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Portable ProductionFeb 1, 2009 12:00 PM, By Kevin Becka TAKING THE STUDIO ON THE ROAD Most Popular
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For the finished product, Gassert starts with some remote = editing and=20 reference mixes for the band, which he sweetens in the field using = Waves=20 Diamond Bundle plug-ins and ambience from the Audio Ease Altiverb=20 convolution reverb plug-in. He then takes it back to Mix B for the = final=20 touches, using a combination of the previously mentioned plug-ins = and=20 outboard gear. =93I'll generally warm things up with a Culture = Vulture [from=20 Thermionic Culture] and the Avalon 747VT compressor/EQ, or = sometimes I'll=20 use our Eventide H8000 for effects or even our Fulltone tap-tube = echo,=94 he=20 says. To get from the outboard gear back to Digital Performer, = Gassert=20 uses Apogee converters or sums it through an Allen & Heath = GS3000=20 mixer. Rockin' the LaptopLos Angeles-based band Hillbilly Herald ( For writing and laying tracks for final mixing, Herald and Hill = use a=20 2.2GHz Apple MacBook Intel Core Duo with 1 GB of RAM, an Apogee = Duet=20 interface and a Shure Beta 87C into Apple's GarageBand and Logic = Pro. Hill=20 likes the simplicity of the Duet: =93The fewer the cables, the = better,=94 he=20 says. =93It's the kind of thing you want to set up quickly, = whether it's a=20 rehearsal or in someone's apartment.=94 Hill's background in music and recording was formed at various = studios=20 in Austin. =93I used to be a huge Pro Tools guy, but I made the = switch to=20 Logic in the past year,=94 he says. =93It was a hard thing for me = to do, but I=20 think Pro Tools has fallen a bit behind.=94 It's important to him = that the=20 same company that makes his computer also makes his DAW, which = allows for=20 quick software updates without worrying about operating system=20 compatibility. The production process begins with writer/singer Jimmy Herald = laying=20 down rudimentary bass parts into GarageBand to an Apple Loop of a = rock=20 drum kit. Once the song structure is figured out and basic guitars = and=20 vocals are recorded, Hill imports the tracks into Logic Pro and = then uses=20 Toontrack's Superior Drummer 2 to program a detailed drum track. = From=20 there, he plugs his guitar directly into an Apogee Duet and uses = either=20 Logic's built-in amp simulator or Overloud's TH1 guitar amp = simulator=20 plug-in to prepare the track for live drums. The band cuts drums at either Entourage Studios in North = Hollywood or=20 in Los Angeles at Bryan Carlstrom's Transformer studio, after = which the=20 tracks return to the portable rig at home for adding further = vocals,=20 guitars and other overdubs. The band takes advantage of Logic's = presets to=20 get the tracks sounding the best they can with their limited=20 resources. =93You don't have to waste time,=94 says Hill. =93Logic has a = lot of great=20 presets for vocals that may not be the best of the best, = but it's=20 perfect for songwriting or putting together the record before the = mix.=94=20 The finished tracks then get mixed and mastered by Carlstrom, who = imports=20 the raw tracks into Pro Tools and starts mixing from scratch. Hill = adds,=20 =93I've worked in a lot of studios, and I can't believe what you = can do now=20 with just a few things =97 and you can get it sounding really = great.=94 New York State of RecordingNew York drummer Billy Ward (http://www.billyward.com/) has played with = such notable=20 artists as Joan Osborne, Carly Simon, Robbie Robertson, Bill Evans = and=20 B.B. King, and is no stranger to affordable portable production. = Ward=20 recorded his own CDs, Two Hands Clapping and Out the=20 Door, using a minimal rig, and recently created two new audio = and=20 video collections from the Billy Ward Trio for release on the Web. = The=20 trio comprises Ward, L.A. guitarist/composer Barry Coates and = Boston bass=20 player Bill Urmson; all three gathered at Ward's lake house in = upstate New=20 York for rehearsals in preparation for a live gig at Manhattan's = Cutting=20 Room. =93We met at the house and for a couple hours each day we = played in the=20 living room,=94 says Ward about the rehearsals. =93We just set up = a pair of=20 Schoeps CMC 41 mics through Chand-ler TG2 preamps through an = Apogee Duet=20 into Logic on a laptop.=94 The band had no inkling that their = rehearsal=20 tracks would ever go public, but the results were so good that = Ward=20 decided to release them on his Website in a =93pay what you = want=94 format.=20 =93The house has wooden floors with bare walls, save for artwork, = so it is=20 not a room designed to sound good. I just want to acknowledge that = sometimes the music can overtake obstacles.=94 Following the rehearsals, the trio performed and recorded at = the=20 Cutting Room. A four-camera, two-person video crew captured the = event=20 live, along with Robert L. Smith from Defy Recordings, who = recorded to Pro=20 Tools. The audio setup at the club was small, using four mics =97 = two=20 Schoeps CMC 41s and two modified large-diaphragm Oktava mics =97 = into=20 Chandler TG2 and API preamps, then ported into the computer using = an=20 Edirol interface. The Oktavas were placed close to the stage in a=20 coincident pair facing the band, while the Schoeps CMC 41 = hypercardioid=20 mics were in the back of the room in another stereo pair facing = the stage.=20 Ward also employed the venue's live sound engineer, who recorded = his stage=20 mic feeds onto two tracks for added coverage, giving him a total = of three=20 stereo feeds. After the gig, Ward sweetened and prepared the recorded tracks = for=20 download back at his home studio. =93I laid all six of the tracks = into Pro=20 Tools and each one had some qualities,=94 says Ward. =93The = Schoeps, even=20 though they were 40 feet from the stage, had such a sweet top end, = yet=20 there was way too much detail in audio noise.=94 Ward started the = mix with=20 the closer-placed Oktavas, then added the Schoeps to the mix only = after=20 using a low-cut filter set at a relatively high frequency. =93I = used this to=20 get the icing on the sonic cake and carefully blended it in.=94 = Ward also=20 added some low frequencies to the Oktavas, experimenting with = various=20 scenarios using Daking EQs. He also brought up some of the quieter = passages in the mix. =93You still hear the [band's] dynamics, but = it's not=20 like the floor falls out,=94 he comments. He then handed off the = audio to=20 video editor Neil Miller, who edited and synched the video and = audio=20 tracks for the final release. It's a WrapThe juxtaposition of affordable, computer-based digital audio=20 workstations with shrinking budgets, along with reliable, cheap = new=20 distribution methods have revolutionized the ways music is being = made. And=20 as we've seen from the examples above, audio pros have responded = by using=20 these new tools to forge successful models for production while=20 maintaining quality. Kevin Becka is Mix's technical editor. Acceptable Use Policy=20 blog=20 comments powered by Disqus = Modern Recording and Mixing![3D""=20](3D"http://mixonline.com/images/MRM_small.jpg") =20
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