Jordan Millar’s new album “Cold Lights On Curious Minds” was released on February 15th. All the drums were tracked by drummer Mike Avenaim and recorded by engineer Charlie Waymire at Ultimate Rhythm Studios.
Recorded in both Los Angeles and Sydney, Cold Lights On Curious Minds is the brand new offering from acoustic pop troubadour Jordan Millar. Featuring the single ‘Walking On Me’, Cold Lights On Curious Minds is available on iTunes and at JordanMillarMusic.com.
“Walking On Me” Video
Here’s a short video of last weeks percussion and guitar sessions for Right Hand Rule. Leslie Jones (singer/percussionist) is laying down some cool congas and Robert Thrall throws down a solo! A few photos of the the recording setup are included too!
“We had some time to experiment with sounds and decided to use the size of the room to our advantage by capturing the natural ambience of the room. By capturing the instruments this way we are able to set them sonically where we would like them to sit without using lots of processing or digital reverb. It makes for a much more natural sounding recording and also adds a lot of depth. In other words the sounds we capture are pretty much done”, says engineer Charlie Waymire.
The Congas were recorded with 4 different microphones. A spaced pair of MXL Cubes about 3 feet out in front of the congas about 4.5 feet off the ground (pictured). The cubes have a really cool vibe. They are kind of dark and gritty and did a great job of picking up the full tone of the congas.
There is a Cascade Elroy about 6-7 feet in front of the congas about 2 feet off the ground. The Elroy is set to cardioid and is picking up a lot of the low mid and low frequencies. It really helps to fill out the congas. The placement of the mic was determined by crawling around on the floor and listening for the sweet spot!
We also had an MXL V67G up in the corner of the room about 11 feet off the ground to get some real room ambience just in case we needed it.
Leslie Jones Recording Congas.
For the guitar solo we had two amps set up. A Fender Deluxe in the ISO booth and a Marshall half stack in the live room. One of the cool things about the studio is the “loop” system that allows us to connect all the rooms in any manner we like. For instance, on this track Rob was in the control room and we ran a line to the ISO both with the Fender and continued that line to the Marshall in the live room. One amp is our tight close sound and the other is purely ambience.
Below is a photo of the Fender Deluxe in the ISO booth. It’s miced with and SM57 on the edge of the cone and an MXL V67i pointing straight across the cone.This gave us a nice focused yet smooth sound.
Rob's Amp miced with an SM57 and MXL V67i
We decided to take advantage of the large live room and capture some natural ambience. We set the Marshall half stack close to the control room wall, cranked it up to excite the room and captured it with a pair of MXL Cubes in a spaced pair about 10-12 feet away from the amp. This gave the guitar solo and awesome sense of space! Below is a photo with the camera sitting on top of the amp head. You can get an idea of how the kit was miced for this session too!
Photo from on top of the Marshall head with 2 MXL Cube's in a spaced pair about 10-12 feet away.
Shot of one of the MXL Cubes capturing the Marshall.
It’s very cool to have the room “loop” system that allows us to take advantage of the different rooms.
Check the video out!
The boys in Right Hand Rule were back in the studio this week tracking the final song for their upcoming album. With all the rhythm tracks finished all that’s left is lead guitar, some percussion and vocals. It’s been a long road finishing up this album but it’s definitely going to be worth it!
“Working with Leslie Jones and Right Hand Rule is always a pleasure. He has a group of musicians, that when they play together, have a very unique vibe and sound. Very much like the groups from the 60’s & 70’s where the sum was greater than the parts. To me that is what makes a band unique. When you put a group of musicians together and they create a unique sound that only happens when that group is together. It’s special. says engineer Charlie Waymire
Here are a few links to Right Hand Rule on the net:
Right Hand Rule Facebook Page
Right Hand Rule ReverbNation Page
Right Hand Rule on Twitter
Mo Beeks - Keyboards
Rob, Pharaoh & Mr. Jones
Scott
After a 3 month hiatus to build the new Ultimate Rhythm Studios, FullOnDrums.com is back in action with our first episode of 2013!
Episode 21, “Gretsch Brooklyn + $400”, starts out with a quick review of last year before showcasing a beautiful Gretsch Brooklyn kit (supplied by the Sam Ash Hollywood Drum Shop) captured by 3 MXL microphones. The overhead setup is based on a George Massenburg configuration that is absolutely awesome at picking up the entire kit!
Episode 21 details, including photos of the setup, can be found at FullOnDrums.com.
You can watch the episode below or visit the FullOnDrums.com YouTube channel. Be sure to subscribe!
The new year at the studio started out with a brand new project from drummer Abel Vallejo and guitarist Scott “SVH” Von Heldt. These two have written some really cool tunes with heavy riffs and mean grooves.
Abel is the quintessential rock drummer and gave each song exactly what it needed. Scott has one of the best sounding rigs on the planet! His tone and rhythm definitely set the vibe for the songs. We tracked some solid rhythm tracks!
Check out the video clip below and hear for yourself!
For the past two weekends Ultimate Rhythm Studios has hosted rehearsals for an upcoming benefit for Singer/Guitarist Tony Sly and a tribute for his band No Use For A Name.
The show will feature some of LA’s best musicians and will pay tribute to one of punk rocks leading bands over the last two decades. If you live in the LA area you owe it to yourself to check this show out!
Tony Sly Benefit & No Use For A Name Tribute
January 20, 2013
10pm – 21 & over
Paladino’s
6101 Reseda Blvd.
Tarzana, CA 91335
Here’s a little video clip from one of the rehearsals. Enjoy!
2012 was a very productive year! A lot of very talented musicians came through the doors and created some very cool music. We’ll have more on some of these releases in the next couple of weeks but look below for a few links!
The biggest news of 2012 was the building of the brand new studio! The first wall went up on October 6, 2012 and we’re happy to say that the new Ultimate Rhythm Studios is open for business! We’ll get some more detailed posts of the build up in the next couple of weeks as well. Here’s a before and after just to give you an idea.
New URS before Construction
New Control Room at Ultimate Rhythm Studios
A few highlights from 2012:
Bleeding Harp – “Breakin’ Me Down”. Drums by Charlie Waymire, recorded at Ultimate Rhythm Studios.
Danny Jones – “It Is What It Is”. Drums by Charlie Waymire, recorded at Ultimate Rhythm Studios.
Jordan Millar – “Walking On Me”. Drums by Mike Avenaim. Recorded at Ultimate Rhythm Studios.
Graham Harper – “City of Dreams”. Recorded & Mixed by Charlie Waymire, Mastered by Ernesto Homeyer.
More coming soon!
We are in the final hours of 2012 so we thought it would be nice to post some photos from the past year in the studio.
To make it easy for everyone we created a photo album on our Facebook page. Be sure to like us!
Enjoy and happy New Year!
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.534310263254854.127689.207265242626026&type=1&l=83a83f3114
Before heading out with Seether and then Megadeth KYNG was back in the studio finishing up some guitars on a new track.
“These guys are awesome. If we’re lucky they’re the future of rock music. Everyone needs to get out and see this band.” says engineer Charlie Waymire.
Check out KYNG on Facebook.
“Not Again!?” is an instrumental magic carpet ride! From the funk grooves of “JB’s Broken Leg” and “Funky Strut” to the progressive rockers “T3” and “Explorer”, “Not Again!?” demands more than one listen!
“Not Again!?” was recorded, mixed and mastered at Ultimate Rhythm Studio by Charlie Waymire and Ernesto Homeyer.
Besides the main three amigos “Not Again!?” has a slew of special guests.
Ernesto Homeyer – Guitar
Charlie Waymire – Drums
Justin Apergis – Bass
w/special guests:
Leslie Jones – Sax
Lao Tizer – Keys
Charles Sydnor – Accordion
Menno Verbaten – Bass (Kinda Spanish)
Enjoy a video of “Frettin’ Freddy” off of Not Again!?.