If I Had a Hammer...

    I'm looking forward to starting a new project. It's not music exactly, "Astronomy" is still on hold, but I'm hopeful that the planets will align in our favor and I'll be able to put it out soon.

    As I've noted before I have built several recording studios, from small four track rooms to world class facilities with every bell and whistle. My experiences as a studio engineer are some of my most rewarding. It's intense exacting work, yet full of opportunities for creative surprises, what we call "happy accidents". One thing that's very important is the recording environment be supportive and lend itself to a smooth workflow, including having equipment that allows the artist to  hear exactly what he is playing.

    Lately I've been listening to some of my older recordings and it's really interesting to hear the difference between them and more recent work. If I could make one broad observation I'd say that recording now can be extremely precise in capturing the realism of a performance, much better than when I started in the '70s. But along with that there is a lot of experimentation as well, mixing in electronic sounds with natural sounding instruments. Sometimes I hear producers using older techniques as effects in tracks as well, and vintage equipment is very much in vogue.

    All this plays into my new project. I recently moved into a new house that has a space I'm going to convert into a home studio. It's a blank canvas, just a storeroom with open stud walls so I'll begin by putting up sound treatments I've learned about to create a transparent listening environment where the room doesn't overly "color" the sound. It has a high ceiling and an alcove for a drum set so it's really perfect for the vision I have.

    Traditionally recording studios have been divided into two basic spaces; a studio where the musicians played and a control room where the engineer and the equipment were isolated so he/she could hear on speakers. This required a thick wall between the two rooms with a glass window so everyone could see each other. I'm not doing that, I don't have quite enough space, so I'm opting for the "all in one" design with everyone together, wearing headphones. This has some limitations but once the room is "dialed in" I can be assured I'm getting accurate results.

    So for the next few months I'll be showing progress on the construction; I'm planning on being done before the end of the year. I have some new songs I want to record so the goal will be a new record around the first of the year. More on that coming up also.

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA

Singer/Songwriter Rick Millward lived and worked on the West Coast until moving to Nashville in 2000. He was part of the Music City songwriter community, collaborating with other artists and producing over 30 projects in his boutique studio, including two EMMY nominated soundtracks. Now in Southern Oregon, Rick has discovered a vibrant local music scene centered around the many tasting rooms. 

His records: "Limited Edition", "Home for Good", and “Loveland” are available on Spotify and other streaming platforms. His new recordings, "Astronomy" will be released later this year.

LOVELAND ON SPOTIFY