Since last week, i’ve published as many blog posts as I had time to even if they still need checking for spelling and grammar mistakes. This meant Ben could see where I was at with them and the areas that I needed to improve on. Overall, he was pleased with the progress I was making with the blog however reminded me of the fact that it could probably benefit with a bit more benchmarking which would help me achieve a higher mark.

With the deadline getting closer, he also recommended that I try and make as much progress as possible with the blog between now and next week. However, this would be difficult as I was going away to New York for a few days before my next tutorial.

I also raised the issue that I was struggling to find time to get into the multi-track studio to do analogue parallel drum compression. He understood that the studio was hard to access this time of year and he suggested that it might be a good idea to see if I knew anyone who I could borrow some hardware from, look at the possibility of doing some processing down at The Sweet Factory in Louth or at push, even see if there were some small studios in Manhattan that would be willing to help me out.

This week me and Ben took a listen through all of the lead vocals that I had comped and tuned as well as all of the blog posts I’d added since last week. We spent most of the tutorial listening through all of the tracks and then discussed some possible backing vocal ideas that could help fill all of the tracks out.

With regards to my blog, as the majority of my posts are still in draft form, Ben recommended that I begin publishing them for next week, even if they do need editing, so we can begin to see how my blog will look when all of the posts are in it. Doing this will mean that it will be easier to see how I can improve my blog.

He also recommended that I try and write as many blogs posts as possible and to record all of the backing vocals ready for next week.

Since my last tutorial, I had planned to meet with Dave so we could sort through all of the vocal takes together. However, due to various reasons we ended up not being able to meet up which meant I hadn’t got as much done this week as I’d liked. However, I was able to convince Dave to let me do all of the comping and tuning myself so we didn’t get behind schedule and I had something to show Ben for my following tutorial.

Ben recommended that the best course of action to take between now and next week was to work on my blog as much as possible and to complete of all the vocal comping and tuning. Doing this will also mean that we can benchmark where my work is at and have a clearer understanding of the areas that I need to work on.

Ben also gave me some great tips and mixing techniques with regards to setting the gain structure into plugins and showed me some great software called K-Meter as well as a great research source by James Wiltshire. This will be a great resource to take into consideration for my mastering learning outcome.

This week me and Ben spent quite a bit a time looking at how the tracks were coming along with regards to the tracking/production process.

Specifically, when I showed Ben my work so far, the main thing we focused on were the vocals mainly because I had only recorded them the night before and they hadn’t been edited. We both agreed that all the tracks would benefit from some comping as well as some pitch adjustments via melodyne due to some tuning issues. Ben also recommended that I complete all of the comping and tuning before tracking the backing vocals so that Dave can pitch to them better. We also discussed some different production techniques I could use on the vocals such as reverb, delay and automation to help it sit in the mix better.

I also spoke to Ben about some of the EQ issues I was having with a guitar track on one of the tracks, the main issue being that the low/low mids were fluctuating quite heavy when different notes were being played. He suggested that it might be a good idea to go as far as automating the EQ thoughout the track or to use a multi-band compressor to combat this.

This week me and Ben looked more in depth at my production plan and how to focus on certain types of research before my recording sessions. This way I can go into my recording sessions with a clearer idea of how to hit my learning outcomes. For example, because I had my bass recording session the next day, that night I looked at how different producers apply different techniques to improve the sound of their bass production. Doing this advanced research will also help me when recording guitars, vocals, mixing and mastering.

I also showed Ben the track I worked on with Dave back in May and the drum takes I’d captured during my recording session a few days earlier. This was a good way for Ben to get an idea of how the project was sounding and to give some advice on how to improve the sound of what I’d captured so far. One thing he suggested was that it might useful to use some samples over the snare to help thicken it up and to help it sit in the mix.