High-Def Audio Comes To Gravity

It's our second record year in a row, and we've put the profits to good use...

... by installing new equipment that offers our clients a lot of enhanced capability, the biggest of which is the extended dynamic range of 24-bit / 96khz tracking, known generally as "HD Audio."  We've retired the console you've all come to know and love (a trusty but long-in-the-tooth Yamaha 02R), and replaced it with a shiny new Tascam DM3200. (The Yamaha was donated to the Northeast Indiana Radio Reading Service.)

The changeover will also make our signal chain cleaner and more elegant, with audio passing through fewer wires on its way to your final mix.  Jim's trained on the new board, and reports that as he gets more familiar with it you can expect an even faster workflow.  And we've reconfigured the studio's main computer with 12 gigs of RAM and a drive array spec'd to make our burgeoning collection of "virtual" insturments run faster and better.  When you spend your production bucks at Gravity, we're not blowing it on champagne and German luxuy cars:  we spend it on making a better product.  Because the work is what we're all about.

Travel Better

If you’re watching the Travel Channel, and you see a TVC for a travel agent featuring an animated suitcase and some kicking 70’s-style jazz fusion lite, then that’s a spot for Travel Leaders and that music came from Gravity.

We got to know the national franchise group by creating a local jingle for Ann Waters, owner of what was formerly known as Conference and Travel Services, through her agency AdLab. Ann was changing the name of the business to Travel Leaders, to reflect the branding change coming from the franchise. A name change is a great time to use a jingle and Ann knew it.

The tune we did for Ann’s company was kicky and fun, and we decided to try to sell it to others who also franchised the Travel Leaders system. We didn’t get very far before attracting the attention of their VP of Marketing Rebecca Geyer. She liked the original tune we did for Ann, but their internal branding required something more.

So after many conversations and a string of demos, we boiled it down to a swingin’ tune that would not sound out of place on a Tom Scott & The LA Express album. Check out the “Music” page to hear it. It’s worth the trip.

Battleheart Rocks the App Store

Gravity has created all the music and most of the SFX for the series of hit iDevice games from MikaMobile. But the latest, titled Battleheart, is more than a hit: it’s a milestone in mobile gaming. Critics and players alike have cited the sweeping score as one reason why.

Battleheart is the first app to bring the power and glory of a traditional RPG (role playing game) down to pocket size in a way that satisfies casual gamers and hard-core gamer dweebs alike. The interface has been called a “breakthrough” concept, the character design what players have come to expect from Mika Mobile. And the soundtrack is a step beyond for iPhone/iPod/iPad gaming as well…. A big, heroic suite of battle themes, a calming, meditative menu theme, and a signature sound effect the origin of which we’re keeping secret. Touch Arcade’s reviewer said the music for Battleheart “owns.”

If you own an iDevice, you, too can play Battleheart and experience the score in its intended environment. But if you’re not a sword-and-sorcery type, head on over to our Music page and hear them in glorious streaming stereo.

Cool Fab Gear

We’ve added some new equipment to the studio in the past few weeks. We’re not a studio that rents out to bands, so our “equipment” list is not usually a big deal. But this time we’ve added some things that can make a big difference in your next production.

The biggest news is in our mic locker, and the preamps we use to drive them. We’ve now got a fine-quality ribbon mic and a couple of small-diaphragm condenser mics. The ribbon provides a kind of smooth, mellow, “old school” sound on vocals (especially female vocals), and creates a kind of extraordinary realism on electric guitars. The small D condensers are perfect instrument mics, especially fretted instruments like acoustic guitar or mandolin, and make really snappy overheads for drum mic.

And we’re powering these new mics with our new Universal Audio Solo-610 tube preamp. He 610 gives us more flexibility in dialing in a great sound for a given mic than ever before. It also makes a smokin’ DI for electric bass.

Why are we telling you all this? Just so you know we never stop looking for ways to make our work sound better, to make YOU look good.

Neverending "Story"

Well, it would be nice for us if it DID go on forever.  The most recent campaign for ProFed Credit Union features a musical ID that is the very heart of the message, thanks to the creative vision of ProFed's agency Patterson-Riegel.

The music-based pitch has proven so effective that they asked us to create a second version of the song.  The first was in an indie-rock vein and underscored the daily life of a 20-something professional making her way in the city.  This new one underscores images of the daily life of a 30-something couple, with one child and another on the way.

Singer Nicole Lucas reprises her performance with new lyrics, electric pianos are replaced with strummed guitars, and the somber cello becomes a playful lap steel guitar. The overall feel is fun, upbeat and just a hair off center.  The new campaign is on the air now.