iGuitar8.13
"The iGuitar is an incredible creative tool... "
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Tommy O'Brien is an independent guitarist and composer.He uses his iGuitar to create TV AD spots for many large companies including the latest Toyota, LA Fitness and Power Ranger commercials...he has also been 'crunching' on the latest Cinnamon Toast Crunch spots!
After touring with major acts in the 90's, guitarist and composer Tommy O'Brien moved to Los
Angeles and quickly moved into the business of music for TV commercials and advertising. He has
written and produced tracks for virtually every product and advertiser on the market. Because of
the quality and ease of use, the iGuitars are his "first call" line of defense for every job.
"Advertising is a high speed, high stakes game. The days of the 'jingle demo' are over. There is
always a time crunch and a lot of pressure to get a master quality recording in a client's hands.
In the time it used to take me to mic up my Guild acoustic, I can grab my iGuitar and track a 6 &
12 string acoustic, add accents with a myriad of classic electric sounds, and even dial up a bass
in the VG8 and lay down final tracks. I can't wait to see what they're cooking up next."
"I just completed a national spot for LA Fitness. Without my iGuitar I would probably not have won
this gig. I heard through the grapevine that the creative director was thinking about a happy 60's
feel, along the lines of what Target has been doing. That night I went into the studio and began
strumming on my iGuitar with an acoustic patch called up on the VG8. Within a few minutes I had a
good chord progression with a melody in my head that I knew could work. It was just 'La-la-la' at
the time, but that's all I needed."
"Once the tempo was set I could immediately get down to the recording. I have dual VG8's being
triggered by the iGuitar and set one at 6 string Taylor and the other with a 12 string patch. Both
were recorded in stereo to my Pro Tools rig. I recorded them twice and took the left of one, and
the right of the other for good separation. There were some great melodic bass lines in the 1960's
and I was quickly able to call up a Jaz Bass and get the line down while it was fresh in my head.
No tuning another instrument, no patching new cables or amp models; just dial up the patch and play
it down. (you can even slap the strings if you want!). I decided to overdub the bass line with an
electric guitar. It was a simple ascending major scale, and I picked an electric hollow body patch
with a box-y sounding AC30 style amp on the VG8. I'm sure it was named 'Harrison,' 'I Feel Fine'
or something else Beatle-esque."
"After recording a tamborine and a few other percussive instruments I was just about done. When it
was time to record the vocals the 'La-la-la's' in my head worked perfectly as they were.. conveying
the happiness of a folksy 60's track. In less than an hour or two I had my completed master which
is literally what went to air. It included a stereo 6 string acoustic, stereo 12 string acoustic,
Jaz Bass, and accented lead electric guitar all done one after the other with my iGuitar plugged
into my VG8 rig. The creative director had a track in her hand just like what she was hoping for,
almost before she knew she asked for it. This is what has kept me alive in a very talented and
competitive market."
Tommy continues his musical adventures in Los Angeles under the banner "TommyMusic."
We're glad to see the iGuitar so "instrumental" to his creative process.
tommy720@aol.com
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