Teacups - Piano

Ben came to record some piano and organ parts for a couple of songs on the Teacups EP. I forget how amazing the Hammond and Leslie can sound when someone who really knows how to play them is playing (and when I get the excuse of recording to turn the leslie up a bit). Getting that Hammond going is heaps of fun.  

Note to self; learn how to shred on piano.

Mimsy Cable; More Keys!

Recorded some more Keys with Mimsy the other day, we had a few more songs to finish off, used the Pianet a bit more and then added some Organ to a song. The Organ bass was quite important so as well as micing the rotating horn (in stereo) I put a mic on the bass rotor which you can see in the bottom photo. We also tracked some of the bass part seperately so I could treat it differently to the rest of the organ and I ended up just using that 1 mono mic.

Artisan Guns - Crowded House Cover

This room mic on the Piano sounded great, its a shame its very quiet in the mix.

Had quite a long day recording Artisan Guns covering Crowded House song "Private Universe" for a Crowded House covers compilation album.

Reuben played a really cool muted pick bass part, for a slightly more even controlled mute over all the strings I stuffed a cloth under the strings at the bridge

lots of Drums were recorded, we started with a base of kick snare and floor tom and then Alex added Shaker, Tambourine, Woodblock, Cymbals, Hi Hat and a Tom pattern on top.

Later we doubled the Snare for a thick Phil Spector-esq multiple drummer sound.

I mixed the song late last night and today to get it sent away on time to be mastered. Phewph.

Christmas Album - Great North

Great North came over to record their Christmas song for the Album, we tracked Drums, Bass, Acoustic Guitar and Vocals live with a guide Keyboard track and then overdubbed Piano, Glockenspiels, Backing and Group Vocals, Percussion, Organ and Toy Piano.

I'm really pleased with how this song is sounding. Haydens coming back to record some trumpet in and Strahan (who was up north while we were recording) should be over soon to record his guitar.

Getting Frosty.

Last Thursday and Friday I had a visit from the lovely Ruby Frost who came by to track a couple of songs to maybe be released as singles.

One of the songs "Moonlight" revolved around an organ and by some sort of coincidence keyboard player Haddon was just around the corner in Glen Eden which seemed the perfect opportunity to record some Hammond. It was a joy to hear as good a musician as Haddon put it through its paces.



By the time we discovered that Haddon was just around the corner I'd started to program in the organ and even with my plug in emulation it sounded great, but it turns out you can't beat the real thing. I love the whir of a nice Leslie.


I used 2 x Beta57a's to pick up the horns in stereo and then a blue baby bottle a bit back from the lower portion of the cabinet to pick up the body of the organ, I ended up not using the condenser as I got enough low end from the Beta57's.

Another thing I could probably program in but just isn't the same is Bells. Very important. It turns out Ruby is an incredible bell player. She takes this very seriously.


We recorded some acoustic guitar and I played some electric and bass but the rest was all programmed in with my various synths in protools (except for vocals obviously). All in all a very productive 2 days. I'm just giving the tracks a mix now. FUN!

HAMMOND. LESLIE. GOOD TIMES.

This is probably my most exciting/excited blog post ever.

I am now in possession of a beautiful old Hammond E262 (one of the wood options on the E100) Tone Wheel organ, pretty much a B3/C3 but with lot less features and a bigger heavier cabinet. This was designed to be the home model with its built in speakers and they were made between 1964 and 1969.

Also it has a lovely Leslie (model 145) with it. I turned it on yesterday and it was the most joyous thing I have ever heard. This is something I have dreamed of owning for years. I never thought it would happen and am incredibly grateful to Mark, Roxie and the Haines family.