bass rolloff engaged; harmony vocal, AKG C451E with CK1 cardioid capsule; acoustic bass, Marshall MX 603; compressor, modified Rocktron 360.
The group's leader thought the recording needed a bit of help, as it was thought just a bit too 'raw' as is. A week later, along with the group's lead acoustic guitarist, they added some extra parts to the above recording. Sorting out just what 'worked' also took many hours in the studio. In order, the overdubs were: acoustic rhythm guitar, acoustic lead guitar ('fills', they called the bits), mandolin (which was played by the group's leader), and a second harmony vocal part the lead guitarist added.
Mikes used for these overdubs: acoustic guitar bits, Neumann U87, as above; mandolin, the U47fet; for the vocal, the 47 again, through an LA 4.
All recorded at 30 ips on my Fostex E-16 on Quantegy GP9 tape. Mixed at 24/96 onto my Alesis Masterlink.
The mixing of this version also required a lot of preparation, including spot erasing of mouth noises on the original lead vocal track, which didn't seem obtrusive on the first version; but with the added compression required (LA 4 to the rescue) to make it 'sit' properly in this second mix, they were magnified and sounded like bursts of static!
Here's how the song will appear on the album:
'My best friend (Mk 2)' (http://www.mediafire.com/?1axebcd3ml1)
Enjoy!