AKG D125

So.. what i was actually looking for was an AKG D19, which is known widely as one of The Beatles secret weapons. (For those that don't know, i'm a bit of a Beatles tragic. It's ok.. i've learned to live with it.) But these mics go for ridiculous crazy prices on Ebay and elsewhere, basically because nerds like me are trying to be Ringo. And i wasn't going to pay $500 for an old used dynamic mic, regardless of how good the drums in "Hello Goodbye" sound...

However, in my research, folks were mentioning the AKG D125 as one its successors, displaying similar characteristic. So i found a few of these REALLY cheap on eVilbay, and took a chance. I figured "how bad could they be?" I think i paid $200 including shipping from Germany for a pair of them.

The day they arrived i was recording a particularly "Revolver"-esque track for one of my side projects The Supahip. They went straight onto the drum kit, as a single overhead and on the snare bottom. Now, i'm not sure what i was expecting, perhaps magic, but they initially threw me. They sounded a lot like the dynamic mic they are.. quite flat... not overly detailed in the top end. But with a real brassiness to the mid range.. a bit below the honky frequency. They were really quite full, which surprised me a little, though a long way from hi-fi. I had to eq in a fair amount of top end, but between these 2 mics and a D112 on the kit, i was really happy with the result. The track was called "Satellite". I think we also used it on pretty much everything else. I have a vague recollection that we even used it on the lead vocal (though for the video we used a Rode Classic 2.. it looked sexier.)

Now, you'll often hear me go on about crusty mics, and how they can be as important as the expensive ones we all lust after. This mic has been one that i often use just to hear what it'll do. I used it on a lead vocal the other day with a delicate female singer, and it was perfect for a flatter, more one dimensional tone that sat in the track beautifully, and took reverb well. I often use it on guitar amps instead of an SM57, with another higher quality mic next to it, and blending it really brings out a unique and special mid range thing. It's not exactly a 'truth in advertising' mic, but it sounds very cool and crusty.

As you can see from the picture, it sits on a little desk stand pointing at the corner of a window? What? Well.. it's permanently on the window in my tracking room, plugged into a crusty old Shure mixer with a nutso compressor on it (more on that in another blog), permanntly plugged into the patch bay. And i regularly will just bring this mic up to hear what it's doing, as i see the VU popping away on the Shure mixer. It gets used a lot, just to screw up the primary source sound a little. Very cool indeed.

Remember.. cheap crusty mics are VERY cool.

Petit Piano Toy Piano

It's funny.. we have a whole bunch of pianos and various keyboards. But this little toy piano seems to capture every one's imagination a little when they walk in. Some have confessed that they couldn't believe a 'professional studio' would have such a thing so prominently displayed.. it sits right next to me, within arm's reach of my right hand.

And yet people can't resist touching it, and playing it. From there it's just a short leap to it being used.. sometimes as a novelty thing, but more often as a bonafide tone, doubling a hook, or creating a particular line and vibe.

I keep it right next to me for those moments when i need to work out what key a song is in, or find a particular note. It's small, and REALLY handy for this purpose, and doesn't take up much space near my listening position. And it seems the more i use it, or hit it, the more people smile and have a laugh about it, which often lightens up the mood and vibe.

It's really easy to record.. just mic up the back, or underneath if you can squeeze a mic under it. I've used it live a fair bit too, and it ALWAYS gets a reaction. Plus it's EASY to carry around.

Now.. where could you get something like this? Well.. a toy shop would be a good place to start!! Maybe not one of those big warehousey toy shops, but some of the smaller, more interesting places we all have in our neighbourhoods (plus it's good to support the little guy!) A couple of things though.. if they have a few, ask to listen to all of them. You'll find no two of these are the same. And of course, take your chromatic tuner with you (if you have an iPhone and are a studio dude you MUST have a chromatic tuner app.. they're cheap and amazingly good.) Don't just expect that the one that looks prettiest will be in A440 tuning. I looked at 2 different ones, and the white one here was a little more in tune and just rung out and sounded a little better. I paid about $120 (Australian dollars)

I used it on my good friend Jo Caseley's song 'Happy', and the awesome Russell Crawford used it in the video only for his new single "Overachiever". And here's a pic of Kate Martin using it on her new album.

Where to begin?

So, i've decided to start a bit of a blog about cool and cheap stuff we've found, or are looking out for to use in our recording studio. Our studio is Love Hz Studios in Leichhardt, in Sydney, Australia. We have a nice cosy setup, where a few of the most talented people i've ever met work making awesome records. A lot of these records you may never have heard of (yet) but there's lots of great great stuff coming out of that building.

I've never blogged before really, properly, so i'm a bit nervous/excited about it. We love a lot of the fun stuff we have around the place, and it seems to constantly INSPIRE (big word, but important when people are making a record) folks when they walk into our place. I thought it'd be good to share some of our tools (not toys.. i don't care what anyone thinks!)

Now a couple of people warned me "don't give away your secrets"? Well.. that may be so, but i reckon everyone is going to use these things differently, and my attitude is that if you share the love, you'll get the love back. In other words, i expect people will have cool things they've found they'll share here as well.

I'm not sure how frequently i'll post, so keep an eye on the blog. I'll try to include pics, or vids, and links to artists who've had some fun with our tools. And any comments or thoughts, I'd love to hear from you.