Welcome to the beginnings of The Lab, where SumBuddies can get a sneak peek into the madness and creative flow of the SumGuys! Here you'll find rough cuts, drafts, sketches, musings, and other audio odds and ends. Soon this will be in a blog format which you can subscribe to. Click here for more info about the lab and the stuff you'll find here!

+ Trio Work
Billy Goat, version 1.1.2
Fretless, version 1.1
Hands Down, version 1.1
Try, version 1.1.2
Try Again, version 1.1.2
More, version 1.1.2

+ Solo Work
Fortune Cookie, version 1.1

+ Spoken Word
Basement Bard, version 1.0
El Nino My Ass, version 1.0
Sacrament, version 1.1

So, what's up with the numbers on the song titles?
The first number indicates whether the recording was done in the studio (1), or live performance (2). The second number indicates the version, and the third number indicates the mix. So, 1.1.2 would be the second mix of the first studio version of a piece. This is mostly to help us keep track as we move files around, but some may find it interesting to track the evolution of a particular piece over time if several versions are released.

What're we listening to?
These recordings (posted January and April 2010) were made in the process of putting this system together, and were done in single takes with no overdubs, and perhaps a bit of beer, just to test the system. They were not intended for release, but hey, that’s what you find in a lab! We’ve added some reverb and tweaked the EQ a little, but the mistakes are left intact. It’s kind of fun to listen to us scramble to recover! The one exception is “Billy Goat” which was mixed by SumOtherGuy and Eric Frank at Eric’s studio in Wenatchee. Obviously Eric is a very patient man! The track features our typical instruments lineup: acoustic guitar, standup bass, some cymbals and a cardboard box.

Whatcha workin' with?
The actual Lab is located in SumGuy’s house, and is equipped with an early model 16 track audio recorder, with very limited editing capabilities. We're currently using three mics for percussion, direct ins for the standup bass and guitar, and two vocal mics.