Written by Shan Zhi Liu 26/02/2024
Date: 21/02/2024 Task: Acoustic guitar recording for swij - Seasons, and Dallas Chua - Rainbow Rings
Welcome to our first instalment of what will be our first series of themed blog posts! Southern Solistice is all about the day: exactly what we completed during the course of just one session.
This Wednesday, Amadeus lent his guitar skills on a Maton ESRS60C, which has a great sound thanks to its sound Queensland maple design, and made for the perfect acoustic guitar sound (#notasponsor). Dallas Lander continues to remain our rock as the Chief Sound Engineer, running the desk whilst Shan Zhi and Julian helped around other roles (also the photography, just sayingg).
Dallas' choice for microphones today was not only a bit of experimentation, but the results hopefully speak for themselves in their own respect. To begin with, using a Neumann KM184 spaced-pair made for most of the sound of the guitar. This is where our experimentation begins however, as we used one Neumann U87 and a Rode K2 in a Blumlein pair; this is where two microphones are put in the bi-directional polar pattern and positioned as close to each other as possible, however one microphone is roatated 90 degrees. This meant our K2 was pointed at the guitar, whilst the U87 was rotated so that the bi-directional polar pattern would essentially face up and down. This method makes for an incredibly realistic stereo sound effect.
It goes without saying however, as our first time trying this out this experimentation may provide the foundation for us to improve upon it for the next recording. We probably could have tried to use the same microphones, but we also really did want to try to use the Rode K2 which we only had one of. We also trusted the sound of the U87 to deliver despite the fact it was recording completely off-axis. That being said, the results really spoke in the studio, as it sounded awesome. To hear that for yourself, you'll have to stay tuned to South Bound not to miss a single release and hear the finished product.
The recording all went swimmingly, and we continued to play some other new parts to develop the rest of the songs. The day wouldn't be complete at this point however without mentioning how we spent the first half of this day figuring out alternative plans. We originally planned for vocal recording sessions but our vocalists all simultaneously had sudden emergencies...
Living glass-half-full at South Bound always, we made the most out of it by continuing to develop our website and edit and comp several songs. This day that started with unideal circumstances turned into one of our most productive days overall, if not for the fact that our plans had to be pushed back. Nonetheless, thank you for reading our first Southern Solistice! If you really like this format please provide your feedback for us by following us on our website and socials. We love to hear from you all about anything and everything, your support drives our work.
As always, inviting you down under. 🇦🇺
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