Music is People

In The Christmas Spirit at the Studio

Today we finished tracking a Christmas CD for our good friends Randy and Audra Miles. A 20 songs compilation of their favorite Christmas songs recorded as a gift for their family and friends! We started recording this project back in June, so we've been in the Christmas spirit for months already. Great job Randy and Audra on a gift from the heart. It's been a lot of fun!

Are you starting to wonder what you are going to give your family for Christmas this year? Don't be lame and buy socks or a piece of jewelry that Zales says you must have... Give your special someone the gift of music! Click here to see our holiday recording specials and book a session today to record a unique gift for your family. 

Tis The Season!

Piano Piano Piano - Bach Sonata to Send in the Clowns

Today the Piano got a workout from teenage pianist Molly Brown a local high school student. Preparing audition tapes and performance of many pieces for posterity Molly spent the afternoon in the studio recording classical piano pieces on our grand piano ranging from Bach's Sonata 17 to Stephen Sondheim's Send in the Clowns. Thanks Molly for doing such a great job playing like a pro! 
 

Batavia Battle of the bands

Last night I had the awesome privilege to be one of the judges at the Battle of the Bands at the Eastside community center in Batavia.The event was sponsored by Hix Bros Music and Music Matters A lot of talent showed up and a lot of ear drums were shattered with hard rock, screeching guitars, and original music. Nine bands performed their best songs including Snackrats (3rd place), L.A. Drone (2nd Place) and the winner of the night of free recording time at Backthird Audio went to Plainfield locals One Twenty West with their well polished pop/rock originals. I'm looking forward to their trip into the studio coming up. More details on that later!

 

  

Sarah Hammond Records at Backthird

 On Saturday we had an extended member of the Backthird family, Sarah Hammond, in the studio to record a few songs for her acoustic EP. Sarah is the Sister-in-law of our Studio Manager Anna Hammond. It's all one big happy family here! I'm looking forward to working more with Sarah in the future and maybe do some full production of her catchy pop driven tunes. Sarah also performed last night in our final songwriter's showcase of the season. 

Recording some piano today

 Today we had Mark Schmitt in the studio to record some pieces on the piano before he's off to Iowa University for College to study business and music. Mom wanted some recordings of his playing before he left for school. We are happy to oblige and always happy when our piano gets played! Nice work Mark! 

Christmas in July at Backthird studio

 I'm already in the Christmas spirit thanks to Randy and Audra Miles. They've been in the studio a few times recently to record vocals for a Christmas cd, featuring all the classics, to give out to their family as presents this December. I think they deserve the award for taking care of their gifts early this year! 

How to get that BIG guitar sound on your recordings

 Ever wonder why your recordings don't have that huge guitar sound that you hear on your favorite band's recordings? Ever wonder how to get that big guitar sound on your recordings? Here's a few tips/tricks to try the next time you are recording in the studio or at home. 

 1. Stack your tracks - After you record your first rhythm guitar track, try adding another rhythm track playing the same part or slightly different part. You can also change the tone on your guitar amp a little to add a little more "color" to the track. Then try panning the two guitars to different places in your stereo mix. If you still want a bigger sound you can keep adding more tracks! Experiment with your mix layering the guitar tracks at various volume levels. The technique works best when your guitar playing is tight and you can play the same part accurately every time. Otherwise it can sound muddy and you loose the definition of the guitar. 

2. Split your signal - If you have multiple guitar amps you can try splitting your guitar signal through a splitter and input the signal into two or more guitar amps. Then mic each amp separately recording to its own track. Experiment with the tone of both guitar amps so they are different. When you hit record you will have 2 different sounding guitar tones with only one recording pass. Then you can experiment with your levels and panning of the two tracks to what you like best. The thing to watch out for here is phase cancellation, so you might try flipping the phase on one of the tracks if it sounds a little weird or experiment with your mic placement. 

Both of these techniques will have a different effect. The first will really beef up your guitar sounds so you get that "wall of sound" effect. The second technique will mostly add a different "color" to your track. I recommend to experiment with both and mix and match. With the recording technology we have at our fingertips these days, there's no reason to live inside the box of having only 1 or 2 guitar tracks. Have fun, go nuts! Make something interesting to listen to!

Recording original music for Audio Books

Today, Benjie and I spent the morning recording some original music as the backdrop for John Blumberg's audio book version of Silent Alarm. The original composition by Benjie Hughes titled "Sparkling White" features an up-lifting piano melody and brilliant violin and cello accompaniment by our good friends Priscilla and Joy of Twin Strings. We're excited to be working on this piece as we work through the final stages of John's audio book.

Recording Audiobooks at Backthird

Ever wonder how audio books are recorded? For the last couple weeks we've been doing something new at the studio. We have been recording our first Audio book with professional speaker and author John Blumberg for his book Silent Alarm.  The story is an inspirational parable about a business man who is forced to re-evaluate his life's priorities after a near fatal accident. 

Benjie and I are having a lot of fun as we produce this audio book with John. I'm finding it interesting how much concentration it really takes to record someone simply reading a book. It's a new experience for both of us, and we hope to be doing more of these. You might even recognize the voice of "the little angel" when this audio book is released. 

New Year, New Bands, Same great Studio

It's a new year and we're off to a great start here in the studio! Last weekend we had local band Cauz N Effx in the studio all day to start recording their first full production album. It was an energy packed productive day laying down tracks for the first 5 songs. 

 

Cauz N Effx is a kick you in the face, punch you in the gut rock band that reminds me a lot of RATM, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sublime and a host of other great bands from recent years. I'm pumped to be working on their album and can't wait for them to be back in the studio next week. Keep your ears peeled and your eyes open for more on these guys.