Being a producer, there is one topic of conversation that comes up quite frequently: Using real guitar amps verses Amp simulators, and/or recording real drums verses programming all the drum tracks. I was even told by a friend that they knew of someone who chose not to record with me because I record the real thing, and they viewed it as a waste of time and money. There is no right or wrong answer, because they can both sound really good or really bad depending on the person doing the recording. Having said that, this is how I picture it in my head:

It’s like having the choice between driving a race car, or playing a really advanced, realistic video game. Anyone can sit down at dave and busters and drive a race car. Modern technology has advanced to a point where you really feel as if you are actually shifting through the gears racing 100+ miles per hour. Your adrenaline will run as if you were really driving, and you can sit in a little fake car that vibrates and moves to make it feel very real.
On the other hand, in order to drive an actual race car, it requires actual knowledge of the car itself, training on how to maneuver, and usually a bunch of money to even be able to attempt it. This also produces adrenaline, but on a whole other level.

The end result is very similar… You feel as if you competed in a high speed sport. The difference between these two actions however, is that one of them requires a lot of preparation and training, and involves risk. The other is safe, cheap, and literally anyone can do.

Some people like to race in virtual reality, risk free. I happen to enjoy the real thing.. even though it is a lot more work, and there is the constant risk of crashing.

That’s my 2 cents.

It has been a while since the last post. This is due to both being extremely busy, and the fact that I had surgery, and was out of commission for a week. On April 2nd I had an operation where one of the discs in my spine was replaced. Leading up to that, I was working non-stop in order to not fall too far behind.

The weekend before the surgery, Sayings came in and had a ‘lock in’ and tracked 95% of the remainder of their EP. It was a fun weekend, filled with puppies, buffalo wings, and music. They put together a few video updates, here is one of them:

After returning from surgery, I got started with another and from CT called “Strike Hard”. We began pre-production for a 6 song project we will be starting to track later this month. They also put together a video update which can be seen here:

Collision also came in, and we tracked vocals for 2 out of their 3 new songs. They are coming out awesome. Also, Ghost of Rory has been in a few times over the past couple weeks. This past Monday evening we finished tracking all the instruments for their 3 songs. We will be finishing up the vocals in a couple weeks.

Most of the rest of the month is dedicated to (hopefully) finishing up mixing 4 projects. My Dyna-mite compressor is set to arrive back today from being re-capped and upgraded. The Drawmer had a few more issues than I was even aware of, and is still being worked on, but I am hoping to have that back by the end of next week. I also purchased a summing mixer, which will be in early next week, which will be awesome to get to use on all the mixing I will be doing this month. May is already starting to fill up.

Over the past few weeks I have been spending a lot of time trying to finalize several projects. Last night I sent the final masters to Shred of Salvation for their EP. I am 3/5 of the way done with the Something About Horses EP, and moving along with the Pride of The Atlantic EP. Over the past weekend, A Mirror’s Embrace from CT came down and we tracked their new EP.

On top of these projects (and several others) I am constantly trying to improve things at the studio. Lately I have taken several steps in order to up my game. Last week I ended up trimming the rug in the live room down to about 1/4 of its original size. This leaves more of the wood floor exposed, and makes the room sound a little more “Live”. I have been experimenting with it, and I am really liking it so far. This whole thing was prompted by the purchase of a new microphone, the cascade Fathead. It is nothing crazy expensive or rare, but it is a terrific sounding ribbon mic, which happens to rock as a room mic for drums.
While on the mic purchasing kick, I also am in the process of purchasing a pair of AKG 414C B-ULS’s. Should have them in a week or so. I also sent out my Valley People Dyna-Mite compressor/limiter out to California to be re-capped and upgraded. It’s a killer sounding unit, but it’s old and could definitely use a tune-up. Lastly, I am in the middle of trying to get my Drawmer 1968ME tube compressor back to fully functional status. Ive had some issues with this piece over the past couple months, and I’m hoping to get it sorted out so that I can return to using it. It’s an awesome piece. With any luck it will just be a matter of changing out the tubes, but we shall see.

In other news, I recently finished up a song called “Atlas” with Sic Vita, and it was played on the radio earlier this week. The band is one of the finalists in the 95.5 WBRU Rock Hunt, and they are performing tonight at The Met in Providence, RI. It’s awesome to have a member of The Bear’s Den family in the finals. Sic Vita and Sun of Sound have both been receiving regular airplay over the past month or so due to there involvement in the rock hunt. Makes me proud!

Not much to report. I have been working on mixing several projects, with a few sessions scattered here and there. In about a week things are going to get real busy here for a while. Tons of projects booked for the next month or two.