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Home > MonaLisa News > 1st Live-CD-Production

Our first Live-CD-Production

On this page we want to tell you a little bit about our first big CD production. Well, we did already record a CD with 6 songs in 2006 - it was a birthday-CD for our grandpa Franz. But in those days we didn't have much clue on how professional recording works and we also couldn't play that well yet.

This time it was a much bigger dimension, at least we had 24 songs with more ambitious arrangements. After practicing our song repertory over several months we were already more familiar with recording techniques and electronic devices, so our Dad didn't have to tell us each single step anymore. By reading our review of our first live CD production, you will be part of how and what we did in our recording studio.

The Live-Concerts

You know that we gave our two live concerts at the end of September and beginning of October 2007. From these concerts we wanted to produce a live CD for our audience. First we weren't sure if we shouldn't make a studio-version before that. But as we promised our live concert audience a fast live recording of the concerts we decided to do it this way:

First produce the live CD, that means to take the live recording, correct the gross mistakes, a little finish and done. The goal was to hand out the live CD before Christmas 2007.

Then record a studio-CD. This is in process right now. Most likely we will not record all 24 songs of our live concert but take also some new songs from our next program. Anyway this studio CD will be a real professional CD with all the frills. But that we will tell you in the chapter 1st Studio-CD-Production.

How we produced our Live-CD

"Mona Lisa and Band Live in Concert Franzensdorf 2007" CD cover

That's the cover of our first CD Mona Lisa and Band Live in Concert Franzensdorf 2007.

Left you can see the cover of our first live CD. Hasn't it become lovely? *smile* The great concert pictures we owe to our grandpa and Michaela did the artwork.

But now let's shift attention to the history of our cute CD: At the concert our Dad recorded each single instrument and each single voice via microphones into the mixing console. One song therefore is a mixture of many different sound tracks which result in the known sound when played together.

For the live CD we basically wanted to keep the tracks original, except those parts we did not play correctly at the concert. While we re-recorded these parts in the studio we discovered that other tracks were not recorded correctly by the mixing console. Our Daddy didn't notice that first, because adults lose the ability to hear very high frequencies in the course of their lifetime. But for our bat ears it was clearly hearable.

Our Dad then found out that some sort of interface card inside the mixing console was defect and generated real high frequencies when played back on the computer. It sounded awfully and let become the instruments totally metallic and tinny. So we first had to buy a new interface card. That was not so easy as it obviously is quite a rarity. To be on the safe side we have two of them now. Who knows how long they will be obtainable.

Here you can sneak a peek behind the scenes: That's one part of our recording studio with our instruments and technical equipment.

Suddenly we had a lot more to do, as we also needed to re-record the parts which were unusable only because of the technical defect. However it took us the whole October and November 2007 to re-take the damaged tracks, whereby we always adhered to the live-recording. We did not correct e.g. tempo changes like they sometimes occur at live concerts. We purposely left them uncorrected in order not to take away the live feeling.

The studio work brought us a lot of fun. We were able to play without disturbance and we weren't so nervous like at the concert. We laughed a lot and did many stupid things. One time, for example, it happened that the computer program put Mona's voice (singing "Wild World") on top of the instrumental tracks of "Ain't no sunshine". Coincidentally the harmonies/chords of these two songs fit together without sounding wrong, but yet quite odd as the "Wild World" lyrics become extremely slow and long-drawn-out. Surprisingly a very interesting version was the result and perhaps one day we will do something with it. However we were rolling on the floor laughing.

Mona recording her guitar part of Samba Pa Ti. - There was no cheating!

But working in the studio was also rather hard when we spent hours in the recording room going through particular, difficult parts. And our Daddy really was without mercy - there was absolutely no cheating! But as we got our teeth into the music so much, we again have profitted enormously. With the computer software you can see exactly where and how much you missed the correct tone and if you were too fast/too slow. The software has no compassion.

All in all, producing a professional CD in a recording studio was a new and wonderful experience. How many musicians are dreaming of that! Somehow crazy that we were able to do that with only 13 years! When we were spending our evenings in the studio with our Dad, recording some further parts, very often quite funny situations came up, like the one we described above. Of course, the atmosphere wasn't always top, because sometimes there are different ideas on one and the same thing when people are working together. But most of the time it was very pleasant to work in the team. Except when the software or the entire computer crashed again, our Dad freaked out, but that's understandable!

Because of the time pressure caused by the techical problem with the defect mixing console we had to work quickly and without dawdling in order to get the CD done before Christmas 2007. But in retrospect it was a good feeling to accomplish that much in such a short time period.

On the screen you can see the single tone tracks which our Dad then mixed professionally.

After Michaela, Daddy and we finally had re-recorded all necessary tracks, our Daddy had to mix and master everything. While Michaela already worked on the creation of this website, we tried to support our Dad with the technical stuff as well as we could. Yes, he also showed us how to use the software programs.

Now we also know a little bit about handling music software and some day we will be able to do it all by ourselves. But at the moment our Dad has the lion's share. And we are very happy that he is doing all that for us. He was in the studio day and night, and we mean that literally. We are actually surprised that he still wants to hear the songs J.


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Well, and now we hurl ourselves into the next adventure - the studio CD. What we are planning for that project you can read on the page 1st Studio-CD-Production.

It's so exciting!

Kizz, MonaLisa

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