Bass, Synth, Vocals, Mixing Engineer Bio Under Construction! Gear & Recording Setup
For my Ibanez and Jazz bass tracks I go D.I. into the mic preamp of the Behringer mixer and then EQ using the effects plugins within Logic Express 7. For my Rickenfaker bass tracks I plug into my amp and put an SM57 microphone about 4" in front of the 15" speaker and about 2" off center, and the mic signal then goes back to the Behringer mixer. Going D.I. with the Faker just doesn't work as all the highs and mids normally associated with Geddy's Rickenbaker sound completely disappear! I did have an opportunity to use a Line6 TonePort with the Faker for recording on Xanadu and I was very impressed with how close it got to sounding like a mic'ed amplifier. The synthesizers are all D.I. into my PowerBook G4 (nothing exciting there). The MiniMonsta MiniMoog software can be used on it's own or as a plugin in Logic Express controlled by my M-Audio 49e controller. All effects applied to the synths are applied within Logic Express. Vocals are recorded using an SM57 into the Behringer mixer. Like the synths, all effects are applied within Logic Express using the effects plugins. The original versions of Tom Sawyer & Limelight, Subdivisions and Vital Signs were all mixed using GarageBand on my PowerBook G4, but I eventually upgraded to Logic Express 7 which improved the overall sound quality and gave us far more flexibility in terms of effects, automation, number of tracks and mixdown options. ENGINEER'S NOTES: The basic process for each song usually goes like this. Kirk starts things off by recording his drum tracks while listening to the studio version of whatever song we all decide to work on. He then uploads the MP3 (192 VBR) of his recording to our FTP server. Then Pete and Ben record and upload their tracks. Next, I create a new project in Logic Express 7 and import all of their tracks into the project, then slide them around a bit so they are all in sync. Then I get a basic mix going that gives me an idea how things sound. For reference I might import the original studio version of the song into a track of its own. From there I add my own bass (if applicable) and synth tracks. Lastly, I record the vocals. I only work on vocals for a couple of hours otherwise my voice burns out from working on it so consistently, although I find that the last few takes are usually the keepers because my vocal cords have warmed up by then. Then comes the slow process of adding effects, automating volume fades and effects changes and adjusting levels. Finally I work on the mixdown, adding just a little bit of compression to punch up the mix, and then listening to each new rough mix about a bazillion times in my car on the way to work to see if the volume levels are all okay. For some songs we may have changes along the way so I'll create evolving rough mixes that everyone listens to and comments on. When everyone is happy I create a final mix version of the song, upload it to the Digital Men website's songs page, then add it to my CD-RW with all of the other mixes on it. So far, Xanadu is the winner of the "Most Tracks" competition with 18! |