Lake Studios

LAKE STUDIOS - MIX OF THE MONTH - We get all kinds of great music here at Lake Studios. And we enjoy recording and arranging all styles. But rarely do we get to do a full-on jazz instrumental album - and so I'm very excited to be working on one now! Have a listen to this mix of 'Frank Island'. It is a song from the upcoming jazz album by Vernon BC virtuoso guitarist, arranger and songwriter, Neil Fraser. The song has a beautiful dreamy quality and was inspired by a holiday to... Frank Island, near the town of Tofino BC. It features Neil Fraser on all three guitars, the nylon string part (panned left), the steel-string acoustic (panned right) and of course the lead acoustic guitar. On upright bass guitar is the legendary Canadian bassist Michael Lent from from Edmonton AB. Michael did the session remotely from his home studio in Edmonton. The lovely bossa rhythm of the track is accentuated by the percussion parts (shaker, cabasa and clave) played by me, Andrew Smith. The song was recorded and mixed at Lake Studios, Kelowna. I used an AKG 414 on both rhythm guitar tracks through a Lindell preamp. And for the lead melody guitar there are two mics: a vintage geffel MV 692 and Cascade Fathead ribbon mic. I wanted the warmth and soft high end of the ribbon mic plus the natural clarity of the geffel, and find that they work well together on lead acoustic guitar. As for the upright bass, I am using just one of the mic'd tracks that Michael sent as it seemed to have both the weight and presence that I was after. I'm sorry to say I don't know what mics or pre's he used. However I did end up running the bass through my outboard 500 series dbx 560A compressor which really helped to keep his very interesting bass part present throughout the song. I hope you enjoy this song and this mix and (when it finally comes out) the entire amazing jazz album by Neil Fraser. Full disclosure: I have been gigging and touring with Neil for the past couple of years as The Smith Fraser Duo. Neil also performs with numerous other groups. He doesn't have his own website but you can find some more of his playing on videos on my website: www.andrewsmithmusic.com Thanks for listening! Andrew Smith (and Zachari Smith) Lake Studios - Kelowna and Montreal - https://soundcloud.com/lakestudios/frank-island-neil-fraser See more

Soldering up some opamps today at the studio. We have some great handmade gear at Lake Studios including mics, preamps, tape saturators and more.

It's that time of year again. Lake Studios Winter Special is here! $300 for 10 hrs of Recording, Mixing and Mastering. Contact us to book a session - [email protected]

The Mighty River are a duo based in Montreal that slide between folk, ambient and post post-rock. This track Easy Love is from their September 2012 self-titled album. We recorded this album over the course of 3 days in the studio tracking mostly live off the floor with cello, guitar and vocals going down live. We don’t often record that way at Lake Studios as it makes editing and changing of sounds after the fact almost impossible, but in this case the vibe was of paramoun...t importance. The duo were in the middle of a BC tour so they were well practiced and ready to nail down the parts. The feel in Easy Love kinda sneaks up on you with the repetitive picking pattern on the guitar and classically beautiful cello. It is relaxing and familiar at the same time as being unsettling with its missing bars and off-kilter chord progression. The Mighty River are currently working on their next album at Lake Studios Montreal.