William Belote: Messages From Radio Willstar

Attention fellow Gearheads

// December 1st, 2009 // Blog, Music

The truth is that music making toys hold a powerful allure over many of us musicians. While I have managed to relax my addictive state of mind some over the years, I remain fascinated with noise making devices, the software, and audio hardware that are the paint, canvas, and brushes of my work.

The computer is the heart of most studios these days. Here is my current setup:

Computers:
Apple Power Mac Quad G5 and Powerbook with dual Intel processors.

Main software:

Logic 8, Reason 4, Melodyne, Sibelius, Metasynth, UAD plugins,

Arturia virtual synths (Moog Modular, Arp 2600, Roland Jupiter 8).

Guitars:  Gibson and Breedlove acoustic, Fender Stratocaster and Schecter electrics.

George played the electrics through a Mesa Boogie amp and numerous magic boxes.

I don’t have specific info on the exact violin, cello, saxaphones, and clarinets,

used by my talented colleague’s.

Hardware synths:
Oberheim Matrix 12, Yamaha FS1R, Korg Z1, Roland XV-88

Outboard equipment:

api 3124 mic-pre/mixer

Avalon VT-747SP Stereo compressor/eq

Eventide Orville

Lexicon PCM 80

Most of the vocals and overdubs were recorded at Emily’s Basement, the studio of my co-producer George Landress.  the recording path was generally a Soundelux U195 microphone into a Neve mic-pre into a dbx 160 compressor.