The sounds are dialed in, and the band is ready to get some takes recorded live off of the floor Watch as Rich, Bryan, Paul, and Chris head into the Dangerous Room at Flux Studios to cut the live tracks for "Keep The Light On."
See how Jacquire King:
Produces the tracks live off of the floor
Addresses his first reactions to the band playing together
Works out arrangement options for stops and fills to transition between sections
Has his assistant, Danny Pellegrini, help tune the snare drum to the key of the song using his perfect pitch skills
Adjusts the microphone position on the snare drum to get a brighter attack, as well as an adjustment for more body
Revisits the kick drum EQ choices and explains the effect of pushing more into the Neve module
Uses a Radial SGI to decrease noise on the bass amp
Adjusts the bass amplifier settings to compliment the kick drum
Watch Jacquire King produce "Keep The Light On" from Oak & Ash from Start To Finish only on pureMix.net
00:00:23 I think we are actually ready
for everybody to
put headphones on,
kind of begin to understand
how you guys are gonna sound as a band.
00:00:31 I'll make some
further adjustments,
get the headphones going
and then I'll probably need to take
a little bit of time
to work out
double checking the programming
and getting us ready to actually
start to record the song.
00:00:45 And you cannot forget
that we need to work on
deciding
those two transitional points,
the breaks out of the
the first chorus and the third chorus.
00:00:56 Yeah.
00:00:57 Yeah, cool.
00:00:58 So, if you guys would
join him that would be awesome.
00:01:03 We'll roll the track at you so
you can kind of balance things.
00:01:06 Can you turn off the Dr Sample
in Brian's headphones?
Yeah, that should be off for everybody
so we don't have anybody
freak out over distortion.
00:01:15 Alright.
00:01:17 Stand by at the click.
00:01:51 Brian is suddenly playing lighter?
Probably.
00:01:57 It looks like it.
00:02:24 Do you have the vocal like,
can you turn not the vocal
but can you turn the programming
stuff down just a little bit?
All the programming stuff?
Yeah.
00:02:32 But just the leave
the vocal where it is.
00:02:34 Absolutely.
00:03:15 The thing that is
sticking out the most to me
is that the snare
drum just sounds dead.
00:03:20 Very dead, yeah.
00:03:21 I was wondering...
00:03:23 They don't have any other
snare options here, do they?
- Yeah, actually...
- Do we?
Yeah, we do.
00:03:31 There's other snare options here
and actually Fab was given
a kind of cool Radio King snare.
00:03:36 - Wow.
- Yeah.
00:03:39 How fortuitous for us.
00:03:42 Yeah, that's the only thing
I think is sticking out
to me right away.
00:03:51 Let's turn this up a second,
over the bass amp in there.
00:03:55 Is that better?
I'm still on that.
00:04:11 Can you turn the claps down?
We're off to a fantastic start.
00:04:35 I didn't pay attention to the transition
out of the first chorus.
00:04:38 We played through that out
of the third chorus, right?
Do you think that we should try it first,
try breaking...
00:04:45 First try the break going
into the second verse?
I honestly think that that's the
more important one.
00:04:51 Because at the end of the song
I'm not worried about that
feeling so much of it settling down.
00:04:59 I agree.
00:05:00 But the think that's
the most obvious in here
is we either need to
get a different snare drum
or kind of make that thing have a little
more crack and life.
00:05:09 It sounds too dead.
00:05:10 Yeah.
00:05:10 Yeah, to us.
00:05:11 Let's make our arrangement decisions,
let's just kind of keep it as it is,
we're fine for the moment.
00:05:15 Let's make our arrangements decisions
and we'll figure something out.
00:05:18 There's other snare
drums to be had.
00:05:23 So, we're kind of like
working on...
00:05:26 Let's see about that first chorus
transition into second chorus.
00:05:30 Is there a way to drop us
into this first chorus?
So, let's rehearse that.
00:05:33 We can do it without the track.
00:05:36 Right, so drop it in first chorus,
first chorus and try a break.
00:06:16 Yeah, I think that's the way it should be,
not playing through.
00:06:21 That felt great.
00:06:24 Let's sort of address this
thing with the snare.
00:06:27 And then I'm also thinking,
just because at the
end of the chorus,
like where we go off the ride cymbal
and it goes to the floor tom,
which I love that part.
00:06:36 But because the...
00:06:38 you know, we talked about possibly
putting tambourine there,
we already got tambourine
going the whole time.
00:06:45 Should we not cut the track with
the tambourine and overdub it?
What do you think?
That's your call man.
00:06:52 I'm either way because when
I'm playing through the whole song...
00:06:57 You can hear it and it's
kind of like a unique thing.
00:07:00 But if you wanna scratch it...
00:07:03 Let's work on the snare drum sound
and then I'd just like
to hear a chorus without it,
just to sort of be
able to think about it.
00:07:09 It's not that I don't
want the tambourine,
I just wanna be able
to have the focus of it
different from the song.
00:07:15 Absolutely.
00:07:16 We'll probably leave it on but I just
wanna be able to think through it.
00:07:19 Let me try something with
the snare before we...
00:07:21 OK.
00:07:23 And I'm gonna grab another option too.
00:07:26 Brian, did you bring more than one snare?
I only got one.
00:07:30 OK, I'll grab and option too.
00:07:42 That one seems like the right note.
00:07:45 Everything is high.
00:07:47 Yeah, but I don't know if that's
the right tone, that's the thing.
00:07:50 Yeah, it's not.
00:07:52 This will have to come up
and everything else will just go down.
00:08:10 That section right there is strayed.
00:08:16 That needs to come down.
00:08:24 Leave that one there.
00:08:25 Yeah, that one is fine.
00:08:29 Those two could come
down just a hair.
00:08:41 Yeah, good.
00:08:42 That could come
down a little bit.
00:08:48 Perfect.
00:08:49 Let's hear the other side.
00:08:54 Let's put it back in the stand.
00:09:02 That's an A.
00:09:03 - Which works.
- Yeah.
00:09:06 It could make a nice little
power-chord right there.
00:09:11 Yeah, that sounds like a D.
00:09:24 We haven't tried it yet.
00:09:37 It feels like it can
come up just a tiny bit.
00:09:39 Yeah, just up a tiny bit.
00:09:47 Alright, maybe just put
a little bit more tape on it.
00:09:49 Let me hear in the
control room real quick.
00:09:52 What did we change?
The tuning came up but the
bottom head was way out.
00:10:00 That feels way live there.
00:10:02 Also that big deadening ring...
00:10:12 Can you just record him to what the
other guys played?
Hearing it in here
it's a little bit sharp.
00:10:33 Hey Brian,
that sort of ringing overtone,
can you kind of try and...
00:10:38 And also it seems like the drum
is slightly sharp
so can you find a lug that you can lower
that will take some of that ring out?
Try to find the sharpest
lug and drop it down.
00:11:05 Take it down a little bit more.
00:11:11 That seems OK.
00:11:14 Can you go around all the drums?
Do you have any more moongel?
Maybe put another small piece of tape.
00:11:32 Near the microphone if you wouldn't mind.
00:11:37 I think the snare drum is OK,
it's not blowing me away yet.
00:11:40 Can we hear you with the track?
I'm not in love with it.
00:12:25 Neither am I.
00:12:26 OK, let's try that Radio King.
00:12:35 It's sounding better with the...
00:12:41 it's sounding better with the...
00:12:42 fat snare drum ring.
00:12:47 It sounds like it's happy where it is,
we'll just sort of see.
00:12:51 Let's just see how it goes here.
00:12:52 Man, this thing is so light.
00:12:54 Compared to the other guy, yeah.
00:12:56 What year is this guy?
I don't know,
it looks like a 60s drum.
00:13:01 And the heads are from the 60s too.
00:13:08 That's a Jazz snare.
00:13:13 What does it sound like with
that ring on there?
A little like Jojo Mayer.
00:13:41 Let me go here in the control room.
00:13:43 I just moved the mic in a little bit.
00:13:45 I got it over the drum a little bit
because we're lacking a
little bit of brightness
even with the changes
on the other snare.
00:13:51 Is it right if I raise this?
Oh, of course.
00:13:54 I'll have to adjust
the mic again.
00:13:56 But I'm trying to get the mic
a little bit over the drum
so hopefully I get a little
bit more of the attack.
00:14:08 Alright. Hold on for me.
00:14:17 Cool.
00:14:19 Can you take us to like
the middle of the song
where everybody...
00:14:22 everybody is actually playing
because we were kind of...
00:14:25 Sure, I'll just drop him...
00:14:26 Some people were missing in action
getting the headphones together.
00:14:29 Sure.
00:14:31 I'll just start in the second pre-chorus.
00:14:33 Yeah.
00:14:35 The tuning sounds pretty good.
00:14:37 It's in A.
00:14:39 Presumptively an A.
00:14:41 Hey Brian, I'm gonna start
you at the second pre-chorus.
00:14:44 Yeah. I'll start you
at the second pre, OK?
Dropping in for the second chorus.
00:15:01 It sounds like we
need to change our EQ.
00:15:05 Yeah.
00:15:05 We're kind of little thin.
00:16:34 That's much better.
00:16:36 Nice man.
00:16:37 That's sounding nice.
It's all OK in the headphones?
Cool.
00:16:41 Old Snare
New snare
So, obviously,
with changing snares
and all we were trying to do
with the other one,
I change the EQ over there,
I guess on the other one
we had a little bit more
higher mid-range cut.
00:17:15 And I drop...
00:17:17 I keep talking about that 390,
because that's...
00:17:20 that's the low mid-range frequency
on this EQs on the console.
00:17:28 I'm not really sure where it was,
I just grabbed it, it was higher up,
I know that.
00:17:32 And I just dipped a little bit
of the 390 here, just to taste.
00:17:36 I turned the high-shelf up a little bit
and then...
00:17:41 We had a high-pass on it, before,
just because the other drum was
a little bit duller,
and I got rid of that
and added
a little bit of a boost here at 100.
00:17:50 We weren't utilizing the GML before
so I threw that in and I kind of...
00:17:56 I boosted it a little bit
around 2 kHz,
a dB at 2 kHz
and then added...
00:18:03 Added back a little bit of...
00:18:06 I think it's like 350.
00:18:08 So it's a little bit
under where I was cutting
because actually where I needed to cut
over here was something more around
400, 450.
00:18:17 So, I'm kind of working the 2 EQs
against each other
to sort of get a net result.
00:18:23 And then I changed
the compressor to allow
a little bit more of the transient
through and get it a little bit brighter.
00:18:32 And then I just kind of adjusted
the input and output level
to get the amount of
compression that I wanted.
00:18:39 And I think it's an
improved snare drum sound.
00:18:41 Brian, do you wanna come
here hear the change?
Sure.
00:18:44 It sounds really nice.
00:18:45 Everybody is liking it.
00:18:53 Can you put a
little reverb on it?
After Brian and I listened
we agreed that the snap and articulation
we're after is there
but his missing a little bit of body,
I kind of understand that.
00:19:30 So I think the solution is
go back out there and adjust
the microphone a little bit more
to sort of find the
balance of having
just a little bit more
depth and tone to it
which I think will serve it well.
00:19:40 Absolutely.
00:19:43 What do you think about as far as
the snare tension on the bottom head?
Do you think...
00:19:50 We could lower it a little bit.
00:19:51 I mean, loosen it a little bit?
Yeah.
00:20:00 That's nice right there.
Go back up a tiny bit.
00:20:05 That sounds like a nice...
00:20:07 It widened it out a little...
00:20:10 So, I moved the mic a little bit
and actually got it back
over the drum a little bit.
00:20:15 Brian also
loosened the snares on the bottom
so that the tension is not quite as much,
it's let the bottom head resonate a
little bit more and it did open it up
and make it sound
a little fuller.
00:20:24 I'm just gonna go back in
the control room
and have you play so
I can check that out.
00:20:28 So, we'll do the same punch-in,
the second chorus.
00:21:21 I'm gonna add a little more body
to that bass drum.
00:21:29 Can we let it roll or stop it?
Stop it.
00:21:37 It's better in here.
Does it feel better in the headphones?
We'll go with that.
00:21:42 I think we wanna work on the kick drum
a little bit now.
00:21:45 Like I explained out there,
we changed the snares' tension,
I moved the mic a little bit
and then coming in
here I decided to
get rid of the
upper mid boost on the GML
and just double checked
my selection on the lower boost
just to confirm I like that
and I'm feeling pretty
good about that now.
00:22:04 If you would just play
the chorus part like you just were.
00:22:07 I just kind of wanna work on
the kick drum a little bit more.
00:22:14 It also feels like we could
get rid of a little bit more...
00:22:17 That would be one reason something
isn't sounding quite right.
00:22:34 Keep playing sir.
00:22:37 Hold on one second,
we can't hear you.
00:22:41 B being burying the beater.
00:22:43 Give me the A choice.
00:22:47 B.
00:22:49 I like A better.
00:22:51 Go ahead and play again for us.
00:23:00 What I was gonna say is
it feels like we could
scoop out a little bit more of the
400, 500 over here.
00:23:08 Yeah.
00:23:32 Maybe change
the focus of the bottom end.
00:23:35 The frequency.
00:24:25 I turned the pre up a little bit
and backed the output down.
00:24:30 Let me hear...
00:24:48 That feels punchier.
00:24:53 Paul, could I ask you to go and
play with him?
One second bud.
00:25:05 I'm gonna have Paul come
out and play with you.
00:25:07 Cause you made some changes on the
kick drum and I just kind of wanna hear
how it sounds with the bass.
00:25:11 Hey Paul.
00:25:12 We reduced a little bit more of 450...
00:25:15 What did you boost on the low end?
I brought up the lower band at
56.
00:25:24 OK. Did you do something on the GML?
Yeah, I changed the frequency...
00:25:28 from 77 to 64.
00:25:31 - OK.
- Just a little shift.
00:25:33 Yeah, we just shifted the focus.
00:25:35 And then I also turned
the mic pre gain up one more click
and then turned the output down.
00:25:39 Just to get up in the headroom
of the Neve module,
and makes it feels sturdier
and a little punchier.
00:25:52 Is it just the amp that's a little noisy
on the bass?
I think he...
00:25:56 He just moved and it stopped.
00:26:01 It seems like...
00:26:07 The cable?
When he's moving...
00:26:11 Are you not getting any sound?
Alright, we've got a bad cable. Hold on.
00:26:21 It feels like it
might be this cord.
00:26:23 Yeah, I'm thinking you're right.
00:26:43 This is going around to the DI?
Yeah. We can just run it across here.
00:26:48 I'm just gonna curl that up over there.
00:26:55 The noise is gone, it seems like.
00:26:56 Yeah, it's less,
its definitely as bad.
00:26:59 I hear the noise of your amp.
00:27:01 - I hear a noise.
- I'm hearing a lot of noise still.
00:27:04 That's the amp of the guitars.
00:27:07 Yeah, the guitars are...
00:27:08 - Are they on input?
- No.
00:27:11 Can you mute the bass amp?
Yeah...
00:27:18 - Amp.
- It's the amp.
00:27:20 It's the amp that's making the noise.
00:27:22 We have an instrument line going from
the output of the bass DI in the studio
into the amp here.
It's still a little bit noisy.
00:27:29 We improved it earlier
but now we're gonna swap that line out
which is instrument level,
all the way from the DI
into the amp and we're
gonna put an SGI in place.
00:27:37 What an SGI does is there's a
transmitter, which is out there,
and this is the receiver.
00:27:42 It takes instrument level
and converts it to
lower impedance.
00:27:48 This is also a shielded cable.
00:27:50 So, it will be cleaner and less
noisy, hopefully.
00:27:55 And then, on the receiving end,
it turns it back into instrument level
so that you can plug it in to the amp.
00:28:01 And,
hopefully this will
solve our problem.
00:28:06 A few minutes later...
00:28:09 Problem solved.
00:28:18 Sorry guys.
00:28:19 Do you guys hear less
noise on the headphones?
Way less.
00:28:22 Awesome, right.
So we got the amp sorted out.
00:28:24 If you guys would just play
a chorus together.
00:28:26 That would be awesome.
00:28:36 Can I hear only the amp?
And then only the DI.
00:28:52 I'll put all this back.
00:28:54 To me the DI on it's own with
the drums sounds pretty good.
00:28:57 It's just...
00:29:00 How they add up...
00:29:01 With the amp it's just
kind of softening.
00:29:04 Agreed.
00:29:05 I think I'm gonna change
the EQ on the amp.
00:29:07 Make it more aggressive?
Yeah, I think so.
00:29:10 Is the...
00:29:12 OK. Hang tight.
00:29:14 I just need Paul to play for a minute.
00:30:11 Can you hear you guys play
again together, please?
Did you...
00:30:34 Is this channel that you EQed out
some of the 800 something?
On the DI?
No, on the amp.
00:30:40 Let's see.
00:30:42 Yeah, there's a little dip here.
00:30:43 I would say pull more of it out.
00:30:54 It sounds nicer to me.
00:30:56 If you're happy I'm happy.
00:30:57 OK.
00:30:59 Thank you guys.
00:31:00 The changes that we made
primarily on the amp,
which, there's a mid
band EQ on that amp,
it has like five presets,
I changed that
from preset 1 to preset 2,
turned it down.
00:31:16 I turned the low frequency
EQ up on the amp,
turned the treble down a bit
and
I also changed
the Tube Screamer,
I made it a little bit dirtier,
darken the tone a little bit
and turned the output up
so we drive the front-end
of the amp a little harder,
so then, on the master volume,
I turned it down.
00:31:38 And then, an EQ change that
Kolton had already made
on the desk,
we're dipping just a little bit of 800,
we pulled a little bit more out of that.
00:31:46 And it feels like,
on their own,
the bass DI and the bass amp
work well with the drums and they
combine nicely for even a better sound.
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Award-winning Producer, Engineer, and Mixer, Jacquire King, has worked with some of the world’s most influential artists in every role you can imagine in a recording studio. From being an acclaimed recordist to mixing and producing multi-platinum records (9X in the case of Kings Of Leon) by superstars like Kaleo, Modest Mouse, Kings of Leon, Tom Waits, Norah Jones, Buddy Guy, Cold War Kids, MuteMath, Melissa Etheridge, and James Bay.
To date, Jacquire has received several awards for his meticulous attention to detail and unique approach to creating records that withstand the test of time.
His discography is well-known for the variety of music encompassed from the past 20 years. When you see Jacquire’s tutorials on pureMix, you will have the chance to sit next to a true master at work, who strives to enhance the artist's vision and serve the songs he helps deliver to the masses.
Jaquire's a legend, but i liked the body of the first snare better too. Truly an amazingly mediocre pop-rock 'hit'.
thestudentproducer
2021 Jan 02
I actually kinda like the old snare but horses for courses
yokai1
2020 Dec 03
I really hope we can get Jacquire's pro tools session for this, not just the stem files!
JCKnoell
2020 Nov 30
I love watching the process. The production of the video is very helpful with graphics and overlays. There are some quiet, non-helpful parts that could be edited down to make it more engaging. But this video was awesome!
studiosix
2020 Nov 29
I can tell that apart of chasing the noise, they are chasing the tones. Get it right at the source -- cliche but true.
