Joe Troup came to me with a project that needed audiophile clarity, but yet smooth enough to satisfy the Adult contemporary audience. We used all super high-end mic pres. 50% solid state, 50% Tube. The main lead guitar tone was created with the Vintage Universal Audio 6176. 610 tube mic pre with 1176 compressor. We had bass and drums in one room and the Joe in the other facing each other. This way they could capture the live feel while having full separation. Joe’s drummer brought a Jazz kit in with a fully closed kick drum. Usually closed kick drums can be problematic when making a more contemporary album, but I found a great balance with almost no bleed. Shocking. Joe was nice enough to send me these comments below.
“When I decided to look for a studio to record my CD “Sunrise” I soon found myself at Allusion Studios in Tucson Arizona. I was immediately impressed by the state-of-the-art facility. After talking with Allusion’s owner Jim Pavett I was completely hooked. He thoroughly explained his recording philosophy which I felt was “right on the money.” The recording process was seamless with Jim doing the engineering duties for the record. Jim’s unbelievable attention to detail made all the difference in the world. I’m completely satisfied with the record and will definitely use Allusion Studios for my future projects. Thanks Jim! 
Joe Troup
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Expressive, melodic, and virtuosic, DeGrazia’s Live at the Paramount is a musical and emotional journey that evokes the spirits of Carlos Montoya and Paco Peña while touching on a much more personal vein. Simply put, DeGrazia’s latest release sounds like Domingo DeGrazia, both the person and the musician. Born and raised in Tucson, Arizona, Domingo DeGrazia creates music that truly sounds like the southwest; Live at the Paramount plays like a mixture between a moving film score and a long journey down a dusty road. Recorded during an intimate performance for family and friends, Live at the Paramount is the first DeGrazia recording featuring violinist Beth Daunis, whose energetic and charismatic performance elevates DeGrazia’s music to previously unknown heights. Accompanied by renowned recording engineer and percussionist Jim Pavett, classical guitar virtuoso Dustin Jones, and international touring bassist Mark Brugler, DeGrazia provides an inspired performance of unparalleled caliber.
Live at the Paramount is available now at OpenViewMusic.com
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As you can see I have not had any time to write. The last few months have been a blur and frankly “way over the top”! 12-14 hr days for weeks on end, including weekends. I has to force myself to leave on vacation twice and it just was not enough to get the body to relax. I took on too many personal music projects this year outside of the normal studio running hours. And what is also true is I will have the most growth and exposure from my endeavors. Sacrifice, sacrifice. Hear is a picture of me catching a big 150 pound sail fish from last weekend in San Carlos. We re-aerated his gills and let him go unharmed. I burned a little stress off reeling him in.
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Getting ready to go for Sick Puppies show
with Disciples of Prime. Their practice place has a clear sound wall to cut down on the drum bleed into the room. It creates quite an interesting reflection back to the drummer for a very bright attack sound.
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Jimmy P. in the house!
Today we did the performance of the samples included with the DVD. Creating drum loops etc… Then Mr. Ancona came down to do product shots. We even got a few full control room shots. Awesome!
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Check out this phat groove boys!
Today we wrapped up all the dialog. (A lot of you did not know I actually talk, did ya.) I even filmed in the load in area, with my full soldering bay, including goggles! (Just for the ladies!) Then, I got to lay down some grooves, for the drum mic technique area. Sweet!
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Joe Troup came to me with a project that needed audiophile clarity, but yet smooth enough to satisfy the Adult contemporary audience. We used all super high-end mic pres. 50% solid state, 50% Tube. The main lead guitar tone was created with the Vintage Universal Audio 6176. 610 tube mic pre with 1176 compressor. We had bass and drums in one room and the Joe in the other facing each other. This way they could capture the live feel while having full separation. Joe’s drummer brought a Jazz kit in with a fully closed kick drum. Usually closed kick drums can be problematic when making a more contemporary album, but I found a great balance with almost no bleed. Shocking. Joe was nice enough to send me these comments below.
