Stuff... since August.

So... not a single post since late August? I know what you must be thinking. What a bunch of SLACKERS!


And I'm afraid I might just have to agree with you.


This was my first semester attending classes at CSUDH, and though it has been very enlightening on many fronts, it was hell at times. Just like any transition is in life, it can be rough, and this time was no exception. But I made it, somewhat.


The band until the most recent weeks have been very productive. We have been playing a whole host of shows at a couple dive bars around town, as well as a very memorable show down at Sipology, a charming corner-suite coffee shop in the Long Beach Arts District, where oddly enough, we were the loudest band present; probably the only time that would happen, granted we don't open for Gordon Lightfoot or anyone of the sort. 


We've also been rehearsing quite a bit for our next string of DIY recordings that hopefully will begin in the next week or so. But anyway I did some really rough miking on each of the instruments: a mics for kick, snare, overhead, guitar, vocal, and a Mackie mini stereo mixer acting as a preamp for bass guitar running into DI for bass. All off these signal sources were recorded to ProTools 8 via a Fast Track Ultra 8R recording interface. Not the most flattering miking arrangement, but for rough sketches of each song, not all that bad sounding.


Microphones used were Shure SM57s on guitar, snare, and even kick on "I Can't Be Anybody Else."
 I know what you must be thinking... "an SM57 on kick! Yuck!" I know, I know, not the best for kick drum given the dip in response below roughly 150Hz, but it was all I had access to at the time, and surprisingly did not have all too bad of a sound. Once we recorded "The Drifter," I purchased a used Sennheiser MD421 Mark II and used that on the kick drum, giving a more robust and rounded sound. 
For the single overhead mic, I used a MXL 991 small diaphragm condenser. It has a very wide cardioid pattern, and despite it's very inexpensive price, doesn't have a bad sound. I didn't say it was rather good either, but again, all that this DIY recordist has access to.
And for the vocals, I used a very inexpensive Shure PG48 that normally gets used at the open mike that I host. Fun stuff. Probably should disinfect that thing pretty soon.


You can listen to these rehearsals by visiting The Short Term Melody's Myspace page @ www.myspace.com/shorttermmelody