the stresser EP is out! it actually came out last weekend but I have been wayyyy too busy to update the website. we’ll play some cool shows in the future and we have very exciting things brewing regarding physicals and such, but in the meantime I thought id upload a sort of nerd blog about the gear used in the recording process and also how it was done in general.

gear wise, this album was done in my home studio in Eugene, riiiiight before I moved away to Portland where I currently live. going to go instrument by instrument and talk about anything I thought was noteworthy.

Drums were recorded first with a pearl session classic kit, done with somewhere in the realm of ten to twelve mics if I remember correctly. its mostly very orthodox stuff, oktava overheads, a very standard set of close mic options, with most sonic interest coming from the various room options. I always record a trash mic in the crotch position, in this case an AT2020 I had lying around the studio because it was leftover when everything else was set up. additionally, a mid/side pair was pointed at the front of kit from about 5 feet away, and a 57 got thrown at the top of a nearby stairwell for a touch of natural reverb. I didn’t use any outboard gear for this EP, everything was sent directly into my Focusrite and mixed ITB for convenience and flexibility. I’ll do full list of microphones at the bottom of this post to the best of my memory.

Guitars were a very fun but sort of messy process as far as this record is concerned. due to the haphazard nature of the recording, we did them piecemeal over many days and several locations, but the vast majority were recorded on an American Stratocaster sent into a peavey classic fifty and a vintage 4×12 that I have no real information on. I’ve owned the thing for years, but I am afraid to open it, and not a single bit of documentation exists online for its specific specification. Even the serial number is no help. regardless of the mystery, the thing sounds fantastic, and has been central to my guitar tones for years. Everything was captured with a standard pair of off axis 57 and e609, because why mess with it when it sounds awesome????

Admittedly, it has been years since I have felt the need to record a real bass amp. all the bass on this project and pretty much everything else I have done in the last few years is the plugin alliance AMPEG SVTR Classic simulation, direct inputted into the front of my Scarlett. it just sort of works, without the finicky unpredictability of a home recorded bass amp in a room without perfect treatment. one day I will justify using a real amp but this was not that project.

Vocals were done with a combination of microphones across several rooms and locations due to the mess that getting this out on time became. The vast majority of Ki’s main vocal sounds are a large diaphragm condenser microphone I cannot recall the name of lent to me by a friend for the process, the rest were done on two different warm audio 47jrs. This album doesn’t really have a lot of auxiliary instrumentation, so here are some fun facts I guess!

I recorded like 16 extra bars of drums at the end of march by accident and had to cut them out in post, a mess which can be heard on close listen if you can find the right spot

The backing vocals in take your time had to be rearranged due to a last minute change to the lyrics

The drum recording setup for stresser is identical in mic choice and exact placement to the setup for another Eugene band that has not released their music yet. the only differences are snare and cymbal choice

The acoustic guitar at the end of cycle was a scratch take that never got deleted or redone. it was played in one take without tuning or a metronome and somehow made it to the final masters.

Hope you enjoyed these ramblings! here’s a list of every mic I used as far as I can remember.

• Drums – pearl session classic, 1968 Ludwig acrolite
• Cymbals – Istanbul 15 inch traditional light hi hats, Zildijian K custom 20 inch dark ride, K custom 18 Cluster Crash, Meinl 16 Inch Byzance custom dark crash
• Kick in – Audix D6
• Kick out – Warm WA47jr
• Snare top – Sm57
• Snare bottom – Shure SM7b
• Rack tom – SM58
• Floor tom – sennheiser e604
• Crotch mic – Audio Technical AT2020
• Overheads – Oktava MK01201
• Mid/Side Pair -TLM clone, WA47jr
• Room mics – sm57 in the hall, sm57 in my kitchen
• Guitars – sm57, e609
• Bass – DI