Solo Instrument Recording Project
Talent: Jacob McCollough, piano
Song: Remember Clifford by Lee Morgan Quintet
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Setting Up:
I chose room 107 because I love the sound of the grand piano in there and wanted to get more used to using the tracking room since I don’t have much experience tracking in there.
The microphones I used are a pair of SM57’s.
They are very versatile and really brightened up the sound quality, which was perfect for this particular piece.
After setting them up, I plugged the XLR cables into inputs 1 and 2 of Snake B. I thought about using a cloud lifter but ultimately decided not to because it didn’t really make a difference in the amplification of the sound.
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Patching and Gain Staging:
I created a track for the two SM57s along with a master fader (and later a reverb aux track).
After setting up in 107, I patched everything into the furman. After testing out a couple of pres, I decided to go with the Pre MPA II pre because I thought it gave the piece a warmer and more rounded sound. However, at this point in the recording process, there were some technical difficulties. During the gain staging process, we were getting little to no signal and weren’t sure why because all knobs were turned up. I then decided to plug into the board directly to see if that would make a difference, but still nothing. After patching back into the Pre MPA II, the one knob that I forgot was the impedance level. It was smooth sailing after that and we were finally able to record. Jacob did an awesome job – he only did it in one take!
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Mixing
Fades:
During the mixing process, I really didn’t do too much because it was just one piano track without a set tempo. Because of that, I didn't need to add any rhythmic elastic audio. I added a crossfade in the beginning of the track for a smoother transition since Jacob went right into it. I didn’t add one at the end of the recording since he just sustained the last note and I just stopped it when he finished. I also didn’t need to trim anything.
EQ and Reverb:
I learned from my last project that sometimes less is more and you should just let the recording speak for itself without over compressing it. I added the EQ3-7 Band to eliminate the higher and lower extremes and boost the mid to high frequencies where most of the range lies in the song.
I also created a reverb aux send and added the Studio Reverb insert with the setting on medium. I like this insert because it gives the sound a little more body without drowning it out or overpowering it. I thought that was important for this project since room 107 already has some natural reverb which gave the piece some resonance.
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Reflection:
I enjoyed this project. It was really fun working with Jacob, who is a goat on the keys. This project wasn’t as time consuming or stressful as the first one. However, we had a few complications, especially during the gain staging and patching process. I also am glad I used the tracking room because now I feel more comfortable in there and won’t have any many issues next time.
