Nothing But The Call
production notes
Monday, January 15, 2007 (10:48AM)
+ Prep for recording.
* Target method: M/S Stereo technique
- Yesterday I bought a BlueTube DP preamp so that I can
flip the phase of the side mic channel. I am going to get a
2nd mic (Behringer B2 Pro, backordered).
* Pick a tempo: 152 BPM--pretty quick.
* did a couple trial runs. Record at 24 bit, 96 kHz. This is
going to be near-field, acoustic work with little effects
(mild EQ, mild reverb, not even delay), so it needs to be
quality.
- Need to practice
- render trial_two.mp3. Can't play the rendered WAV file due
to the bit depth and sample rate. Time to get audacity
(which has been recommended to me on the PowerTracks user
forum two or three times now):
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/windows
follow instructions for Lame MP3 encoder:
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/help/faq?s=install&item=lame-mp3
Nice program! Why didn't I do this before? OK, now I can
get to a playable wav file:
: Export a WAV file from PowerTracks
: load into audacity.
: change project sample rate to 44.1 kHz (16 bits is set
as export bit depth in preferences)
: export to wav file and/or mp3 (selection only works).
- Need to make sure the click track ends by the last note,
or I can hear it in the mic.
- trial three. much better. Audacity is very nice for
prepping the final WAV and MP3 files.
: Curious--if I overwrite the original wave file, does
the audacity project update? Yes! That means I can
change the mix, generate the WAVE file, and just hit
"export" in audacity to get the final product with
audacity editing (fades, trims, etc...).
Saturday, January 20, 2007 (2:15PM)
* Got the second Behringer B2 Pro mic. Try various stereo-miking
configurations.
- I will take a tip from both Phil Keaggy and Chris Proctor:
supplement the bass with a pickup.
: This requires recording to three tracks. Simple: select
two audio inputs in the audio drivers dialog (see
audio_drivers_a). Then set the input channel to
"L+R (2 tracks)" (see audio_prefs_a). This causes PT11
to record on the current track, and the following three
tracks (the fourth is junk).
: Record flat, though I will low-pass filter at mixdown.
Do not monitor--only monitor of the mic pair.
: Route the mics through the (balanced) main bus. Route
the pickup through the subgroup. Fortunately, I have
the connectors. Not worried about super audio quality
on the pickup since it will lose the highs in the mix.
: Oops, I need to monitor off the subgroup so I can hear
the click. Record via aux 1.
- After a bit of googling, the one I see the most has the
two mics separated; one aims at the 12th fret, the other
aims at the bridge, both from 6 to 12 inches away. So
the mics are separated by 24 inches. Cardioid. Panned
hard left and right.
: Find the sweet spot via trial and error: move side to
side until the bass is panned center.
: Save as nothing_but_the_call_sep_pair.seq.
- M/S Stereo.
: Tuning the side: pan both channels center. Move faders
until silence. Then restore hard pan.
: Save as nothing_but_the_call_ms_mic.seq.
- Render both takes.
: Problem: wav file is trash. Import in both audacity
and PowerTracks. Trash in both. Try rendering MP3
directly. No luck. Reboot. No luck. That is odd since
I have rendered this file successfully before.
> remove effects one at a time. no luck
> convert to 44.1k/24 bit. No luck.
> Convert to 96k/16 bit. IT WORKS!
> I notice that 24-bit files are reported in
audacity as "32-bit float". But so is the 16-bit
file.
: Save the two:
A: nothing_but_the_call_a.mp3 Sep Pair
B: nothing_but_the_call_b.mp3 M/S Stereo
- Slam these two out on the web and get some feedback.
Sunday, January 21, 2007 (9:35AM)
- I found the perfect interface for comparing the results.
See compare_st_mics_a. Import both final results into a
new PT session. Highlight a section, use solo mode and
looping. Switch between the two by selecting the
desired track. Try the mono button.
: B sounds much better in mono...consistently.
: A sometimes gives a slightly more interesting stereo
field. But they both have a very marked field when
compared with mono.
: B has better bass...consistently.
: B might have better upper mids and highs in the
upper-fret section.
: B has a fuller sound for the Am run and strum.
B does all the strums better.
: B seems to do the low metzo-piano run better with
deeper, tighter bass.
: A has more interesting mids on the C-G/B-A2 sequence.
: A has more interesting transients on the main Em
sequence.
: B does all the bass and strums better. This makes a
more pleasing dynamic range and is a powerful argument
for it. However, A's more interesting stereo field
makes it a difficult decision. I am not sure that I
really care about the mono response. Wait for some votes
to come in from those that don't know which is the
Mid/Side and which is the separated pair. Put a poll
on the PowerTracks User Forum.
1/21/2007, 8:47 PM. A=2, B=0
: Tim Churchill wrote: "I'm not sure why, but I think I
prefer the "B" track. It may be the way it was recorded,
proximity to the mic, etc., but the guitar sounds more
real to me. It seems to pick up the true tones,
harmonics, and clarity you would hear in person. It's
just my take on the two different recordings."
Tuesday, January 30, 2007 (7:27AM)
: The poll is split 9 to 9 with the heavy hitters
favoring B (M/S). But I am thinking I prefer the
separated pair with some rework to improve bass
response.
+ Woke up at 4AM. Couldn't sleep. Composed a bridge.
"I will awaken the dawn"...again.
The feeling has been growing on me that the song needs something to
break the two repeated phrases (the song has been of form ABCABC).
At the Gm (frets 8-10), the addition goes up rather taking the
cascading downward direction and ends on A9/C#. Then I do a cute
gimmick on the 3rd and 5th strings winding down to a Bbmaj7-#4 where
I let the note hang before resuming on the Am7 run up the 2nd and
4th strings.
Saturday, February 3, 2007 (12:44PM)
+ As I approach recording, one concern is the noise level. I just
used the SLM, dBA. Check some A-weighted levels:
furnace & PC off: 30.6
furnace only: 32.4
furnace + PC: 35.5
guitar low: 75.0
guitar high: 87.0
- The SLM (Check Mate CM-150) lowest range is 30db.
- Most of the residual noise comes from the PC fan. The furnace
and PC fan are broadband and not objectionable. This gives me a
minimum signal-to-noise ratio of 50db. The big problems come
from cars driving by and the boys playing. Record late at night.
- While doing this I leaned the 414 against my desk chair
(instead of the three guitar stands in the room). While I
turned my back to take a reading, the chair rotated and dropped
the tip of the headstock on the metal tube leg of the utility
table putting my first REAL ding in the guitar. OK...I bought
it to use it. Sorry, Jesus, about my initial response. Your
will be done, not mine.
Tuesday, February 6, 2007 (8:25AM)
+ Record. The time has come. I have practiced A LOT with the
metronome above and below 152. It is snowing outside, and the house
is quiet. Fingers are in great shape. The 414 has new strings, and
I adjusted the action (Low E = 5.5 64ths, High E = 4.5 64ths).
* Begin a new SEQ file. Perhaps it will write the 24-bit
wav file.
* Tried dropping the right mic, thinking it would pick up
better treble, but the bass suffers. Raise it back to the
same level as the left mic.
* Setup took about an hour. It's also taking a while for me
to relax in front of the mics. Second attempt went decent,
but my finger missed the high G and I breathed during the
pause. 10:25 AM
* Oops, forgot to tune.
* 11:58 AM I think take three is a winner. I goofed the bridge
lick. Rather than try a punch-in, I just recorded that sequence
at the end and pasted it into its spot (easy since it is
flanked by silence on both ends).
* Nope, can't write a 24-bit wav file.
Friday, February 9, 2007 (4:23PM)
+ Mix.
* Trial mix was a bit bass heavy. Perhaps too much of the
expression system.
* Trim some of the pause in the bridge end.
* Add slight EQ to mics. dip at 250Hz.
* Final editing in Audacity.
- Trim. Fade in and fade out.
- Convert to 44.1kHz.
* render nothing_but_the_call_mix_a.wav
and nothing_but_the_call_mix_a.mp3
Tuesday, February 20, 2007 (5:58PM)
* Still too bass heavy. One of the forum guys mentioned it, and
I notice it in the car. Most evident on PC speakers (with
subwoofer). Rely on PC speakers and Fostex T40 headphones.
Drop pickup fader from 100 to 79--about 4 db. Render
nothing_but_the_call_mix_b.wav & nothing_but_the_call_mix_b.mp3
4db?!? How did I miss that? It still sounds slightly bassy in
the car, but great otherwise.
total production hours to date: 15.0
Friday, October 26, 2007 (6:00PM)
* I can't believe I left that dead note in there! Time to fix it.
Just grab the next instance of it.
- The trick is selecting the portion of the following
three notes that is just long enough to overwrite these
three without a gap that would be an audible glitch.
I zoomed in on the six-note sequence and used the markers
window to measure the lengths. Then I used the cursor
hot keys to set the markers.
- Oops, can't write 24/96 output. Convert to 16/44--for good!
- Render nothing_but_the_call_mix_c.wav and
nothing_but_the_call_mix_c.mp3. Use 192kbps for the MP3
resolution--this was, after all, my little episode of
audiophilitus.