Workshops at Sweetwater Studios and GearFest provide attendees firsthand knowledge for turning creative dreams into reality

Fort Wayne, IN -- (ReleaseWire) -- 07/03/2019 -- 17,000 gear fanatics from across the country convened for Sweetwater Sound's 18th Annual GearFest, held June 21-22 at Sweetwater's headquarters in Fort Wayne, IN. The two-day event, which highlighted the newest musical instruments, technology and audio equipment from top manufacturers in addition to performances by special guest artists, also featured two full days of workshops held at Sweetwater Studios and the new Purdue Fort Wayne Sweetwater Music Center. The workshops provided attendees a nut-and-bolts approach to a wide variety of topics relating to making music and choosing the right equipment to practicing and performing, recording, mixing and engineering. The workshops also offered personalized discussions on how to pursue a successful career in the music business.

Everything You Need To Know
Saturday, June 22 began with the GearFest debut of the Purdue Fort Wayne Sweetwater Music Center, located on the Sweetwater campus behind the main facility. Sweetwater Studios Senior Producer/Engineer Mark Hornsby led Saturday's kickoff panel discussion, titled "Being Successful in Today's Music Business," providing students with a no-nonsense, professional approach to the business of recording and performing music.

Alongside career experiences and personal anecdotes relayed by Sweetwater Studios' first-call session drummer Nick D'Virgilio (Big Big Train, Tears for Fears, Cirque do Soleil), as well as Marcus Scott, vocalist for the legendary soul band Tower of Power, Hornsby demystified the seemingly magical combination of talent, networking savvy and persistence that it takes to become a working professional in the music business. GearFest attendees filled every seat available in the center, listening attentively to the hard-won wisdom of these industry professionals while gaining a deeper understanding of the music business as a whole.

"Recorded music is a marketing tool," Hornsby said. "That's what it is: a marketing tool for your brand, a marketing tool for your live performance, and a marketing tool for your merch stand. Let's talk about avenues for revenue — which is what we all want."

Following a discussion of the possibility for finding a more loyal fan base in niche markets, D'Virgilio described the grassroots approach of the progressive rock band he joined in 2007, Big Big Train, whose singer David Longdon and bass player Greg Spawton have found ways to engage fans through the internet, building a groundswell of support around their records, which recently launched the band's latest album, Grand Tour, to No. 35 on the UK Official Albums Chart and No. 2 on the UK Official Rock Albums Chart.

"The takeaway from Nick's story is: There is no silver bullet," Hornsby said. "There is nothing any of us can tell you, or that anybody is going to tell you, that says, 'If you do this, you'll get paid tomorrow.' The guys in Big Big Train were working on it for 10 years before Nick was in the band. They had a long-term vision. They weren't expecting an immediate payout. And it is coming back to them now."

Breaking through: the importance of drive and exposure
Marcus Scott also shared his experience of starting out in the music industry, emphasizing the importance of saying yes to every gig. While working in Memphis, Scott accepted a corporate gig he landed through a contact at a modeling agency in which he was asked to sing a cappella in the aisle of an airport terminal outside the storefront of an ice-cream shop during the store's grand opening. While singing at the gig, Scott's voice caught the attention of record producer David Porter, and — through a series of connections that spurred as a result of that gig in the aisle of an airport terminal — eventually led to his audition to become the current frontman for Tower of Power.

Hornsby followed up Scott's story with some practical advice for networking that he learned while starting out as a recording engineer in Nashville, which eventually landed him a job at Seventeen Grand Recording, one of the first 5.1 high-definition studios in the U.S. "Get the other person's contact info and find a way to help them," Hornsby said. "I met the owner of Seventeen Grand Recording, at an Audio Engineering Society event, and the first phone call I ever made to him was when the AES was having a 'Yard Sale.' I called him up and asked, 'What can I do to help? Do you need a volunteer?' And he responded, 'Yeah, that would be great!' I gained credibility with him by calling him and offering him something. And that's how you start to earn your way in the business.

"The music business really is just like any other business," Hornsby concluded. "It's about people skills, treating other people the way you want to be treated, and always giving 110 percent, whether its a free gig or a paying gig. We've really gone full circle, in that we're back to grassroots in the music business. There is no magic button or magic phone call. It's about going out there an rolling up your sleeves."

Recording workshops
GearFest attendees also had the opportunity to participate in studio workshops led by Hornsby on Friday in Sweewater's Studio A Tracking Room, including "Recording Electric Guitar" with guitarist Tom Hemby, "Recording Vocals," with Marcus Scott, as well as the "Recording Drums" workshop led by Nick D'Virgilio and Bobby Dellarocca. Hornsby also led Friday's "Breaking Down the Mix: Examining a Mix from the Raw Track to the Finished Product" and "The 1-hour Mix: Getting the Job Done When Working on a Deadline" workshops held in Sweetwater's Studio A Control Room.

In addition, "Deep Dive" workshops were held on Friday and Saturday focusing on Avid Pro Tools I S6 + MTRX and Avid Pro Tools Ultimate in the Studio A Control Room, led by Avid product specialists Jeff Komar and Greg "Stryke" Chin. Saturday also featured an "Ask Sylvia Studio Workshop" with producer/engineer Sylvia Massy (Tool, System of a Down) in the Studio A Control Room, plus more workshops on recording vocals with Hornsby and Kat Bowser and on recording drums with Hornsby and D'Virgilio in the Studio A Tracking Room.

To learn more, please visit https://www.sweetwaterstudios.com

About Sweetwater Studios
Sweetwater Studios is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sweetwater Sound, Inc., the largest online music instrument retailer in the country. With three world-class studios designed by Russ Berger and access to a greater diversity of musical equipment and professional audio gear than any other recording studio in the world, Sweetwater Studios is able to accommodate just about any recording, mixing or mastering project, no matter how simple or complex. With renowned staff producer Mark Hornsby at the helm, who has worked on many Grammy-award winning albums, Sweetwater Studios also has an exceptional staff of producers, engineers, session musicians and studio technicians. For more information on Sweetwater Studios, please visit http://www.sweetwaterstudios.com.

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm

Veteran Producer Mark Hornsby Tapped to Handle Remote Recording at Iconic Venue for New Album, Blu-Ray and DVD Release

London, UK -- (ReleaseWire) -- 11/15/2018 -- Beth Hart's artistry has always been a study in emotional contrasts. From exhilarating joyful highs to solemn and soulful lows, the 46-year-old singer-songwriter has made her career on her ability to capture the essence of these moments with memorable, narrative song writing and passionate live performances that have moved listeners and concertgoers for nearly twenty years. One Friday night last May, Sweetwater Studio's Senior Producer/Engineer Mark Hornsby was called on to record and engineer her new live album Live at the Royal Albert Hall.

The importance and gravity of the request was not lost on Hornsby, who knew that the recording had to be nothing less than perfect: "Beth is a very emotional performer and it's pretty epic to put her in a space like that," he says. "You have one shot when you're trying to capture something like that, so you've got to make it count."

Making tracks in London
Hornsby's impressive track record of capturing 5.1 recordings in both the studio and in live spaces made him and Sweetwater Studios the first choice of film director Nigel Dick, who has directed videos for everyone from Paul McCartney to Gloria Estefan. With years of experience having done surround sound mixes for the likes of George Strait, Allison Kraus, and also with his experience as staff engineer at Nashville's Seventeen Grand Recording — one of the first 5.1 high definition mix rooms in the country — Hornsby was the right man for the job.

Having already been worked on several other high-profile video concert performances, Hornsby was already aware of the requirements for a 4k video shoot and set up for a 24/96kHz 5.1. surround sound mix that entailed roughly 40 tracks and an array of microphones placed on the stage and at strategic places within the theatre to capture the audience. "I'm creating what Nigel is going to use to edit the entire show," Hornsby explains. "You have to mix it like it's a live show, bringing up the faders for solos, while keeping a close ear open for anything that could possibly go wrong."

Arriving in London on the day of the performances, Hornsby worked in tandem with Hart's crew and the video team to set the stage for the evening. "All the microphones had been shipped ahead of time and the crew had been using them on all of the preceding European tour dates," Hornsby explains. "The main things we had to accomplish on arrival were tweaking the stage mic setup and make sure that the communication with the video team was solid." With the video team working underneath the stage of the Hall, Hornsby set up his tracking and monitoring station in remote recording truck outside of the venue.

Throughout the evening, the audio was fed to the remote truck via fiberoptic cables sent from Front of House, running through a set of Sony DMX preamplifiers before entering the DAW. The feed was monitored by a Solid State Logic broadcast console, along with a pair of ATC SCM25a's — also part of the monitoring set up back in Studio B at Sweetwater Studios in Fort Wayne.

Tails of Legendary Reverb
The Royal Albert Hall is not only a legendary performance venue, but also a sonic gem that lends itself to acoustic scale and grandeur. Hornsby, who has attended many concerts there over the years, already had intimate knowledge of the venue. "It's got an iconic sound," he says. "If you go with the room and just let it sound big, it works." The room's natural acoustics and long reverb tails left an exhilarating sonic footprint on the recordings. During the setup phase, Hornsby took great care to mic the room accordingly, with several audience mics as well as a matched pair in the Hall's famous domed ceiling.

Controlling the natural reverb occasionally became a challenge when Hart belted out louder portions of the performance, but as Hornsby wisely adds with a chuckle, "You can't fight the room. If you try to dial it back down then you might as well have just recorded somewhere else."

Achieving intimacy in a 5,000 seat venue
Although there are plenty of fiery performances on Live at the Royal Albert Hall, it's the intimate emotional moments that Hart shares with her audience that really help exhibit the entirety of her artistic talent. "There are four songs she did with just herself and the piano, where we were really able to take advantage of the openness of the space," Hornsby says, "You can really hear the connection she's making to the audience in those songs and when I returned to Sweetwater Studios they were the first things I wanted to work on to set the tone for the rest of it."

Once the recording was completed, Hornsby and the crew met backstage to plan the next leg of the journey. For him, it's returning to Sweetwater Sound in Fort Wayne, IN to create the surround sound mix of the audio in Sweetwater's Studio B, making use of the studio's Solid State Logic AWS 948 Delta console and ATC SCM45A monitors to recreate the stunning performances that he captured. While he's spent a lot of time engineering on both the stage and in the studio, Hornsby says that ultimately the objectives are the same. "You want to capture the energy of a good performance and you want that to translate whether you are listening to it or watching it. Beth has got soul for days and it's something special. Being able to capture that in a live performance like this is really incredible."

About Sweetwater Studios
Sweetwater Studios is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sweetwater Sound, Inc., the largest online music instrument retailer in the country. With three world-class studios designed by Russ Berger and access to a greater diversity of musical equipment and professional audio gear than any other recording studio in the world, Sweetwater Studios is able to accommodate just about any recording, mixing or mastering project, no matter how simple or complex. With renowned staff producer Mark Hornsby at the helm, who has worked on many Grammy-award winning albums, Sweetwater Studios also has an exceptional staff of producers, engineers, session musicians and studio technicians. For more information on Sweetwater Studios, please visit http://www.sweetwaterstudios.com.

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm

Master Class to be Held on November 2-3 is Open to Students on a First Come-First Served Basis

Fort Wayne, IN -- (ReleaseWire) -- 09/26/2018 -- Sweetwater Studios, the world-class, multi-room recording facility owned and operated by top music retailer Sweetwater, will host another installment of its hands-on recording master classes next month, featuring Rick Nielsen — lead guitarist of the legendary band Cheap Trick. The class, which is the second one in which Mr. Nielsen will have participated in, is to be led by Sweetwater Studios' Mark Hornsby and will take place on November 2 and 3. The master class is open to registered students on a first come-first served basis.

The master class will be held in Sweetwater Studio's Studio A and divided up into two jam-packed days. The first day, Pro Recording Techniques and Recording Overdubs will focus on setting up the session, dialing in sounds, and tracking with Rick and Sweetwater Studio's own musicians: Don Carr, Nick D'Virgilio, Dave Martin, and Phil Naish. Day two, Editing and Mixing Tracks will focus on the fine-tuning process, from comping takes and adding effects to the previous day's tracks to mixing in Pro Tools and adding post-processing.

- Who: Sweetwater Studios and Senior Producer / Engineer Mark Hornsby
- What: Recording Master Class with Rick Nielsen
- Where: Sweetwater Studios, 5501 US Highway 30 West, Fort Wayne, IN
- When: Friday, November 2 to Saturday, November 3 between 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.

Rick Nielsen is the celebrated lead guitarist of Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame inductees Cheap Trick. His blistering guitar work has been a key component of all of their best songs, and for the past four decades he has wowed audiences with his singular stage presence and wit. On top of being a veteran of the stage and studio, Nielsen is also a noted guitar collector and pioneered several unique designs with the Hamer guitar company.

"Our last master class with Rick was so successful that we're doing it again," Hornsby said. "Rick has an amazing track record in the studio and a ton of insight from his experience — both as a guitarist and as a key contributor to some of rock's most memorable recordings. We are truly excited about the energy and learning experiences are bound to come out of these sessions."

Sweetwater Studios: 360 degrees of talent

Guitarist Don Carr is no stranger to Sweetwater Studios, and his versatile playing and easy-going manner have graced many of Sweetwater's gear demo videos. In addition to being on the Sweetwater Team, Carr logged two decades with the Oak Ridge Boys while maintaining a busy recording schedule in Nashville. He has also shared the stage with the likes of Lou Rawls, James Brown, and Merle Haggard.

Bassist Dave Martin is a member of the Western Swing Hall of Fame and owned and operated Java Jive Studio in Nashville, TN. His rock-solid bass playing has anchored albums by Robben Ford and Nokie Edwards, to name a few. He has also shared the stage with The Platters, The Box Tops, and Robert Earl Keen among others. Meantime, Keyboardist Phil Naish is a skilled arranger and producer, with several Grammy winning albums to his name. He's also worked with legendary artists such as Dolly Parton, Boz Scaggs, Elton John, and Kenny Chesney.

Drummer Nick D'Virgilio's work crosses multiple genres, having played alongside the likes of Genesis, Tears for Fears, Sheryl Crow, and the Animals. In addition to the rock and pop circuits, he's also made a name for himself in progressive music with his band's Spock's Beard and Big Big Train.

Registration is just $1,495 per person and includes:

- Two full days of learning sessions in Sweetwater Studios, including lunches
- Dinner with Mark, Rick, Don, Dave, Phil, and Nick
- Lodging for two nights
- Certificate of completion

To register, please email studio@sweetwater.com or call 800-386-6434.

To learn more, please visit http://www.sweetwaterstudios.com/mc-rick-nielsen-11-02-18/.

About Sweetwater Studios
Sweetwater Studios is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sweetwater Sound, Inc., the largest online music instrument retailer in the country. With three world-class studios designed by Russ Berger and access to a greater diversity of musical equipment and professional audio gear than any other recording studio in the world, Sweetwater Studios is able to accommodate just about any recording, mixing or mastering project, no matter how simple or complex. With renowned staff producer Mark Hornsby at the helm, who has worked on many Grammy-award winning albums, Sweetwater Studios also has an exceptional staff of producers, engineers, session musicians and studio technicians.

For more information on Sweetwater Studios, please visit http://www.sweetwaterstudios.com.

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm

Comprehensive classroom experience between September 13 and September 15 to be led by Sweetwater Studios engineer Nathan Heironimus

Fort Wayne, IN -- (ReleaseWire) -- 08/29/2018 -- Sweetwater Studios, the multi room, world-class recording facility owned by music retailer Sweetwater Sound, will host a three-day hands-on Pro Tools master class taught by Sweetwater Studios Producer/Engineer and Pro Tools Expert Nathan Heironimus. The master class, which will occur between September 13 and September 15, offers a chance for recording enthusiasts of all skill levels to increase their knowledge of Pro Tools and learn valuable tips and tricks from an experienced studio veteran.

The agenda for the master class takes a high-level approach to Pro Tools and involves students in a hands-on methodology from the onset. Day 1 focuses on session preparation, work flow, and identifying and understand the proper tools for each project. It will also dive into the customization features of the Pro Tools workflow and teach students how to customize the software to work for their needs.

Day 2 immerses students in the mixing process, putting together a rough mix of a session and using compression, EQ, and FX to polish it for mastering. It will also introduce students to the variety of automation features in Pro Tools in order to work efficiently and smoothly without missing crucial details.

Day 3 has students working on their own projects to apply the lessons learned in the previous two days with one on one help from Heironimus.

Who: Sweetwater Studios and Producer/Engineer Nathan Heironimus
What: Pro Tools Master Class
Where: Sweetwater Studios, 5501 US Highway 30 West, Fort Wayne, IN
When: Thursday, September 13 to Saturday, September 15 between 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.

"It's really exciting to host a class like this at Sweetwater Studios," Heironimus said. "Pro Tools is such a deep program that it can be a bit intimidating at times to even experienced engineers, so being able to take students through the process from project start to finish is always useful. Not only that but learning these skills hands on will let students jump right into to making their own projects which is always my favorite thing to see as a teacher and mentor."

Sweetwater Studios: Attracting versatile professionals
Heironimus has chaired workshops and mentored students at Ball State University, Berklee College of Music, and the Recording Workshop among others. He also has lent his engineering and producing talents to a wide variety of projects, from jazz greats like John McLaughlin and Chick Corea to rock and pop artists such as Fastball, Collective Soul, and Ingrid Michaelson.

Registration is just $995 per person and includes:

Three full days of learning sessions in Sweetwater Studios, including lunches
Dinner with Nathan
Pro Tools 101 by Frank D. Cook
Copies of all session files
Lodging for three nights
Certificate of completion

To register, please email studio@sweetwater.com or call (800) 386-6434.

To learn more, please visit http://www.sweetwaterstudios.com/mc-nathan-pro-tools-9-13-18/.

About Sweetwater Studios
Sweetwater Studios is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sweetwater Sound, Inc., the largest online music instrument retailer in the country. With three world-class studios designed by Russ Berger and access to a greater diversity of musical equipment and professional audio gear than any other recording studio in the world, Sweetwater Studios is able to accommodate just about any recording, mixing or mastering project, no matter how simple or complex. With renowned staff producer Mark Hornsby at the helm, who has worked on many Grammy-award winning albums, Sweetwater Studios also has an exceptional staff of producers, engineers, session musicians and studio technicians.

For more information on Sweetwater Studios, please visit http://www.sweetwaterstudios.com.

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm

A-list performances, gear exhibits and over 200 workshops draw record crowds to the nation’s largest customer-focused music trade show

Fort Wayne, IN -- (ReleaseWire) -- 07/02/2018 -- For the 17th year, Sweetwater hosted its annual GearFest on Friday, June 22 and Saturday, June 23, 2018 at its campus in Fort Wayne, Indiana, drawing record crowds with more than 15,000 attendees from across the world — including guests from Australia, Brazil and Japan. This year's event also saw a 15-percent increase in music equipment sales during the event.

Considered the nation's largest customer-focused music and pro-audio trade show, GearFest 2018 offered something for every music lover — from over 200 workshops to new gear releases from top musical instrument manufacturers to performances by some of the biggest names in the industry, including Greg Koch, Peter Erskine and John Scofield.

"We are thrilled that GearFest continues to attract more and more musicians from across not only the U.S., but the world, who are searching for a unique music experience unlike any other," said Steve Dwyer, Senior Director of Brand at Sweetwater Sound. "Through GearFest, Sweetwater is reaching today's music creation community and bringing them the opportunity to learn and interface with some of the brightest minds in the music industry. We are certain that anyone who attended GearFest walked away with a new piece of knowledge and are ready to take their passion for music to the next level."

For those who couldn't make the event, Sweetwater live streamed select panels, performances and workshops on Facebook Live so everyone could be a part of the GearFest experience. The live streamed videos can be viewed at: https://www.sweetwater.com/gearfest/watch-live/.

Unforgettable Performances

Inspiring the crowd, this year's GearFest was full of memorable, impromptu performances by some of the biggest names in the music industry, including guitarist Nita Strauss who took the stage during her seminar with Nick Bowcott and performed an impromptu performance of Pantera's "Walk" as a tribute to the late Pantera/Damageplan drummer Vinnie Paul.

Another unforgettable performance came when drummer Steve Ferrone, who has worked with top talent like Tom Petty, Eric Clapton and Duran Duran, learned that his former bandmate — keyboardist, arranger and music director Greg Phillinganes — was also at GearFest. The two legends connected and jumped onstage, entertaining the audience with a spontaneous rendition of Clapton's "Pretending."

Serious 'Master' Classes

Performances aside, GearFest also offered attendees the opportunity to learn from some of the best and brightest in the industry during expert panels and workshops which featured names like Periphery guitarist Misha Mansoor, drummer and producer Russ Kunkel, and former Megadeth guitarist Chris Broderick. The more than 200 workshops and seminars covered such topics as getting discovered on YouTube, music creation with computers, and tips on improving technique and theory.

A perennial GearFest favorite, this year's Producer's Panel offered a high-powered discussion on what it takes to be a producer, how to help artists perform their best and what makes a song great. The panel was made up of Sylvia Massy (Tool, Prince), Neal Pogue (TLC, Pink), Kevin Killen (Shakira, U2), Fab Dupont (Jennifer Lopez, Bon Jovi), Chris Lord-Alge (James Brown, Prince) and Rich Chycki (Dream Theater) along with Sweetwter's own Mitch Gallagher moderating the panel.

Among the most popular of the events was "Getting Great Electric Guitar Tone" which featured Butch Walker (Taylor Swift, Panic! at the Disco), Buddy Miller (Emmylou Harris, Robert Plant), Tim Pierce (Bon Jovi, Bruce Springsteen), Lyle Workman (Bourgeois Tagg, Todd Rundgren), and panel moderator and Nashville session star Corey Congilio. During this session, the group dug deep into capturing electric guitar tones and demonstrated the power of Universal Audio's OX.

Next year's GearFest 2019 will be held June 21-22nd.

About Sweetwater
Since 1979, Sweetwater has been committed to giving music makers the ultimate shopping experience. As a pioneer of ecommerce in the early 1990's, Sweetwater has methodically leveraged the internet to expand their business. As a result, Sweetwater.com now serves as the #1 online retail destination for music gear in the United States. Whether it's Sweetwater's human approach to building personal relationships with their customers, the numerous free value-adds or their unparalleled "too-good-to-be- true" customer service, Sweetwater.com continues to be the preferred shopping destination for music makers — whether beginners or rock stars.

About Sweetwater Studios
Sweetwater Studios is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sweetwater Sound, Inc., the largest online music instrument retailer in the country. With three world-class studios designed by Russ Berger and access to a greater diversity of musical equipment and professional audio gear than any other recording studio in the world, Sweetwater Studios is able to accommodate just about any recording, mixing or mastering project, no matter how simple or complex. With renowned staff producer Mark Hornsby at the helm, who has worked on many Grammy-award winning albums, Sweetwater Studios also has an exceptional staff of producers, engineers, session musicians and studio technicians.

For more information on Sweetwater Studios, please visit http://www.sweetwaterstudios.com.

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm

Sweetwater Captures Landmark Performances at Fox Oakland Theater, Where it All Began 50 Years Ago

Oakland, CA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 06/28/2018 -- In their storied half-century year career, Tower of Power has played countless performances and won over millions of fans around the world — among them, Fort Wayne, Indiana-based Sweetwater Sound and its founder and fellow horn-player Chuck Surack — who considers them 'his favorite band in the world.' In the past, the band has participated in Sweetwater sponsored events, and more recently, Sweetwater's professional recording services subsidiary, Sweetwater Studios, was asked to record the band's 50th anniversary celebration performances at Fox Oakland Theater in Oakland where it all began 50 years ago.

The live recordings, produced by Joe Vannelli and engineered by Sweetwater Studios, consist of two sell-out performances on the evenings of June 1 and 2 of this year, some of which is planned to be included on a forthcoming live album as part of the band's 50th anniversary celebration. The audio was captured by Sweetwater Studios' Mark Hornsby, Jimmy Blankenship and Nathan Heironimus in pristine 5.1 surround, 24/96 kHz format. Also, both performances were also concurrently captured in stunning 4k video.

For Tower of Power, this historic Oakland concert — which included venerable classics such as "What Is Hip?", "So Very Hard To Go" and "Don't Change Horses (In The Middle Of A Stream)" — was an exclamation point on a stellar year. Just two months ago, the band's new studio album, Soul Side of Town — also co-produced by Vannelli — earned the band its first #1 on the Billboard charts.

No Safety Nets

For Sweetwater Studios' Mark Hornsby, who spearheaded the live recording, the project was a challenge — and there was only one chance to get it right. "There are over 20 musicians on the stage, and at least 90 inputs off of the stage," says Hornsby, who is Sweetwater's Senior Producer / Engineer. "We had primary and redundant rigs running, and we wanted to make sure our levels were great and that we were getting all the parts." The team set up a makeshift 2.1 control room in the basement of the Theater where they could achieve sufficient isolation for monitoring, and set up an Avid S6L console — running straight into a Pro Tools HD system via AVB. In addition to the primary system, which was fed from an isolated stage split, a redundant multi-channel feed was also taken from the stage box and run into a separate Pro Tools HD system via MADI.

Making the Theater Sing

In addition to the lines being pulled from the stage microphones, the team set up a surround microphone configuration to capture the sound of the Theater, which Hornsby says was 'spectacular'. They deployed three Earthworks QTC40 omni microphones at the front of the orchestra, in an LCR set up about 15' high and 20' away from the loudspeaker array. In addition, they ran a pair of shotgun microphones at the front of the stage, pointed towards the audience.

Up in the balcony, a pair of super cardioid mics were placed facing back into the audience. "With this mic set up, as soon as we heard the drums warming up, it sounded like a million bucks in there," Hornsby recalls. Soon after, the horns and other instruments were added, and they knew this was going to become a live recording for the ages.

According to Hornsby, proper room miking is an often-overlooked element in concert recording. In the case of Fox Theater Oakland, a 2,800-seat venue that originally opened its doors in 1928, Hornsby knew he was working inside of an acoustic gem. "There are these huge, arched ceilings that go all the way up to the balcony, and the room is very special. There is a real art to capturing the sound of a beautiful room like this, and if you get it right, it can be a great tool to be used in the mixing process — particularly on a record that features 5.1 surround. You need depth when you push up those faders, and something that sounds larger than life." Hornsby was able to bring his extensive expertise in this area to bear on this project, having cut his teeth as a staff engineer at Nashville's Seventeen Grand Recording back in the '90s — one of the first 5.1 high definition mix rooms in the country.

Keeping Files Safe and Sound

Once the team achieved optimal levels and the sound check was complete, they took measures to ensure that all the music would be captured for both evenings — on both systems — without fail. "You are capturing a lot of data, people are spending a lot of time and a lot of money, and everything needs to be backed up. That means you are often there till 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning backing up and protecting assets." Their rig consisted of three solid stage hard drives, and they allocated tracks across all three for a total of 90 tracks running at 24/96.

Even after the set up is complete and the concert is underway, the tension — which is necessary for a great result — never ceases. "You are on your toes the entire time, listening," Hornsby says. "Jimmy Blankenship and myself actually mixed all the shows in real time live and printed a two track mix while Nathan Heironimus monitored back both rigs — just to see how everything was feeling, how it was all working and how the audience sounded. 'Does the room sound right? Does everything sound in phase? Are the separate mics all gelling together?'"

An Interdependent Team

Hornsby also says that seamless communication and coordination was required between the FOH engineer Mike Droke, the monitor engineer and the Sweetwater team. "If we heard anything, we'd tell Joe, then he would run up and talk to the monitor engineer, then the monitor engineer would make any adjustments with the performers and adjust the mix again. It is all teamwork, and not just us. There were a lot of people on that crew and we were all interdependent."

This kind of teamwork can prove effective when it comes to unwanted sounds emanating from the stage. For example, the string section relied on instrument pickups to capture the audio — and if there are any hums or ground loops, they need to be quickly identified and sorted out. "Sometimes you have to adjust the pickups on one or two of the instruments and make sure it is in the right spot. This kind of attention to detail is critical, because if you screw it up, you can't fake it later," Hornsby observes.

Even though the approach for a live recording is vastly different from a studio project, which occurs in a completely controlled environment, for Sweetwater and Hornsby the objective remains the same: "One of our philosophies is to try to make the technology transparent. We want everything to sound good from the microphone to the preamp, right into the box. If something doesn't sound right, the rule of thumb is to fix it at the source and try not to rely on EQ or other processing to save you."

Thad Tegtmeyer, Vice President, Campus Sales Operations & Artist Relations, Sweetwater, is pleased that Sweetwater Studios was called into engineer what will surely turn out to be a seminal live recording: "This is a band with a tremendous history, and their musicianship is off the charts," he says. "For us to be involved in such a project says a lot about the experience and talent of our team at Sweetwater Studios. It also gives our company a lot of credibility with customers and our own employees."

On this project, Sweetwater Studios will ultimately hand over the files to Vannelli, who will be handling the 5.1 mix. "Our job is to deliver clean, good sounding tracks off the stage free of any technical problems so Joe's job a lot easier when it comes time to put it all together. If he is cutting between different performances from different nights, all the levels need to be consistent. If he wants to marry one performance with another, the levels and sound character have got to match perfectly. We want him and any other client to be able to push up those faders on and go 'Yeah, this sounds really good!'"

About Sweetwater Studios
Sweetwater Studios is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sweetwater Sound, Inc., the largest online music instrument retailer in the country. With three world-class studios designed by Russ Berger and access to a greater diversity of musical equipment and professional audio gear than any other recording studio in the world, Sweetwater Studios is able to accommodate just about any recording, mixing or mastering project, no matter how simple or complex. With renowned staff producer Mark Hornsby at the helm, who has worked on many Grammy-award winning albums, Sweetwater Studios also has an exceptional staff of producers, engineers, session musicians and studio technicians.

For more information on Sweetwater Studios, please visit http://www.sweetwaterstudios.com.

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm

New 10-song album featuring Sweetwater Sound employees from all ranks, including the Sweetwater Studios rhythm section, hearkens Stax, Motown and Muscle Shoals influences

Fort Wayne, IN -- (ReleaseWire) -- 05/24/2018 -- For the Sweetwater All-Stars, a casual assemblage of approximately 15 employees of Sweetwater Sound, taking a break from work often means gravitating towards a common center point: a shared love for classic R&B music. While it the music that draws each of them to record and perform, their respective routines at the world's largest online retailer are distinctly different: there are members of sales, marketing, support and others — each bringing his or her competence or talent on a particular instrument. The 'backbone' of the band is the Sweetwater Studios rhythm section — which provides the unshakable core — then there are a host of other talented players, including Chuck Surack, Founder and President of the company, on saxophone.

"About three years ago, we got a handful of musicians together here at Sweetwater we thought would be interested in playing some music together," recalls Mark Hornsby, Vice President of Operations, Sweetwater Studios. "Chuck [Surack] has a whole catalog of big-band charts, so we got together in a room and started working on songs. It soon migrated towards the classic R&B stuff: Motown, Muscle Shoals, Stax. Eventually, we were asked to play at festivals and fund-raisers, and were soon opening for groups like Tower of Power and The Isley Brothers."

'Smoking hot' R&B in Studio A

While the All Stars typically get together about twice per month, and the core of the band is actually the Sweetwater Studios rhythm section, their output has been prolific. Their new record, released on January 12th of this year and which is available on iTunes and at Sweetwater Sound, features 10 cover songs from classic artists like The Beatles, Etta James, Elton John, and Janis Joplin, among others. The entire album was recorded over several months last year at Sweetwater Studios 'A room', with Hornsby — Sweetwater Studios' resident producer — at the controls.

According to Hornsby, the album also used 'old school' recording techniques. "We used primarily Royer ribbon mics on this record, and a minimal mic set up with just three mics on the drums," he says. "As far as tracking goes, it was really simple. We had a rhythm pass, a horn pass, lead and background vocals, and it was done — maybe 20 tracks overall per song. It was supposed to be an old school R&B record, so we recorded it just like that."

Hornsby appreciates the 'invisible' sound of the Russ Berger-designed Sweetwater Studios. "The sound character of that room is that it doesn't have any sound character," he explains. "Our rooms are naturally sounding acoustic spaces, so a drum sound will sound more or less the same wherever you are standing in the room. And when you put a horn section in there, it never sounds too bright or too dull." This makes the mixing process more seamless: "Our philosophy is to record it however you want it to sound — and then mixing should be nothing more than moving some faders and maybe adding a little compression, EQ and reverb."

Sharing the stage with customers and community

The All Stars make many stage appearances in and around Northeast Indiana — perhaps most notably at the annual GearFest, an annual magnet festival for customers and manufacturer partners of Sweetwater Sound. During this year's festival, which takes place on Friday, June 22nd and Saturday, June 23, the band will be playing material from their new album alongside special guests during the annual customer appreciation concert.

In addition to Sweetwater's annual GearFest, the All Stars are routinely called on to perform at a wide range of community and charitable events, private parties and stages all sizes. Last year, they headlined at Fort Wayne's week-long Three Rivers Festival, which draws half a million visitors to the region each summer to enjoy music, fun and family time together.

Rather than practicing in a studio or in the basement of someone's home, the All Stars prefer to practice in the lounge of a local hotel — which is almost always packed to the brim with an enthusiastic audience. "We prefer to practice in front of a live audience rather than in a studio, it just makes it more fun," says Hornsby.

Perhaps most inspiring is the shared passion emanating from the Sweetwater All Stars, which is firmly rooted in a common love of R&B music. It is perhaps not surprising that a such a talented band — as evidenced by their new record — would spring from a culture that serves and inspires hundreds of customers each day with a seemingly infinite knowledge of musical instruments and gear.

"One of the things that makes Sweetwater so unique is that everyone here is passionate about music," concludes Chuck Surack. "Not only are the All Stars an extension of that, but that same passion really shines through in the performances on these recordings."

About Sweetwater Studios
Sweetwater Studios is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sweetwater Sound, Inc., the largest online music instrument retailer in the country. With three world-class studios designed by Russ Berger and access to a greater diversity of musical equipment and professional audio gear than any other recording studio in the world, Sweetwater Studios is able to accommodate just about any recording, mixing or mastering project, no matter how simple or complex. With renowned staff producer Mark Hornsby at the helm, who has worked on many Grammy-award winning albums, Sweetwater Studios also has an exceptional staff of producers, engineers, session musicians and studio technicians.

For more information on Sweetwater Studios, please visit http://www.sweetwaterstudios.com.

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm

Sweetwater Studios Supports 'Home Town Girl' with First-Rate Technical Facilities, Accomplished Session Musicians and Unrivaled Industry Relationships

Fort Wayne, IN -- (ReleaseWire) -- 05/10/2018 -- At the age of 15, Addison Agen was encouraged by a family friend to try her luck in auditioning for NBC's The Voice. She followed that advice and soon landed a spot on the show, stunning international audiences with thoughtful, mature renditions of classics by Joni Mitchell, Ray LaMontagne and others. Her age-defying talent and soulful delivery landed her second place in the prestigious program, propelling her confidence while offering a range of open doors and career choices.

Once she returned to her hometown of Fort Wayne, Indiana, Sweetwater Studios — also based in Fort Wayne — stepped in to support the budding artist with its world-class studio facilities, experienced on-staff session talent and a myriad of professional resources to help her take the next step on her promising career path: recording her first album and seeing it through to completion.

"We are proud to support Addision with our best-in-class recording facilities and staff," commented Mark Hornsby, Vice President of Operations, Sweetwater Studios. "The depth of our recording operation at Sweetwater Studios is truly unrivaled — from the Russ Berger-designed technical spaces, to the breadth of the equipment and talent we bring to bear. We are honored to serve as an important platform for helping Addison Agen launch what promises to be a remarkable career."

Sharing hometown musical roots

"As an Indiana-based company, we're hugely supportive of our local region," says Thad Tegtmeyer, Vice President, Campus Sales Operations & Artist Relations, Sweetwater. "We knew the scope of what we would be able to offer Addision to ensure her first recording was a success, so we wanted to jump in and wrap our arms around her and her family and connect a whole bunch of dots for her."

Teaming up with award-winning co-producers Mark Hornsby and Phil Naish, Agen began planning her debut record and laying the groundwork for her sessions at Sweetwater Studios. Hornsby and Naish had heard Agen's passionate renditions of other handpicked songwriters and musicians on The Voice, but they were both eager to delve deeper into the scope of her own capabilities as a musician and songwriter — both of which became readily apparent.

"She has a true, raw talent and an ear that is just uncanny for someone her age with no professional training," Hornsby says. "Rarely does a performer of her age have the total package like she does." The Sweetwater Studios team was also duly impressed by Addison's values and commitment to her local community, expressed through various activities like helping her church feed the homeless one night each week. "For what she does and how she sings, that spirit really fits," Hornsby says. "One or two lines into the first song, I'm thinking, 'alright, this girl's got the whole package'."

Partners in it for the long haul

Sweetwater Studios ultimately backed Agen with a multi-faceted support package that went beyond traditional recording services and included connecting her with on staff session talent and key manufacturer sponsorships. "At Sweetwater Studios, we have the ability to do something very different than what the rest of the industry can offer," observes Tegtmeyer. "We are able to bring our manufacturer partners to the table to share in the support of our recording artists, with the gear used during the recording process, as well as the promotion of the project."

Agen was soon connected to top industry manufacturers including Shure, Martin Guitar, and Universal Audio, all of who were interested in being a part of Addison's success. "These brands are interested in working with Addison because she is such an exciting artist," says Hornsby. "She's also an incredible role model and each of these brands has their own ecosystem of fans who will want to go learn more about her and how she creates her music. So we are able to leverage all of these synergies for the benefit of both the artist and the brand."

Bringing unparalleled resources to bear

The scope of what Sweetwater brought to bear is impressive, including three premium, acoustically balanced spaces designed by Russ Berger, access to a warehouse containing over 150,000 square feet of pro audio gear and musical instruments, and an A-list roster of producers, engineers and session musicians — all of whom are readily accessible and work on staff. "We have more gear under one roof that any musician has access to than any other recording studio in the world, filled to the brim with effects, compressors, guitars, drums, microphones or anything else you can think of," says Hornsby. "We are the only studio that can offer this combination of resources."

For the recording, a full complement of Shure microphones was utilized, including the legendary KSM44A — which proved the choice microphone for Addison's lead vocals. Meantime, Martin 00-28 and a D-28 were the go-to choices for acoustic guitar, while a Universal Audio Apollo interface allowed the team to leverage the power of the company's AD/DA conversion and mic pre technology.

Sweetwater Studios also had the right session players on call to play whatever Agen, Hornsby, and Naish could dream up. "Our musicians have worked with everyone from James Brown to the Oak Ridge Boys, to Genesis to Dolly Parton," says Hornsby. "You just won't find all these elements under one roof anywhere else, and we were happy to bring these resources together to help Addison realize her potential."

Helping forge a musical identity

For Hornsby, who has worked with artists ranging from Alison Krauss to Godsmack, the key in helping Addison to craft her debut was marrying her songwriting sensibilities with her newfound pop capabilities. "Addison would describe herself as a Folk-Americana artist, but I think what The Voice did was bring out a unique pop element in her," Hornsby says. "When she sat down and started playing the songs she'd written for the album, which were mainly acoustic, we knew it was going to be organic and vibey." Addison and Hornsby chose her strongest six songs, and then brought in four cover songs from outside writers — including Brandi Carlile, an artist Agen admires — to balance out the record.

Agen and Hornsby hewed close to the young star's Americana roots while injecting pop flourishes. "One thing that is exciting with Addison is the wide age range of her fan base," Hornsby says, noting two recent sold out shows in Fort Wayne held at a 2,500-seat theater, where attendees ranged in age from approximately 15 to 65. "That diversity is one reason why we felt it was important wanted to cover our bases on the record, helping her find a unique brand of Pop Americana."

Raising the standard for all

For Agen and other artists who've worked with Sweetwater Studios, the level and completeness of support often comes as a shock. "When we present these kinds of opportunities to an artist, they almost can't believe it. It is completely outside of the box — and when you get everybody on the same page, from artists to producers to musicians, to manufacturers, everybody wins. It is a lot of fun, really rewarding, and really effective," concludes Hornsby.

Agen's album is due to be completed by June 1, and a video documentary is in the works that captures the recording process from start to finish — which also includes string sessions that were also produced by Hornsby and recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London.

About Sweetwater Studios
Sweetwater Studios is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sweetwater Sound, Inc., the largest online music instrument retailer in the country. With three world-class studios designed by Russ Berger and access to a greater diversity of musical equipment and professional audio gear than any other recording studio in the world, Sweetwater Studios is able to accommodate just about any recording, mixing or mastering project, no matter how simple or complex. With renowned staff producer Mark Hornsby at the helm, who has worked on many Grammy-award winning albums, Sweetwater Studios also has an exceptional staff of producers, engineers, session musicians and studio technicians.

For more information on Sweetwater Studios, please visit http://www.sweetwaterstudios.com.

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm