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Rehearse & Record on the Road
Black Tide gets hooked up with a custom rig from JBL, Soundcraft, AKG, dbx, Crown, Lexicon and Digitech
The dilemma is the same for every touring band: How do you rehearse, write and record new material for the next record, while you’re out supporting your current album?
The solution became very clear for teenage metal wunderkinds Black Tide on March 21st, 10:30pm at Guitar Center Seattle, after a packed show at a local venue. That’s when the band first plugged into their new custom touring rehearsal/recording rig, hand-selected by Harman International U.S. Sales Director John Larabee and producer Johnny K. (Staind, Three Doors Down, Disturbed, Finger Eleven). The dream rig is comprised of choice gear from JBL, Soundcraft, AKG, dbx, Crown, Lexicon and Digitech.
Black Tide, made up of guitarist/vocalist Gabriel Garcia, guitarist Alex Nuñez, bassist Zachary Sandler and drummer Steven Spence, has rocked Ozzfest, toured with Avenged Sevenfold, and is currently touring in support of their new album, Light from Above, produced by Johnny K.
"They’ll be touring probably for the next couple of years to support this album," Johnny K. says, "and during that time, they’ll have to prepare their next one – rehearse, write songs, record demos, all the things that bands need to do."
The challenge is: how do you stay creative while you’re on the road? Many new bands face the dreaded "sophomore slump" when it’s time to make their second album. "Bands think they can write one song a month while touring, but I’ve seen big acts get home after 18 months and not have any songs," warns Johnny K., "It’s wise for any band to be able to capture song ideas while on the road. The trick is to do that in a way that meshes with rocking out nightly on tour, which is a whole different mindset than being methodical in the studio."
Spence agrees. "By the end of this tour," he reflects, "people will expect a new record, so we’ll have to write while we’re playing tons of shows."
"The idea was to give these guys a package to let them be creative and hone their skills." says Larabee, "We wanted to take away the worry about technology and make it all about the creativity.
"It happens all the time," says Garcia, "that one of us will come up with a killer riff and then, two days later, we’ll go, ‘Hey, what was that cool part?’ and no one can remember it. Now we can record every idea we have. That’s going to be great."
"We went through all the Harman brands to choose the best stuff for them and provide a rehearsal environment that’s like their live rig." says Larabee. "They can then take the output of this Soundcraft mixer and send it directly to the Lexicon Omega recording interface and record their rehearsals right into the computer. That’s great for working on new material."
The Lexicon Omega interface comes bundled with Cubase LE multitracking software which will help the band remember song ideas, critique their performances and also get more comfortable with the studio environment.
"Given that the guys were young and had lots of enthusiasm, sometimes they’d overplay," says Johnny K., "One thing I did was to show Steven the waveforms of his drum tracks in the software, next to a click, so he could actually see where his beats fell in relation to the click. Then I’d show him a studio pro’s tracks next to that click. You can see the pocket – it’s not quantized like a drum machine, but there’s a regularity to the push-pull a pro drummer uses to create the right feel for the song. Steven worked really hard for his tracks on the album, always trying to get better, so it was great for him to see his goal, not just hear some producer guy criticizing him."
When a magical moment does happen in rehearsal, it can be harvested out of Cubase and used on demos or even the next Black Tide record.
"I can’t remember the last record where I didn’t use something from a spontaneous recording like that," says Johnny K. "I’ve taken whole intros, fade outs, cool feedback – anything that happens that’s good, I’ll throw it in. You can’t recreate those moments. The advice that I would give them is that if you’re lucky enough to have this system, you should be using it constantly. Record everything. That’s what I do when I have a band in preproduction. Bands don’t always realize when they’ve stumbled across something awesome."
"We gave them four new AKG D 5 dynamic vocal mics," explains Larabee, "The D 5 has what we call a Laminate Varimotion capsule. Basically, it lets you get a lot more clean gain before feedback." This technology is also in the D 40 instrument mic, which is great for close-mic’ing snare, toms, and percussion. A D 112 kick mic and three Perception 170 condensers for overheads and hi-hat complete the set, allowing for full drum recording during rehearsals. Johnny K. praised the D 112: "You get really great attack on the kick for metal." Steven simply joked in his best caveman voice, "Like drum mics! Make me louder!"
It’s no joke, though, that drummers often need a different monitor mix than their bandmates in order to really feel the groove. This made the Soundcraft MFX 20 an ideal mixer, as its two aux sends can each be set pre-fader for monitor mixes or post-fader for effects. A third send feeds the MFX’s onboard 24-bit Lexicon effects. For rehearsing and not playing to a crowd, the main faders can be set up as a third monitor mix.
"To create an environment similar to what the guys are used to onstage, we went with four JBL MRX512M floor wedges," says John Larabee, "These handle a lot of volume, and we powered them with a pair of Crown XLS 802 amps."
Crown amps are known for their generous power and ruggedness, as Johnny K. relates: "I’ve got a couple of old Crown amps – a MacroTech 600 and 1200 – which I bought at Guitar Center Chicago, oh, I’m not even gonna say how long ago! They’ve been used and abused, in every rehearsal room I’ve had, been hauled everywhere, and they’ve never let me down." A pair of JBL EON15 G2 15" powered speakers, driven from the Soundcraft mixer’s main outs, can be used as rehearsal room mains, or pointed toward the crowd at private gigs.
A DriveRack PX from dbx sits between the mixer and power amps. "It works on two levels," explains Larabee, "It actively filters out feedback, but also helps prevent it from happening in the first place. You plug a mic into the DriveRack, run a signal through your system, and a ‘Wizard’ figures out exactly what the EQ and compression settings need to be. If you start out with a speaker you know sounds good, it now sounds brilliant, because it’s tuned to the room."
The time had come for Black Tide to audition the Harman PA/recording system at the exclusive after-hours hang and mini-gig at Guitar Center’s Seattle, and give their impressions. After an hour-long performance/jam, the band gave the system high marks. Singer/guitarist Gabriel says, "The PA was awesome, much better than what we’re used to. At really good venues, we’re occasionally lucky enough to get monitors this good. Now, we can bring these into any venue if we need to." Steven added, "If we have to find a rehearsal hall, we won’t worry about what gear it has. We can just find a room and set up… or play in the middle of the street!"
Ultimately, the band finds it poetic that Guitar Center is who hooked them up with Harman and their new rehearsal-meets-recording system. Why? Because they spent a lot of time there before they had any notoriety or money to buy gear.
"Zach and I used to just hang out in Guitar Center for, like, six hours at a time," recalls Alex. Zach chimes in, "I’d call him up after school and be like, ‘Wanna go to GC?’ It was our equivalent of hanging out at the mall."
"We wouldn’t even see each other after we walked in the door," laughs Alex, "It was like, ‘See ya!’ because we’d be just playing."
Maybe it’s the good memories, but neither meticulous studio recording nor marathon touring has dampened the band’s enthusiasm for a good hang at Guitar Center. "We even did it while we were making the record," notes Zach, "Whenever Johnny came with us, he’d always leave with a new guitar!"
Steven sums up, "To this day, when we pull into a town for a show, I’ll punch up the GPS and see if there’s a Guitar Center within walking distance. I can go into the drum department and probably hear some sick drummer and learn something. It’s still like being a kid in a candy shop for me."
Black Tide gets hooked up with a custom rig from JBL, Soundcraft, AKG, dbx, Crown, Lexicon and Digitech
The dilemma is the same for every touring band: How do you rehearse, write and record new material for the next record, while you’re out supporting your current album?
The solution became very clear for teenage metal wunderkinds Black Tide on March 21st, 10:30pm at Guitar Center Seattle, after a packed show at a local venue. That’s when the band first plugged into their new custom touring rehearsal/recording rig, hand-selected by Harman International U.S. Sales Director John Larabee and producer Johnny K. (Staind, Three Doors Down, Disturbed, Finger Eleven). The dream rig is comprised of choice gear from JBL, Soundcraft, AKG, dbx, Crown, Lexicon and Digitech.
Black Tide, made up of guitarist/vocalist Gabriel Garcia, guitarist Alex Nuñez, bassist Zachary Sandler and drummer Steven Spence, has rocked Ozzfest, toured with Avenged Sevenfold, and is currently touring in support of their new album, Light from Above, produced by Johnny K.
"They’ll be touring probably for the next couple of years to support this album," Johnny K. says, "and during that time, they’ll have to prepare their next one – rehearse, write songs, record demos, all the things that bands need to do."
The challenge is: how do you stay creative while you’re on the road? Many new bands face the dreaded "sophomore slump" when it’s time to make their second album. "Bands think they can write one song a month while touring, but I’ve seen big acts get home after 18 months and not have any songs," warns Johnny K., "It’s wise for any band to be able to capture song ideas while on the road. The trick is to do that in a way that meshes with rocking out nightly on tour, which is a whole different mindset than being methodical in the studio."
Spence agrees. "By the end of this tour," he reflects, "people will expect a new record, so we’ll have to write while we’re playing tons of shows."
"The idea was to give these guys a package to let them be creative and hone their skills." says Larabee, "We wanted to take away the worry about technology and make it all about the creativity.
"It happens all the time," says Garcia, "that one of us will come up with a killer riff and then, two days later, we’ll go, ‘Hey, what was that cool part?’ and no one can remember it. Now we can record every idea we have. That’s going to be great."
"We went through all the Harman brands to choose the best stuff for them and provide a rehearsal environment that’s like their live rig." says Larabee. "They can then take the output of this Soundcraft mixer and send it directly to the Lexicon Omega recording interface and record their rehearsals right into the computer. That’s great for working on new material."
The Lexicon Omega interface comes bundled with Cubase LE multitracking software which will help the band remember song ideas, critique their performances and also get more comfortable with the studio environment.
"Given that the guys were young and had lots of enthusiasm, sometimes they’d overplay," says Johnny K., "One thing I did was to show Steven the waveforms of his drum tracks in the software, next to a click, so he could actually see where his beats fell in relation to the click. Then I’d show him a studio pro’s tracks next to that click. You can see the pocket – it’s not quantized like a drum machine, but there’s a regularity to the push-pull a pro drummer uses to create the right feel for the song. Steven worked really hard for his tracks on the album, always trying to get better, so it was great for him to see his goal, not just hear some producer guy criticizing him."
When a magical moment does happen in rehearsal, it can be harvested out of Cubase and used on demos or even the next Black Tide record.
"I can’t remember the last record where I didn’t use something from a spontaneous recording like that," says Johnny K. "I’ve taken whole intros, fade outs, cool feedback – anything that happens that’s good, I’ll throw it in. You can’t recreate those moments. The advice that I would give them is that if you’re lucky enough to have this system, you should be using it constantly. Record everything. That’s what I do when I have a band in preproduction. Bands don’t always realize when they’ve stumbled across something awesome."
"We gave them four new AKG D 5 dynamic vocal mics," explains Larabee, "The D 5 has what we call a Laminate Varimotion capsule. Basically, it lets you get a lot more clean gain before feedback." This technology is also in the D 40 instrument mic, which is great for close-mic’ing snare, toms, and percussion. A D 112 kick mic and three Perception 170 condensers for overheads and hi-hat complete the set, allowing for full drum recording during rehearsals. Johnny K. praised the D 112: "You get really great attack on the kick for metal." Steven simply joked in his best caveman voice, "Like drum mics! Make me louder!"
It’s no joke, though, that drummers often need a different monitor mix than their bandmates in order to really feel the groove. This made the Soundcraft MFX 20 an ideal mixer, as its two aux sends can each be set pre-fader for monitor mixes or post-fader for effects. A third send feeds the MFX’s onboard 24-bit Lexicon effects. For rehearsing and not playing to a crowd, the main faders can be set up as a third monitor mix.
"To create an environment similar to what the guys are used to onstage, we went with four JBL MRX512M floor wedges," says John Larabee, "These handle a lot of volume, and we powered them with a pair of Crown XLS 802 amps."
Crown amps are known for their generous power and ruggedness, as Johnny K. relates: "I’ve got a couple of old Crown amps – a MacroTech 600 and 1200 – which I bought at Guitar Center Chicago, oh, I’m not even gonna say how long ago! They’ve been used and abused, in every rehearsal room I’ve had, been hauled everywhere, and they’ve never let me down." A pair of JBL EON15 G2 15" powered speakers, driven from the Soundcraft mixer’s main outs, can be used as rehearsal room mains, or pointed toward the crowd at private gigs.
A DriveRack PX from dbx sits between the mixer and power amps. "It works on two levels," explains Larabee, "It actively filters out feedback, but also helps prevent it from happening in the first place. You plug a mic into the DriveRack, run a signal through your system, and a ‘Wizard’ figures out exactly what the EQ and compression settings need to be. If you start out with a speaker you know sounds good, it now sounds brilliant, because it’s tuned to the room."
The time had come for Black Tide to audition the Harman PA/recording system at the exclusive after-hours hang and mini-gig at Guitar Center’s Seattle, and give their impressions. After an hour-long performance/jam, the band gave the system high marks. Singer/guitarist Gabriel says, "The PA was awesome, much better than what we’re used to. At really good venues, we’re occasionally lucky enough to get monitors this good. Now, we can bring these into any venue if we need to." Steven added, "If we have to find a rehearsal hall, we won’t worry about what gear it has. We can just find a room and set up… or play in the middle of the street!"
Ultimately, the band finds it poetic that Guitar Center is who hooked them up with Harman and their new rehearsal-meets-recording system. Why? Because they spent a lot of time there before they had any notoriety or money to buy gear.
"Zach and I used to just hang out in Guitar Center for, like, six hours at a time," recalls Alex. Zach chimes in, "I’d call him up after school and be like, ‘Wanna go to GC?’ It was our equivalent of hanging out at the mall."
"We wouldn’t even see each other after we walked in the door," laughs Alex, "It was like, ‘See ya!’ because we’d be just playing."
Maybe it’s the good memories, but neither meticulous studio recording nor marathon touring has dampened the band’s enthusiasm for a good hang at Guitar Center. "We even did it while we were making the record," notes Zach, "Whenever Johnny came with us, he’d always leave with a new guitar!"
Steven sums up, "To this day, when we pull into a town for a show, I’ll punch up the GPS and see if there’s a Guitar Center within walking distance. I can go into the drum department and probably hear some sick drummer and learn something. It’s still like being a kid in a candy shop for me."
