Making your next music video using Rock N Roll Rentals

This last weekend I took advantage of my job at Rock N Roll Rentals for making a music video. Few people know about the wide selection of A/V products that we carry, and I’m going to use this post to promote how easily you can make a music video or other video project using our awesome inventory.

For my project I rented two Canon MKII 7D’s, two shoulder-mounts, a Manfrotto tripod, and a Tokina wide-angle lens. Canon DSLR’s have quickly become an “industry standard” for capturing a high-quality image (1280x720p at 60 fps) through a camera where your lens selection is very wide, without having to spend $40k+ to use a RED camera or video-cameras that can collect high quality information. Though DSLRs are built for still-images the 7D is made with point and shoot ease of use in video, and can capture movie quality picture.

Using the shoulder-mounts my small crew was able to take moving shots with tripod stability, with the beautiful depth of focus that the 7D allows at 60fps. This high-quality information made it easy to create slow-motion shots, or cropping for image stabilization. For other shots we would put the two 7D’s at different angles in a room with one wide-angle shot that we could zoom (with the Tokina lens), and one still camera to pick up cross shots that we’re more focused on our subjects.

My band doesn’t have a big budget (less than $200), and we are currently editing something that looks like high-budget music video. These days making a music video is definitely a priority for bands (Youtube, Vimeo promotion), and very few bands have the money to make something that they could imagine could look like a “legit” music video. Using Rock N Roll Rentals, you can achieve a “label” quality music video or short-film with a budget less than $200!

We rent Tokina wide-angle lenses, as well as Canon’s stellar 50mm lenses for that artsy and thin depth-of-field look. You can use any of our DSLRs to do the same thing I did be that our T3I models for $36/reservation rate or our 5DmkIIs for $125/reservation. Rock N Roll Rentals is the cheapest camera/ A/V rental solution in the country, and should not be overlooked. 

I highly recommend you check out our video selections for your next project here: http://www.rocknrollrentals.com/filmvideo.html

-William Glosup

Empirical Labs Mike-E

Empirical Labs Mike-E

The Mike-E, by Empirical Labs, is a transformer coupled mic preamp together with a compressor/saturator circuit. The mic preamp has super low noise floor and features stepped gain switching. Your instruments can also be plugged directly into the “Inst In” serving as a high quality direct box. The Comp/Sat section of the Mike-E features compression based on the world famous Distressor as well as a tape-like saturation circuit. The Mike-E allows you to mix the compressed signal with the dry signal.

Este Vato recently recorded at Werd’s recording studio with engineer Joel Chalwick. We had the opportunity to use the Mike-E on vocals, acoustic and electric guitars. Personally, I was impressed with the
clarity and presence of the vocals and guitars and would definitely recommend the Mike-E to anyone. Here’s a short video of what Werd engineer, Joel Chalwick, had to say about the Empirical Labs Mike.

You can swing by Rock N Roll Rentals before your next recording project and pick up some sweet recording toys including the Mike-E. The Mike-E rents for $45 a weekend or $104 a month.  We are also your local source for Empirical Labs, so let us know when you want to buy!

ADL-700 + MA-201 FET = good squared

Presonus ADL700 Channel Strip

 I recently got to use the new Presonus ADL-700 for a couple of nights. If you haven't heard, this is the new channel strip which is Presonus's response to the success of the ADL600, all tube dual channel preamp. It starts with one channel of the ADL600, and then hits a custom built FET compressor, and ends at a semi-parametric eq. Aesthetically, they kept with the same sleek design as its predecessor. It has sturdy knobs and switches which look and feel great. I used a Mojave MA-201 FET mic and recorded some vocal. I noticed straight away, like the '600, there's tons of headroom. The vocal was loud and I had the gain structure set a little hot, and, though it was drivey, it still sounded great and kinda gritty. This is probably accredited to the 300 volt power rails inside. It's very warm. Yes, warm (aural quality is indeed measured in temperature as it turns out). There's a variable impedance selector and a high pass filter which can roll off up to 200hz. The compressor, I found to be the coolest part of the unit. All the knobs are variable pots and it's very responsive. It sounded great and the harder I compressed, the top end sounded better and better. The EQ sounded great and even when exaggerated, it maintained smoothness and clarity. Each section of the unit can be bypassed and the EQ can be put before the compressor with the flip of a switch.The compressor's setting can link out of the back if you're chaining two units together for a stereo application. The unit feels, looks, and operates like a high-end piece. And it is. I only tried it on vocals but I imagine it would sound great on pretty much anything. Even an onion.We carry it here at the shop and you check one out starting around $50 for a weekend or $105 a month.  We are one of a few select dealers to stock this unit, so come buy some as well.



                                                  Mojave Audio MA-201FET

                                                           

    So speaking of the MA201FET, I rented it. I used it on vocals. It is designed by David Royer of Royer ribbon mics. This is a FET mic which means it's equipped with a type of transistor that some say closely mimics the tonal characteristics of tube mics without the tube. It's true, I guess. I found that this mic was very well balanced, clear, and had a nice top end. What I mean by balance, is proximity effect. It was very forgiving to the source, even when bobbing back in fourth from its position. Even with compression off, I didn't experience that cliff-like drop when your vocal gets a hair too far away and it maintained smoothness and clarity when right up on it. I really enjoyed that I never detected much harshness that can be inherant on non-tube mics, it's smooth. It's an impressive microphone with an impressive price point too (around $700). It certainly could hold its own even against it's big brother tube model MA-300 which is around double the price. It's worth trying if you wanna try a non-tube flavor of condenser mics.



Reviewed By: Rene C.

Offset Special or Thinline Jazzmaster?

Let me start by saying that the two guitars that've been my favorite over the years for their diversity and functionality were my '72 Thinline Telecaster and my (current) Classic Player Jazzmaster.  If I were to build a guitar myself, it would somehow embody the 'twangy-humbucking-bite' of that Tele while being just a pick-up switch away from the 'well-defined-creamy-smoothness' of my Jazzmaster.  So, when the Fender Pawn Shop Series Offline Special arrived unannounced at our store the other day, I was more than excited to give it a try!  I play exclusively through a 'stock' Vox AC15 with a Fender Jazzmaster, cuz I think the Jazzmaster's special single-coil pickups compliment a 'chime-y' tube amp perfectly without getting too-bright.  My initial observation upon plugging this Tele into my Vox was that it sounded great clean. I tried "dialing-in" a few tone/pickup combinations, but I feel like this guitar sounds best the less you mess with it.  This guitar is semi-hollowbody and very light in weight.  Guitar chords sound full and bright, while single-note playing retains the smooth characteristics of the pick-ups!  I would go as far as to say that this guitar sounds terrible through an overdriven amp and distortion pedals.  I tried adding a little "fuzz" and "crunch" from various guitar pedals, but couldn't achieve anything but a flat, dull tone.  Rent this guitar for studio work, but don't expect it to be versatile in live situations. 

- Jared Paul Boulanger (guitarist, The Sour Notes)

DSLR for Dummies

By: Sierra Norman, RocknRoll Rentals
Special thanks to Este Vato!

GODIN TO THE CORE, BRO.

    The new Godin Core has landed at Rock n Roll rentals! And it's been a head turner among employees and patrons alike. I got a chance to take it out to a couple of gigs over the weekend as a back up, and after popping a string straight away, it didn't stay benched.
    Godin has made this model available in a few different variations; ours is the classic, vibey, sunburst finish option. It also features a pair of Seymour Duncan P90s nestled in a chambered mahogany body, solid maple top,  set mahogany neck, rosewood fret board, Graphtech wrap around bridge, and black tuners...for sex appeal. It has a light but solid construction and is very nicely balanced when strapped. A volume and tone pot for either pick up is also featured, which is nice. The first night, I played it through a newer Ampeg tube guitar amp along side indie rock sledge hammer, Jared Boulanger.  The Core sounds warm and fat in the neck position and when the volume was rolled back, it revealed wonderful bluesy, jazzy kind of tones. When opened up in the bridge position, the P90s shine with that archaic, classic rock n roll bite. In your face, but sweetly so.

    
    My Grandma (pictured above) got to play it the second night. Lucky ol' gal. Just kidding, that's not my Grandma, that's Oscar from repair and a fellow vato. He played it through a Fender Deluxe and a hundred or so effects pedals. It sounded great, and on the clean channel, took the edge off the otherwise harsh inherent tone of the Deluxe. It needed to be tuned more often the second night, but the humid, hot, outside air may have been the culprit.
    The Core is a pretty straight forward, work horse of a guitar. In addition to sounding great and looking good, they are 100% crafted and assembled in Quebec, Canada though you might not guess it with the  doable street price. It's a solid build and a very comfortable play. P90 lovers will not be let down. 


   Come into the shop and snag this one...from my cold dead hands. :)

reviewed by: Rene C.

Radial's Workhorse Cube: Both Workhorse-like and Cube-shaped.

Over the weekend, I took home a Radial Workhorse Cube to get familiar with three of their new 500-series modules: the Powerpre, the Q3 Induction Coil EQ, and the Komit compressor. The Radial products I'm most familiar with are transparent tools like DI boxes and Reampers, which they do a great job at, but I was curious what they would bring to a channel-strip-style setup like this.

I had a session over the weekend with a female singer songwriter, and had opportunities to try the Workhorse on a few things. Before you even plug it in, Radial's excellent build quality shows with their solid steel construction and baked enamel finishes, and every knob and switch feels substantial, which makes the units fun to work with. Of course, I eventually calmed down and plugged the thing in. Even this was easy thanks to the Powerpre's front XLR input, and a 'feed' switch between each channel, which sends a unit's output into the next unit, eliminating the need for patch cables. Other fun on the Workhorse's rear includes a Link switch for stereo linkage, and an Omniport input, a 1/4" jack for each unit that provides extra functionality.

My first test was kick drum. The Powerpre is wonderfully quiet for the +55dB of gain it boasts, but on kick the Q3 was what really stood out. A few mild adjustments on the 12-position Grayhill switches brought out what I was looking for on both lows and highs, while the Mid Cut knob took away some of the pesky "basketball-sounding" frequencies. The Q3's Omniport is assigned as an effects loop. My only gripe about the Q3 is a minor one, and that is that the Shift switch for each band is hard to get at, but that's a "set-and-forget" type thing anyway, so maybe I'll just stop complaining already.

Next up, I wanted to see how my guest channel strip would squash a room mic for me, so I put a Peluso 2247LE (psst, also available at Rock N Roll Rentals!) through the Workhorse. The Peluso is a great mic all by itself, and didn't need the Q3 to help it out, but the Komit squeezed my room mic nicely, gluing disparate sounds like bells and accordion together without sucking the life out of them. As with the other two modules, there are fewer than five controls (including the "On" feature), so the Komit works a lot of magic on it's own, thanks in part to it's full-size discrete electronics and Hammond broadcast transformers. With the Komit, the Omniport is a key input for side-chaining or de-essing.

Radial Engineering's Workhorse Cube and 500-series modules offered me a lot of great sounds, thanks to great craftsmanship and well-thought-out features, and it's portable enough to take anywhere. I highly recommend taking one home for yourself, especially at Rock N Roll Rentals' awesome Reservation Rate of $47 for Tues/Wed/Thurs- Monday or only $108 for a month!


Also available pre-filled! That is to say, filled with preamps. 

reviewed by:
-John Pearson