Our New Record Is Out

[tonebender]

Our new record is out on all the streaming services.

Here are a couple that are up on Youtube.

[toomanycats]

Wow! Very cool. Has a Steppenwolf meets the Allman Brothers type vibe.

What amp(s) did you use for the guitar tones? I do believe I hear some P90s.

[tonebender]

Thanks TMC, that is good company. We cover a lot of Allman Bros

Definitely P90's involved and my amp is the one I keep in the rehearsal / recording studio, a Peavey C30. I got it from @uwmcscott.

I gig with a Gibson Goldtone 15W 1x12 combo but always rehearse or record with the Peavey. Hard to say which one is king, they both are great. It is just easier not to tote one to rehearsal so having it there makes it easier on the back.

[tlarson58]

Thoughts as I'm listening...

- Great musicianship all around
- Solid arrangements
- High quality mixes
- Great vocals
- Tasty tones
- Well-done originals that cover a variety of vibes

This was a highlight of my day. Well done, Jeff.

[sabasgr68]

Our new record is out on all the streaming services.

Here are a couple that are up on Youtube.

I like it, I like the style, I like the singer´s voice, well mixed, nice guitar presence...

Subscribed to your YT channel, and will listen properly later.

Good job!

[tonebender]

Thanks for the comments all. We enjoyed making it. I joined up with these guys going on 4 years ago. I played with the other guitarist back in my first band. He wrote all the songs and everyone helped with arrangements and production. I am thankful to be a part of such a project.

[toomanycats]

@tonebender, I'd be interested to hear details about the production of this album. As I've already commented, it has a late 60s/early 70s vibe to me, sounding like musicians recording simultaneously in a room together, a more to less live performance, probably not using a click, with minimal overdubs and post production. Apart from the excellent compositions and arrangement, I'd attribute a lot of the "zing" and energy coming off these recordings as attributable to using an old school approach.

Am I correct in my assumptions, or are my ears deceiving me? Let us know.

Specifically, I'm curious about:

How did you mic the Peavy C30? SM58? Sennheiser? Ribbon mic? Multiple mics?

Was it recorded in a pro studio, or a home/project studio? You did mention your rehearsal/recording studio where you keep the Peavey C30. To clarify, was the album recorded in the bands rehearsal studio?

What specific pre amps, eq, compressors, and other components were part of the signal chain while tracking?

[tonebender]

First I would like to say that my friend Robbie that was in my first band wrote all the songs. Also I was in error when I said I used a Peavey amp. We did record in our rehearsal studio. I do keep the Peavey at the space and we did mic it up for recording the songs originally as we worked on arrangements, parts, etc. When we were happy with the arrangements for all the songs we recorded what became the final drums and bass differently. At that session we still all played as if it were live but the guitar tracks were straight into some type of interface so no ambient amp sound would be bleed into the drum mics.. We all wore headphones to hear the mix and the scratch vocals were low enough and separated enough that there was also no bleed over into the drum mics. No click tracks were used and we all played it just the way we do/did live. We captured the rhythm section "shell" that became the final.

My bandmate then took the work home and added his final guitar work and vocals. Some of the scratch guitar work was left to "thicken or layer". I know that because I can hear it and when I went in to add a couple of solos I fixed a couple parts in Side Door To Heaven recorded earlier. For the third chord in the song I was playing a C#m7 and my bandmate was playing a C#9. Also in the chorus the first chord is a bar chord A major that I thought walked up a half step to A# but he actually wanted to only walk up the A note and leave the rest of chord fingering the same. Both not noticeable live but when isolated in the recording they clashed. It tells me he listened to everything isolated.

My solos are the outro in Hypnotized and the outro in Tell The Tale. I went down to my bandmate's business office to record the solos and fix the chord flub ups. I used my Gibson Goltone 1x12 with a Celestion V30. It was mic'ed with a Shure 57. There were no recording techniques such as a close mic and a distant mic, etc. It was all pretty basic but not using click tracks and all playing at once to record the shell made it have that "recorded live" feel for the final mix.

[toomanycats]

First I would like to say that my friend Robbie that was in my first band wrote all the songs. Also I was in error when I said I used a Peavey amp. We did record in out rehearsal studio. I do keep the Peavey at the space and we did mic it up for recording the songs originally as we worked on arrangements, parts, etc. When we were happy with the arrangements for all the songs we recorded what became the final drums and bass differently. At that session we still all played as if it were live but the guitar tracks were straight into some type of interface so no ambient amp sound would be bleed into the drum mics.. We all wore headphones to hear the mix and the scratch vocals were low enough and separated enough that there was also no bleed over into the drum mics. No click tracks were used and we all played it just the way we do/did live. We captured the rhythm section "shell" that became the final.

My bandmate then took the work home and added his final guitar work and vocals. Some of the scratch guitar work was left to "thicken or layer". I know that because I can hear it and when I went in to add a couple of solos I fixed a couple parts in Side Door To Heaven recorded earlier. For the third chord in the song I was playing a C#m7 and my bandmate was playing a C#9. Also in the chorus the first chord is a bar chord A major that I thought walked up a half step to A# but he actually wanted to only walk up the A note and leave the rest of chord fingering the same. Both not noticeable live but when isolated in the recording they clashed. It tells me he listened to everything isolated.

My solos are the outro in Hypnotized and the outro in Tell The Tale. I went down to my bandmate's business office to record the solos and fix the chord flub ups. I used my Gibson Goltone 1x12 with a Celestion V30. It was mic'ed with a Schure 57. There were no recording techniques such as a close mic and a distant mic, etc. It was all pretty basic but not using click tracks and all playing at once to record the shell made it have that "recorded live" feel for the final mix.

Thanks so much for providing these details. As somebody who is myself involved in the production part of the equation I find it very interesting. The creative process, along with all the stuff behind the scenes that makes a final product happen, and which the end listener is not always privy to, or even, quit frankly, interested in, is of intense interest to me.

[tonebender]

A good example of the evolution of a song is with Hypnotized. The whole middle break with the extended solo was not in the song originally. We kept playing it live and at rehearsal and my bandmate felt there was missing something. So we came up with ending that riff one note short on the G note and holding it. After a few trials we decided the solo should then kick in over the IV chord (D9). The bass player started that awesome riff and the solo kicked in. I just pedaled on the D9 sliding into it from the flat and then alternately bouncing up and back on the sharp. When the bass makes the run up the board the guitars drop out. When the bass hits that turn around riff I join in after two times then the other guitar joined in for two times and we end on the D not. I started the outro solo in typical blues fashion by bending up to the root note on the B string in the pentatonic scale. I through in my go to lick that was also a Randy Rhodes staple.
I could talk this stuff all day TMC. We have that "interest in the process" in common. I love reading about how creative they used to get before all the technology of today came along. Lots of effects pedals were created to shortcut to the sound they were creating back in the day through manipulation. The chorus effect was done by slight time differences with multiple tracks. Now you just click on the effect and set the parameters to taste.

[sabasgr68]

@tonebender I also have interest in that kind of details. I´m glad @toomanycats wanted to know more about it, because I´m afraid I wouldn´t know how to ask about it with the correct terms.

One of the things I like about your recordings is that kind of live performing sound. Love it.

Keep'em coming!

[Buddha Pickups]

Sounds great
Very well done

[doc-knapp]

I really loved the last one, Side Door Heaven!! It's already stuck in my head.

[tonebender]

Thanks @doc-knapp, that is the most fun song to play ever. I came up with repeating that riff at the end of the song. Here we are playing that song live and you can tell I am having fun.

[jimbocaster]

That was great. I really enjoyed it