Sound a Like Project

For the final product of our sound-a-like project. I think our group achieved a very usable and reminiscent sound or ‘Dreams’. After discussing the instrumentation early in the pre-production stage, we knew that these sounds would be a reachable. Matching the drum sound was going to be our biggest obstacle as we didn’t have the same kit and room, but with drastic EQ moves and running the kit through some outboard gear we gained a good foundation for the drums. Our biggest challenge in the mixing stage of the drums was the snare. We ended up having to run it through 4 consecutive transient designers to acquire the desired sound which is that high tuned, short-sustained snare. Bass was fairly straight forward as the original was a full and very warm tone. Again, not having the exact gear limited us but with a healthy amount of compression and matching the EQ of the original. We paired it with the kick to get it sitting right for the rhythm section.

We decided for the guitars that it would be better just to record the amp without any affects, using comparable microphones and trying our best to match the tone before we were happy. During the mixing stage we added the necessary effects and did our best to match it up in terms of time-based effects. Vocals were going to be another big challenge as we couldn’t get a hold of Stevie Nicks, but the outcome of our vocal session was great. Using a U87, through a 1073, we pulled together a crisp, warm and saturated tone. Again, in the mixing stage it was just down to time-based effects which were accomplished quite easily. Were unfortunately samples as we couldn’t gain access to a Rhodes and Hammond, along with a vibraphone and congas. But in saying that the samples we used were of high quality and although not real, gave use the right sonic character with some EQ and effects we needed for this part of the instrumentation.

In terms of performances, they were terrific. There was no editing required on the drums, no pitch correction on the vocals, no major editing with the guitars, and bass was done in only a few takes. We were super luck with the artists that played on this track, as they were all highly competent musicians. I think having all the major instruments done in a single continuous take was what required to achieve the overall vibe of the original, as it was mostly recorded live. Mixing was made really easy, as we took our time in the recording stage making sure that our direct sounds were as close as we could get them before mixing. Such as tuning and dampening the snare, shooting out microphones on drums and vocals, matching the EQ on the guitar amp with the original guitar tone. Effects were all done in the box making it much easier and also as a safe guard, because recording the effects into ProTools would take much more time and be detrimental if were to get it wrong. So, attacking it during the mixing stage gave us much more control. Plate reverbs, phasers and analogue gear to the saturate the sound were used to try push it towards that classic tape sound. Dynamics was something we didn’t really take into account during the recording phase, but I think the after studying the song our artists were able to understand the how the song moved and resolved.

Overall, I am very pleased with the outcome and for a sound-a-like project I think our group achieved a very passable sound. With no major hick-ups and a mostly smooth production along with good energy from everyone involved the result reflects the process of recording a classic track.