| The "making of" the JSB cd Beggars, Rogues & Thieves. The saga continues........ |
| This
should be an ongoing, ever changing page of a "rockumentary"
of sorts that will give some insight into making the new cd. There will
also be an "In the Studio" thread on the message board where
you can comment on the info here - ask questions, make suggestions, get
more details etc. So go to the message board to check that out.
|
| Jan
24, 2003
- Started the recording
process by setting up drums. Main goal in this the first round is to get
good drum tracks down. We will be recording 16 songs and then picking
out the best ones. Kent is a monster drummer and is a very
improvisational player, so a lot of it is just about getting a good
"vibe" on each tune. Since he can play anything, and can get
as weird or be as simple and straight forward as needed, the key is
finding the right mix that fits the tune.
Drum set was a 6 piece DW kit. We mic'ed each drum, plus hat mic, stereo close cymbal mics, and a pair of room mics about 8 feet each side of the kit. The room mics sound great! Changed snares several times and hi-hats on every other song or so. Varied the placement of the kick drum mic depending on the song, but otherwise things stayed pretty static. Did try several different drum head choices before we started so that took some time.
Kent hard at work Jan 31 - One week (and one Super bowl later)...... drums are finished! Went well, they are slammin' - now on to the next step.... |
| Feb 22
-
Bout time for an update!
Been too busy recording. The bass is all done (pics coming shortly).
Matt's weapons were mainly a beautiful Conklin 5 string and a Warwick 5.
We did the bass direct in several ways. Some was recorded with the
board's mic pres - and some went into either the Avalon or the Daking
pre. We have lots of slightly different types of songs, so are paying
special attention to the sounds we get. I don't want them to sound all
the same, but at the same time I want a consistency throughout the CD.
So it is small changes that take lots of time and probably no one will
notice! :o)
Got Most of the Rhythm guitars done as well. Will give a better report on methods and axes and amps used later. One of the most fun things for me in doing a recording is seeing it all take shape. Just listening to raw drums it is hard to get the vibe of the song (my apologies to all the drummers reading along) but then you add the bass and some guitar and the song actually starts to come to life. Many times while you just have the skeleton down you think "This is nasty!!" - But fortunately I can hear it completed in my head - so it is just a matter of trusting that you build things by layers, and each layer takes you a bit closer to that lovely sound in the nether regions of the gray matter.
|
| March
30
-
These "updates" get
farther apart as we go! :o) It is hard doing a record around life. There
are too many other things that get in the way of a successful recording
session. So we have been semi-sporadic at when we are able to get into
the studio. But it is coming along! Almost all of the guitars are done -
will update that later. This weekend we recorded the B3 Organ stuff. The
sounds came out great - was an adventure getting the organ into the
studio - had to remove doors and trim - but it was well worth it.
Nothing like the sound of a B3 and a Leslie - just something there that
you can't put your finger on - kind of like a Strat through an old
fender amp - just can't duplicate it completely with anything else.
Worked Ted hard on the organ tracks - did 10 songs on Saturday - the rest Friday night and a couple on Sunday. Here is a photo of the Organ master at work.
|
| May 12
- Well, been finishing up
guitar and vocals. Have got it almost all done but mixing. Should be out
by the end of June - whoooohooooo -
Guitar has been fun - have used lots of different gear and tweaked on many sounds. Really going for a natural earthy vibe on this record, so have used the Strat through the twin a lot. Also have enlisted the use of my trusty Les Paul on several cuts. Have done a lot through the T-100 Yamaha Soldano amp, and used the VHT Valvulator pedal, along with my H&K TubeFactor, various compressors and the Vox wah. Have been documenting the various guitar recording tricks, hope to be doing an article on that - will keep you posted. Vocals have been mostly cut through the Avalon 737 - makes things nice :o) Well - hopefully the next update will be at the completion ot this process - ready to be done and get back out doing more shows!!!
|
|
In the lair - - - - |
May 20
- Getting it all narrowed
down now. The title will be "Beggars, Rogues & Thieves"
Here is a track listing as of now - subject to serious change -
CD will have lyrics in it - only one instrumental -"Buffalo Jam" but lots of general jammin' - |
| June
25 - Well the CD is done
and going off to the manufacturers to get pressed! This means CDs should
be available in about 3 weeks or so. Whoooohoooooo!!!!!!!
So now comes the fun part - getting the word out to everyone who digs good music and letting them know it is available!
|
