Tuesday, 16 February 2016

Tuesday, 2 February 2016

Process of Sequencing Project


For our sequencing project we used cubase, a DAW very commonly used for things like sequencing, recording and mixing. To begin this project you open up cubase and select empty file. After performing this task you select the tab that says 'Project' and then click add track and click MIDI.



You then use the pencil to draw out the track. Double click on the track to access the sequencing part. using the pencil tool you can apply notes by using the keyboard on the side to line up the notes on the bar.

Thursday, 21 January 2016

Megadeth United Abominations Article

Megadeth United Abominations Article.

The eleventh studio album by Thrash Metal band Megadeth, a return to the old sound of the 1990 Rust In Peace and the 1992 Countdown To Extinction style of writing, bringing back the 'old school' Megadeth. The albums title track is about the United Nations and Dave Mustaine's view on the united nations labeling them as the 'Untied Abominations' instead. an alternate version of A Tout Le Monde is featured on this album and songs like sleepwalker which call the return to Mustaine's anger fueled writing similar to that of sweating bullets with insanity as the prime of the subject. The album was recorded in the studio at David Gilmour's (Pink Floyd) home in the UK. Drummer Shawn Drover also got to use Led Zeppelin's drum kit. The guitars were recorded on this album with SM57 and KSM 32 dynamic microphone, the drums with Samson Drum mics and vocals with a SM58 microphone. The amplifier for the guitars was a Marshall EL34 100/100 Dual Mono-bloc Power Amp Dave Mustaine signature along with Fractal Audio. The main topic of this album is politics, Mustaine combines his fast aggressive playing with wide political knowledge forming a Thrash Masterpiece. The music is written primarily on Dave Mustaine's political view of how the world looks from his eyes and his views on past problems caused by his Nation and other Nations, this has been similarly done in songs like Holy Wars... The Punishment Due, Set The World Afire and Peace Sells.. But Who's Buying. The album performs very well in combining new styles of Heavy Metal with the main part of the song structure being Old-School Thrash Metal giving the music a familiar feel with a different sound and is a great follow up to the previous album The System Has Failed with songs like Gears Of War which is about the arsenal of the military or songs like Burnt Ice of which contains an intro solo of great precision and speed, bringing the Megadeth aspect to the song.

Thursday, 15 October 2015

Guitar recording analysis
The guitar was a Jackson Soloist 6 string electric guitar with Jackson standard pick ups, the guitar was recorded using the humbucker pickup closest to the bridge. the amp used to record the song was a Fender Frontman 12 watt amp with a SM57 dynamic mic 5cm from the amp, the dynamic mic is used due to the amplified electric guitar having a high SPL. In the control room I was tasked with communicating with the performer to equalise the guitar sound, ensure that the person sorting out the equipment in the recording studio has all the input he needs to correct equipment to ensure a pure but heavy sound. We then performed sound tests to ensure all was working perfectly. I would then check if the performer is ready, count him in and begin recording the piece. Once the recording was complete, me and the performer listened to it together to make sure the piece was at a level of standard agreeable between the two of us. After cutting up the track and cleaning it up, it was ready to be uploaded to sound cloud.

Drum kit recording analysis
The drum kit was hooked up with 8 Samson drum microphones. The drums was a lot of trouble as a few of the microphones were causing plosive feedback so we had to introduce some pop shields to a few microphones on the drum kit. to record the drums we had a single track for each microphone and the once the drums were recorded we layered the tracks to form one drum track and as before, discussed with the performer and ensured the track was pristine then uploaded it to sound cloud.

Trumpet recording analysis
For the trumpet we used a AKG C1000S condenser microphone due to the trumpet having lower SPL than say the electric guitar. We then prepared the class room for recording in, communication being the most important aspect of the tasks in hand. Once everyone was ready we recorded the trumpet and edited and cut it all the same. We then again uploaded it to sound cloud.

The link to my sound cloud account with the songs intact
                                           https://soundcloud.com/jake-plaskitt-251748413
During the recordings I shall be setting up the equipment for the electric guitar that Dan will play. This will be recorded with a microphone 5cm from the amp. A SM57 dynamic microphone will be used due to the SPL on the guitar amp being fairly high, so dynamic microphones are preferred for this class. My duty will be to make sure the equipment works communicating with the performer and the operator in the control room. If equipment isn’t functioning it is my job to swap the equipment to ensure the recording is possible.

I will also be the performer for someone else. I shall play a Jackson J6 electric guitar through a Fender Frontman amp hooked up with a SM57. I shall perform Holy Wars… The Punishment Due by Megadeth, with slight adaptations to compensate where the solos are and to accommodate for the lack of vocals. The amp was set up for shredding, with the gain high the treble high and extremely distorted to get that 90’s Megadeth sound.


I am to use the mixing desk during someone else’s recording and equalise the sound, cut and clean the tracks, use Cubase to record and edit the music. I must also communicate with the performer, the student who is sorting the equipment and technical material and fellow students in the control room to ensure fluent and high quality productivity.