Next stop: the studio

Been a busy month, what with the end of semester at two colleges and Christmas & family.

David Klee sent 5 additional tracks for his new album, and I've been working on them as time permits. I did several one-take attempts on a grand piano (experimenting with some mid-side micing techniques) using Pro Tools LE, and some additional one-take attempts using a Fender Rhodes Mark I using an Alesis Masterlink.

The Rhodes process was interesting - I played David's mp3 using my iPod nano, and just ran the Rhodes straight through to the Alesis. Burned a CD, then pulled that audio into Tracktion on my production computer. The Pro Tools piano tracks were exported individually (a real pain in Pro Tools, especially compared to the process in Tracktion) and plopped onto a flash drive.

I pulled all of that audio into the Tracktion project, and was able to get song #5 edited (lots of timing issues, as you might imagine). Song #6 will probably be unusuable - these WERE one-takes because of time, and I knew I was risking wasting the time.

The Rhodes sounds awesome - yes, the soft synth Rhodes sound pretty good, but there's still nothing like the original. It's an excellent instrument I've been using in the band at Northway church for a while now - dates back to the early 1970's, as best as I can tell, and is in excellent shape.

I'm hoping to get back into the studio first thing in the morning and buckling down. I do really enjoy recording and editing, but it is frustrating how long everything seems to take - and it isn't as much fun as playing!

Another project in the works this week: video, audio, & maybe even a website from the Mosely Dixon Project. Stay tuned!

Working on.......

1) I recorded the Macon State Chamber Singers concert last Friday - the Vivaldi AND Rutter Glorias. I'm dropping the audio from an Alesis Masterlink into the computer as I type this. Had to get creative with the mic placements, which looked really weird for anyone who knows recording. It turned out well, though!

I used equipment rented from AnywhereAudio (Dave Bass) - those mics really spoiled me!

2) Just got in the next 5 David Klee project files, and have started working on them. Some really good tunes - I'm looking forward to getting these things down, because they've inspired me to do some really creative things with the piano parts.

3) Will be performing Dec 18th down at the Bon Hommes event with the Bob Huellemeir group - sadly, without Bob, who is too ill to play. Although it was inevitable - he IS 90-something years old - it's still sad.