650north Studio Journal
650north Studio Journal - Day 1 - Josh Gets a New Drum Set
Hello fans and friends!
Welcome to the first installment of the 650north Studio Journal. While we are here in Nashville, Tennessee recording our new album, we will be keeping a daily-updated (we hope) "studio journal" of sorts. That way, everyone can stay informed with what is going on in our world.
Be sure to leave us a comment---we always appreciate the support of our fans.
***
Friday, June 1st
Check out the video below, which covers the pre-production we did with our producer Chris Henry the week prior to our departure through Josh's drum shopping session on Friday. Be sure to check out the photo journal below, too.
Me in the kitchen, a few minutes before our departure. It is about a 4 hour trip to Nashville, so we planned on leaving at 7:00 a.m. As usual, we left about an hour late.
One last check to make sure we packed everything.
As hinted in the title of this photo blog, the main goal of the day was for Josh to get a new drum set to play on the album (yes, he is finally retiring the ol' green Pearl). So, we met up with engineer/drum guru George Tutko at Fork's Drum Closet once we got to Nashville. Trust me, this place is no closet---there are thousands of drums in this place. It is quite overwhelming.
Josh's first snare drum choice :-)
What drum set did he end up choosing? Stay tuned---all will be revealed in the upcoming episodes of the 650north Studio Journal!
- Matt of 650north
***
650north Studio Journal - Day 2 - Ribs and Guitar Set-ups
Saturday, June 2nd
Before one starts the album-making process, it is always a good idea to have your guitars professionally set-up (trust me kids---clean, well-set-up guitars with new strings play better). So, our producer lined it up to have our guitars set up at the Gibson Custom and Repair Shop in Nashville. After we dropped off our guitars, we had lunch at South Street. Yes---Josh really enjoyed these ribs.
After lunch and hitting some guitar shops, we went back to the Gibson Repair and Custom Shop to pick up our guitars. Dion, the tech that worked on our guitars, wasn't quite done when we got their, so we met the head of Artist Relations, and he gave us a tour of the upstairs Custom Shop.
As I said earlier, this place does a lot of repair work---even for Les Paul himself! Below are a few pictures of a guitar that one of the guys at the shop are repairing for Les Paul.
Big thanks go out to Dion for his AMAZING set-ups! Until next time...
***
650north Studio Journal - Days 3-6 - Tracking Set-up and Studio Tour
Sunday, June 3rd through Wednesday, June 6th
So, in case any of you don't know, we are in Nashville, Tennessee, recording a new album in Studio A at Quad Studios. As this studio is going to be our second home for the next month and a half or so, we figured we better be good hosts, and give everyone a tour.
Mark at Quad Studios was nice enough to let us load-in and set-up on Sunday, a day early (thanks Mark!). Below is a picture of the drums and drum mics being set up in the live room. By the way, Josh ended up going with the red/orange fade DW set, as pictured below. Did you guess correctly?
Below is the control room, the heart of Quad's Studio A. It is the home of the gigantic SSL console, racks of outboard gear, and several pairs of studio monitors. This is where we spend time relaxing and listening between takes.
Pictured below is something you don't see everyday---two Studer 2-inch tape machines, running in sync using SMPTE time code. We are actually tracking everything to tape, then "blowing" it over to Pro Tools HD for editing and mixing. The tape machine on the left is a 16-track machine running at 15 inches-per-second. It is for tracking the drums and bass guitar, and gives them a super-fat low-end. The machine on the right is a 24-track machine, running at 30 inches-per-second for the guitars and vocals. You REALLY can hear a difference between tape and digital. Tape is much "warmer" and "fatter", and the natural compression of tape sounds great. We can't wait for everyone to hear it!
Pictured below is the "live room", used for tracking the drums. This room has a huge sound, and there are two pairs of room mics picking up the room sound of the drums. In all, there are around 21 mics on the drums. Chris and Andrew also stand in this room so they can see Josh while tracking.
Andrew's amps are in a different room, as to not be heard by the drum mics while tracking. Pictured below is his Mesa cab.
Below is the little hole I live in, known as "the barn". I am in this isolation booth so the amps and drums don't bleed into the vocal mic. As this room serves as an air and sound lock, there are no vents in the room, and it starts to get really hot---feels a lot like playing a live show!
My amps are in yet another room, so they are not picked up by any of the other mics. On the left is producer Chris Henry's Fender Princeton (a very cool amp), and on the right is my Marshall 1960A cab (the Mesa head that runs the 1960A is in "the barn" with me, adding to the heat!).
Now that we have given you a tour of our second home, be sure to make yourselves at home. Stop by this journal any time you like and say hello (leave a comment). More studio photos and videos in the next installment. Until next time...
- Matt of 650north
***
650north Studio Journal - Days 7-11 - Drum Tracking
Thursday, June 7th through Monday, June 11th
Check out this behind-the-scenes video to get an inside look at 650north setting-up and tracking drums in the studio.
***
650north Studio Journal - Days 12-14 - Done With Drums
Tuesday, June 12th through Thursday, June 14th
So, as the title of this photo blog hints, we are done with the drum tracking portion of the recording process. This is a big milestone for the album, as the foundation is now in place, and the layering can begin. Check out the photos below from the last few days of drum tracking.
Matt in "the barn"
Josh and Chris setting up the new drum set
Andrew and Chris in the "live room"
Listening back to a take
Andrew, Chris, and producer Chris Henry during a take in the "live room"
Producer Chris Henry and engineer George Tutko working on drum sounds
Josh tracking drums in the "live room"
Me, enchanted by the tape machines
Next in line is bass guitar. Stay tuned...
- Matt of 650north
***
650north Studio Journal - Days 15-19 - Bass and Guitar Tracking
Earlier in the week, we did a radio interview from Nashville with Y106, a radio station based out of Columbus, Indiana, which is about an hour away from our hometown of Osgood, Indiana. The radio interview, which aired on Thursday, can be downloaded below.
Click here to download the radio interview
Friday, June 15th through Tuesday, June 19th
With the drums finished, Friday started off with bass guitar tracking. Pictured below is Chris layin' down the low notes.
For every song, we put four different bass guitar sounds to tape. That way, we have lots of different sounds to pick from during mixing. One of those four sounds involves the below vintage Telefunken pre-amps and compressors---just like the ones (we have been told) that were used on various Beatles recordings.
After Chris got done laying down the bass guitar tracks, we moved onto distorted rhythm guitar tracks. Below is a picture of me relaxing and warming up before a take. Remember kids---practice makes better!
In order to get a huge sound for the rhythm guitar tracks, we put the Mesa and Marshall cabs in the "live room", and used a combination of "close" and "room" mic techniques.
Me, laying down a rhythm guitar track. Notice the bagels in the background---the interns have these waiting for us in the studio every morning (thanks interns!).
The arsenal of axes we are using for tracking guitars.
A blurry Andrew laying down a rhythm guitar track.
Engineer George Tutko in the "driver's seat", wearing a hip-looking 650north tee shirt. Want to look cool like George?--then get your own 650north tee at the 650north Merch Store.
650north superfan/superfriend Kyle Black provided some comic relief during a hard day at the studio. Trivia question: what previous 650north project was Kyle involved in, and what role did he have? Send your answers via a MySpace message. The prize?---our undying love!
Tune in to the next installment for a new, behind-the-scenes studio video. Until next time...
- Matt of 650north
***
650north Studio Journal - Days 20-22 - In the Thick of It
In the most revealing, behind-the-scenes video yet, get an inside look at a typical day in the studio for the guys of 650north. Listen carefully---you might just hear a clip of a new song or two!
Missed an episode of the 650north Studio Journal?---click here to check out the archive.
Wednesday, June 20th through Friday, June 22nd
***
650north Studio Journal
650north Studio Journal - Day 1 - Josh Gets a New Drum Set
Hello fans and friends!
Welcome to the first installment of the 650north Studio Journal. While we are here in Nashville, Tennessee recording our new album, we will be keeping a daily-updated (we hope) "studio journal" of sorts. That way, everyone can stay informed with what is going on in our world.
Be sure to leave us a comment---we always appreciate the support of our fans.
***
Friday, June 1st
Check out the video below, which covers the pre-production we did with our producer Chris Henry the week prior to our departure through Josh's drum shopping session on Friday. Be sure to check out the photo journal below, too.
Me in the kitchen, a few minutes before our departure. It is about a 4 hour trip to Nashville, so we planned on leaving at 7:00 a.m. As usual, we left about an hour late.
One last check to make sure we packed everything.
As hinted in the title of this photo blog, the main goal of the day was for Josh to get a new drum set to play on the album (yes, he is finally retiring the ol' green Pearl). So, we met up with engineer/drum guru George Tutko at Fork's Drum Closet once we got to Nashville. Trust me, this place is no closet---there are thousands of drums in this place. It is quite overwhelming.
Josh's first snare drum choice :-)
What drum set did he end up choosing? Stay tuned---all will be revealed in the upcoming episodes of the 650north Studio Journal!
- Matt of 650north
***
650north Studio Journal - Day 2 - Ribs and Guitar Set-ups
Saturday, June 2nd
Before one starts the album-making process, it is always a good idea to have your guitars professionally set-up (trust me kids---clean, well-set-up guitars with new strings play better). So, our producer lined it up to have our guitars set up at the Gibson Custom and Repair Shop in Nashville. After we dropped off our guitars, we had lunch at South Street. Yes---Josh really enjoyed these ribs.
After lunch and hitting some guitar shops, we went back to the Gibson Repair and Custom Shop to pick up our guitars. Dion, the tech that worked on our guitars, wasn't quite done when we got their, so we met the head of Artist Relations, and he gave us a tour of the upstairs Custom Shop.
As I said earlier, this place does a lot of repair work---even for Les Paul himself! Below are a few pictures of a guitar that one of the guys at the shop are repairing for Les Paul.
Big thanks go out to Dion for his AMAZING set-ups! Until next time...
***
650north Studio Journal - Days 3-6 - Tracking Set-up and Studio Tour
Sunday, June 3rd through Wednesday, June 6th
So, in case any of you don't know, we are in Nashville, Tennessee, recording a new album in Studio A at Quad Studios. As this studio is going to be our second home for the next month and a half or so, we figured we better be good hosts, and give everyone a tour.
Mark at Quad Studios was nice enough to let us load-in and set-up on Sunday, a day early (thanks Mark!). Below is a picture of the drums and drum mics being set up in the live room. By the way, Josh ended up going with the red/orange fade DW set, as pictured below. Did you guess correctly?
Below is the control room, the heart of Quad's Studio A. It is the home of the gigantic SSL console, racks of outboard gear, and several pairs of studio monitors. This is where we spend time relaxing and listening between takes.
Pictured below is something you don't see everyday---two Studer 2-inch tape machines, running in sync using SMPTE time code. We are actually tracking everything to tape, then "blowing" it over to Pro Tools HD for editing and mixing. The tape machine on the left is a 16-track machine running at 15 inches-per-second. It is for tracking the drums and bass guitar, and gives them a super-fat low-end. The machine on the right is a 24-track machine, running at 30 inches-per-second for the guitars and vocals. You REALLY can hear a difference between tape and digital. Tape is much "warmer" and "fatter", and the natural compression of tape sounds great. We can't wait for everyone to hear it!
Pictured below is the "live room", used for tracking the drums. This room has a huge sound, and there are two pairs of room mics picking up the room sound of the drums. In all, there are around 21 mics on the drums. Chris and Andrew also stand in this room so they can see Josh while tracking.
Andrew's amps are in a different room, as to not be heard by the drum mics while tracking. Pictured below is his Mesa cab.
Below is the little hole I live in, known as "the barn". I am in this isolation booth so the amps and drums don't bleed into the vocal mic. As this room serves as an air and sound lock, there are no vents in the room, and it starts to get really hot---feels a lot like playing a live show!
My amps are in yet another room, so they are not picked up by any of the other mics. On the left is producer Chris Henry's Fender Princeton (a very cool amp), and on the right is my Marshall 1960A cab (the Mesa head that runs the 1960A is in "the barn" with me, adding to the heat!).
Now that we have given you a tour of our second home, be sure to make yourselves at home. Stop by this journal any time you like and say hello (leave a comment). More studio photos and videos in the next installment. Until next time...
- Matt of 650north
***
650north Studio Journal - Days 7-11 - Drum Tracking
Thursday, June 7th through Monday, June 11th
Check out this behind-the-scenes video to get an inside look at 650north setting-up and tracking drums in the studio.
***
650north Studio Journal - Days 12-14 - Done With Drums
Tuesday, June 12th through Thursday, June 14th
So, as the title of this photo blog hints, we are done with the drum tracking portion of the recording process. This is a big milestone for the album, as the foundation is now in place, and the layering can begin. Check out the photos below from the last few days of drum tracking.
Matt in "the barn"
Josh and Chris setting up the new drum set
Andrew and Chris in the "live room"
Listening back to a take
Andrew, Chris, and producer Chris Henry during a take in the "live room"
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Producer Chris Henry and engineer George Tutko working on drum sounds
Josh tracking drums in the "live room"
Me, enchanted by the tape machines
Next in line is bass guitar. Stay tuned...
- Matt of 650north
***
650north Studio Journal - Days 15-19 - Bass and Guitar Tracking
Earlier in the week, we did a radio interview from Nashville with Y106, a radio station based out of Columbus, Indiana, which is about an hour away from our hometown of Osgood, Indiana. The radio interview, which aired on Thursday, can be downloaded below.
Click here to download the radio interview
Friday, June 15th through Tuesday, June 19th
With the drums finished, Friday started off with bass guitar tracking. Pictured below is Chris layin' down the low notes.
For every song, we put four different bass guitar sounds to tape. That way, we have lots of different sounds to pick from during mixing. One of those four sounds involves the below vintage Telefunken pre-amps and compressors---just like the ones (we have been told) that were used on various Beatles recordings.
After Chris got done laying down the bass guitar tracks, we moved onto distorted rhythm guitar tracks. Below is a picture of me relaxing and warming up before a take. Remember kids---practice makes better!
In order to get a huge sound for the rhythm guitar tracks, we put the Mesa and Marshall cabs in the "live room", and used a combination of "close" and "room" mic techniques.
Me, laying down a rhythm guitar track. Notice the bagels in the background---the interns have these waiting for us in the studio every morning (thanks interns!).
The arsenal of axes we are using for tracking guitars.
A blurry Andrew laying down a rhythm guitar track.
Engineer George Tutko in the "driver's seat", wearing a hip-looking 650north tee shirt. Want to look cool like George?--then get your own 650north tee at the 650north Merch Store.
650north superfan/superfriend Kyle Black provided some comic relief during a hard day at the studio. Trivia question: what previous 650north project was Kyle involved in, and what role did he have? Send your answers via a MySpace message. The prize?---our undying love!
Tune in to the next installment for a new, behind-the-scenes studio video. Until next time...
- Matt of 650north
***
650north Studio Journal - Days 20-22 - In the Thick of It
In the most revealing, behind-the-scenes video yet, get an inside look at a typical day in the studio for the guys of 650north. Listen carefully---you might just hear a clip of a new song or two!
Missed an episode of the 650north Studio Journal?---click here to check out the archive.
Wednesday, June 20th through Friday, June 22nd
***
650north Studio Journal - Days 23-24 - Rami Jaffee Tickles Our Ivories
Check out the latest video installment of the 650north Studio Journal, featuring Foo Fighters / Wallflowers keyboardist Rami Jaffee layin' down some B3 organ and grand piano on 650north's new album.
Missed an episode of the 650north Studio Journal?---click here to check out the archive.
Saturday, June 23rd through Sunday, June 24th
***