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Current Recording and Mixing Projects…MatthewFO and Roomtone

admin — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 01:34:33 +0000

I am currently mixing the debut MatthewFO EP and recording the new Roomtone EP/LP at my home studio in Philadelphia.

Spent the beginning of the week tracking live basics for Roomtone…drums, bass, guitars, percussion, and pedal steel. Borrowed Mike Kennedy’s (Audible) API 312s for the drums. Tea toweled them to 1970’s dry perfection, too.

Piano Day!

admin — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 17:46:00 +0000

Thanks to Jeremy and Mary for getting this piano over to my place this morning. It is either from the 1920’s or 1930’s and was manufactured in New York City by the Cambridge Piano Company. It needs to be tuned up and refinished (fire engine red?), but I plan on having this for a long time. It fits great in the big room. I’m going to keep a set of tacks around for it. Really excited to have this here and can’t wait to get it tuned up!

Audible video from WXPN’s World Cafe’ Studio

admin — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 18:53:18 +0000

The Last Thing I Remember from Ed Hogarty on Vimeo.

YLA – Finished Recording

admin — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 08:51:21 +0000

Mike V and I finished recording vocals tonight for his Young Lion Apprentice debut, Save The Soundtracks. As usual, vocals were tracked using Jeremy’s (Swivel Chairs) Microtech-Gefell UM70s. Most of the vocals on the record were done with this mic (at some point Mike Kennedy from Audible had it for Isolette’s vocals, so I switched stuff around). I used a few different preamps, including the Yamaha PM-1000, Electro Harmonix 12AY7 (which is out of commission and needs to be repaired), and my Burr-Brown modified Presonus MP20 (with the RNC “Really Nice Compressor” inserted). I believe the other mic we used at times was one of my Audio Technica AT4050s, which we ran through the MP20/RNC.

Mike recorded everything at home on a Tascam 424 MKIII 4-track. He can chime in here if he wants to and go into his gear list or his fondness for Rustica Pizzas (Basil pesto / sun-dried tomato white pies) that fueled the sessions over here. Anyway, we started transferring at 24-bit 96K and mixing last summer. I think at some point he wanted to re-record some vocals that he wasn’t happy with (originally recorded with an SM58), and I was having a difficult time getting some of the vocals that he recorded at home to sit in the mix. The mixes are pretty rich for 4-tracks; lots of delay and reverb direct to tape. We made the decision to redo all of the vocals back in September or October in order to have them cut through the instruments. In the past two weeks we finished them up after a few sessions this Fall and a break for the holidays. I think that it took five or six sessions, tops. Mike and I are a lot happier with the way that things sound between now and last Fall.

Tonight was especially cool since I was able to use my 1977 Maestro Echoplex as tape delay for Mike’s vocals on “Withered Arms”. (The Echoplex was a gift this Fall from Dave Palaitis of Lifetime, a life-long friend.) It is amazing that something that sounds so noisy at times (and that at times deceives you into thinking that a hamster runs around on a track inside of it) can actually sound so good. I have to get this thing into the shop so that I can use it for more and more vocals, even those that are up front in the mix. It is a little scratchy and noisy right now. However, I’m totally in love with this thing. Thanks again, Dave! We recorded the vocal track and then used the Radial X-Amp reamp to get it to the Echoplex. Then the EP-3’s output was fed to the PM-1000’s DI.

We’ll finish some mixing tweaks in the next week and then master Save The Soundtracks.

Audible -Isolette

admin — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 05:05:57 +0000

Mastering Audible’s Isolette EP

admin — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 23:50:53 +0000

I just spent a few days mastering the new Audible EP. Mike and I did an analog transfer to convert the sample rate from 48K and 96K down to 44.1K using my Black Lion Audio modified MOTU 828mk2 and my Apogee Duet. Sounds great. Next I spent a bit of time setting the right amount of mastering compression and concentrating with Mike on getting the RMS levels completely consistent. Then a few days A/B’ing the rest of the mastering chain, trying some multiband stuff, Limiting the whole mix (No Waves L1, L2, etc is being used) a little reverb on the mix or not, dither from 24-bit to 16-bit, etc. All in all it has come out really well and the Masters definitely have a great deal of dynamic range. Loud but dynamic, the way nature intended. As soon as MK signs off on the last set of masters the record is finished.

Back To Recording After A Long Weekend

admin — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 00:29:40 +0000

Spent the weekend seeing various shows in Philly. Gildon Works on the 14th at L’Etage, BC Camplight and Bloodfeathers at Johnny Brenda’s on Saturday the 16th, and then Audible at their Y-Rock taping yesterday at WXPN Philadelphia’s Studios.

I also spent Saturday mastering Audible’s Isolette EP with MK, and will be finishing up some small corrections this evening.

Mike V, aka Young Lion Apprentice, was in the Laundromat all afternoon recording vocals for his upcoming full-length. We used the 1970s MG UM70s through my 1970s Yamaha PM1000 preamp. Lots of transformers between the mic and preamp in this signal chain folks. We finished vocals for four more songs. There’s three more to go before mixing tweaks and mastering.

Looking forward to a little soup before some more mastering work.

Audible performing on Y-Rock, at JB’s

admin — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 19:33:14 +0000

Audible are performing live in the studio for WXPN’s Y-Rock here in Philly on Sunday January 17th. You can listen to their performance and interview at 8pm sunday night right here on the innerwebs. I’ll be part of a bunch of friends joining them as part of a small studio audience for their performance. Cell phones on silent.

Also, you can catch Audible, The Swimmers, and East Hundred live at Johnny Brenda’s in Philadelphia on Saturday, January 29th as part of the JMML Foundation’s Victory Over Leukemia Benefit. Information and tickets can be found here.

A BIG thank you!

admin — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 19:04:17 +0000

Thank you to Jay and Jeremy from the Swivel Chairs and Mike from Audible for the fantastic birthday present! The guys chipped in and bought me a pair of Axiom M3 v2 Bookshelf Speakers (aka passive near-field monitors!). These speakers sound amazing!

Also a big thank you to my buddy Mike V. (Young Lion Apprentice) who gifted me an Electro-Harmonix Holier Grail for my b’day! This thing will get put to good use around here. Looking forward to using it! Mike and I have been friends for a long time, played in a few bands over the years, and worked together recording The Me Generation when Mike was playing guitar for them back in the day. We’re both currently working on finishing up his first solo record that should finally see the light of day in 2010.

Thanks again guys!

Audible pt 4 – Recording & Mixing is Finished!

admin — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 04:09:13 +0000

A history lesson…

So… Philly’s Audible invited me to help out recording an EP this summer. We started tracking in late August at Audible’s garage practice space in Philadelphia’s Fishtown. Tracking was done over a few days and nights and consisted of the basics…guitar, bass, and drums. However, we tracked Mike, Kris, and Steve live, focusing on capturing a more cohesive sound from the start. After the basics were done, we spent some time on guitar overdubs with Mike, Jim, and Ed and then finished up at the garage by reamping Kris’ bass tracks for a more vibey tone. Double-miked bass cab. When you can’t decide between an SM7b and an RE20 for something, well…use ‘em both.

Mike and Kris then spent the Fall adjusting to parenthood and tracking overdubs at home. Guitars, keys, vocals, baby sounds. We’ve been mixing since late December over here at The Laundromat (my basement project studio), and Mike has been checking these mixes at his day gig over at NFL Films (you know, at a real world-class recording studio…yes kids, those places still exist!)

Which brings us to this evening (am I long-winded or what?).

Slightly tweaked two songs’ mixes, tracked Mike and Mary’s vocals for “14 Weeks”, and then finished up by mixing it.

The Isolette EP is now finished and ready for mastering!