After nine years of honing the melody-drenched rock their fans covet, Illusion 33’s new release, WORDS IN STEREO, pours straight from the source. The band members deliver bona fide Illusion 33 with every blazing guitar riff, resonant three-part harmony, dynamic drumbeat and upbeat lyric on this latest CD, to be released by Dummy Boy Records on November 4th, 2008.

Based in Sandpoint Idaho, Illusion 33 members Jesse Bennett (lead vocals/guitar), Jason Stoddard (lead vocals/bass guitar), Bob Capka (guitarist) and K.C. Carter (drums) combine rural accessibility with star-power charisma and showmanship. Heard across the nation on at least 70 different radio stations and awarded “Best Band” status at the Las Vegas Music & Fashion Expo – 2005, this group of multi-talented writers and musicians packs in the fans during local all-age concerts in Sandpoint, to big name venues such as The Palms Casino in Las Vegas, The Warped Tour, Guitar Center Grand Openings, The Orange Blossom Festival and Whiskey A Go-Go-Hollywood in California, as well as many others. Their sound, although reminiscent of some of the great punk, rock and metal bands of the 80’’s and 90’s, has a contemporary edge, like the best indie rock bands of this decade.

SPONSORS & ENDORSEMENTS:

Guitar Centers
Benpro
Get’m Get’m guitar straps
Ampeg
Carter Country
Urban Legends Hair Design
Crate
Bennett Racing
Coeur d’Alene Brewing Co.
Sabian Cymbals
Knucklehead Strings

“Words In Stereo” 2008
Produced by Jason Carmer
Recorded at Fastback Studios in Seattle, WA
Nationally released by Dummy Boy Records November 4th 2008
Purchase: bestbuy. com, fye. com, bn. com, iTunes, music

It seems that the readers of the Fender Forum has taken a liking to the FBS Blog site.  So for all of you Fender Folks out there continuing to come back and read our studio blogs, I want to welcome you and say hello.    Here at the FBS Blogs I like to teach, instruct and encourage about the recording, miking & the mixing process of the commercial recording studio.  Along with this I often write about amps, effect pedals, guitar and other music products that we come in contact with, and yes I am a true blue Fender lobbyist.  Like most guys getting along in years (40 is the new 20!) I also appreciate boutique gear that is within the “budget”.  Which is code for not getting caught on the wife’s radar.  Thank you for being a part of this site, I think you will find this well worth your time.  - Mark

…is just not necessary!
It’s not like this is some new argument. A&R, Managers, Mastering Engineers, Mixing Engineers, and Artists alike have been going around about this for years. It just seems like lately this has been a popular topic in the industry.

I personally don’t understand the obsession with loudness. The bottom line for me is that hyper-compressed, shredded audio just does not sound good. Are we all in agreement that they are still manufacturing stereos and musical devices with volume controls?! What’s the debate then? Can we pretend that we can control what people do with their volume controls? Our responsibility as audio professionals is to make great sounding audio. - Jason Lackie Productions

Hello All, Even though I don’t want to say one tube amp is better than another because both the assembly line to boutique amp serves it’s recording / stage purpose and each tube amp has it own color and history. We had the chance to do a session with a Dr. Z, Fender & Bogner low wattage amps lined up in the live room, ready to work. During the session I found myself often mentioning the Dr. Z Maz 18 JR. 1×12 to be the “go-to” amp for the rest of the session. This amp has a very fast speaker response I enjoyed the clean tones and felt really good about the break-up as you drove the tubes. During this session we recorded the DR. Z 1×12 and my buddy just purchased the 2×10 and played his original 56′ Tele through it at a recent show I attended. I’m sold on the DR. Z 18 watt combo and I am looking to add one to the FBS collection soon.

Specification from the Website:

Power Output: 18 Watts
Output Tubes: 2 - EL-84
Preamp Tubes: 4 - 12AX7, 1 - 12AT7
Rectifier: 1 - GZ34
Controls: Volume, Treble, Mid, Bass, Cut, Master Volume, and Reverb
Configurations: Head, 1-12, 2-10, 2-12 Combo