This has been another week of different music. I started the week at Blackbird Studio with Chance Scoggins producing Sandi Patty. Can I just say that Sandi is such an amazing talent and when she sings, it is effortless and easy and amazing and beautiful and above all, easy. Scott Phillips had a full house at Blackbird so he put us in Studio C, otherwise known as the "Stick Room". What a cool room and a great vibe to get in the mood for recording. I recorded Sandi until today and now I am in Studio F at Blackbird with Jim VanCleve putting the final touches on the new Mountain Heart record. Brad Bass has been ever present with us and has been documenting us all week in pictures. I will put together an online gallery of some of the pictures that he has taken. I finished the day with signing some production papers for the Brazilian band, W2F,  that I started producing several months ago. We hope to get back into the studio mid July and start cranking up some more songs. If you are a Sandi Patty fan, please go to this link and watch her amazing vocal performance Sandi Patty preview for new Record! This is all until next time.
david

Hello all 3 of you that are following this blog. The last few weeks have been very busy.

 I have been working at Blackbird Studios, Ocean Way Nashville, and First Avenue Sound on many exciting projects. I am presently at Blackbird mixing the New Mountain Heart record with Jim VanCleve producing. We were at First Ave. Sound earlier last week putting the final touches on it and we had a special guest pop in to sing background vocals, The incomparable, John Cowen. What a treat to see him effortlessly hit the high tenor parts on a few of the Mountain Heart songs. I used a Kel microphone on his voice. I have been mixing the last of these 4 songs over here at Blackbird with next Tuesday as a "tweak" day.

I then got a call from Scott Phillips, studio manager at Blackbird, to come and do a 3 hour guitar overdub on a Waylon Jennings tribute record that will be coming out later this year on scattertunes. The producer is Witt Stewart and he is a EVERYTHING that you want from a producer and label owner. If he wants it done, he just does it. No bull, no middleman. This record has everyone from Vince Gill to Joe Ely to Linda Davis and a new artist named Josh Thompson. The 3 hour overdub turned into 4 days of tracking and mixing. We did a last minute tracking date at Ocean Way Nashville on the Josh Thompson song, "Love of the Common People". The overdub that I was originally called for was to put the legendary "Reggie Young" on a song and have Linda Davis sing the lead vocal and duet with Jessi Colter on "Storms Never Last"

I just talked to Jamey and Joe Booher, they are with a band called New Found Road. A band that I did a record for a few years ago. I went out on the road with them and laughed and complained all across the US doing the bluegrass circuit. If you haven't seen them, make a point to go to their website and check out their tour schedule. They are an amazing blend of traditional bluegrass and old sad SAD country songs. Be careful out there on your way to Michigan, I wish that I was with you so that I could jack the bass through the roof.

Finally, I produced 2 songs for a Brazilian group called "Welcome 2 The Family". The band consist of 2 brothers, Breno and Braulio. If all goes well, I will be producing the rest of the record later this summer. Many Thanks to my manager, Sarah Stout. I would not be able to do what I do without her guidance and wisdom. I also want to give a shout out to Jon Brooks of the MGroupemusic. He connected the band with me and I believe that we have a strong record in the making.

Goodbye for now, give me ideas on what you would like me to talk about and I will hit them next time
david hall

So this week I am at Blackbird Studio D. I am tracking a really cool independent band, Gasoline 67. These guys are from Jacksonville Fl. They are considered a "power-trio".
Here are the Technical details if you care.
Blackbird Studio D, 96 channel API
Protools HD, 24/48
Drums... Custom Yamaha kit with Craviotto and black Beauty Snr's
Fet 47, D12, SM57, 451, KM84's, C-12's, 414's, M50's, 269's, U47, RCA Ribbon, E/V p.o.s.
Egtr... Marshall on 10 with high gain, Gibson flying V.
57, Coles, and then... Royer. Coles couldn't take the volume, oops. Sorry Richard.
Bass... 62 P-Bass, B-15 amp on 7
Vocal... SM_7a
Control Room... Neve 31105's, 1081's, 1073's, API's, Telefunken, Pultecs, Fairchild 670, LA-2A, DBX 160 VU, ATC, Tannoys

We tracked 4 songs in 2 days. Did the basics on day 1 and then did gtr solo's and lead vocals and BGV's today. we move into Studio C tomorrow and Wednesday to mix in the famous "Stick room". The band has done an amazing job and the pre-production that they did has definitely paid off! I must say that I truly love what I do. If you are interested in booking me for your next record, please contact Sarah Stout or myself, via the contacts page.

This week I recorded more sides with a band that I have done many projects with, Mountain Heart. This group of guys has more talent in a band than any band that I have worked with. They constantly push the limits in acoustic music.

We started on Wednesday at First Avenue Sound. The basic tracks are usually carried out quite quickly and then the rest of the day is spent doing overdubs and putting embellishments on that help with the dynamic push of the song. Jim VanCleve, who I have done many side projects with, is producing this project. Jim is the fiddle player in the band and absolutely amazing to work beside. His vision for where the songs started and where they are going is very strong.

I would like to give a STRONG shout out to Bruce Myers and his company DPA Microphones. Mountain Heart is an endorsed artist for DPA. Bruce is not only a strong business man, but also a HUGE fan of Mountain Heart. The last 3 records that I have done with these guys, I have called up Bruce and he has opened up the vault to us. This generosity has allowed me to capture the instruments with absolute detail. Here is an example of what I have going on; Jason Moore's upright bass has an Avalon DI and a DPA Tube 4041 with DPA high voltage preamp. Clay Jones used a 1927 Martin and I mic'd him with a pair of DPA 4023 configured in an X/Y pattern. Jim VanCleve was mic'd with a single 4011 in cardioid mode. Barry Abernathy was also mic'd with a 4011 in cardioid. I tried the 4023's on Josh Shilling's acoustic and went with a tube 4041 and a Neumann KM84. The odd man out in the DPA world was Aaron Ramsey. I have a specific sound that I go with on the mandolin. I use a Swedish mic called a Thuresson CM402 and a Gefell 582. I chose this because of the color that these mics have on his mandolin and his style of playing. To round it this out, I used a KEL mic on a song that Aaron sang and a Neumann U-87 on Josh's vocal tracks.

This is all that I have time for today. Until next time, keep experimenting.