Recording - September 2013 - 54

because you can” rather than an actual need to tame volume spikes. Oh, and please don’t forget to tell us about the
drums... they sound great and we would love to know more
about them!
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Mike Gladstone
Equipment: Windows PC with RME Fireface 800 audio interface running Steinberg Cubase 4 and Focusrite Liquid Mix
plug-ins; Shure KSM32 condenser mic; “cheap Olympia”
acoustic guitar, Levinson Blade electric guitar, Fender
Precision Bass with EMG pickup, Korg Triton keyboard workstation.

Music: “Collide” is a male vocal acoustic rock song.
Mike did it all with some help from April Laragy on
backing vocals and accordion.
Recording: Starting with the beautifully played
acoustic guitar, we got the feeling that Mike was going to
bring a lot of talent to the table, and he certainly didn’t
disappoint. We really dug the arrangement; eliminating
anything not in service to the song is a tough thing to do
when wearing so many hats, but Mike pulled it off with
aplomb. The use of the triangle for color was handled
with skill and restraint. Equally impressive was the way
in which the backing vocals and accordion (well done,
April!) were blended in an almost orchestral fashion,
more of a “bed” than individual sound sources.
Sadly, we have no information as to the origin of the
drums, but they sounded great through our monitors. They
were mellow enough to suit the track, but with a nice
energy and great tones for the style. On a personal note,
the “Uncle Jerry” influenced guitar run at the end of the
song was the icing on an already supremely tasty cake.
As for problem areas, our only small complaint was a
bit too much compression on the guitars and lead vocals,
which caused a bit of “smear” in the mix.
Suggestions: Backing off on the compressor is easy
enough, and shouldn’t have a negative effect on the track.
If Mike was a belter, things would be different, but in our
opinion this sounds more like a case of “compression
54

RECORDING September 2013

Summary: Excellent! The next round, hopefully we’ll have
you in SPOTLIGHT!
Contact: Mike Gladstone, unclep@rochester.rr.com

Darin Karnes / Brian Matson’s Benevolent Experiment
Equipment: Mac 3 GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon computer with a
PreSonus FireStudio. DAW not given (!) but plug-ins include
Waves Diamond Bundle, IK Multimedia T-RackS (“a bit of trickery”), and Native Instruments Guitar Rig and Vintage Organs
(“a small dose of shenanigans”). 2 Schoeps CMC 646g condenser mics, MXL V63 (pre re-issue) mic, Canare StarQuad XLR
cables (“Yes they are important.”). ART Dual MP (rack mountable) and PreSonus blue faced BlueTube preamps in addition
to the FireStudio’s pres. Roland TD-20S electronic drums,
Alvarez (unknown model) acoustic guitar, Danelectro
HoDaddy electric guitar, B.C. Rich Warlock bass (“these things
record great!”).

Music: “You’re All Selfish” is a male vocal acoustic rock
song. The song was written by Brian and Darin. Brian handled all of the acoustic guitars and vocals. Darin played
the remaining instruments (drums, bass, organ, electric
guitars) and recorded/mixed the track “in a small bedroom
in Fargo, ND. Yep. Fargo.”
Recording: Ah, Fargo, was there ever a better noir comedy? Be proud, gents! As for Darin and Brian’s track, well,
they should be pretty proud of that as well. The song starts
out light-heartedly with a bit of laughter, usually a good
sign. As for the sound sources, we love the full-bodied
acoustic guitar, and the electronic drums sound tremendous, nicely overcoming the issues of tracking drums in a
bedroom and sounding better than many e-drums tracks
we’ve heard. The bass is articulate, and its clarity certainly helps to accentuate the movement in the performance.
Potential areas of concern, in our opinion, involve balance,
rather than tonal issues. Perhaps it’s a style thing, but we
found the lead vocal to be a bit too up front in the mix
through our monitors. On the flip side, we felt that the electric guitar and the organ levels were pushed back, robbing
them of the energy that they could have brought to the party.
Suggestions: Mixing in a bedroom (been there, done that)
is not the same as mixing in a professionally designed bigbudget control room. That said, Darin did a hell of a good
job here, and our problem areas may actually have been
conscious choices by the two. Vocal-forward mixing seems
to be the deal in most types of music these days, and that
is quite simply a musical decision. It wasn’t that long ago
that “buried” lead vocals ruled the day (R.E.M., anyone?).
As for the electric guitar, well... that’s another story. The
distortion on the guitar would imply to us that the guys
were looking for an impact here, so tucking it back so far
seems to have left the job half done. In the words of the
late, great Ronnie Van Zant, “turn it up!”. Ditto the organ.
Summary: “And it’s a beautiful day.” Sorry, couldn’t resist.
Contact: Darin Karnes, darinkarnes@mac.com

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Recording - September 2013

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