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| Thank you everyone. 2017 was sick! |
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| Chad Kestrels came down from Canada. It was AWESOME!! |
2017 was quite a year. I feel like I did some of my best work in 2017 (that's good, right? I'm growing, learning, loving my job more and more!). No question about it: I'm very fortunate to work with all of the bands I get to work.
I'm looking forward to 2018. I feel very confident in my equipment collection and like I'm in a really good groove. Last year was one killer project after another and I feel like I'm ready to move forward on that flow. I did a lot of unattended mixing with bands from Croatia, Australia, Boston, LA, NYC, and more. I always have a lot of fun doing that!
I'm booking 2018 right now and have availabilities as soon as January! If you have some last-minute needs, let me know. And if you're thinking long-term, it's never too soon to reach out.
Every month of 2017 was filled with great projects. I picked the ones where I spent the most amount of time working on. Here is one session from every month in 2017:
January: Dirt Devil tracking/mixing sessions- lots of fuzz.. beautiful songs.. one of my favorite records of 2017
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| Dirt Devil's sick pedals |
February: Kindling - Hush recording sessions.. was lucky to be a part of this one. it was wonderful to see this band grow leaps and bounds.
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| the "clean" rig for Kindling "Hush" |
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| Bunnies rule. If you like this pic, you'll like their music! |
April: Giraffes? Giraffes! recording! This was a difficult session. the music is a lot of fun to listen to, but to record it and help piece it together is an entirely different experience. I can't wait for it's release in 2018! It's so good!
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| Old vs New. G?G! guitar rig |
May: Future Teens Mixing I love this band! this record is out!
June: Jeffery Foucault Mixing. Jeff is a long time client/friend. I think we've made recordings together for about 10 years no. This record is his best.
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| Magic vocal sound |
July: Gary War mixing. I am beyond excited for this record's release. I think people are going to flip out, like i did while mixing it!!!!!
August: Body/Head recording - Bill and Kim made a record so incredibly different than their previous. Better in my opinion.
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| Bill n Kim dig some playback |
September: Zak Trojano recording. I love Zak's music. his sessions are always among my favorite. This one was produced by David Goodrich and I'd say it was a perfect example of excellent teamwork.
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| Goody riding the faders |
October: Late Bloomer - I loved making this record. sooo much. it's going to be a big one for 2018.
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| N.C. sweet dudes |
November: Fucko - completely in love with this band. we're ALMOST done! fine-tuning on the mixes, mastering and that's it.
December: Wild Pink - this was a special recording that gave me chills, tears, etc.. it's got a big vibe and sounds beautiful. Their first full-length was well received.. and I adored that record. This one is absolutely the next level.
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| Altec working hard on lead vocals for the mix |
And while we're talkin 2017 highlights, here are some new pieces of gear I got for sonelab:
Matamp GT120 clone by Hilbish Design and built by Jim Metz. This amp is loud but incredibly musical-sounding. It has quickly become a staple in my backline.
Scamp S-01 compressor/limiters. Scamp is a modular offshoot of ADR. The S-01 compressor is a fet compressor like the ADR Compex. I've been using it on drum buss, guitar tracking, and vocal tracking since I got my first pair. Now I have 4 of them and I am realizing I need more!
Warm Audio WA87 - these are Warm Audio's clones of classic Neumann u87s. They're great and while they don't perfectly do what an 87 does, they're just plain great microphones. I use them on all sorts of things! Drum overheads, acoustic guitar, bass cab, upright bass, background vocals, lead vocals.. they're great all-arounders.
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| Warms over head! |
Daking Fet II compressor - these compressors are amazingly versatile with auto-release settings that include Compex, Neve 33609, Fairchild, plus extreme fast release settings that remind me of an 1176.
Magnatone m35 amplifier - this amp is massive and loud. It's solid state but the tone is perfectly clean without being sterile. It drives nicely, too. It has 2 15 speakers, two horns up top, and two ports in the middle.
Sans Amp rack unit - these old things rule. If you've got a guitar track that isn't quite rippin enough or bass that needs extra push in the chorus, this is THE box.
Deluxe Big Muff - the original deluxe big muff is a Soul Preacher compressor with an Op-Amp version of the Big Muff. It's probably the most affordable way to get your hands on an original Op-Amp big muff. It's AWESOME. the compressor is a little crazy-sounding but I can imagine using it for something. The fact that you can blend the fuzz with the clean/compressed tones is pretty cool. It'll be great for bass tracking!
Klon KTR - this is basically a Klon Centaur. I got rid of my Klon when I got this!
Steinway upright from 1903. I'd been on the hunt for one of these for years. I finally found one for an amazing price in great condition.
Bryston 4b power amp - total game-changer. I had been using an old NAD power amp for like 10 years. It was fine until it started showing signs of fatigue. I found a Bryston 4b for a great price and went ahead and grabbed it! I feel that my mixes improved pretty much instantly.
There's a lot more gear and many more projects to talk about! Drop me a line if you'd like to chat about gear, recording, or your projects. I'm here and I'm psyched!
PEACE and happy New Year!
