Vamika - Session 6 - 17th October 2012

Session times: 8pm-10pm

The plan was for Amy, Damien and Dave (Guitar) to come on this session, but in the end only Dave came down.

Hmm, it's a bit dark in 'ere

Long Way To Venus

Last time we recorded the guitar parts for the choruses, so tonight we needed to do the verse guitar and the solo. It took about 15 minutes for Dave to find a sound he was happy with for the verses, which was really just a chuggy filler in the background to keep things moving.  Although Dave sort of knew what he wanted to do in the solo, he wasn't able to play it all in one go, so after about 5 takes, we split it up into 4 and 8 bar sections to take the pressure off (slightly).  In the end we got a seamless solo that fits together very well.

Vamika - Session 5 - 3rd October

Session times: 8:00pm - 10:30pm

Dave (Guitar) and Damien (Bass) came for this session.

Long Way To Venus

We had recorded the drums and bass on previous sessions, so it was time for Dave to put down some guitar.  He had brought his Line6 amp as well as Damien's Peavey.

We spent a few minutes getting the mic position right for the amp.  The amp sounded very boomy, so we raised the front edge to lift it off the floor a bit.  Dave fiddled around with the amp settings until he got a sound he was happy with and we recorded the intro, chorus and solo backing.

By the time we had got that lot sorted, it was time to pack up.

Vamika - Session 3 - 15 August 2012

Session times: 08:45pm-10:00pm

Amy and Damien got lost on the way over, so we didn't manage to get much done, but what we did was pretty good.  The plan for tonight was to record bass parts for the tracks we recorded last time.  I set up a pair of CS02 mics against Damien's 4x12 cab.

Heading To Something

After a run through to set levels, it became apparent that it wasn't necessary to mic the amp in stereo.  There have been amps I've recorded before that really were in stereo, but this wasn't one of them.  It only took a couple of takes to get this one down so we moved on to the next song.

Long Way To Venus

This song is quite fast and rocky, so we decided the bass sound needed a bit more punch.  I remembered when we recorded the drums that I took the signal from the line out on the amp, which made Damien sound a bit like Flea from RHCP, so I left the mic in place and plugged in a lead to the line out.  When the toppy signal was mixed with the more rounded, bassy sound from the speaker cab, it was much more like Damien wanted.  After a couple of takes, there were a few places where we needed to punch in.  We also spent a bit of time doing the last note.  When Damien played the run through, he did a really good ending so we tried to emulate that which took a few goes.  There is also a place in the middle where the drums and bass must match.  Damien's take was almost on the beat, but rather than do another half a dozen takes getting it perfect, it was easier to line the bass up with some digital editing.


For the drum sessions, the guitar and bass were recorded on the same channel, so, as we had replaced the bass, the mixdowns I made at the end of the session didn't have any guitar.  This meant the bass was quite loud in the mix so Damien could make sure he was happy with his parts.

Vamika - Session 2 - 29th July 2012

Session times: 12:30pm - 4:00pm

We installed Damien's bass amp & cab in the stairwell and set up Amy's mic outside the live room. Dave hadn't brought his amp as he wasn't happy with the sounds he got out of it, as we weren't going to keep any guitar takes we did today he could use my effects pedal, and we would replace his sounds later on.  Kev had left his drums set up last week so there was very little we had to do to continue from the previous session.  As per the last session, we were only interested in getting the drums down correctly; vocals and guitars will be replaced at subsequent sessions.

Weak To The Beat

This initially is a very laid back, swing style track (imagine a smoky jazz club with scantily clad dancers, a bit like Cabaret), but get's a bit more rocky in the choruses.  On the level check run through, Kev didn't hit any toms, so I was a bit surprised when, on the take, he hit the toms a couple of times.  It's a good job I was recording them!

Red Butterflies

By this track the band seemed to be in their stride and managed it in one take.  Unfortunately, on the listen back we noticed a bar where Kev had stayed on hi-hat rather than going to ride cymbal.  As that was the only problem with the take, we decided to keep it and I'll fix the problem with a bit of editing.

Dirty Disgrace

This track starts with a fairly complex finger picking guitar part and Dave took a couple of goes to get the timing right - not that it matters really as it will be replaced.

Beauty Violation

This one starts with a heavy bass guitar riff that reminds me a little of Peter Gunn.  By the end of this track it seemed Kev wasn't quite as happy with it as others, and although the drums are good, there wasn't as much energy as some of the other tracks.  Perhaps this one needs more work outside the studio.

Vamika - Session 1 - 21 July 2012

Session times: 12:00-16:30

Vamika are a 4-piece band from Preston.  We had met once before to discuss recordings, but I hadn't heard any of the songs they want to record, so everything was brand new.

Damien, Amy, Dave, Kev

Kev, the drummer, arrived first and as we unloaded his kit, Amy (vocal), Damien (bass) & Dave (guitar) turned up.

Kev uses a (rather dusty) 5-piece purple Mapex kit, with 3 toms, Sabian crash, ride and hi-hat cymbals.  It was mic'd up with the Samson 7 mic kit.  Kev's drums were a bit boomy and the snare rings for ages.  Lots of sticky tape was applied which reduced the ring a bit, but I'll have to sort out what is left with some eq and gating.

Damien's bass amp was set up in the stairwell and the line out brought up to the desk.  


Dave's Line6 guitar amp had a headphone/line out which also went into the desk.

Amy was set up outside the live room at the top of the stairs with the sE2200 mic.

We managed to record the drums for 4 songs this session: I Escaped You; Long Way To Venus; Vampire Nights and Heading To Something.  As this is the first session, we concentrated on getting good drum takes. The guitar, bass and vocals being used as a guide and will be replaced in subsequent sessions.

I Escaped You starts with guitar, so after we agreed the tempo, I put down a click track for the first few bars until the drums come in. This will help later on when we record the guitar part proper.

Long Way To Venus is an up tempo, fairly quick, rock track.  Kev struggled to get a take that he was happy with, so, after a few attempts, we decided to move on and come back to it later in the day.

Vampire Nights also starts with just guitar, so another click track was set up. This is a more laid back and moody track.  I can hear lots of atmospheric sound-scapes in my head, but I'm not really sure what the band are after yet.

Heading To Something starts with guitar (there is a pattern emerging here).  I suspect Dave is having problems remembering this one as the chords in the chorus and the ending are all over the place :-)  At least he didn't put anyone else off; it's a good job we won't be keeping his parts.  Kev managed to click his sticks as the cymbals faded out at the end of the song so we had to re-do the final 10 seconds just to get the last beat.  He played a few times along with the previous take until we got one that matched closely enough that the cut wasn't obvious.  I can fix that properly with some judicious editing.

It is important to remember that, when recording, everyone should be silent at the beginning and ending until the recording has stopped.  Fortunately, this time it didn't take too long to sort out, but you don't want to have to re-record a 10 minute song just because someone dropped a stick or a chair squeaked when the final fade out is happening!

We had another go with Long Way To Venus which Kev nailed in one take.  Perhaps he just needed to loosen up a bit.

It was a very hot day, so we called the session at about 4:30, I made some quick mixes and the band took away a CD of the day's work to listen to.

They are due back in the studio next Sunday, so Kev left his drums set up, which should mean we can get more tracks done next time.  If I get a chance, I'll try putting more tape on the toms to reduce the ring, but I'm not going to dust them!