Please take a moment...

[Phil O'Keefe]

....and tell us a little about yourself. What type of work do you do? What's your recording / studio background / experience level? What are your interests and what type of music "moves you"? Do you work in a commercial facility, a home studio, a project room or are you just testing the waters? Do you play an instrument? What is your musical experience / background?

 

IOW, Introduce yourself and tell us a litle bit about what you're into!

 

And please, let me know what sorts of things you'd like to see covered here in The Studio Trenches...

 

Thanks!

[TonyCrazyMan]

Hi all!

 

My name is Andy. Basically music is very close to my heart because it is what makes me feel calm and alive. I've played the keyboard in 20 years and electric guitar in about 4 years. I also sing and have been a singer in a rock band. I've been playing in a lot of bands and currently I am playing in a rock band as keyboardist and lead guitarist. About half a year ago I was making a big decision about making a home studio and start recording. The studio was finished and completely setup a few months ago. I want my home studio to be playground. Whenever I feel like I want to create something or I don't have anything to do I go to my home studio and do something. When I step into the recording studio I have always learned something new when the day is finished. Now after I've been recording small demos just to make it a habit I've noticed that I've improved much as a musician, I wasn't expecting that!

 

For me music is also like religion, it is a gift from God above that needs to be treated with dignity. Therefore I am naturally not listening to music that feels too commercial and with texts that are of the evil kind, other than that I want to be as free and creative as possible! I listen a lot to artists that are showing signs of living spiritually in music. The music styles I am listening to is country, rock, hardrock, blues, jazz, funk, gospel. I like to listen to artists like:

 

Jonathan Butler, Vince Gill, Brooks'n Dunn, Hanson, Jonny Lang, Eric Johnson, Larry Carlton, Diamond Rio, Celine Dion, Gloria Estefan, Dave Matthews Band, Bryan Adams, Bon Jovi, Bruce Springsteen, Matchbox 20, Trisha Yearwood, Martina McBride, Dixie Chicks, Bad English, Whitesnake, Brent Mason, Michael Landau, Dann Huff and more.

 

My goal is to unite with God, myself and people around me in music by helping others and get help. I would also like to work in a professional recording studio and hang out with friends that share the same interest.

 

I would like this forum to become a more and more active forum where we treat each other with respect and help each other. I think this is so far a great forum, there are not too many unnecessary joke responses on each thread and there are many experienced persons here. I want this forum to really feel like my music home on the web.

[Kiwiburger]

I'm Kiwiburger (no, not the fruit - the rare endangered bird that is the national icon of New Zealand. Tastes like chicken ...).

 

I don't know anything about pro audio, so i'm just hanging out here to learn a few basics.

 

Sometimes I talk a lot of rubbish.

[Scodiddly]

I'm Scott, and I'm mostly a live sound guy. I dabble a bit in studio stuff (just computer with 4 i/o), do some equipment repairs, and build microphones.

[boxhollow]

My name is Jeff and I play guitar and bass, and also sing a little. I have a little area set up in my basement for recording and I basically have used it for writing songs and practice. Now I would like to actually learn how to use what I have and try to get some decent sounds recorded. I do not have much, I use an Aw16g recorder, some Pods, my guitar and bass rigs, and a couple of mic's and preamps. I am a hobbiest who would like to learn enough to maybe record some demo's for friends and of course record my own music to the highest quality I can with what I have........of course I'm also a gear whore so I can see that this recording thing is going to have me sleeping on the couch in no time.

[where02190]

Check our website....it tells all!!

[matthew13l]

My name is Matt, I've been playing guitar for four years. I'm 17, turning 18 in September, and will be a senior in high school this year. I love music, I'll listen to anything really, although my favorite bands are Bad Religion, Pennywise, and the Descendents. I never took guitar lessons, so I've developed some bad techniques, and I can't do any real solos, and I don't know much musical theory. Hopefully when I graduate I can start taking lessons and stuff and try to correct my bad habits. I had a band for about a year but we broke up so I'm looking for a new drummer and bassist.

 

As far as pro audio goes (or lack thereof), I have an SM58, XM8500, a Behringer 4-channel mixer, Audiophile 2496, and a Dell Dimension P3 800mhz.

 

My guitar gear consists of an MIM Strat with DiMarzio Steve's Special, LSR roller nut, straplocks, custom Warmoth pickguard, graphtech saddles. My amp is a Marshall AVT50 combo running into an Avatar 2x12 Special (Vintage 30 and G12H30).

 

I don't post very often but I read almost every thread. Pretty much just here to learn, as I want to start building a decent home studio after I graduate.

 

Oh yeah, and I'm a computer nerd. Although I stopped keeping up on computer hardware about a year ago. Most of it is just marketing hype now, IMO.

 

So that's me

 

edit: Forgot to add, I registered in 2001, spent 2 years in the guitar forum, and I left after I stopped finding new information. A year later I came back to HC, but this time I'm chillin' in the recording forum.

[Lee Knight]

Hey there everyone.

 

I'm 45

 

Played profesionally since I was a junior in High School (fake ID, 5 nights week house band)

 

Got deal with MCA in '83. Got 3 weeks of fame on a new thing called MTV. Got dumped from label soon after.

 

Continued playing until '93.

 

Studied Acoustics at Columbia in Chicago under the great Malcolm Chisholm.

 

Got into telephone audio and voice over work. Scored cushy corporate gig.

 

Buit home studio (thanks Malcolm)

 

Reformed my old Power Pop band Four Eyes (International Pop Overthrow

this Sat in LA!)

 

Release Four Eyes album Aug 9 Zip Records

 

I've started producing young bands that float my boat

[bjorked]

Hello All

 

My name is Mike and my background is mostly musical. I have a Bachelors of Music (Jazz Guitar Performance) from the Maynard Ferguson Institute of Jazz and most of what I do is related to playing the guitar, although I did study recording techniques in college as well. Lately, I've been doing a lot of session work for production companies mainly in the Hip-Hop / R&B styles - and playing jazz gigs as well. I play all genres of music from classical to rock and occasionally I'll play a gig in a style other than jazz. When I'm not playing, I'm teaching guitar or music theory to youngsters.

 

Also, I have my own project studio (check out the website) that is growing by the day. Although I have been recording for years, I still consider myself a student of the art.

 

As far as what I listen to... I have very ecclectic taste in music. I grew up on the beatles and zeppelin but I love brian eno, bowie, radiohead, sonic youth, the roots, outkast, the flaming lips, and of course BJORK! also too many more to mention... some classical music I dig is music from Stravinsky, Shostakovich, and Bartok. But my true love is Jazz and in that realm Ella, John Scofield, Monk, Wes Montgomery, Bill Evans, and COLTRANE are at the top of the list.

[jwag]

Hey guys, I'm a transplant from the Recording forum that meanders between this site and several more. I've been doing the whole home recording bit for about 2 years and have been in several bands.

 

Most recently I was in a jam band/jazz group that was pretty successful in the dfw scene playing keyboards/singing. In that band our guitarist's grandmother initially got me on the ivories when I was 11 and since she's been retired (many years ago) I've relied on ears to improve my chops which I guess has been alright. I pretty much write original tunes but artists I've drawn inspiration from are Acoustic Alchemy, Pat Metheny (Lyle Mays) and Widespread Panic to name a few.

 

Recently I've entered the Cubase arena and although it's been pretty frustrating, I'm only recording keyboard/sequenced tracks/guitars with no live drums, although I have that capability. Feel free to let me know if you have any questions about the live/recording scene in Fort Worth-Dallas.

 

-Jake

[greendoor]

I'm more of a troll really. Actually, i'm also Kiwiburger. Straight up. I forgot my HC password at work once, and being desperate to reply to something I now have completely no recollection of, I got myself another identity using my work email address.

 

All the doors in my studio are dark green. Two of them have double glazed windows in them.

[Chris Groegler]

My name is Chris Groegler and I'm Senior Sound Designer at Red Storm Entertainment. I attended college as a trumpet performance major and soon changed to a composition major. I also studied studio recording and had a lot of experience hanging out in studios thanks to a guitar friend who got killer studio gigs. Over the years I've build up a home studio and compose for fun and for work. I'm a keyboard player so I have a lot of MIDI gear.

 

I also have a part-time job through Gale Force Media running live audio mixes for The Carolina Hurricanes and NC State football and basketball games.

 

I've worked in post production and I've mixed shows for The Discovery Channel and Animal Planet, and mixed a feature documentary that played at festivals. I took a break for about three years from the gaming industry to work in post and it really helped me to get a better grasp of what the audience hears and feels and has made me a better sound designer because of it. So if you can study in a different principle, I'd recommend it greatly. I regret not studying electronics at an earlier age.

 

I truly love all kinds of music and think that having a broad knowledge of all styles is a must if working with music. It's great to share ideas and learn from forums like this one. There is so much talent and info out here it's crazy. It's what you do with that info that'll get you somewhere.

 

Chris

[RaGe]

Call me Regis, that's my real name and spare me the Kathy Lee jokes

 

I am a pianist turned composer. Been playing in bands since age 13, did a zillion live shows etc ... After a brief stay at LA's Musicians Institute I went to UCLA Film Scoring program and found my true calling. I did work on a few scoring projects but because of life's turns and twists I haven't been able to concentrate in full on my "carreer" but things are going to change soon.

 

Two years ago I built my own studio, a large 2-car garage that I converted. I like to think we did a good job but now space has become an issue and I will be moving out. So if anyone has questions about studio construction I usually can help to the best of my knowledge or point you to a good ressource on the web.

 

Musically I like many styles ... From RATM to John Coltrane, from Steel Pulse to Kanye West, from James Newton Howard to Mongo Santamaria, I always keep my mind and ears open to good music. I would call jazz my favourite genre though ... Keith Jarrett and Herbie are gods.

 

I am an eternal student of engineering and mixing for which I have also developed a real passion over the years.

 

Nuendo on an AMD64 has been my tool of choice and no it never crashes!

 

Good to have so many professionals on this board, there's still so much to learn.

 

See you around.

 

RaGe

[Will Chen]

My name is Will. I've been playing guitar for about 20 years and recording myself and friends for around 12 (starting on 4-track cassette and migrating to various versions of Cakewalk Pro and currently using Cubase LE). I also sing and play keys.

 

I'm largely self taught, but spent a couple years studying music at the University of North Texas (degree in Radio/TV/Film) and have read countless books on different aspects of the industry.

 

I played semi-professionally (5 to 10 gigs a month) traveling around the mid-south in the late 90's/early 00's with a band named Floodwaters. Currently not gigging but working on new songs with a bassist.

 

Eventually, I would love to shift my carreer to audio production (music and foley) full time but right now I'm just trying to get a decent project studio together to earn a little money on the side and gain more experience.

 

edit: Forgot, if you read any of my posts you'll recognize the trend that I feel technique is often more important than equipment and getting good sounds on a budget is a realistic goal. I'll always be the one posting advice against the [pro] grain when noobs ask questions about gear. Then again..by no means am I a pro.

[Kendrix]

Grew up in the sixties on LI.

My father was a huge music fan- we had the best stereo in town.

Im sure this environment infuenced me.

However, the love of music was definately in my DNA.

Earliest memories are of banging out melodies on those kiddie zylophones and/or a neighbors piano when I was 4-5.

 

The fillmore east scene was happening when i was in HS. So I got very into all that. Got to see the Doors, Who, Hendrix x3, Zeppelin, Stones in 69, yada yada yada.

Ive been like this ever since :>)

 

Was in local bands while in HS/some of college.

Then, cause I did well in school ( {censored} that ruined everything), I left music behind to pursue- hell I dont know what.

For several years i was a spectator / avid music lover but not an active participant. Then...

 

Mid life crisis home studio was begun while I was living in Tokyo in the mid-nineties ( the big co. I work for sent me there). We bought an electric piano to take overseas so that my daughter could continue taking lessons. It had a midi port. It was in the same room as my PC. One thing led to another. A sequencer, cassette based 8 track, then an early Akai HD recorder, a real pre, some good mics... on and on it went. (Shibuya section of Tokyo is chock full of music retailers- and it was 5 minutes from my apartment)

 

Been cranking out demos of my original material ever since.

Main instrument is Guitar. Also dabble on bass & sax.

Primarliy i do all this as a solkitary activity- its a one man operation.

 

At this point, while Id love to get a song picked up by some real performer, my musical endeavors are mostly for my own entertainment. Im totally OK with that.

 

As a physics major and musician i just love the combination of technical and artistic elements that have to come together to pull anything worthwhile off in the way of music production.

If I could figure out how to transition out of my corporate gig into semi-retirement while working at some level to actually earn a few bucks as an recording engineer/producer - I would love to pull that off some day -because ...

 

" Most people die with their music still inside them"

 

(this is a favorite quote i picked up on SSS some time ago- I forget who it was from.)

 

Cheers

[rhythminmind]

Names Eric

raised in new england, transplanted to LA/Santa Monica..

 

As a musician i am first off a Drummer/Percussionist but i have also morphed into synth programmer/loopmaker over the years .. I enjoy creating many types of music, from acoustic folk to distorted IDM.. I do the band thing to satisfy my drumming/live band recording and mixing needs.. i also have a electronic solo project that i get my technical / synth urges out with..

 

I am a audio engineer by day.

with a history of live, and studio mixing/engineering. i've been in and out of recording studios from early on. i also started home recording at an early age. self taught microphone technique by experience/studio time. always producing and engineering projects. tracked&mixed a hand full of music sessions. working at music and sound design studios i created sound design for web/short film/and commercial spots. currently working for pop sound. pop is a digital surround mixing house for film,music, and advertising.