On the RADAR” is dedicated to audio recording, the art and science of capturing sound in the Deepseekers universe
In Vaughan's Words...
The equipment I use to record is a 24-track hard-disc recorder system manufactured by IZ Technology and is called RADAR, which is an acronym for Random Access Digital Audio Recorder. It’s conjoined with an oversized wired remote control with extensive editing capabilities to track and playback and manage audio. Digital audio is recorded onto a removable hard drive which slots into the RADAR recorder. The 24 tracks are routed through a Sony DMX-R100 mixer. I sample all tracks at 24 bit depth with 48khz sample rate. I mix digitally to a two-track Tascam DA-3000 stereo recorder at the exact same resolution so I don’t lose a bit of sound. (OK that’s a pun).
My keyboards are the Korg Kronos, Moog Voyager, Roland Juno 2 and VP770 Vocoder and Sonic Cel. My Effects processors are by Lexicon, Bricasti and Eventide. I sometimes use guitar pedals for effects, which add shifted sonic signatures compared to rack mount studio effect processors. My Sony mixers doesn’t use plug ins, so any effect I want is achieved through a keyboard, guitar, or outboard gear.
Preamps offer tone and fatness to the input side of life and for those I use the VIPRE all-tube preamplifiers, offering up to nine tubes of color, and Neve Shelford preamps, and LA2A and Retro Instruments compressors. Microphones are by Neumann, Shure, and Sennheiser.
For rhythm I sometimes lay down a click track to guide the tempo (track 1) though I may subtly change the tempo of the click track to fit the song tempo I hear in my head. We musicians ebb and flow subtly with tempo shifts.
Drums are driven on the Roland TD-30 digital drum set, played by hand in real time by Sean with wooden drum sticks and not programmed. Depending on the song, I track him playing an acoustic hi-hat and cymbals separately after his main drum performance. If acoustic drums are used they are Yamaha, and cymbals are Zildjian. Auxiliary percussion instruments are performed by hand by anyone in the group.
Guitars are primarily Cory’s cosmos, although I can rough-out a rhythm guitar part to communicate my idea and feel. Cory knows the sounds that different guitars can produce, along with various foot-pedals, which enable us to get a sound and part down faster. Some of the electric guitars we use are made by Suhr, Tom Anderson, Fender, Gibson and Rickenbacker. Acoustic guitar picks (pun intended) are by Martin and Yamaha. Cory plays Fender and Gibson bass guitars as well, and very well. A little-known studio secret to get a sweet studio guitar sound is the Kemper, which offers lush processing.
Often we create sounds with our instruments that sound like other instruments or things. For example if we need a seagull, we ponder… Which instrument can sound like a seagull? What is the sound of a satellite? And can one voice recreate the sound of a choir? We also explore reverse sounds and the new images they create, resulting in new textures and many happy accidents.
As an engineer I attempt to get the sound right when tracking to match the sound I’m imagining in my head. Sometimes I’ll have to brighten or darken the sound later to sit in the final mix better.
Deepseekers recordings take place in two studios, the Control Room and Outta-Control Room. The Outta-Control room explores the creation of songs with stellar ideas plus has the dimension of drums. The Control Room mixes the songs with a polished vibe before they’re released into the stratosphere.