The Monk Scroll

So I’m working on sessions with two great artists, Chris G and Brian F. Both singer/songwriters. We’re recording songs for a Sundance movie pick by director JJ Lask. Both immensely talented. Pros waiting to break, and they will shortly. Here are some photos from the session.

Lush Guild tracked by a classic AKG 414


Chris G

Brian F

Fuskito sat in on the session

The greatest amp In town

Vocal sessions Monday and Tuesday. Vocalist is a guy with a DEEP and RASPY voice simply choc full of low mids. My main mic is the AKG 414 (old skool with just the 4 mic patterns, not the fancy new one with 5).Many 414 owners will agree that the 414 is THE acoustic guitar mic and is great for some vocal work, but its not the most versatile mic.

So I went out looking for an all around vocal mic. A friend (who happens to also mix giant amazing sounding records that millions of people buy) schooled me one day. He said a $99 mic through a great preamp beats a $999 mic through a crap preamp any day of the week. So, that very day I bought a Neve Portico 5012 preamp which has improved my sound inestimably since I began using it in 2005.

I figured I could get away with a $200-$300 mic. And I was right.

I was torn between the MXL 3000 and the Rode NT1A. Another dear friend who is seriously in the know recommended the NT1A. I was set to just pick it up, but was then forced to get the MXL because there was only a used Rode and it smelled, well, USED. (Note, avoid sniffing any microphone unless its factory fresh).

I CANNOT recommend MXL any higher. I used it all day and its warm, clear, just enough edge, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. It survived a full day of guitars and vocals, and it made me wonder if I need to have my 414 serviced because it actually sounded better.This doesn’t mean I don’t intend to put the a Rode mic in my arsenal at some point, but I might wait until I can afford the NTK or something shmancy like that.Tomorrow I try my other purchase, the SE Reflexion Filter. Report to follow.

Granted, the ThumpMonks have a limited following at this time, but I often get emails asking me what gear/software we use. I used to feel like I was giving away trade secrets, but that’s ridiculous. It’s not the stuff you use, its the music you make with it. I’m not worried about anyone reading my mind and stealing ideas. SO, here’s the gear, in short.

Apple Macbook pro.

I don’t wanna have the old Mac vs PC argument. My Mac works and I spend less than 1% of my time figuring out what’s wrong with it if it crashes (which it almost never does). No PC I’ve ever used could boast the same. It’s more the OS than the hardware, Vista users, good luck running a home business on that. NOT being smarmy, really. There’s no excuse for a late project with a client. Excuses (like say, oh my computer didn’t feel like working) lead to other people getting hired instead of you. So I use a Mac.

The Macbook pro beats my G5 by a few ticks and was a real help when I had a dayjob. Portable studio. Heaphones, Macbook, work. I programmed the majority of Steven Curtis Chapman’s record This Moment on it. Yes, at my dayjob. I’m not proud of that, but in my defense, I was being phased out and given very little work for weeks at the time.

Ableton Live

I also use Logic pro, but I think Ableton Live is a revolution for programmers, sound designers, and even composers. I’m not as dead-set about the sequencer you use as I am about the OS you work in, so if you use Logic, Sonar, Cubase, ProTools, or what have ye, great. This is a matter of taste.

To me, the key to picking a good sequencer and recording program is not the plugins it comes with or the snazzy looks. Its workflow, workflow, workflow. If someone is paying you to do a demo, you have to gauge the price your charging against the time it will take you to complete the demo. The ‘on the fly” audio editing I do in Live would take me 3 times in other sequencers I’ve tried because they have a different workflow. Live also has a great way to access your sample libraries in its left column. The plugins are great for drums and the EQ and compression is decent. You might be faster in another program.

I use a LOT of plugins, Nuff said.

I should define what I do.

I compose original music under the project name ThumpMonks, I score video games, and I do programming for a small but healthy list of clients. Not programming with chunks of code or circuit boards. Programming in this case refers to adding the synthetic beats and instruments in a song.

I also compose orchestral parts for other people’s songs. Sometimes people call that programming, but its also composition, just without publishing (where you are paid royalties for writing all or part of a song). Lastly, I do sound design for video games.Now that we’ve cleared that up, back to the topic: work I can live on.Before I was chopped from my dayjob I had several projects already on the plate.

They were:
Superchic[k]’s next record. Schic[k] has been my proving ground for many years. I’ve done programming and remixes for most of their records, the producer, Max is great guy. He’s also the other ThumpMonk. We’ve worked an many projects together.

An XBox game called (sorry, can’t disclose that). I can say it involves shooting and using a joystick. I’m doing music and sound.

Demos. Several demos for people’s records (this is where a songwriter hires me to take their song in very basic form and turn it into a finished piece they will use in an attempt to get the song covered by an artist).

Mystery project. A possible project that I can’t talk about because the very public mention of it can screw all kinds of things up. This should take me through January. The ever present reality is that as soon as a project is over, you are unemployed again. But we’ll leave all that to the good Lord.

Friday, November 30th was my last oficial day at my dayjob. I was a graphic designer for computer telephony company in NJ. There were people saying goodbye, adding condolances, offering help, general kindness all around. I’ll miss these kind people.

But if I have my way, I’ll never work a deskjob again. My name is Brian, and I’m a freelance musician/composer/producer/programmer. This is the daily story of my transition from the predictable paycheck lifestyle of “desk-jobbing” to the unpredictable world of freelancing in the music business.

This is was my cubicle. Yes, that’s a MIDI controller stashed under my desk.