I currently feel like I’ve bitten off more than I can chew. I suppose the start of any mammoth journey can feel like that. I feel constantly switched on, living, breathing and sleeping my music. A break might be in order to regroup my thoughts and generally clear my head, but we’ll see.

It sure feels like I’ve jumped into the deep end though and I was drowning a bit. Since January I felt like I have been swimming against a tide but I am making gradual progress nonetheless. On an upbeat I have made great strides in building my project studio capable of professional recording on a budget. It is almost complete apart from two essentials that I need to move forward. First and foremost is a decent microphone to record my ‘Two Voice’ Tenor Saxophone and secondly a decent notation software.

Over the past few weeks I’ve been having a microphone shootout and comparing many microphones to see which is best suited to my playing and studio environment. I am not really a fan of dynamic microphones as I found them quite nasally and way too directional. They have no highs, no lows, with a rather flat metallic midrange. The worse without a doubt was the Shure SM-57.

The condensers fared better than their dynamic counterparts as they had a smoother and wider frequency response. Although I found most of them sounded quite sterile to be honest. The high end of the frequency spectrum became rather brittle to my ears. The best of the bunch was a Neumann U87 but it was a bit too bright for what I have in mind.

I’m looking more for a dark and sombre tone, something that can suit a relaxed and mellow solo in the middle of one of my own jazz ballads. The ribbon microphones seem to fit the bill very well as they produce some of the smoothest-sounds available. In particular the Coles 4038 produced a lovely rich and creamy yet complexity sound throughout the range.

Without a doubt the ambience and reverberation in the live room plays a significant part in how ribbon microphones sound and I’ve yet to record with them in my own studio. I will be fortunate enough to be able to test a pair of Coles 4038 and an AEA TRP Ribbon 2-Channel Microphone Preamplifier next month. This will be a great as I can do numerous test recordings in my own project studio to see if everything is in harmony without the huge outlay.

However, as not to waste valuable time I have looked into Tube Condensers. These are not cheap microphones but fortunately I don’t need a pair. I have heard some great saxophone recordings done with an AKG C12VR. So I’ll be trying one of these out as well in studio to do a side-by-side comparison with the ribbons.

As for notation software I really want Sibelius but lack of funds is holding me back. I have tried a couple of freeware notation software with varying degrees of success. One was Musescore and the other Finale Notepad. Neither really suits me and both have their advantages and disadvantages. I am hoping to use both to produce clean and concise copies of my transcriptions and arrangements so I can have downloadable files from my website. This however, will be an extremely time consuming process as I convert my scribbles into digital dots. That said the primary reason for wanting Sibelius is to make composing my own debut album easier as my manuscripts can get rather messy very quickly.

I do feel at least the foundation has been laid for my debut album “Jigsaw: One of Life’s Puzzles”. I have formed my own indie label “Femblagh Records”, decided on the names of the tracks (which are subject to changes) and started the long process of writing the album, currently with a pencil and A3 manuscript paper. Hopefully funding Sibelius won’t be too far down the road. Nonetheless the writing process will continue as it is leading me down many creative paths. These discoveries include incorporating unusual instruments into my jazz such as the Bodhram Drum, Low Whistle and now a Musical Saw. These are very exciting times and I’m extremely very happy about the direction the album is taking me as I’m hoping to produce something a little more diverse to the convention and perhaps a bit controversial too.

That time has come and as I embark on this colossal journey to compose my own original, unsigned full length album “Jigsaw: One of Life’s Puzzles” I thought a journal would be rather apt. Owing to my disabilities this is as much of a personal journey as it is a musical one. No doubt I’ll experience the trials and tribulations of such an endeavour. It will be most challenging yet rewarding with an abundance of jubilant and triumphant moments to be experienced. However, I’m in no doubt that I’ll also experience the inevitable hindrances to thwart me along with many hours frustrations chucked in for good measure.

As I progress with the writing I feel that I am evolving and becoming entwined with each arrangement. It’s becoming a huge part of me, my own being. Something I’m finding satisfying as a composer and as a musician. For me, Jazz is a feeling, a groove, therapy and the meaning of life whereas eclectic is to draw on small amounts of different things, while to be integrative is to combine these things together. That’s my music!