I posted a bunch of photos of my last studio on flickr.
If mind numbingly depressing not to have what I would consider a workable space but I have had a fair amount of real luxury and luck. Much of my professional life as a musician I have either had a studio or at the very least access to free space in the apartment I grew up in.
At present I will not take any job that requires critical listening or significant volume because i simply don't have any means of accommodating these things in what I would consider to be a professional manner.
We won't get into a debate today about the dumbing down of the recording studio. Just accept the fact that as much as I encourage artists to be realistic with their budgets I am not a fan of just making a shitty product just because it's easy and believe me I have broken every rule spread eagled here so I know I'm not talking smack.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Friday, January 2, 2009
content for other blogs
Because nothing spells creative like changing things around.
Little details are still unsettled but it's more then enough to be functional on a day to day basis.
If the photo is blurry, does that mean it won't end up being used somewhere else?
Little details are still unsettled but it's more then enough to be functional on a day to day basis.
If the photo is blurry, does that mean it won't end up being used somewhere else?
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Who's your daddy?
In the olden days "used" was not "vintage" unless you where talking guitars.
Daddy's Junky Music had a monthly catalog and if you saw something you wanted you probably called using a device called a telephone and spoke to Hirsh. You asked him whether it was still available and if it was you bought it.
The great thing about Daddy's was that if you had a band or owned a studio (which also was a different thing in those days) you could outfit your racks with more processing power, buy extra drum hardware and put together a good PA system for very little money.
At some point Daddy's opened more stores and stopped their "Used Gear By Mail" catalog and business. My memory was that there just was less used gear hitting the market and Ebay had probably had a negative effect as well. I know I was sad. I think the last item I bought was a huge Vox bass cabinet which I paired with a fawn AC-30 and made much happy noises.
Today as I was doing a search for road cases and I hit Daddy's site and much to my great joy, they are back in the mail order business. Touring bands to garage bands can rejoice and afford play.
Daddy's Junky Music had a monthly catalog and if you saw something you wanted you probably called using a device called a telephone and spoke to Hirsh. You asked him whether it was still available and if it was you bought it.
The great thing about Daddy's was that if you had a band or owned a studio (which also was a different thing in those days) you could outfit your racks with more processing power, buy extra drum hardware and put together a good PA system for very little money.
At some point Daddy's opened more stores and stopped their "Used Gear By Mail" catalog and business. My memory was that there just was less used gear hitting the market and Ebay had probably had a negative effect as well. I know I was sad. I think the last item I bought was a huge Vox bass cabinet which I paired with a fawn AC-30 and made much happy noises.
Today as I was doing a search for road cases and I hit Daddy's site and much to my great joy, they are back in the mail order business. Touring bands to garage bands can rejoice and afford play.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Euro Wack
With the modular synthesizer business being as brisk as it has ever been I can't quite understand why an affordable power racking solution hasn't appeared.
Yes, Doepfer has released their "low cost" suitcase, which is not at all a suitcase but is still cheaper then a box with a handle. This thing would be fine if you had a desire to buy a bunch of them and then do all the stuff that would make them solid but you'd end up spending a lot of money.
I'm at a point where I'm pulling stuff out of my racks and hoping to run into a good deal on a G6 at the right time but I know too God damned well I'll be the same place again soon enough.
Yes, Doepfer has released their "low cost" suitcase, which is not at all a suitcase but is still cheaper then a box with a handle. This thing would be fine if you had a desire to buy a bunch of them and then do all the stuff that would make them solid but you'd end up spending a lot of money.
I'm at a point where I'm pulling stuff out of my racks and hoping to run into a good deal on a G6 at the right time but I know too God damned well I'll be the same place again soon enough.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Vacation pocket music
I have mixed feelings about many of the pocket music devices that some people use seemingly just because of their size. Granted I am a stompbox fanatic and I do usually prefer them to much of their rack counter parts.
I recently go a chance to try the Korg DS-10 which has gotten a fair amount of press already. My interest was very small, after all I had always been a little put off by people's revisionism that has turned an ok synth into a classic. I figured it won't kill me to try it and try it I did.
After some inital screwing around I finally put on my test visor and gave the little bastard a whirl. Much to my shock and amusement they managed to not only pull off a fun virtual synth but they added a bunch of extra stuff that makes it better then an actual emulation would have been.
Me? I'll be taking my DS on vacation loaded with Electroplankton, Korg DS-10 and perhaps some homebrew stuff loaded on to my R4.
I have not liked many copies of synths I own and have found many soft synths to also be unwieldy power hungry son of a bitches that can't do anything complicated because the GUI has eaten the processor. Did it have to take some toy company to finally do it right? I'm not sure but if you are going to have a DS anyway you might want to wait for the US release in Sept.
I recently go a chance to try the Korg DS-10 which has gotten a fair amount of press already. My interest was very small, after all I had always been a little put off by people's revisionism that has turned an ok synth into a classic. I figured it won't kill me to try it and try it I did.
After some inital screwing around I finally put on my test visor and gave the little bastard a whirl. Much to my shock and amusement they managed to not only pull off a fun virtual synth but they added a bunch of extra stuff that makes it better then an actual emulation would have been.
Me? I'll be taking my DS on vacation loaded with Electroplankton, Korg DS-10 and perhaps some homebrew stuff loaded on to my R4.
I have not liked many copies of synths I own and have found many soft synths to also be unwieldy power hungry son of a bitches that can't do anything complicated because the GUI has eaten the processor. Did it have to take some toy company to finally do it right? I'm not sure but if you are going to have a DS anyway you might want to wait for the US release in Sept.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Circuit Bending
Circuit Bending is it's self the art of exploring a circuit board to find new pathways that will generate an altered form from the original designers intended function. Sometimes one is simply adding additional functionality, other times skewing the form.
Circuit Bending is not "modding" it is not something one does with schematics or circuit maps to tell you what to do.
Why this is so confusing is beyond me. Reed Ghazala created these parameters for the art form he named and crusaded for. His name, his concept, his rules.
So many people are "teaching" this art form, selling instruments that they have Bent and making money off of one man's idea yet they can't see to respect the little bit of philosophy behind what the intention of his work was in the first place.
Circuit Bending is not "modding" it is not something one does with schematics or circuit maps to tell you what to do.
Why this is so confusing is beyond me. Reed Ghazala created these parameters for the art form he named and crusaded for. His name, his concept, his rules.
So many people are "teaching" this art form, selling instruments that they have Bent and making money off of one man's idea yet they can't see to respect the little bit of philosophy behind what the intention of his work was in the first place.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Can't stand myself
I was thinking about posting something heart felt about the crap one goes through on some days, trying to meet a deadline on a project while still staying within whatever bullshit artistic thing you currently conned your dumb ass in to believing this week.
Bottom line, I'll probably rant and not say a word about my lame internal turmoil as it would only make the two or three losers that read my blog realize that I am just another weepy arty duche bag without any merits and fading street cred.
Anyway...
So I've been trying to do a new single for a few days. The some total of the recordings seems to be three totally different things that don't fit together and aren't even that good. Needless to say I'm thinking E.P.
Trying to record in an unprofessional or rather a very much home studio manner without proper monitoring and shit is like having sex by yourself when you are "not in the mood" and doing it in an awkward location that you would only consider sexy based on the fact that you were with another person who wanted to "do it" there.
-That makes sense right?
I'm spoiled by having the experience of being paid to be mediocre in grander surroundings then my lovely home and I'm no longer inspired or young enough to be otherwise more effective.
Shall I quit and not bother to announce the single?
Should I announce it and then not bother to do it?
My guess I will use this as a means of driving myself into a state of deeper self loathing while continuing to plod on if only so I have the right to piss and moan. You know what? I've always hated artists. They are best dead or at least at a distance. Few of my friends are artists in the traditional sense and I can clearly see why.
Bottom line, I'll probably rant and not say a word about my lame internal turmoil as it would only make the two or three losers that read my blog realize that I am just another weepy arty duche bag without any merits and fading street cred.
Anyway...
So I've been trying to do a new single for a few days. The some total of the recordings seems to be three totally different things that don't fit together and aren't even that good. Needless to say I'm thinking E.P.
Trying to record in an unprofessional or rather a very much home studio manner without proper monitoring and shit is like having sex by yourself when you are "not in the mood" and doing it in an awkward location that you would only consider sexy based on the fact that you were with another person who wanted to "do it" there.
-That makes sense right?
I'm spoiled by having the experience of being paid to be mediocre in grander surroundings then my lovely home and I'm no longer inspired or young enough to be otherwise more effective.
Shall I quit and not bother to announce the single?
Should I announce it and then not bother to do it?
My guess I will use this as a means of driving myself into a state of deeper self loathing while continuing to plod on if only so I have the right to piss and moan. You know what? I've always hated artists. They are best dead or at least at a distance. Few of my friends are artists in the traditional sense and I can clearly see why.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
papa's got a brand new cab
My uncle Steve just finished building be a traditional lower (slant) cabinet for my Moog.
It's already been loaded with some CP panels, mostly blanks and soon I will begin populating it from modules I have stored away and from my other cabinets.
Ultimately, when I actually pull everything together the system will be in the IIIC/55 range with a bunch of bells and whistles. Both oscillator banks are there and accounted for and it will indeed be really modular, aside from the filter switching.
I don't have the energy tonight to start taking apart everything so I will sit back, rest on my laurels and stare gratified in to this cabinet as I drink Guinness.
A dream come true and several years of non stop searching for loose modules as well as pestering Mike Bucki for custom stuff, etc. I'm still missing a few minor things like extra VCAs and a second mixer but I have leads and am already beginning to real stuff in.
It's already been loaded with some CP panels, mostly blanks and soon I will begin populating it from modules I have stored away and from my other cabinets.
Ultimately, when I actually pull everything together the system will be in the IIIC/55 range with a bunch of bells and whistles. Both oscillator banks are there and accounted for and it will indeed be really modular, aside from the filter switching.
I don't have the energy tonight to start taking apart everything so I will sit back, rest on my laurels and stare gratified in to this cabinet as I drink Guinness.
A dream come true and several years of non stop searching for loose modules as well as pestering Mike Bucki for custom stuff, etc. I'm still missing a few minor things like extra VCAs and a second mixer but I have leads and am already beginning to real stuff in.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Ode to Ultimate Support
Over many years I have loved, hated and relied on Ultimate Support modular stands and "Thinker Toys". Because I have been so deeply invested in various custom stands, bags of tubing and boxes of connectors that I don't recall buyingt I somehow missed it when the company discontinued the line. Still a little bit of me died when I heard.
When my friend LH finally had decided enough was enough and the two things leaving his work space were Ultimate Support and milk crates I ended up with the former. In fact, truth be told he still occasionally finds more nests of parts and delivers them to me.
As I continuously try and find some sort of peace and balance in not having a real studio of my own I am always looking to find a way to streamline and improve work flow, one thing usually comes to mind Ultimate Support. Alas I now know that if I need a specific sized tube or an extra whatever I have to just wing it.
I have already bought a bunch of 3/16th hex keys so I have ample supply of those BUT I still haven't found a hardware store substitute for the tubing. Dear reader, hip me to that please.
In the mean time I will as LH to look behind the sofa, check under the family gazebo and look out in his storage for another supply of the gift that keeps on giving.
When my friend LH finally had decided enough was enough and the two things leaving his work space were Ultimate Support and milk crates I ended up with the former. In fact, truth be told he still occasionally finds more nests of parts and delivers them to me.
As I continuously try and find some sort of peace and balance in not having a real studio of my own I am always looking to find a way to streamline and improve work flow, one thing usually comes to mind Ultimate Support. Alas I now know that if I need a specific sized tube or an extra whatever I have to just wing it.
I have already bought a bunch of 3/16th hex keys so I have ample supply of those BUT I still haven't found a hardware store substitute for the tubing. Dear reader, hip me to that please.
In the mean time I will as LH to look behind the sofa, check under the family gazebo and look out in his storage for another supply of the gift that keeps on giving.
Friday, May 23, 2008
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