EQ Magazine - September 2007 - (Page 8)

Punch In by Lily Moayeri Get Cape. Wear Sam Duckworth on The Chronicles of a Bohemian Teenager In an attempt to bypass the inevitable emo-folk tags if he performed under his given name, British crooner Sam Duckworth chose the outrageously silly Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. (lifted from the first three levels of a classic Batman videogame) as the banner under which to present his music. It doesn’t really work, as Duckworth’s sparse acoustic-guitar strumming and introspective declarations absolutely reference Elliot Smith, Damien Rice, and the other kings of the emo-tinged singer/songwriter universe. And yet, the tracking of his debut release, The Chronicles Of A Bohemian Teenager, indeed represented a superhero-like quest for truth, justice, and the perfect guitar and vocal sounds. Tracking Chronicles on a MacBook Pro with the help of drummer Andrew Theakstone and producer Adam Menczykowski, Duckworth and company transported their portable studio setup and an armful of gobos from their practice space to various U.K. locations. They were looking for a large room that would not only allow Theakstone’s drums to reverberate naturally, but also let Menczykowski position Duckworth and Theakstone in the same space — separated by a line of gobos — that would enable the pair to record together with minimal bleed from the drums into the vocal mic. Though he experimented with his trusty live-performance microphone — a Shure Beta 58A — Duckworth opted to record his vocals with the sE Electronics Gemini II tube condenser because he felt it delivered a “breathier quality.” The vocal signal was routed through a Neve 8081 mic preamp, and was compressed heavily via an Avalon 727 compressor/EQ. Duckworth also incorporates spoken-word segments into his music, and, for these, Menczykowski put a Shure SM7B in front of the vocalist. “It really picked up the quieter, more nuanced characteristics of my speaking voice, says Duckworth. ” Duckworth banished microphones entirely from the recording of his acoustic guitar parts — performed on either an Avalon Brazilian Rosewood 800 jumbo or an Avalon Concert S series — opting instead to outfit both instruments with L.R. Baggs M1 pickups, and send the signals through an L.R. Baggs Para Acoustic D.I. to MOTU’s 828mkII computer-audio interface and directly into Apple Logic Pro 7. “I’ll write a song and straightaway record it into Logic, explains ” Duckworth, “but I’m always writing with the complete instrumental arrangement in mind. I tend to build the other instruments around the song as I’m mixing the basic demo tracks.” The majority of the “other” instruments are courtesy of Vienna Symphonic Library’s Solo Strings and Chamber Strings libraries, as well as cello and violin recordings tracked by Menczykowski with a pair of Røde NT2 condensers positioned to capture a stereo perspective. Duckworth then arranged the sounds in Logic’s EXS24 software sampler, using a custom plate reverb or Logic’s Space Designer plug-in to build ambiences that matched the room sounds recorded during the vocal, guitar, and drum sessions. The sound design wasn’t done when Chronicles was mixed, however, as Duckworth wanted to recreate the album’s arrangements on stage — an incredible difficulty, given that he performs only with Theakstone and cornet player Mike Glenister. The solution was to arm Duckworth with a RADAR 24 system loaded with ten stereo tracks of instrumentation recorded during the Chronicles sessions, and two click tracks. This was the only logical option for an act that can’t afford to haul a 24-piece orchestra along to shows. “Although the RADAR runs click tracks into my in-ear monitors to help me keep time with the music, everything else just feels like I’m playing with a band, says Duckworth. “Unfortunately, the system doesn’t ” allow a lot of improvisation — it’s pretty much a glorified way of playing to a backing track — but it does give us a much bigger soundscape on stage. Working with an experienced producer in a nice studio environment always enriches your recordings, but I never thought the process would upgrade the sound of my live show, as well!” Duckworth banished microphones entirely from the recording of his acoustic guitar parts. 8 EQ SEPTEMBER 2007 www.eqmag.com http://www.eqmag.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of EQ Magazine - September 2007

Contents Talk Box Sounding Board Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly Ben and Vesper Kaiser Chiefs Toolbox Ozma Porcupine Tree Rush The Software Power User Guide Guitar Trax Bass Management Key Issues Drumheads Vocal Cords Mix Bus Cheat Sheet Chameleon Labs TS1 and TS2 Primera Bravo Se Disc Publisher Roland MC-808 Magix Samplitude Professional 9.1 Massey Tape-Head Big Fish Audio Revolucion Reggaeton Sonivox World Beats Sony Pocket Diva Adobe Audition 2.0 Cakewalk Sonar 6 Room with a VU: J Street Recorders, Sacramento, CA

EQ Magazine - September 2007

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