Posts in projects
Forging Reverie Vocal Shootout!

i’ve uploaded samples of 10 different vocal microphone setups, we want you to listen to them and vote for the one you think sounds the best!

here they are, get to it!

Forging Reverie vox test . zip

just download the zip and play the high res files.  swap back and fourth until you find the one you think sounds the best and post your pick in the comments.  thanks!

more guitar, keyboard, and we might need your help...

tracked my keyboards and almost done with guitars.

keys are recorded midi into Reason 4 with stock libraries and the Abbey Roads Keyboard refill.  the challen piano and the hamond organ in that pack is unbelievable…  re-wire that back into pro tools.  maybe i’ll re-amp some of this through some pre’s or other outboard gear if it needs something to glue it to the mix, we’ll see.

for my guitars i messed around with so many odd ball placements i nearly pulled my hair out.  eventually came back to a very similar setup to what we did for Derek’s.  Cascade FatHead II edge of the dust cover and this time a 57 half way from the edge of the cone to the dust cover.  both on axis, both into my golden age Pre73’s.  i wish i had some inline HPF for the ribbon mike, it’s picking up some sub information that i need to filter out…but the pre73 doesn’t have a filter and it has this detail in the mid range that my other pre’s just didn’t.  

 

 BUT WAIT!  

(there’s more)

check back tomorrow night for a special thing we need your input on. YES YOU!  more to come in the near-to-now…

 

Lots of progress

bass done, Derek’s electric guitar done, 

Derek’s going over some acoustic stuff we’re about to lay down, here’s some pics!

 

 

 

for the audio-curious, on the bass that’s a Ampeg SVT-CL with the matching 8x10 cab.  ElectroVoice RE20 (EQ Filter on) less than an inch off the grill 15º off axis, center off the cone, into the Aphex 107 Tube pre.  the RODE NT2 in cardioid mode, about a foot and a half away, into my Golden Age Pre73 - a Neve 1073 copy.  i moved this one around until it was in phase with the RE20.

my Effectrode Tube Drive pedal is in front of the amp for some moderate crunch on some songs and we used a fuzz face pedal for some rich creamy fuzz in a song or two.  the RODE is very warm and round while the RE20 adds attack and a lot of the action when we had the distortion/fuzz on.  it’s surprisingly beefy even with the EQ filter on!

 

Derek’s guitar was recorded with his Fender Hot Rod Devile (modified with a JAN 12AT7 in the first pre stage) into my Avatar vintage 2x12 with 1979 celestion G12-65’s.  we used my Effectrode Tube Drive for the distortion here also, this time with the original JJ’s in the first and second position swapped out for Mullard 12AX7’s.  (the most amazing tube ever for distortion)

we dual miked this cab as well with a Cascade FatHead II ribbon microphone, at the edge of the dust cone and the Sennheiser e609 silver, about halfway from the center to the edge of the cone, 45º off axis away from the dust cover.  both about 2 inches off the grille cloth, carefully phase aligned.  the FatHead II into the Aphex 107 with the low pass filter enabled and the e609 into the GA pre73.

the FatHead II captures a dark, roomy tone with lots of rich low-mids and the e609 got just the right amount of edge and note definition.  

 

Finally today we did acoustic guitar for a few songs.  here we have the Casdace FatHead II’s (seeing a ton of use since i picked these up, so great) in Blumlien pair.  three feet-ish away from the guitar, at 45º up in front.  these into the GA pre73’s captured a fantastic detail in the mid range and a great room sound at the same time. such a realistic image.  i threw up the Rode NT2 just below them in cardioid, into the Aphex 107 with the low-pass filter.  moved around ‘till it was phase aligned and added it to the FatHeads for a little more pick noise and brilliance in the high end.  

for parts where the acoustic is solo or primary the mix will get more of the ribbons than the LDC but we recorded quite a bit into other songs to accentuate certain themes, these parts might sound best with the LDC turned up more.  it’s a versatile combination, i’ll post some clips when i find a few min.

later!

 

Forging Reverie Drum Session

UPDATE!

 

drums are done tracking, kids!  here’s a video Derek shot explaining the setup and sneaking a peek.

check it!

 

i didn’t go into much detail here but if anybody is interested i surely will, just ask.  be sure to like my vids and subscribe to my channel for more updates (at whatever lazy pace is accomplish-able)

(now back to work for me)

...not much man, what about you?

The past few weeks I’ve had a few things going on. For starters I’ve finished the conversion of my new house into a dual purpose living space/recording studio! Got the new studio set up with Pro Tools 9 and a few other bits of tasty new gear. 
Next I broke the room in with by remixing the year and a half old recording of “One Idea” by Forging Reverie. (results can be found on the demo reel)
That song was originally released on a compilation cd to benefit the Dover Children’s Home and used in the soundtrack for an indie film called “Sunblocked” from Astro Piano films. Well, one thing lead to another and I’m currently waist deep in remixing the audio for future screenings of “Sunblocked”. 
Oh yea, and as if that isn’t enough we just officially started tracking drums for the upcoming Forging Reverie album! I plan on making lots of updates and videos on the production process as we go so, I’ll go into much more detail on this soon. Until then I leave you with this teaser pick…

 

 

 

been gone a while
it's been ages since i've updated. things are slowly coming together in my new home/studio space and i've been getting my rock on a bit too. there will be more to come but if you really want to know i'll tell you how, but you must act fast!!!

see this message from:
Forging Reverie, We've been quiet. Want to know what's up? 11pm Live radio interview tonight at http://ipmNation.com/livechannel Questions call in: (603) 622-4555
things got a little out of hand...
a couple weeks ago the guys from "Forging Reverie" were hangin' around and Ryan had written a little rap verse for the drive.  well, as sometimes happens when you're hangout spot is a recording studio, beat-boxing turned into programing and before we knew it we'd accidentally produced a song.

it was just a bit too much fun to let it go so last weekend we shot a video for it.

behold, "super secret video project" enjoy.

- ''j''