Just finished building the shelves for the amp room! Getting started on building the thru-lines to connect the live, amp, and control rooms!
#studio #producer #detroitmusicscene

Here's a clip of me playing Tennessee Whiskey by Chris Stapleton with Serious Jack!
#tennesseewhiskey #guitar #solo #guitarsolo #country #rock #chrisstapleton

Can you really have enough cables? Upgrading the cables connecting my mixer to the headphone amp in the studio should make my monitor mixes sound clean for years to come!

#detroitmusicscene #detroitmusic #producer #soundengineer #producers

Crazy to think we're already into the second week of 2024! Here are some of the highlights of Serious Jack's NYE 2024 show!

#weddingband #livemusic #detroitband #detroitmusic #detroitmusician #guitarist #singer #livesound #justintimberlake #walkthemoon #michaeljackson #stayinalive #kiss #sweetcaroline #selena #disco

Wishing everybody a happy New Year! So glad to be a part of Serious Jack and to The Garland Golf & Lodge Resort for letting us rock in the new year with them!

#happynewyear #2024 #weddingband #coverband #guitarist #singer #livesound #soundguy #soundengineer

Just finished up our soundcheck for tonight! Can't wait to rock in the New Year with Serious Jack at Garland Lodge & Golf Resort!

#2024 #newyearseve #weddingband

We had a minor leak in the wall of the studio this weekend. Really thankful that the damage was very minor, and hopefully easily fixed. Really grateful to my band Serious Jack for helping me move the drum booth and equipment cause it's heavy!

#grateful #studio #engineer #musician

I repurposed an old XLR cable I had lying around to fit the talkback insert on my new mixer! Also used a recording of me playing Crazy train with Serious Jack we cut in my studio in the background.

#studio #musician #crazytrain #guitarist #soundengineer

As an engineer, knowing what is connected to what is vital. I used to use tape to label my cables but touching sticky cables gets old fast. A $20 label maker lets me keep my mixer organized without the unwanted stick!

Be the first to know when I've posted a video or am playing in your area by joining my mailing list on my website, www.charliemaymusic.com. I put all of my upcoming shows and updates on there. I hope you check it out and let me know what you think!

Be sure to follow me on other social media if you'd like! The links are below. Thanks so much!
Instagram: @charliemaymusician
https://www.instagram.com/charliemaymusician

Facebook: Charlie May @charliemaymusic
https://www.facebook.com/charliemaymusic

Twitter/X: @cmaymusicllc
https://twitter.com/cmaymusicllc

TikTok: @charliemaymusic
https://www.tiktok.com/@charliemaymusic

SnapChat: Charlie May
charliemaymusic

#studiohacks #soundengineer #studiotips

This is the follow up to my last video where we compared the different stages of treatment of my drum room: before treatment, when I installed the walls of the booth, and finally when the whole booth was complete.

One of the main takeaways from that first video was that while there was a difference between the three tests, in a practical real world setting, we would typically be using compression to get the drums to sit well in the mix. I had a hunch that the three different levels of treatment might take to processing differently, and thus this second test!

In this test, I take the same tracks and put them through the type of processing I would typically use for drums.

Phase 1: No treatment, so that we could hear what all three phases of the build sound like, so this was our controll group.

Phase 2: I applied parallel compression, which is when you send the raw track to a second highly compressed, aggressively eqed track with accentuated low and high frequencies that sits underneath the main track to add more presence, punch, and even out the performance.

Phase 3: I utilized the same parallel compression, but added a plate reverb to get a bit more room sound into the mix. I would do this in a normal mix so that the drums would sit back better and add a subtle touch of ambiance.

Phase 4: We concluded the test with the 1176 "nuke trick", which is when you push down all the buttons on an 1176. This trick is typically used on room mics to get things pumping and add some harmonics, but I felt it would be a fun and useful addition to the test.

I learned a lot about my room from building my drum booth and making these comparisons. Which phase of the test do you think sounded the best? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

Be the first to know when I've posted a video or am playing in your area by joining my mailing list on my website, www.charliemaymusic.com. I put all of my upcoming shows and updates on there. I hope you check it out and let me..

I just finished up assembling the gold plated XLR cables for the mics in the drum booth and the vocal booth. I went with gold plate for these mics because I don't plan to switch the mics on these inputs very often. While gold is more delicate than silver, it's much more immune to corrosion than silver, so it's a great choice for long term connections that you won't be changing out very often.

Next, I'll be finishing up assembling the silver tipped XLR calbes that I plan to use for the inputs I'll be changing more frequently depending on the bands or artists who I'll be working with. Silver is a more hardy surface that can better stand up to day to day use but doesn't hold up to moisture as well as gold.

Be the first to know when I've posted a video or am playing in your area by joining my mailing list on my website, www.charliemaymusic.com. I put all of my upcoming shows and updates on there. I hope you check it out and let me know what you think!

Be sure to follow me on other social media if you'd like! The links are below. Thanks so much!
Instagram: @charliemaymusician
https://www.instagram.com/charliemaymusician

Facebook: Charlie May @charliemaymusic
https://www.facebook.com/charliemaymusic

Twitter/X: @cmaymusicllc
https://twitter.com/cmaymusicllc

TikTok: @charliemaymusic
https://www.tiktok.com/@charliemaymusic

SnapChat: Charlie May
charliemaymusic

#homestudio #producer #audioengineer

With the XLR cable now in the building, it's time to fire up the soldering iron and put my helping hands to work!

#audioengineer #studio #producer #studioowner #miccable #diy

The Neutrik XLR connectors just came in! High quality connectors like these will help ensure my mics and preamps are cleanly connected for years to come! Really looking forward to building the cables once the xlr cable arrives this weekend.

#xlr #diy #miccables

After a couple months of work, I finally finished building my drum booth! In this video, I compare the sound of my room before, during, and after the booth was fully treated. My goal? To get to the bottom of the age old question: can you make what experts might call, "a less than ideal" room, sound great with home made acoustic treatment?

I'm really happy with the results of the drum booth and I was able to complete the project for around $500. I'm not a professional carpenter or acoustition by any means, but I hope that this side by side comparison demonstrates that you don't have to shell out tens of thousands of dollars to record great music.

Chapters:
0:00 Introduction To Test
0:56 Before Treatment Full Clip
1:28 Walls/No Ceiling Full Clip
2:11 Booth Fully Treated Full Clip
2:48 Side By Side Hi-Hat Groove
3:07 Side By Side Ride Groove
3:28 Final Conclusion
4:33 Difficulty Level
4:55 Cost

Let me know what you think of the results of the build in the comments! Which did you think sounded best? Have you build your own studio? Is there a way that I could improve on my design? I can't wait to hear from you soon!

Be the first to know when I've posted a video or am playing in your area by joining my mailing list on my website, www.charliemaymusic.com. I put all of my upcoming shows and updates on there. I hope you check it out and let me know what you think!

Be sure to follow me on other social media if you'd like! The links are below. Thanks so much!
Instagram: @charliemaymusician
https://www.instagram.com/charliemaymusician

Facebook: Charlie May @charliemaymusic
https://www.facebook.com/charliemaymusic

Twitter: @cmaymusicllc
https://twitter.com/cmaymusicllc

TikTok: @charliemaymusic
https://www.tiktok.com/@charliemaymusic

SnapChat: Charlie May
charliemaymusic

#drumbooth #beforeandafter #drums

Special thanks to Peter for having us over last night for a jam session! #jam #music #musicians

The headphones for the studio just arrived! Excited to have everything we need to start recording! #sennheiser #homestudio #musician #engineer #producer

Here's a clip of my band Serious Jack playing every Michigander's favorite part of Don't Stop Believin' by @journey live at John Cowley and Sons in Farmington Hills Michigan.

#journey #dontstopbelieving #weddingband

Finally finished building the drum booth! So glad with how it turned out. Working on some demos so you can hear what it sounds like! #drums #homestudio #diy

Had a great time playing with my band Serious Jack this weekend! You can find clips from this weekend's show at seriousjackdetroit on Instagram! #weddingband #coverband #guitarist #singer

Just finished cutting the notches in the beams for the ceiling of the drum booth! So excited to be this close to having my home studio build completed!!! #homestudio #producer #drums #mixingengineer #soundengineer #drumbooth

Just finished wrapping the front of the panels! Next up is sealing the backs and tying everything together with the hinges! #drums #drummer #producer #musician

Just finished installing the insulation in the side panels for the drum booth! Next step is to start wrapping them in fabric.

#drums #drumbooth #producer