PEDRO AIDA

"I Wanna Be Sedated" - Worldwide Gang Vocal Project

2011-06-02T16:39:00.001-04:00

Feel free to forward this info along to anyone who you know that might wanna to get involved.

Pedro Aida
Producer.Engineer
www.PedroAida.com
Twitter: @PedroAidaRVA

Band: Long Arms (Richmond, Virginia USA) www.LongArmsMusic.com

Song: I Wanna Be Sedated (Countryfied Ramones Cover)

Key: A Major

Sample Rate: 24 bit 48 khz WAV

BPM: 150

Download At: http://www.mediafire.com/?nns143233117loh

Mission: Group vocals or individual vocal over the "BaPaPaPa - Ba - BaPaPaPa I Wanna Be Sedated" part of the song. We've already done a few takes in the rough mix so you'll know what we're talking about. The idea is to get as many people as possible from all over the world to add their vocal to the track. In addition to recording it, we'd like you to take a video of you doing it, tell us who you are and where you're from in your video. Along with the track we're also making a video to go along with it featuring our guest singers and their location. We've already got people in Japan, Australia, UK, Peru, Canada & all over the USA on board with the project. It doesn't have to be a fancy video, it could be webcam, phone or whatever so long as it's decent.

We just need a single take of you our your group, don't overdub or double etc..Bounce the file from 0:00 at 0 dB w/ no effects running.

Sending: When files are ready, upload them to a file sharing host of your choice ie: via YouSendIt, Mediafire etc..These services are free. Send the link to "Pedro at PedroAida dot com" for download.

Thanks!

Recording Tips: How to get a fantastic drum sound

2011-05-31T14:44:00.000-04:00

I'm always reading these recording blogs or websites telling you how to get a great drum sound. They'll go over everything from drum tuning, mic placement, editing tricks, room treatment, outboard gear etc. But they always seem to leave out one thing I find the absolute most important element when tracking live drums: A GREAT FUCKING DRUMMER.

Maybe if you're a hotshot engineer in L.A. or Nashville that's probably a given. But if you're someone with a modest project studio or a young assistant learning the ropes (which is the demographic of these "tips & tricks" blogs) none of that advice is relevant without a solid drummer behind the kit. You could put a bad drummer behind an excellent kit with top of the line mic selection in a great room through a vintage Neve console and it won't be worth a turd compared to a fantastic drummer in a modest project studio.

Now what makes a great drummer is purely subjective depending on what you're looking to achieve, so I'll leave that discussion up to you. That's my $.02 ...for now at least

"And that's all I have to say about that" - Forrest Gump

In a nutshell

2011-02-08T13:17:00.000-05:00

The dudes from Halflit Halo continued and finished work on Detached Sound while I was still laid up from my injury. Those guys are getting a free badass record from me in return, I can't wait honestly.

After they were done with the construction and painting, it was up to me to clean up, buy & assemble furniture, then get my gear in there and set it up. I was very fortunate to have the help of my good friend Richard throughout the whole process since I was still recovering. Million thanks to you Richard, couldn't have done it without you.

We got Detached Sound up and running literally hours before Billy The Kid came into town from Vancouver, B.C. We spent the next 2 weeks rehearsing and tracking 5 songs for her upcoming series of fan funded releases. Pretty cool project, check out her link to learn the story. We had a great time tracking between Detached Sound and Sound of Music Recording Studios. Check out videos from the sessions below, she takes pictures & video of EVERYTHING from her iPhone, I dig it.

Currently between different projects with bands Steelshot, Switch 56 & Sir Deville. Also coming into Detached Sound this weekend are old school country band Loversville. I've been watching them for years and can't wait to get to work.

What Happened?

2011-01-09T09:38:00.000-05:00

First off I wanna thank everyone who sent their well wishes, thoughts and prayers my way. The outpouring of support was overwhelming.

For those of you who are curious as to what happened to me last week, here's a rundown of events. The reason I'm making a blog post about this is so I don't have to repeat it to everyone who asks me because after a while it gets exhausting. Part of my recovery is to take it easy, and this includes not talking too much.

I've been working on rebuilding Detached Sound these past few weeks with my friends Chris and Jeb from Halflit Halo. We're nearly finished at this point, just down to sanding and painting - and now patching a man-sized hole in the ceiling. In fact that's kind of the origin of the entire accident. We had recently patched some old holes in the ceiling, and on Monday I went up in the attic to install some insulation over the newly installed sheetrock. I guess I miscalculated where I was while I was up there, and leaned across a piece of sheetrock that instantly gave way. I fell 8 feet down from the attic, head first into the concrete below.

From the moment I realized I was falling until I hit the ground was almost instant. The room spun around me really fast for a few seconds, and I felt like I was still falling even though I was laying still. Once the spinning subsided, I took a deep breath and realized something wasn't right. I was sweating profusely, had trouble breathing, and there was this tremendous pain in my head. I carefully checked my pocket to see if my phone had made it through the fall, and once I discovered it was miraculously still in tact, I called 911 immediately.

I guess I had enough of my wits about me to describe to the 911 operator what had happened, where I was, and how they could find me. I've very fortunate that my phone was saved and that I was conscious, because I had been working alone in a house that's vacant and I wasn't expecting anybody to arrive for several more hours. I got off the phone with 911, called my wife, and waited for the paramedics.

Once they arrived they immediately began working on me : checking my reflexes, vision, and extremities. They put me in a neck brace and strapped me to a backboard, and the next thing I knew a team of doctors and nurses were greeting me at Chippenham Medical Center. Within moments, I was getting my first CT scan, which later revealed the extent of my injuries. I had bleeding on both sides of the brain. While the blood wasn't putting any pressure on the brain, it was surrounding it, and if the condition worsened brain surgery would be imminent.

After 8 hours in the ER, a room in the Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit at Johnston-Willis Medical Center opened, and I was transferred there via ambulance. After another CT scan, I was greeted by my family, who had driven down from NoVA to be with me. The second CT scan found the bleeds slowing and I was finally able to take off the painful neck brace I had been wearing for over 8 hours.

The first couple of days in the ICU I couldn't hold down much food or move really, but at least the morphine helped with the pain. Slowly I was starting to eat a little bit, although I was still suffering from the side-effects of head trauma: headaches, nausea, limited mobility, and pain. As the days passed I was moved out of ICU into the regular Nuero unit, where I was able to manage my pain with percocet, walk with assistance, and eat. I was discharged from JW Friday morning. It's nice to be home but I'm still on bedrest for at least another week. I have another CT scan and follow ups with the neurologist this week and we'll see what happens after that. Just taking it one day at a time.

Here's a video I took on my phone while I was in the ICU, slightly drugged up

Here's the spot where I fell

Here's the spot I fell from

And here's what I saw right before I fell, ugh

Roslyn Studio Update

2010-11-06T17:35:00.000-04:00

So my band Roslyn and I have been hard at work at Sound of Music Recording Studios working on finishing our debut full length "On Display". Last Thursday we wrapped up about 95% of the guitar work and now it's on to vocals and perhaps a little tambourine and maybe keyboards. Here's a little vid that includes a few samples of our new songs. Four songs from the album have been released and are available for download on iTunes, enjoy!

System Upgrades

2010-10-24T15:27:00.000-04:00

So recently the internal hard drive on my Power Mac G5 crashed along with all my programs including Pro Tools HD 7. Fortunately all my session files and samples are safe in my external LaCie drive. Even though I have all the original install discs and my iLok authorizations are updated, ask anyone who has had to do it, and they'll you that re-installing Pro Tools can be a pain in the ass. So I wasn't looking forward dealing with any of this and the fact that AVID phone tech support for HD costs $80 didn't help. You would think when you purchase a $12,000 system, tech support would be included after the first 6 weeks from the purchase date. I figured if I had to spend $80 on tech support I might as well just spend $250 and upgrade to Pro Tools 8. Anyways, this post isn't a review of software but I will say that 8.0 is pretty sweet. The added features have made my tracking sessions a bit smoother and users have raved about the new multiple 'playlist' layout as well as the color labeling in the mix window. Other upgrades include:
Antares Evo TDM 6.1
Steven Slate Digital Drum Trigger
Focusrite Liquid Mix HD

and I'm highly considering the SSL G-Channel Strip Plug-In TDM

Needless to say, I'm excited about all these upgrades. Change isn't always easy and can sometimes be stressful but I know I'm arming myself with the proper tools to be able to deliver a better overall recording & mix to my clients. Happy tracking

Cheers,
Pedro

Little Boy

2010-08-22T19:22:00.000-04:00

So a few weeks ago I got up in the middle of the night with some melody & lyric ideas. I used to never do that, and lost a lot of inspired moments because of it. But recently I've been messing with Garage Band & my Apogee ONE interface. Having it has allowed me to quickly lay down ideas in a matter of minutes. Since getting up in the middle of the night, getting dressed and driving 20 minutes to the studio to lay down an idea wasn't practical, I'm thrilled with my quick Macbook setup. Anyways, in a matter of minutes I had a basic idea of the guitar part recorded and the vocal melody plucked out also on guitar. The lyrics came instantly, I didn't have to look far for inspiration as any songwriters with kids would know. I took this idea to my good friend and local guitarist/producer/songwriter Dave from local band Conshafter. Knowing Dave's experience with using Reason, I knew he had the sounds I was looking for. So we recorded the guitars, programmed everything else and then I recorded my vocals on my own. Some of the singing and guitar plucking aren't perfect, but I kinda liked the personal feel of it. The idea is that I'm singing this to my boy, so having it over-polished just wouldn't have been appropriate. Enjoy!

Little Boy by PedroAida

The Lost Souls day 4 & input list/mic selection

2010-07-18T11:29:00.000-04:00

Today we do acoustic guitar, tambourine and vocals. Probably a little editing of some other tracks and get mixes started. We're gonna need another day to finish up, but everything is sounding great so far and I can't wait to start the real mixing process. I'm really loving the way a C1000S sounds on a guitar cab. I usually pair an MXL V67 with a 57, but when I started pairing the 57 with a c1000S, I realized the C1000S provided the overall sound I needed on it's own. I used an Apex 435 on fiddle and loved it. I'm gonna stick with the Apex on acoustic guitar & vocals if the U-47 isn't available (Studio A gets first dibs). Here's my input list for this session, actually it's pretty much the same for most tracking sessions in Studio B at Sound of Music. All these go into my DigiDesign 96i I/O - 16 ins 2 outs. Pretty basic, that's how we roll in Studio B, go with what you got.

Kick - e602 - Focusrite isa428 - Distressor - dbx215 eq
Snare - SM57 - Focusrite isa428 - Distressor
Rack - e604 - Amek Angela board
Floor - e604 - Amek Angela board
OH L - V67 - Amek Angela board
OH R - V67 - Amek Angela board
Hi Hat - SM81 - Amek Angela board
Kit - Apex - Focusrite isa 428 - DBX 166 compressor
Bass - DI - Amek Angela board - DBX comp
Bass - Sans - Amek Angela board - Distressor
Elec gtr - C1000S - Focusrite isa428 - Distressor
Acs gtr - Apex - Focusrite isa428 - Distressor - dbx215 eq
Vocals - Apex - Focusrite isa428 - Distressor - dbx215 eq
Tambo - Apex - Focusrite isa428 - Distressor - dbx215 eq

New Website Up!

2010-07-13T18:42:00.000-04:00

Ok so it's just a temporary solution to not having a website at all, but it's got the essentials: bio, song samples, gear list, client list, contact form etc... Eventually I will have a real badass website, someday.
www.pedroaida.com

Voice-Over work & TLS at The National

2010-07-10T01:50:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow I'll be back at Sound of Music Recording Studios to continue voice-over work for Personal Running Trainer. I've had the pleasure of translating their running workouts into Spanish, as well as reciting them. If you want more info check out the link. Right after that I'll be heading out to The National Theater to go see my friends The Lost Souls. I'm currently working on their next album over at SoM, which has involved lots of beer & fine Colombian rum thanks to my South American compadre and TLS guitarist Paulo Franco. I'll be shooting a little video of the session as we go along so check back here to see them. I'm out!

D.C. United player appearance photos

2010-07-03T13:18:00.001-04:00

Like I posted previously, D.C. United players Bryan Namoff & Carey Talley made an appearance at West Broad Volkswagen Audi. It was a beautiful day out and everyone had a good time. My friend Richard's daughter Ruby participated in a contest and even won an autographed ball. It was great to meet the players and other D.C. United fans from the area. Here are some photos, for the rest go to the flickr set.

I can make Olsen giggle

2010-07-02T20:43:00.000-04:00

D.C. United player appearances in RVA

2010-07-02T20:30:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow at West Broad Volkswagen, D.C. United players Bryan Namoff & Carey Talley will be putting on a soccer clinic & signing autographs from 11am - 2pm. Since I am a huge D.C. United fan, my family and I will be attending along with some other supporters I know in the area. If that's not enticing enough for you, there will be free burgers & hot dogs! Everyone loves free food! Hope to see you there! - Pedro

First Post

2010-07-02T19:41:00.000-04:00

So this is the first post. Here we go!