Gear Review: Chapman Guitars ML-2

This is a review of the original Chapman Guitars ML-2, which was released as a limited run of 250 units worldwide. This is not a review of the since re-released model now available from Andertons Music. If you want to know more about that then I recommend watching this video on Rob's Youtube channel.

     Chapman Guitars is a guitar company based in the UK, run by Rob Chapman (of YouTube fame), who makes limited run guitars based around the principle of collaborative design. They also offer a custom shop design fulfilled by Jaden Rose, in the form of their Explorer shaped Ghost Fret.
     The ML-2 is the most recent guitar to come out of Rob Chapman's company. The guitar was  collaboratively designed by votes cast by his YouTube followers and members of his forum. The design of the guitar was prototyped by Jaden Rose, but copied and built en masse in a factory in China.

Audio: TouchDAW - Wireless Sequencer Control

     TouchDAW is an affordable midi control app for Android OS devices. It's developer, humatic, charges a mere £3.03 for the app from the Android Market. While the hardware you run it on is obviously more expensive, if you already have an Android OS phone or tablet then the additional outlay for a full hardware control surface is likely to exceed this £3 investment. What you get for the money is a full pre-configured mixer, 9 octave keyboard, transport controls specific to your choice of DAW and a host of other assignable midi controls. Which all in all makes for a bit of a bargain really, as you'd probably end up spending in excess of £200 on a device with as much functionality.

New Toys: Sony Tablet S (first days use impressions)

As a man who loves any form of tech gadgetry, I was drawn very quickly towards the new tablet from Sony. It's their first attempt at a device that converges so many of their innovations into one single unit. I was initially wowed by the spec sheet, which combines powerful computing components with a list of some features completely missing from other tablets.

Recording: Acoustic Guitar

    Recording acoustic guitar is a relatively simple thing to do, but for most guitarists the world of recording is seen as a bit of a dark art. In this article I will attempt to allay that myth and help you on the way to recording with confidence.

    The first thing to do is understand the different mic types and understand what they look like, so that you can work out what they are for. You don't have to be able to name them, just associate the design with the function. For this article I'll briefly explain the ones that follow in the main body.

Film: Making "Becky"

So last month I was Sound Recordist on the location shoots for a short film called "Becky". It's a story about a father and daughter who lose their wife/mother under less than ideal circumstances, forcing the two into closer proximity with one another.

The idea was conceived by the Director, Daya Dodds and Written by Producer, Ben Arnold. The shoot was challenging in many respects (long hours, large outdoor locations, ill-planned shotlist and a first-time drama director), but memorable and we wrapped successfully and on time; so all is good. 

Between takes and during rehearsals I was doing some of my usual production photography, which I will share after the break.

Gear Review: AKG K240 MKII studio headphones

     AKG's open-backed studio-grade monitoring headphones, equivalent to their own closed backed 271 mkII, are a lightweight and well priced option for the hobbyist or professional musician and audio engineer.
     These headphones have been out for a little while now, but I've been using them fairly extensively since I bought them around Christmas time. I thought it was about time I did a review in case anyone was thinking of buying a new set of cans...

Audio: More Free VST plugins

The Cockos Reaper forum is a very handy place to go when your looking for free stuff. Most of the people who use the software are using because it is free/cheap, so these guys spend a lot of time looking for good free stuff. The people there have recently pointed out this rather nice collection of free VST plugins from Antress Modern Plugins.

It contains a few of their own Modern effects and tools, which cover a great many of the effects you might need for your day to day mixing. But more interestingly they have also produced a series of plug ins that emulate classic studio gear. The clones include Fairchild, SSL and Universal Audio compressors which is nice if you like the colour of those units.

Also, thanks to my freinds at the Monkey Lord forum I was reminded about FerricTDS (Tape Dynamics Simulator), which is a part of another great set of plug-ins from Variety of Sound

Check them out!

Movies: Straggler of '45

The film on which I was sound recordist in January is now approaching release to be shown at a number of the usual film festivals around Europe (and possibly the World!).

I was sound recordist/boom op/mixer for the duration of the shoot. The whole experience was a pleasure and I hope that the full movie is finished with the same level of commitment that was shown by the whole crew throughout the process.

The film is listed here:

- IMDB
- Facebook
- Twitter: @StragglerOf45

More info at Virtus Productions

Trailer after the break

Music: Nighthawk Theme by me

This is a song I put together for a YouTube competition being run by Andertons Music store in Guildford, UK. I composed it the day before and then recorded and edited this in about 3 hours.

I didn't win or even get short-listed, but it is the most rapidly viewed thing I've ever uploaded to YouTube. So I'm quite proud of it.

Also, If you are considering purchasing a Blackstar HT Dual 2 channel distortion pedal, the guitar track for this video is made entirely using the 3 distinctively different sounds you can get from this unit.

Video after the break

Audio: The cables aren't made of gold anyway!

I always hear people talking about cables and tone, whether they are guitarists or Hi-fi enthusiasts, and I think there is quite a lot of dodgy folk-lore about what is actually going on with regard to the design decisions made on using certain metals, like gold, nickel and copper, in their construction. I have a certain amount of experience in this field and would like to put a few things straight.

Film: Making Movies

I've been out and about with a few film students; this time helping, to some degree, with their grad films. The first one I was essentially renting a Compact Flash card to them as they were only supplied with a total of 20GB of recording space for their 5D mkII. The second I was doing boom work using inadequate sound gear in awful weather conditions. The third was a another one I did sound on, but a couple of month later. Anyway, while I wasn't busy I got the chance to take some production stills during the shoots. Enjoy.

Images after the jump.

Audio: Learning Mastering

I've decided that it would be worth my while learning how to master music. So I thought I'd share my experiences on here as it happens. I'm not really following any guides. Maybe the odd pointer here or there, but mainly just working from my own experience and instinctually feeling my way through the process. Given that it is said of the process said "the better the source material, the better then end product" I thought I'd have a bash at some of the worst (audio quality wise) source material I've ever recorded!

Last week I tried my hand at re-mastering a piece of music I recorded with my 'band' at Uni.

The piece was painstakingly arranged in an entire day after my friend, and guitarist, James, walked the length of the corridor and said "I've just come up with this awesome acoustic thing... We have to work out how to make a song around it!" or something to that effect. So I called my friend Chaz, also a guitarist, who owned a bass and told him to come over for a jam. It's pretty heavily influenced by a couple of Coldplay tracks which were into at the time. (I still stand by my opinion that the Blue Room EP is pretty magical)