RSR003 - Joe Gilder - HomeStudioCorner.com
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My guest today is Joe Gilder. He is songwriter, producer, engineer, teacher and innovator in the online world of music production, blogging, and podcasting. Joe’s focus is the home studio owner, to help you create the best recordings you can. He has created a fantastic resource and website called HomeStudioCorner.com
In his own words:
“Home Studio Corner (HSC) exists to help home studios excel. It gives you LOTS of ways to expand your recording knowledge, hone your recording skills, and make better recordings.”
Joe offers articles, videos, podcasts, and training products so that you can start learning for free now and dive in for much more in depth training when you are ready.
Here are some of the topics we discussed on the show.
“Home Studio Corner” & “Simply Recording” Podcast:
Predicting The Cost of a Record:
Recording Advice - Q&A:
The “Jam Session” Q&A:
https://twitter.com/joegildermusic, https://www.facebook.com/joegilder
For more about Joe go to
RSR003 - Joe Gilder - HomeStudioCorner.com
Recordingstudiorockstars.com
Text RSROCKSTARS to 33-444 and get free content delivered to your email!
My guest today is Joe Gilder. He is songwriter, producer, engineer, teacher and innovator in the online world of music production, blogging, and podcasting. Joe’s focus is the home studio owner, to help you create the best recordings you can. He has created a fantastic resource and website called HomeStudioCorner.com
In his own words:
"Home Studio Corner (HSC) exists to help home studios excel. It gives you LOTS of ways to expand your recording knowledge, hone your recording skills, and make better recordings."
Joe offers articles, videos, podcasts, and training products so that you can start learning for free now and dive in for much more in depth training when you are ready.
Here are some of the topics we discussed on the show.
Dueling Mixes:
Dueling Mixes is for users who are comfortable with their DAW and want to go deeper into what the program can do. The site offers alternate mixes of the same song so the user can compare the two and see how different a single track can be mixed. They can also download the original track to mix the song themselves. Joe and his co-host Graham Cochrane create videos on how they mix the songs to give you insights into the process.
“Home Studio Corner” & “Simply Recording” Podcast:
Joe talks about the production of one of his albums from 2010. He brings up the 80/20 rule which states 80% of your results comes from 20% of the inputs given. He talked about how he was going to write 50 songs in 12 weeks to create at least 10 that he was proud of.
Predicting The Cost of a Record:
Joe talks about how to plan out how long and how much time it will cost to complete a record. This goes back to knowing how long it takes you to accomplish something in order to accurately predict how long the process will take. Joe talks about the value of salesmanship when quoting a client on how much his services will cost.
Recording Advice - Q&A:
Q- “What is the most important advice you have?”
A - “Getting it right at the source.”
Q - “What was an important failure or setback that became an important learning lesson for you in the studio or in your musical journey?
A - “The more I learned about the proper way to record music, the less time I spent creating it.”
Q - “Tell us about a moment of success in your recording career.”
A - “Listening back to old recordings and noticing how the emotion of the songs are still coming through, even after so much time.”
Q - “Where can we find your album “Better This Way?”
A - “You can find it at http://www.joegildermusic.com/
Q - “Tell us about something you’re excited about right now.”
A - “I am most excited about writing more music, especially in the studio with my drummer and bassist.”
Q - “How do you imagine capturing that writing process with a group of people like that?”
A - “I think it would be let’s just set up a recording session and jam until we come up with something or jam to a click to build a track that way.”
The “Jam Session” Q&A:
Q - “What was holding you back from getting started in recording?”
A - “Feeling like I had to do everything myself.”
Q - “What was some of the best advice you received about recording?”
A - “Get it right at the source.”
Q - “How about a tip hack or secret sauce that you would like to share from your experience?”
A - “Committing to time-based effects at the time of the recording.”
Q - “Do you have a favorite book you would like to share?”
A - “I love the War of Art by Steven Pressfield.”
Q - “Can you share a favorite hardware tool of the studio?”
A - “I love the Avid Eleven Rack for the different guitar tones I can get.”
Q - “How about a favorite software tool?”
A - “Presonus Studio One. I don’t even have Pro Tools installed anymore.”
Q - “Would you like to just drop a reference to one favorite new feature that exists in it that you’re liking a lot right now?”
A - “I like the feature that lets you to route the plug-in chain on any channel and split the signal, and do different things on each part of the signal”
Q - “How about a great resource for the business part of the recording studio?”
A - “The Audio Income Project is the great resource for freelance engineers at http://www.audioincome.com/sp/24311-order”
Q - “If you were dropped into a strange city and you could only take a simple setup for recording, what would you choose, how would you find people to record, and how would you make ends meet right away to continue recording?”
A - “The rig - a laptop with Presonus, an interface, and a mic. People to record - you have to go to where the musicians are and find them.
Q - “What if someone is in a town that doesn’t have many musicians?”
A - “Everything can be done online now. http://crowdaudio.com/ is a great place for finding songs to mix.”
Q - “How can our listeners follow you?”
A - “http://www.homestudiocorner.com/, Simply Recording Podcast, https://twitter.com/joegildermusic, https://www.facebook.com/joegilder
For more about Joe go to
HomeStudioCorner.com
RSR EP002 - Vance Powell
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Intro:
Vance Powell is a Grammy award winning producer, engineer and mixer from Joplin, MO. who’s impressive list of credits include Keb’ Mo’, Jars of Clay, Jack White (Third Man Records), Buddy Guy, Kings Of Leon, Sturgill Simpson, and local Nashville artists such as Jeff The Brotherhood, Moon Taxi and Bobby Bare Jr. He made his start in live sound, touring with local Missouri bands as a front-of-house engineer and in 2002 John McBride asked him to run Blackbird Studio. Vance is now also co-owner of Sputnik Sound.
Early Life:
Vance was introduced to electronics early in his childhood, as his grandfather was an electrical engineer and miner. He later attended electronic school while in high school. This helped him to land a job as a second audio engineer in a local studio – Massey Studios – in Missouri where he worked for $5/hour learning and teaching himself the arts of mixing, and other tools of the trade like tape duplication (i.e. mastering). This marked the beginning of his successful career as an audio mix engineer.
Reference Monitors:
Auratone Monitors are speakers designed to listen to mono mixes. Yamaha NS10’s later became the replacement for Auratone reference monitors.
“…I use NS10s (Yamaha) because they sound cool… and they will translate well in any situation.” –Vance Powell
“It’s all about your reference… It doesn’t matter what your speakers are,” says Powell. “I have definitely made changes to a mix based on a mono iPhone speaker.
When asked how one is able to hear the bass on a mono iPhone speaker he says simply “turn the bass off and then back on.”
Jam Session:
Q: What is the best advice you have for someone just starting out?
A: You have to be fearless to make it in this business. If you are a person who is afraid of change, or afraid of failing, or afraid of losing your house… you’re normal, but if you are afraid and act upon it because you are afraid, you’re not going to last.
Q: What was a time where you feel you hit a real point of failure or a time you felt like giving up that turned out to be a valuable learning experience for you.
A: A year after I moved to Nashville, I did my first session and I had no idea what these people were wanting or doing. In some ways that was an interesting failure but I’ve been very lucky in that I don’t have anything I can really point out and say, “that was a disaster.”
Q: I definitely know you for working with a lot of artists that like to push the boundaries and really get to the heart of what makes something great. You want to tell us a little bit about that?
A: Obviously, I’ve spent 8 years working with Jack white and that’s been an incredibly eye-opening thing because he’s pretty amazing. He’s probably the most talented person I’ve ever been around. He’s one my favorite drummers…ever. He’s my favorite keyboard player, pianist and organist. He’s the easiest artist I’ve ever had to get a guitar sound for. It doesn’t matter what amp he plays, it doesn’t matter what guitar, it doesn’t matter how old the strings are it doesn’t matter what microphone you put in front of it, it sounds just like him. It’s all in his hands. He’s an amazing vocalist.
Q: What is a tip about the process of recording that you learned while working with artists like Jack White?
A: Learn to be fast. I think anybody learning this business should do live sound. Live sound teaches you a bunch of things. You have to put a mix together in a very short period of time. You don’t have all day. You have one song to put a killer 48-channel mix together; otherwise you’re going to lose people.
Q: If you were dropped into a strange city and you were going to start out in recording or live sound, what advice would you have for someone who’s willing to take on that challenge?
A: If you want to record, the first thing you need to do is purchase some way to record such as a laptop and an interface or port-a-studio. Then go find a band that you are willing to do what ever it takes to help them out. That means cart their gear around, do live sound for them, or record demos in your basement. Get yourself 4 good microphones. You can pretty much record a band with 4 or 5 good microphones. Don’t let the technology get in the way of creativity. I have a rule for my own productions and that is: my entire record has to fit inside 32 tracks. Don’t be afraid to make a decision; that’s the number one thing I’d say to anyone first starting out.
Websites:
Twitter - @Vancalot
Sputniksound.com
Credits - Allmusic.com
So if you have any questions or suggestions for the show please email me
lij@recordingstudiorockstars.com
Also you can check out more at recordingstudiorockstars.com to follow the blog or watch the free videos. If you dig the show and find it helpful I would be honored if you would leave a rating and review in iTunes. You can tap through right on your phone from the podcast search page or go to recordingstudiorockstars.com/review for easy instructions.
And if you want to get on the email list for free content full of videos, tips, studio tricks, and special offers just text RSROCKSTARS to 33-444 from your phone (super easy and I promise you won’t get spammed!)
Cheers!
Lij
Text RSROCKSTARS to 33-444 and get free content delivered to your email!
Get FREE mix training videos, eBook and multi tracks MixMasterBundle.com
Mike purcell has a long list of recording, mixing and mastering credits including Lynyrd Skynyrd, Brad Paisley, Waylon Jennings, and Billy Ray Cyrus. He is a recording artist himself, and has a passion for indie rock. He is also an entrepreneur with many business ventures.
He grew up in Nashville, and started playing guitar when he was 14. He began recording with 2 cassette decks and a Radioshack mixer, and his first recording studio experience in 1988 solidified his passion for recording.
Early Career:
Mike attended Belmont University from 1990-1994. He interned at The Castle recording studio and was offered a job there for $150/week. He later went to LA for a six month trip to record Lionel Richie.
When he returned to Nashville, he got a ProTools rig and was very into digital audio. He did a lot of vocal tuning work at this time. He would also often record using the Otari RADAR II digital multitrack recorder.
Demo Recording:
A demo recording is done for songwriters who want to pitch something to a recording artist. These songs are often done with session musicians who do not rehearse extensively before the session, because they can sight-read the charts.
At County Q studio, Mike would record a high volume of demos in a single day. Because of his ability and experience as an engineer, and the quality of the session musicians, they were able to record songs very quickly and efficiently.
Philosphy/Advice:
-What comes next in the recording industry is what you invent. Don’t be afraid to try new things and make mistakes.
-Mike Purcell prefers to find music he loves, and capture it, rather than finding music that he kind of likes and reinventing it.
-Take every job you can if it has anything to do with music. Take the gigs that you’re uncomfortable taking; you’re probably uncomfortable because you don’t know much about it, so you’ll probably learn from the experience.
-Don’t have an ego as an engineer. Try to fulfill the client’s vision rather than your own.
-Get hooked up with someone who is successful and doing something that you want to be a part of. Do the best job out of anybody there, and confess to your mistakes, and you’re likely to be successful.
Jam session:
-what was holding you back at the beginning of your career?
-lack of resources to and access to the good studios. That’s different now, because you can buy ProTools.
-what was some of the best advice you’ve received?
-do it right and do it once.
-What is your favorite recording trick?
-Sidechain compress the bass, using the kick drum as a key input, and squash it down half a dB. It helps keep kick punch through the mix.
-Do you have any book or magazine recommendations?
-Favorite piece of gear that you have?
-Favorite software tool?
-I use an old standalone version of T-RackS (version 3) for mastering. You can get stuff really loud with it.
-Favorite internet resource?
-If you were dropped in a strange city, and could only take a simple recording setup, what would you take? How would you find people to record? How would you make ends meet?
-Take a simple m-box setup with a couple of mics.
-Go to shows to meet bands.
-Deliver pizzas or something like that to make ends meet.
Links to Check Out:
-Mike’s current project, 6minor Films, which creates documentary films about the music creation process:
So if you have any questions or suggestions for the show please email me
lij@recordingstudiorockstars.com
Also you can check out more at recordingstudiorockstars.com to follow the blog or watch the free videos. If you dig the show and find it helpful I would be honored if you would leave a rating and review in iTunes. You can tap through right on your phone from the podcast search page or go to recordingstudiorockstars.com/review for easy instructions.
And if you want to get on the email list for free content full of videos, tips, studio tricks, and special offers just text RSROCKSTARS to 33-444 from your phone (super easy and I promise you won’t get spammed!)
Cheers!
Lij
Text RSROCKSTARS to 33-444 and get free content delivered to your email!
Welcome to Recording Studio Rockstars I’m Lij Shaw and this is the podcast created to help you become a rockstar of the recording studio! I am an award winning chart breaking music and podcast producer and have been making records for 25 years. I’m also the owner of a Grammy award winning studio called The Toy Box Studio in East Nashville TN.
But when I started out I knew nothing about recording and had to learn from the ground up. All I wanted was a chance to be in the studio learning from the best! Whether you are just starting out in recording, or want to take your recordings to the next level this show is made to help you get excited about recording and learn more stuff. Who doesn’t need that? I know I do!
I’ll be interviewing producers, engineers, studio owners, gear builders, or anyone else that is a rockstar of the recording studio. We will hear their stories from starting out to becoming the pros that they are today, and learn from their insights, tricks, and advice.
I be asking questions about their musical journey to keep us all inspired, and follow it up at the end with “The Jam Session” a series of shorter questions full of tips and tricks. So if you have any questions you would to hear me ask or suggestions for the show please email them to me
lij@recordingstudiorockstars.com
Also you can check out more at recordingstudiorockstars.com to follow the blog or watch the free videos. If you dig the show and find it helpful I would be honored if you would leave a rating and review in iTunes. You can tap through right on your phone from the podcast search page or go to recordingstudiorockstars.com/review for easy instructions.
And if you want to get on the email list for free content full of videos, tips,studio tricks, and special offers just text RSROCKSTARS to 33-444 from your phone (super easy and I promise you won’t get spammed!)
Cheers!
Lij