Well…it’s finally happened. So many of you were looking for a better way to record, that Geoff Tanner was inspired to build it. The Aurora Sidecar has arrived! 10 Channels. 4 Band EQ. 2 insane sounding busses. Read all about on the product page.

I have been lucky enough to use the Aurora Sidecar since the first prototype and I must say…it is incredible. As someone who has had the luxury to track and mix on vintage consoles, the Aurora Sidecar runs with the best of them. It’s modern and retro, vibey and slick, aggressive and classy. I have been able to track everything from pretty ballads to modern heavy metal on it and I really don’t have enough good words to say about it.

Check it out for yourself! To contact the guys to ask any questions, just fill out the contact form on the site or give us a call…

-Andrew

Basically, the first time around we used a Shure SM7. He sounds great on it, it’s dummy-proof to get a good sound, and well, I just like that mic for just about anything. Maybe the only thing I HAVEN’T used an SM7 for is piano…although I probably did for something at some point, but I can’t remember. My thought was that the vocal was good, but I wanted to try a pass using a condenser microphone with the Aurora gear and see how that compares.

I put up a few mics:

Neumann U67:

Neumann U47:

Soundelux E251:

Neumann Fet 47:

So I quickly listened to every mic with no EQ or compression and then Paul and I decided what we both liked. The U47 was eliminated due to just being a little lacking in the clarity department. The U67 was taken out when I wanted a little more low end in there. I could have added eq, but we had the time to check out mics, so why not get picky. The E251 sounded great, but for this song, it made everything sound VERY pop. Maybe just too clean and Hi-Fi for both of our tastes that day. The Neumann Fet 47 seemed to do the trick. It had the big low end, smooth top that when Paul went to falsetto it didn’t get harsh, and for the most part we both just liked it instantly.

As far as processing goes, I patched in the Aurora GTC2 and used the Opto mode with a 4:1 ratio. I wasn’t slamming it or going for an effect. This was to really just control the parts of the vocal that got loud. I can’t stess enough how much I like the C2′s warmth & musicality. It can be pretty transparent if you want do you can get some pumping when dialed in for that. On this day, I wasn’t looking for an effect, so transparent it was.

Everything went down great and Paul and myself were happy with the vocal takes. In the next installment, I will be talking about the random stuff that was left to do once I got all these major chunks out of the way.

-Andrew

I had an idea of how I wanted to record the bass. Usually I just use a DI and an amp (which I usually favor), but it this case I wanted to go a little deeper. I love using the Aurora Audio DI that is in the GTQ2 and GTP8 for bass. It’s very full frequency and kinda modern, actually. This is why I use it for Keys and Guitar when I need to as well. Sometimes, I also use a traditional Countryman DI…well…because it’s more retro sounding, I suppose. It’s just has that thing when I need that traditional sound. I also just go with my mood I guess. Ridiculous, I know.

For starters, I needed to split the bass signal though something so each DI would get optimal signal. I didn’t want to lose anything in a passive split, so I grabbed my Tonebone Class A splitter. The thing sounds great and I use it all the time for guitars as well.

The Purell in the pic kept us all clean and the Tonebone was routed to the Countryman and the Aurora DI. Since I seem to have a lot of pictures of the bass setup, here’s the Countryman.

Cool huh? So, I tracked the two DI sound with no EQ and no Compression and we proceeded to get a great performance from Andy. The following day, I started going crazy with stuff. First thing I did was compress the bass DI tracks with the Aurora GTC2. I still am lucky enough to have the original hand-built one that Geoff made to make sure all the stereo linking and everything worked properly before unleashing it on the world. Just so you know, the original prototype that Geoff still has is only one channel. So this one was made with the metal work and everything to make sure everyone approved. Anywhoo, I compressed the DIs in Opto mode and recorded it back into Pro Tools. Here are the tools I used:

Once I did that, I then ran the uncompressed Aurora DI to a 1970s Ampeg SVT head and cab. I dialed in a nice warm sound and with the Aurora EQ got some extra beef and clarity in there as well. Oh, I did use a Neumann Fet 47. I was going for a rounder sound, so this fit the bill perfectly. Of course this went through the GTC2 as well. Pictures? Of course I have pictures.

See how my flashlight makes for cool lighting effects? I was getting accidentally creative. From there, I did ONE MORE reamp and that was with the Sans Amp Bass Driver DI for a thinner fuzz kind of grind that the band wanted to have in case the needed it later. Again the Aurora Pre and GTC2 were used and the Sans ended up sounding quite nicely when blended it to everything else. Sans picture comin’ atcha live:

Did I need SIX bass tracks here? No. But I wanted to show the Aurora versatility and since I had the time to have 3 DIs, an amp, and choices to compress or not compress, I figured, “Why not?’

Next up, vocals and beyond…plus anything else I forgot like more pictures.

-Andrew

We started with his 70′s SG that he has had forever. We had some issues finding the right amp that worked will with Paul’s tracks. I eventually brought out my Hiwatt SA212. The Hiwatt is from 1975…it’s a combo amp that has Fane speakers and sounds pretty incredible. Legend has it that David Gilmour still uses his SA212s to record on his barge. The amp worked will with Miles due to his chorus sounds being more rock sounding and the verses being super effected.

I switched up the mic setup a little from the Bassman (which you can see in the pic above), so I used a Shure SM7 and the Fet 47. Again using the four band EQ, We got the sound to blend really well with the Tele/Rivera sound and Miles added efffects as needed. I compressed the sound a bit with the GTC2 in the Opto mode. It gave things a little squish that everyone liked. We also plugged in some effects that I had to see if it would make Miles play things differently. The Sun Face by Analog Man, Way Huge’s Piercing Moose Octifuzz, A Keeley modded TS808 Tube Screamer, and the MXR ’76 Dyna Comp all made appearances.

Well, that takes into bass-world. Well get into that next time. I went a little nuts with the setup so I could use more gear to track it.

Until next time,

-Andrew

Once we got Paul’s main rhythm track done, we added a chorus track that would help fill things out in the song. Knowing that the band didn’t want to make it too “rawk” as it were, I grabbed my 1973 Les Paul Custom and plugged into a 1960′s Blackface Bassman and a Avatar 2×12 cab loaded with Celestion Heritage Greenback G12Hs. In case you didn’t know, not all Greenbacks are the same. There are obviously the different eras you can pick from, but there are two basic weights of magnets in there. The M (for medium) speaker is the classic that most know and the H (for heavy) were initially made for bass. But as many players figured out, the H Greebacks could be a great on guitar as well. Legend has it that players like Hendrix, Page, Clapton liked the G12H for its durability and ability to thicken up sound quite well.

On a total sidenote: Here is the Relic Telecaster we used for rhythm as talked about in Part Two!

Nice eh? Ok…back on track here. So onto the Aurora stuff used. I miced up the Avatar cab with a Neumann Fet 47 and a Shure 546. Ever get to use the 546? I have been having fun with this mic as of late. When I am looking for a more 60′s sound, this is what I grab. It’s almost like an instant retro sound to me. It’s not that it’s lo-fi or dark, just different than that SM57 sound that we’ve all heard for a zillion years. When I pair it with the Fet, you can get a great range of sounds by blending the fat and dark Fet 47 and the more midrangey 546. Once again, the Aurora pres and EQ came through with flying colors (or as Geoff would write, “colours”). I just ended up adding a little top and lows on the 546 and a touch of high mid on the Fet 47. Buss those together and everyone was pretty pleased.

Oh, did I mention that the 546 looks like early sci-fi laser gun?

Ok…That’s about it for now. I will get into the next guitar stuff and effects and Aurora and oh man, this is a serious run on sentence!

-Andrew

As far as the acoustic guitar goes, we used my 1976 Martin D35. It always sounds great, and the fact that it has been kept in pretty much mint condition probably isn’t hurting things either. I was going for a brighter, airy sound, so I used a Soundelux 251 right into the Aurora Pre and 4 band EQ. Not that I needed a ton of EQ, but having 4 bands and the filtering was a really nice option. I filtered 22hz, added a slight top end peak and a minimal midrange boost. The rooms at the studio were built with sound in mind and therefore I could get a little distance to get some air and capture all those harmonics that happen when you don’t have a mic jammed right next to the sound hole (“Distance Equals Depth” – Jimmy Page). From there, I patched in the Fairchild 670. Now I could wax poetic about the Fairchild, but I will spare you here. The old guy did it’s job just fine. It darkened the sound slightly, but that’s why I have this lovely 4 band EQ for.

For the first electric guitar sound, we used my Fender Custom Shop 1962 Relic Telecaster. The guys at Fender made this for me at the end of 2006 and it’s a really nice piece. It can cover many sounds and the fact that Alex Lifeson of Rush played it first before I even got to look at it makes cooler to me. The amp is a Rivera Venus 6. It has NOS Brimar 6V6 power tubes and vintage RCA preamp tubes..,oh…and the 2×12 cab has Celestion G12 Blue speakers in it. The Venus gives me great American-style tones but also that Class A squish that I love as well. It’s isn’t a super metal amp like some of the other Rivera models. So…no Slipknot sounds this time!

I used an Shure SM57 and a Neumann U67 on the Rivera 2×12. I do love this combination for guitar. It works in a lot of situations, but for the classic/modern rock thing I was searching for, this seemed ideal. This time, I used 2 Aurora pres and EQ and blended it down to one output. Again, I made a couple of EQ tweaks and where I usually find myself using 3 band EQs and adding a EQ on the buss, but I got what I needed with the 4 band again. I did use some compression, but not in the way you think. More on that later…

I gotta get rockin with my morning here, but I can’t wait to tell you about the next stuff we tracked!

-Andrew Alekel

So over the weekend, I (Andrew Alekel) tracked the Southern California band The Echo Division using NOTHING BUT Aurora Audio preamp and eq channels. I did use 2 other compressors other than the Aurora GTC2, but in a pretty minimal way. I mean, I can’t NOT use a Fairchild if it’s in the room, and there was a 670 available.

With the drums recorded and comped a couple of weeks ago with the yet to be released Aurora secret project box along with a bunch of other Aurora pres and eqs, We needed to figure out what to add to the basic track. I needed a little list to start. It’s on the left there…

The idea was that we were going to go overdub crazy just so I could run as much stuff through the Aurora gear as I could. Since I am usually recording bands and singer/songwriter types, I wanted to make sure that we had some electronic stuff going through the gear. So parts for synths and some electronic drums were discussed.

We started on our way to completing the track and I needed to set up some microphones. I started with the piano. It’s just not anybody’s piano, it is a Custom Yamaha Grand made for Billy Preston in the late 1970s/ early 80s. It has been featured on hundreds and hundreds of recordings and always records very well. In the past, I found that when I used the Neve 8028 in the control room, I couldnt use the U87s that I love so much because I could never get the brightness I wanted, so I would pick a brighter mic. In the process of that, I would lose some of the buttery mids and lows but I always made it work. In this case using the Aurora EQ, I could give a bit of shelving boost at 6K and 87s opened up the top end in a very beautiful way. Not only were my ears happy, but it makes for cool photo opportunities..

Well that’s all I got for now. I will have more pics and nerdy details later in the week.

-Andrew Alekel

Geoff will be heading down to Mexico City, Mexico this weekend to participate in the Sound:Check Expo in Mexico City. He will be giving his own presentations on Aurora Audio and his past experiences with Neve. Our wonderful distributor for all of Mexico and South America, Audio Gate, will be hosting. Geoff will have 2 presentations on Sunday and 1 panel discussion on Monday.

If you happen to be near Mexico City, you can get more details HERE.

Recently, the demand for the GTM822-2GN and the GTM822-2GN EX has escalated so we are building more. We also thought we could show you a glimpse into the assembly process just so you can see how much it takes to make one of these beasts. Here is Edward in the middle of some testing on a brand new GTM822-2GN:

For those that don’t know, to put one GTM822-2GN together takes about SIX weeks. Due to all it’s features (it’s much more than just summing, you know), a rigorous amount of testing and re-testing is constantly happening throughout the build. In fact, due to the fact that it is so labor intensive, some of the staff here have to put aside the building of the Aurora Audio outboard gear a little bit to complete a GTM822-2GN and the add-on unit, the GTM822-2GN EX. Check out Daisuke working on the GTM822-2GN EX:

We’ll have more to show you as work on these progresses!

The International Dealers page is now up! Just look under the CONTACT menu or click right HERE.