Lunch Report Mon 09/15/2014

[Craig]

Having finished most of my projects outdoors, I have time and thought I would share some information about our recording which I finished and was available August 1. There is a lot of G&L content, recording is a hobby for me and I know several of you are in bands and may have interest in doing this yourselves at some time. It is very expensive to hire it done. I have ProTools Le version 7.3 which is outdated but I only use it for recording and do not do music production. BTW, lunch will be a left over Wild Rice dish that Ginny made yesterday.

We started this project the end of October last year and here is the basic process that I used

Record tracks
Edit and add tracks as necessary
Add effects if needed
Master to get final CD for reproduction
Get Mechanical License on cover songs.

Our band is The Agates, we are a cover band (someone has to do it!) with 5 members, one of them being my daughter Kari.

Here are the visuals of our CD:

Cover with Kelly on the left and Kari on the right.



Inside credits and CD




And the back cover. Terry left, Steve center and I am on the right.



Kelly , Terry and Kari all do the vocals, Terry is our drummer, Kari on rhythm guitar, Steve doing lead guitar and myself doing bass.


We have thirteen cover songs and one original written by Steve which is the name of our CD. The first step was selecting the songs and we chose a variety that our audience likes. We did all the scratch tracks in three sessions last fall and did the final take on vocals at the same time. The vocalist were very easy to work with on this project so I had the vocals done along with the bass and basic drum tracks. By the end of the year the frame work was done and then I could begin the editing and adding material as needed. The tools available today are great and one of the hazards of recording is overproducing. Steve and I had a lot of discussion about that as I believe that less is good in most cases. Steve did most of the arranging and he and I worked on this together. I'm sure there are a lot of tools that I don't use but, in my opinion, if it sounds good in the end, it is good. I use my ears even though I have hearing aids.

The instruments used for this recording were mostly G&L. The majority of the lead work was done on Steve's Tribute Asat Special which he says has killer tone. Some was done on the Bowling Ball Green Legacy and all the sax, marimba, squeeze box, piano, organ, and strings were done on A G&L Legacy that I installed a Roland GR 30 pickup on, into a Roland GR 20 guitar synth. The patches are pretty convincing and we use them at gigs. People are always looking for the horn player. The bass work was done an Asat bass, and Tribute M-2500 and one song I used the Pink Lady (EB MusicMan Stingray 5) for a different sound.

I am posting this because I believe that some of you are already doing recording and the results can be very rewarding. More tomorrow and here are the first three songs on the CD. By the way, this was not intended to be a money venture but something we wanted to do for our families and people attending our gigs are always asking if we have a cd to purchase.

The first song is Eighteen Wheels, a song done by Kathy Mattea. The lead work was done on the Asat Special and the bass on the Asat bass.
http://www.guitarsbyleo.com/GALLERY2/ma ... emId=13147

And When Will I Be Loved, a song done by the Everly Brothers, also done by Linda Rongstat. Here is our version. Again the Asat Special, Asat Bass and Legacy Synth.
http://www.guitarsbyleo.com/GALLERY2/ma ... emId=13150

Invitation To The Blues. This song has been around since the 50's and done by several artists, most recently Rodney Crowell and Emmy Lou Harris. It is one of my favorites. This was done on the Legacy Synth guitar and the Asat bass.
http://www.guitarsbyleo.com/GALLERY2/ma ... emId=13152

Any questions, please ask. More tomorrow. -- Darwin

Last edited by Craig on Mon Sep 15, 2014 4:28 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Reason: Fixed date

sweet !! ... our band was just talking about recording so what great timing .... at work so I'm sure I'll have some questions later

Sorry folks, I am a week ahead, Maybe Craig can edit the date to Sept 15. Not too bad for a guy my age! -- Darwin

Sorry folks, I am a week ahead, Maybe Craig can edit the date to Sept 15. Not too bad for a guy my age! -- Darwin

Subject date fixed.

Eric, There is a lot of good software available to do your own recording in fact if you have a Mac, Garage Band is included. I have not used it but it is on my Mac. The most important thing about recording is to be prepared with your content. If you go to a recording studio time is essential and editing is very expensive if a lot is required. It takes a lot more time than one would think.

The name of our CD is Freakquent Flyer, it is Steve's original and the theme of our CD, the Concord, and boarding passes. Here is a link to the Freakquent Flyer CD in the Gallery if you are interested in listening to the other tracks.-- Darwin

http://www.guitarsbyleo.com/GALLERY2/main.php?g2_itemId=13146

just didn't have time last night , was out car shopping for my wife ..... uugh

Great stuff Darwin

I used to follow Kathy Mattea quite a bit, like that song.

Who are those young guys on the CD? Stand in talent for photo shots?

Sam, the guys on the back cover were cheap, next to nothing! The ladies on the front were a whole different matter. Priceless! Thanks Sam-- Darwin