The Latest (August, 2016) Production from Balsam Studios
The latest production Balsam Studios is doing is in association with Don Perkins Studio in Chazy, NY. It's a CD production of a previously released cassette tape titled "Don Perkins With His Fiddle". This CD version has some slight changes in the tunes but pretty much keeps with the original release.
It was a sincere pleasure to work with Don and his sister, Phyllis Ezero. I'm anxious to hear the final version after its been mastered by Jim Cushman Studios in Lake Placid, NY.
It was a sincere pleasure to work with Don and his sister, Phyllis Ezero. I'm anxious to hear the final version after its been mastered by Jim Cushman Studios in Lake Placid, NY.
Jim Cushman Studio, Lake Placid, NY
CD Productions
While up north during Mary's and my trip to see family and friends, I worked quite a bit in preparation for a few projects my friends Don Perkins and Earl Southmayd were working on and plan to release very shortly. (Note: These projects are released.)
Riding The Fiddle Bow
A fiddle music CD by Donnie Perkins.
Autumn Strings
A fiddle music CD by Donnie Perkins. This CD is in the planning stages. (This project is not released to date)
We're Back!
A Bluegrass and Old-Timey CD by Earl Southmayd and Donnie Perkins. (Released)
Jim Cushman Studios
After Donnie and Earl recorded their CDs, (Earl's was recorded by another studio in the northern NY area around Rouses Point) I mixed and pre-mastered them in Donnie's studio in Chazy. Then, as Donnie always requires, his pre-master must have the additional talent of mastering by Jim Cushman of Lake Placid, NY. Donnie and I both claim that Jim sprinkles them with some sort of magic dust to make our hard work just sparkle. Don wouldn't even think of missing this important step; a step that sets his CDs aside from the ordinary humdrum of poorly recorded, poorly produced and poorly replicated CDs available now with the advent of the home computer. When one purchases a CD from Donnie, they can be assured he has taken every step possible to provide them with a quality product. Jim Cushman is part of the chain that makes that happen! He watches over Donnie and me and provides us with experienced, helpful insight when necessary.
Neumann microphones, Tascam M-600 Recording Desk, Otari 24 Track 2 inch Recorder, Lexicon Reverbs, ADAT Units, Sony DAT Machines
CDs in production
The Sound Mill is presently at work producing the following CDs for musician/composer Donnie Perkins: "Riding The Fiddle Bow, Music from the Heart of Donnie Perkins"; "Don Perkins, North Country Fiddler"; "Bits & Pieces, Donnie Perkins"; and "Don Perkins, A Bluegrass tribute". Don has replicated the CDs at his studio in Chazy, New York and we'll do the rest here at The Sound Mill in Hampton/Limestone Cove, Tennessee.
The Sound Mill is presently working on initial steps preparing to record a fiddle tune CD. More on this later as it develops.
The Sound Mill is presently working on initial steps preparing to record a fiddle tune CD. More on this later as it develops.
What's Involved With The making of a CD
There's a remarkable amount of work that goes into the making of a "home-grown" CD. "The Sound Mill", which is what Mary and I have named our little CD production shop, is now located in Unicoi County, TN, having moved lock, stock and barrel from Jay, NY.
RECORDING TRACKS: The first step in making a CD is the actual recording of tracks. Before the actual recording takes place, it is important to figure out how many instruments and voices will be featured in the recording. This will help determine the total tracks that will be used during the recording process. The next step is to determine the proper microphone for each instrument and/or voice. After experimenting with microphone placement and coming up with the ideal distance from microphone to instrument (or voice) thus obtaining optimum sound pressure levels, the next step is to record the track. I usually record all tracks without any equilization or dynamic signal processing, in other words, "dry" and add EQ, treble, mid-range and bass and effects later during the mixing process. After recording each track, I audition that track against the new track to determine any problems that might arise between tracks. When all track have been recorded, it's time for mixing.
MIXING: This is a function of determining sound levels, panning the signals right, left or mid field, setting EQ's, compressors, gates and reverb levels along with other signal processing equipment levels, including volumes for individual tracks.
PRE-MASTERING: This is where overall levels for each piece are set. Here, the space between songs is also determined (usually about 4 second intervals). This is also a good place to work with "Red Book" engineering standards including "normalization" and CD initialization.
MASTERING: This is an art form all by itself. Donnie and I insist on having this phase of the project done by shipping it out to another studio. We always sent the work to Jim Cushman at his studio in Lake Placid, NY. Jim is a whiz at mastering.
THE REPLICATION PROCESS: Once we obtain the final mastered CD from Cushman Studio, we then go to Donnie's Studio in Chazy for replication. The master is recorded onto a special machine that replicates the master each and every time to perfection. With the thousands of CDs made, by using high-grade CDs from Disc Makers, we've yet to have even one CD fail.
THE DESIGN PHASES: For the CD labels, we use a program named "Label Factory Deluxe". Once a blank format is established, (there are hundreds of designs all set to go, but we prefer designing our own from scratch) we then import a picture or two and position it where it looks best. Often the picture is provided by camera buffs who didn't take the picture with the requisite amount of pixels, so there usually is some work to get the picture up to snuff (production quality). After this is accomplished, the "Text" is inserted. This involves selecting the proper font and sizing it for several different purposes. Usually, Mary and I will run through several different designs to arrive at what is the most striking impact. This phase of the project is then put on hold while we move on to the CD design.
The CD design stage is performed on "Epsom Print CD" software. Pretty much the same progression as noted above for the tray card and other covers is employed.
PRINTING CD COVERS: First the printer must be aligned, cleaned and prepped for work. Ink is very expensive, as is 48 lb high gloss photo paper. We prefer Kodak paper here at The Sound Mill. We also employ an Epsom R800 printer which utilizes 8 different ink cartridges. When the printer is ready, we load the program in from "Label Factory" and run a color test. If all is a pass, we begin printing until we have reached our target amount of sheets.
PRINTING CDs: The printer is prepped for the software and each CD is printed individually using many movements to complete each task.
CUTTING THE PAPER: For a standard CD, there are 8 individual cuts needed for each CD case. For a 100 CD run, this equates to 800 or more individual movements requiring aligning the paper prior to each cut, executing the cut and readying the next alignment. This is a very tiring, huge portion of the entire project and is the most dreaded of all the phases.
ASSEMBLING THE PRODUCT: Then, the covers must be inserted into the tray and the back. The back must also be folded on each end to expose the printing on the spine(s). Following this, the tray insert is snapped into place, a finished CD inserted into the tray and the cover shut on the case. Then the case receives a sticker to seal it shut.
For a CD with only one picture, there are fewer cuts, but all other work remains the same.
PACKAGING AND SHIPPING: After careful packaging and addressing, it's off to the Post Office.
RECORDING TRACKS: The first step in making a CD is the actual recording of tracks. Before the actual recording takes place, it is important to figure out how many instruments and voices will be featured in the recording. This will help determine the total tracks that will be used during the recording process. The next step is to determine the proper microphone for each instrument and/or voice. After experimenting with microphone placement and coming up with the ideal distance from microphone to instrument (or voice) thus obtaining optimum sound pressure levels, the next step is to record the track. I usually record all tracks without any equilization or dynamic signal processing, in other words, "dry" and add EQ, treble, mid-range and bass and effects later during the mixing process. After recording each track, I audition that track against the new track to determine any problems that might arise between tracks. When all track have been recorded, it's time for mixing.
MIXING: This is a function of determining sound levels, panning the signals right, left or mid field, setting EQ's, compressors, gates and reverb levels along with other signal processing equipment levels, including volumes for individual tracks.
PRE-MASTERING: This is where overall levels for each piece are set. Here, the space between songs is also determined (usually about 4 second intervals). This is also a good place to work with "Red Book" engineering standards including "normalization" and CD initialization.
MASTERING: This is an art form all by itself. Donnie and I insist on having this phase of the project done by shipping it out to another studio. We always sent the work to Jim Cushman at his studio in Lake Placid, NY. Jim is a whiz at mastering.
THE REPLICATION PROCESS: Once we obtain the final mastered CD from Cushman Studio, we then go to Donnie's Studio in Chazy for replication. The master is recorded onto a special machine that replicates the master each and every time to perfection. With the thousands of CDs made, by using high-grade CDs from Disc Makers, we've yet to have even one CD fail.
THE DESIGN PHASES: For the CD labels, we use a program named "Label Factory Deluxe". Once a blank format is established, (there are hundreds of designs all set to go, but we prefer designing our own from scratch) we then import a picture or two and position it where it looks best. Often the picture is provided by camera buffs who didn't take the picture with the requisite amount of pixels, so there usually is some work to get the picture up to snuff (production quality). After this is accomplished, the "Text" is inserted. This involves selecting the proper font and sizing it for several different purposes. Usually, Mary and I will run through several different designs to arrive at what is the most striking impact. This phase of the project is then put on hold while we move on to the CD design.
The CD design stage is performed on "Epsom Print CD" software. Pretty much the same progression as noted above for the tray card and other covers is employed.
PRINTING CD COVERS: First the printer must be aligned, cleaned and prepped for work. Ink is very expensive, as is 48 lb high gloss photo paper. We prefer Kodak paper here at The Sound Mill. We also employ an Epsom R800 printer which utilizes 8 different ink cartridges. When the printer is ready, we load the program in from "Label Factory" and run a color test. If all is a pass, we begin printing until we have reached our target amount of sheets.
PRINTING CDs: The printer is prepped for the software and each CD is printed individually using many movements to complete each task.
CUTTING THE PAPER: For a standard CD, there are 8 individual cuts needed for each CD case. For a 100 CD run, this equates to 800 or more individual movements requiring aligning the paper prior to each cut, executing the cut and readying the next alignment. This is a very tiring, huge portion of the entire project and is the most dreaded of all the phases.
ASSEMBLING THE PRODUCT: Then, the covers must be inserted into the tray and the back. The back must also be folded on each end to expose the printing on the spine(s). Following this, the tray insert is snapped into place, a finished CD inserted into the tray and the cover shut on the case. Then the case receives a sticker to seal it shut.
For a CD with only one picture, there are fewer cuts, but all other work remains the same.
PACKAGING AND SHIPPING: After careful packaging and addressing, it's off to the Post Office.
Sunset On The Fiddle. A Few Favorite Fiddle Tunes.
Here's a little project I recently completed here at The Sound Mill in Limestone Cove, TN.
The tunes are traditional and in the public domain unless otherwise noted:
1. Red Wing (G)
2. Kitchen Girl (A Minor)
3. St. Ann's Reel (D)
4. Southern Flavor (E Minor) (by Bill Monroe and Kenny Baker)
5. Angeline Baker (D) (Written by Stephen Foster)
6. Cherokee Shuffle (A)
7. The Yellow Dog (D)
The tunes are traditional and in the public domain unless otherwise noted:
1. Red Wing (G)
2. Kitchen Girl (A Minor)
3. St. Ann's Reel (D)
4. Southern Flavor (E Minor) (by Bill Monroe and Kenny Baker)
5. Angeline Baker (D) (Written by Stephen Foster)
6. Cherokee Shuffle (A)
7. The Yellow Dog (D)
Potential Fiddle Book I'm (sort of) Planning
Alder Brook (Bm)*
Gold Rush (A)
Lost Indian (D)
Galway Reel (D)
Piper’s Despair (D)
Arkansas Traveler (D)
Billy in the Low Ground (C)
Bill Cheatham (A)
Red Wing (G)
Turkey in the Straw (A)
Woodchopper’s Reel (D)
Happy Acres Two-Step (D)
The Liverpool Hornpipe (D)
Silver Bells (D)
Sally Goodin (A)
Shanty Brook (Bm)*
Footprints in the Snow (E)
My Autumn Waltz (D)*
Earl’s Breakdown (G)
Shucking the Corn (G)
Angeline Baker (D)
East Tennessee Blues (C)
Cherokee Shuffle (A)
Ashland Breakdown (C)
The Boston Boy (C)
Shelby Rock (G)
The Old Yellow Dog (D)
Monroe’s Hornpipe (A)
Ground Speed (G)
Katy Hill (G)
Denver Belle (C & G)
Big Country (A)
Soppin’ the Gravy (D)
Cincinnati Rag (G)
New Camptown Races (Bb)
Flannery’s Dream (A)