"The Distressor is an iconic piece of gear." Dave talked about his journey from musician to audio engineer, creating the iconic Distressor compressor, the role of distortion, harmonics, and thoughtful gear selection in achieving masterful audio mixing and production, and offered practical advice for aspiring recording engineers.      Get access to FREE mixing mini-course:&nbsp; My guest today is Dave Derr, a musician raised in a family of engineers destined to rock and make his mark on the recording industry. Dave started with studying classical piano, composition, and theory as a Music Major in college but still loved ripping solos on his '67 Gibson SG Special. This passion for music led him to a 12-year journey with the band Jack of Diamonds, touring the Philadelphia, Delaware, and Maryland areas. But Dave wasn’t just rocking the stage—he was also the guy fixing the band's guitars, keyboard rigs, and PA systems. This hands-on experience sparked his path to becoming an Electronics Technician and eventually a studio engineer. Dave landed a gig at Eventide and worked alongside industry giants, contributing to the design of iconic gear like the H3000, H3500, and DSP4000. And after hours? He ran his own recording studio at home, refining his craft night and day. In 1994, Dave’s talents culminated in the creation of the Distressor—a modern classic that’s now a staple in major studios worldwide. Empirical Labs now has over 42,000 Distressors sold and an entire line of analog processors and digital plugins and their latest creation, the PUMP, a powerful 500 Series compressor based on the Distressor is breaking new ground for getting killer sounds in the studio or out in the field. I am super excited to have Dave Derr joining us on the podcast today. This is a big day for me, the show, and definitely a bucket list interview! PS Go to empiricallabs.com to find the Arousor and BIG FrEQ plugins where you can use the coupon code RSR10 for 10% off. THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS!   &nbsp;Use code ROCK10 to get 10% off! &nbsp;Use code ROCK10 to get 10% off!  &nbsp;Get your MBSI plugin here! &nbsp;  &nbsp; If you love the podcast, then please leave a review:&nbsp;

RSR489 - Dave Derr - Empirical Labs Creator of the Distressor, Arouser, BIG FrEQ, Fatso, and Pump

Featuring Jonathan Rogerson on guitar and samples

WeerdNite

Justified Fitting End is the 5th track on Tallsome Tales by The Carnivaleros.

Was you sent or did you just went 
Asked the preacher 'cross the table from me
I told him it was neither I was backed up to a wall 
Certain things are meant to be 
I had to kill my father he was beatin' on my mother 
Some old fences just will not mend
It was an unexpected, loosely-jointed, understated, overrated, 
Jaded but sophisticated, justified fitting end

My Ma was a-raisin' my sisters and me 
In a shack on the edge of town
She always did her best to keep food on the table
Even though Pa was not around
But he'd show up now and then in the heat of the moment 
Reeking of a backwoods still
He'd been in a rage every day gone by 
Since they laid him off down at the mill
He knocked us all around but my Ma got it the worst 
Only so far a body can bend
Until his unexpected, loosely-jointed, understated, overrated, 
Jaded but sophisticated, justified fitting end

There was a time things weren't so bad
When we were knee high to a man
But that must've been just a child's perception 
Don't remember when they got out of hand

Now I'm doin' time on the local state dime
I did what I had to do
My Ma would've died and the bruises on my sisters 
Were a spectacle of black and blue
I’m a peaceful man most every day 
But when the trouble just would not end
I had to do something 'cause my ma and my sisters 
Had not the strength to fend
If I had to do it over it would come out just the same 
Some old fences just will not mend
It was an unexpected, loosely-jointed, understated, overrated, 
Jaded but sophisticated, justified fitting end

Gary Mackender - accordion, organ, vocals
Karl Hoffmann - bass 
Les Merrihew - drums
Joe Fanning - electric guitar
Mitzi Cowell - slide guitar
Björgvin Benediktsson - harmony vocals
Carla Brownlee - bari sax
Mike Coyle - trumpet
Michael Oliver - trombone
Greg Mackender - horn arrangements

Tallsome Tales

Justified Fitting End

Episode 5 Justified Fitting End

Oakhurst's latest offering Barrel (their 5th), was produced and engineered by Joe Pisapia (K. D. Lang, Ben Folds & Guster) and was recorded at his own Middle Tree Studios in Nashville, TN. With Pisapia and Oakhurst front man Adam Hill's collaborative songwriting and Pisapia's guitar performances, Barrel takes a noticeable turn from the bluegrass tendencies that characterized the band’s previous efforts to a more genre-bending Americana and Bluesey reverberation. The arrangements and the harmonies are tight, pushing the songs towards a much broader audience with mainstream appeal.

02 Out West

I Love It

Kanye West & Lil Pump - I Love It

Swamp_Gas_2

Charles H. Root, III remix of the song "American Winter" by Nashville-based, Grammy Award winning engineer, producer, and musician Lij Shaw.

Skadoosh!

LIJ SHAW - American Winter - CHAZROOT MIX

Experiment

Jahnke "Glimmer"

Matt Kramer "Bricks In The Atmosphere"

From the album Jennie Lowe Ghost Tracks 2020.
Featuring Tyler Ramsey (Band of Horses) andSebastian Steinberg (Fiona Apple)

RSR489 - Dave Derr - Empirical Labs Creator of the Distressor, Arouser, BIG FrEQ, Fatso, and Pump

thetoyboxstudio

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