I'm going to use this topic to interview Ronan Chris Murphy about his project Home Recording Boot Camp.

The interview will be published at Studio Reviews.

[ August 11, 2005: The final, published interview with Ronan is at http://www.studioreviews.com/bootcamp-interview.htm ]

Ronan, you can take your time with this. Audience questions and participation is welcome. This is in-the-round and unplugged.

[ taps on the mic ] Is this thing on? [ feedback ] Testing, 1, 2. Mic check... mic check.

OK, folks we're here with the very cool and multi-talented Ronan Chris Murphy, who some of you have gotten to know a little bit since he started co-hosting the Recording Forum at Studio Forums with me. Ronan's been a great addition.

Ronan's got his fingers in a lot of pies, and we'll obviously cover some of that, but we want to use this interview to mainly concentrate on his Home Recording Boot Camp. We've also got a couple forums members, Dusty and dirtyraggamuffin, who attended one of Ronan's bootcamp sessions recently – so hopefully they'll pipe in, too, about their experience.

Let's kick this off...

Ronan, before we dig in to the bootcamp [ hereafter also referred to as "HRBC" ] and what it's all about, could you give us a little background on yourself as a musician, engineer and producer? How'd you get started in engineering and where and how did you hone your engineering chops to the point where you were comfortable being the man behind the desk in a recording session?

My musical path has been a strange and winding one that could take a long time to read but I will see if I can get it in a nutshell:

I started playing in bands when I was about 11 but did not really gig semi-professionally until I was about 15. My first significant bands were in DC hardcore bands in the early 80s called Freak Baby and The Last Laugh where we played with bands like Beefeater Iron Cross, etc. The funny thing is that Freak Baby is actually in some of the rock history books because after I quite Dave Grohl (Nirvana, Foo Fighters) joined the band. Through the second half of the 80’s I was in Richmond, VA playing in the scene that later became known as “alternative” My bands were gigging with the likes of The Flaming Lips, The Rollins Band, Dinosaur Jr. etc. I was doing a lot of touring as a musician and roadie at the end of the 80s. Around that time my bass player quit and in the down time I started experimenting more seriously with recording, composing and arranging and I got totally sucked into it and I never looked back. As is the case with most people that get into recording, it ended my career as a performing musician on the spot. But I have always played on lots of the records I produce.

I became obsessed with recording and spent every free moment trying to learn on a 4 track cassette and an old IBM XT. I read everything I could get my hands on, recorded tons of my own stuff and any one that I could get to come down into my basement apartment studio. I had really basic tools starting out, which I think in retrospect was a real blessing.

At the start of the 90s, I moved to Boston where I had a chance to go to Berklee for a couple semesters and study in the synthesis department. Which as a very cool opportunity because at the time digital audio was not really some thing that “recording” people were dealing with a lot and I got a chance to get my hands on a lot of technology early on. I was working with Pro Tools 1.0 the day it came out. Although I am often an analog evangelist, it was having some of this knowledge early on that opened up a lot of doors for me. At the same time I was at Berklee I got my first job in a commercial studio hoping to be an assistant and get to learn from other engineers, but I ended up doing very little of that. The studio did a lot of dance oriented stuff and it turned out that I was the only one there that actually knew how to mic drums (I had taught myself and read a lot) so all of a sudden I was the producer/first engineer on any of the rock or jazz sessions that came in. I was also the only one that that was into hip hop, so I got all those gigs as well. So to answer one of your questions, I have always been the man behind the board almost from day one. I kind of regret that I never really got to be an assistant.

I was then invited to be a producer in residence at the Banff Centre for the Arts in Alberta Canada for 2 years. A really amazing place where I got to work with a lot of amazing musicians form around the world mostly recording Jazz, Classical and experimental. I got to work with folks like Chucho Valdes (multiple grammy winner) Joan LaBaraba, Norma Winstone, Robin Eubanks and many others. I then went on to be one of the producers of the International Computer Music Conference (ICMC95).

The year after Banff I moved to Seattle and spent the one year in the last 15 years that I worked outside of making records. I was hired by Microsoft to be one the Directors of Audio for the Microsoft Network. It was an interesting gig for a while. The only thing of note was that me and a couple other guys were the first ones to synchronize animation, midi and streaming audio on the net. Working on audio and music where the music was not the most important thing got old pretty quick. After a year I was back making records.

Around this time I started working with King Crimson guitarist, Robert Fripp. I had already worked with some of the other King Crimson guys but once Robert and I connected we ended up doing tons of work together. I ended up spending time living in England and doing a lot of touring with Fripp and Crimson (recording for live albums) and when we were not on tour we were doing studio work. Including revamping and re-mixing a bunch of back catalog and archives. I worked on more than a dozen King Crimson records. I have always done a really wide range of records but my work with King Crimson really launched this punk rock kid into the world of Progressive Rock and a lot of the best of the genre have become my clients. I have been able to make records with the likes of Steve Morse, Terry Bozzio, Tony Levin, The California Guitar Trio, Ulver and side projects with members of Tool, Ministry and a lot of others.

I still get to work with a lot of cool artists all over the world. Some highlights from the last couple years included having a big hit record in Asia (with Pete Teo) and working on the soundtrack for the biggest film in Norway last year (actually #3 after Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings). I have also started performing live again with my project “Lives of the Saints” which is an ambient guitar project. I just did a short tour in Italy and am currently working on an album of my own.

Boy, was that long winded…….

Hi Ronan,

Thanks for making yourself available like this, it's good to know us bedroom guys can ask the pro's for a few tips etc.

I don't have any specific questions yet, but what differences did you find (working practices, mind sets etc) working in the UK, as opposed to the US? Where there things us Brits did or didn't or couldn't do that frustrated the hell out of you and were there things we did that you thought were cool and learn't from?

Hey Ronan! Thanks for sharing. Long shot, but I had a really good friend and an engineer who worked with me on a lot of stuff spent a lot of time at Banff. Long shot, but you wouldn't happen to know Mark Willsher would you? He's gone on to do a lot of work with Stephan Jarvis and out at Skywalker and produced sound/audio for all of the Lord Of The Rings movies. Quite a guy.

Great idea, I have a question for Ronan.

Do you see any future "recording ninjas" or "production jedi" come through the program? In other words, have you had any students come through that stand out as having the natural talent to become the next Massenburg or Clearmountain etc. if they stick with it?

It must be very exciting and rewarding to have the opportunity to work with so many developing artists and help to shape and mold the direction they are taking the art in the 21st century.

While waiting for Dot and Ronan to chime back in ...

Dan, Check 1, 2, 3? I think everyone says "Can you ere me now?". Seems like your not watching enough TV.

Sorry I have not had time to answer. I have been deep in a mix That I just finished tonight. I will try and get through a few questions.

+ People often talk about things being different between the US and UK, but I have not really found them to be too different. Its really tough to say what is American vs Brit. Jimi Hedrix Produced by a Brit? David Bowie and the Who produced by and American? I found that brits drink coke with out ice the strangest part. A lions share of the work I have done in the UK was with Robert Fripp annd King Crimson, which is strange enough in its own right.

+ Never met Mark Willsher at Banff. Must of been there at different times.

+ Recording Ninjas? I guess we will have to wait and see, but to be honest the group of guys I had when Dusty and Dirty M were out at Boot Camp was a really good one. Not having so much to do with any one already being a Ninjas but a good group of guys that seemed to have the right mind set to one day develop their own thing and do some great work. I sometimes get students that are sort of passive in Boot Camps. I think they have the idea that sitting through the courses will make them great engineers. The best students are the one that get really involved and immediatly start working on how they can apply the knowledge to their own style.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by kid-surf:
My questions would be about the film stuff.

1) What type of music? (orchestral, electronic, hybrid?) Any live instruments, if so what?

It was a hybrid of acoustic and electronic and manipulated sound. we did the recording for part of the film when I was working with the great Norwegian band Ulver. We Spent a day in the studio jamming and impoving with Ulver, me (on harmonium), British Singer Songwriter Tom McRae and violinist Jeff Gauthier. Ulver morphed that and a bunch of othe stuff into a film soundtrack.

2) What did you track to/with and mix on?

Tracked to Pro Tools. Was not there in the mix.

3) Who's the composer?

Ulver and the gang.

4) Got any clips of the music? (or your own -- I like hearing what people do)

They might have some on Ulver's label KIDJester Records. You can check out some of my own work here Lives of the Saints

Last question --- what grade did Diry and Dusty get?

They were both expelled because of the incident with the HRBC cheerleading squad

If you are intersted in film stuff, one of our instructors John Rodd has worked on a few hundred big hollywood films. Check him out in IMDB. He was the staff recordist on the 20th century Fox scoring stage for many years.

Yeah sorry about that Ronan, we thought it would be ok to do that...thing...to them with the mics


John was an interesting guy to have in. Good discussion, I think I took several pages of notes while he was in and he made us of aware of some interesting techniques and gear that I hadn't been familiar with. Also a very nice fellow

[ Getting caught up from a few much-needed days at the beach. ]

Ronan, so when and where you get the idea for starting Home Recording Boot Camp? And what's the general idea behind it?

Sorry about the late reply!!!! I have been swamped finishing up a project, trying to fix up my new console and I took a few days off for my birthday.

I started up Home Recording Boot Camp a bit over a year ago. Over the last several years the trend of home recording or musicians recording themselves really started taking off. I really noticed it when I would speak at music conferences and saw every year the number of people approaching and asking me to listen to their self produced CDs growing exponentially. The sad thing is most of these CDs are usually really badly done. Obviously I am a businessman, but first and foremost I am a music fan and its such a bummer to hear a CD by a band or artist that I know could have made a great CD, but put out really mediocre discs. The more I would talk to these people I would realized that they had really gotten bogged down with lots of stuff that was actually hurting their music and totally ignoring things that could really help them make great music.

The more my partner and I talked about it, the more it seemed to make sense for us to launch home recording boot camp. It’s the kind of thing that could actually help a lot of people, be a lot of fun and be a pretty cool business idea. Its actually pretty fun to make a little bit of money getting to hang out and talk about stuff I love with cool people. Doing these Boot Camps is about 20% of my work these days and I do not think it will get much bigger than that. I love teaching, but I love producing and mixing too much to get out of the game and just teach. Myself and every one that teaches in my boot camps is a working pro with major label credits. We are growing slow and currently do workshops in LA, Seattle and North Italy.

The general idea behind the boot camps is to boil recording down to the most important elements, because a lot of people get side tracked by things that actually get in the way of making great records. We try and focus on the art and craft of recording and try and give students the tools to make the records they really want to make and help them understand the techniques they really need to make that happen. Recording is a lot more simple than people make it out to be. We obviously talk about specific gear, but we try and be format and genre agnostic. We want people to really understand recording so that it does not matter if they are recording bluegrass or punk rock, working on a 4 track cassette or a top of the line pro tools rig. Its about understand recording on a deeper level.

One of the nice surprises for me is that my students have been everything from real beginners to guys with small commercial studios, many times in the same course, and both students seem to get a lot out of the material. In that regard its been more successful than I had expected.

Happy Birthday, Ronan!

Could you tell us a little about the various studio and locations involved? Any different classes or approaches at the different studios?

At the moment the three main places that we do Boot Camps are Los Angeles, Washington State and North Italy. The LA courses happen at my own commercial studio (Veneto West) which is a pretty cool funky 1300 square foot one room facility. Its a commercial room, but with a very laid back homey vibe and a good mix of analog and digital equipment and just about 10 minutes from Venice Beach, CA

The Washington State facility is an amazing place about an hour East of Seattle called Paradise Sounds. Its my favorite studio in the world, set in a tiny town in the Cascade Mountains. Its got amazing views and is a gear slut's paradise (no pun intended). G series SSL, Pro Tools HD, 2 Inch Otari, Radar, Grand piano, B3 and a closet full of vintage Neumans. It also has on site accommodations.

In North Italy we have been using a small studio there, but we are moving to something bigger for the next boot camp hopefully in the fall. We are actually looking at a studio built in a small villa in the Hills of Tuscany.

The Material changes slightly in different locations. At Paradise Sound you get to be in a gorgeous location and get a change to play around on some of the best recording gear in the world. In Italy you get to be in Italy!!! with great food and wine. (all the courses are taught in English). The LA course are actually the least expensive because I own the studio, but aside from being close to the beach we have a wider range of guest instructors and also try and do one or two field trips to cool LA studios. We have engineers and manufactures come in for lectures. The core material is the same no matter where we do the boot camps, but each one has a few different extras.

far out, Ronan
I'm drooling man
Oh to be on the other side of the world
for a while

Tube

Ronan, have you found a common denominator for people coming to your bootcamps who you feel get the most out of the program? And on the opposite end: Any common denominator for people [ or attitudes ] that you feel get the least out of what you're trying to teach?

I'd like to know what Ronan's approach to mic'g up Terry Bozzio's kit was? 40 cymbals!

That musta been a hella challenge.

quote:

Originally posted by Dot:
Ronan, have you found a common denominator for people coming to your bootcamps who you feel get the most out of the program? And on the opposite end: Any common denominator for people [ or attitudes ] that you feel get the least out of what you're trying to teach?

I have been really lucky to have had all really cool people showing up for Boot Camps here and in Europe, but I do get a feeling that some people walk away from the experience with more than others. I think the people that get the least out of it are the ones that just sort of sit back and try and passively absorb the material. I think the students that get the most are the ones that are the most actively engaged, the ones asking the most questions and trying to figure out how the material applies to the work they are already doing. They are usually ones that ones that figure out problems that are presented the class in exercises.

The good thing for me is that anyone that is going to show up, pay a good chunk of money and talk about recording has got to love it, so I never really have to deal with people that do not really want to be there.

Ronan,

A couple of bass recording related questions if you might indulge me.

Which Tony Levin projects have you worked on and how much is he to work with?

Any personal tips applicable to getting the best bass sounds to disc for home recordist and the getting the best mix with a good bass line?

quote:

Originally posted by Bazz:
I'd like to know what Ronan's approach to mic'g up Terry Bozzio's kit was? 40 cymbals!

That musta been a hella challenge.

In the past Terry had used tons of mics, a mic on every drum but I approached recording Terry the same way I approach almost every situation, I tried to see how few mics I could use. My goal was to try and mic the whole kit with 4 mics but because of the fact that the kit is actually in a horse shoe shape and that cymbals are tiered in three levels that was not really possible. I ended up using about 13 mics total, mixed down to 11 tracks. He had 4 kick drums, 16 toms and 40 cymbals. the toms are so close together that I actually had to mic them from the bottom using one mic to record 3 or 4 toms.

I was happy to run into Terry a year or two later to find out that the way we recorded when we worked together is not his normal way of working.

quote:

A couple of bass recording related questions if you might indulge me.

Which Tony Levin projects have you worked on and how much is he to work with?

Any personal tips applicable to getting the best bass sounds to disc for home recordist and the getting the best mix with a good bass line?

I have worked with Tony on a ton of King Crimson projects, but also worked with him on the Bozzio, Levin, Stevens album as well as albums but Anthony Curtis, Willie Oteri, Kerry Lauder, The Hellboys and a few others I think. I also played live with him in Italy a few months ago. Tony is a pal of mine so I am not sure that what I pay him would translate to what other pay him, so I will dodge that part of the questions.

The tricks for getting good bass sounds? Well it really is mostly in the fingers, but a few decent tools will help. Spend a little money on a good DI. Not tons of money but $200 will get you into something like the Radial Engineering JDI or a country man, which are great DIs. Only use a cheap $30 DI if you want a cheap $35 sound.

I usually record a DI and an amp track and use one or the other or a combo of the two. Make sure you flip the phase on the DI to see if it makes things better, also remember that small movements in the mic can make big changes in the sound especially when summing with a DI.

Clear out as much space in the low end from other instruments as you can this will give the bass room to breath.

Sometimes cutting the low ennd of the bass below about 40 Hz can actually make the bass sound bigger annd deeper.

OK that's it for now. I gotta get back to work.