Lucynine piano session and other news!

A-B miking with Sennheiser MD441

Hi everybody, sorry for the long break, here again with juicy news.

First of all I quickly recorded a short 5-pieces Piano Solo EP you can listen to and/or purchase for 3€ right here: http://molen.bandcamp.com/album/aftermath-flood

But maybe the biggest news (and I'm proud to announce it) is that I started working on the next Lucynine release!!!

It will be extremely different from "Chronicles from Leri". A radical change of direction both for what concerns the sound and the approach in the realization. This mainly because this time I'm using exclusively acoustic and analogue instruments and effects. Only tracking and mixing will be done in digital, but no virtual or digital instrument will be used to produce any sound.

Blackboard as an acoustic screen

Now I'm going to give you some technical info about the tracking of the piano for the song I'm working on these days.

This song was born in a weird way. I wrote the lyrics before the music. Then I recorded a quick prepro, using a virtual rhodes to write down the harmonic structure and the internal microphone of my MacBook Pro for a vocal line. After a few days I had decided I loved that song so much that I recorded a definitive vocal line (yes...before having... "the song"! I sung on the fake rhodes track).
I let some friends of mine listen to the result and they all said, without talking each other, "Hey, this could be perfect with a real piano, voice and nothing more!". Well... I immediately thought it was not supposed to be a ballad: I needed to record all the instruments, to write down a complex arrangement, etc. But. Why not? So I presume this song will be released in two different versions: the "rock" one and the "piano" one.

Close to the hammers!

I'm next to complete the "piano" version right now. You'll also hear a strange electric bass line. Anyway, two days ago I recorded the piano part at the Cuneo Conservatory of Music. I played on a pretty good Kawai mezzacoda. I used a couple of Sennheiser MD441 really close to the hammers in A-B configuration (I love that "woody" sound). I also used a matched pair of Schoeps mikes (Colette series with cardioid capsules) in a large ORTF configuration to capture the room. They were placed about 3 metres far from the piano, 1mt by the floor, pointing to the piano. Well, a bit lower because there was a noisy neon lamp on the roof and I tried to avoid capturing it. This is the reason why I also used the blackboard you can see in the photos as a screen for the close mikes. It worked. I used a RME Fireface 800 as A/D converter and my KRK headphones as monitoring system. Klotz cables.

Take a look to the photos, if you like. I'll keep you updated.

Enjoy!

Studio setup

Ok, guys, let me introduce you my studio.

There are two main configurations: the mobile studio and the resident one.

Mobile setup

The mobile is quite simple: MacBook Pro + MOTU Ultralite MK3 (HD 192 converters) powered through FireWire connection, so that I could even record with no power supply. Listening system: the reliable KRK kns8400, wonderful headphones, flat and precise.

The studio setup is based on a powerful iMac (i7 3,4GhZ quadcore, 16GB RAM, SSD disk + 1TB SATA, graphic card Radeon HD 6970M 2048 MB) plus a MOTU 828 MK3 (HD 192 converters).

The control room is entrusted to the quite good Mackie Big Knob, which also works as a phono preamp for the turntable (Pioneer-something) and sometimes as a preamp for other sources as mp3 players, etc. I often use it as headphones amp too, when I don't need more than 2 outputs. When I need more I can use the Behringer Powerplay, but sincerely it's more like "huh, every studio's got one, so... if needed..."

Equator D5

The Big Knob manages two systems of monitors: KRK VXT8 + subwoofer 10s (f***in wow) and the surprising Equator D5, coaxial, amazing on acoustic music, voices, reverbs, etc.

Outboard: TL Audio Ebony A2 (routed on 3-4 828 out and 9-10 in). I find it really useful and I like pretty much its sound, especially referring to its price range. I use it often just to warm the sound, by simply passing the signal through the tube, with no comp or eq. I also love the eq when used in gain mode and the compressor, but often used bypassing the tube stage (it keeps the transients more clear and precise when used in class A mode).

Ebony A2

Audient ASP008

An Audient ASP008 provides me with 8 pre-amped channels. Love this machine, handy and transparent.

The rack

I don't have many microphones, since, when I need to record "big" things I refer to my mate Mattia Garimanno, owner and manager of Ænima Recordings (Cavagnolo - TO), very nice studio and indie label I work with. Anyway I use proudly a stereo couple of Se4 and the amazing Z5600a (tube microphone) by Se Electronics. I also have a couple of Shure SM57 and a Sennheiser e845s.

Everything in the studio is cabled with Klotz cables.

Yamaha MOTIF ES8: the arrangement area

I use a Behringer UMX250 as little keyboard and controller and the Korg Nano Kontrol.

Instruments: Yamaha MOTIF ES8 is the main keyboard, but I mostly use it as a master keyboard rather than as a synth. I also play a custom Squier Stratocaster (tuned in drop C with strings 12/60 and humbucker Seymour Duncan Hot Rails), a custom Squier Jazz Bass (tuned C-F-Bb-Eb with 110 strings), a Korg Monotron and a Moog Theremin.

Instruments and... MUSIC!

Sometimes I use a Geloso tape recorder to process mono signals, but since it has an awful sound, an awful time reliability and awful gain/output control... I can use it only for experimental reasons.

A HP Elitebook is used as media center (it manages all my digital music and video database and the backup system and it's wired to the router, so that every mac or pc connected via wifi or LAN can easily enter it.

Come and have a coffee with me, guys.