Production know-how by

Health & Safety

jamesjoshi2 — 2024-10-04 10:39:04 UTC

Know where fire exits are, dont leave cables out as trip hazards, wear ear protection/dont play music too loud.

Keep space tidy to allow focus only on music.

Safe listening levels are between 75 and 85db

Production Techniques Research

jamesjoshi2 — 2024-12-11 17:36:13 UTC

Reference track for sidechain compression - Rhythm Killer by Sly & Robbie.

I used some free reggae stems as a practice mix, learning how to use a sidechain compressor to subtly duck the bass when the kick hits for a tighter groove. With this I also learned about parallel compressors and how they can add warmth and punch to the low-end, or how they can thicken out drums.

Reference track for multi-tracking guitars - Geek U.S.A by The Smashing Pumpkins. Butch Vig and Billy Corgan wanted a huge, expansive guitar sound on this song and album, so recorded up to 100 overdubbed guitar parts, and panned them wide

Reference track for vocals - Come Home by Pip Blom. Ultra compressed and cold but cozy sounding

LG - Step 2

jamesjoshi2 — 2024-12-11 17:36:20 UTC

On the first 2 LG tracks, I used a high-pass shelf to cut away the low-end sub-frequencies, subtly dipping the low-mids and boosting the high-mids whilst carefully cutting the ultra-highs with a small low-pass filter to sweeten and brighten the tone.

Drums - Step 1

jamesjoshi2 — 2024-12-12 07:45:24 UTC

I chose to pan the hi hat far to the right with the snare also sitting on the right to emulate the listener facing a live kit.

Vox - Step 7

jamesjoshi2 — 2024-12-12 08:53:46 UTC

I sidechained reverb on the lead vocal, completely removing the dry signal

Mix Breakdown

jamesjoshi2 — 2024-12-12 08:57:59 UTC

Drums:

Reverb

Doubled kick and snare

Sidechained kick with bass guitar

Panning

Parallel compressor

Bass:

Compression

Chorus

Sidechained to kick drum

Lead Guitar:

Sweetened tone with EQ (tracks 1 and 2)

Applied compressor

Quad-tracking

Panning

Low-focus EQ (tracks 3 and 4)

Overdrive (tracks 1 and 2)

Volume automation

Replaced silence with guitar at start

Support Guitar:

Applied EQ

Compression

Reverb

Chorus

Panning

Lead Vox:

Applied EQ

Primary compressor - fast attack

Touch of warm distortion

Secondary compressor - slow release

Applied DeEsser

Applied secondary EQ - isolates mids

Removed silence to correct bleed

Applied parallel compressor

Sidechained reverb

Backing Vox:

Panned around

Applied EQ

Applied compressor

Applied reverb

Keys:

Double-tracked

Panned

Reverb

Mastered

Vox - Step 2

jamesjoshi2 — 2024-12-12 09:04:05 UTC

Applied a primary compressor with fast attack

Vox - Step 4

jamesjoshi2 — 2024-12-12 09:05:29 UTC

Applied a secondary compressor to lead Vox with a slower, gradual release

Vox - Step 3

jamesjoshi2 — 2024-12-12 09:06:55 UTC

Applied a touch of ChromaGlow distortion to the vox, giving them a warm, fuzzier sound

Vox - Step 1

jamesjoshi2 — 2024-12-12 09:17:19 UTC

I cut away the sub-frequencies while boosting the low-mids, subtly dipping the high-mids and carefully increasing the top-end frequencies

Vox - Step 5

jamesjoshi2 — 2024-12-12 09:19:18 UTC

I applied a DeEsser to the vox to decrease unwanted harshness

Vox - Step 6

jamesjoshi2 — 2024-12-12 09:20:54 UTC

Added this secondary EQ to really isolate mids, using Pip Blom's Come Home as reference

BV - Step 1

jamesjoshi2 — 2024-12-12 09:26:54 UTC

I applied panning to the gang vocals (mid left and right), whilst keeping the main backing vocal centred to thicken sound and make it more atmospheric

BV - Step 2

jamesjoshi2 — 2024-12-12 09:28:28 UTC

I created a bus to apply the following effects to all of the backing vox, beginning with EQ.

BV - Step 3

jamesjoshi2 — 2024-12-12 09:29:17 UTC

I applied a compressor to the bus

BV - Step 4

jamesjoshi2 — 2024-12-12 09:30:08 UTC

I applied a touch of reverb to the bus

Vox - Step 9

jamesjoshi2 — 2024-12-12 09:33:06 UTC

I cut away any silence between lyrics to correct bleed from the other instruments

Vox - Step 8

jamesjoshi2 — 2024-12-12 09:38:37 UTC

I sidechained another compressor to apply parallel compression, inspired by 'Come Home' vocals by Pip Blom - ultra compressed

Keys - Step 1

jamesjoshi2 — 2024-12-12 09:42:47 UTC

I duplicated the keyboard track and panned them hard left and hard right

Keys - Step 2

jamesjoshi2 — 2024-12-12 09:44:16 UTC

I then applied a spring reverb, giving the keys an atmospheric sound combined with the wide panning

SG - Step 1

jamesjoshi2 — 2024-12-12 10:05:47 UTC

I EQ'd the support guitar to look like this, cleaning up its tone

SG - Step 2

jamesjoshi2 — 2024-12-12 10:07:01 UTC

I applied a compressor to the guitar

SG - Step 3

jamesjoshi2 — 2024-12-12 10:08:10 UTC

I applied a touch of reverb to give it that spaciness, complimenting the rest of the track

SG - Step 4

jamesjoshi2 — 2024-12-12 10:08:55 UTC

I added a little chorus to thicken up the sound

SG - Step 5

jamesjoshi2 — 2024-12-12 10:11:11 UTC

I panned the guitar slightly to the left, giving it room to flourish in the mix

LG - Step 1

jamesjoshi2 — 2024-12-12 10:15:21 UTC

Inspired by Butch Vig's production on Siamese Dream, I duplicated the guitar track 3 times and panned them expansively, creating a layered and thick sound

LG - Step 3

jamesjoshi2 — 2024-12-12 10:29:00 UTC

I applied a studio VCA compressor to all of the LG tracks

LG - Step 4

jamesjoshi2 — 2024-12-12 10:30:01 UTC

On the first 2 tracks, I applied overdrive to amp up the energy and tone

LG - Step 5

jamesjoshi2 — 2024-12-12 10:36:42 UTC

On the 3rd and 4th lead guitar tracks, I applied this EQ pattern, sinking the guitars in the mix and leaving room for other instruments

LG - Step 6

jamesjoshi2 — 2024-12-12 16:40:52 UTC

I automated the volume of the 3rd and 4th LG tracks to begin quiet, cutting out in the verses and coming back loud in the instrumental breaks and choruses. This creates a juxtaposition in dynamics for a more interesting listen

LG - Step 7

jamesjoshi2 — 2024-12-12 16:43:12 UTC

I used the scissor tool to copy the first few bars of lead guitar, then paste them over the silence at the beginning of the track, syncing it up with the kick drum to keep it in time. This, paired with the automation (also automating the drums to start quiet) creates an ambient intro before exploding into the song when all the instruments come in

LG - Step 8

jamesjoshi2 — 2024-12-12 16:44:49 UTC

I automated the volume on the first 2 LG tracks to get louder at the final solo, going out with a bang

Bass - Step 1

jamesjoshi2 — 2024-12-12 16:47:21 UTC

I applied this EQ pattern to the bass, lightly boosting in most areas

Bass - Step 2

jamesjoshi2 — 2024-12-12 16:50:55 UTC

Applied this compressor

Bass - Step 3

jamesjoshi2 — 2024-12-12 16:52:03 UTC

I applied this chorus to the bass to add some punch and thickness to that low-end

Bass - Step 4

jamesjoshi2 — 2024-12-12 16:54:21 UTC

Identified and corrected the pitch error

Bass - Step 5

jamesjoshi2 — 2024-12-12 17:02:10 UTC

I used a sidechain compressor to subtly duck the bass when the kick hits it for a tighter groove

Drums - Step 2

jamesjoshi2 — 2024-12-12 17:14:16 UTC

This is the sidechain compressor linked to the bass guitar - it's only on the kick drum

Drums - Step 3

jamesjoshi2 — 2024-12-12 17:15:09 UTC

I applied this EQ to the hi-hat mic, giving it more high-end pop

Drums - Step 4

jamesjoshi2 — 2024-12-12 17:16:38 UTC

I chose to pan the floor drums and the rack to the left, balancing out the hi-hat and snare panning I did earlier, and helping to emulate a live kit

Drums - Step 5

jamesjoshi2 — 2024-12-12 17:26:40 UTC

Created a bus for all drum mics and applied this reverb to it, giving the effect of the drums being in a large room

Drums - Step 6

jamesjoshi2 — 2024-12-12 17:28:57 UTC

I applied this EQ to the bus for all drum mics

Drums - Step 7

jamesjoshi2 — 2024-12-12 17:30:38 UTC

I applied a parallel compressor and faded it in to my taste, giving the drums a fuller, more vivacious sound

Drums - Step 8

jamesjoshi2 — 2024-12-12 17:32:56 UTC

Using cmd+d, I created midi patterns that mirror the kick and snare, thickening out their sound

Evaluation

jamesjoshi2 — 2024-12-13 03:38:17 UTC

What went well:

Researching and learning all kinds of new production techniques such as parallel compression, side-chaining and using buses.

Challenges:

Creating a midi synth line to support the chorus was tough as I used the software keyboard on logic which is hard to play naturally.

In future I hope to become more fluent in using logic, learning the useful keyboard shortcuts to streamline the process. I hope to learn more about mastering next.

Mastering

jamesjoshi2 — 2024-12-13 03:39:39 UTC

I applied this master to the overall mix