Kevin Chown

Jun

2016

Behind the Scenes with Chad Smith

Yesterday we posted video of Chad & Kevin tracking “Eagle Eye”. Today we bring behind the scenes footage from the session.

As far as sessions go it went pretty smooth. Working with professional musicians like Chad & Kevin make my job as an engineer pretty easy. Kevin and I had talked quite a bit in the weeks leading up to the session so I had a pretty good idea on what type of tones they wanted.

We decided to use a vintage Rogers Holiday kit restored by a good friend of mine Kurt Berger and drum whisperer Chris Heuer. It is a truly amazing drum set. I love all of my kits but that kit just has the “it” factor. It really is amazing.

Kevin brought his Mark Bass rig which is a piece of cake to record. Although Kevin could make any bass rig sound good the Mark Bass is bad ass.

All in all this was a really fun day in the studio. Tarja joined us via Skype from Buenos Aires and stayed on for the entire session. Once we’d get a track we would also send them an MP3 to listen to. This is one of the great ways that technology has made our lives better. It was an international session!

Tarja is a wonderful person and an amazing artist. Check the new album out at www.tarja-theshadowself.com. Links to purchase the album are below.

Anyway let’s get to the video! I’ll post a full list of the mics used and a few photos below too.

Enjoy!
Charlie

The Brightest Void
Tarja CD Digipak – Tarja 1LP+Download – Tarja iTunes

Microphone List

Kick In: MXL A55 kicker

Kick Out: Studio Projects CS5

Snare Top: SM57

Snare Bottom: SM57

Snare Side: Cascade Fathead II

Hats: Audio-Technica ATM450

Rack Toms: Heil PR30

Floor Toms: Audio-Technica AT4047

Ride: Audio-Technica ATM450

Overheads: Audio-Technica AT4060 Tube Mics

Mono Room: Cascade Knucklehead Ribbon Mic

Stereo Rooms: Audio-Technica AT4080 Ribbon Mics

Stereo Wide Rooms: Audio-Technica AE3000

: Chad Smith & Kevin Chown layin’ down tracks

: Drum layout on the Trident 88

: The Trident 88 is full!

: Chad Smith & Kevin Chown listening to takes

: Kevin’s Mark Bass rig

: Kick mic setup with a 5 foot tunnel!

: Rogers Holiday kit used for the sesson

: Rogers Holiday

: AE3000 room mics

: Kit with kit tunnel

: SM57 on top of the snare

: Gretsch bell brass snare

Jun

2016

In Session w/Chad Smith!

Some sessions are fun…and then some sessions are FUN!

Few drummers can lay down a groove like Chad Smith. Few bass players can lay down a groove like Kevin Chown. Together, they form an unstoppable rhythm section. For most musicians watching them work together would be the ultimate educational experience.

They are not only masters at their crafts but they understand that music is made by collaboration. By working together, they create parts they lay the foundation for great music.

Now mix that formidable rhythm section with rock superstar, Tarja Turunen, and you’ve got yourself one hell of an album!

“Eagle Eye“, from Tarja’s new album “The Brightest Void“, is a track that features Chad Smith on drums. We filmed the entire session (almost 10 hours!) and have put together an awesome, in-studio, music video feature Chad & Kevin with the final audio from the album!

Tomorrow we’ll roll out some behind the scenes footage from the session so stay tuned!

The Brightest Void
Tarja CD Digipak – Tarja 1LP+Download – Tarja iTunes

Tarja Turunen
“Eagle Eye”

Mar

2015

Recording with Chad Smith (w/Video)

Ultimate Studios, Inc. was recently invaded by Chad Smith and Kevin Chown who were recording for international superstar Tarja Turunen.

Tarja’s music is extremely dynamic with very orchestral arrangements. To match the demands of the music we set Chad up with a late 60’s Rogers Holiday kit with 10″, 12″, 13″ rack toms, 14″ & 16″ floor toms and a 24″ kick. This kit was massive and sounded even more massive!

Working together in Chad Smith’s Bombastic Meatbats, Chad and Kevin have formed one of the most formidable rhythm sections in music. To make this session even better we tracked them together! The way a great rhythm section should be tracked!

“When you have a rhythm section as good as Chad and Kevin they absolutely have to play together. There is simply no other way to do it. Watching them interact with each other in the room and hearing the energy and groove they were creating was simply fantastic. This is exactly why I built Ultimate Studios, Inc!” says engineer Charlie Waymire.

Check out Tarja at: www.tarjaturunen.com and the Bombastic Meatbats at: www.facebook.com/bombasticmeatbats

Check out a short video clip from the session.

Awesome day tracking drums and bass with Chad Smith and Kevin Chown yesterday. Awesome rhythm section!

A video posted by @ultimatestudiosinc on Mar 5, 2015 at 9:21am PST

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Jan

2015

Live Tracking Brings Music To Life

There is no better way to breathe life into your music than using real, live musicians. That happens to be our specialty here at Ultimate Studios, Inc! Producer/Engineer Charlie Waymire has built up a long list of the best players in LA with the sole intent of helping YOU create better music. Adding live instruments to your music will make it groove better and give it a timeless appeal.

One recent session included drummer Real Drum Tracks Now drummer Mike Avenaim (Emblem3/Scott Weiland), Bassist Kevin Chown (Chad Smith’s Bombastic Meatbats), and guitarist Christ Vazquez (Daniel Powter/Andre Cymone). Working with Charlie this uber talented group worked with a new pop artist to add a real, live, band to a rock track. The benefit of using a group a musicians like this is they all bring years of music experience to the music. That makes these tracks special!

“My goal is to always have the most talented group of people in the room, at the same time, recording on your music. That way I know the artist is getting exactly what they need for their songs. I take great pride in my work and so do all of the musicians I work with.” says Producer/Engineer Charlie Waymire.

What ever you need we can deliver. Full band tracking, real drum tracking, adding live musicians to your programmed songs, mixing, mastering, and video, we can do it all! Contact us to get your next session started and come by and see the studio!

A video posted by @ultimatestudiosinc on Dec 17, 2014 at 9:21pm PST

Feb

2014

URS 2014 Post NAMM Jam!

After a fun 2014 winter NAMM and a week to recover it was time to do a little jammin’! With a studio full of some of the best musicians in LA there was good music all night and the hang was awesome! Thank you to everyone that attended! Here’s a little video and some photos from the night! Looking forward to the next one!

We literally threw some microphones up, did no soundcheck, and the jam was on. People were hangin’ out, talking, clapping, and interacting! It was fun!

Jam featuring: Paul Vallis – Harmonica, Jeff Marshall – Guitar, Ernesto Homeyer – Guitar, Kevin Chown – Bass, & Aubrey Richmond – Violin. (shot from the iPhone Cam)

: Aubrey Richmond ,Anthony Salazar, Brandon Cooke, Kevin Chown, Jonney Matchtig

: Dave Lopez & Charlie Waymire

: Gianluca Palmieri, Charlie Waymire, & Mike Torres

: Paul Vallis, Andrew Shreve & Kevin Chown

: Jonney Matchtig, Richard Bridge & Anthony Salazar

: Lizzy Ostro, Kurt Berger & Brandon Cooke

: Gianluca Palmieri, Greg Garman, Roberto Cerletti, Mike Torres

: Control Room w/Paul Cassarino & Andrew Shreve

: Stephanie Seimovich, Jim Mona & Steffenee Copley

Jul

2013

Fun Jam at URS!

A big thanks to everyone that attended jam night at the studio. It was a very fun hang and some great music was played by some fantastic musicians!

Here’s a few photos from the event:

Continue reading →

Mar

2013

Bleeding Harp Releases New Single!

“Live To Ride” Available On iTunes

Blues rockers Bleeding Harp have released their newest single “Live To Ride” and it’s available on iTunes. The drum tracks were recorded and played by Charlie Waymire at Ultimate Rhythm Studios.

The band features:
Jeff Marshall – Guitar/Vocals
Paul Vallis – Harmonica
Jeff Kollman – Guitar
Lao Tizer – Keys
Kevin Chown – Bass
Charlie Waymire – Drums

Get “Live To Ride” On iTunes!

Kevin Chown