Another Sample

And here's another quick sample: this is a track by Paddy Leitsch titled "Untitled Number Two". This was recorded live in a small club this past February. Paddy is the only person playing on stage, the rest of the band is just his own backing tracks playing through the PA. Tentatively calling this "GUITARAOKE", he plans on doing some gigs with this same lineup in the future.

I know that the crowd was certainly interested in what was going on - they kept looking around for the rest of the musicians, surprised to see just one guy onstage, shredding on his lit-up guitar! They hadn't seen anything like this before! Groovy.

This was simply recorded with Lamont (my binaural dummy head), and a bit of reinforcement from the original recorded tracks. Try it with headphones on - you'll get the feeling that you're sitting in the front row, with people all around you. Small club, no way to get away from the patrons...

Go check out Paddy's latest album HERE.

Check out his site HERE. (Yes, "Guitar Dragon Dojo" is him.)

Check him out live, when he plays near you!

Some Audio

Here's an audio example of some of my recent work. This is a Chicago group calling themselves "Her Majesty's Secret Service", doing their renditions of some of the best James Bond soundtrack music. They play the stuff live, IN COSTUME. Too cool.

We did the entire five-song demo in two recording sessions - the first session was drums, bass, guitar and keyboard, laid down live. The second session was overdubs of the four-piece brass ensemble and vocals. A bit of post-production tweaking and preliminary mixing by me, then a few hours of final mixdown with the producer, and voila! (be sure to say the "V", yer an idiot if you say "wallah") - finished demo: ready to play for club owners and get hired and make some money!

I have to admit that calling this "work" makes me feel a little guilty. I really enjoyed the sessions, and working with every one of the musicians involved. What fun! If the recording sounds good, it's mostly their fault. I just hit the "record" button.

Click below for the track.

Enjoy!

My Qlist (Mic List)

Before I post some audio examples (soon!), I thought I might show a quick list of the microphones I'm currently using (LDC is Large Diaphragm Condenser, and SDC is Small Diaphragm Condenser, of course):

2 Apex 140 Miniature Cardiod Condenser Mics
1 Apex 215 Dual-Ribbon Mic
1 Astatic 930VP Variable-Pattern Boundary Mic
2 AT4040 LDC Mics
2 AT803 Miniature Omni Condenser Mics
2 AT803b Miniature Omni Condenser Mics
1 AT875R Short Shotgun Condenser Mic
2 ATM63HE Dynamic Mics
2 ATM25 Dynamic Mics
1 AT Pro-1 Dynamic Mic
2 AT Pro 8HEx Headset Hypercardioid Dynamic Mic
3 AT ST90 Mark II Dynamic Mics
3 CAD E300-2 Multi-Pattern LDC Mics
2 CAD equitek e70 SDC Mics (omni & cardioid capsules)
4 CAD M179 Multi-Pattern LDC Mics
1 CAD M9 Tube/Valve Mic
1 CAD Trion 6000 Multi-Pattern LDC Mic
1 Heil PR 40 Extra-Large Diaphragm Dynamic Mic
1 "Lamont" Binaural Dummy Head
2 Naiant MSH-1c Miniature Condenser Mics
4 Realistic PZM Pressure Zone Mics (Modified)
2 Shinybox 23 Ribbon Mics (Modified)
2 Shure SM57 Dynamic Mics
1 Shure BG-4 SDC Mic
1 Superlux S502 ORTF Stereo SDC Pair
1 Superlux WB-383 Miniature Condenser Clip-on Mic
1 DiMarzio Clip-In Acoustic Guitar Pickup

Plus a few mighty elderly clunkers that barely deserve to be classified as microphones, but I do occasionally use them for their unique..."clunkiness".

The Maestro

Speaks about why music stinks these days...




I refuse to wear brown lipstick (if you're confused, you just don't get it!).




On the Monkees show.

Some Equipment...And A SECRET!

Here's a list of some equipment used at "the Moonroom":

2 VF-160 Digital Multitracks, Linked For 32 tracks
2 VF-160 EX Digital Multitracks
Behringer ADA8000 Mic Pre / ADAT
2 Rane DC-24 Compressor / Limiter / Noise Gates
2 Rane VP-12 Voice Processors
Antares ATR-1a Auto-Tune Intonation Processor
Peavey 213 FX Equalizer
Fostex D-8 Pro DAT Recorder
Pioneer PDR-509 CD Recorder
Sony MD Recorder
Sony Portable MD Recorder
Zoom H4 Flash Stereo / 4 Track Recorder
Fostex R-8 8 Track Reel To Reel Recorder
Fostex 12 X 8 X 2 Mixer
Soundcraft 8 X 2 Mixer
Boss SE-50 Stereo Effects Unit
Alesis Microverb II Reverb
Kenwood Turntable
2 Akai 1/4" Reel To Reel Recorders


That's just a start. Sure, some of that equipment seems old - it is! Been doing this since 1988. Hold on to your old stuff long enough, and it becomes VINTAGE.

Now for the SECRET. Make sure that you don't tell anyone...

It doesn't really matter what equipment you have, what really matters is that you know how to use it well. Seriously. No kidding. Ask anyone who's been recording for at least ten years. "Equipment" is much further down on the list than the guys selling the magazines would have you believe. Important, just further down the list than skill, familiarity, and experience.

3-D Sound? 3-D Microphones!

Here is a picture of "Lamont", my dummy head, used for recording binaural stereo. Binaural recording is a process used for ultra-realistic stereo. A pair of high quality omnidirectional microphones are mounted on either side of the lifesize resin head, picking up sounds exactly the way a real head would. This allows for some startling effects: a whisper right next to the ear, a flute solo that travels around the listener, people speaking in a room...all with incredible depth and vivid tangibility.

Then there's this oddity - an obscure Crapitol/EMY album from 1963 called "With The Dummies". Might this be where Frank Zappa copped the line in Camarillo Brillo: "She said her stereo was four-way"? One of the tracks on this album, "Eight Ears To Hear You" was later cribbed as "Eight Arms To Hold You" by both The Beatles and Veruca Salt. This album remains unheard by all but a select few, since it was recorded in the highly experimental octophonic format. Rumors of an 8-track release are unfounded - so far, the few 8-tracks that have turned up have proven to be fakes. Also rumored to have influenced Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips (see their album "Zaireeka", a 4-cd set designed to be listened to on 4 different cd players simultaneously!).

NOW BACK TO THE REAL WORLD...Here is a groovy picture of an assortment of microphones used here in the Moonroom. Since I was originally posting about binaural recording and 3-D sound, here is a 3-D photograph! Click on the picture to get the big version, cross your eyes until you get a third version in the middle of the original two, focus on it, and there you have it - microphones in three dimensions! Wow! And how many 7 foot square moon posters have you seen, let alone in 3-d?!?




Why name him Lamont? Click the funky-looking bar below to find out...

Test - 1, 2, 3, 4 - test, test!

This is just a test. If this were a real emergency, you would have been instructed where to listen for more information. This is only a test. Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep!