Jerich said:
Hey Andy can we get a rundown on your equipment for recording the winds Cd's and maybe the "age of Silence" stuff too? you get some smoothe layered tones...is it hard to make sure all the string arrangements stay in tune with guitars/and Keys? i found it always to be a problem...
Hi Jerich,
For Winds I usually don't use anything except for a piano. There are no synthesizers or keyboards at all on the last record, so it's completely organic.
On the recordings I have used two different kinds of pianos, a Yamaha C7 Grand and a Bosendorfer Model 290 Concert Grand. I usually prefer the Bosendorfer even though I don't mind playing the Yamaha either. I may use some organs on the next record but piano is still my main instrument in Winds.
In Age of Silence it's a completely different matter. That's sort of my electronic musical playground so I have used almost anything in the field of analogue and digital synthesizers (too many to mention), radio wave synthesizers, organs, moogs, mellotrone, you name it. I have used a lot of effects as well, both stand alone units and software VST effects, Pro Tools effects and things of that nature. I also have a range of software synths of surprisingly good quality that I like to use for certain effects.
As for keeping the string instruments in tune, that can often be a known challenge when recording, especially since the string players tend to like to tune their instrument to their own ear rather than the music they are playing to. It also comes down to how experienced the players are, and how well the arrangements have been written by the band ahead of time. Because string instruments do not have frets, the string players have to know exactly where to place their fingers to hit the right notes and to keep the notes in tune.
We use professional players from the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, so they do not usually have this problem, but they are also very expensive. (In the ballpark of $400-500 per hour for a quartet). I have heard some nice recordings where amateurs have been used too, in fact most metal bands that I know of with a few exceptions use people from the music conservatory or similar, as they cannot afford to hire professionals. But this can be risky depending on the experience of these musicians, and the saying "you get what you pay for" usually applies. At least this is my experience although I'm sure there are exceptions to the rule.
But if the guitars and the piano are in tune to begin with, which hopefully they are, then if the string players tune their instruments accordingly it should not be a problem as long as they do not play out of tune. When recording I would recommend tuning all guitars after each take until it stops changing pitch, and then between each 2-3 takes and so on. New strings before recording is a must, and I would recommend throwing them out after a week of non-use if it's for a recording. Some people think this is excessive but most engineers I talk to say the same thing. Another thing to keep in mind which we experienced when recording the strings in the winter time, was the change in pitch on the instruments due to temperature variations. When coming out from the cold and into the studio it took about a half an hour before their instruments started sounding like they should. In fact it was not pleasant listening at all up until the point where they had tuned their instruments properly. So paying close attention to tuning is a necessity to achieve a good result.
Regards,
Andy Winter
