Dylan Johnstone
Sound Designer
About Me
My name is Dylan Johnstone. I'm a musician/sound designer based in Glasgow. My passion is to create powerful audio soundscapes to capture the audiences attention. I'm currently studying HNC Sound Production and have been continuing to create/produce music alongside. My current goal is to become a professional Sound Designer, and my dream is to work alongside industry professionals for feature films.
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I have currently collaborated with multiple artists/musicians, working as a Session Musician on Piano/guitar/Live Events, and a Producer for multiple singles.
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Recording & Mixing
Breakdown
Planning
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For this Project we were assigned to create a recording of a cover/original musical piece. We we're assigned in a team of four to complete this task, and the song we agreed upon was 'Starburster - Fontaines D.C.'. The first thing we did was set up a recording plan to detail the mics we plan to use, and our recording methods.
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The first thing we did for this recording is a backing track of the original piece and placed it into Protools so we can get the correct tempo, and structure before recording.​​
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Recording - Drums
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We started off by using the Audix Kit for the kick and snare top, an SM57 for the snare bottom, and for the overhead mics we used the Lewwit LCT 040 Pencil Condenser Mics . We quickly noticed that if we wanted a 'crunchy' and roomy drum kit, we would benefit from extra mics. So we later added 2 room mics roughly in the middle of the room to capture the natural reverb of the room. We also added a RODE NT1 condenser mic at the end of the room as an option for later mixing.
For the drums, we originally attempted several takes of recording the complete drum track in one, to which proved to be difficult, and didn't work out. We then leaned upon the idea to record the Kit, and Cymbals separately, as we would be able to process the audio channels separately. We also decided instead of recording the drums for the entirety of the song, we will take the best section of the drum recording, cut, paste and crossfade the audio file to complete the drums.
Recording - Guitar
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For the guitar, we decided that I'll perform the piece as I'm a guitarist, whilst Ruairi and Nathan set stay in the studio and record the takes. we knew we wanted some effects such as chorus, distortion, and reverb. So we used the ​Roland Jazz Chorus -120 Guitar Amp. We enabled chorus and set the depth and speed low. We also increased the reverb and distortion knob to get some nice textures.
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For the microphone we originally used an SM57 but ended up experimenting with other mics. We decided to use the Electro-Voice RE20 Dynamic Mic as we felt it still sounded warm with some clarity. We positioned this directly in the centre of the cone of the amp and recorded 2 separate takes for double tracking. Later in the recording process, we then recorded the other sections of guitar with the same parameters.
Recording - Vocals
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For the Vocals, We decided to have Nathan perform as he knew the lyrics and the song very well. We used an AKG 414 mic and set it up in the EMS, as we wanted to also use the synths. We recorded a few takes of the vocal lines and spliced the best pieces together. We also decided that we wanted everyone to have some vocal line in the track, so we all recorded a take of the main background vocal line 'It may feel bad'. We decided to harmonise the vocals with Ruairi an octave lower than the original note.
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At the end of the recording stage, we decided to incorporate the add-libs that are on the impactful lyrics throughout the song. I recorded the add-libs in Booth 1 with an AKG414, with Nathan to help record on pro tools.
