the good people of cap cd,a retail chain of audiophile cd shops in thailand, have ordered 100 pieces of 2v1g cds for the first order and here's their advertisement in local hifi mag (we presume)...
such music lovers the thai people are! thanks, steve surachade, for your passion in music and belief in our music.
we are targeting indonesia next!
today i invited a panel of judges (who came to my house consecutively) to review both the sonic and musical attributes of 2v1g album. the judges were hifi kaki, master ken and ringo - all highly discerning audiophiles with good ears.
without much surprises, the three gave a resounding thumbs-up to 2v1g, praising the excellent recording quality as well as the performance of the singers. here's what they said in gist:
master ken : "this will sell like hot cakes."
ringo : "most audiophile CDs emphasize on technical attributes (the recording) and the singers normally don't have souls and emotions. 2v1g have both."
hifi kaki : "...." (speechless)
last weekend was one pregnant with expectancy for the arrival of our 2nd mastered CDR from keith yip, hong kong. we had earlier asked keith to re-do his first master cos we were not completely convinced that it was the best.
i went to collect the parcel from poslaju, glenmarie hicom, with my heart palpitating... our launch date keeps falling behind and it is getting closer to our press conference date already which is 19th of june, 2008. we simply can't afford any more delay.
the first master has rolled off highs and hence duller sounding, less airiness/ambience. it also has less microdynamics. we gave our honest feedback to keith and he did exactly what the doctor ordered in the 2nd master. the 2nd master compromises very little on the highs and it is tonally very balanced. the gain is also very nicely leveled. the nuances and details of the original mix are still maintained. most importantly, the spirits and musicality of the whole album is still kept alive in the 2nd master.
the great thing about both masters is that it both sound "analogue" and "meaty", exactly what i wanted all along.
the 2nd master convinced me that mastering is indeed better (more pros than cons) if done right. the original mix is like zhang ziyi without the makeup and wardrobe makeover; the mastering is like zhang ziyi ready for the hollywood assault. listening to the original mix now sounds raw, thin and uneven, though the ambience and details are a tad better than the mastered version. you get some, you lose some.
on the sonic score card, i would give the 2nd master (hence our final version) a 75-80% (a solid B+). though it doesn't cross the A-grade mark yet by my own high standards, i am more than satisfied already as this is our first attempt.
sorry guys for testing your patience. with the master now approved by me, we are ready to duplicate the CD in hk and we should be ready to launch the album online in 2 weeks' time.
my fingers are fully crossed ;-)
make sure you have your speakers on. the sound quality, even from pc speakers, is commendable. but on notebooks, it sounds terribly thin and emotionless.
note: the loading of the songs is rather slow - please be patient.
[commentary]
[1] coming home - this is winnie ho's award-winning song; it is also the song which many people associate her with. unlike previous versions sung by winnie, this version has a slower build-up and milder climaxes. winnie has purposely lightened up the song with less emotional intensity. she has grown up as a singer and she wants the audience to appreciate a more mature version of this classic song. roger's guitar is light and simple, fully letting the vocalist to take the center stage.
[2] snowy love - this is a tracy huang's classic, made popular by faye wong. regine's rendition is appropriately sweet without overdoing it. this is one of the most accessible love songs in the album. nothing complicated, just pure sweet music.
[3] endless love - this is the boldest interpretation in the whole album! a passionate love song being transformed into a bossa nova, roger's creativity is most evident on the guitar solo where he infuses a decidedly latin feel to the song. the two singers also ad-libbed a lot in the last part (not in the edited version here), making the whole rendition rather adventurous and fun.
[4] airport at 10:30 - a david tao's r&b classic, this song will make most guitarists frown in frustration on working out a groove/rhythm in the guitar solo. i suppose only roger wang can do it. winnie ho is having a hell of good time in singing this song; she doesn't seem like she wants to stop.
[5] tempting hearts - my fave in this album. there is so much outpouring emotions in this song that makes it memorable. regine's rendition made me weep the first time i heard it (she also broke down after singing this song in the studio) and roger's guitar solo is so heartbreakingly gorgeous. try to listen to this song alone at night with your hifi on, a glass of red wine, lights dimmed, and you will understand.
[6] march - my producer, chow's original work, march is not easy to sing at all. roger has attempted many arrangements for this song. at the end, we settled for one with a bit of "swing" feel. there is a certain sadness of helplessness in this song, if only you know the meaning behind the lyrics.
this is the most exciting news to us - music label rock in music of hong kong has agreed to distribute 2v1g in hong kong and taiwan!
just how many "new" artists get to break into international market with its debut album? we are so lucky!
the icing on the cake is that keith yip, the boss of rock in, finds our recording "very good" and "is good enough for release as audiophile cd". he also likes the music, altho' "it may not appeal to those who want more than a solo guitar accompaniment".
my engineer, vong, was the happiest man on earth! mark my words, vong is gonna be the most sought after audiophile-grade recording engineer in malaysia after the launch of 2v1g!
we spent 2 hours working on the sequence of the songs in the album 
why must all the good things happen all at once? i am certainly not complaining.
tonight i met up with my reviewer, let's call him "t" for now. he is the first person who volunteers to write for me, after a futile search for more than one year. not only is "t" a nice person, he is experienced enough to review high-end gear for me! what a pleasant surprise! i was half expecting an aspiring newbie...
i hope "t" would also add some spice to this blog and make it less lonely for me.
i have finally listened to the final mix of 2v1g. what can i say - it moved me to tears. the recording is first-class. imagine a malaysian recording engineer achieving this feat, quick remarkable.
those of my friends who have sampled some tracks off the album, they have all increased their orders to multiple copies cos they want to give the CDs to their friends. i was moved to bits.
so the CD will leave for hong kong today for mastering by keith yip. we have also decided to press in HK since the pressing factories in malaysia are mainly owned and operated by pirates. so the CDs will come into malaysia with an "imported" sticker.
also a bonus news, very likely keith yip will distribute the cd for us in hk and taiwan. so essentially 2v1g will be going international. very cool.
i am doing all the marketing and promotion for the cd from now until its launch on 18th may 2008. we predict the internet sales will beat the retail sales. i will be meeting the press and many more media people in the next 2 months. i love this sort of thing ;-)
we are at the final stages of our year-long project - mastering by HK audiophile guru, keith yip of rock in music!
2V1G is gonna be the first chinese acoustic pop group in malaysia that uses the alternative media (blog) to launch its internet pre-sales starting 18th may 2008!
we have created a superb blog complete with mp3 playlist and purchase details for the CD.
we will soon be announcing the new blog here!
[p/s] do you like the black-n-white cover? ultra kool, ain't it? it is designed by creative director, eddie hor of black box, one of the biggest entertainment hub in malaysia. eddie's idea is to create a theme for the album which is "music in motion". we all like it very much!
if a woman's looks can sail a thousand ships, then her voice can probably move mountains. that's exactly how i feel in the studio tonight, after listening to a few tracks off the album.
tonight, we celebrate the completion of 2v1g's recording. after an arduous 6 months, we have finally cleared the first hurdle and it is definitely a major milestone.
the recording is made difficult because of the nature of one-take (without edit). every little off-pitch notes by the singer - no matter how insignificant - is amplified in a very stark manner due to the minimalist approach of using just one guitar and a voice. every mistake is discernible and that puts a lot of stress on our singers. there were times when the going got tough, i.e. when the singers were not in their best conditions, and we normally called it a day on a futile note.
as we listen to some of the best chosen tracks, my producer quipped that "we better don't listen too much, cos some of these ballads can make us grown men cry". he is spot-on, i could feel my body shiver in total emotional involvement when i listened to regine tai's "tempting hearts", one of my all-time-fave ballads. it is such a tear-jerking interpretation; like what today youngsters call - very "emo" stuff.
what follows next is final mixing by our recording engineer and mastering by keith yip, the audiophile guru from HK, also the ex-boss of audiophile singer susan wong.
my engineer has mixed a track and let me listen on my home reference system. i am very pleased as the recording, even without mastering, is definitely audiophile quality.
barring any unforseen circumstances, we would be launching 2V1G in mid-may 2008.
i am sweating in anticipation. this is gonna be real good.
roger wang - the outstanding young person of sabah award
first of all, belated congrats to our guitar man, roger wang. the junior chamber international kota kinabalu named roger wang "the outstanding young person of sabah" (TOYPS) for the cultural & artistic achievement category at a grand gala dinner on September 9, 2007.
TOYPS is a prestigious award organised by the JCI to recognise young Sabahan and Malaysian individuals in Sabah who have dedicated themselves to the progress or welfare of the community at large. These individuals have excelled in their field of profession, practice and endeavour and while some are known by the public, others have worked in obscurity making them unsung heroes of their field.
we (as in 2V1G and the producers) were invited to appear in stella inflight's IFE (inflight entertainment) chinese programme for the february CNY and valentine's slot. stellar group of companies, originated from australia offers a myriad of services, and its subsidiary, stellar inflight, provides IFE for several major airlines in the region. its clients include malaysian airline, qantas, air brunei and air new zealand.
frequent flyers would know that the IFE would invariably have a channel for chinese pop songs, with a host introducing the songs and some guest stars being interviewed.
stella inflight's office is located in damansara perdana and the office is posh and classy. the studio itself would have cost a few million dollars to set up, with good sound proofing (luxurious wood-paneling) and some serious pro gear. regine knows the audio engineer there, mr. edmus wong and suprise suprise the host for the progamme, happens to be a long-lost friend of mine, ms. amanda chong, a former RTM newscaster and drama actress.
the session was fun and lively and our girls (winnie and regine) answered every question posed by amanda with eloquence and intelligence. in fact, one thing i am proud about our singers is that they are both intelligent and articulate and speak perfect mandarin, besides have a great ability to sing.
of course, roger wang couldn't join us. in fact, we didn't reveal the trio's name, as "2V1G" is still a tentative name.
so, travellers who fly MAS, QANTAS, air new zealand and happen to travel in the "eventful" month of february, remember to tune in to the chinese pop channel!
in the mean time, we still have 6 more songs to go before we wrap up the recording. we want to complete it by the end of this month so that we would leave january for the all-important mixing and mastering. i have been asked frequently by many friends - when is the record out? thanks for the interest, guys!
the whole production team went to no black tie tonight and watched the singer-songwriters round organized by pete teo.
it was a stunning night of good music and exemplary showmanship. of the four singer-songwriters, pete teo and mia palencia stood heads and shoulders above the rest. mia was especially outstanding. from a top-notch jazz vocalist to a guitar-playing singer-songwriter, her progress in music is nothing sort of phenomenal. both regine and winnie were so enthralled by mia's performance that winnie uncontrollably uttered to me halfway thru the show, "leslie, i think i want to quit 2V1G project now. mia makes me feel so small and little." i can empathize with her because when you compare chinese pop delivery with western pop delivery, the latter is so much more expressive and entertaining. the right words to use on mia palencia are "commanding presence". she is such a entertainer on stage; she is born for the stage and she belongs there.
the same goes for pete teo. he is such a natural performer. whether you like his music or not, you can't deny that this seasoned troubadour is witty, charming and convincing on stage. from loud sing-alongs to tiny whispers, pete had the audience sitting on the edge of their seats to savour every minute of his poetry. he is so very good.
back to the studio, regine was recording one of my fave songs in the album, 心动 (tempting hearts). for reasons best known to her, she started weeping during one of the takes and we have to take a short break because of that. female singers are sensitive souls; they can weep when the sentiments call for it. we wonder if the song touches her or that she is frustrated with herself for not getting the right feel for the song.
from commanding diva to weeping songstress, music makes the world go round. my world, for sure.
tonight's recording session ended earlier than expected cos our winnie girl is tired and totally off form. her voice is lethargic and uninspired. my producer decided to call the session off.
regine had earlier recorded 黄莺莺 (tracy huang) 哭砂 (crying) in the afternoon. i took a listen. it was a very emotive and excellent recording.
we will be taking tomorrow's evening off to attend the singer-songwriter round in no black tie. mia palencia and pete teo will the artistes performing at the gig.
have you ever fallen in love just by listening to your fave singer(s) singing infront of you? seriously, you should experience that at least once in your lifetime.
tonight we begin the all-important stage of our recording - vocal recording. previously, our singers have only been practising leisurely while roger played his guitar. now they have to sing like a real pro. and sing they did. and i was practically moved to tears, not to mention my goose bumps were all raised.
the AKG mic gives out superb tonality - clear, rich, layered and textured. listening to winnie's voice coming out from AKG is worth a million dollars. my dealer-friend michael describes this experience succinctly - "so sweet and full of emotions that one is salivating and perspiring over with excitement". yes, it is that superb. our astro champ is simply the best malaysian singer that i have ever heard in a long time. our recording engineer, vong and producer, chow, kept joking that winnie sounded a lot like fish leong, their former protege, in certain parts of the singing. i interjected and said that winnie is even better than fish leong because she has a wider vocal range and a far more expressive voice. whereas winnie commented the similarities could be due to the fact that both fish and her like sandy lam a lot and they were influenced heavily by sandy.
singing in duet 陈洁仪 kit chan's [喜欢你] (liking you), winnie is all sweet and demure (you can detect her smiling when she sings) while regine is equally convincing with her dulcet voice and her healing-from-love-lost voice. i even dare to say if kit chan were to listen to it, she would approve it instantly.
it was exciting and eye-opening too to see how my producer, chow, "designs" the two-part duet with vocal backup and harmonization. i can tell you that only with the right vocal backup and harmonization the song will come alive. it is like decorative accessories on a beautiful woman; with the right accessories, a beautiful woman will look even more radiant and sparkling. ditto for a good song. it is beautiful to hear how winnie and regine backs up each other in the duet.
i was foolish to listen too much to the raw mix cd from the practice sessions, half knowing that the raw mix is the worst and rawest version of the recording (even worse than demo), and made some premature conclusions. the raw mix is supposedly just a guide and should be listened only by the producers and singers and not third-parties. i will be wiser the next time around.
if the ensuing 11 songs are as good as this one then i will go completely gaga. i can't stand such subliminal delivery. i will die of extreme joy and enjoyment.
absolutely incredible.
p/s i can't take photos as i don't want to disturb our singers during vocal recording
roger showed his real substance in the last session of the recording, a positive sign that he is getting the hang of playing chinese ballads. which poses a question to us - are we going to re-do the previous songs? in the end, we chose to re-do 3 songs from the last two sessions.
it was great delight to see the real roger wang at play, his full mastery is evident in the jazz-meets-classical-meets-pop song [我要我们在一起] ("we want us to be together", original sung by 范晓萱 mavis fan) where it takes a guitarist of the highest order to emulate the piano prelude of the original song. winnie was visibly impressed with roger's arrangement and if all goes well, this is going to be our hit single.
as an indication of roger's come of age with chinese ballads, we did a record 7 songs in the short span of 3 days, with most songs taking only 4 takes to complete. that was a remarkable feat. even roger himself is pleased with his productivity. so we rewarded him with more pork dishes! i think out guitar man has put on weights after his 3 trips to kl!
we re-do the guitar for [回家] "coming home" as we felt that winnie's intensity doesn't not match roger's casual picking. in the end, roger added more appergios and winnie reducing her rubato to make the whole song faster and less draggy. this is going to be one refreshing cover!
my favourites for this session, apart of from winnie's [我要我们在一起], is regine's [心动] (tempting hearts). the guitar intro by roger is heartbreakingly beautiful; it pierces thru the listener's heart and make it bleed, this is the most romantic song of the album. regine's rendition has the appropriate measure of romantic sentiments too. superb ballad!
two dealers, wong tatt yew of audio note and michael ng of audio creation respectively, paid a visit to the studio over the weekend. i guess that now that they have witnessed our recording process, they would have no choice but to give me sponsorship money ;-)
as we bid farewell to roger at the LCCT airport, my producer chow shook hands with roger and said, "thanks for the talents, roger". i guess that sums up our sentiments towards our guitarist, without whom this project would never be complete.
recording is a arduous process and roger is not the kind of marathon musician that can go on and on. a lot of times, when we felt that he wasn't in the right mood in giving the right "feel" for the song, we would take a break or a short rest.
and for the past two sessions, we have been consuming this superb pork intestine soup in shamelin food court and the ming kee's BBQ pork just opposite our studio, respectively. roger fell in love with this soup instantly and he had been consuming it almost everyday. it works wonders! many a times, after the lunch break, roger would slow down considerably (due to full stomach, we suppose) and start to play really mellow and 'in the mood'. we were all shocked by the dramatic effect! even winnie, who thinks consuming chilli would help her to open up her vocal chord, would start to sing better and get into the right mood.
so, the joke among us is that if you ever feel uninspired, take some pork!
X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
the photo shooting in yippieyaya studio in kelana jaya is a truly fun session. the two gals were all dressed to the nine by our image consultant. even roger looked smart throughout, tho' he wasn't use this this kind of elaborate shooting.
i have never been to a full-day shooting session so this is some sort of an eye opener for me too. the trio was given 3 costume sets and they have to pose for individual shots as well as team shots. i managed to capture some of these on my camera but it didn't turn up well.
the shooting is really for our album cover, poster and other promo materials in the future. we are spending close to RM8K for this whole thing, quite a lot of money if you ask me. but looking at the creative work done by the photography team, i am happy to say that every sen is worth it.
for the album cover concept, our creative director eddy mooted the concept of "music in motion". so he wanted the three members of 2V1G to be in a moving state, instead of posing still. it was so fun to see the three of them jumping, dancing, and moving about randomly in front of the camera! even roger, who initially seemed reluctant to join in the fun, started to relax and really participate in the shooting. needless to say, regine and winnie had a field day posing in front of the camera!
i dare to say that our album cover is gonna be real cool.
the AKG mic was stolen on the same day we had our photo shooting. this is the incidence that marred what has been so far a perfect time for all of us involved in the project.
roger was feeling slightly better on 2nd day so we began our recording of the guitar for two of the tracks, "more than friends" and "coming home".
our recording method is to record vocal and guitar on separate tracks. we want to record guitar first with our singers singing at the same time. once the guitar part is done, we can take our own sweet time to concentrate on the vocals. this approach can "free up" roger since he is not based in kl and he can't spend more than 3 days in kl.
for "more than friends", it took close to 10 takes before jin liang is happy. it is apparent that roger was struggling doing chinese ballads for the first time. the tempo was much too slow than what he used to with double take and farid ali's no strings attached.
doing "coming home" was much easier tho' as it took only 4 takes. we were all gasping when roger started doing a "line" guitar (a 2nd track added to the 1st), a solo interlude that was gorgeously, heartachingly beautiful. i looked at winnie when the guitar solo came out, we couldn't believe any guitarist can do such magical improvisation.... we were amazed, impressed, touched and moved, all at the same time. "coming home" is gonna be our single, for sure. for the first time, i witnessed the magic of a line guitar... gosh, it is breathlessly beautiful!
the 3rd day saw roger smiling and getting more talkative as he had recovered a fair bit. we have two more songs to cover on the last day of our first session. we started with "march", a personal favourite of mine, composed by jin liang. naturally, jin liang's expectations were high; as a composer only he knows the love story behind this beautiful song. roger attempted many times but didn't manage to satisfy jin liang. our producer wanted roger to give a very sad, lonely and mellow tone to the song and he thinks roger's playing is too fast and too "happy". everyone was getting exhausted so we ended up with a "not-too-bad" version of the guitar but all of us instinctively know that jin liang wasn't happy. in all likelihood, we want roger to re-do this song when he returns next week, after having a deeper appreciation of the song and the story behind it.
the last song is "endless love" that we wanted roger to do a bossa nova arrangement. roger sat down, armed with his mac laptop and his maton, and he did it within one hour. the end result is a latin-infused tune that is completely different from the original 'feel' of the song and that's what we wanted. winnie was visibly impressed with roger's improvisation and she kept uttering "i like it! i like it!". i smiled approvingly.
by 6pm, we have completed recording the guitar part for the last two songs for this session, and roger was ready to head to LCCT for his "journey home". during the journey, roger admitted to me that he faced some difficulties on the first two days, mainly because he has never played anything that slow and sentimental before but now he's got the hang of it, he is happy. to him, it is a minor breakthru working with a chinese producer of jin liang's calibre. i am so glad that he sees it that way! on a funnier note, roger himself has started humming to the songs!
the first session ended well with roger himself immersing himself more and more into the songs and our two singers getting to know each other better and work out the chemistry. we are all happy but we are sure we can even do better in the next session which begins this saturday.
for me, it was an exhilarating session witnessing "the making of 2V1G". having winnie and regine singing infront of me is already a blessing, what more can i ask for?
i can't wait for the arrival of the AKG mic and witness winnie pours her heart and soul in "coming home" when she begins the vocal recording next week.
i woke up at 8am today, feeling restless and eager to start the long-awaited rehearsal. meanwhile, my ps audio xstream statement sc power cord has arrived. first listen, it is already better than the old one with more refined highs and sharper focus. my system is going to reach another milestone. yet i am so restless, restless, restless...
roger arrived at my house at 1:40pm by cab. two ladies, regine and yaya, our A&R lady were already waiting while enjoying music thru my system. i must tell you that the ladies were amazed by the sound of my system :-)
having a bad flu, our guitar man is under the weather so i told my producer that we won't stretch him and end the session late. our purpose for the day is to rehearse and test out the chemistry between the singers and roger.
the rain started during our lunch at around 2pm. regine joked that it was a good sign cos rain means money in cantonese hence 2V1G should make it big. she is such an adorable lady.
we reached cheras flyination studio at 3:10pm. winnie came 10 min later. our producer, jin liang, came at 3:30pm.
so the first rehearsal officially kicked off...
first song, "march", sees roger introducing some signature roger wang style. after only 2 takes, we were pretty much happy with his arrangement. it is simple song that does not require much technicality. regine isn't really in top form; she complained of slight throat problem.
we proceed to rehearse "coming home", winnie's signature and award-winning song. this song has won her the astro talent quest 2000 and some think that she sings even better than the original singer, shunza. winnie, being a perfectionist and a real pro she is, wasn't happy with certain parts of roger's arrangement and after a few trials, we sort of agreed to winnie's suggestion. the is a beautiful song only a singer of winnie's calibre can carry. suffice to say that winnie stunned everyone in the room with her emotive and ultra sensitive rendition. i could feel that regine is sweating :-) i was quite shaken. i couldn't believe that she can sing this song so heartbreakingly beautiful time after time.
the third song is a duet "more than friends". jin liang offered a lot of suggestions to make the duet interesting. it was meant as a "competition" between the two ladies and dare i say, both sang well.
by 6pm, we had already finalized the arrangement for the 3 songs and recorded a demo tape for reference purpose. we wanted to end the session early so that roger could go back early and take a good rest.
we reached home at around 9pm (roger is staying with me) and i quickly played the demo tape in my AV system. it became obvious that we are making a great great album. while there are imperfections like regine's throat and roger's flu, it was clear that my vision for 2V1G is spot-on. winnie, in particular, shines like a thorough gem. i bet she would rock the whole industry with this album. don't believe, just wait and see.
my main concern at this point is that the transparent audio power isolator 8 (PI8) is totally new and it would require at least 100 hours to break-in. moreover, our super-duper AKG mic hasn't arrived yet. i have a funny feeling that this session is pure experiment only.
for me, it is an experience of a lifetime to go into studio and witness the whole process, from a to z. i would cherish this for the rest of my life.
if you are a true music lover and audiophile, you really should try making an album of your own :-)
gotta sleep now... so tired. another exciting day ahead tomorrow!
the production team celebrating regine's birthday
the "2V" in 2V1G - winnie ho and regine tai
today is the eve of the recording and we had our production meeting to finalize a few things, most important of all is the key for those songs sung by winnie since she was absent in the last few meetings.
winnie is given the most technically demanding songs, the kind that can cripple any lesser singers. classic song like 太傻 (too silly, by eric moo 巫启贤) is not to be taken lightly. only two singers have dared to sing it before and it is eric himself and mindy quah (柯以敏). the song goes from very low to very high note, requiring the singer to sing the whole chorus without taking any breath. even a singer of winnie's calibre choked herself during the practice. she says she needs to practise hard in order to sing it well. our intention is to create a thick and meaty vocal, so eventho winnie can hit the high note, we rather that she sing one or two keys lower so the overall vocal is thick. so, we ended up choosing A flat, E flat... which is terribly difficult for the guitarist, unless he uses a capo. but for someone of roger's ability, we don't see any major problems.
it is a tremendously enjoyable and enlightening session for me to see our singers scale their vocals to choose the right key.
on the technical side, we managed to loan the transparent audio power isolator 8 (PI8) from tong lee as our reference power management system. i may want to compare the PI8 with hydra and RGPC, given a chance.
the most significant thing is we have bought the AKG C12VR condenser mic! retailing at over RM30K++, it is definitely a heavy investment for us but i have a feeling that it is gonna worth every sen we spent...
a momentous event is going to unfold starting tomorrow...
we are considering buying the famed AKG C12VR mic for 2V1G recording!
if i am not mistaken, this mic is used in the recording of cai qin's "jin pian zhi".
production of the original C 12 ceased in 1963, and over the years it gradually became a sought-after collectors' item, a legendary recording instrument acclaimed worldwide for its exquisite sound. now, it's back. the new C 12 VR is true to the original C 12's electronic and acoustic design with only subtle refinements (made possible by modern manufacturing techniques and improvements in basic circuit components) incorporated to increase overall robustness and reduce susceptibility to hum and noise.
this is how serious we are with this recording.
the production schedule is out - 2V1G recording is gonna kick off next wednesday, 26th september 2007 at flyination studio in shamelin cheras ! There will initially be 3 separate sessions, each in september, october and november respectively. the launch will tentatively be on 16th january 2008.
after months of planning and discussing, everyone is eagerly awaiting its commencement. there has been all talk so far on the possible chemistry between roger wang and our two female singers but we have yet to see it. Oh, by the way, winnie ho won the grand prize of an international singing conbtest just last week, held in taipei. we are so proud of her! go winnie go!
on recording, we find that previous albums produced by our recording engineer still have a relatively high level of background noise (when played on my system) compared to the best of audiophile reference cds. so i am begging CMY to loan me the UK-plug fitted richard gray to be used in our recording studio. chan of CMY told me that they are out of stock at the moment but he will check with his customers if they can loan one unit to us for just 3 days in the first session. i am keeping my fingers crossed.
first day, wednesday, is just practice, practice and practice. our two singers are totally familiar with the songs already; they will have to sing to roger's new arrangements. wouldn't you want to know how roger wang play to chinese pop music?
vocal recording will start late on thursday afternoon. it is normal for singers to "open up" their vocal chords only after late afternoon, even susan wong attests to that :-) i have warned my producer to be extremely strict on the singers - i want them to deliver their best.
tomorrow is my big presentation to the creative and marketing team of absolute CMG entertainment (event organizer)and blackbox productions on how to manage 2V1G and come out with a marketing plan.
my adrenalin is rushing... i am basking in positive vibes and excitement :-)
