Rob Johnson, Dave Eagling, and Myself started getting together every Wednesday back in November to make some noise on drums, guitar and bass.  Using an 8 channel mixer, a condenser, some dynamic cardoid mic’s, an array of multi-coloured leads, and a portable MP3 recorder, we were able to capture these sessions.  Nothing we have done so far was really planned – the only plan was to get together and see what happens - and that is exactly what we did.  Below is a recording taken from our second session, recorded early december:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/16453982/Jam%20Track%203%20%28V.1%29.mp3

At this stage we’re merely antennas channeling raw sound via zoned-out fits of expression, leaving technicalities such as structure and arrangement for another time, whilst we gather an array of riffs and phrases to later forge into proper songs. It’s better this way, the music just plays through you and you need not worry about the finer details which can act to stifle your muse in the development phase! 

As each session progresses we get more into the recording method too and try different approaches. For instance, in the above recording - a relatively early attempt – we have one SM58 positioned just above the snare, and a condenser placed between the amps and drums to capture the ambient sound of everything.  Later on we would introduce DI’s from the bass and guitar amps straight into the mixer so that we can place the condenser closer to the drums and capture more of that sound.  There’ll be more posts on this evolution in sound as and when we rip/edit the tracks from the recorder, and there should definitely be a noticeable arc of improvement in the quality of sound as we learn how to better capture its essence.

The room we use is a little cold sounding, large and rectangular, which I think gives an even reflection and adds a bit of colour in terms of overall ambience.

To be continued…

Three weeks -or so- later I discover my brand new chain and sprockets covered in rust!  I partly blame myself for the rookie error, but still feel that a little bit of a heads-up from the experts would have been nice!  And, speaking of ‘nice’ - I won’t proceed to name and shame, having learned a hard lesson in bicycle maintenance: never assume, or you’ll end up doing it yourself!

Searching How-to’s on the web, I find this little gem.  I was so naïve!

“Chain maintenance is one of the most controversial aspects of bicycle mechanics…Experts disagree on this subject, sometimes bitterly. This is sometimes considered a “religious” matter in the bicycle community, and much vituperative invective has been uttered in this regard between different schismatic cults.”

Who are these alchemists of bicyclical revolution, I wonder?  Time for a ‘clean and grease’.

Watch this space…