pro tools

Andrew Scheps on the Waves Masters Tour at the Village Studios on March 13, 2011.

Visit Andrew’s site at http://www.scheps.com/

Photography by Brian Petersen at www.brianapetersen.com
Email Brian Petersen for licenses regarding this image.
© 2010 Brian Petersen

After graduating from the University of Miami’s music school, Andrew Scheps worked for Synclavier. Following that he toured with both Stevie Wonder as a keyboard tech and Michael Jackson as a mixing engineer. Eventually Andrew began concentrating on recording, and he found himself engineering for some of the most successful producers in rock: Don Was, Rob Cavallo, and Rick Rubin.

Andrew has recorded such diverse artists as Audioslave, Green Day, Johnny Cash, Jewel, Neil Diamond, Limp Bizkit, Alanis Morissette, The Rolling Stones, and Linkin Park. Artists such as U2, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Justin Timberlake, Jay-Z, and Camp Freddy featuring Scott Weiland have taken advantage of Andrew’s talents as a mixing engineer.

Read more: http://www.waves.com/content.aspx?id=3545#ixzz1ItJYDgGL

Andrew Schep’s Discography
 

Trevor Gomes recording sessions. Engineered by Brian Petersen.

Photography by Brian Petersen at www.brianapetersen.com
Email Brian Petersen for licenses regarding this image.
© 2010 Brian Petersen

Waves Grammy Congratulations NAMM 2011 from Brian Petersen on Vimeo.

Video by Brian Petersen for Waves
http://brianapetersen.com/
http://www.waves.com/

Chris Lord-Alge
Jack Joseph Puig
Manny Marroquin
Ross Hograth
Andrew Scheps
Dave Aron
Val Garay
Stevie Black
Scott Martin Gershin
Rob Arbittier
John Mills
Nic tenBroek
Michael Pearson Adams
Jordan Rudess

From a harp recording session by Brian Petersen with a piece written by Trevor Gomes on November 20, 2010.

Miced with a Neumann TLM 49 cardioid directional large-diaphragm studio microphone running to a UA LA 610 into Pro Tools LE8 running Waves Mercury Bundle.

People may ask, “How do I record a harp?” A couple rules always apply for any recording. I use a nice large room with high ceilings, a good player, good charts, and a good producer and engineer. I used two mics in with one pointing at the soundboard and the Neumann is bit higher aimed at the strings. I loved the result and will use this in the future.

Photography by Brian Petersen at www.brianapetersen.com
Email Brian Petersen for licenses regarding this image.
© 2010 Brian Petersen

This digi 002 portable pro tools rig was used to track an album and pitch vocals while the main HD rig was mixing in P1 at the Westlake Studios in West L.A.

Photography by Brian Petersen at www.brianapetersen.com
Email Brian Petersen for licenses regarding this image.
© 2010 Brian Petersen

From a string recording session at Grace EV Free for the Isaiah worship CD coming out in September.

Photography by Brian Petersen at www.brianapetersen.com
Email Brian Petersen for licenses regarding this image.
© 2010 Brian Petersen

Shots from a photo session with the legendary Chris Lord-Alge at Mix L.A.

Photography by Brian Petersen at www.brianapetersen.com
Email Brian Petersen for licenses regarding this image.
© 2010 Brian Petersen

Church live sound recording using Pro Tools, Yamaha M7, and Waves

Many people wonder how they can record live worship in their church sanctuary using affordable gear to get the job done right. Here is a basic setup using Pro Tools LE 8, a Yamaha M7, and Waves plug ins.

Design by Brian Petersen at Grace EV Free, La Mirada.
Gear and installation by Steve Prado and Jeff Clark at ELS

Signal flow
- Inputs come from the stage to the snake at Front of House (FOH).
- XLR snake lines then plug into to the back of the mixer, a Yamaha 48 channel M7
- The M7 mic pres set the gain for the mixer channel and the direct out
- direct outs from each mixer channel is routed to an output card on the M7
- 2 installed analog cards on the back of the M7 go to a Digi 003+rack
- Inputs come into a Digi 003+ rack running Pro Tools LE 8
- The Digi 003+ rack connects via firewire 400 to the iMac
- 8 other outputs from the board are run into a ADAT lightpipe interface connected to the Digi 003+ via lightpipe providing 16 total analog inputs to Pro Tools

- The tracks are then recorded in Pro Tools 8 on an older iMac with no active plug ins
- The files from the worship services are moved to another computer.
- The 16 tracks are then mixed using SSL, Masters, and the Diamond Bundle of Waves plug ins.
- The audio mix is then manual sync to the recorded camera feeds in Final Cut Pro

Inputs:
2 flown room mics at 20ft. facing the congregation
1 wireless Shure Beta 87 for lead vocal
1 wireless Shure lav W185 mic for preaching pastor
1 wireless Shure Beta 87 for announcements
2 wired Shure Beta 58 for female lead and background vocals
1 Audix D6 for kick drum
1 Sennheiser e604 for snare
1 Sennheiser e604 for toms
1 Shure KSM 106 for drum overhead
1 Rapco DI for electric bass
1 Shure SM 58 for electric guitar
1 Radial DI for acoustic guitar
2 Shure KSM 109 for grand piano (only 1 channel goes to pt)
1 Shure KSM 27 for violin/fiddle

Waves Plug-ins
Waves SSL G-Master Buss Compressor for main mix buss
Based on the renowned master buss center compressor of the SSL 4000 G console, the Waves SSL G-Master Buss Compressor captures the unique sound of the original’s IC input and twin VCA gain-reduction amplifier design.

Waves L2 Ultramaximizer for main mix buss
For mixing, mastering, and more, the L2’s legendary combination of look-ahead brickwall peak limiting, level maximization, and ultra high resolution give you the power and extra gain you need with crystal-clear results every single time.

Waves S1 Stereo Imager for main buss before the compressor
Ideal for stereo tracks as well as full mixes, the S1 is a unique and powerful set of tools that uses psycho-acoustic spatial imaging techniques to enhance and alter stereo separation.

Waves SSL E-Channel for most channel EQ and compression
The SSL E-Channel delivers the incomparable sound of the Solid State Logic 4000-series console’s all-discrete design and its Class A, VCA chip.

Waves Renaissance Compressor
Featuring a streamlined, optimized interface, the Renaissance Compressor delivers classic warm compression and expansion utilizing technologies from our renowned C1 Parametric Compander and the legendary L1 Ultramaximizer™.

Waves Renaissance Axx for bass
Engineered especially for guitar, Renaissance Axx is the ideal compressor for musicians and engineers who need to dial in dynamic levels quickly. With its three efficient controls, Renaissance Axx features a fixed ratio curve, automatic release value, and an output limiter to prevent clipping.

Waves H-Delay for main vocal and electric gt delays
From real old school PCM42-style effects like filtering, flanging, and phasing, to slap-back echo, ping-pong delay, and tempo-sync with modulation, H-Delay delivers the goods, controlled by a super intuitive interface that lets you get right down to business.

Photography by Brian Petersen at www.brianapetersen.com
Email Brian Petersen for licenses regarding this image.
© 2010 Brian Petersen

Eddie Kramer at NAMM 2010
Photos by Brian Petersen at brianapetersen@gmail.com

Eddie Kramer demonstrates new plug ins at NAMM 2010.
HLS Channel (aka Helios Channel) and PIE Compressor (aka Pye Compressor)

Text from the Waves Site on Eddie Kramer

“Any producer is only as good as the music he helps create. By this standard, Eddie Kramer must be regarded as a legend. In the course of a production and engineering career that has spanned 30 years, Kramer has been behind the boards for the biggest names in music – The Rolling Stones, Traffic, Peter Frampton, Carly Simon, Joe Cocker, Johnny Winter, David Bowie, The Beatles and Bad Company, just to name a few. But he is perhaps best known for three long-term associations in which he not only helped create some of the most important music of the rock era, but also set standards for rock production that set him aside as a true innovator. His work with Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, and Kiss produced music which continues to influence rock musicians and producers today.

Born in South Africa, Eddie studied classical piano, cello and violin at the prestigious South African college of Music. At a young age, his interest switched from classical to jazz. He moved to England at 19, where he recorded local jazz groups in a home-based studio and installed hi-fi equipment as a hobby. In 1964, he joined Pye Studios, and recorded a variety of artists including Sammy Davis Jr., Petula Clark, and The Kinks, demonstrating a versatility, which Eddie possesses to this day.

In 1965, Kramer established the sophisticated KPS Studios, which, despite its rudimentary 2-track recording capability, gained such a reputation that in less than a year they were bought out by Regent Sound. They enlisted Kramer to oversee construction of their new four-track studio.

Getting “Experienced”
Kramer’s next stop was Olympic Sound studios where he developed a fantastic reputation among the bands of the time – Small Faces, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Jimi Hendrix, among others. His association with Hendrix was the most powerful one, and the one that lasted the longest. Kramer engineered every Hendrix album from “Are You Experienced” to “Cry of Love,” and after Hendrix’s death co-produced the posthumous releases “War Heroes,” “Rainbow Bridge” and “Hendrix in the West.”

In 1968, Kramer came to work at the Record Plant in NYC, engineering Hendrix’s “Electric Ladyland” LP, and also worked with Vanilla Fudge, Joe Cocker, and NRBQ. In 1969, Kramer went independent, producing Johnny Winter’s first LP and engineering Led Zeppelin II, acknowledged by fans and critics alike as perhaps that bands most influential work. This led to work on five albums with the band, half of their overall output. This pairing provided some historic moments. As Eddie tells of one particular session, “Zep II was mixed over a two day period in New York, and at one point there was bleed-through of a previously recorded vocal in the recording of “Whole Lotta Love.” It was the middle part where Robert (Plant) screams “Wo-man. You need it.” Since we couldn’t re-record at that point, I just threw some echo on it to see how it would sound and Jimmy (Page) said “Great! Just leave it.”

Woodstock
Soon afterwards, Kramer was recruited to record the Woodstock festival for both the album and the movie. “I arrived at dawn and was struck by the sight of the sun rising over what appeared to be the stage. The show was scheduled to start by lunchtime. That panic pretty much set the tone for the entire concert. All of us in the crew had Vitamin B shots, so that we would be able to stay up for three days. The whole thing was recorded under the most primitive of conditions, but we got it done,” says Kramer. “Woodstock was 3 days of hell and drugs”.

Woodstock established Kramer as one of the most important live music producers of the rock era, starting a series of artists recorded live which would ultimately include Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Kiss, John Mayall, The Rolling Stones, Peter Frampton, Joe Cocker, Curtis Mayfield, Santana, David Bowie, Derek and The Dominoes, and others.

Electric Lady Studios
Hendrix quickly hired Kramer to build a state of the art studio. After 13 months and a million dollars, Electric Lady Studios was complete, and Kramer served as its Director of Engineering from 1970 – 1974. During this time, in addition to producing the posthumous Hendrix records, Kramer produced records by Carly Simon, Sha Na Na and Peter Frampton, and engineered albums for artists as diverse as Dionne Warwick and Lena Horne, David Bowie’s “Live at the Spectrum” and “Young Americans,” featuring “Fame” with John Lennon, and Led Zeppelin’s “Houses of the Holy” and “Physical Graffiti,” among others.

In 1975, Kramer left Electric Lady Studios to work with the No. 1 band in America at the time and produced “Kiss Alive.” In addition to producing “Rock and Roll Over,” “Love Gun,” “Alive II” and “Double Platinum” for Kiss, Kramer worked on Ace Frehley’s first solo record, Led Zeppelin’s “The Song Remains the Same” (the album and the movie), Peter Frampton’s historic “Frampton Comes Alive” LP, and The Rolling Stones “Love Ya Live,” three of the most popular live albums of the rock era. In the last three decades, Kramer has produced countless bands from Anthrax, Motley Crue, and Twisted Sister to Buddy Guy, Sting and Carlos Santana. He produced the Hendrix tribute album, “Stone Free,” for Warner Bros., which features tracks from artists such as: The Cure, Eric Clapton, The Spin Doctors, Seal/Jeff Beck, Slash/Paul Rodgers, and others. The album has generated approximately $1,000,000 in charitable funds which have been donated to the United Negro College Fund as musical scholarships to The Berklee School of Music, Julliard School of Music, and The Dance Theatre of Harlem. Since 1997, he has remastered all of the Jimi Hendrix albums from the original master tapes for Experience Hendrix/MCA. Eddie won a Grammy in 2002 for his work with Carlos Santana and Michelle Branch on the single, “The Game of Love.” Eddie has also worked with Lauren Hill on her new album.

Eddie’s photographs may be viewed at www.kramerarchives.com.”

Chris Lord-Alge at NAMM 2010
Chris demonstrates his new fader style channel series of Waves plugins coming for drums, vocals, and guitars.

Quoted from the Waves Web Site
When Waves first released its SSL 4000 Collection, we wanted input from an experienced SSL user. Who better to turn to than master mixer to the superstars, Chris Lord-Alge? After hearing our plug-ins, Chris said, “I’m proud to share my secret presets with SSL 4000 users. These are the best models I’ve ever heard.”

Chris Lord-Alge is not only known for his talent, speed, and efficiency when mixing a record but also his passion for music, sense of humor, and personal approach. Today, Chris is one of the most successful, in-demand mixers in the business. Along with his brother, Tom, Chris has become a mixer to Rock & Roll royalty; their combined credits are a virtual catalog of hits from the past 20 years. His long list of credits include artists as varied as Sheryl Crow, Hoobastank, Tim McGraw, Audioslave, Snow Patrol, Brian Setzer, and Eric Clapton.

According to Chris, “It’s in our blood. We have the gene.” Chris grew up in New Jersey, the son of musical parents. At an early age, his mother got him an apprenticeship at H&L Studio. According to Chris, the moment he stepped in the studio, he was hooked.

As his success grew over the years, he began producing as well as mixing. After producing several albums, including classics by Joe Cocker and Peter Frampton, Chris realized he just wanted to mix: “There’s definitely less grief with mixing than with producing.”

When Chris looks back on his career, some of his personal favorites include his work with Tina Turner and Jude Cole, as well as Green Day’s Grammy®-Winning American Idiot album.

Rob Cavallo, Sr. Vice President of A&R at Warner Brothers, says of Chris, “He listens very well. You ask him to try something on a mix, and he’s reaching for the EQ before you even stop speaking.”

Tina Turner once commented, “[Chris’] mixes have saved many of our tracks. It’s a pleasure to work with Chris, and he has a great sense of humor and self-confidence.”

I had a blast engineering this a cappella album for the King’s Men at Biola with Walt Harrah.

Session signal path included:
Neumann TLM 49 microphone
Universal Audio LA-610 Tube pre / T4 Optical Compressor
Digi 002 Mixer Digidesign Pro Tools

Produced by Walt Harrah
Engineering by Brian Petersen
Mixed and Mastered by Brian Scheuble and Nolan Sipe
This album was recorded at Grace EV Free in La Mirada.
Mixed at the Village in West L.A. on a HD pro tools rig.

Members: Drew Brokke, Trevor Gomes, Arnold Geis, Matt Gould, Kevin Krogstad, Dan Rigall, Matt Sanchez, Jordan Tolentino
Released by Biola.

Here is an article about the CD.
http://www.biola.edu/news/articles/2009/091216_kingsmen.cfm

The King’s Men, Biola University’s a cappella student singing group, recently released their second CD titled No Turning Back. The CD features the group’s newest music alongside traditional hymns and worship songs, proving to be a unique listening experience.

Drew Brokke, a senior music and worship major and member of The King’s Men, was challenged to grow as a musician through the recording experience.

“Working on this album was simultaneously one of the most frustrating and rewarding experiences of my life,” said Brokke. “I was never so aware of my faults as a musician as then, but the rewards for working through them have been more than worth it. I feel so privileged to have been a part of it.”

Since 1986, The King’s Men, have performed and provided a unique style of music ranging from classical works by Morten Lauridsen to popular works arranged by M-Pact, Glad, and Walt Harrah. Though the members change each year, The King’s Men still continue to remain strong and their desire is that God be extolled through their talents.

Walt Harrah, the producer of No Turning Back, believes the experience was invaluable for the group.

“It was a tremendous growing experience for the singers, both in their respect of each other’s talent, as well as respect for the process of making a recording,” Harrah said.

The King’s Men can be found performing at various community and Biola-sponsored events.No Turning Back is available for purchase through the Conservatory of Music and at the Biola Bookstore.

Written by Lauren Kermelis, Media Relations Intern. Jenna Bartlo, Media Relations Coordinator, can be reached at (562)777-4061 or through email at jenna.l.bartlo@biola.edu.

Ted Blaisdell mixing the album, “So Much Joy,” in Studio E at the Westlake Studios

Produced by Walt Harrah
Engineered by Brian Petersen
Mixed by Ted Blaisdell at the Westlake Studios
Mastered by Robert Hadley at the Mastering Lab
Album design by John-Mark Warkentin

tedblaisdell.com/

Studio E is a beautiful mixing suite equipped with a 72 input SSL 9000J console and an extraordinary amount of outboard gear. Studio “E” has a roomy luxurious private lounge with many creature comforts including Internet access and dining facilities. The studio is also equipped with ISDN lines for Global Recording.

Westlake Recording Studios
7265 Santa Monica Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90046
TEL (323) 851-9800
For booking availability, rates or any additional info
please contact Sara Clark or Steve Burdick
Email: bookings@thelakestudios.com

Console:
Solid State Logic 9072J Super Analogue Console

Monitors and Video:
Westlake HR1-X Mains
Sony 42” Flat Panel Plasma Display
2 Sony WEGA 20” Flat Panel Displays

Size:
Control Room 375 square feet
Vocal Booth 52 square feet

Isolation:
One Standard Isolation Area – One Variable Decay Isolation Area

Multitrack Tape Machines :
Digidesign Pro-Tools HD System with an Apple 21” Cinema Display and latest Power Mac.
Studer A-827
Sony PCM-3348 or 3348HR

Two Track Machines:
Ampex ATR-100
Panasonic SV-3700 DAT
HHB CDR850 Compact Disc Recorder
Apogee PSX1000 series AD/DA Converters

Outboard Gear – Time Based Effects
AMS-RMX 16
AMS-DMX 1580 DDL
EMT 140 Analog Plate
Eventide DSP-4000
Eventide H3500
Lexicon 480L & 960L
Lexicon PCM 70 (2)
Lexicon PCM 91
Lexicon PCM 42 (2)
Quantec QRS-XL
Roland SDE 3000 (2)
TC M3000
TC D-TWO
Yamaha SPX 90 (2)
Yamaha SPX 900

Outboard Gear – Dynamic Effects
Avalon 737SP
dbx 165A (2)
dbx 160x (3)
dbx 902 de-esser (1)
Drawmer DS-201 Gates
Emperical Distressors (2)
GML 8200 St. EQ’s (2)
Manley EQP-1A
Neve 33609 Stereo Comp
Summit MPE-200 EQ
Summit EQP-200A St. EQ
Summit 200 St Comp (2)
TubeTech LCA 2B St EQ
Tubetech PE 1C EQ (2)
Urie 1176
Waves L2 St Maximizer

It’s no doubt that the Digi 002 is now an industry standard interface and has been featured on numerous records. Its smaller size combined with the ability to portably record to pro tools makes for a win win combination. The units come in either a 3U rack mount version or a table top automated mixer version that I personally prefer. The only problem is that the stock A/D converters and the clock in the unit are not the same quality that would you hope to have on a major record using a more high end pro tools studio interface. Some companies provide modifications on the clock and the converters with the digi 002 units, but you can also do well by making these modifications yourself. I use higher end vintage mic pres and nice large diaphragm mics to compensate for the stock pres and the converters on the 002. More on the converters later, but one way to overcome the clock issue is to use a high end external master clock for your interface. Many clocks are available and widely discussed, but I have gone with the recommendation of engineers that are much more skilled and discerning than I am in the studio world. This article is a brief detail of how to use an Antelope Isochrome OCX external clock with a Digidesign Digi 002.