Why go all analog?

We've been asked enough times, "why go all analog?", that we figured we'd answer it here, on our blog. The short answer is, "because it sounds better", but there's more to it than that. To be honest, using virtual instruments on the computer is 'easier' and more cost effective but lacks something for us. The analog instruments and FX have a sound that's more 'alive' to us and much more inspiring to play. We feel that we play 'real' instruments, like any band- they just happen to be electronic. Like any traditional instrument, electronic instruments are capable of a wide range of sounds and emotions. Hopefully, through our blog posts and videos, it will become clear why we went 'analog'.

Doepfer MAQ 16/3 Intro

Deconstructing "Hole In The World" Pt.2

After the demos in Part 1, the long process of re-recording all the final parts started. Although the previous demo sounds similar to the final song, there was still a lot more to do to get it from there to the finished track. We create the final sounds using our analog synthesizers and drum samples from vintage drum machines. Also, a number of the drum sounds were created with our synthesizers. The main lead lines were created on the Macbeth M5 and the bass instrument came from the Moog Voyager. The pad sounds came from a DSI Tetra. Take a listen to how the song sounded with the final parts recorded:

"Hole In The World" Demo 3

After this demo was made, we moved onto recording the final vocals. We spent most of a week together in our studio tracking the vocal parts. Once that was done, the song went into the mixing phase. During mixing, the elements of the song are balanced, EQ is used to find harmonic space for everything, and effects(ie; reverb, delay, etc) are used to color parts and give things depth/space.

Once the songs were mixed we'd burn CDs of them and listen to them in the car, on our iPods, etc. and then go back and tweak the mixes to make them even better. As mentioned in a previous post, the album was then sent for mastering and finally released. The clip of the final version can be heard here.

We'll deconstruct some of our other songs in the future and talk more about other parts of the process.

"What's next?" and a Call to Arms!

Now that we've finished our album, Across The Wires, you may be wondering "what's next?" for Killing Thursby. Are we just going to do gear profiles and reviews? Although we will be doing a lot of that here on our blog, we also have the challenge of getting our music out there. Finishing the album was just the first step- now we have to get people to actually hear it! That's where you come in: we need help getting our music heard! If you know a place where our music could be featured (ie; blogs, podcasts, websites) or you just want to help get the word out about KT, let us know: email@killingthursby.com

On the new music front, we're just starting into writing material for our next album. We'll post entries throughout the whole process so you can see how we go about creating music. Check back often!

Deconstructing "Hole In The World" Pt.1

We thought it might be interesting to show how we go from initial song idea to demo and, eventually, to the finished track. First, take a listen to the finished song:

Hole in the World by Killing Thursby

Originally, Hole In The World started as just a title. That title then became the basis for the lyrics that followed. At that point, Scott worked out a melody and chord progression for the song. Below is the first demo version of Hole In The World. Most of our songs started off as simple demos like this one:

"Hole In The World" Demo 1

As you can hear, the basic idea of the song was the same but a lot changed between the demo and the final version. One of the big changes was to up the tempo; the finished song is much faster!

The demo above was then dumped into Logic Pro, a computer program for music creation. It was at this point that the tempo was raised and additional instrument parts were added to flesh out the song. The overall song structure also started to take shape. A middle or "change" section of the song was added. At this point, all of the instruments and vocals were just temporary. Take a listen to the song at this state:

"Hole In The World" Demo 2

At this point the song sounds pretty similar to the final track. Early in the creation process the songs change a lot from version to version but, once the song starts to take shape, the changes are more subtle. However, there's still a long way to go from the above version to the finished song!

Check back soon for Part 2! In a follow-up blog we'll show later incarnations and talk more about how the song continued to change.

The Journey is complete!

Well, after over a year of work, our album, Across The Wires, is finally released! It's hard to believe that the songs were written over a year ago but people are finally just hearing them now. While KT is a big focus for us, we still have day jobs, lives, etc. that take us away from doing music 24/7. Thankfully, all the time and hard work has paid off and the album is complete and is something we're very proud of.

For those of you who read our blog more for the gear info, you may still be interested in our album. All of the gear we've talked about so far was used on the album. The songs were recorded with only analog synthesizers and many of the drum sounds were also created with the synths. For instance, if you want to hear what the Macbeth M5 sounds like in a mix, just listen to any track on the album- it's featured heavily on every song. Also, many of the FX heard on the album were from things like MoogerFooger pedals instead of plugins. We also did quite a bit of step-sequencing with the Doepfer MAQ 16/3.

So, without further ado, go check out Killing Thursby's "Across The Wires" at CDBaby.com.

M5 Synthesizer Intro Video!

Here's a quick intro video on the Macbeth M5 analog synthesizer. We're going to go into much more detail in future videos, but here's a short overview to get things started.

Mastering? What's mastering?

We wanted to share the exciting news that Killing Thursby's new album, "Across The Wires", just came back from the mastering facility! Uh, okay, what does that mean? I'm sure there's a lot of you reading this that don't know what we mean when we say our music's been "mastered". Basically, mastering puts the final polish on your music and optimizes it for playback on the radio, in your car, etc. They apply careful equalization, compression, and volume normalization to make your music sound consistent across the whole album. It's done by a third party facility that uses a fine tuned listening environment, specialized equipment, and a trained engineer to get the best results. Every major album you buy has had this process done. It's a key element in making your music sound 'finished'. So, when we say our music's come back from mastering, we mean it's gone through the process and we've received a gold pressed master CD to use for duplication. We'll have the full album up to listen to soon so you can hear the mastering for yourself!