Sound Check

The Hounds made it into the studio tonight. Pretty impressive place, too. This was the sound man's basement, but pretty well developed for what one could consider someone's hobby. It was clearly designed to be a studio and the guy who set it up is seriously into music and recording. He's also a pretty good musician as well: rack drum kit, about 10 guitars, and all wired to a beefy computer (there was also what looked like a server closet but I didn't investigate further). The wiring was also built in to the basement, meaning that once he mic'ed up the drums, he just plugged the mic's into the wall outlets—no need for a snake (fat cable with a box full of mic outlets, what we normally use at gigs).

Ok, so this was my first experience at recording. A bit intimidating actually. Particularly since the sound guy is a better drummer with better gear. So he first replaced a couple of my cheapo cymbals with some nice Zildjian A hats and a Zildjian K 16" fast crash as well as an 8" Sabian AAX splash. Then he also replaced my 6" snare with a 4" snare which gives a higher pitched sound (which makes since since it isn't as deep as mine). So then he nods at me to play. So I play, my typical sloppy stuff when I'm not concentrating on a song. But oops, of course he's recording. So then he plays it back, and yet another level of embarrassment: you get to hear yourself play and all the mistakes and slop are amplified. And everyone's listening. Anyhow, the kit's mic'ed, it sounds pretty decent I have to admit, so tomorrow I go in and lay down some tracks.