Hi, it's me. I'm back.

Welcome to my second edition of Studio Tan, a forum for my over-opinionated ranting and ravings regarding the technicalities of user end polymeric sonic encapsulation (a pretentious and gratuitous way of saying audio recording, but hey, that's me). For this issue I decided to delve into the "behind the sounds" makings of three different songs by local favorites Prosolar Mechanics. With a mixture of formats (both CD and vinyl) and approaches (low cost 8-track and big budget studio) there should be a good deal of material to explore here. Here we go...

What is a Prosolar Mechanic? Well, if you are unfamiliar with this band, you will have to pick up a copy of Jen Salvato's article in NBU issue #1 for a full 5 W's discourse. All you need to know for now is that they have been consistently blowing my ears off with their delicate walls of recorded sound. I was moved enough to ask them for an interview. I wanted to know how they did it. I want you to know how they did it. I was amazed to find out they mostly did it themselves, and on a pile of recording gear that would make any Sam Ash customer laugh. They can truly be called homespun heroes in my book. Let's talk about their methodology.

The scene of our interview: The Somerset Diner on Easton Avenue. The people: Amy Jacob, vintage Gretsch player and ethereal vocalist; Mike Kabok, bassist and distortion wizard; Alex Saville, guitarist and Marshall masher. Absent was drummer Dave Reynolds, who likes to stand clear of all the technical gumbo. Amy also likes to stay out of the tech, but still maintains involvement in the overall sound and still keeps a sense of humor about the process. "The secret to my vocal sound", states Amy "is the use of our own invention, the Fan Inhibitor". It is an elaborate system of ropes and pulleys". Well, judging from the results, I expect to see this device on the market in the near future. Do you accept mail orders Amy?

I don't think its possible to fit a four piece rock ensemble into a nutshell (not even a coconut) but I'll try. In a nutshell, Prosolar Mechanics are a home grown group of D.I.Y. proponents. My first exposure to their recordings was from the Kitra Vol. II Hub City compilation disc, with the song "The Body Spills." Recorded in their basement on a Tascam 388 8-track tape unit/mixer, this song delivers as much thunder (no, strike that, probably more) than any of the other tracks on this disc. For those of you who are unaware of the limitations of this unit, it is a ¼" reel to reel running at 7 ½" I.P.S. with a built in 8 channel mixer. In other words, it's a piece of crap. Add to this the fact that there was not a single true condenser mic used on this song leads me to believe that these folks are a bunch of Satan worshipers who sold their souls for an awesome mix. Let's start with the drums.

Opening the song is Dave's tribal thunder. Drums the size of cannons, a snare that would make pedestrians in East LA run for cover, and cymbals that you can taste. How did they do that? A few SM 57/58's, an AKG D-112 for the kick, and oh the humanity, Radio Shack PZM's for the all important overheads. Kids, don't try this at home. Along with the drums grinds away the distorted bass guitar in a manner no less than synergistic. The perfect sonic pocket was found by Mike. What's his secret? Mike takes a multi-tiered approach to his sound. He runs a Hughes and Kettner Tubeman for a crunch, whose intensity can be dynamically controlled. He has an Electro Harmonix Big Muff for a full blown distortion, and a Tech 21 Sans Amp for his general tone which he also switches off for a guitar-like effect. To put this barrage to tape, he always mikes up his amp.

Guitar tone: the elusive beast. The focus of study of musical anthropologists for the last four decades. Together, Alex and Amy have built up a grand mal seizure of six strings. Alex with the traditional Les Paul / Marshall combination and Amy with her hollow body Gretsch and Fender amp together have sounds which can handle all ends of the traditional rock guitar spectrum. Both guitars are boosted by Big Muffs, as well as other pedals whose identities I think the band wants to keep proprietary. To record these, an SM 57 was placed at a 2 foot distance, and a Radio Shack PZM was used for the room. A slight delay was added between these two mikes and a secret blend of herbs, spices, and stereo signal processing was used on mix down to increase the guitars' size. Each guitar is in stereo, but still favoring different speakers for separation. Amy's guitar is double tracked, as well as her vocals. It seems to me that a well executed spatial arrangement is one of this band's recording secrets. To quote Mike, "I put a lot of thought into the stereo field. I like to listen to music on headphones, so I do some stereo tricks on the guitars and the backing vocals." This is a man who knows how to overcome the limitations of his machine.

Spawned from the same recording session as "The Body Spills" comes "X Marks the Spot" off of the band's two song vinyl single. "X Marks the Spot" takes on a bit more of a Sonic Youth quality than the Kitra cut. With the same gear and approach discussed above, Prosolar manages to carve out a very different sonic impression. It seems as if the Big Muffs are leaned on a bit more in this song than the former, with the exception of Mike, whose bass sound is almost reminiscent of Bill Wyman and less so of Lemmy. Alex adds some great backups twisted into a barely legible state by a wall of effects. In comparison to "The Body Spills," this cut suggests that a homespun approach can lead to greater eclecticism. The band swears by the approach for just this reason. The experimentation that can be afforded by this low cost recording method has lead to the two cuts each shining through with their own personality. My only beef about this song is one that is going to get me in trouble with the band and with many of my friends. It's my old vinyl beef. It sounds to me that this cut has been slightly damaged by its dump down to wax. It lacks the clarity, punch, and the meat of "The Body Spills." (yes, I have a good turntable). Since these two songs are from the same session, I consider this outcome to be laboratory data, and the results of vinyl verses digital debate are...

Anyway, the third song that I would like to talk about is "Impact," off the same vinyl single as "X Marks the Spot." The big difference here is that the band went to my old fav Trax East (see Studio Tan - NBU issue #2). Possessing both the atmosphere of a Joy Division cut and the size of a post-Nevermind rock anthem, I feel this is the best sounding cut out of the three (despite the inherent degradation due to the vinyl). Well, now you might just be saying that I am full of shit, right? Didn't I just blow smoke up err that's crude rave about how great the other stuff was? Yeah. The amazing thing about this band is that they only fell a few inches short of the Trax product using gear which cost about 1/200th of what Trax's gear costs. More importantly to the band though, is that their homemade recordings are exactly what they want you to hear. I think Alex put it the best when he said "we just need more gear, we need an Otari." Anyone with a spare Otari recording deck that they want to donate may contact Prosolar Mechanics at 108 Bayard St. Apt 3, New Brunswick NJ 08901 or alexs@bellatlantic.net