Music Technology Forum: Week 5 - Disc Edits

This week in Music Technology Forum, we visited a local studio called "Disc Edits". Upon arrival, we were taken into the main editing room. We had a brief discussion about what Disc Edits has to offer in the music industry, including the history and the future for Disc Edits. They have many Disc Edit buildings which have different roles, including manufacturing CD's, editing mixes, mastering etc. We were told about the room itself, and how it was specially built. The whole room itself was seperate from the actual building to limit the amount of noise coming from outside, eg. cars, noise inside the building etc. There were 2 speakers on the wall, with carpet fitted in a certain place which the boomyness of the sound is limited. The walls were built with many angles so sound can be bounced around. The wall which separates the mixing room with the recording room has been built with: wall-space-glass-space-wall-space-glass-space-wall-space-glass. Ridiculous as it may seem, it works incredibly well to limit a lot of noise. After a long talk we walked around Disc Edits, checking out the various rooms. Finally, some members of the class brought along pieces they have mixed for advice on how to make certain areas sound better. We also looked at a external EQ device where lazy people can edit from their couch; and how CD's progressed from the early years til now. Very interesting stuff.
Overall I quite enjoyed Disc Edits.

Quote of the field trip:
Simon: "I wanna steal that sign [Gibson St] and put it on my guitar."
Group: "Ahahah!"

Music Technology Forum: Week 4 - Band Recordings

This week in Music Technology Forum, we talked about the next field trip we were going to have. This field trip will show us all about CD production. This field trip will show us how CD's are manufactured; different techniques they use to feature a CD, and all the necessary ingredients in the recipe of CD making. I am looking forward to this excursion to learn more about CD manufacturing.

We then listened to a few class members' band recordings. We first listened to Lisa's recordings. I quite liked the end product. The band had rather quirky vocals, which worked well with the grungey/punk style they had going. The guitars were at a good level for the style being played. Everything sounded clean and well mic'd.

We heard Simon's mix. The bass did sound rather boomy, but I reckon it worked well. The acoustic guitar sounded very flowy and clean; very relaxing. The voice was smooth and clean. The mic'ing techniques for Simon's mix worked well for the type of music being played.

We listened to Jake's mix. The songs being played were very vocal driven songs, and the vocals were left out, so I believed that was the main thing lacking in the mix. The electric guitar's were sounding very clean. Could easily tell what the song was by the guitars straight away. Drum's were close mic'd, giving some good impact shots, although the drummer was intoxicated and maybe missed the drums on some hits. Was a good sounding mix.

We finally listened to my mix. I noticed straight away that all instruments sounded very far away. Piano was sounding ok, and the micing on the snare drum was rather delicious. In essence, my mix lacked impact, but the piano player gave it that extra edge.

Music Technology Forum - Semester 2, Week 2: Field Trip

This week in Music Technology Forum, we went on a Field Trip to a nearby house studio called 'MixMasters'. Upon arrival, we were greeted by the owner of the studio who took us in and talked about our Diploma of Sound Engineering course. Once David had arrived, we soon talked about the equipment used in the MixMasters studio; many of which we use in our University. We were told about the ways of the past in the field of recording and editing, where Sound Engineers recorded on tape, and had to cut specific areas of the tape if an error was made during recording. The tape was played back multiple times to find the correct area where the mistake was made. A lead pencil line was drawn on the tape. The tape was secured on a wooden block and cut with a knife. Finally, the tape was stuck back together with sticky tape. This was a lengthy process, but with modern technology and the endless possibilities with editing recording, it could be argued that recording on tape could take less time than recording straight to Pro Tools. We had a look at the recording area. We were shown a collection of vintage guitars and microphones and how some microphones from the past match up to the ones we have today. We were told about the materials used to build the studio, and which ones were the best. This studio was layered with large amount of carpet and covered with mud bricks for extra sound proof. We listened to a surf song that had been recorded and ways to manually EQ different tracks. At the end of the field trip, some members of the class played songs they have recorded themselves and were given some advice on how to possibly make them better.
In conclusion, I think this was a very useful field trip. I learnt alot about what it takes to actually build a home studio, and the ways engineers had to record in the past. I'm looking forward to next weeks field trip. :)

Sound Engineering (Studio) - Signal Flow

SIGNAL FLOW:

SOUND...
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...MICROPHONES
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.........MIXING DESK
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...............PC-PROTOOLS
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....................AMP/SPEAKERS

Music Technology Forum - Semester 2, Week 1: Band Recordings

This week for Music Technology Forum, we talked about the field trip we are taking next week to a high class studio. We were suggested to bring along any work that students need help with, or have any queries about their projects. This field trip will be taken on the 2nd of August.

We then talked about our exam marks and how we could improve our overall grades. For example, time management was a big issue with everyone's assignments, which made revising for exams more difficult.

After discussing our exam results, we talked about our major assignment for last semester - Recording a 4 instrument band. We talked about the positive aspects of the assignment, but also ways we could have done better. We listen to a few class members' band recordings.

Stuart:
I heard a lot of bottom end, especially with the bass. Everything else sounded excellent. Good micing technique, and the song sounded great.

Scott:
This mix sounded very grunge. The guitar were very interesting, and it worked well with the song. I quite enjoyed this mix and I believe Scott did a great job.

Ben:
Ben's choice of genre was very good. The song was catchy and sung very well. The great singing would emphasise Ben's recording skills. Drums sounded a bit dim at times, but I quite enjoyed this mix.

Josh:
Josh's mix was very good. Jake's singing was extreme. I believe he chose a good song to do his recording for. The guitars sounded pretty grungey, and the other instruments sounded clean.

Lauren:
I believe Lauren's recording was the best in the class. Every instrument sounded clean. The vocals were very smooth and the whole project sounded great.

Overall, I believe everyone did a great job with their recordings. I was very pleased to hear how everybody did and I wish them the best for this semester.