A band that I had observed before, Mercury Transit, was in the studio. Jim was having them listen to the song to see if there was anything they wanted to fix or add. At the same time he put in effects and delays. He mentioned that there were two lead vocals and that she, the lead singer, must have sang it twice. Jim asked her what vocal she wanted. Her voice sounded distorted and she liked the way it sounded. Jim explained that he thought it was too loud because it “cuts through” easily. She loved the setting of her voice; however, she was concerned with the fact that maybe she only liked it. I wondered if this came up with many artists. Did they make a decision simply because they liked it and didn’t care about how it truly sounded? Maybe sometimes you have to make a decision like that because you like it and hope others do too. Jim brought some of her original voice back in and the decision was that they liked the way that sounded better. She was concerned that when she sings this song live, if it would not go with the rest of the album. This made me curious as to how artists sing their songs live when the songs have effects on them. How does the audience hear it? I have noticed at concerts and performances on television that the effects are played on the speakers so the audience can hear. And the artist usually sings lead vocals, however they might play with their band as well.
Once Jim archived the virtual instruments, he rendered the song. For the second song, Jim and Mercury Transit went through the song and made more changes. He put a setting on the drums and a delay on the guitar. Also, she wanted to hear a warm sound with the reverb, so Jim brought up the bass. At one point in the song, there was a certain effect that sounded too much like the other parts. I realized that you have to pay attention to the entire song, as well as focus on smaller, more specific parts. I wonder if it is ever hard, as the engineer and producer, to stray away from doing something that you like. I believe that Jim doesn’t do something just because he likes the way it sounds. I know that he expresses his opinion but wants his clients to produce their own sound. After they finished editing, Jim had them listen to the song. When they were happy with it, he rendered it and made a CD.
