Zeptepland

11/14/2024

Just wrapped on a few projects with the immensely talented Emily Judson Band & her amazing team. Keep your ears peeled because there are fantastic things ahead!

11/14/2024

Congrats to .band_ on finishing recording their first two songs as a band at Zeptepland! On to mixing. Good things coming!

10/16/2024

Fun week in NY attending the AES (Audio Engineering Society) convention for the first time - reaffirming where the music industry is currently at, where it's going, and continuing to be educated on what's important and worthwhile on the business side as well as the technological side, so I can best serve and advise everyone who comes through Zeptepland in all facets of music production and the music business. I was also lucky enough to spend time in a couple of phenomenal studios (THUMP and the legendary Hit Factory), see the great Marcos Valle in concert, reconnect with old friends, make new friends, and be reminded of why I loved living there when I did. I came of age in New York, and somehow, as far away as I live now, I continue to.

09/06/2024

Owning a recording studio is an adventure. People sometimes ask "why don't you have this $10,000 microphone or that $8,000 piece of gear," but often don't realize there's so much more that goes into owning, operating, and repairing a working studio. It's not only the gear, it's the building itself.

The room acoustics and sound-proofing need to remain solid throughout the life of the studio. Buildings and foundations move and settle; materials degrade. So when something compromises the isolation shell and/or room acoustics, it needs to be dealt with swiftly and precisely. Replacing doors and seals, caulking, painting. Days like today don't involve any music whatsoever, only caring for the structure itself.

Add in maintaining the microphones, gear, and instruments, and taking care of the client amenities such as the pool and landscaping. Then there's booking, invoicing, accounting, phone calls and emails, website and social media, meetings, planning setups, studying for what needs to be bought or fixed, and the actual work of recording and mixing. It's a lot. Zeptepland isn't funded by outside investors like a billionaire, it isn't affiliated with a university or any other institution, it doesn't have anyone on staff besides myself. It's operated and maintained on my own personal blood, sweat and tears (and a lot of cables). It's my life's work and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

08/14/2024

Did you know that at Zeptepland, you have the option to record on a real upright piano? Our in-house 1964 Wurlitzer has appeared on countless recordings, spanning a wide variety of genres from jazz to rock to R&B. There's nothing like the real thing.

08/01/2024

I've had the pleasure of working on a handful of Wild Cow albums for my pals .omalley & over the years. Our latest collaboration is now out on vinyl through (link in my bio)!! Grab a copy while you can! Also streaming everywhere.

As always with Wild Cow, I mixed and played a bunch of instruments on the album. The mixes were all tested on the beaches of Oahu, so listen to this one out in the sun & by the water 🌴🏖️🌴

06/26/2024

Scenes from a session X. Spent a couple of days getting the foundations laid for 4 .band_ singles. With the band being massively inspired by 70s prog rock, I knew I wanted an early 70s Yes / Bill Bruford-style drum sound. The drums on those albums have a very strong center image with kick and snare sitting big and punchy. Being prog-inspired, Krysis has a big drum kit. Because the Zeptepland room is so pleasing for drums, it made sense to not close mic all 7 toms. Instead, I went for wider stereo mic arrays that were intricately placed in order to have both a very solid center image of kick and snare, and an expansive stereo image. With the help of giving me valuable input from his perch in Nashville, we settled on overheads in NOS configuration and added a single AKG 414 in wide cardioid in the middle to enhance the center image. At the front of the kit, I used the AEA N8s in Blumlein configuration. These ribbon mics tamed the bright cymbals and gave depth and low end definition to the kick and toms. Behind the drummer, I placed an AEA R92 about head-height and toward center image to add a little more body to the whole thing and have a mic that more closely mimicked what was hearing back there. Overall, we got a very well defined center image of kick and snare, great width on the toms and cymbals, and something that celebrated the inspirations of Krysis while still forging their own sound.

05/31/2024

Been working on a really fun project of my own, which also doubles as time I get to experiment with my gear without the pressures of someone else's time, money and creative reserves. Let's get technical about it.

In this case, I wanted to get a punchy, but warm, 70s style drum sound (but not quite as dead & gated). I used the N8s as overheads for the first time, which gave us an incredibly warm and spacious sound, with the cymbals being nicely tamed. I did a mid/side array up front with an .usa MK-012-01 and 414 XLS to accentuate more attack on the cymbals, more solid midrange out of the snare, and overall width. On kick, I used my trusty AKG D112 as the kick in mic, and tried my 301fet for the kick out (1 foot in front) for the first time to accentuate the low end. For snare, I've been getting a little tired of SM57 on top, so I wanted to see how the e609 would fare. It was very bright and thin as expected, so I added an SM7 under the snare for extra body, and combined with the overheads and front of kit mics, got a very punchy but balanced snare.

For guitar, I was finally able to test out recording with my new Charger HB into my restored vintage 1965 Fender Princeton Reverb. Those two together put into the world the guitar sound I hear in my head. I don't often use the Fredman miking technique (two 57s, one pointing at the cone, the other at about a 55 degree angle to the cone), but it sounded fun, so I grabbed my trusty Wilkinson Audio Fredman clip and ran the 57s through the very clean AEA RPQ preamps. This opened up the 57s in a way I've never heard them before. They lost a lot of that boxiness I sometimes dislike about 57s and sounded crisp and clear. Coupled with the Mojave 301fet in omni configuration 4 feet in front of the kit, I was able to replicate both the sound in the room and the sound in my head. I then moved the amp across the room and recorded a double of the guitar with the AEA N8s 164 inches in front of the amp. Combined with the drums, we got a real vibe going.

05/09/2024

Hey y'all, I'm honored to be this week's guest on the great Aaron and Austin Show! Check it out to hear about how I got my start in music & engineering, building Zeptepland, and just some general goofing off / having fun. Huge thanks to Aaron & Austin for having me!

Welcome to The Aaron & Austin Show, your backstage pass to the world of music and creativity! I'm Aaron, and alongside me is my co-host Austin. Today, we're ...

05/06/2024

OUT NOW! I'm proud to co-present "Goodbye Balloon" - the first of three Davy Trechak and the Magic Sky LIVE at Zeptepland releases. Recorded / mixed / mastered by yours truly. So, to recap, in the past few days, we've released Zac Crow and the No Shows Live FROM Zeptepland, and now Davy Trechak and the Magic Sky Live AT Zeptepland. Who wants to claim Live IN Zeptepland??

Davy Trechak & The Magic Sky perform "Goodbye Balloon" LIVE at Zeptepland in Wichita, KS.Recorded, mixed, & mastered by AM Namee.Recorded February 26th, 2024...

04/23/2024

Yesterday, we started production on the long fabled album. Here's what it looked like.

04/22/2024

Scenes from a session IX ft. Mourning Habit

04/17/2024

I love days like today. Today is one of those "in-between" days - where the busyness of the past few days has wrapped up and now we prep for the busyness of the next few.

1). Prepping the mic setup for a guitar re-amping session with Delano co (seriously, wait until you all hear this album...it's fantastic)

2). Starting prep for a live Mourning Habit session being recorded and filmed this Sunday

3). Getting started on the mix for the next Davy Trechak single

Thank you all so much for supporting this independently owned & operated labor of love!

04/16/2024

Summer is right around the corner, so now is the perfect time to book your warm weather recording and mixing sessions at Wichita's premier recording studio to get full access to our first class facility, high quality equipment, and beautiful oasis featuring swimming pool, tiki bar and more!

Proudly independently owned and operated!

04/04/2024

NEW GEAR ALERT!! If you've ever recorded at Zeptepland, there's a 99.9% chance an AEA R92 microphone played an integral role in shaping the sound. I've been so excited at the prospect of adding more AEA products to the Zeptepland gear arsenal, and we finally have with a pair of AEA N8 ribbon microphones and a pair of AEA RPQ500 preamps. From drums to piano, acoustic guitar to upright bass, brass, woodwinds, strings, and more, this AEA gear is ready to join the R92 as a staple of that sweet, sweet Zeptepland sound!

This begins phase one of a three phase equipment upgrade and expansion plan at Zeptepland. Every booking helps get us closer to our goals, so thank you for continuing to support Wichita's premier independently owned & operated recording studio!

03/27/2024

NEW RELEASE ALERT! Very proud to have recorded the latest jeremiah foundation single, Stay Close. It was an honor to have my recordings mixed and mastered by the great Christopher Colbert out of National Freedom Studio.

Brothers Jason and Justin Hendry continuously craft songs that reveal something new upon every listen. These guys always pour it all out in the studio, and it never ceases to shine through in the final product.

Now streaming everywhere!

02/27/2024

Coming soon to home video and the United Airlines in-flight entertainment hub, it's Davy Trechak and the Magic Sky LIVE From Zeptepland!

10/19/2023

6 years ago this week, construction began on Zeptepland. I want to give a huge thank you to all of the incredible artists that have taken a chance on us, and everyone who supports the work that we do. There's no place like Zeptepland!