This year I had a goal to get more music placements and make some new networking contacts. Things are coming along. One thing I am working on currently, is putting together a demo reel of video, music and printed materials to hand out to prospective clients in the form of a dvd with inserts. One of the inserts will be a business card. A friend of mine, put a really nice package together for himself, and I will be using his as a rough template for mine. Here is the first draft of my new business card. It will be two-sided, heavy glossy stock.
My new studio space is 99% done. I added all new pictures to the STUDIO GALLERY , so click the link and check them out. I gotta put the closet doors on yet (they’re backordered) and I’m waiting on one Mackie 824 monitor that is also back ordered. I plan on putting up some more pictures once I take them between the sound treatments and also plan on putting in a small modern looking couch. I went with really bright colors because the winters here are so dark and I tend to get depressed as hell, so I figured I’d keep things light. I was a little worried it would be too obnoxious but I’m real happy with it. I got four rows of lights including the track lights all on separate switches so I can dial in the right amount of mood. I don’t have any window treatments yet, so the daylight comes crashing in making it hard to take decent pictures. I’m broke as hell, but eventually I’ll add some kind of blind to the window. I’m pretty much using the same setup I have been using the past year or so with the exception of adding the Akai MPK49 keyboard controller, the Mackie 824 monitors and the Mackie sub which shakes the foundation, as its truly a beast. I also got that IK Multimedia ARC in hopes to eq my room a bit so I can mix things with the monitors the best I can considering the imperfections in the room. Since I mainly record straight in and do little vocal recording, I concentrated on setting the room up for mixing while still keeping the room available to be converted into a bedroom or something should we sell the house. I may foam up one of the closets and make that a makeshift vocal booth. Overall I’m pretty damn happy with the outcome. Maybe now I can dedicate some time to actually making music again…
I finally got the studio space done….well, almost. Still gotta set up some gear and hang a couple closet doors. I’ve been taking some photos of my kids, and plan on decorating the walls with their pictures…kinda to remind me why I do all this stuff.
Here are some of the pictures I’ve taken. I’m still learning Photoshop, but I’m getting a little better. All of these were taken against my room walls in the morning, when the natural sun light shines in through the window.
The kids had a lot of fun seeing themselves on the computer screen. It was the boys idea to make the zombie monster type shots….they got a kick out of em’. I’ll post some studio pictures once I get settled in.
Like I stated in my earlier post, I went with the stripped down version of the home studio I had hoped to build due to projected usage and construction costs involved. Still, it is coming along nicely and if all goes well, will sound and look good. The insulation and drywall are up and the mudding has begun. The paint colors are picked out and the flooring too. The wife convinced me to abandon the idea of wood flooring and go with carpet. It’ll save me another grand going this route and will probably be a little cozier come winter time. I have all my old studio foam from the old place, but I won’t be using it for the most part. This time around, I’m going with acoustic panels. They’ll cost me a little over a thousand dollars, but won’t involve glue on the walls and they’ll look better. I’ll probably still throw up my old Auralex bass traps behind the corner panels also (though you won’t see them). I’m not quite sure what I’m going to do for vocal recording yet, but I’m thinking of making my own version of Realtraps’ Portable Vocal Booth. I got the extra foam and I’m sure I can make comparable version for far less than the $299 they charge. I also bought some nice new looking stand alone office partitions that will make excellent baffles for recording, or just to nicely section off the room. Next update I should be pretty close to finishing the room. I’ll be sure to have the paint done and the carpet installed. I’ve decided on some fairly bright colors. I’m still projecting that everything will be done by the end of the month if all goes well. I just got another ASCAP check today which added to what I already saved this year and should cover all my costs, with the exception of the acoustic panels. I would also like to update my monitoring setup and make two software purchases, which should set me back another 3 grand. Then I should finally be complete! Maybe by fall I’ll have everything, we’ll see. My attitude is good and musically things have been going very well for me this year as I’ve made a lot of new contacts and rekindled some old friendships. I’m very excited looking forward to the year ahead. Anyway….here are the pics:
I’m finally building a studio space in my new house since moving last Thanksgiving time. I originally had elaborate plans to make a very pro space with a live room and control room. I consulted a couple studio designers, and had a design somewhat in place that I had made a rough sketch of. After crunching the numbers on cost and really considering what I will be using the space for (not what I thought would look cool, or impress others)…I decided to go with a one room stripped down version. I mainly use my room for mixing. Most of my recording is done internally with no microphones. And though I plan on doing more live recording in the future, the space will take into account for that. I originally planned for hardwood floors but since I’m in the basement, I’m going to go with carpet. I will have my control room on one end and will fully sound treat the room. I also purchased some office partitions I will use as baffles when live recording or just to partition off a section of the room. My original estimates with my first design would have put the construction costs at around $18,000. My stripped down version will cost less than about half of that. My space I’m working with is 13′x25′. Here is my original design, I will not be doing:
Here is my rendition of what it may look like when finished as well as a couple construction shots. I hope to have everything completed by the end of April.
God knows I needed to lose a couple pounds and I’ve been meaning to get back on my diet and exercise program. Then I got my tonsils out seven days ago. I haven’t been able to eat solid foods yet. My throat seems to be progressively getting worse and I’m starting to crack! I figured it would be painful, but I had know idea how bad. The pain meds they gave me don’t seem to do a whole lot for the pain, they just make me a little dizzy. I was hoping they would make me sleepy, but I only sleep a couple hours at a time if I’m lucky. I’m drained. I guess I just have to tuff it out.
I’ve been going on a spending spree lately, which I sometimes do during the gray winter months here in Michigan. I got BFD2 the other day. I bought the original BFD 1.0 when it first came out several years ago, and was thoroughly disappointed. My computer met the minimum requirements, but the sounds wouldn’t stream correctly and the program was full of other bugs. I ended up selling it on ebay, then finding a hacked copy of 1.5 last year. With a faster computer and more RAM, I found BFD to be pretty nice and even bought the Joe Berassi Evil Drums expansion pack for it. Still, I didn’t use it much because it was lacking something. When I saw some of the previews of BFD2, I thought it looked like they made some major improvements and decided to give it a second chance. I forked over my $399 and went legit again with Fxpansion.
I’m a “try before I buy” consumer. If I can’t find a demo version and I can find a hacked version, I don’t have a problem trying it. Ninety-nine percent of the time I end up not using the program, but there’s always that 1% that turns out to be a gem. I believe BFD2 to finally be one of those gems. Out of the box, it was an easy install and activation. I got up and running in less than an hour (a full install of 55GB!). It’s pretty intuitive to use and laid out well. I was jamming to the luscious new sounds within minutes (although I strongly suggest reading the extensive manual to learn everything this has to offer). How good does it sound? Unbelievably realistic. You get a whole new library of sounds, and I can still import my expansion pack to use with it. It comes with an extensive array of fx, so you can use it for any genre of music. I’m really pumped about this release and am recommending it to anyone who is wishing to capture that acoustic drum sound without the hassle of mic-ing up a real kit.
Man, I was thinking about the next band that struck a chord with me and it was Foreigner. I was in grade school when their first album came out. I was out with pnuemonia and my grade school girlfriend had her Mom drop me off a get-well soon present. It was Foreigner’s first album. I played that thing til the needle on the record player died. I still love that record today. I couldn’t find a good video of any of the tracks from the first album though…..so that leads me to the next band.
My best friend’s brother from grade school introduced me to The Electric Light Orchestra. I think my first album was their Greatest Hits with Telephone Line on it. I also got Out of the Blue and a couple others. All on albums. Here are a couple great videos of some live performances from ELO.
Besides listening to various artists on an old mono record player, playing my Mom’s old 45’s and 78’s, I was introduced to the Beach Boys in early grade school. I remember really loving the music. They are one of the first bands that really stick in my head that struck a chord with me even at such an early age. This track came out in 1966.
Jim Meeker, a.k.a. "Sindustry" is a semi-pro composer, songwriter and home recording enthusiast. He has a long list of credits on television, film, video, video games, and albums.
Jim Meeker, a.k.a. "Sindustry" is a semi-pro composer, songwriter and home recording enthusiast. He has a long list of credits on television, film, video, video games, and albums.