EXTRAS

NAT'S STUDIO DIARY
- THE PREFACE

This studio diary is an insight into The Bank Holidays' recording sessions that take place in October and November 2003. The recording takes place at Engineer/Producer Steve Bond's house, with the following group of characters...

THE CAST:
Wibekke Reczek - member of The Bank Holidays
James Crombie - member of The Bank Holidays
Stafford Chater - member of The Bank Holidays
Nat Carson - member of The Bank Holidays, diary narrator
Steve Bond - Engineer/Producer
Drew - co-tenant of Steve's house, member of The Panics
Julian - co-tenant of Steve's house, member of The Panics
A German Man On The Street - exact status unknown

During the course of this diary you'll be confronted by several technical terms that rear their heads when you least expect it. At these times, you may stare at the screen scratching your head thinking, "what in darnation is that boy ramblin' on about?" To prevent this happening, here is a quick glossary of technical terms:

track: each instrument is assigned a separate 'track' in recording, so that each instruments' sound exists separately from each other, thus the whole recording is essentially layers of different instruments and sounds. most often tracks are recorded separately, usually starting with the drums and bass, then adding guitars and/or keyboards, then vocals and other little bits and pieces. A 'guide track' is one only for reference purposes... later it will be replaced. It's a cruel world.

punch-in: everyone makes mistakes in the course of a performance, except the drummer, who isn't allowed any mistakes. These little mistakes can be fixed by re-recording small sections of a track - this is called a punch-in.

producer / engineer: the engineer knows the best place to stick the microphones so that the instruments sound good. No getting any rude ideas people. The engineer also knows how to work all the technical gadgets. Again, no rude ideas allowed. The producer's role (which might be performed by the engineer or the band) involves directing how things sound, what tracks are recorded, and making decisions on the quality of performances.

mix: where all of the tracks are blended in together at varying volumes to create an overall sound. A rough mix is generally done quickly, using only a little energy and discretion. A final mix is where the producer/engineer and the band have spent a lot of time, effort and words on coming up with a mix that they think does the song justice (perhaps they might even keep their listening audience in mind when producing the final mix!).

NEXT >> Nat's studio diary - Friday, 24th Oct 2003

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