NORTHERN
LIGHT PROJECT 2003
INTRODUCTION
The aim of my project is to record and produce a 3-track Demo of my original compositions.
Aims
My aims are:
1) Form a Band
2) Rehearse my original material with the band
3) Record a 3 track Demo
4) Release the Demo in May
Aim (1) Form a band:
I've formed a band with 2 guys from my class at college and 1 guy who is a friend of the drummer. So the band is a 4- piece band with a kind of indie style to it. The fact that the lead guitarist and the drummer are in my class means they are free during the day when I am to rehearse and record.Aim (2) Rehearse my original material:
The only night during the week that we are all available is a Monday from 4pm to 9pm in the live room at college. Which means time is very valuable to me. I intend to arrange further rehearsals at other studios in Ayr.Aim (3) Record a 3 track Demo:
I've chose to do a 3 track Demo due to the little time we have to learn and record the tracks. All the tracks I have already written and just need some creative adjustments by the entire band. The way I intend to go about recording these tracks is learning one then start recording it and at the same time as recording, the band will learn the next one and so on. To save time I'm going to put down some parts of the songs at home on to my recording set-up and then import them into the college.Aim (4) Release the Demo in May:
Once the master copy has been mixed, mastered and the artwork done by myself I will send it away to get 100 copies made of it including the artwork for each CD. To raise money for this I will save up myself from working part-time. I will try to put the CD in independent record shops around Oban (where I'm from) and Ayr. I was previously in a band and we made an album in our flat and handed it out to friends around Oban and soon after there were copies getting made by people and the CD passed around Oban really fast and we got a great response from everyone. So selling in Oban could be quite successful. The rest of my current band are from Ayr so I thought it was a good plan to try sell the album here in Ayr too. The CD will be on sale for around £3.Benefits
The benefits I will take from this project are as follows;
1) My experience of performing and working together with a band will improve.
2) I get a chance for the public to hear my songs, which is really important to me.
3) I will get the hands on practical experience of recording various instruments, using top of the range equipment and also picking up production techniques along the way.
4) I will get the Knowledge of how to manage a band and promoting bands. These benefits will help for future careers for myself such as; Songwriter, Performer, Sound Engineer, Producer, Band manager, Band promoter.
I obviously want to be something ending in 'er'Requirements
I require Time, Funding, and lots of Promotion.
To figure out the requirements of time available I need a gant chart which I will draw up in the next section of my plan.
I'm going to need roughly £100-£200 to get the copies made.
The cost of printing and paper for the promotion.
Song 1 - FREE
Resource Requirements
Engineer's Time:
2 hrs recording vocals
2 hrs recording drums
6 hrs recording guitars, bass and backing vocals.
5 hrs mixing track Total of 15 hrs.
First session Thursday 20th November 5-9pmRecording and Mixdown Equipment
For my first session I plan to record a vocal guide for the drummer using either a Neumann or Rode NT2 condenser depending on which I prefer. I will do this in a small booth room with sound absorbers and I will use a Popper stopper. After the vocal guide is done I will run through the song with my drummer to allow him to decide what's going to happen with the drums.
I will then mic the drum kit up as follows;
Bass drum
2 x AKG D112. 1 located inside the drum facing the beater and the 2nd just outside the drum skin facing the skin.
Snare 1 x Shure SM57 located above the skin pointing towards the skin at the edge of the drum HiHats
1 x AKG C1000 located just above the hats to the edge of the hats.
This will require phantom power.
Toms 3 x Seinneiser Clip mics clipped to the top of each tom.
Overheads 2 x AKG condensers located approximately 1 metre above the kit, 1 to the left and 1 to the right. Panned left and right on the desk.
These mics require phantom power.Bass guitar
I will put the bass through an amp using a D.I box with a link to the amp and also mic the amp up with an AKG D112.Acoustic Guitar
I will use a Neumann or a Rode NT2 condenser around the 12th fret. At the mixing stage I might consider copying the acoustic track and double tracking it, but having a time delay of 20ms to give it a more full soundElectric guitar 1
I will mic the guitar amp using a Shure SM57 pointing towards the edge of the speaker, I will keep this setup for my other electric guitar tracks as the whole song is being recorded individually.Vocal
The main vocal track will be re- recorded because there will be more of a feel to the song once all the music is in so therefore I will get a better take of the vocals. The vocals will need some compression at the recording and perhaps some at the mixing stage. There will be two vocals each having the same melodies and importance.Mixdown Suggestions
Bass drum- compressed, EQ, possible gate although I'm not a big fan of noise gates!
Snare- compressed, EQ, reverb
Hi-Hats- EQ
Toms- compressed, EQ
Overheads- EQ, reverb, panned L+R
Bass guitar- compressed, EQ
Acoustic Guitar- EQ, subtle reverb, double tracked with 20ms delay
Electric- EQ, reverb
Vocals- multiband -compresser, EQ, reverbRecording Media
At the recording stage, every track will be recorded to the hard disk. Once all 3 songs have been mastered I will be using CD as my medium for sending on to get duplicated.
Mastering Facilities
I will use Protools to master the track. Using the plug-ins provided in the 'Waves' bundle.
Channel List
Instrument
Mic
Requirements
Bass Drum (inside)
AKG D112
Bass Drum (outside)
AKG D112
Snare
Shure SM57
Hi-Hats
AKG C1000
Phantom power
Tom 1
Sennheiser Clip
Tom 2
Sennheiser Clip
Floor Tom
Sennheiser Clip
Overhead Left
AKG C414
Phantom power, pannedL
Overhead Right
AKG C414
Phantom power, pannedR
Bass guitar (mic close to amp)
AKG D112
Bass guitar
DI box
Phantom power
Acoustic Guitar (mic at 12th fret)
Neumann
Phantom power
Electric guitar 1 (mic at amp)
Shure SM57
Electric guitar 2 (mic at amp)
Shure SM57
Vocal 1
Neumann
Phantom power
Vocal 2
Neumann
Phantom power
Booking Sheet
Date
Plan for Session
Thursday 20th November 4.30pm-9pm
Drummer coming in to learn the drum part for my song 'Free' The guide track has already been prepared and is ready for some guide vocals. I will record the drums to let the drummer see what's to happen where.
Monday 1st December 11am-3pm
Two vocal tracks to be put down. One being myself and one being Paul. Both vocals are the lead vocals. I will use a compressor at the recording stage. The Neumann condenser will be used for both vocals.
Wednesday 10th December 4.30pm-9pm
The drummer is coming in to Record the drum track. I will use 9 microphones and add EQ where necessary. Then I will get a rough mix of the song so far and start considering to record the guitar parts.
Feasibility Report
Aim 1: To form a Band.
Forming the band wasn't a problem. The part that is difficult is for them to learn my songs, so I'm going to record all the tracks with the drummer then once the Demo has been recorded I will then give a copy of the CD to the remaining band members for them to learn the songs.
This is a much easier way for the band members to learn the songs due to them being able to hear the songs fist.Aim 2: Rehearsing the material.
As I've decided on a different approach to recording the tracks, rehearsing the songs will come later in the term once the tracks have been recorded.Aim 3: Record a 3 track Demo.
In order for me to get all the tracks done myself with the help of a drummer I need to create guide tracks for the drummer to go along to. So creating these guides will be done at my home and then imported in to the studio at college to save time in the studio at college. Then when I'm free during days and nights the pre- production and recording will take place. The drummer is in my classes so he will be free at the same time as myself.Aim 4: Releasing the Demo.
Releasing the Demo in Oban and Ayr will be a challenge as shops and record shops won't easily be convinced that the Demo will sell. So I think the best thing to do would be to sell the Demo at the gigs we will do in the future.
The whole idea behind my project is to get my music heard, recognised and hopefully appreciated.
