Thomas Adams Music Technology

2008-01-31T14:59:00.000-08:00

Some new music on the player -

Track 11 - Henry's recording of English Rose for his Multi track recording task. The guitar and vocals were recorded in the Stanier hall on the stage. The stage curtains were used as an improvised recording booth! Bass guitar was overdubbed later as were the congas. The congas were recorded with a C1000 condenser overhead and a SM57 to pick up the bass frequencies underneath. I think the recording has come out very well, all parts are clearly defined in the mix through good use of EQ, balance and panning. Because the guitar and vocals were recorded in a relatively "dead" acoustic environment there was more scope for Henry to make good use of the Reverb plug-in on Pro-tools to create just the right ambiance.

Track 10 - This is the talented Pass the Post 's own song "Afraid" recorded by Jacob. This has been done as part of a Media project and the recorded song will be used in the making of a music video, which is to be exhibited at a special media event in London. The band recorded in the music department - the drums, bass and a guitar "guide track" were laid down first and then the two guitar parts and vocals overdubbed later. The room isn't the best space for recording a live band it has to be said, however, the recording has come out suprisingly well considering the "classroom acoustics", due to careful placement of microphones and some detailed mixing. Jacob is working on another Pass the Post track, "Song 2", which he will use as his multi track recording coursework.

Track 9 - This is Adam's multi track recording, a highly regarded Blues Band from Whitchurch, version of Cross Roads. The recording was carried out in a sound proofed garage. All tracks were recorded simultaneously - drums, bass guitar, rhythm and lead guitar, harmonica and vocals. Some clever positioning of microphones ensured minimum "bleed-through" into the various tracks, although it was impossible to completely stop this from happening - for example some of the drum mikes picked up the bass etc. but again some careful EQing and even some gating has cleaned up the mix nicely. I really like the feel of this recording, the band were obviously very tight and there is a real groove to the track that can sometimes only be captured when a band are recorded as one with no overdubs later - enjoy!

Track 6 - Dean has added some vocals and fine - tuned the mix on his free brief task. There are so many textual layers to this piece that give it real depth, some excellent synth/string sounds and beautiful harmonies that add a very rich and smooth warmness to the track...not quite finished yet though so watch this space.

Finally some of the tracks on the player are not working due to a technical error, don't worry they will be back on there asap...

cheers GB

New Music added by Y12 and 13!!!

2007-10-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

Three new tunes have been added today!

Track 6: A2 work in progress by Dean Macgregor...nice arrangement coming along for Dean's "free brief" task - all done on Reason software some lovely instrumentation, harmony and texture in this piece.

Track 7: This is the AS Improvised Arrangement task by Martin Huxley. Very creative and original composition here by Martin, it has a real sense of style and good choice of instrumentation.

Track 8: This is the AS Improvised Arrangement task by Sam Wrangles. An original and imaginative composition. Some great build ups and interesting timbres, definitely some influences from the likes of Portishead and Aphex Twin here, a bit of an epic at present at over 5 minutes...Sam you'll have cut some of your build ups down I think.

Check out the recordings and compositions on the player opposite...

2007-10-17T12:31:00.001-07:00

Track 1
Recorded by Robin Andrews for Task 1 (Close-mic recording) A2 Music Tech 2005/2006
Robin's recording of "Milestones" sounds very professional. He recorded the rhythm section (drums, bass, piano and guitar) on the stage in the Stanier Hall (with the curtains closed to deaden the acoustics) then added the sax later. The mix is very well done and has a great "live" feel to it whilst maintaining an excellent balance between instruments.

Track 2
Recorded by Richard Adam for Task 2 (Close-mic recording) AS Music Tech 2006/2007
This was a really good track to record for AS Music Tech because it has simple instrumentation - Vocals/Acoustic Guitar/Bass and Congas. The Guitar was miked up using two Condenser C1000 microphones, This was laid down first then the vocal was overdubbed using the RODE NT2 condenser Mic (+ a Pop Shield of course!)
The Bass was simply DI'd into the audio interface and the congas were recorded last using two condensers pointed at the skins and a kick drum mic underneath to catch the bass frequencies. The mix is very good and all parts can be clearly heard due to good use of EQ and panning. Compression has been used on the vocals and Bass guitar and reverb has been added to vocals, guitar and congas. More reverb was used on the congas to place them further back in the mix.

Track 3
Recorded by Daniel Wilson for Task 2 (Close-mic recording) AS Music Tech 2005/2006
Another successful recording of a Jazz piece again recording the rhythm section on the stage of the Stanier Hall with the curtains closed. Drums are notoriously difficult to record well but Dan has got them sounding really good - a lot of experimentation with mic placement was performed whilst Dan listened through headphones until the kit sounded just right. Getting instruments to sound as good as you can at the recording stage is one of the most important elements in producing a competent recording.

Track 4
Arranged by Robin Andrews for Task 4 (Improvised Arrangement) AS Music Tech 2005/2006
Robin's arrangement of this 80's pop song is a highly polished hard house/trance tune that will really get your woofers moving. Some great use of dynamics - nice mellow build ups compared with the full on "banging" sections. He has researched the style and used the correct instrumentation and structure, it is original and creative and he has paid attention to details - listen to the drum programming from about 1.30 - a great rhythm with some really nice little intricate fills at the end of phrases. The instrumentation fits perfectly with the style - "Phat" Synth Bass (that's fat with a PH) the "choppy" techno-synth sound and the more ambient synth pad sound and correct sounding drum samples. Good use of effects especially delay.