This month's column features a joint effort by Fred Bogert and Gibson.Net's Brett Ratner. Fred suggested doing a short recording project as the subject of a column. This page contains the two accounts of the session and a sound file of the final product.

Part 1

By Fred Bogert

So Okay, you're sitting around wondering what to do this weekend. Your friend the drummer just called, and is all stoked up about his Slingerland drum set. And there you sit with your Nighthawk Special and your Thunderbird Bass when the lights go on and it happens: the CREATIVE IDEA. Between the two of you, you might just have the resources to MAKE A TAPE. Add one of those digital multitracks to the formula and off you go.

My assistant Chris and I came up with that imaginary scenario the other day, and decided it would be the perfect excuse for our next SCIENCE PROJECT. Chris plays a fine set of Slingerlands, and our friend Brett over at the Gibson web site agreed to bring a Nighthawk and a song idea over to Studio C and see what happened. In a word: LOTS! We had a ball and cranked out some interesting layers of sound using nothing but the Nighthawk, my Thunderbird Bass, and the Slingerland set. Here's how we did it:

Brett started by recording a finger-tapping intense guitar track that laid out the song for us. Then we went back and found some cool effects to use with the Nighthawk that sound like a synth pad, for color in the middle section. Brett played the Thunderbird Bass and later Chris played the drums, which brought the whole thing out of the woods and completed the rhythm section sound.

Next we turned Brett loose on the Nitehawk to play a solo at the proper place. It's amazing when you listen to the result that all those sounds came out of one instrument ( it doesn't hurt that Brett is a solid player with some great ideas). You can really hear how effective the stereo effects are in imaging the different characteristics of the guitar sounds.

So the whole thing, start to finish, took a little over an hour. We wished at the end that we could have set aside more time from the work week so we could've played longer. I tell you, I,ve been doin' this for thirty years, and I still can't get over how much fun it is to see a song come together like that.

Here are some tips if you're gonna dive in and record your Gibsons. Start with a good idea of the structure of the song, you know, beginning, middle, end. It helps the layering process go faster. Also, pick three colors, or sounds, beside the sound of the bass and drums. Stick with those, and don't use them all the time. That way the final piece will be the most fun to listen to, without getting into one of those long, frustrating sessions. HAVE FUN, and holler if you have any questions.

Fred Bogert (fbogert@gibson.com)
Studio C Productions
30 Music Sq. W. #150
Nashville, TN 37203
1-615-259-2346
FAX: 1-615-259-7852

By Brett Ratner

As a musician, I usually take the role of the "dumb lead guitar player."

In other words, I do my little self-indulgent solos in the context of whatever loud, distorted, alternative rock band I'm playing in at various local Nashville clubs. That's not to say that other sides of me don't exist.

Beneath the exterior of a rock poser beats the heart of a Michael Hedges wannabe. I have the right hand of a percussionist and a left hand that yearns to simultaneously adopt the role of bassist, rhythm guitar player and lead. When Harbormaster of Nashville's Studio C (and part time author of "In The Shed") Fred Bogert called me, I was presented with the opportunity to explore this musical direction.

The rules, as Mr. Bogert stated it, were to record and mix the entire piece between 10:00a.m. and 1p.m. (this included load in). Because time was an issue, I chose to do an original piece that had a main guitar line that could carry the song all by itself. I figured that if we get one good pass with the primary guitar, then we can overdub until we run out of time. That approach worked, but was more awkward than expected.

First a little background about the piece: A staple of my "wooing women solo guitar" repertoire (I can't sing), this also serves as my guitar store "may I help you?" lick. Since it is usually named after whoever I happen to be dating at the time, it is currently untitled. From a technical standpoint, it is 90% fingertapping, with the right hand playing a melody line composed mostly of "sixth" intervals while the left hand taps chords. This isn't a very complex piece and usually hangs out somewhere between "Gmaj" and "Emin." When I perform it live, I have a special patch for it on my stereo effects processor to give it depth.

I used a 3-pickup Gibson Nighthawk for the guitar parts because of the variety of pickup settings. The guitar was patched into my preamp/stereo effects processor and directly into the mixing board (unless Fred was doin' somethin' weird with it). I also used a Gibson Thunderbird bass (completing my feathered beast motif) for a pass. That was run direct as well. For the dirty guitar solo, we used a "Sans Amp" into an all-tube reverb/tremolo unit, which worked incredibly well.

Having performed this piece dozens of times at coffee shops and "writers nights" (a Nashville institution), I figured that the main riff of the tune would be a snap to record in one or two takes. WRONG! My newfound advice for anyone considering seeking work as a session player is that he or she better practice playing with a click track. And no, playing with a drummer is not the same thing. It took me at least ten takes to get used to the click, and the keeper track still ended up wacky in several spots. Any way, Fred suggested that I ditch the heavy effects normally used to make space for the overdubs. The primary track was therefore recorded with just a light phase shifting effect.

The bass was recorded direct and dry, (with some compression I assume). The part I chose to play was ultra simple and was intended to reinforce the bass line already played by the main guitar part.

With the digital nirvana of Studio C at our disposal, we then decided it would be cool to splice in a section for a guitar solo. Fred and I composed a simple but effective chord progression that broke the song up nicely. Fred magically dropped it in on his computer screen.

Shortly after plugging into the Sans Amp, Fred apparently started playing around with the mix. I took the opportunity to warm up my solo chops or so I thought. Actually, he was recording and I unknowingly played what was to be the first take of the guitar solo. We recorded a second pass, then Fred went to work. Picking out his favorite parts of the two solos (the parts where I didn't play fast, incidentally) he digitally spliced the two together seamlessly.

Using some of the weird, more ambient programs on my effects processor, we made about three more passes, just to add depth. Then Fred said, "You can start packing up if you want to." I guess I was done. It was time for some drums.

Bogert efficiently miced up the drum set and started to mix before our drummer arrived. The drummer played along with the piece one time through. Fred made suggestions alluding to a more ambient drum part, but I liked the strong groove he was adding to an already ambient piece. We recorded his second pass through, which I think we ditched because we because he didn't remember all the stops. The third take was pretty good, despite a couple of misplaced accents. But alas, we were out of time, so it became a keeper.

Fred mixed really quick, and the result is what we have saved as a sound file (Please bear in mind that to save download time, we sampled the piece in mono at a lower quality). Nonetheless, it's a good example at how quickly and efficiently a decent demo can be produced with an okay player and an extraordinary producer. The cool digital equipment didn't hurt either!