Track one, take one...

We made a run into "the city" (Harlingen) today.  As much for the outing as anything else.  Joan picked up some stuff for a project, and lured me with: "How about lunch at Chick-Fil-A?"  Yeah, I'm that easy.

I had been checking my e-mail, expecting a UPS delivery today... another bit of recording equipment, a Spire Studio recorder.  Those three little words this morning: Out For Delivery.  By the time we were heading home, it still hadn't been delivered.

Rufus was in need of some outdoor time when we got home, so we sat out on the deck with him.  Sunny today, but still cool (around 61º for a high) - it wasn't bad with a sweater on.  Rufus was wearing his luxurious fur, so he was quite content.

Still no UPS.  I got in a 15 minute nap.  Then, just before 5:00, Joan said, "I hear the truck."  Sure enough, when she opened the door, the UPS guy was just coming up the steps.

Opening the box, it was like one of those Russian dolls: a box in a box in a box.  The Spire is in a cylinder-shaped box, and is compact...

While it looks like some kind of game, it has a quality condenser mic, two additional channels with Grace Design pre-amps, and the best part: sound processing technology that eliminates setting levels and compression... all the fun, without the fuss.  Well, that's the premise.  After testing it this evening with guitar (acoustic and plugged in), vocals, bass, and drums... I am impressed.  Mixing is easy, using a graphic interface on an iPad (or iPhone).  You do a 10 second sound-check and this thing analyzes that and sets the levels; you are immediately ready to record.

There will be a learning curve with mic placement and adjusting the various effects (reverb, amp emulators, etc) - there are even bass amp effects.  This allows you to plug directly into it or place it in front of the amp speakers, depending on what you want for sound.  The condenser mic is sensitive enough that it was picking up the "whir" from the ceiling fan... I couldn't hear it with my ears, but I could see it graphically on the recording.

I laid down 6 tracks with different vocals and instruments in less than an hour.

Over the next few days, I'll get more comfortable with it and get some results posted here.

When I went into the music room to test it out, Rufus came and sat in there until I was done - the boy likes music.