FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH

BAD COMPANY

For heavy rock, this has to be one of the best produced CD's I've come across in a long time. It also has to be one of the most contrasting CD's I've ever purchased. I've never heard a band go from "Rock" to "Shock" so quickly and do them both very, very well. Killer guitar tones, great vocal tones and superb production quality.

I was listening to Pandora.com while working on my latest Mic-Mod PCB when the song  "Bad Company" played. It immediately sounded familiar, yet modern. They had my attention, but, it wasn't the same Bad Company song that was released in the 1970's. This one totally rocked. I couldn't believe what these guys had done to that song!

After the song ended I rushed to see who the band was......it was Five Finger Death Punch! I had no idea who these guys were at the time so I checked out some other songs that were "similar" and liked them also. After that I quickly ordered their CD War is the Answer.

PRO TOOLS REFERENCE TRACKS

I listen to tracks 2, 5, 7, 10, 11 and 12. "Bad Company" is track 12. The other tracks are a much heavier and more aggressive style that I'm not really into.

I now use some of their tracks as "mix references" in my Pro Tools sessions. Although their recording quality will be very hard to match, it really gives me a target that I find worthy of the effort.

Thanks for reading,
Trenton

CONDENSER MICROPHONE KIT

Have you ever considered building your own condenser mic? If so, then a kit from Microphone-Parts.com just might be your ticket.

DIY FET MIC KIT

Their RA-23 kit includes everything you need to build a working condenser microphone. You supply solder and soldering iron as well as precision screw drivers for assembly.

EASY TO BUILD?

Although these mics are not extremely difficult to assemble, they are probably not the best choice as a "first kit". However, after you have a couple stomp-box builds under your belt you should be ready to take it on.

There are two PCB (Printed Circuit Board) assemblies that need to be "assembled". This kit included their MP-V57 PCB kit. Capsule bias, or "sensitivity", is adjusted with the blue trimmer potentiometer.

CAPSULE CHOICE

You choose the capsule type when ordering. You can go from mild to wild if you like. I went with their most popular RK-47 capsule because I am going to be modifying this mic in the future.

IS IT WORTH IT?

If you are looking to gain some "build experience" with condenser microphones then I think it's worth it. It's a good kit, with good parts and the instructions are really good. It's a great microphone for the money. And, you get bragging rights because "You-Built-It-Yourself".


Thanks for reading,
Trenton

IMPROVE YOUR SONGWRITING

My brother Jason and I are polar opposites when it comes to song writing. He's a little bit country and I'm a whole lot of rock and roll. See Belle Holler for an example of his excellent song writing skills.

We were just recently discussing the different approaches we take to song writing when he recommended I check out a book called "Murphy's Laws of Songwriting" written by Ralph Murphy.

It's available from the authors website or from Amazon.com in paper back or Kindle version.

Now you see, my "Honky Tonk" brother lives in Nashville and writes what I call that "Nashville style" song. You know... cow tippin', beer sippin', going fishin'... things like that.

Me? I live the SoCal lifestyle and write music with a modern rock edge. You know... stuck in traffic, wreaking havoc, life is tragic... things like that. So, I'm thinking to myself there's just no way I'm gonna get anything from reading a book by a guy who writes country music!

Once again, I was totally wrong. This book is definitely a must read if you are looking to improve your song writing skills. I know for a fact that I am much better off after reading it.

 

What did I get from it?

I walked away with (proper pronoun use) and the (importance of telling a good story).
Those two tips alone made it worth the effort for me.

 

Is it worth it?

I think so. There are many tips and suggestions that you can immediately apply to your songs. So, if you are looking to improve your songwriting craft, then I highly recommend you check out "Murphy's Laws of Songwriting". I'm glad my brother recommended it to me.


Thanks for reading,
- Trenton