Because every website needs a SUCK button.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Friday, April 27, 2007
We not dead yet!
'Tis merely a flesh wound me droogies.
The studio that we recording in closed down mid-project. Luckily we now have the project files on DVD-R so we can continue. The new material is a far cry from anything we've done before. Stay tuned for details.
The studio that we recording in closed down mid-project. Luckily we now have the project files on DVD-R so we can continue. The new material is a far cry from anything we've done before. Stay tuned for details.
Monday, June 05, 2006
Album art and photos
Here's the (hopefully) final version (or close enough) of the cover art for our upcoming e.p. as well as some promo shots from our recent photo session. They are in black and white because that is much more "serious" looking.
Cover art
Promo shot #1
Promo shot #2
Out takes!
Here are some out takes from our recent photo session for our press kit. (Commentary provided by Tom.)
Tom shows off his mad "Jumping Jack" skills while Chappy tests the water temperature.
Tom tries hard to not show the band how poorly he swims.
The Silent Screen contemplate the life of a carp.
Apparently The Silent Screen are easily amused.
Chappy proves he is above the rock posturing fray.Monday, May 15, 2006
New Logo?
Chappy and I were goofing off before mixing yesterday and came up with this fantastic idea for a band logo and/or cover art for the new album. Low budget? Sure, but at least it's funny looking.
Tom
Saturday, May 13, 2006
Mixing update
Scot and I mixed some songs today for a three song demo due on Monday. The new mixes are posted on our EPK. The three most finished songs when we began mixing today were "Scream", "The Potter's Tree", and "Feed My Tragedy", so they're now our demo. It's amazing how that works. We should get the other three completed in the next two weeks. So our project, now titled A Wrong Made Right, should be released very soon. We'll have more info on that as the next couple of weeks progress.
Tom
Tom
Sunday, April 30, 2006
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
What was promised...
The other day I said I would write some more about the process of recording "Feed My Tragedy". Now that Scot and Chappy have both written on that very topic, I find myself thinking the familiar refrain that it's better late than never. I meant to do this yesterday, but like so many things that I mean to do it went undone. I could not allow that to happen today.
So, about "Feed My Tragedy"...
It's all first takes! That's right, everything that you here on the rough mix I've posted is all first takes. We laid down the main bass loop a couple of weeks ago while we were working on some other songs. We decided to spend this week's session working entirely on this song, building it one part at a time from the loop rather than tracking live the way we have been doing on most of the stuff. Chappy and I worked earlier in the week on drum sounds, which yielded the absurd kit that he describes here. We then left well enough alone until this week's session began.
This week's session began at 3:30ish on Sunday. The first thing that we decided to do was Scot's dummy vocal, as a guide for where everything else was to go. The loop is basically 10 minutes of two bass chords, which is kind of hard to follow unless you have something else to go by, like a vocal track. Scot decided he really wanted to record his lead bass line (that's right, LEAD BASS!) at the same time as the vocal. So we worked on his sound, which he describes here. He laid down the track in one take. We listened to the playback and decided that was the one, there was no sense in doing any more. Now that's a dangerous philosophy, there's always a chance that you notice little things about a track when mixing, and would really like some other options. But there's this certain quality about that take that I can't really articulate, but I just know it's the "one". It has character, just like the "dummy" vocal track that Scot recorded. I really like that take. It communicates well. To me that is the most important aspect of the vocal part. It communicates the song. Ideally I'd like to just use the dummy. Maybe double it and do some other "producer" stuff to it, but I really like the take.
After Scot's tracks we recorded Chappy's drums. We'd already worked on the sounds and some ideas for his part, but we never really came up with a solid arrangement for it. With Scot's tracks added to the loop, Chappy just played along and his first take was just brilliant! So we kept it.
Next it was my turn. In rehearsal I've use my looper and layered a lot of sounds and textures that compliment Scot's main loop. It's usually improvised and very dense. When listening to the playback of Scot and Chappy's tracks, I decided that the song sounded very full without any guitar parts. The idea was then floated that we just don't put any guitar on the song. Chappy suggested we subtitle it "Tom Goes to the Bathroom". I'd like to think he wasn't serious. The problem with not putting any guitar tracks on that song was that I'd just received my new Parker PM-20 Pro one day earlier. It needed to be played. It needed to be recorded. Clearly I didn't need some kind of "wall of sound" looped part like I'd been doing, but I really liked the idea of using the E-Bow. So I grabbed the new Parker and the E-Bow and improvised. The only effect I used was my delay pedal, set to repeat quarter notes with a fairly short decay with the song's tempo tapped into it.
After that take without even hearing the playback I ditched the E-Bow, grabbed a pick, and using the same amp and effect settings I recorded another part. I just winged it. We listed to the playback, I liked the takes, so I started mixing them. The current mix is available here.
That's it, all first takes.
Tom
So, about "Feed My Tragedy"...
It's all first takes! That's right, everything that you here on the rough mix I've posted is all first takes. We laid down the main bass loop a couple of weeks ago while we were working on some other songs. We decided to spend this week's session working entirely on this song, building it one part at a time from the loop rather than tracking live the way we have been doing on most of the stuff. Chappy and I worked earlier in the week on drum sounds, which yielded the absurd kit that he describes here. We then left well enough alone until this week's session began.
This week's session began at 3:30ish on Sunday. The first thing that we decided to do was Scot's dummy vocal, as a guide for where everything else was to go. The loop is basically 10 minutes of two bass chords, which is kind of hard to follow unless you have something else to go by, like a vocal track. Scot decided he really wanted to record his lead bass line (that's right, LEAD BASS!) at the same time as the vocal. So we worked on his sound, which he describes here. He laid down the track in one take. We listened to the playback and decided that was the one, there was no sense in doing any more. Now that's a dangerous philosophy, there's always a chance that you notice little things about a track when mixing, and would really like some other options. But there's this certain quality about that take that I can't really articulate, but I just know it's the "one". It has character, just like the "dummy" vocal track that Scot recorded. I really like that take. It communicates well. To me that is the most important aspect of the vocal part. It communicates the song. Ideally I'd like to just use the dummy. Maybe double it and do some other "producer" stuff to it, but I really like the take.
After Scot's tracks we recorded Chappy's drums. We'd already worked on the sounds and some ideas for his part, but we never really came up with a solid arrangement for it. With Scot's tracks added to the loop, Chappy just played along and his first take was just brilliant! So we kept it.
Next it was my turn. In rehearsal I've use my looper and layered a lot of sounds and textures that compliment Scot's main loop. It's usually improvised and very dense. When listening to the playback of Scot and Chappy's tracks, I decided that the song sounded very full without any guitar parts. The idea was then floated that we just don't put any guitar on the song. Chappy suggested we subtitle it "Tom Goes to the Bathroom". I'd like to think he wasn't serious. The problem with not putting any guitar tracks on that song was that I'd just received my new Parker PM-20 Pro one day earlier. It needed to be played. It needed to be recorded. Clearly I didn't need some kind of "wall of sound" looped part like I'd been doing, but I really liked the idea of using the E-Bow. So I grabbed the new Parker and the E-Bow and improvised. The only effect I used was my delay pedal, set to repeat quarter notes with a fairly short decay with the song's tempo tapped into it.
After that take without even hearing the playback I ditched the E-Bow, grabbed a pick, and using the same amp and effect settings I recorded another part. I just winged it. We listed to the playback, I liked the takes, so I started mixing them. The current mix is available here.
That's it, all first takes.
Tom
Monday, April 24, 2006
A matter of time.
As Tom posted below we wrapped up the lion's share of the work on "Feed My Tragedy" on Sunday. Seeing as I am quite pleased with the sounds that we got with the drums, I feel that a gear chat is in order.
The centerpiece of the "Tragikit" is an old 1960s-era 26" x 12" Ludwig marching bass drum. When Tom and I were initially getting sounds on it last week the drum sounded very distant despite the AKG D112 that was placed 2" off the front head with no hole. It thumped like a cannon, but it was more of a tidal wave of sound than a bass drum. No definition whatsoever. My solution? I placed out of my son's t-shirts between the batter head and the bass pedal and propped a towel against the bottom 2" of the resonant head. To top it all off, I put a chair about 3" in front of the drum and draped a quilt over it. This served to really improve the drum's focus and presence in the mix.
The snare drum is also a bit on the unexpected side as it is a 10" x 5" Tama stainless steel soprano snare mic'ed with a Shure SM57. The proximity boost from the '57 really helped this drum in a big way. It just doesn't sound it's size at all.
The cymbals for the "Tragikit" were as follows (from my left to right): 12" Zildjian Soundlab prototype hihats, 18" Zildjian A Custom crash, 8" Argent import cheapo splash, 21" Sabian HHX Groove ride, and a 16" Zildjian A Custom crash. I was originally using the Groove ride as a crash and a Sabian 20" Jack DeJohnette flat ride as a ride (duh), but I thought about it and decided on the setup above. They were mic'ed by Tom's lone AKG condenser mic' set to an omnicartoid pattern. All of this was fend into the ginormous Behringer board and then into the trusty Yamaha AW4416. No outboard processing, no EQ, no effects. What you hear is what was in the room. I shudder to think what we could accomplish with a few channels of solid quality pre-amps.
The part itself is a mere shadow of it's prototype. No drum solo, one drum fill, and a marked omission of the Johnny Rabb-esque techno tricks (like I can even do half the ideas he has forgotten). The result? A fine piece of percussive music that serves to anchor the ship in the maelstrom that is Scot's overdriven fretless bass. If one were to listen only to the drums and the bass loop underneath the vocals, bass, and guitars, it is a solid foundation on which my bandmates built sonic niftiness.
Until next time!
The centerpiece of the "Tragikit" is an old 1960s-era 26" x 12" Ludwig marching bass drum. When Tom and I were initially getting sounds on it last week the drum sounded very distant despite the AKG D112 that was placed 2" off the front head with no hole. It thumped like a cannon, but it was more of a tidal wave of sound than a bass drum. No definition whatsoever. My solution? I placed out of my son's t-shirts between the batter head and the bass pedal and propped a towel against the bottom 2" of the resonant head. To top it all off, I put a chair about 3" in front of the drum and draped a quilt over it. This served to really improve the drum's focus and presence in the mix.
The snare drum is also a bit on the unexpected side as it is a 10" x 5" Tama stainless steel soprano snare mic'ed with a Shure SM57. The proximity boost from the '57 really helped this drum in a big way. It just doesn't sound it's size at all.
The cymbals for the "Tragikit" were as follows (from my left to right): 12" Zildjian Soundlab prototype hihats, 18" Zildjian A Custom crash, 8" Argent import cheapo splash, 21" Sabian HHX Groove ride, and a 16" Zildjian A Custom crash. I was originally using the Groove ride as a crash and a Sabian 20" Jack DeJohnette flat ride as a ride (duh), but I thought about it and decided on the setup above. They were mic'ed by Tom's lone AKG condenser mic' set to an omnicartoid pattern. All of this was fend into the ginormous Behringer board and then into the trusty Yamaha AW4416. No outboard processing, no EQ, no effects. What you hear is what was in the room. I shudder to think what we could accomplish with a few channels of solid quality pre-amps.
The part itself is a mere shadow of it's prototype. No drum solo, one drum fill, and a marked omission of the Johnny Rabb-esque techno tricks (like I can even do half the ideas he has forgotten). The result? A fine piece of percussive music that serves to anchor the ship in the maelstrom that is Scot's overdriven fretless bass. If one were to listen only to the drums and the bass loop underneath the vocals, bass, and guitars, it is a solid foundation on which my bandmates built sonic niftiness.
Until next time!
Sunday, April 23, 2006
Feed My Tragedy
I just got home from mixing the song we recorded today. It's one of Scot's called "Feed My Tragedy". I very tired, so I'm going to go to bed, but I plan to write more about today's session tomorrow. I just wanted to post this so that anyone who stops by here between now and then can have the opportunity to listen to the song. Just click here to play it (RealPlayer required).
Sorry for the brevity. I'll write about this in the morning. I'm just too tired to function.
Tom
Sorry for the brevity. I'll write about this in the morning. I'm just too tired to function.
Tom
Friday, April 14, 2006
Where things are so far...
So much for taking the week off. Chappy and I both had the evening yesterday off from our various asundry other responsibilities, so I walked down to his house to listen to the mixes that we have so far and so we could bounce some ideas off each other. Things are sounding pretty good so far, and we're pretty excited about the way things are going. The one exception would be the vocal takes I've done, but I won't get into all of that right now. They're only dummy takes anyway. That said, Chappy and I did decide that we must need some kind of new mic pre-amp or something to do the vocals better. (It couldn't possibly be the vocalist's shortcomings, could it?)
I thought I might take this time to give an update of where we are in the recording process, what we've done, what I've used, etc. Especially in light of my Tech talk post about Nels Cline's stuff. This is The Silent Screen's blog. If we're talking stuff, let's talk about The Silent Screen's stuff. I'll fill you in on what I've been using on which tracks, and I also invite Scot and Chappy to discuss their stuff. I'll try to supplement all of this talk of stuff with some pictures later.
So what have we been recording? The first track we've started recording is a song called "The One That Got Away", which is available to listen to and download on our Myspace profile. I recorded the guitar part as a loop into my Boomerang, using my brother Jason's Yamaha acoustic with the pickup's output going into my rig and then into the recorder. The pedals that I used were my Electro Harmonix Small Clone chorus, my Electro Harmonix Holy Grail reverb pedal set to the "Flerb" (flanged reverb) setting, and my Boss DD-5 delay pedal set to repeating straight eighth notes. After getting the loop layered the way I wanted it to, I recorded it both forward and backward into my Yamaha AW4416. After that Chappy and Scot played their tracks live at the same time. Chappy played djembe and Scot played his fretless bass. I then recorded some vocals. I would still like to layer in some more harmonies in the vocal tracks, and an electric guitar part and maybe some E-Bow or reverse parts.
The second track we've started recording is a song called "Scream". It's a pretty loud rock song, but with a chorus in 11/8. It's one of my favorites of ours to play. Anyway, for the more "rock" songs we've decided to record at Chappy's house playing all of our parts live, then doing the overdubs in my studio. I usually use Franken-tele on this song, but just before we started recording our first take the battery died. I took that opportunity to use a different guitar (I'm a little lazy about changing the battery in that guitar- the battery is housed under the pickguard). So I played my Parker Nite-Fly on it. The only pedal that I used was my EQ pedal, set to boost the mids the same way that the active pre-amp on Franken-tele does. I then ran it into both channels of my Peavey amp (Normal and Bright), and set the amp's EQ to mostly flat, but with the treble cranked to get some of the bite of Franken-tele. I've done a dummy vocal on this one, but no real vocal takes. I also need to work on some kind of a lead or another guitar part or something. What we have sounds very full with just the one guitar part, bass part, and drum part. But I have trouble leaving things like this well enough alone. We'll see what ends up getting added.
The third track we've started recording is a song called "Live Out Love". I changed batteries, so I was able to use Franken-tele on this one. It is another one with the basic tracks recorded live. I only used the EQ pedal again on this one, this time set basically as a total boost to overdrive the front end of the amp. I also used the Peavey on this one, basically set to "loud" (it's not really a formal setting, but it's very useful). The dummy vocal I have provided for this one may be the worst I have ever done. It's atrocious, but I'm OK with that. The instruments sound fantastic. This is another song where I have in mind some serious guitar overdubs, but it may not really need them. The sound is huge. We're also getting the best drums sounds that I've ever gotten. Chappy can probably explain how better than I can. I'm not sure I understand exactly what we're doing, it's just working.
The fourth song we've begun recording is one of Scot's, called "Feed My Tragedy". It is based on a bass loop that Scot has recorded into his Boss Loop Station. The one thing I'll say for the Boss over my Boomerang is that you can save loops on it. It may not be as easy to construct them live, but you don't lose what you've got when you unplug it. I'm not sure how many banks it has to save loops into, but it is far more than the zero that I have on the Boomerang. To record the loop onto the Yamaha we simply played it through Scot's amp and miked the cabinet and also fed a direct line to the board. I have no complaints about the way it sounds.
We have yet to record anything but the loop for "Feed My Tragedy". When we resume recording next week we'll overdub Scot's vocal and other bass part, Chappy's drums, and then my sonic madness. I will be playing either the Nite-Fly or Franken-tele with an E-Bow and a lot of delay. I will probably end up using the Boomerang as well as some other effects. I'll use either my Jekyll and Hyde pedal or my Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi pedal in a few places to make things really hairy. I've got a lot of ideas for my parts, and since I'm going on last I have a lot of freedom to work and not have to worry about it not working with the other parts later. The other parts will already be there. I get the rest of the sonic spectrum to myself. That's one of the great things about being the guitarist for a trio. You get lots of room to operate.
The other song we're going to try to get started next week is an older one of mine called "The Potter's Tree". All parts, even the guitar lead, will be going on live for this one. The song is basically two minutes of song followed by group improvisation. I'm anxious to see how that will work out recorded. I will most likely end up using all of the pedals in my pedalboard for this one. It usually shifts gears a fair amount. The main part for the duration of the "song" uses Franken-tele with some Univibe, chorus, flerb, and delay. The only thing that is set about what I'm doing in the improv section is that I always start with an E-Bow lead that uses just the EQ as a mid boost and my delay pedal. After that anything goes. I have been known to end up using four different overdrives on this one, either individually or all together for one big sonic mess. We'll just see how that turns out.
I'll keep you posted.
Tom
I thought I might take this time to give an update of where we are in the recording process, what we've done, what I've used, etc. Especially in light of my Tech talk post about Nels Cline's stuff. This is The Silent Screen's blog. If we're talking stuff, let's talk about The Silent Screen's stuff. I'll fill you in on what I've been using on which tracks, and I also invite Scot and Chappy to discuss their stuff. I'll try to supplement all of this talk of stuff with some pictures later.
So what have we been recording? The first track we've started recording is a song called "The One That Got Away", which is available to listen to and download on our Myspace profile. I recorded the guitar part as a loop into my Boomerang, using my brother Jason's Yamaha acoustic with the pickup's output going into my rig and then into the recorder. The pedals that I used were my Electro Harmonix Small Clone chorus, my Electro Harmonix Holy Grail reverb pedal set to the "Flerb" (flanged reverb) setting, and my Boss DD-5 delay pedal set to repeating straight eighth notes. After getting the loop layered the way I wanted it to, I recorded it both forward and backward into my Yamaha AW4416. After that Chappy and Scot played their tracks live at the same time. Chappy played djembe and Scot played his fretless bass. I then recorded some vocals. I would still like to layer in some more harmonies in the vocal tracks, and an electric guitar part and maybe some E-Bow or reverse parts.
The second track we've started recording is a song called "Scream". It's a pretty loud rock song, but with a chorus in 11/8. It's one of my favorites of ours to play. Anyway, for the more "rock" songs we've decided to record at Chappy's house playing all of our parts live, then doing the overdubs in my studio. I usually use Franken-tele on this song, but just before we started recording our first take the battery died. I took that opportunity to use a different guitar (I'm a little lazy about changing the battery in that guitar- the battery is housed under the pickguard). So I played my Parker Nite-Fly on it. The only pedal that I used was my EQ pedal, set to boost the mids the same way that the active pre-amp on Franken-tele does. I then ran it into both channels of my Peavey amp (Normal and Bright), and set the amp's EQ to mostly flat, but with the treble cranked to get some of the bite of Franken-tele. I've done a dummy vocal on this one, but no real vocal takes. I also need to work on some kind of a lead or another guitar part or something. What we have sounds very full with just the one guitar part, bass part, and drum part. But I have trouble leaving things like this well enough alone. We'll see what ends up getting added.
The third track we've started recording is a song called "Live Out Love". I changed batteries, so I was able to use Franken-tele on this one. It is another one with the basic tracks recorded live. I only used the EQ pedal again on this one, this time set basically as a total boost to overdrive the front end of the amp. I also used the Peavey on this one, basically set to "loud" (it's not really a formal setting, but it's very useful). The dummy vocal I have provided for this one may be the worst I have ever done. It's atrocious, but I'm OK with that. The instruments sound fantastic. This is another song where I have in mind some serious guitar overdubs, but it may not really need them. The sound is huge. We're also getting the best drums sounds that I've ever gotten. Chappy can probably explain how better than I can. I'm not sure I understand exactly what we're doing, it's just working.
The fourth song we've begun recording is one of Scot's, called "Feed My Tragedy". It is based on a bass loop that Scot has recorded into his Boss Loop Station. The one thing I'll say for the Boss over my Boomerang is that you can save loops on it. It may not be as easy to construct them live, but you don't lose what you've got when you unplug it. I'm not sure how many banks it has to save loops into, but it is far more than the zero that I have on the Boomerang. To record the loop onto the Yamaha we simply played it through Scot's amp and miked the cabinet and also fed a direct line to the board. I have no complaints about the way it sounds.
We have yet to record anything but the loop for "Feed My Tragedy". When we resume recording next week we'll overdub Scot's vocal and other bass part, Chappy's drums, and then my sonic madness. I will be playing either the Nite-Fly or Franken-tele with an E-Bow and a lot of delay. I will probably end up using the Boomerang as well as some other effects. I'll use either my Jekyll and Hyde pedal or my Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi pedal in a few places to make things really hairy. I've got a lot of ideas for my parts, and since I'm going on last I have a lot of freedom to work and not have to worry about it not working with the other parts later. The other parts will already be there. I get the rest of the sonic spectrum to myself. That's one of the great things about being the guitarist for a trio. You get lots of room to operate.
The other song we're going to try to get started next week is an older one of mine called "The Potter's Tree". All parts, even the guitar lead, will be going on live for this one. The song is basically two minutes of song followed by group improvisation. I'm anxious to see how that will work out recorded. I will most likely end up using all of the pedals in my pedalboard for this one. It usually shifts gears a fair amount. The main part for the duration of the "song" uses Franken-tele with some Univibe, chorus, flerb, and delay. The only thing that is set about what I'm doing in the improv section is that I always start with an E-Bow lead that uses just the EQ as a mid boost and my delay pedal. After that anything goes. I have been known to end up using four different overdrives on this one, either individually or all together for one big sonic mess. We'll just see how that turns out.
I'll keep you posted.
Tom
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Enter the Chappy.
Just a quick note to our readers (all three of you) that a comprehensive discussion of all of the drum and percussion aspects of the demo will soon appear in this space. You may commence holding your breath.....now!
Seriously, an update will appear as soon as I can get some pics taken.
El Chapitan!
Seriously, an update will appear as soon as I can get some pics taken.
El Chapitan!
Tech talk
[Note- This is also posted on my other blog.]
For those of you who know me you know that I'm a bit of a guitar tech geek. I can tell you more than you would ever want to know about most guitars, pickups, amps, pre-amps, effects, etc. In fact, if you do know me then chances are you have been subjected at some point to a very long conversation about those things that you could not, no matter how hard you tried, get out of.
For as big a geek as I am about guitar equipment, Nels Cline is a bigger one. For as many pedals as I have and use (Scot and Chappy, you know all about this), Nels Cline has more and uses more.
Here is an artist's depiction of Nels Cline's effects set-up:
For those of you who know me you know that I'm a bit of a guitar tech geek. I can tell you more than you would ever want to know about most guitars, pickups, amps, pre-amps, effects, etc. In fact, if you do know me then chances are you have been subjected at some point to a very long conversation about those things that you could not, no matter how hard you tried, get out of.
For as big a geek as I am about guitar equipment, Nels Cline is a bigger one. For as many pedals as I have and use (Scot and Chappy, you know all about this), Nels Cline has more and uses more.
Here is an artist's depiction of Nels Cline's effects set-up:
And yet here's what Nels has to say at the end of the "Tech Talk" section of his website:
As I've said, so much time, energy, and MONEY goes into talk about equipment and the like, when only a few things are really of paramount significance when it comes to musicmaking - and guess what, I don't think equipment is high on that list! It still comes down to WHAT NOTES one chooses to play and to HOW ONE TOUCHES THE INSTRUMENT.
The bottom line?
That is something that is good for all of us guitarists and guitar geeks (as well as other music geeks out there) to keep in mind. The most crucial element in the equation of good tone is your hands. That is how you can tell that Mark Knopfler is playing whatever part you hear him playing. Whether it is a Les Paul, a Strat, or an acoustic, clean or overdriven, whatever effects may or may not be on the track, they all feature the hands of Mark Knopfler.
A friend of mine came over a little while ago to jam. He plays a Strat straight into an Ampeg amp. I play (mostly) a Parker into all of my effects (too numerous to bother listing here), then into either both channels of my Peavey (Normal and Bright simultaneously for a really cool texture) or one channel of the Peavey (Normal) and either a Fender Blues Junior or a Fender Super Reverb.
My friend decided while playing with me that he might be interested in employing a more complicated setup like mine. So I let him just play my Parker into my setup. I even dialed up some of my favorite sounds. It just didn't sound right. It didn't sound like me. With all of the same equipment at the same settings, but with his hands playing the way that he plays, some of my favorite settings ended up sounding bad.
He gets a fantastic sound out of his setup, but he just sounded wrong through mine. I'm sure that he could find some effects that would compliment the way he plays better than mine did, I'm just not sure he really needs them. He's found his sound, and he plays best when his signal path remains unmolested.
Effects aren't there to produce the sound. They effect and shape it, but your hands (in conjunction with the instrument) produce it. I like to use my effects to enhance what I'm doing. I like to use several different overdrives, modulation effects, and delays to get some neat, ethereal, raw and yet weird-ass sounds. But the core of my sound, and any guitarist's sound, is in my hands. I sound an awful lot like me no matter what equipment I'm using.
I discovered this fact with much dismay a few years ago. I felt like I was in a bit of a rut. I really didn't like my sound. I had been using mostly Fender amps and single-coil equipped guitars. So I switched to my Peavey amp. I put humbuckers in some of my guitars and I bought some more with humbuckers. I added some new overdrive pedals and an active EQ to further shape my sound. But the end result was more like a minor tweaking than the radical overhaul I was looking for. I had changed gears, equipment wise, about as far as I could without going into full-stack mode (I still like smaller tube amp combos), and yet the sound was still basically the same sound I've always had. I often marvel at that phenomenon. Eric Clapton has morphed from using Gibsons (with the tone knob rolled all the way down on the bridge pickup) through Marshall stacks to using Strats (with active mid-boost) through small Fender combos, and yet he still sounds like Eric Clapton! The gear is just a minor part of the sound.
So what's the moral of all of this? Find your sound. It's in your hands. Get them ready. Practice. Hone your tone. And then don't worry too much about the equipment. It's there to assist you, it can't do your job for you. That's between you and your hands.
I leave you with this tech checklist from Nels Cline:
Tom
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Production notes #1
The Silent Screen is working on a new album. I plan to post notes from the process here in the coming weeks. We have some basic tracks for three songs completed. We're taking the week off for Easter and will resume recording next week.
Right now all of the equipment is set up at Chappy's house. We are tracking our basic tracks live with my amp in his converted dark room, Scot playing his bass direct from his pre-amp to the board, and the drums miked in the main room. After we have the five songs we're planning to start with for the demo done this way, we'll move the stuff to my studio to do overdubs.
This process should take about two or three more weeks, and then hopefully we'll have our demo. After that we'll see what other songs we'll do for an album based on live performances and other as-of-yet undetermined factors.
When we resume recording I'll try to keep a more detailed journal of the proceedings, and get some pictures of the process, and maybe even try to get Scot and Chappy involved in writing about the process here.
In the meantime, Happy Easter! And check out all of our other cool stuff.
Tom
Right now all of the equipment is set up at Chappy's house. We are tracking our basic tracks live with my amp in his converted dark room, Scot playing his bass direct from his pre-amp to the board, and the drums miked in the main room. After we have the five songs we're planning to start with for the demo done this way, we'll move the stuff to my studio to do overdubs.
This process should take about two or three more weeks, and then hopefully we'll have our demo. After that we'll see what other songs we'll do for an album based on live performances and other as-of-yet undetermined factors.
When we resume recording I'll try to keep a more detailed journal of the proceedings, and get some pictures of the process, and maybe even try to get Scot and Chappy involved in writing about the process here.
In the meantime, Happy Easter! And check out all of our other cool stuff.
Tom
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