Vox AC30 Top Boost

Here is my Vox AC30 Top Boost.

This is a reissue of the guitar amp made famous by the Beatles, Keith Richards and Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones, Pete Townshend of The Who, Brian May of Queen, The Edge and Bono of U2, Tom Petty and many more.

I bought this amp in the late 90's. It was made in England by Korg. It is a 33 watt amp and originally came with Celestion Greenback (ceramic) speakers. I have since upgraded the speakers to two 15 watt Celestion blue speakers (alnico). This gave the amp a much earlier overdrive so you can walk away without your ears bleeding. It really is loud!

This amp can do most things really well, from nice fat buttery clean tone all the way to screaming overdrive. I use it mostly in the normal channel with a Fender reverb unit and an Ibanez TS808 in front of the guitar. Really nice tone that can cut through any mix!

Great amplifier.

Sunday,editing & New Client.

Sunday afternoons session was with Peter Peters.

We now have 3 songs ready for bass tracks.
After comping a few scratch guitar tracks and re-doing the vocal intro on one of the songs they are now ready for the bass player to come into the studio and put down his parts.
Bass is always fun and a challenge to get just right. 2 of the songs are going to be electric bass through the Ampeg B-18, the other Peter is going to decide between electric or acoustic (double bass). Hopefully it will be double bass, those instrument's sound fantastic.

I had a meeting with Keyboard player,singer/songwriter Tina Cartwright later that evening.
She has decided to put an album together of her own original music.
She is booked for Saturday at 2pm to start with scratch keyboard and vocals for the first song.
Should be very interesting.

Speaking of "Booked", I am now fully booked and cannot take any more big projects. I have a couple other small projects to finish and I also have 2 new songs of my own to start working on.

Too much fun!

Saturday Afternoon Drums....

Ribbons Rule!

Mono overhead ACM 900 ribbon, Beyer M130 on ride/tom panned hard right and another M130 ribbon mic out in front for the room. Re 20 in the bass drum and PR40 on the snare. Awesome sound! The ribbon mics take all the edginess out of the cymbals and make them nice and smooth. Even the drummer commented on the room mic.

Speaking of the drummer;

Lucas Manning on da drums.
Great drummer, the more we did the better it got AND he didn't wanna stop!












We did 1o runs of a song that Lucas had never heard. No problem.
Take 8 and 9 were the best and are the ones that that I will comp to make an awesome drum track.














Thanks again Lucas, I'm sure we will be doing more this summer.


Peter Peters session this afternoon, not too sure what we will be doing. What ever it is I'm sure it will be fun. I comped a nice guitar track out of the tracks we did last week. Its up to Peter whether we use it or not but the comp really shows the structure and dynamics of the song and the song is very dynamic IMO.

I was contacted by another local artist via Facebook this weekend. She wants to do an album and we will get together and discus her dream.

Its all fun!

Alfred in da place!

Alfred Kenny tuning his wonderful old Fender Bass.

Another great session last night!


WE did 6 runs and for some reason the first and last takes are the best! To the point that both are usable with no corrections needed. The first take sits in the song just right and the last take gives the song a nice mellow vibe that I really like. It will be a difficult decision between the two OR maybe I can blend them? Hmm...........

The tone of the bass was supreme!
Direct into the Ampeg B18 via the Heil PR-40 mic with no effects. I decided to use the Lucas Limiting Amplifier last night, it was a good decision. The bass was punchy and thick and seems to sit perfectly in the mix. No comping tonight, at least for this song.

Thanks again Alfred I know you had fun!.

Bass in da place........

Bass session tonight for one of my songs that I have not named yet.

Alfred Kenny is coming with his lovely old Fender bass guitar. Alfred is a great bass player and a really nice guy. I dropped off a copy of the music to his shop yesterday so he could have a listen.

I will be miking the 66 Ampeg B-18n for this session. I will try the Heil PR40 mic > Summit tube limiter > API 3124. I always get really nice thick and punchy results with this setup. However if hes not in a rush I may experiment with a couple other mics and my new Lucas compressor. Always fun to explore.

Last night I did some work on Peter Peters rhythn guitar tracks. After an hour and 1/2 or so I had a nice track comped. Tonight before Alfred arrives I will smooth out the rough edges and make it sound awesome. I still cant get over how nice the guitar sounded, even for a Les Paul!

Saturday afternoon should be very interesting. Terry Manning of Compass Point Studios mentioned some time ago that his son Lucas plays drums . Lucas is working at lowes for the summer with me in the warehouse. My un-named song needs a better drum track. Lucas agreed to come by on Saturday afternoon and give it a try. So, drum session Saturday afternoon.
There will be pictures!

Fun Fun Fun.......................

Great Session......

After a killer guitar session last night Peter Peters has decided to put an album together!!
I am really glad, Peter is very talented and fun to work with. Great song writing skills.

So far he has started off with the best idea, hiring the best session musician's possible to put down tracks. Starting with Neil Symonette to do drums and later on Adrian D'Aguliar for bass. In the long run he saves money and time. When these guys come in there is no time waisted trying to catch a groove. A few runs of the song and they are finished and out the door.

Tonight I will be comping Peters rhythm tracks. We really dialed in a gorgeous tone last night. After trying a couple amps he settled on the Fender VibroVerb, running the Les Paul though a TS808 then a Fender Reverb. Really nice and smooth with a touch of crunch. I think we bypassed the reverb. After about 10 tracks of rhythm we took a break. Then we made a few runs at some guitar fills. For this we used the same rig but added a Vintage Rat pedal after the 808, and turned the reverb back on. This made the amp go bananas, massive overdrive and sustain, it was lovely! We recorded 3 tracks of fill, a quick listen back and that concluded the session. To be resumed on Sunday afternoon. Pictures coming soon!

Too much fun!

Tuesday Session

Got a session tonight at 6.30 with Peter Peters.

We have 3 songs to work on that Neil Symonette put drums down to scratch tracks before I went on vacation. Sounds really good, Neil is awesome on drums and percussion and a really nice humble guy.

Tonight we will be working on overdubbing the original scratch guitar tracks, should be easy enough. The challenge will be dialing in the perfect guitar tone. Peter uses an old Gibson Les Paul standard, sounds nice as long as it stays in tune.

When thats done we will work on bass guitar. Peter says he spoke to Adrian D'Agullar and he agreed to come and do it. Adrian is a fantastic bass player , both electric and double bass. He is always fun to work with, very professional.

I gave Gavin his two mixed down songs yesterday, he seemed quite satisfied. Gavin is migrating to Australia on Friday. Big move! Best of luck man.

Homeward Bound.

Finally!

1.30 pm ferry boat to Marsh Harbour, taxi to the airport, 2.30 Abaco Air flight to Nassau.
Should be home by 4pm. 15 minutes for the A/C to cool the studio............ Should be mixing no later than 5pm. I will be working on Gavins bluesy tune. Started out as a simple instrumental, has now morphed into a great blues song with lyrics by Peter Peters. Harmonica and guitar solo. I want to get this project done tonight if any way possible. Gavin is leaving for Australia!! Brave man chasing the dream. I wish him the best.

Met a guy named David Edwards on Facebook whilst on vacation. He posted some really cool music on Facebook. Looking forward to doing something with him.

Peter Peters also has a few songs that he wants to work on. We already have drums down for 3 of his songs, done by Neil Symonette (Awesome drummer!). So we will be overdubbing guitars, bass, vocals and whatever else he wants on those next week. Really nice tunes! Should be fun.

AND, Tommy Goodwyn should be back in town. We have at least 5 songs started, 2 of those are really close to being done. For those who dont know Tommy played with Eric Clapton back in the day, he always has a few great stories to tell. Always fun.

I love recording music BUT what I love the most is recording guitar. Especially electric guitar. Its always a challenge trying get that perfect tone that is happening out in the live room. Drums are very chalenging to record but I get more satisfaction with guitars. Possibly because I play a little? The correct microphone with the best placement. Too much fun.

Extreme Boredom...

.... is great for writing.

Did some more work on the "Hopeless" song that I didn't really have much expectations for.
But, it came together really nice. I am really looking forward to tracking these new songs, see where they end up.

I read somewhere on the net, at a site about song writing. It said that the most important thing to do to learn how to write songs is to write everyday. Doesn't matter if its good or bad just keep writing even if its just a couple lines AND never throw any of it away.

Another day .........

Another song, well almost.


Two more days in Abaco......

The wife went diving conch today(she got 30 today and 40 on Monday), I stayed at the house and played guitar, read a book and almost finished another song. Strange song called "Hopeless". Not to sure if its gonna make it to actual recording but I am going to try and finish it.

Really jonesing to get back to my studio. I have a bunch of things I want to try with mic techniques. I am going to experiment with my new Beyerdynamic M130 mic on acoustic guitar. Never put a ribbon on an acoustic guitar, should be fun and nice. AND seeing as I now have 2 of the M130's, I can also try them as overheads for drums. Hmmmmmm...........

Here is the sunset tonight that the wife took in the back yard.














Bahamian BBQ Ribs, Peas&Rice, Potato salad and Macaroni and Cheese. MM MM Good!
And really healthy.

Thanks David!!!!

Wireless up and running.
Apparently a key code # issue.
Much Thanks.

I luv PCs.......N O T !!!!!

For some reason yesterday my wireless connectivity went down on the wife's PC that we brought with us. I am a computer retard, especially PCs. We had a freind come over that knows more about computers and he figures it was the wireless router, perhaps the local electricity supplier (BEC) fried it? So I got a new wireless router from the mainland $105.00. SAME THING!!!! same message, same no wireless, Im sure it is pilot error. La De Da....................



So, the song I wrote a couple weeks ago)Promise Land) does not work with the riff I came up with. However I came up with a different progression that seems to work well with it, wont really know till I get home and work it a bit. The other progression/riff got me thinking about Jonesers(local crack addicts). I have another song written, well, the first 3 verses and a chorus/bridge titled Mr. Jones. I like it! I will work some more on that today, perhaps after the beach.
I highly recommend the little Martin Backpacker to guitar players that travel and dont want the hassle or risk of toting a valuable acoustic with them. Fun to play, stays in tune and really does not sound all that bad. Smells good too, kinda like cedar.



Martin in Abaco.

New tune

Still on vacation.

Got up early this morning, got the Martin Backpacker tuned up and put a nice chord progression together. I actually wrote the progression down this time so I don't forget it.

A couple weeks ago I wrote a song called "Promise Land", kinda religious vibe. Perhaps I can put the two together. I really should have brought a drum machine and headphones.Makes making music more fun, perhaps without it I will get a more rootsy feel? We shall see. la de da.

Our two house guests just left, the wife is carrying them to the dock for the 11.30 ferry boat back to the mainland. Now my vacation starts.

Bought a case and 1/2 of beer yesterday, $95.00 !!!!!!! Gonna be the best beer I ever drank!

Missing my studio big time..........................................

Vacation pictures

Here is the house that we are staying in on Hope Town. My father and Grandfather built it a million years ago. It now has running water, electricity, A/C, and a water heater. I remember when it did not.







Here is the view from the back porch looking out towards Man o War. Right on the entrance of the harbor.











Flying the colors for Independence.













Here is a picture from the north side looking towards the world famous Hope Town Lighthouse.

Lunch on da grill mon!

World famous Tiffy Burgers..........










Suns going down, Like a big bald head.












Pretty!












A Fluva (Abaconian for "A Flower")

I'm on vacation

Hello boys and girls,
This is my first blog.
At the moment I am in Abaco on vacation, Bahamas Independence.

So, I now have a nice Web Site for my Home Studio and I asked for a Blog so here it is. Thanks To Chari.

I will be here a few more days then back to Nassau, work and my studio. Any suggestions about this blog or my web site is most welcome.

Seeing as I am on vacation I will post some vacation pictures..............

The New Home of the THS Blog

Welcome to the Tower Heights Studio Blog.  Please stay connected to this blog for all new things coming from THS.

- Cliff