What Pedals Actually Sound Like on Record

[Mikoo69]

Thank you for all the support. AidyCM we really appreciate you spreading the music to your friends, as we are completely unsigned and have no label/PR/marketing support, we are relying on word of mouth to get the music out there and hopefully get us on tour, as we live for playing live!

[Poltergeist]

how much does it cost to be recorded by the man? just out of curiosity.

your band {censored}ing rules.

[Mikoo69]

you can find rates on www.electrical.com - factor in using Steve or another engineer, Studio A vs B, how many days you want to book, and how many reels of 2" tape and 1/2" mixdown tape you'll need.

 

we used Steve in Studio A and booked 4 days, but only used half of the 4th day to finish up some mixing. 2 reels of 2" tape ($275/reel) and 4 reels of 1/2" tape ($75/reel).

 

also, if you record @ Electrical, I highly recommend booking an "attended" mastering session at Chicago Mastering Service with Bob Weston directly after.

[ponch]

yh ive often had the same thought as to what they sound like, i have some pedals that recording artists have but they make them sound a lot different and what not, yes i know its what guitars and amps they use with them, but most of the times they sound awesome !!!
just downloading the album aswell !!!

[A.P. Ryder]

Great! Albini is a legend, so you're pretty lucky, I think.
Thanks for the thread - very cool.

[arcarsenal72]

Awesome thread is awesome. Thanks for the breakdown on gear, the album sounds great

[Mikoo69]

just received the vinyl test pressings....going to listen now. can't wait.

[Mikoo69]

the vinyl sounds amazing. it's difficult to explain exactly what the qualitative difference is, though certain parts really stand out in a way i never heard them. listening on vinyl really accentuates the nuances and intricacies of the recording, i.e. the warbly guitar in the "By Myself" verse and on "The Outcome" sounds even more warbly. The softer parts of the record almost sound like the vocal is sitting in the room with you, it's that natural sounding.

I'm not sure how else to explain it, but i will say this record definitely benefits from being listened to loud on vinyl. i guess you'd have to hear it.

Josh (singer/drummer) hand stamping the vinyl artwork:

[joncyberboy]

I have some stuff recorded, but can't upload it properly yet ):

[andtrea]

Fantastic thread, thanks for this... you have all my possible envy.

I want to listen carefully the record before to express further opinions, but after a fast taste the "Albini reverb" is still the best for me, on drums too from the first time I've heard "In Utero" is my reference).

[Bodge]

Good thread. Will download the album when I get home from work.

As for a few questions, I'm guessing you guys had the album pretty much down before you went to record, do you have any home recordings of this?

did you alter any of the songs during the recording process?
which of the songs were you most happy with how they came out? (did any songs surprise you?)
Did Steve etc recommend any changes to the structure of the songs or just how to capture them and record them?
Likewise with the settings on your effects pedals?

Did the team at the studio give you any pearls of wisdom you could pass on?

[Mikoo69]

Bodge, some great questions.

 

The songs were rehearsed for many months before we went into the studio. We knew we wanted to track everything live, with no overdubs or edits. This meant if someone made a bad mistake (there are good mistakes), we would redo the entire take. It would not have been possible to record this way in under 3 days without a tremendous amount of rehearsal.

 

The band tracked all the instruments in the first day with the exception of "Tremors" which was done in the first 5 minutes of the second day. The second and third day was vocals and mixing.

 

Steve does not act as a producer at all. He is an engineer, and is only there to capture the music. He was glad to answer any of our questions in regards to technical matters of recording, sonics, etc. Also, any changes to song structures/arrangements were made long before we entered the studio, as we didn't want to waste money doing that in Chicago.

 

I have no preference for one song over another. The entire record feels like one whole performance to me, and when writing it, we always kept in mind the overall concept of the record, both lyrically and musically, so that it would function as one piece of music. That being said, "You're Strange", "Caught Off Guard", "It's Good Enough Now", "No One Knows No One" and "The Outcome" were all nailed on the first take, which was really exciting in the studio.

 

I'm going to get a coffee, I will talk about effects pedal settings later today.

[Mikoo69]

pedal settings:

 

the deluxe reverb does not get much louder past 5 on the volume knob. this allows me to crank the outputs of the overdrives and fuzzes to get maximum volume boost and get the power tubes pushing as hard as possible.

 

for instance, my analogman sunface has both the fuzz and volume knobs on max.

 

i always prefer the sound of power tube distortion, so all of my dirt stompboxes are full up on the volume, and then the drive knob and tone knobs are set to taste. this works well with a Deluxe Reverb, probably would be too loud with a Twin Reverb.

 

in addition, I have the DM-2 set for a long delay, the DD-2 for a short, 1 repeat slapback, and the DD-6 set on the "warp" function, which acts as a sustain pedal. utilizing the DD-6 with my guitars volume knob, I can create all the swells ala "It's Good Enough Now".

 

Mojovibe is always on vibrato setting, and i contrl rate with my foot based on the desired effect.

[husky025]

This is definitely a great thread. Here is my attempt to chime in...(definitely didn't take as good of notes as Mikoo69, but when the recording process is spread out over an extended period of time, its easy to forget that kind of thing)

 

Gentle Ghost - Family

 

you can stream the whole record at www.wearegentleghost.com and also download or order the LP w/ download which we did all of the packaging for (design, hand screening, laser cutting, etc.)

 

We recorded with Chris Harris at Bell Labs/Hook Echo in Norman, Ok earlier this year. Chris has worked on a lot of really awesome stuff including recently working on the Flaming Lips "Dark Side of the Moon" record. Anyways...we have three guitarists so i will try to recall what all was used by the other dudes, but i know for sure what i had on my board at the time. Anyways, we tracked everything live at bell lab's and then moved to my house to record all of the guitar overdubs.

 

here is the lowdown:

 

Guitars:

Gibson SG Standard (1974)

Fender Telecaster (USA 2000)

Fender Jaguar (1964)

Gibson Les Paul Recording Model (1970's)

Gibson Les Paul Custom (1970's)

 

Amps:

Marshall JMP 100w (1974) (4x12 w/ greenbacks)

Fender Princeton Reverb Reissue (2009)

Fender Vibro Champ (Silverface)

 

Effects:

EHX Cathedral Reverb (used on nearly every track i played guitar on in some form or fashion...lots of the ambient stuff like the beginning of Kerosene Rags and segues between songs was done using the "infiinite hold" on this pedal...the plate setting was used on the segue between "Please don't go out tonight" and "The Bear"

 

Ibanez TS-9 (Keeley Mod) -This was my main distortion throughout the record.

 

EHX/Sovtek Big Muff (Civil War) - used at the beginning of Contortionist, end of Monarch Pass and various other spots.

 

Ibanez AD-9 (vintage) "The Bear"

 

Boss TR-2 (Keeley Mod) - "Joe College Strikes Out Again", "Call Me Back to Bed"

 

Line 6 DL-4(used mainly on the auto volume feature, see "beginning of Please Don't Go Out Tonight" and "Kerosene Rags"

 

Dr. Scientist Sunny Day Delay

 

Ibanez 10 series Chorus (weird 1980's pedal that has been painted over so we aren't sure which chorus it is...hear it at the end solo of "Contortionist".

 

anyways...i am sure there are pedals i am forgetting, but if there is a particular sound you wanted to know about...feel free to ask and if i don't know, i will ask the other guys.

[Fatso Forgottso]

Bodge, some great questions. The songs were rehearsed for many months before we went into the studio. We knew we wanted to track everything live, with no overdubs or edits. This meant if someone made a bad mistake (there are good mistakes), we would redo the entire take. It would not have been possible to record this way in under 3 days without a tremendous amount of rehearsal. The band tracked all the instruments in the first day with the exception of "Tremors" which was done in the first 5 minutes of the second day. The second and third day was vocals and mixing. Steve does not act as a producer at all. He is an engineer, and is only there to capture the music. He was glad to answer any of our questions in regards to technical matters of recording, sonics, etc. Also, any changes to song structures/arrangements were made long before we entered the studio, as we didn't want to waste money doing that in Chicago. I have no preference for one song over another. The entire record feels like one whole performance to me, and when writing it, we always kept in mind the overall concept of the record, both lyrically and musically, so that it would function as one piece of music. That being said, "You're Strange", "Caught Off Guard", "It's Good Enough Now", "No One Knows No One" and "The Outcome" were all nailed on the first take, which was really exciting in the studio. I'm going to get a coffee, I will talk about effects pedal settings later today.

 

Awesome, that's exactly how my band is preparing to record. Tons and tons of rehearsals (up to four times and at least once a week every week of this summer) in preparation for quick, easy studio time. The only difference is that we don't have vocals, and we're planning to record in two days. How many hours did you do each day?

[Mikoo69]

each day was about 12 hours, with one 45 min break for dinner. i don't think anyone in the band could stay focused for much longer than that.

[Kidbs]

Excellent thread, excellent music, excellent tone! Seriously this is one great recording. I really love the stereo spread of the drums in headphones. It makes me laugh at bands that spend a year recording an album.

Very nice effect work too. I know a lot of that stuff can be difficult to pull of perfectly in a live situation. It is very evident that you guys practice a lot. :phil:

[Bodge]

thanks for answering the questions. liking the album

any idea how much it would be to ship the vinyl to the UK?

[richey888]

I don't hear a single (just kidding)....Mikoo - great thread, but greater record. I'm hooked! Working w/ Steve had to be a thrill, SO jealous but the end result is amazing. A band I was in in the late 80's was courted by a major, had a heavyweight engineer (ultimately fell apart), but I suppose it was the label guy, I wanted to record to tape with my FX and they were having no part of it. "we'll add it later, fix it in the mix, blah blah". I get it that you use them as part of the song and am guessing you couldn't do it any other way (am I way off the mark here?), and a lucky sonofabitch to be able to have done it your way, with incredible results I might add. Thanks so much for sharing!

[Mikoo69]

kidbs and richy - the effects work was very difficult to pull off live at first, but now is second nature. it took us a few shows to get the hang of it, but at this point i can reproduce the entire record with ease...still, the part of playing live is to take risks, so i try to expand upon the ideas in a live situation experimenting and improvising with the effects.

 

all the effects are part of the song and if you asked me to play these songs on acoustic guitar, i wouldn't know where to begin. however, it's very important to us that our songs stand alone as "songs" regardless of the production, so we have performed and recorded everything with just vocals and piano to make sure that there's actually a memorable song underneath all of the sound. "you're strange", "in the shadow of a doubt", "caught off guard", "no one knows no one" were all written at the piano in the first place.

[Saturnine10]

Sick album

[Mikoo69]

to anyone who ordered vinyl, sorry for the delay. the record pressing plant took 2 weeks longer than promised, we are getting the vinyl the day before our release show (whew). vinyl and cds are being shipped out monday.

 

if you're in the NYC/Brooklyn area, our release show is this Saturday night @ Cameo Art Gallery (N6th btwn Berry and Wythe) and it's completely free to attend. doors to the stage become free @10:30 and we go on at 11pm. make sure to introduce yourself if you come!

 

also, stay tuned for an interview/blog with Grandfather on SonicScoop about the recording process sometime in the next few weeks.

[Mikoo69]

FYI if anyone is in the area, we are on a short tour now. Come down and say hi, let's talk gear at the show!

 

TUE Oct 19 - Delilah's on Cayuga (The Wildfire Lounge) -Ithaca, New York

THUR Oct 21 - Annabelles w/ Fillmore Jive - Akron, Ohio

FRI Oct 22 - Carabar w/ The Tenth Generation - Columbus, Ohio

SAT Oct 23 - Grog Shop w/ The Hobs - Cleveland, Ohio

TUE Oct 26 - Cameo Art Gallery w/ Geezer on Diesel - Brooklyn, NY

FRI Oct 29 - Lit Lounge w/ Quilty - New York, New York