Ditch Road Records Recording Studio in Simi Valley, California » studio gear

Stage Two of the Studio Changes

Ryan Canestro — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 04:02:34 +0000

Here is what it took to finish the project. There are a few cables here and there that need to be made, but the bulk of the job is done! This was a long haul. It was 3 full consecutive days of work. Glad that I did it… glad that its done!

Stage One of the Studio Changes

Ryan Canestro — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 06:37:08 +0000

Here is my progress about halfway though day one of the new installation. I am putting in all new patchbays, cabling, and a just a complete reorganizing of everything in the control room. This will take some time, but I hope to have it all done in a couple days. Good times.

Ditch Road Records Finally Has A Real Piano!

Ryan Canestro — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 21:57:36 +0000

Not only do get a piano, but we got an antique that sounds great. This beautiful instrument is very likely 100 years old. We think that it was made in 1911, so it will hit the century mark next year.

Here is an ad that I found from 1911 that pictures what I believe to be exactly the same piano model.

Studio Remodeling and New Construction

Ryan Canestro — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 21:25:07 +0000

I just finished all of the little things that have been bothering me since I finished construction of the studio. I did all kinds of drywall work, touch-up paint, and adding additional insulation where it was needed.

I also built a large 6′ x 3′ studio baffle (aka gobo) on wheels. It can be moved to wherever in the studio it is needed. There is one absorptive side and one reflective side. There are very useful for dialing in the acoustic environment for sessions and separating instruments from one another during tracking.

Updates

Ryan Canestro — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:48:52 +0000

There has been so much activity lately that I have not had a chance to make individule posts for each one.

I will be popping up on several different shows this month promoting the studio and the Home Recording Show. Most of what I have done has already been recorded and will be coming soon.

I finished up the grounding issue that I found in one of the ribbon microphone modifications that I just finished. Adding a little jumper wire did the trick. I love the simple fixes that just work the first time out.

Cameron Mooney just came by with a Rhodes keyboard. I am going to break out the soldering iron to fix a few shorts that have made the beautiful instrument not preform as it should. It will be with me for the next month or so and I plan to play with it as much as time will allow while it is with me. One day, I will certainly have one for the studio.

As we recommended on the podcast, I got the Steven Slate drum package. There are so many great drum sounds that will certainly be used on many sessions going forward. There is a great Zeppelin kit that is so close to that When the Levee Breaks sound.

Plans and materials for construction of gobos and a new equipment rack have been put together. Now I just need the time to actually build them.

Far less exciting, but still something worth mentioning is that I completel refinished the bathroom floor in the studio. All of the grout work is as it should be and sealed. It was actually more of a dramatic end result than I had expected before I started.

Ribbon Microphone Transformer Modifications Finished

Ryan Canestro — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 05:15:17 +0000

Last night I preformed the transformer modifications on my pair of Apex 210 ribbon microphones. I decided to use the Lundahl LL2914 replacement transformers. The reason that you would do this is to make a considerable difference in the sound and performance of the microphone. In this case, the difference was huge. I will talk about it and play before and after clips in the next show at Home Recording Show. That show will be out on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Here is what the microphones look like:

Apex 210 Ribbon Microphone

I purchased the transformers at K & K Audio. They were very easy to work with and they shipped the parts out immediately.

There is a great article on how to mod these mics with Cinemag transformers at Morph Productions. It was a very similar operation. Make sure that you get the little circuit board with the Lundhals. It made the installation very easy.

Complete Redesign of the Control Room

Ryan Canestro — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 05:36:16 +0000

I have moved everything around in the control room. I have found a way to make more space and improve the sound. I have added several new equipment racks and have added some new equipment. Among the two stand outs are a Golden Pre-73 microphone preamp for that vintage “colored” sound and a dbx 1066 compressor.

The Studio Video Tour

Ryan Canestro — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:26:08 +0000

The video tour has finally been completed. It was more difficult that I thought it would be. I am glad that I have finally finished it.

New Gear

Ryan Canestro — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 21:52:18 +0000

I just picked up several new pieces of rack gear. There were two I/O interfaces, a MIDI patchbay, and a video breakout box. Construction of the new three bay rack will start soon. Then it will be time to fill it all out. The new gear high may never get old.

The Amp Rack

Ryan Canestro — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 21:50:19 +0000

I finally came up with a clever way to get all of my amps organized and easily accessible. Here is a quick picture.

The New Amp Rack