The Mic Locker Grows - The one good thing that comes out of a bad economy is that you can find lots of deals in the used gear market. Couple that with my near-insane need to be adding to my gear collection... and... well... you get the picture. Anyhow, I've always felt my mic collection was a bit thin, so I added two nice vintage Neumann mics to the stable. The first is a late 60's (I think) CMV-563. This is the first high end tube mic I've ever owned, but I instantly could hear why this mic is so sought after... nothing sounds quite like it. I also recently picked up a mid 70's U-87. This is the quintessential working mans Neaumann mic that can be used on everything from Vocals to Guitars to Percussion to Acoustic Instruments. The only problem I see with the U-87 so far is.. well... I really need two. : )

Pro-Tools HD Comes to Red Wall- I gotta be honest and say that this was easily the toughest decision and and most painful studio purchase that I have made in recent years. Being a self-proclaimed analog purist, spending money on digital technology is just not something I enjoy...at all. But the Pro-Tools LE rig that we had previously just wasn't cutting it any more. The biggest obstacle with LE was the simple fact that it was limited to a maximum of 18 digital inputs and 18 digital outputs. Considering we own a 24 channel console and a 24 channel tape machine it just makes sense to have 24 channels of digital recording at our disposal. So... I caved. We are now fully fitted with a full blown Pro-Tools HD 7.4 System, a pair of 192 HD Converters (givng us 24 ins and outs) and a very shiny new MacPro to drive it all. Now that I got that out of the way, I can go back to concentrating on blowing money on vintage gear... which is much more fun!

Ch-Ch-Changes - 2008 will easily go down as the "Year of Change" for Red Wall. First off, we moved to much more "homey" surroundings. While our commercial space had many advantages, being cost effective was not one of them. So Red Wall officially became a "home based" studio in late 2007. Fret not though, once you spend a few minutes in the control room or in "the Bomb Shelter", you will quickly realize we still mean business when it comes to a pro atmosphere. The next big change was the installation of a Vintage Neve 5315 Recording Console. This great sounding desk is one of only two in the entire Chicago area. Lots of hits were recorded on these great sounding desks... definitely come by and check it out. We also added lots of new outboard gear and some great new mics... way too much to list here, go to our gear page and check out the "red letter" items.

 

88 Keys and 800 Pounds - Red Wall Finally has a house piano. After nearly a year of searching for a piano that complements our atmosphere, we stumbled upon a 1921 Gulbransen Dickenson full-size upright last summer. We spent the rest of the year having it completely restored and brought her up to concert pitch. She was nearly full two steps out of tune when we got her, leading us to believe she may have never been tuned.. ever. We had the action pulled, replaced all the felts, recut all the hammers and cleaned over 80 years of dirt off the now sparkling strings. we also stripped her of her thick lacquer finish, revealing a beautiful mahogany underneath. If you want to add some piano with character to your tracks, this is the one for you.

 

John Bonham is Smiling - Our luck with finding vintage instruments carried into the percussion department this year. Red Wall recently acquired a Mid-70s Ludwig Gold Sparkle 5-Piece Drum Kit, including 14" and 16" rack toms, an 18" floor tom and a 23" kick that is pure Hammer of the Gods. We did decide to give drummers a break and updated all the 30 year old hardware to DW 5000 and 7000 series, including kick pedal, hi-hat, crash stands and ride cymbal stand. Drum throne is courtesy of Roc-n-Soc and all our cymbals are Zildjian K Series including both crashes, ride and hi-hats. Just bring a snare of your choice, and this kit is ready to rock.