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THE STUDIO COMES TO YOU!
Samples and
Demos
Here are samples of MARS
production work. Enjoy.
Classical and Art Music
Pop and World Music
Behind the Scenes
Before & After
The Proof is in the Listening
Select an artist from one of the lists on the left then click. Their information will appear in this box, along with one or more underlined audio links to their material. While listening you can then read a short description of the performers. It has been our pleasure to work with such talented people. New to recording? The two “Behind the Scenes” offerings deconstruct a recording, showing the various components and thinking process that went into each project. Very interesting material if you’re inclined to jump in with both feet and want to get a basic idea of that’s going on — any just plain good listening otherwise! We are also happy to take your raw recording and give you a better-than-average mix. Check out the “Before and After” selections to get a sense of how seemingly dull tracks can be brought to life. (The last selection, Brian Granse, compares an old analog mix with a new digital mix. Thanks for listening! (We assume you have a music player application connected to your web browser. If not, you might need to right-click on the music link and download the clip. If you do, please respect the artists. Do not repost any clips without first obtaining permission.)
Bach Cantata Choir
www.bachcantatachoir.org Portland's Bach Cantata Choir and Orchestra, under the direction of Maestro Ralph Nelson, is undertaking an ambitious project. Over the next several years, the goal is to perform all 200+ Bach Cantatas. They're off to a fine start, with many dedicated performers, most of whom work solely for the chance to sing and play this timeless, great music. It has been our continuing pleasure to work with this group of dedicated musicians.
Bravo!Vancouver
www.bravoconcerts.com The scope and range of this group is phenomenal — everything from an annual Messiah performance to Broadway show music and Jazz, to the "American Roots" concert sampled in this clip, along with original music by founder and conductor Dr. Michael Kissenger, to guest artists (and even guest choirs and orchestras from around the globe). Bravo! Vancouver has enriched the Pacific Northwest like no other group for the past two decades. We had trouble making a selection for this sample, but chose "Jericho" to highlight the "film scoring" quality of sound that MARS can achieve while on location. (You can also get a taste of Bravo's performance of the Faure Requiem in the “Behind the Scenes” selection, Orchestra + Choir, just to the left).
Pacific University
http://www.pacificu.edu/future-undergraduates/academics/areas-study/music Pacific University has one of the finest music departments of all universities in the Pacific Northwest. The results clearly attest to this fact. Dr. Scott Tuomi has a broad background in voice — as a director, educator, and much sought-after soloist. He has appeared on numerous recordings, and values the recording arts — so much so that as part of his association with MARS, we'd periodically do location session work to give the students a sense of what real session work was like. Session work was interleaved with live-performance recordings.
Southern Utah University
http://www.suu.edu/pva/music Our new friends at SUU have proven to have a fine music program, with a wide spectrum of offerings to their students. Once again, the proof is in the hearing. This is an excerpt from a longer work entitled "Angels in the Architecture by Frank Ticheli, performed by the SUU Wind Orchestra, directed by Dr. Adam Lambert, Corlissa Jensen, soloist; recorded live at the Heritage Center, Cedar City, Utah. The students certainly caught the spirit of the piece, and for that we're grateful. Such performances always make our job easier.
(We were too busy to get a performance
photo. All we can offer is a shot of MARS2,
hard at work backstage during this
concert.)
This work offered enormous technical
challenges, starting with the near 70
decibel dynamic range and ending with a
concert hall that favors speech. We're
pleased with the depth and imaging
presented in this recording (much of that
depth was crafted in post-production).
Pacific Youth Choirs
http://www.pacificyouthchoir.org The Pacific Youth Choir program based in Portland, Oregon, is one of the finest organizations of its type in the United States. Founder and director Mia Hall Miller achieves remarkable results with children ranging in age from 5 to 18. Divided into 11 choirs with several dedicated associate directors, each PYC concert is a delight — and our delight to record a good many of them.
Bond Organ
http://www.bondorgans.com Bond Organ produces extraordinary pipe organs in their shop in Portland, Oregon. "Compelling to the eye; thrilling to the ear" is a phrase on the Bond website that is an excellent description of a Bond instrument. We'd add that from the recording perspective there is something sweet, articulate, and vibrant in the Bond instrument that is not always present in other instruments. The company approached MARS to get an updated recording that could be used to help promote their instruments. They expressed a desire to get more articulation audible in the recording without losing the sound of the room. At first this might seem something of a recording contradiction, but we were able to achieve this through the addition of a single ribbon microphone at just the right place near the instrument, and then blending it at just the right time-alignment and balance with the main stereo pair used to capture the room and instrument.
Magnificat, Meine Seele erhebt den
Herren, BWV 733, J. S. Bach
Mark Williams at the Bond
Instrument at Holy Rosary Church
in Portland, Oregon.
John Vergin
John is a wonderful vocalist, composer, performer, and long-time friend (all that and a five-star chef as well). John is a quiet, unassuming man who often brings forth genius in his compositions and performances. He is equally at home on the theatrical stage as he is the musical stage, and handles both with graceful aplomb. It has been a gift to have worked on a number of projects together, each with its own character and fun moments. Here is a tiny sample of a few of the projects. The Reluctant Dragon (a children's puppet show presented by the Tears of Joy Theater Company). Interlude music recording session, John's living room. These mixes were designed for playback on various school auditorium PA systems and thus have a slightly different presence to them.
More info about John Vergin:
John Vergin (continued)
John's string quartet, Requiem, was written in memory of the mother of mutual
friend. The work follows much of the traditional structure of a requiem mass.
The work is ever engaging and is deceptively simple; as one listens, beautifully
complex spires of the work reveal themselves, showing the celebrations and sorrows
of this woman's life.
Many fine musical moments occur in this performance. Audience, performers, and
the son of the woman who had passed seemed aware of the personal connections
represented by this work and its first performance.
The recording speaks for itself; we feel
that the sonic signature of the recording
and mix well supports the emotional
content of the work.
Lisa Florentino
Lisa has a lovely, expressive soprano voice. She is also a great teacher, with many voice students in the Portland area. We've enjoyed working together on various projects. This recital recording was a challenge because of the odd sound of the performance space. We wanted to get something of a larger European salon sound, but ran into peculiar echo and reverb problems. Fortunately, our multiple microphones came to the rescue. A somewhat unorthodox blend of some and deletions of others got very close to the intended sound (which also seems well suited to the selections performed).
Violin Recording Demostration
Ever wonder how classical music is recorded and mixed? We often see something of the pop music process, but not so much from the classical realm. Seemingly endless considerations go into properly recording a solo violin, particularly one as well-played as this live performance of a Korngold piece by Nick Crosa and Evan Solomon. This demonstration shows how the various microphones are used to provide the best possible capture of this remarkable performance.
Orchestra and Chior Recording Demonstration
Here is an interesting inside look at how orchestral and choral work might be produced. We use the word "might" because not all such recordings are done the exactly the same way. The method chosen will depend on a number of factors including the music, size of the group and concert hall, hall acoustics, how the recording will be used, and many other considerations. This demonstration features excerpts from a live recording of the Faure Requiem, an extraordinary piece of music beautifully interpreted and performed by the Bravo! Vancouver Chorale and Washington Chamber Orchestra. The soloist is Charles Baad, under the direction of Maria Manzo Kissinger.
Brian Granse
http://www.american-nobody.com We can enter the production phase at just about any point, from recording to mixing to mastering. We're pleased to have been asked by singer-songwriter Brian Granse to mix his album, Brian Granse, American Nobody.
Do not let the album title fool you! Brian is a one-
man musical Somebody with perhaps more musical
notes than red blood cells moving through his veins.
Brian is a composer, a poet, and a remarkable
player. (If it can make a sound, Brian can play it, as
he has done on this album and his last few albums.)
The version of these clips are not from the original
album mix (mixed in analog on the old MARS hot-
rodded Soundcraft console); these are more recent
digital mixes. Digital has come a long, long way
sonically since 2005. For an interesting comparison,
play the Brian Granse mix from the “Before and
After” section, also on this page, just to the left.
Photo by Michael J. Granse,
www.gransephoto.com
Blues Caberet
www.thebluescabaret.com Where Love Begins, the new album from The Blues Cabaret, is the brainchild of keyboardist, composer, and arranger, Dave Fleschner. Dave has played around the world with some huge names (including B.B. King), but a project like this was his dream since age 16. The album features internationally known blues vocalist Earl Thomas, and several other great musicians from Portland, Oregon. We did not record this project (that was done at Dave’s home studio). Long-time MARS client Bob Mensel (director, PGMC) suggested that Dave have us mix this project. We were delighted and humbled to be invited to help Dave realize this dream. Listeners have been thrilled with the album. A sample is included below, as well as a mix “before/after” demonstration in the “Before & After” section on this page.
The Hanumen
http://www.hanumen.com These guys are just so much fun... Producer, Engineer, Composer, and performer Benjy Wertheimer (with whom MARS has done many projects) called one day excited about a new album project he’d been working on in his home studio in Portland, Oregon. “Wish I could have been there,” said MARS principal Frank Stearns. “Well, maybe you can, at least for the mix,” Benjy replied. He continued: “I’ve always liked the way you do choral work, and we have a few tunes on this album with lots of vocal overdubs, enough to qualify as ‘choral’. Want a crack at mixing these?” How could Frank possibly say “no”; it was only two mixes; plenty of time to meet the rather tight deadline.
The first mixes were so well received that Benjy and
co-producer Gaura Vani asked Frank to mix the
entire project. That entailed a dozen rather long and
complex songs (some with as many as 100 tracks) to
be turned around in just a few weeks.
Three weeks of rather energized mixing ensued,
backed-up by Sony affiliate record label Mantralogy,
which graciously provided an extra week for mixing
(once they heard the first two mixes). Whew. We got it
done. Here’s a sample. (This mix has some 90 source
tracks.)
Old Aurora Colony CD Project
Nearly 600 people, almost all German and Swiss emigrants, established and lived in the Aurora Colony in Aurora, Oregon, a Christian communal society, from 1856 to 1883. The Aurora Colonists were best known by nineteenth century Oregonians for their band music. The Aurora society was numerically strong enough to boast two bands and several orchestra groups. Producer and music Historian Andrew Willette approached MARS to make a modern, high-quality recording of this wonderful old band music. The musical simplicity is deceptive, while the musical delight is instantaneous.
Marty Warburton and the Home Girls
“Welcome to our living room” is the lead line in the liner notes for this fun new CD. Bluegrass is about as pure as music gets, particularly when performed by a family group such as this. Dad, mom, daughters and son-in-law very earnestly and precisely sat down in two 3-hour sessions in the MARS tracking room and cut this delightful album. It’s surprising just how much sound this band gets from such light instrumentation. Marty’s a wizard on his Martin; John pulses an even and solid bass line; Pam, Hayli, and Kylee knock out the most amazing vocal blends, the kind you only get when moms and children harmonize. If you like Bluegrass, you’ll want this album. Sessions like this really show the value of the top-notch equipment used by MARS.
MIx Before and After: Blues Cabaret
The Blues Cabaret entry under the “Pop and World Music” listings on this page gives some background and history of this mix project. As noted, this album was recorded in a home studio. Home studios are wonderful tools; they give the serious musician many opportunities to explore and create, and with reduced studio costs provide a financial luxury to do just that. Sometimes, the groove while exploring and creating falls into something wonderful, prefect, and unique. That’s what happened here, but with the admitted technical limits of the home studio. The performances and sound were all there, they just had to be teased out by a good ear and a good post-production environment, such as that offered by MARS. We think you’ll find the clips below interesting.
“I Knew I had the Blues” (original reference mix from the home studio)
“I Knew I had the Blues” (MARS mix)
“I Knew I had the Blues” (A/B toggling between the above two mixes)
The 1970s
Frank Stearns started playing with vacuum tube tape recorders at age 4, and by age 9 was taking them apart, much to the consternation of other family members. But his real recording career began in late 1973. By 1975, he’d hit a stride and was working with several remarkable artists, among them the eclectic bother/sister duo of Daryl and Renee Redeker (with bassist Brian Flick) in a group known as “The Guild”. They wrote remarkable material. Here are two songs from the first album Frank recorded for them: “Sun is Honey” and “I’ve Got a Heartache” from The Nightbirds are Screaming. The original album was recorded and mixed in 1976, then remastered in 2016, by Frank Stearns. In 1977, Frank engineered a Bluegrass album for Custer’s Grass Band from Spokane, Washington. Producer Bob Asbury had come across a 13 year old kid out of Seattle who, two years earlier, had won the Grand National Fiddling Championship. His name? Mark O’Conner. Bluegrass aficionados will certainly know him, as will many outside the Bluegrass genre. A few years later Mark moved to Nashville. Since then he has played on some 500+ albums, composed and toured, produced, you name it, he’s done it. Pure genius, plain and simple. Watching and listening to him play during this session was always startling. Here was this gangly teenager, sometimes impatient with the whole recording process, and sometimes flipping a little teen attitude as a result. But then he’d pick up a beat up old white-painted fiddle (or guitar or mandolin) and transcendent magic flowed from the strings. Here’s “Follow the Leader.” Mark plays the two guitar breaks. In “Are You Washed in the Blood of the Lamb” , Mark plays the guitar (preceded by studio banter among engineer Frank, producer Bob, and genius kid, Mark, urging that things get moving).MIx Before and After: Brian Granse
This is an interesting opportunity to do a casual comparison between analog and digital mixing. In 2005, the state of digital mixing was still somewhat sketchy from a sonic point of view. There were many reasons for this; most of the reasons are too technical to go into here. Suffice to say that digital mixing has come a very long way. While the analog mix here offers a “pleasant” listen, it’s missing some detail and realism. With all those capacitors and transformers present in an analog signal path out of the way (and with a much, much better digital mix engine) the sound is markedly different. To be sure, this isn’t a very scientific comparison. The new mix differs in numerous ways from the analog original. Still, it’s an interesting comparison — and a relief that good-sounding digital is more common than it once was.
Mastering Before and After: Daryl Redeker
One of the most innovative song writers alive today is Daryl Redeker. Frank did four albums with Daryl and his sister Renee (bassist Brian Flick) back in the 1970s while all were in Spokane, Washington, and members of The Minstrel String Guild. Frank eagerly awaited each new project. But people changed cities and years went by… Then, more recently, Frank did some remasters of newer material from Daryl, originally recorded and mixed in Daryl’s home studio near Seattle, Washington. This comparison shows the life and breath that can be brought into a track, even when MARS had no control of the recording or mixing.
For more songs from Daryl, click the “1970s” button to the left.
The Proof is in the Listening
Select an artist from one of the lists on the left. Their information will appear in this box, along with one or more audio links to their material. While listening you can then read a short description of the performers. It has been our pleasure to work with such talented people. New to recording? The “Behind the Scenes” offerings deconstruct two different recordings, showing the various components and thinking that went into these projects. This will be very interesting material if you’re inclined to jump in with both feet and want to get a basic idea of that’s going on — and just plain good listening otherwise! We are also happy to take your raw recording and give you a better-than-average mix. Check out the “Before and After” selections to get a sense of how seemingly dull tracks can be brought to life. (The last selection, Brian Granse, compares an old analog mix with a new digital mix.) Thanks for listening! (We assume you have a music player application connected to your web browser. If not, you might need to right-click on the music link and download the clip. If you do, please respect the artists. Do not repost any clips without first obtaining permission.)
