O Zone Lair Studio: October 2007

Forever Fades Away

Forever Fades Away spent most of Saturday hanging out at the O Zone Lair this past weekend. Overall the session was successful, a little unprepared and a few milestones to overcome but they did it and we laid down some excellent tracks.

They were prompt showing up, didn't have much gear with them as they didn't have much storage room in their vehicles, but we have some gear in the studio that they used and worked out really great. I was not even aware that my Peavy 2x12 could sound so huge on record but it was a nice surprise. Also we played out the night before as 13 Day Mission and somehow lost the clutch for the hi-hat and they had to go pick one up before we could record. I enjoyed recording our gear with other people playing it getting different sounds from it.

We tracked the drums almost as soon as they returned with the clutch. The drummer really knocked it out and laid down a solid drum track. Afterwards the bass was laid down with about 3 takes, rhythm guitar was also laid down very fast, Sean is an excellent musician and knew exactly what he wanted to do. A couple more guitar layers and the instruments were done. Total of maybe 2-3 hours of actual recording of instruments, 1-2 hours of prep including getting a new clutch.

This was my first time recording female and male vocals over rock music which I was excited about, unfortunately the vocals were not prepared before coming to the studio which made tracking a lot slower. They spent some time writing and re-writing lyrics before we got started. Once she entered the booth and we started laying down tracks, everyone had an opinion on how she should sing and what she should sing and when, several people going in and out of the booth giving advice, etc. etc. All the ideas were good but this is the easiest way to stress out a vocalist which es no bueno if you want solid tracks. But we worked through it and I feel we have some really great vocal tracks to work with, I'll be able to make this song sound very good.

Sound clips will be posted soon on the music page.

Drum - Pearl Export series
- 2 DR-HX1 condensers overhead
- 2 DR-STX1 under toms
- 1 DR-KX1 kick drum mic
- 1 M-Audio condenser on the snare/hi hat

Bass - Ampeg SVT head/Avatar 2x10 - MusicMan
- SM58
- Direct Line

Rhythm Guitar - Peavy Ranger 2x12/PRS
- SM58
- 1 M-Audio condenser

Lead Guitar - Custome Goodsell head/Vox 2x12 - Standard Strat
- SM58
- 1 M-Audio condenser

Labels: Sessions

Miles from Pangaea

Miles from Pangaea stopped into the O Zone Lair yesterday for a really great session. This was our first time working with this three piece, but they all showed up ready to work and very professional.

They set up and rehearsed a few songs while we started putting mics all over, things were already sounding pretty good. Once they got ready we started with the drum tracks(more info below), Jared started off a bit tense but dominated the set over all. Frank then tracked his bass, after having just done the reference tracks with Jareds drums. He tore it up though, I wanted to stand up and start cheering during the break down in The Green Door, he KILLED it. We took a food break then Dave laid down the guitar, and I have to say I am very happy with the tone that came through, it sounds really good.

Sound clips will be posted soon on the music page.

Drum Mics
- 2 DR-HX1 condensers overhead
- 2 DR-STX1 under toms
- 1 DR-KX1 kick drum mic
- 1 M-Audio condenser on the snare/hi hat

Bass Mics
- SM58
- DR-KX1
- Direct Line

Guitar Mics
- SM58
- DR-STX1 @4ft
- DR-HX1 @ 6ft

Labels: Sessions

the O Zone Lair

Labels: Photos

About Us

Many musicians incorrectly think that going into the studio means that a third-party producer will dictate how they will play their music and force his vision upon them. A producer by name is a person or party who controls the direction of the music and acts as the "brains" behind the final product, much like a director steers the course of a film production. It is the job of the producer to control the collaborative process and steer the recording toward a fruitful conclusion. An engineer, however, simply records the music as well as some of the preliminary mixing. Their purpose is to translate the ideas of the artist from live performance to the recorded form with as much sonic clarity as desired.

At O Zone Lair, our main goal is to give the artist a comfortable and creative environment that will allow him to record at his own pace and with his own vision. In many ways, the artists themselves are the producers at O Zone. We are only interested in a making final product that completely satisfies those performing it. That said, we will gladly offer our input-- if it helps the artist in finding the way to that perfect recording.

We offer in-house musicians, a wide variety of musical instruments and recording gear, recreational activities for time out of the studio, and even lodging for longer projects if needed. If you are interested in recording at O Zone Lair, please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns, and we will promptly get back to you about setting up some time.

Labels: About