Studio Sessions - Take an insight

Hey guys, 

We’re definitely back from the summer holidays. Hope you guys enjoyed a lovely summer as well. Though it was super hot everywhere and the vegetation suffered a lot. 

But I’m not here to talk to you about ecology. By this post, you get another insight into our work. We proceeded with recording. Now, what’s left is still some vocals and bass guitar parts. The mixing part has begun as well. So far, it’s amazing sound. We can’t wait to present you all the stuff. 

But let’s talk in this section about how we recorded vocals. Unlike the other records, we tried to include Julien’s back vocals more and add more choral stuff. Fortunately, that worked out very well. Further, we experimented with different plug-ins like distorted vocals or a deep pitched voice. Besides this, I experienced also different technics of singing. This means, how I play with breathing, how I underline explicit sections, and so on. So, we really put a lot of work and fineness into the vocal parts. 

What changed as well compared to the other records, is the setup of our microphone. We still use the Rhode NT-2000, which you love more the more you use it. But this time, I pulled up the gain-knob to the highest possible level, where the vocal sound was still neat and clean. Inserting a solid working compressor, not just to break some peaks, rather than punching in front every single noise of my voice. This was necessary to match with my adjusted technic of singing. If you set up your stuff like that, be aware that every impure sound recorded can’t be removed. Furthermore, you need to compress harder when you mix. 

There are always some pros and cons depending on the way you work. I recommend to decide preliminarily what kind of sound picture you want to present. Then experiment with different sound setups to get as close as possible to that picture. When you get there, ponder the pros and cons. Then you know, what kind of work you and your team have to do.

Hopefully, in the next section I’m going to talk about the bass parts, before we close you insights with a mixing section. After that, we have in mind to present you the booklet for the new record. 

As usual, stay tuned for more information.

Keep on rocking and enjoy Seasplash!

Review on PRS MT-15

Dear fellows

Please, excuse our delated post. We had a couple of rough moments the past two months. But everything is fine again. Thanks for understanding.

Because of our private things, we didn’t find time to continue with our work. But during June, Bass parts, as well vocal parts will be recorded.

If I recall correctly, I mentioned in a past post the new PRS Mark Tremonti Signature Modell Amp – MT 15. In this post, I talk about what’s so special about this amp.

First of all, I believe that playing this thing would driving me crazy. So, I definitely need to buy one of these. Why? Here is why.

First, it’s PRS. Paul Reed Smith has always done innovative stuff with a high level of quality. Especially the subdivision signature-models. So, let’s count one point for the brand.

Second, it’s Mark Tremonti. Mark puts some serious considerations and energy into his creations. You experience this out of his Morley Wah pedal and out of his guitar signatures. Two points.

Third, it’s a 15 Watts two channel tube amp. And that’s in my opinion the amazing part. That little thing creates massive pressure and metal sound, it blows my mind. Of course, EVH or Randall have some nice 15 Watts tube tops that give you a nice rock n’ roll sound. But the MT 15 is a real metal amp by heart. And the good thing is, you can use it at home! We count three points.

Fourth, the appearance. I’m total detail freak and love the color design. Not just for music, also in cars or wherever. Light affects your emotions. Therefore, you will have an association between the light and the sound, which is in my opinion a great concept. Four points.

Fifth, the price. I mean for high quality you usually pay a lot. But this little baby cost only around 500 Euros. That’s literally nothing compared to what different big amps cost. Though it will be interesting to check, on what level the manufacture is done. But still, we count the fifth point.

What else do you need than a solid two channel tube amp with which you are able to play anything you want. Nothing, except the PRS MT 15!

Convince yourself on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5SyhbYkMRw

Stay tuned for more post.

Enjoy Seasplash!

Studio Session - Take an insight

 TalkBox and acoustic guitar setup

Hey dear fellows,

 

I'm back with another insight into our work. The past month, we could keep up our pace and recorded a lot of stuff. For instance, all piano, synthis, TalkBox, and accoustic guitar parts are done. What's left now, are bass-parts and vocals which we intend to record within April.

In this post, I explain, how we record the TalkBox and how we set up microphones for accoustic guitars. For synthis and pianos, I don't have to explain a lot. It's mostely plug and play, though we always plug stereo for controlling. 

Let's start with the TalkBox part which only Julien recorded. The set up remains the same, as we use the TalkBox for live. You fix the hose to a Shure SM 57! That’s it. The sound is produced by Julien’s Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier with the most powerful channel he has. What’s different to our older records is the fact that we now recorded the TalkBox for each song stereo. That pushes the TalkBox-sound a little bit more in front of the mix. 

The acoustic guitar parts instead were quite complicated to find the right set up. If you didn’t know, in studios you usually use to record acoustic guitars at least two signals. One to focus on the strike of the strings, the other to catch the sound of the whole body. The third track mostly takes the DI of the guitar. Though we could have worked with three tracks, we wanted to try something new. Because we use different acoustic guitars with different electronic and sound systems, we left out this possibility. But still, how to catch the strikes and body sound? The body sound is easy. We installed the SM 27 and pointed the membrane slightly turned away in place of the neck and body’s end of the guitar. It’s important to note here that we didn’t set any kind of filter on the microphone itself. But how to solve the issue with the focus on strikes? After trying different things, I installed a SM 57 and pointed it from the bottom of the acoustic guitars onto the strings. Both mics together produce a fantastic sound. As I told you before, we used different kinds of acoustic guitars. Throughout, we used our Takamine 6-String for rhythms and solos. For special sounds and special parts, we used my Yamaha 6-String for finger picking parts. It just sounded somehow lighter and easier than the Takamine did. For one song, we use the Yamaha 12-string. Because its boy is much different than the body of the others, I couldn’t record with the microphones. It sounded awful!  That’s why the 12-string was recorded over its electronics and DI. 

Bellow, you find two pictures showing the setup of the TalkBox and the microphones for the acoustic recording sessions. In the next session, I hope to talk about vocal and bass recordings. 

Until then, stay tuned for more information and keep on rocking.

Enjoy Seasplash!

Studio Sessions - Take an insight

Guitar Set Up

We finally managed to progress with our record. The drums and percussions are done. The last two weeks, it was all about guitars. In this section, I will talk about our electric guitar set up.

Basically, we use my Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier amp with my Marshall A1960 cab. The sound settings for each chanel (clean, vintage for rhythm, and modern for drive) remained the same. So, I didn't change the sounds for this record.

What's changed, is the pedal board. Because of the fact that my brother and I play the same system in studio, we need to have a set up that suits both of us. That's why, we added in addition to my pedalboard, my brother's Morley Marc Tremonti Wah Pedal. And as well, we lose the wireless and work with wires again.

As a short overview, the following list shows which pedal are used.

• Morley Wah Marc Tremonti
• MXR Red Compressor
• MXR 90 Phaser
• MXR Zackk Wylde Chorus
• Bogner Ecstasy Blue Pedal
• Boss OD-1
• MXR Smart Gate
• T.C. Electronics Flashback Delay

That's basically it. 

The guitars we use, are few. I play my PRS McCarty and Fender Telecaster Mexican. Julien uses his PRS Custom 24. Though we play through the same system, you clearely hear the difference of the sounds by the two PRS. That's very important to creat a nice stereo sound.

Let's talk about the microphones we put in front of the cab. As you know, we are not fans of creating computerized sounds. Therefore, the sound of our guitar needs to be created directly by the amp itself, and of course its effects. So, we didn't worked with DIs. To catch the right tone of our amp, I put at one side of the amp, in position of 1/4 of the radius of the speaker, the Shure SM 57. That mic pushes the deeper and higher frequencies. I like that a lot. But to have also the nice warmth of the Mesa Boogie Heavy Metal sound, I put at the other side of the cab the Shure SM 27, in position of 1/2 of the speaker. Just listening to the sounds by these two mics in raw, makes you feel like your sitting in front of the Mesa amp. Bellow, you'll find pictures about the set up.

Julien is hitting for some songs his TalkBox. As usual, he playes it through his Mesa Boogie set up. We catch the sound coming through the hose with a Shure SM 57.

Julien and I share all parts - rhythm or clean. Same for soli. Sometimes, he does them, sometimes I do. Just like Myles and Mark do.

Hope, you enjoyed another insight into our work. Hopefully, I will be able to talk about the bass-guitars, accoustic guitars, piano and stuff the next time. 

Until then, take care and keep on rocking.

Enjoy Seasplash!