[Studio Setup?]

Nothing new and nothing expensive..

 

I record "real" instruments only. Guitars, bass, drums, keyboards, vocals,sometimes piano,various percussion. I don't use MIDI, virtual instruments, loops,samples...I'm not smart enough for that stuff.

 

Mics : Vocal mic: audiotechnica MB4K condenser mic

           Drums: 2 Shure prologue 12 H,1 Shure Prologue 10H

 

I run my drum mics into a Mackie 1202 mixing board before going into my inteface.

 

I use a quirky old interface called a Roland VS20.  Looks like a mini control console.Super easy to use, has real control surfaces, sliders and knobs for pan,volume,effects..or you could control with your mouse on the screen.

 

I have small monitors, I tend to work with headphones 90% of the time. I have 2 Alesis Elevate 3's.

The software that works with the Roland VS20 is called Guitar Tracks 4. It's from the Cake Walk/Sonar/Bandlab family. It's so user friendly. Most glitchy thing is it only works on windows 7, so you need to hunt down an old CPU on the internet. It may be 15 years old but it doesn't lack any feature I need. It has virtual guitar amps, (I play garage /indie rock) and tons of effects. The effects software is VS20 Editor.

 

I've tried Pro Tools , Harrison Mixbus and some others to see if I was missing anything but I really like my simple, extremely user friendly set up. I can record, mix, burn a CD,download to Distrokid and get it off to Spotifty for no one to listen to so I guess all is good for me.

 

            

 

[Getting an electric repainted a different colour]

You can do it yourself. It all depends on how perfect you want it to look. Take off the strings and get some painters tape. Tape off all the parts you don't want painted. You will then need to prep the body with a light sand paper. Then pick out the new paint, acrylic paint in a small jar from any paint store. Apply with a rag and small brush. Work it into the wood. Let it dry. Apply several coats. After then there are some clear coat products you can use to get that shine . You will want to buff it. I'm doing a terrible job explaining here, There are a million YouTube videos that can walk you through it. I've only done it once and it turned out ok but it wasn't a fancy bass. It's not really rocket science though. Just need to be patient and apply in several coats.

 

This guy does a good job . He takes the guitar completely apart. I didn't do that only protected the parts I didn't want painted.

 

 

[Wanting to Sing More]

This may sound horrible but karaoke?  

I mean you would have to find the absolutely least cheesy place you could but that is a place singers sing and you get instant feedback from real people. Yeah... you have to listen to a lot of bad singing too.

[Good Morning Class]

We don't have any sales..LOL

actually I think 9 dollars and change.

 

We use distrokid so we are on all the platforms, iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, etc. We have videos on YouTube.

 

We just make music for the love of it, for the process. Definitely not to sell or grow a fan base.I mean I would love people to listen to it, but not looking for fame or money. I would love to have 10,000 listeners but now we get 20-30 a month in different cities all over the world. Which is cool but a little underwhelming.

 

I guess we just challenge each other to write good songs. We write for each other. Kind of cool for a father and his 14 year old son when at that age he's supposed to hate me and play video games. My son has his own band with teenagers. So I'll be ready to fade out as his band ramps up.

 

[Show us your DAW]

I use cakewake Guitar tracks 4.0 that came with my Roland VS20 control surface and interface.

 

I know it's old software, but it does everything I need. (oh and I was being lazy. These are just screen shots from the internet. Didn't get out of my chair and go into the basement,take pictures of my DAW, load into my other desktop and drop them here. Yes. lazy)

[What is the most challenge experience when it comes to mixing your music?]

The mix sounds great . I burn a copy onto a CD and pop it into my car to have a good list a high volume. That's when I hear 9 things I want to change. I make changes. I burn another CD. I take a drive. I hear 9 other things.

 

Music sounds different on studio headphones. Studio monitors. Car speakers. Computer speakers, Ear buds...

 

Its hard to get that mix that sounds great on every size speaker.

[Drought Killers]

I drive around looking for people walking the streets. I imagine who they are, or better yet bizarre stories of who they are and then write about their imaginary lives using bits of my real life. I use their fake lives to tell my story. Sometimes it might be a weird buildings that triggers the story telling. I mix real things, my memories and something I currently want to say and put it all in a blender.

[Do You Also Feel This Way...?]

From another old person. You're going to need money to live. You going to need the day job in order to have the music career.

Hardly anyone can support themselves from music. Just the truth. Graphic design sounds like a really flexible career path.

 

You will still have a full creative life as an artist. You can do both..unfortunately you gotta  do both.

You can do it. Please don't shoot yourself in the foot and do it the hard way like I did and many others. Get that graphic design degree and then you will have options. Then you will have the power to control the course of your life to a larger degree, isn't that what we all want in the end?

[What Is Your Main Daw?]

Started on a Tascam 4 track, went to a hard drive 8 track Fostex machine. Then I left recording for 20 years. When i defrosted, the first DAW that caught my attention was outdated Roland VS20 with Guitar Tracks 4.0. I guess whatever you learn is what you keep. I just love it. The virtual guitar amps and all the plug ins. I don't do any virtual instruments or midi so it does everything I want. I love how easy everything is to use and find. I bought two in case the first breaks. Of course it only runs on windows 7, so I bought a back up old computer too.

 

I know I'm a goof.

[I need some tips on piano recording.]

Its  hard to record a real piano. Its a beast compared to a line in keyboard. No matter what you do you'll fight issues in the mix. I recorded some piano recently and for me one mic was enough. My piano was pretty shitty (not well tuned/old)  so I really didn't try to capture it in all its glory. I placed a mic about a foot above and center. Then I worked on sculpting the EQ and some reverb afterwards. 

 

I think you really need to be in a treated room with a nice piano or all bets are off.

[Driverless Car, The Skunkmen]

Here is our new video from our most recent album. Of course it's all DIY and low budget. Enjoy...or destroy.

[[Indie Rock] Tandem Unicycle - Keep on Pushing Through **TRIPPY**]

I like the breaks in the song. Adds to the drama. I like the song in general.. The vocals sound good. No real criticism. The video is cheesy but it checks all the boxes because it lets people see the band and let's people know you have a sense of humor.I'm heading over to spotify to give you a follow.

[Good Morning Class]

Hi, I'm an old washed up low level rock star.Was in bands in the 80's and 90's. My son is pimply faced rising teenage noise maker. I struggle to play power chords (was/is a lead singer). He plays guitar,bass,drums,keyboards...whatever. He can learn anything.  We write music together in our basement. I was out of the music scene for twenty years. Long story short, my best friend and song writing partner died. This tragedy inspired to take my stuff (4 track..mixing boards,drum machines odds and ends from the 80's) and start working on a tribute album to him. It got my then 12 year old son turned on to music. We bought a DAW. I learned it. He learned how to play..everything. 3 years of nonstop writing together and now we have 11 albums on Spotify. It's been a great journey together. I know my time is done, but I hope he's learning a lot.