Phil O'Keefe

Originally posted by MitchSchaft He looks like Chad Dyer. That explains a lot. And you sir, look like Zakk... that also explains a lot.

Guys, as I explained way back when the spam sticky was started, we can allow you one spam thread for your personal WTB and FS posts... and we ask that you keep your spam stuff in there. If we allow all of you to do spam threads, two things happen. We wind up with a board full of spam threads (and start getting complaints - most of them from respected forum regulars who I shall not name) and the REAL spammers - you kow, the nOObs who register and start spamming, corporate spammers etc. try to throw it back in our face - "well hey dood, I read the rulez, and it does say no spam, but uh, why are you letting everyone else do it?" If you want to discuss the merits of a particular item you're considering purchasing, feel free to start a thread and ask question and discuss it at will. Yes, that can be a loophole, and I doubt someone is going to close or pull the thread if it's worded as "Hey, I'm considering getting a MKI Boogie - what do you think?" and then someone else comes along later in the discussion and says "dood, I have one for sale - I'll PM you". But other than that, please just use the dedicated thread and don't give me a lot of grief over it, okay?

...that you think, or that others have told you, that the sound of your work most closely approximates. And if it's different, the one engineer / producer that you wish your work more closely approximates. And if different still, the one producer and / or engineer that you most highly admire. The reasons for your admiration could be whatever you want - sound, work ethic, financial success, personality... whatever. Please state the reasons for your answers. (I think this might be interesting). PS In the off chance that anyone was considering it, thanks anyway, but I do NOT want to show up on anyone's lists - I'm not "famous".

Originally posted by chris carter I will point out that I love the quality of the lead vocal. You've shared the recording chain, I'm curious if you'd like to share what you did with it at mixdown. I'll get some more comments on the signal paths and what I did in mixdown up within the next day or two. I'm currently painting my wife's office / home studio, and while I am already on coat #4 (dark colors are a pain ), there's still much work to be done.

Originally posted by sizzlemeister Right. No questions or criticisms please, just post if you have love. Don't be a h8er. I think he brought up a couple of valid points (ie vocals and songwriting being crucial elements of a successful production), but OTOH, I do NOT, repeat NOT expect everyoe to blow sunshine up my backside, and your comments and suggestions were HIGHLY appreciated.

BL, thanks for your feedback Brother - I really appreciate it.

Yup, that's correct IIRC. Still have not eaten yet.

Shoot for average levels in the middle of your meters and you should be fine. IOW, mostly green with some yellow, and never in the red. The idea is to leave yourself a bit of headroom. More details to follow... I've gotta go eat.

I've fooled a few people - including a few reviewers - with the piano sounds on Julie Day's record - www.julieday.org (there's samples on the site under the "listen" heading). Those are all SP88X and Gigastudio - but mostly the Kurzweil. With a little work, those Kurzweil pianos can be extremely realistic sounding IMO, and the keyboard action actually is very nice. If you're looking for good acoustic piano sounds, and need a weighted-action controller or stage piano, the SP88X is a great deal.

Originally posted by gsHarmony By the way Phil, is this a band that is local to Riverside? If so, I would love to support them by showing up to a few gigs. Two of the guys attend Azusa Pacific University, but are from Colorado. Nate is currently attending PIT in LA. I'm sure they'll be doing some IE gigs, and I'll keep you posted. Thanks for your support!

Originally posted by sizzlemeister The piano on Fall On Me sounds bad. Like a Casio piano. Too crisp - no dynamic. I'd try a different source on that. First of all, thanks for taking the time to listen. Secondly, thank you for your honesty - it's appreciated! Okay, the piano... well, to be honest, I wasn't wild about the piano tones myself. And I have everything I need onhand to replace it too. When I tracked, I threw down audio and MIDI from the source keyboard - Tyler's Yamaha Motif 8. And to be honest, I think the acoustic piano in it is too bright and "digital sounding" on the top end. I greatly prefer the pianos in our Kurzweil SP88, or even some Gigastudio pianos I have. So, why didn't I replace it? Honestly, it was a time issue. The guys wanted to have something ready to give out to all their friends at college by the summer break, and I was working under a pretty tight deadline. However, we're doing a full-length CD this fall, and for that release, there will be some piano replacement. And there's no punch to the recordings. They sound clean and "sparkly" but there's no punch. Can I get your definition of the word "punch" please? For that matter, if anyone else wants to voice their opinion on what "punch" means to them, I'd appreciate it - I'd like to discuss this further, but I want to get on the same page as everyone first. Again, thanks for taking the time to listen and for posting your honest opinions.

Pics of the gig to come later. Blas, thx for using your limited bandwidth on d/l and listening to that. Semper Fi. See you all on Monday!

BTW, I just came back from OYY's very first gig, and the place was packed shoulder to shoulder; the crowd was off the hook, and the guys did great! Congrats on a great gig guys (and yes, I know you're reading this - don't hesitate to register and say "hello" ) - you couldn't have asked for a cooler debut gig than that one. We had a great time. And it sure looked like you did too.

Yes, on all three songs, it was just one snare mic, on the snare shell, using an Audix i-5, into a Vintech Dual 72, and again, just a touch (+/- 3dB) of Aphex 106 compression on the way into Pro Tools. I'd tell you I really like the Aphex, but they're discontinued, and I may want to pick another one up on Ebay at some point, so why make it harder on myself? I don't think I listed the drum stuff in this thread, although I think I described a little of it on Craig's forum. So here it is in agonizing detail: The overheads were a take-off on the classic "three mic" technique positioning. I used Audio Technica 4041's. One nearly directly centered over the snare, approx. 42" up above it. The second was lower, over by and "peeking over" the floor tom (4 pc. Pearl kit BTW), aimed "across" the floor tom and at the dead center of the snare drum. Again, 42" or so away from the middle of the snare drum. Yes, I measured. Both of those went into a FMR RNP and RNC - which are fantastic tools. Not just "for the money" - they really are incredible bargains. Toms were both Audix D2's, although I may have been using a 421 on the floor tom at one point - I'll have to check the notes on that and get back to you. But it's mostly the D2's. IIRC, I had them on the top heads, out near the far rim (furthest away from the drummer), about the width of my hand above the rim, with the mics angled inwards between the "tone" and "attack" zones of the heads. I was just trying to catch it where it had some punch and attack as well as tone. Just a clean, natural sound but with a little slap and punch. The preamps were Yamaha i88X. I still think that box is worth the price for the preamps alone. The kick was the hardest thing on the kit. Everything else went up relatively fast and easy, but the kick wasn't quite working for me in the room as we were listening to it, and of course, that means that it wasn't happening when it was miked up. So we had to play around with that a bit more in terms of tune and damping and so forth. I used a EV RE20 into the Vintech / Aphex 106, but I hit the comp a little bit harder going in than I did on the snare... but not a lot. Maybe in the "- 6dB on the peaks" range. The second mic was a Yamaha Subkick, into one of the board preamps on my Yamaha 01V96 and printed to a second track in PT. Speaking of damping, we tried a few diifferent things, and ended up using a touch of Moon Gell on most of the drums - just enough to control - but not lose - some overtones. But the kit came in set up very nice. The best guy locally that I have found is Todd over at Ontario Music - he really knows how to set a kit up, and with the exception of the kick, I really liked the way he had this one dialed in. There's something else that contributed a bit to the drums, and that's an analog tape stage. I mixed to both digital and analog (Otari MX5050 IIb - 456 @ 15 IPS) and took both mixes to mastering. I transfered the analog mixes to 24 / 96 WAV files and brought Bill Dooley both sets of mixes and told him he could pick his preference. He picked the analog mixes over the digital ones, which I kind of suspected he would. What contributed the most to how the drums sounded was Nate Lotz. He's not overly flashy (not a bad thing), and he plays solid and consistent. Once we had the kit set up and I had him play for me the first time on it in the studio, I knew we were going to be fine after hearing just a couple of bars. He hits the snare, he doesn't over-hit the brass and hats, and really has a good understanding of dynamics and good, solid time and feel. Yes, the players and sound sources DO matter folks - never forget that! The rest is easy. Well.... okay, maybe not easy, but it's not rocket surgery or brain science either, and if I can do it, blah, blah, yadda, yadda... I know a lot of this stuff is "old news" for a lot of you vets, but I thought I should put down some details for the curious as well as anyone who's getting started and looking for some basic suggestions; but while (as Bruce says) "there are no secrets", every instrument, song and singer is individual and requires its own approach and you've gotta listen and use whatever works. If I'm not boring everyone silly, I'll describe a bit more about the rest of the instruments and vocals when I get back from Tucson. I'll be playing there this Sunday at the Tucson Folk Festival backing up my buddy John McGill ("Toxic Potatoe" on the forums), along with John's wife Sally and our friend Ralph Torres ("Songrytr"). We're bringing a laptop along, but I don't know how much we'll be able to post from out there, but I'll try to check in a few times over the weekend. I'll be back on Monday. In the meantime, thanks again for listening. And while I'm gone, as always, please remember the forum motto - be excellent to each other!

Originally posted by MarkGifford-1 Really liked it, Phil. Total package. Thanks for listening Mark. One comment - they need a new name, One Year Yesterday has "emo" written all over it. Definitely took me by surprise, when it started playing. It may seem trivial, but if an old fart like me picks up on it... Someone more "in the loop" may pass w/o even listening to it, just because of the name. Sort of like naming a straight ahead jazz outfit "The Cowhands." I'll pass that along. But to be honest, I suck at picking out names. Besides, A&R has to do something. We're about ready to pull the trigger on an Elux 251 - what made you pick that over the many other 251 clones out there? Well, I used to have two vintage ELA M251 E's, and side by side, this is so close, and in some ways a touch better... and on top of that, what I got for just one of the vintage models was enough to pay for the ELUX as well as a pair of ADAM S3-A's. But to be honest, I have not heard all the different 251-esque mics that are available today. There's the Peluso, and the Lawson.... neither of which I have heard yet. Actually, I may have a chance to audition Ken's Lawson L251 late this month, which I'm looking forward to. But if you decide to pull the trigger on an ELUX, I'm sure you won't be disappointed. We've got an E-47, which we love, and are looking for that "other" high-end vocal mike. MG I'd love to have an E47. I may just break down and buy one eventually - great mics! Thanks again for taking the time to listen to the mixes, and for the kind words.

Actually, I was hoping for a $50K winning amount... Lemmesee... I just spent some serious moolah today on both a Lovetone Doppelganger AND Wobulator, so I can scratch those off the list. Still need a API 3124 pretty badly... Gotta get a couple Distressors still. Need to do a few more things inside the studio - both acoustic and cosmetic. This isn't gonna be cheap, but I'm almost done with everything. Vox AC15. Lee and I were both impressed with those at NAMM. Gonna get one RSN. I want a Gretsch. I wanted an Electromatic Elliot Easton (G5570) model in Caddy Green, but they've been discontinued. May have to settle for a black (or should I get gold?) Pro Jet instead. I'd definitely pick up a few 17 - 19" LCD monitors to replace the last few CRT's I have left in service. I need to get a Frontier Designs PCI lightpipe card for my Gigastudio computer. I may spring for a Eventide Eclipse with my financial windfall. I would probably buy a couple of Royers and / or AEA ribbons. Another "want" is a saxophone. I'd probably get a Tenor. I used to actually be not half-bad once upon a time, but I have not played in years, and I miss it sometimes. Hmm, what else? There's always something else, isn't there? It never ends... but alas, I think I've already used all 10 K. That's why I wanted the $50K. I still have not purchased my PT HD system, some new converters, and another Yamaha board. I'd probably opt for a DM1000, or maybe a 02R96. Then it's more mics, more outboards, more more more more...... Like I said, it never ends.

:mad: White gloves, yes - I admit to having worn those before. But they were not long. The gown however, is another matter all together. It was long... oh waitaminute...

Thanks. I did the MP3 conversions, but other than that, I didn't do anything beyond what Bill did. And to be honest, I was pretty happy to hear Bill make a few comments such as "well, I had to do some EQ on this one - a cut at 5k..." And when I asked him how much, he said "about a quarter dB". And on another track, it was "well, I'm sitting here twirling knobs, but it's not sounding any better - it sounds great the way it is". It's always nice when you hear the mastering engineer say stuff like that. The MP3 converter I use is pretty darned cool - dBPowerAmp Music Converter. It uses the LAME (or if you wish, Blade) MP3 encoder, and while I am still not the world's biggest MP3 fan, the LAME encoding seems to have less of the objectionable side effects to my ears. I always do MP3's at at least 192 - anything less and it is just too annoying to me. The other cool thing is that it's free. Download located here.

Thanks for the nice comments everyone. I'll be sure to pass them along to the band. I noticed there's a few questions, and I'd like to answer them all, but OTOH, in the studio, I'm like a confessor - and I will not break the sanctity of that without getting permission first. So I'll ask the guys how much they feel comfortable with me sharing about their performances in the studio, and if they're okay with me answering some of the more personal questions, I will. I will say this much though - these young men can actually write, play and sing. Did I use modern studio tools and techniques in an effort to present them in the best possible manner? You bet! That's part of my job. And if I'm going to present them to an A&R rep, which I would like to do, then they're going to expect that. So yes, I used the toolbox, in what I hope was a musical and unobtrusive way. But it's not a "manufactured" production - far from it. I'll say no more without permission. Signal path and so forth is my baby really, so I can comment comfortably there. Tyler's lead vocals were the ELUX 251, with a Stedman pop filter... pretty close range, but that varied. That went into a Vintech Dual72, followed by a Aphex 106 - just tickling the comp at a couple / few dB of GR max. What I did with it in PT, and then on the way back out will have to wait until I check on a few things in the studio to confirm them. I'll post more about the guitar and bass parts a little later when I have a bit more time.... Thanks again for giving it a listen everyone, and for the comments!

Originally posted by gsHarmony The vocals are damn good. If that is a Soundelux 251, then I just bought one. Time to break out the plastic... they're world-class mics. How do you get the scratchy record effect in "fall on me"? You like that? Cool! You can get the plug-in that I used for that, for FREE, right here.

Here's three new songs from a new band I'm producing. Three very nice young guys (all 19 -20) who were easy to work with and just good humans. I had about 3 days in the studio with them, then spent a few more days on the edits and mixes and mastering - mastering done by Bill Dooley at Paramount. http://www.philokeefe.com/20060428/ts_for_intention.mp3 http://www.philokeefe.com/20060428/emily.mp3 http://www.philokeefe.com/20060428/fall_on_me.mp3 I thought some of you might be slightly interested in checking out some of what I've been working on lately. Many of the guitar tracks are my Epi Casino through my new pedalboard into a Fender HR Devile, and we used a lot of Memory Lane delay, as well as a fair amount of Demeter Compulator and Lovetone Brown Source on them, as well as some other stuff. Piano is a Motif 8, and the additional keys on Emily (played by me) are an Oxygen 8 II with the new Digidesign Xpand softsynth. If you have any q's on what I used on anything else, feel free to ask. Full album is scheduled for early this upcoming winter. One Year Yesterday's MySpace page can be found here. Hope you enjoy them.

Well, I'll let you folks in on a couple of secrets. A few years ago, I told my wife I wanted a Lava Lamp for Christmas. Every studio MUST have one - it's the law or something. Anyway, she goes down to Spencer's, and instead of your standard Lava brand motion lamp, she gets me some sort of off brand clone. Except it doesn't look like the standard Lava lamps... it's a big rocket shp. Except everyone, and I do mean nearly everyone, upon first seeing it, tells me it looks like a giant phallic symbol. And you know, it really DID! So eventually, I go to Radio Shack for something or another and I get two of the little mini Lava Lamps... but I've still got this giant phallus sitting there. And I can't get rid of it, because after all, it was a gift from the wife... so anyway, that's the lamp that hit the deck. And no, I did NOT mean for that to happen... at least that's the story I'm sticking with. OTOH, if one of them had to break, I'm glad it was that one.

Originally posted by toddlans so then i guess now you should be getting a giant disco ball. definitely.....giant and shiny. satisfied customer's friend: "Your album sounds great man" satisfied customer "Yeah I know, Phil O'Keefe is the {censored}, but when I went for the mixing session he had this giant disco ball and wouldn't turn off the strobe light. I couldn't tell what the hell he was doing or why he was dancing, but it worked." ROTFL! Great suggestions guys - thanks a bunch.

It was sounding great until I got to #5 Dak.