Recording Status

The table that I chose to use in the studio is made of a soft plastic material. It looks great and is very easy to clean. But, the first problem that arose was the microphone boom mount soon became loose, to the point I had to remove the mount altogether. So, whereas I am not a carpenter, I need to get a power saw and cut some small custom pieces of wood which I can bolt underneath and atop the table surface. This will provide a stable foundation to screw an additional mount that came with the microphone boom.

Meanwhile, it will be mid-August before I order the new vocal processor and 12-string guitar. For you shoppers these two items are: Voice Live 2 and Ibanez 2012. I have grown tired of hearing my own story. This is the part of my studio and recording plans which frustrate me the most, because everything has come to a screeching halt. Sure, I enjoy playing and practicing piano and continue learning how to use the MOTIF_XS, 01X mixer and LogicPro8 which will soon be replaced with LogicStudio_9. But, I am working on song number 1 and we're at the stage of recording vocals. Lots of vocals.

If you’re asking what is a vocal processor, or why do I need one?
The answer is simple. I am a one man show, and although many times when recording I will record my own vocal harmonies manually [that means that I will sing them myself] I have other musical ideas where having a quality harmonizer provides a bevy of ideas for vocal performances. This vocal processor has a MSRP of $1000 dollars so it comes as no surprise to have jaw-dropping vocal sounds, access to 6 effects blocks, USB connectivity for updates and programmability, harmony control via guitar, MIDI or MP3, up to 8 vocal harmonies or 4 doubled harmonies, separate doubling and harmony blocks, reverb, tap delay, uMod, T-Pain effect, megaphone, distortion, tone and pitch controls, plus the guitar effects block are totally separate from the microphone and harmonies. One of the features I really like is the onboard, computerized audio engineer. Adaptive EQ, gate, compression, de-esser, and digital microphone gain can all be applied to a microphone input with the touch of a button. Although I have learned how to apply EQ and compression using the onboard DSP in my 01X mixing console, it is a luxury to have such automated audio engineering to accompany my musical performances.

What does this mean at the end of the day? I can focus on my music and my singing, without the tedium of getting the microphone, “just right”. To add frosting to the cake, anytime I take my rig and play publicly, I take both my signature studio sounds and audio engineer with me. When I arrive at a new gig location, simply tap one button and the computer analyzes every aspect of the input channel and applies all of the necessary EQ, compression, de-essing, etc., without the usual need to manually set that up, or recall a previous setting that [still] is not correct for the current acoustics. This is a very nice vocal processor and I am very excited about it.