Audio
(click song titles to expand or hide music player)
This little diddy marked the beginning of the audio recording rabbit hole for me. I had discovered the joys of playing with Garageband and was using it for practicing my drumming. I record myself in order to learn and correct my errors. I used a Tascam US-122 USB audio interface, a Crown PZM 30-D on the floor next to my kick pedal and a Audio-Technica AT-2035 directly over the kit (a Sonor Force 3000 with Paiste tins). A small amount of reverb was added in post. The piano riff was something someone showed me when I was about 10 years old. Once I discovered how MIDI file notation worked in GB, I just played the riff and built the tune around it.
This tune was recorded into Logic Pro using a MOTU 896HD and Sennhieser e9xx “Evolution” mics. My objective was to get good sounding toms. Up until this point, I’d never been completely satisfied with the sound and tuning I was getting from my Sonor birch toms. This little project was a great way to learn about gating & EQ’ing toms. Gear: Sonor, Paiste, Sennheiser e9xx mics, MOTU 896HD, Logic Pro.
This was an experiment with the audience tracks provided with Logic and something with a unique history: plate reverb. My objective was to make the audio sound a bit like a bootleg recording and send it to a friend as a joke. The audio quality is bizarre and the joke was successful. Gear: Sonor, Paiste, Sennheiser e9xx mics, MOTU 896HD, Logic Pro.
I had just installed the Apple Symphony Jam Pack and loved how the double basses and flute sounded, so I wrote this as a learning experience. The violin & viola sounds are not the greatest, but are worth the two-digit price tag. All the instruments are from the Symphony Jam Pack, which are MIDI triggered samples. Arlene had nothing to do with it, but the flute reminds me of her. Gear: Logic 7, Jam Pack 4, M-Audio Keystation Pro 88.
It was a July 4th weekend and I wanted to write something relaxing. I had been reading about automation in Logic Pro and decided to give it a try. In this recording I automate a simple reverb effect. At the beginning of every “verse” reverb is off completely and slowly mixes back in over the course of 4 measures. I love how the sound of the drums dilutes from dry to drippy-wet by the time the vocals come in. As the reverb increases it really pushes their sound back in the soundscape. Another aspect of this piece was to get my cymbals sounding great. The trick: don’t play hard. heh. Gear: Tama Starclassic, Paiste, Sennheiser e9xx & Audio-Technica AE2500 mics, MOTU 896HD, PreSonus DigiMax 96K, Logic Pro.
Dance Beat
What do you get when you mix a pack of M&Ms and Logic’s Delay Designer? A seven-minute dance beat composed of simple rhythmic patterns. I found the Delay Designer plug-in by surprise and it’s great for practice. Any variation from the tempo is clearly audible. heh. Gear: Tama Starclassic, Paiste, Sennheiser e9xx & Audio-Technica AE2500 mics, MOTU 896HD, PreSonus DigiMax 96K, Logic Pro.