Constructive Interference

Liam McShane. Live Sound/Recording Engineer/Producer. Session notes, articles, photo's of pretty equipment. We'll have it all. "And screw the leakage"

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Jasmine Kennedy is rather good. (at The Castle Hotel)

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What I’ve been learning how to use today. #digico #sd7 (at Adlib Solutions)

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Have a video on how I created a kick sound in ultrabeat. 

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Everyone was going on about these. #plasafocus #digico #sd9

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Fun and/or frolics at Plasa, one day I'll actually use one of these. (Seems kinda unlikely right now though....who knows?!)

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Goals for next year.

This is an extract from a bigger post over on my #personal blog...These are the main bullet points from "Final Musings #644"

1.

I want paid sound work in my 3rd year of uni, be it recording, live sound, stage tech whatever. I need to push myself more to get involved. 3rd year now, I know how to record….it’s time to start charging people for my skills.

2.

I want a first. I think I’m good enough. I’ve demonstrated that this year that I can push myself to the top grades. Especially in music production. I nail my dissertation. Yeah. I can do it. It won’t mean I get a job. I can accept that and then find somewhere my skills can be of worth.

3.

Start taking electronic music composition more seriously. I dunno, I’d love to maybe release an ep of edm or hip hop, I’ve been having a lot of fun in this composition in creating sounds that I need. 

4. 

I need to be in a band. I need to play bass in a band. This last week recording covers for people’s recordings has stamped home just how much I miss playing with other people. 

5.

Do the right thing and the right time, get as much out of it as I can and other clichés that I like that ring true. It’s all about opportunities. 

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Frequency characteristics according to presonus.

“Can you make the Snare sound less….annoying?”

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Instead of cutting frequencies. You could cut the drummer. That'd solve the problem.

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I ate a synth once. I got a sawtooth.

Messing around with latin rhythms for my sound/synthesis and composition project....would be cool to try out a maybe a hip hop tempo and beat to a salsa rhythm orrr something.

I dunno, I have some ideas in my head. Synthesising a decent sounding trumpet or sax sound is gonna be a baaallllache though, but then if I do it right I could be well in the money. 

Also could try and create a vinyl scratch effect with my guitar strings (a la tom morello)

Ideas Ideas Ideas Ideas

[Any links or whatever you think might be useful, please send my waaaayyyy]

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Self Evaluation

Things to work on to improve as a sound engineer. Funnily enough. I'm not sure really how many of these are really about sound.

1. Communication.

This is a mildly surprising one for me. I've always thought I was good at communicating, I can talk in public groups and I don't have a problem being the centre of attention....but, when in sound check I'm definitely not as assertive. Especially if I've had a knock to my confidence earlier in the night. If I don't like something that's coming on stage, I need to be able to ask them to change - Be it turning the treble down on an amp or turning the guitar down - and do it in a way that doesn't make me sound like a tool.

One example was when I was doing a sound check and I was being asked three different questions all at the same time and the band on stage were getting a bit unsure of things...lots of 'are we done yet?' 'do you want me to play?'. It was fine in the end. 

2. Intros

I suppose this goes slightly hand in hand with communication, but right now I'm still a little unsure about going and saying "hey I'm Liam, I'll be shadowing/doing sound/whatever today" Making a statement, usual shit. I suppose that self assuredness comes with knowing the venue and how things are run. 

3. Time Keeping

Something I learnt from the engineer I shadow last night is how strict and on it she is in terms of stage times for doors, bands, sound checks, everything. It's not something you're necessarily taught until you go into the real world...and it's a skill I need to be aware of. Picking a deadline and sticking to it. 

4. Don't Panic.

Sums it up really. Also goes with the proviso, 'if you are already, don't show it'. So that's something I really want to address. I think I perhaps where my heart on my sleeve a bit too much, and can get quite emotional. 

5. Keep neat, Keep quick.

My set up times are kinda modest, and I need to be able to speed up the cabling and mic'ing up without getting messy. Which has been a problem area for me in the past, and it's super unpro. 

So yeah. After the 100 + hours of work experience I've done since October, this is what I've learnt about myself. Roll on the next 100 hours where I can start to develop and improve. 

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Visit Original Link

McShane Bass Funk Loop #1

Four Bar Loop

110bpm

Key - Bb

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Recording bass loops for people to use. 

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Sad but true. 

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Final mix of my studio project. This is what I'm handing in. 

What I like?

Guitarrrrrrrrrs

What I don't like? Kinda wish it wasn't me singing...

What I can improve on?

I think the overall sound of the drums could be improved, by using better drums... Kick is still pretty damn thuddy, but whatevs. 

This is probably the slickest song I've ever recorded (melodyne was used...how strange), and yet it still sounds kinda raw....I guess that's down to the song more than anything else really... just trying to figure out how much more I have to do in order to make it sound super nice and crystally. 

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Portlandia - "The Studio" (by evelkidnievel)

Hahaha. Yes!

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Live > Recording

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gpoy.

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Mix project Version 5. 2012/2013 I’m done right? 

Let me know what you think. Tear it apart.

Tah.

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Anyone up for lending me their ears? Could do with a mix critique.

Tah. 

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71

Got a first for my recording project. I thought I could be close...and of course opening my mouth and saying that in front of the class made me sound like a right arrogant butt. Good thing I got the A isn't it? Egg and my face would have been in alignment

I have three hours in Control 24 later to work on the overall automation, dispersing some frequency's around my quite harsh guitars, and trying to open out a bit of space for a higher clicky kick drum. Need to calm some of the presence of my overheads and just shuffle everything around the spectrum, get the tonal balance bang on. 

After all that, I need to figure out the spaces I'm singing in, what kinda reverbs and delays would work...without traipsing through the Bazillion presets on offer. I need to make some time to sit and make my own settings that I like...start properly understanding what happens when I start twiddling with knobs (pause for innuendo) attached to a plugin or hardware fx unit. 

I've figured out that the I should be looking at to emulate in style is Green Day (especially Nice Guys Finish Last). I'd thought at the start I wanted to make it a bit more edgy...but with the pitch correction techniques I'm having to employ (and the fact I want to make it sound slick as shit)...I really need to bring it to the centre of the Pop in pop punk. 

Final few studio sessions are booked for this. I need to finish this in 2012, and spend the Christmas break going over everything I've done and what I've learnt during the process. I'll probably be doing a write up on here as well. I think I'm on the final section to this project...we'll see eh?

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Oh mixer man, you do make me laugh. #mixerman #zenandtheartofmixing #mixing #sound #indie

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Zen and the Art of Mixing has helped a lot this year. Simply for paragraphs like this that help allow me to not get so bogged down in the whole process.