 Yamaha and Guster make tracksYamahaPosted 2001-09-30 Rising Rock Band Uses AW4416 Workstation to Write Songs on and off the Road. It's been six years since Brian Rosenworcel, Ryan Miller and Adam Gardner met at Tufts University in Medford, MA. Back then, the trio often spent time reminiscing about their respective high school bands. Finding inspiration in their glory days and a desire to continue on a music-making path, the three joined forces to create Guster, self-described as a melodic-driven rock band.
Since their formation and one independently-released debut, Parachute, the band signed to Sire London and has toured with such notables as Barenaked Ladies, Dave Matthews Band, and Bob Dylan. For the uninitiated, Guster's last radio single was 2000's "Fa Fa," which received rotation on top 40 and AC radio stations as well as MTV.
In his early days, Dylan did not have all the high-tech recording gear available today. However, the members of Guster are well aware of what's out there now, and take full advantage of modern technology. An important element in their songwriting is a Yamaha AW4416 digital workstation with internal CD-R.
While the pen and paper will never go out of style, Guster has been successfully using the Yamaha AW4416 to create "sketches," singer/guitarist Gardner says, of its songs. "We're writers. We're not trying to make perfect-sounding recordings, but we want to get our ideas onto CD. The AW4416 lets us burn those ideas right to disc."
Built for compatibility, the AW4416 supports the "swapping" of projects between studios, a feature that comes in handy. Guster writes on [Digidesign] Pro Tools in the studio and "Yamaha sketches can be brought into that," Gardner explains. "We can export WAV files to Pro Tools powerful option in a portable unit."
As one of two guitarists in the band, Gardner also appreciates the "plug-and-play" ability of the workstation. "The thing I like is that you can set it up anywhere. It's very portable, it's an idea machine. So, if I stumble onto something amazing, I can plug directly in. I also love the built-in effects. As far as vocals are concerned, we can dump a stereo pair of what we're working on in the studio to the AW and overdub on top. If we think the quality is good enough, it could make it to a final mix."
The band is currently at work on their fourth studio release (set to drop in early 2002), and already has an eye on the road. Taking a seat with them on the tour bus, says Gardner, will be the AW4416.
"The fact that it's portable and can take your project from start to finish is amazing," he says. "You can go from zero to a final disc. The virtual tracks are great, with several layers of undos. The editing is fairly easy to use, which is ideal for writing. Plus, the internal effects eliminate the need for a lot of outboard gear."
An important quality to both Gardner and the band is user-friendliness. "We're not out to be tech-heads," he explains, "we just want to write and create songs. The AW4416 seems to be targeted to the 'everyday' musician. The basic recording techniques are simple and self-explanatory, and the learning curve is easy for those looking to jump right in. It's easy to use for simple functions, but if you want to get deeper into the machine, you can."
For more information on the AW4416 Professional Audio Workstation, write Yamaha Corporation of America, Professional Audio, P.O. Box 6600, Buena Park, CA 90622; telephone (714) 522-9011; e-mail infostation@yamaha.com; or visit www.yamaha.com/proaudio.
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