Early and personal life
Kurt Ballou started playing saxophone in elementary school. He performed in jazz band, concert band and orchestra, dabbling between baritone saxophone, bassoon andCareer
Since 1990, Kurt Ballou has played in the metalcore band Converge. From 1996 to 2000 Ballou played in theGod City Studio
In the late 1990s, Kurt Ballou was working as a biomedical engineer when his then-project got cancelled. Instead of selecting a different position within the same company that he had worked with for six years, Ballou opted to receive a severance package which he used to build his own recording studio. His experiences and knowledge in engineering carry over to his recording work. In regards to Ballou's technical precision as a producer, Jacob Bannon (of Converge) has stated, "Nothing gets by him—it is inspiring to watch him work." Established in 1998, God City Studio is located in Ballou's home state of Massachusetts. One of the earliest recordings from the studio was Cave In's '' Until Your Heart Stops''. Ballou handled all production, engineering, and mastering for the record. Ballou has stated that collaborating on '' Jane Doe'' with co-producer Matthew Ellard was a huge learning experience for him as an engineer and producer. Ellard jokingly stated Ballou "watched him like a hawk" during the engineering and producing process. In 2005 Ballou remixed and remastered Converge's Petitioning the Empty Sky and When Forever Comes Crashing. Ballou has stated that because of the quality of onverge'srecordings has improved so much that the original recordings were "becoming distracting". Ballou has also produced and co-produced several Converge albums, including 2001's '' Jane Doe'', 2004's '' You Fail Me'' and 2006's '' No Heroes''. He has also produced a number of independentEquipment
*Guitars commonly used: GodCity Instruments guitars, Wild Customs The Savage One w/ EMG P85 bridge pickup, First Act Custom Sheena Guitar w/ EMG 81 bridge pickup, Warmoth Custom Jazzmaster W/ EMG 89 bridge pickup, First Act Custom Offset-Horns Double-Cutaway, Rickenbacker 650A w/ EMG 81 bridge pickup. *Amps commonly used: Orange OR50 head, Sparrows Sons overdrive std (aka Sparrow amp), Bad Cat Black Cat head, Bad Cat Lynx head, Marshall 1987x Plexi Reissue, 1978 Marshall 50-watt JMP 2204, Ampeg V-4 head, Guild Thunderbass. *Speaker Enclosures commonly used: Emperor 6x12 cabinet (2), Marshall customized 4x12 cabinet w/ four "Eminence vintage 30 clone" 12-inch speakers, Marshall 8x10 cabinet w/ stock 15-watt Celestions. *Effects commonly used: Providence Stampede Distortion, Boss GE-7 Graphic Equalizer, Akai Headrush, Earthquaker Devices Avalanche Run, Boss PS-3 Pitch Shifter/Delay, Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal, TC Electronic Polytune, Boss Noise Suppressor, TC Electronic Mimiq.Discography
Production work
With Converge
* '' Halo in a Haystack'' (1994) * '' Petitioning the Empty Sky'' (1996) * '' When Forever Comes Crashing'' (1998) * '' Jane Doe'' (2001) * '' You Fail Me'' (2004) * '' No Heroes'' (2006) * '' Axe to Fall'' (2009) * '' All We Love We Leave Behind'' (2012) * '' The Dusk in Us'' (2017) *'' Bloodmoon: I'' (2021) ** ** **With The Huguenots
* ''The Huguenots'' (1998) (EP) * ''The Huguenots / Sevenpercentsolution'' (2000) (split with Sevenpercentsolution) * ''Discography'' (2007)With Blue/Green Heart
* '' Self Esteem Through Modern Science'' (2001) (EP)With Kid Kilowatt
* '' Guitar Method'' (2004)As an additional/guest musician
Awards and nominations
See also
* :Albums produced by Kurt BallouReferences
General * SpecificExternal links