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Recording Sessions

  1. Studio Log: More Than a Little Guitar, ch. 4

    You did not miss chapter 3, and neither is the title a typo. I decided writing about paperwork was a kind of a meta-hell in which only the most self absorbed self abusers are punished. Lacking an appetite for self-harm, I'm skipping on to chapter 4.

    [If you're really interested in UK registration of recordings and albums drop me line and we can talk. It is an involved process.]

    The mastering is complete! I got something called a PQ sheet from the mastering engineer ...
    Tags: mastering
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    Recording Sessions
  2. Studio Log: More Than a Little Guitar, ch. 2

    I do need to make an amendment to my last blog.

    I used a different process to record instrumental than songs. The CD track, "St Anne's Reel/Whiskey Before Breakfast," was recorded without a scratch track. I simply sat down in front of the mic setup that we used to record the guitar rhythm tracks and banged out 72 bars, using my Santa Cruz Guitar Company dreadnought as the rhythm instrument. (32 for St. Anne's Reel, 32 for Whiskey Before Breakfast, and the B part to Whiskey ...

    Updated Sep-05-2013 at 5:48am by Daniel Nestlerode

    Tags: recording, studio
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  3. Studio Log: More Than a Little Guitar, ch. 1

    A couple of weeks ago I finished a 10 day recording session for my new CD which will carry the title More Than a Little Guitar. At the outset the goal was to make a folk/singer-songwriter album framed around the mandolin as primary rhythm and lead instrument.

    To record a song, I would sit in the studio with mics on playing the song as though I was performing it. My producer, Brooks Williams, and my engineer, Chris Pepper, would find the tempo and create a drum track that suited ...

    Updated Aug-30-2013 at 2:57am by Daniel Nestlerode

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  4. New Video Posted: Wounded Knee

    Howdy to all on Mando-land,
    I have a new video up on my Youtube Channel which I will embed here to save the trouble of clicking a link.

    This is the second in the ongoing series of songs being recorded at Fran Guidry's Digital Duck Studios in Walnut Creek, CA.

    The Song is called Wounded Knee. It about the massacre of several hundred Lakota Soiux at the hands of the 7th Cavalry in December 1890. The story is told from the first person perspective of a fictional ...

    Updated Jan-08-2022 at 5:05pm by Mandolin Cafe

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  5. Long Black Veil (HD version)

    My friend, Fran, put together this video from multiple camera angles and included the mandolin tracks we cut too!



    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziZD2FBHy2Q

    Daniel

    Updated Jan-08-2022 at 12:15pm by Mandolin Cafe

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  6. Long Black Veil

    Hi Everyone!
    I just posted a new video to Youtube. The song is "Long Black Veil" by Danny Dill and Marijohn Wilkins. The arrangement is something I came up with a few years ago.

    The occasion is a recording session I did last week (May 12, 2010), which is why the big capsule mics are hanging in the shot.

    Again, no mandolin on my part, but plenty of space for yours.
    • Short opening at the top and a full verse break after the first refrain. ...

    Updated Jan-08-2022 at 5:04pm by Mandolin Cafe

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  7. Studio Log: Señor Circus Aug 6-9, 2009; Acoustic and Elec. Mando

    I am thinking a stripped down approach is a good one for this installment. So much went on during this long weekend that writing it all down here in prose is impractical and will make for less than riveting reading. With that in mind I’ve decided to share the Studio Log I created. But to add some interest I have included notations where and when interesting parts occurred or insights were gained.

    Personnel
    o Tim Lechuga, AKA Señor: Bandleader, producer, acoustic guitar, ...
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    Recording Sessions
  8. Going into the Studio

    Bandleader, Tim, of Señor Circus has booked time at a recording studio way up north near Mount Shasta CA. Both Tim and the engineer want me to bring "everything." "Everything?" says I. "Everything" says Tim.

    The engineer is apparently excited to see how I got such a convincing Santanaesque tone without a guitar. He also wants to see the mandocaster. Plus we'll be doing a couple of acoustic gigs in the area. So...

    Two amps, two emandos, ...
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  9. Session #1 "Dollars to Dharma"

    "Dollars to Dharma," despite its allusions to eastern philosophy, has a latin feel. A few years ago, Carlos Santana had a nearly ubiquitous hit with the lead singer from Matchbox 20. You remember it?

    [I can hear you saying, "Yes, thanks so much for reminding me. Now I have to go post to the ear-worm thread."]

    Well "Dollars to Dharma" is kind of that feel, so I went for a Santana kind of sound on the Mando(la)bird.

    ...

    Updated Feb-15-2009 at 4:11pm by Daniel Nestlerode

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  10. Recording Sessions, Introduction

    My friend and band leader of Señor Circus, Tim, has taken Señor Circus into the studio. We're recording tunes in his nicely outfitted basement. It's paneled, soundproofed, and it has an isolation booth.

    I'm not new to recording. I did some in my rock band days and I've done some for myself. But my role has always been lead vocal and rhythm guitar. I'm in a different role now. Señor Circus is Tim's band, not mine. So he does all the lead vocals and rhythm guitar parts. (He's ...
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