Arizona's first full length gets mastered!

BattleAngel · 10th March 2006

Just wanted to share some great mastering work with you all- here are two cuts from Arizona's upcoming full length, Welcome Back Dear Children. We mixed this on a big Neve at Brooklyn Recording and it was mastered by Fred Kevorkian at Avatar. The sound of the record is something I am very happy with as an artist and hopefully you guys will like it and want to hear the rest when it's pressed. We're feeling very good about this album and hope it will be a stride in the right direction for independant rock music making.

jomo1234 · 10th March 2006

Take it from me....I've heard it. Definitely one of the most beautiful and unique sounding albums in recent memory....artful compositions and incredible production value.

djui5 · 10th March 2006

Whoa, that track sounds so much better than last time I heard it!

Hell yeah I wanna disk. How much?

jchadstopherhuez · 11th March 2006

really nice stuff....dig the band alot...

reminds me a bit of a band from the mid 90's called "for squirels"

music is great...production is outstanding..

will have to pick this up..

peace..

j

NOCCA · 11th March 2006

Woohoo!!!

This CD has stayed in my car CD player for the past three weeks since I got it, and now I can't wait to get the real version that is not plagued by mp3 badsoundingness.

I got the news that it was done on wednsesday from Kadar over an e-mail, now I just need to know where and when I can buy it!

On another note do you have a track list? It is driving me nuts not knowing the names of these songs!!! I's some kind of freek where if my music library isn't organized that I go insane, luckly these songs are good enough to not be deleted for lack of names.

All I know 2 is Some Kind of Chill, 5 is Splintering, 7 is David, and 10 is Somersbee.

copperx · 13th March 2006

Ok. I can't die until I hear this album.

Amazing.

Can you give us more details about the signal chain? you listed the mics,
what about the preamps/converters/tape? console? ITB?

Just don't include the Brains->Sensibility->Talent->Performance part, that's obvious

Cojo · 18th March 2006

Thumbs up!

/Cojo

NOCCA · 19th March 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by copperx

Ok. I can't die until I hear this album.

Amazing.

Can you give us more details about the signal chain? you listed the mics,
what about the preamps/converters/tape? console? ITB?

Just don't include the Brains->Sensibility->Talent->Performance part, that's obvious

I know they had a crane song spider and fairly sure on a Great River MP-2NV as well. For a quote from the engineer, "The great river is also good sounding....Arizonahas a pair, but it was a strange peice...didn't sound great on
everything...for instance acoustic gtrs did not sound as good as when
in the crane song."
Other than that I'm not sure, though I am 99% sure it was mixed through some kind of console, probably neve.

BattleAngel · 20th March 2006

Nocca is right (Btw, I wish I had your number amigo because I was just in New Orleans!) - the guts of our rig is a Crane Song Spider, which got used straight up for a lot of Nick and my vocals when they needed to be clean and the centerpiece of a song- ie. David, Some Kind of Chill. When we wanted more control over the sound and a bit more "fit into the mix" I think we mainly relied on a Pendulum Quartet. We've got a Wunder PEQ-1 which got used on my voice as well as other stuff, but that unit was ALL about the bass guitar. Everything you hear on this record with the exception of "Splintering" and maybe one or two other parts (the pick bass in Away for example) is D.I. through the Wunder. I don't know much about the GR, I didn't run through it but I know we used it at least on snare.

My vocal mic changed a lot but the real staple of this album was a C12B graciously provided by Joel of spinART records, who we originally thought might release the record but who ended up just being selfless patrons of the record. Nick is almost all C12, but we both used an Earthworks TC30k on vocals for 'Chill', I used a strange lollypop mic on the vocals to 'savior' and a Soundelux iFet7 on Through the Soot and Te Amo Tanto. The Soundelux is my favorite mic for my voice so far, actually, but this album was about the C12 (-our last one was all about a Wunder C12). Acoustic guitars were generally the C12 as well, sometimes the Soundelux- for my own taste, I like the guitar and the voice to sound very much like one another- that's just how my brain works. Electric guitars... you know, I'm not sure. That's a question for Danny but it was probably a 57, and probably the GR or Wunder for pres. When I record electric guitars (I did the guitar recording for 'Stay With Who You Know') I go for more of a big room sound (I don't listen in headphones for position, just kind of have an innate sense for this shit) and so had the C12 in a weird position recording the guitar amp through a half opened door about 10 feet from the amp, and a 414 about 4 feet. In fact, I think that 414 is often what Danny used on electrics. Kick drum was a vintage AKG of some sort, snare was a gefell, toms were D112s we had lying around, overheads are MBHOs from Joel (I still have to return one of them! We've been on a minitour of the south) arranged in a special way that Danny (and now Alex) are accustomed to. It looks really weird. MBHOs on live pianos as well.

That's all I remember and some of it may be wrong. We used Cubase to track and mixed to tape through a big ass Neve using NS-10s, some huge ass speakers, and little gold monitors.

BattleAngel · 20th March 2006

Here's the track listing btw:

1 Te Amo Tanto
2 Some Kind Of Chill
3 Away
4 Diventa Blu
5 Splintering
6 Old Man With Bad Back Climbs Staircase (What Happened To My Daydream?)*
7 David
8 Waking Up
9 Surviving the Savior
10 Somersby
11 Stay With Who You Know
12 Through The Soot
13 Olde Judgment Day

*Arizona has a tradition of having one really song name on each record. On "The Sun and the Room" - which like no one in America has (besides some of the coolest cats on this board!) - we have a song entitled "Showdown: Sylvester Wheat versus Finneas B"

So, we had our first show to over 200 people last saturday! That's psyched us up so much... and hopefully we will have an announcement soon about an endorsement deal with a proaudio company! Also, for those of you who really like this stuff and are starting to feel fannish- just wanted to let you know we started writing for the next album (or for something) and I'm very very happy with it. BUT we're not going to go into the studio to record even one thing until we sell a few thousand copies of this record. We could probably take a year and write 5 albums lol...

Kris · 20th March 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by BattleAngel

"The Sun and the Room" - which like no one in America has (besides some of the coolest cats on this board!)

That would be me

NOCCA · 20th March 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by BattleAngel

*Arizona has a tradition of having one really song name on each record. On "The Sun and the Room" - which like no one in America has (besides some of the coolest cats on this board!) - we have a song entitled "Showdown: Sylvester Wheat versus Finneas B"

So how do I get it? It is a required addition to my library.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BattleAngel

BUT we're not going to go into the studio to record even one thing until we sell a few thousand copies of this record

So, if I bought a couple thousand copies you'd start recording again...

How much longer to wait on the relese, I want the mastered non-lowqualitymp3 versions of the CD!!!

R.B. · 28th March 2006

great production--singers vibrato is a bit too wide---hard to listen to because of that---(too forced...)--if that is natural , work on reining it in....

dbm · 10th May 2006

Surviving the Savior = My absolute favorite track!! Damn the myspace sound quality

BattleAngel · 10th May 2006

Hey thanks man- it's an old track but a good one! I think I was 19 when I wrote that song, but Arizona really nailed it out of the park.

Just saw that about the wide vibrato- I guess I'm not a sophisticated enough vocalist to hear what you're talking about or know what "wide vibrato" means specifically, but I'm guessing it could be true. Still, this is the first and only comment we've ever had that cites my vocals as the hardest to listen to part of an Arizona song,

e...

Anyway, I think we can help you with that myspace quality soon. The CD is available in 3 weeks and the album artwork is going to make your jaw drop.

BattleAngel · 24th July 2006

Hey guys, just wanted to point you all in the direction of iTunes where our album "Welcome Back Dear Children" is now available to preview/download. Hope some of you check out the finished product :-) The CD itself will be available by Wednesday

10th March 2006	#3
djui5 Lives for gear Joined: Mar 2004 Location: Phoenix Posts: 6,664	Whoa, that track sounds so much better than last time I heard it! Hell yeah I wanna disk. How much? __________________ _________________ "What is a crossfire hurricane & why wasn't I born in one?" Randy Wright

11th March 2006	#4
jchadstopherhuez Lives for gear Joined: Jun 2004 Location: usa Posts: 1,957	really nice stuff....dig the band alot... reminds me a bit of a band from the mid 90's called "for squirels" music is great...production is outstanding.. will have to pick this up.. peace.. j __________________ www.jchristopherhughes.com Always the beautiful answer who asks a more beautiful question. -e.e. cummings

13th March 2006	#6
copperx Lives for gear Joined: Sep 2005 Location: Ciudad Juarez, Mexico Posts: 530	Ok. I can't die until I hear this album. Amazing. Can you give us more details about the signal chain? you listed the mics, what about the preamps/converters/tape? console? ITB? Just don't include the Brains->Sensibility->Talent->Performance part, that's obvious __________________ Gearslutz.com: 'cuz it sucks to know that the gear isn't the problem ... "Do everything else right, and the equipment will disappear in insignificance." - Steve Albini "Photographers — idiots, of which there are so many — say, “Oh, if only I had a Nikon or a Leica, I could make great photographs.” That’s the dumbest thing I ever heard in my life. - Andreas Feininger

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10th March 2006	#2
jomo1234 Lives for gear Joined: May 2005 Location: NYC Posts: 1,375	Take it from me....I've heard it. Definitely one of the most beautiful and unique sounding albums in recent memory....artful compositions and incredible production value.

11th March 2006	#5
NOCCA Gear maniac Joined: Feb 2006 Location: NOLA/NYC Posts: 198	Woohoo!!! This CD has stayed in my car CD player for the past three weeks since I got it, and now I can't wait to get the real version that is not plagued by mp3 badsoundingness. I got the news that it was done on wednsesday from Kadar over an e-mail, now I just need to know where and when I can buy it! On another note do you have a track list? It is driving me nuts not knowing the names of these songs!!! I's some kind of freek where if my music library isn't organized that I go insane, luckly these songs are good enough to not be deleted for lack of names. All I know 2 is Some Kind of Chill, 5 is Splintering, 7 is David, and 10 is Somersbee.

18th March 2006	#7
Cojo Lives for gear Joined: Dec 2005 Location: Gothenburg, Sweden! Posts: 1,471	Thumbs up! /Cojo

20th March 2006	#9
BattleAngel Lives for gear Joined: Feb 2003 Location: Long Island, New York Posts: 954 Thread Starter	Nocca is right (Btw, I wish I had your number amigo because I was just in New Orleans!) - the guts of our rig is a Crane Song Spider, which got used straight up for a lot of Nick and my vocals when they needed to be clean and the centerpiece of a song- ie. David, Some Kind of Chill. When we wanted more control over the sound and a bit more "fit into the mix" I think we mainly relied on a Pendulum Quartet. We've got a Wunder PEQ-1 which got used on my voice as well as other stuff, but that unit was ALL about the bass guitar. Everything you hear on this record with the exception of "Splintering" and maybe one or two other parts (the pick bass in Away for example) is D.I. through the Wunder. I don't know much about the GR, I didn't run through it but I know we used it at least on snare. My vocal mic changed a lot but the real staple of this album was a C12B graciously provided by Joel of spinART records, who we originally thought might release the record but who ended up just being selfless patrons of the record. Nick is almost all C12, but we both used an Earthworks TC30k on vocals for 'Chill', I used a strange lollypop mic on the vocals to 'savior' and a Soundelux iFet7 on Through the Soot and Te Amo Tanto. The Soundelux is my favorite mic for my voice so far, actually, but this album was about the C12 (-our last one was all about a Wunder C12). Acoustic guitars were generally the C12 as well, sometimes the Soundelux- for my own taste, I like the guitar and the voice to sound very much like one another- that's just how my brain works. Electric guitars... you know, I'm not sure. That's a question for Danny but it was probably a 57, and probably the GR or Wunder for pres. When I record electric guitars (I did the guitar recording for 'Stay With Who You Know') I go for more of a big room sound (I don't listen in headphones for position, just kind of have an innate sense for this shit) and so had the C12 in a weird position recording the guitar amp through a half opened door about 10 feet from the amp, and a 414 about 4 feet. In fact, I think that 414 is often what Danny used on electrics. Kick drum was a vintage AKG of some sort, snare was a gefell, toms were D112s we had lying around, overheads are MBHOs from Joel (I still have to return one of them! We've been on a minitour of the south) arranged in a special way that Danny (and now Alex) are accustomed to. It looks really weird. MBHOs on live pianos as well. That's all I remember and some of it may be wrong. We used Cubase to track and mixed to tape through a big ass Neve using NS-10s, some huge ass speakers, and little gold monitors.

28th March 2006	#13
R.B. Gear interested Joined: Oct 2005 Location: NC/USA Posts: 27	great production--singers vibrato is a bit too wide---hard to listen to because of that---(too forced...)--if that is natural , work on reining it in....

10th May 2006	#14
dbm Lives for gear Joined: Apr 2006 Location: Nashville, TN Posts: 2,751	Surviving the Savior = My absolute favorite track!! Damn the myspace sound quality

24th July 2006	#16
BattleAngel Lives for gear Joined: Feb 2003 Location: Long Island, New York Posts: 954 Thread Starter	Hey guys, just wanted to point you all in the direction of iTunes where our album "Welcome Back Dear Children" is now available to preview/download. Hope some of you check out the finished product :-) The CD itself will be available by Wednesday