Blog

  • 3 Reasons Recording in a Professional Studio Can Save You Money, Time, & Stress

    Just like the art of making music, recording music is also an art – and a science.  If not recorded with the same level of expertise, skill, passion, and creativity as when an artist’s lyrics and chords are first composed, the end result that the world hears will never, ever reflect the musician’s true vision and voice.

    Whether you are an independent musician who wants to freshen up your bedroom demos or you’re a major label artist who can make his own Lucille weep between lyrics like B.B. King, capturing your indisputably-unique sound and essence in the recorded form is an undertaking that demands an attention to detail and expertise above and beyond that of a gifted songwriter or talented musician.

    No matter what size session you require, securing the services of a world-class major recording studio is truly the only practical and affordable way to get your music ready to share with the world.

    Here’s why:

    A major recording studio will save you money

    Although the initial investment may seem like more than you want to spend today, over the long run, the final product always ends up being less expensive than going to a fly-by-night studio or trying to get your sound just right on your own.  By working with a team of top-notch music recording professionals from the moment you enter an acoustically tuned space and a professionally designed studio no time is wasted.  From the engineer’s end, it’s done right the first time. Should you decide to tweak it, improvise, or change it midstream, you have a talented team manning the controls who can both go with the flow or offer suggestions.  Since not all major recording studios are financially accessible to independent artists on the brink of making it big, it is important to find one that respects and appreciates working with every serious musician ~ from the still-unknown solo artists to the mega rock and pop stars.

    A full-service recording studio will save you time

    Your most important commodity in your life is your time.  Instead of spending countless sleepless nights trying to figure out the best way to record your music on your own, it’s a sound business decision to just hire professionals to take care of that feat for you. It doesn’t mean you can’t do it, it just means you’d rather spend your time writing even more music and leave the recording in the hands of professionals who do it fulltime – 24/7.

    An established, state-of-the-art recording studio will save you stress

    Some musicians make themselves so stressed out trying to record their own music, that by the time it (finally) gets done, half of the band has quit, no new tunes have been written, or the spark that was once ignited by the songs seems to have gone out. You already spend every minute of each day’s 24 hours writing, creating, practicing, or performing your craft. You talk about music, study it, and often wake up in the middle of the night having dreamt about it. And that’s how it should be.  Don’t make yourself frustrated trying to record it all on your own now.

    Choosing to record your music in a professional full-service recording studio filled with top-of-the-line recording gear, a highly-skilled and experienced engineering and production staff, quality instruments, and an inspiring and creative environment (versus recording your latest (or first) magnum opus at some rented house, your  buddy’s basement, or worse – your garage) will not only save you lots of unnecessary expenses, time, and frustration, but also provide you with a phenomenal finished product beyond your expectations.

     

     

    Polish Your Sound at Clear Lake Recording Studios & Fever Recording Studios

    Does any of this apply to you? If so, Contact us at Clear Lake Recording Studios and Fever Recording Studios to learn more about our comprehensive assortment of recording services.

  • Pultec EQP1A3 Vintage Equalizer at Clear Lake

    Passive aggressive
    The EQP-1A is a no-loss passive equalizer, which means that the signal level going in to it is reduced (insertion loss around 16dB) and then restored by an onboard amplifier. This means that there is no change in signal level when equalization is switched in or out. The amplifier stage remains in circuit when the EQ is bypassed and adds character to sounds passing through it, largely due to the valves driving the amp. Three valves are used: an EEC-82, an EEC-83 and a 6×4 rectifier. 

    Model EQ
    The original Pultec EQP-1A has become a studio icon in the same league as Fairchild limiters or even the legendary Neumann U47 microphone. It is undoubtedly the most famous EQ ever made, which is why so many others have taken inspiration from the design – and why original examples in tip-top condition go for silly money. The EQP-1A has been used in all sorts of ways on many thousands of recordings. That’s the beauty of the design: it can be used to process single sources, groups of instruments or an entire mix, although you would need two for stereo, of course. During the US pop boom of the early 60s no self-respecting studio would be without one. Many had several. Tamla Motown made extensive use of them in their studios, so it could be said that the EQP-1A literally shaped the Motown sound. The engineers at the Tamla Studios in Detroit developed a method of carving out some midrange frequencies from the instrumental backing tracks, creating space for the vocals to sit nicely in the mix. A perfect pop technique – one which may well have been achieved by performing the ‘low-end trick’.

    The low-end trick? Because the equalizer has separate controls to boost or attenuate the signal, it’s possible to boost and cut the selected low frequency simultaneously. Although this may sound counterintuitive, it works because the respective frequencies at which the boost and attenuation shelves are centred are not exactly the same. For example, if the frequency selected is 100Hz and both the boost and the Atten controls are turned to 7, the EQ curve displays what can be referred to as a ‘midrange droop’ centred on 1kHz. But if the Atten pot is returned to zero and the boost is still applied, the low-end frequencies remain the same but the droop disappears.

    This method of simultaneously boosting and cutting the lows can be used to create some very useful EQ curves. It works on a wide range of sources from bass to acoustic guitar – not an instrument usually associated with bottom boost – and, used sparingly, is particularly good on male vocals, providing warmth to the lower registers without clogging up the critical mid band. Interestingly, the original Pultec manual advised that the Boost and Atten controls should never be used at the same time. It’s ironic, then, that the unit’s ability to do just that has helped it to earn its iconic status. 
    The Pultec isn’t just about the low end, though. The peaking top boost provides a useful range of frequencies which at the lower settings can add presence;  if a narrower bandwidth is selected, a degree of edge is given to the source material. The higher settings add sparkle, space and air, particularly at broad bandwidth settings.

    The high-frequency shelf cut can be used on its own or in conjunction with the Boost control, which is useful when you’re faced with several instruments that occupy similar places in the frequency spectrum (guitars and electric piano, for example, which may need some careful sculpting to remain distinct within the mix).

    pultec-close

     

    Polish Your Sound at Clear Lake Recording Studios & Fever Recording Studios

    Want your tracks ran through these vintage pultecs? Contact us at Clear Lake Recording Studios and Fever Recording Studios to learn more about our comprehensive assortment of recording services.

    Source: http://www.musictech.net/2011/02/eqp-1a/

     

     

  • Vintage Neve 1073 Modules at Clear Lake Recording

    The vintage Neve 1073’s at Clear Lake are one of the most sought after pieces of equipment in the studio. They have stood the test of time as one of the most versatile and consistently excellent sounding microphone pre amps. Countless imitations and reissues are available, but many will agree none of them quite reach sonic characteristics of the original Neve 1073s.

    The 1073 is a Class-A design microphone/line preamplifier with three equalizer bands. The equalizer has a fixed 12kHz high frequency band and switchable low and mid range bands with cut and boost controls. There is also a passive -18dB/octave high pass filter. There are two switches on the front of the module for equalizer bypass and phase polarity. The 1073 was designed to be part of the 80 series Neve console, THE classic console of the 70’s. It was never intended for use as a stand alone module, though in modern use this is its most popular form. It is now regarded as a “desert island” preamp by many recording engineers, it has been used on a countless number of hit records over the past 30 years from Rock, Rap, Hip-hop, to Classical. The sound is described as very big, fat, and colored. The factor contributing to the larger than life sound is greatly attributed to the design of the transformer which seems to add subharmonics to the signal. The Equalizer section of the 1073 is regarded as very “musical” and practical and has become the favorite choice of many engineers for tracking and mixing. Many engineers comment that it doesn’t matter what frequency you choose to boost, with the 1073 it will sound better.

    A number of Los Angeles recording studios may own a couple of these preamps, but very few offer the combination of a room that sounds fantastic, vintage microphones, and instruments that can really show how the Neve 1073 shines.

    1073-closer

     

    Polish Your Sound at Clear Lake Recording Studios & Fever Recording Studios

    Contact us at Clear Lake Recording Studios and Fever Recording Studios to learn more about our comprehensive assortment of recording services.

  • Clear Lake’s 1957 Hammond B3 and Leslie 122

    The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Various models were produced, most of which used sliding drawbars to create a variety of sounds. The B3 at Clear Lake was manufactured in 1957, one of the most sought after year models.The B3 generates its sound by creating an electric current from rotating a metal tone wheel near an electromagnetic pickup. Around two million Hammond organs have been manufactured, and it has been described as one of the most successful organs ever. The organ is commonly used with, and associated with, the Leslie speaker of which Clear Lake owns the rare model 122rv.

    The organ was originally marketed and sold by the Hammond Organ Company to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, and as an alternative to the piano. It quickly became popular with professional jazz musicians, who found it to be a cheaper alternative to the big band. Jimmy Smith’s use of the Hammond B-3, with its additional harmonic percussion feature, inspired a generation of organ players, and its use became more widespread in the 1960s and 1970s in rhythm and blues, rock and reggae, as well as being an important instrument in progressive rock.

    Today, the Hammond B3 can be heard on countless modern recordings as it provides excellent harmonic content to fill out arrangements in many different musical styles. From rock, pop, country, gospel, r&b, and jazz; The Hammond B3 is often an excellent compliment to your arrangement.

    B3-for-Web

    Polish Your Sound at Clear Lake Recording Studios & Fever Recording Studios

    Need a Hammond B3 and a Leslie for your next project? Contact us at Clear Lake Recording Studios and Fever Recording Studios to learn more about our comprehensive assortment of recording services.

     

    Some of the content in this post was sourced from Wikipedia.org

  • Clear Lake Recording Studios Adds a House Drum Kit

    We have recently purchased an excellent sounding Mapex Orion Classic all maple drum kit.

    Over the last few days we have put this thing through its paces and it sounds fantastic!

    We have been able to get a really tight, controlled pop sound, as well as huge ringing rock tones. This is one of the most versatile drum kits around.

    The Kit consists of:

    14×7″ Maple Snare

    10″, 12″, and 14″ Maple Toms

    22×18″ Kick Maple Kick Drum

    Zildian K Dark Crash, A Custom Crash, and Armondo Ride.

    We think it’s a killer set, and it will sound amazing on your next record!

    DrumFront Drummerpers

     

    Polish Your Sound at Clear Lake Recording Studios & Fever Recording Studios

    Need to record drums for your next project? Contact us at Clear Lake Recording Studios and Fever Recording Studios to learn more about our comprehensive assortment of recording services.

  • Amanda Palmer’s amazing TED talk about Crowdfunding

    Amanda Palmer commands attention. The singer-songwriter-blogger-provocateur, known for pushing boundaries in both her art and her lifestyle, made international headlines this year when she raised nearly $1.2 million via Kickstarter (she’d asked for $100k) from nearly 25,000 fans who pre-ordered her new album, Theatre Is Evil.

    But the former street performer, then Dresden Dolls front woman, now solo artist hit a bump the week her world tour kicked off. She revealed plans to crowdsource additional local backup musicians in each tour stop, offering to pay them in hugs, merchandise and beer per her custom. Bitter and angry criticism ensued (she eventually promised to pay her local collaborators in cash). And it’s interesting to consider why. As Laurie Coots suggests: “The idea was heckled because we didn’t understand the value exchange — the whole idea of asking the crowd for what you need when you need it and not asking for more or less.”

    Summing up her business model, in which she views her recorded music as the digital equivalent of street performing, she says: “I firmly believe in music being as free as possible. Unlocked. Shared and spread. In order for artists to survive and create, their audiences need to step up and directly support them.”

    “Palmer is set to join Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails as the artists people mention when they talk about the new music business.”

     

    Polish Your Sound at Clear Lake Recording Studios & Fever Recording Studios

    Contact us at Clear Lake Recording Studios and Fever Recording Studios to learn more about our comprehensive assortment of recording services.

  • Thinking about Crowdfunding Your Band’s Next Album? We Can Help!

    Clear Lake Recording Studios is committed to helping independent artists make their dream record. Over the past couple of years it has become very clear that websites like Kickstarter.com and Indiegogo.com can be a fantastic way for bands to fund their albums, while retaining total creative control. We think this is one of the more exciting trends the music industry has seen in a few years, and Clear Lake would like to do what we can to help crowdfunding stick around.

    If you are a solo artist or in a band and you are considering the crowd-funded route, please give us a call! We are constantly coming up with great ways to help our clients achieve their crowd funding goals. We can donate studio time to your campaign, we can help you think of great perks to give your fans who contribute, and we can also lend you a kick-ass spot to film your campaign video.

    Crowdfunding may never replace the traditional record industry model, and there are upsides and downsides to every path. However, we are eager to support all opportunities musicians have today. Most importantly though, we love music and want artists with an independent spirit to consider Clear Lake a welcome refuge.

     

    kickstarter-flyer-for-web

     

    Polish Your Sound at Clear Lake Recording Studios & Fever Recording Studios

    Contact us at Clear Lake Recording Studios and Fever Recording Studios to learn more about our comprehensive assortment of recording services.

     

  • Check out this cool video Recording Drums at Clear Lake Recording Studios

    This is a video documenting Dillon Campbell recording his new album. Dillon’s producer Michael McGregor, put this video together. The engineer is Eric Milos and the drummer is Sandro Feliciasno.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyWTNaGH0x8

     

    Info about drum mic setup:

    We wanted a bit of a retro sound, so Sandro put cloths partly covering the heads of the drums. This dampened a lot of the ring, and made for a really dry dead sound. In terms of modern production aesthetic, this might seem counterproductive, but with the right blend of room mics we were able to get a really dry focused close mic sound, and a fat room to give body and definition to the kit.

    Kick in – Audix D6

    Kick out – Neumann U47 fet

    Snare top – SM 57

    Snare bottom – AKG 460

    Toms – Sennheiser MD421

    High Hat – AKG 451

    Overheads – Neumann KM184

    Room Medium – Neumann SM2

    Room Far – Sony C37A

     

    Polish Your Sound at Clear Lake Recording Studios & Fever Recording Studios

    Do you need drums recorded? Contact us at Clear Lake Recording Studios and Fever Recording Studios to learn more about our comprehensive assortment of recording services.

  • Welcome to Clear Lake Recording Studios Blog!

    In this area we will occasionally be posting about cool sessions happening at Clear Lake, or to talk about the recording process and equipment.

     

    Polish Your Sound at Clear Lake Recording Studios & Fever Recording Studios

    Contact us at Clear Lake Recording Studios and Fever Recording Studios to learn more about our comprehensive assortment of recording services.