So here’s an update on the album…

songwriting:done
recording parts: done
editing: done
equalizing (EQ): pending volume automation
mixing: nope
mastering: not so much
artwork: ???

So we have all the parts recorded; all the “raw tracks”, that is. What we’re working on now is called volume automation. Basically it involves going through all the tracks and deciding if there are parts that need to be louder or quieter in relation to the initial recorded volume. The best example of this is to say “we need the rhythm guitars to be louder on the chorus” or “the drums need to come down for the verses.” That sort of thing. When we finish this process it will make mixing easier because we can just set the volume for each track to a level where they “sit in the mix” well, and each track will get relatively more quiet or loud in certain parts of the song based on how we automated the volume control.

Recording is a much more refined process than sitting in front of a microphone, hitting record, and burning a disc. There are so many things I didn’t even know we had to think about…little things like going through the tracks and taking out any parts where someone breathed too loud or shuffled their feet. Volume automation is one of those things. Now that I know what it is, it makes perfect sense and I can’t see how I didn’t assume that there was such a process before. It’s all a learning experience.

Read More — So…is it going to be done soon?

songwriting:done
recording parts: done
editing: working on it…
equalizing (EQ): nope
mixing: nope
mastering: not even close
artwork: I think Sarah’s doing something…haven’t seen it though.

So we finally got all the parts recorded…no mean feat let me tell you. Now we’re beginning the process of editing, which I was not aware you even needed to do on a recording to be honest.

So what’s there to edit? Oh, just about everything…The main bulk of editing was done for instruments. I’ll go through them one-by-one and tell you what sorts of things we did.

Drums:
Andy really is a great drummer, but even the best can’t hit every beat right on the nose every time. There are literally tens of thousands of drum hits on this album. A few are bound to be a little off, so what we had to do was listen really closely. If we heard a section where the drums seemed off beat we then had to determine which drum, which microphone picked it up, whether it was early or late and by how much. It’s surprisingly difficult to tell whether a drum hit is late or early after a few hours of this activity. Read More — Editing…like spellcheck or something?

I don’t know about you, but when I get an idea in my head I tend to make it happen as quickly as possible. After my trip to the Homestead Pickin Parlour to check out some mandolins I got the mando-bug and just had to buy one. I didn’t want to make a huge investment just yet because I didn’t know how often I’d be playing it at shows, and since we got the guitar paid off my wife wasn’t too keen on the prospect of financing another instrument just yet.

So I jumped on the computer and started the tiring process of checking out online stores and review sites. I had a good idea of what kind of mandolin I wanted and what I wanted to pay. First I checked commercial retailers to get a baseline, then went to check CraigsList, EBay and Amazon to see if I could find a gem…no love there…and then to obscure online stores to price check. I called around to local music shops the next day and to my surprise they all either had crummy mandolins for $100 or super-nice ones for $2000: not much in between. Then I found it… Read More — That didn’t take so long…

This week I’ve decided to broaden my musical horizons. I was inspired by how much Pat’s mando tracks pumped up the mix of the tunes on my album. It really gave it that “something different” sound I was looking for and I realized that since he won’t be able to accompany me to live shows I had better learn how to play that thing. I’ve had a cruddy Samick mandolin in my closet for many years; it was much more a decoration than an instrument. It was time to dust it off and start playing again, which took longer than expected because there was a LOT of dust and rust that had to be cleaned to get it in playing condition again.

I figured if I was going to do it I might as well jump right in…I brought it to a party at my friend, Mike Orantes’ Minnesota home. Why bring it to a party? Are you going to sit in the corner and dink around by yourself? Oh, no. In our circle of friends it is an inevitability that where there is drink and instruments there will be a jam session at some point in the evening (disclaimer: no promises are made about the musical quality of said jam sessions). Read More — Mandi-something something

To many people, myself included, the recording process is a mystery. Musicians go into a dark room full of microphones and switchboards with a zillion dials and buttons and leave with a sweet sounding CD. There’s usually a stock cast of characters: the ultra-hip guy fiddling with buttons and offering vague compliments, usually something about “the sound”, there’s the easily distracted musician who seems half-in, half-out of consciousness with his long hair, witty t-shirts and dazed expression plinking out guitar parts, the over-controlling creative person who gets worked up over the smallest mistakes and spends most of the time shouting at people and taking cigarette breaks, and of course the sleazy producer who tries to kill any sense of artistry by homogenizing every song with the whims of popular radio trends….that’s kind of how I picture it anyways. Read More — What are you doing in there?