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mikoo69 12 August 2010

I wanted to share pictures, info and music from my band's recording session @ Electrical Audio w/ Steve Albini. We spent 3 days with Steve cutting a 9 song record in July. The record was done live, with no overdubs except vocals.

  • Day one we tracked all guitar, bass and drums live.
  • Day two we tracked vocals and began mixing
  • Day three we finished vocals and mixed.
  • Day four, we spent half a day finishing the mixes.

The record is available for free download @  http://grandfatherm… Grandfather - Why I'd Try (320kbps mp3)

or you can go to Grandfather on Bandcamp for FLAC, AAC, and other higher quality audio formats.

Session Photos are up on our facebook page, which have detailed pictures of mic placement: Grandfather on Facebook (Like/Friend/Share Us on Facebook to keep updated w/ shows, news, etc.)

Input List:
All mics through Neotek desk preamp except as noted

Drums (Kentucky)

  • Bass Drum Front: Beyer M380 -> 1176 Limiter Slow Release, 20:1
  • Bass Drum Batter: Shure SM98
  • Snare: Sony C37e -> NTI EQ
  • Rack Tom: Josephson E22s Top and Bottom
  • Floor Tom: Josephson E22s Top and Bottom
  • Overheads: Royer R-122 (L&R) -> 1178 Limiter -> GML EQ + 678k + 3726k
  • M-S Stereo: AKG C24 M.S (0 + ∞) -> Electrical M-S Matrix
  • Room Ambience: Neumann CMV563 + N55k Capsules (L&R) -> 20ms Stereo Delay
  • Rimshot: Shure SM98 -> GML Limiter

Bass Guitar (Alcatraz)

  • Low: Beyer M380 -> Urei LA12 Limiter “Auto” – 3dB
  • High: Josephson E22s -> John Hardy M2 Preamp -> HPF 280Hz

Electric Guitar (Center Field)

  • Low: RCA74 (“Junior Velocity”) -> GML Preamp
  • High: Audio-Technica Pro37 -> GML Preamp
  • Room Ambience: Crown PCC

Vocal (Kentucky facing Center Field)

  • Main: Neumann U48 -> John Hardy M2 Preamp -> 1176 Fast Release 20:1
  • Vocal Ambience: Crown PCC -> Expander Keyed to Vocal Mic

The record was completed and brought to Chicago Mastering Service the day after to have mastered to vinyl, digital and CD by Bob Weston. There are also photos of the mastering session on our facebook page.

I'd be happy to answer any questions about the recording. Steve and Bob were both amazing to work with, and we couldn't be happier with the end result

Grandfather Equipment List: https://grandfather…

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Comments

audiokid Thu, 08/12/2010 - 18:49

Thanks for taking the time to post all this. I always find it very interesting to see and hear what people are using. Especially when you post it this way for all of us. Good to see the Royer 122 being used, they are starting to catch on more. I have two myself and love them. Good to see the chain with the John Hardy M2. I would love to have one of his preamp.

Wow, pretty efficient 4 days. bang bang bang pow! I'll have a listen soon.

Cheers!

soapfloats Thu, 08/12/2010 - 23:39

Extremely efficient given 13 mics used on drums.
I often use more than the suggested drum mics, but never 13 - and even then, I have a few throwaways.
I'm curious to know if any of those drum mics got scrapped?

Like Chris, I'm always interested in what people are using and on what.
I know it's more about the technique than the tools, but it's nice to get an in-depth look at mic choices and recording chains -
especially when such information comes from established pros that many try to emulate.
(I've often been asked to record drums "like Albini", but more of a reference to his RHCP days - I'm sure his methods have changed since then)

Thanks for the info, and I'll be digging in deeper first chance I get!

mikoo69 Fri, 08/13/2010 - 08:52

soapfloats: no mics were scrapped, however in the mix, the ambient floor mics were turned down in parts where we felt a drier drum tone fit the mix better. everything else was pretty consistent.

niclaus: yes steve tends to get the tone he likes in the room first. i.e. if something has too much or not enough high end, he will swap the mic. that being said, he occasionally used EQ from the Neotek board to cut out some low rumbling frequencies.

mikoo69 Wed, 08/25/2010 - 08:24

just got the vinyl test pressings

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:

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