For you guys that are coming in to record your songs, I’d be happy to help orchestrate your song by adding additional instruments. I play piano, guitar, electric bass, and sing decently if you think any of these would fit in your song. If you ask nicely, I might even dust off my violin. We’ll have plenty of instruments at our disposal, synthesized and real.

Mitchell Johnson ticklin' the ivories at our house piano.

If you have musician friends you’d like to include on your track, bring them with! For mixing reasons, it’s usually better to record each instrument individually. But if you want everyone to play together as a group, we can do that, too.

Thought I would post my recording setup, to give you guys an idea of what to expect when you come in to record.

We'll do most of the recording in my bedroom, which now has carpet for better sound absorption and maximum foot comfort.

I have a small closet for recording vocals and/or any instruments we can fit in it. It might not be the prettiest setup, but with blankets on the walls, it’s a good echo-free recording booth.

Mark Knutson and Oanh Vu recording their next big single in my closet.

I have a number of mics we can use:

• Two AT 4040 Cardioid Condenser Mics: My go-to mics for recording vocals, guitar, piano, wind instruments, etc.
• Rode NTG-1 Shotgun Condenser Mic: Primarily used as a boom mic for film, but it can double as an extra condenser mic if we need it.
• Audix D6 Dynamic Mic: Usually used as a kick drum mic, but can also be used for recording bass or electric guitar.
• Sure SM58 Dynamic Mic: Usually used as a vocal mic for live concerts (dynamic mics are less prone to feedback). We could try it out on vocals to get a more live or lo-fi sound.

A messy but effective recording setup for Rob Carmichael's drums.

I use a MOTU Traveler mixer to hook up the mics to my computer. I primarily use the program Ableton Live for mixing. Occasionally I’ll use GarageBand if I want a different set of sounds.