Career
Aside from his role in Converge, Ballou is a prolific producer, recording and producing out of his own Godcity 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.
Established in 1998, 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. In the production of album Ballou deals with all production, engineering, and mastering.
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 recordings has improved so much that the original recordings were "becoming distracting".
Guitars commonly used: Wild Customs The Savage One w/ Electromyography P85 bridge pickup, First Acting Custom Sheena Guitar w/ Electromyography 81 bridge pickup, Warmoth Custom Jazzmaster West/ Electromyography 89 bridge pickup, First Acting Custom Offset-Horns Double-Cutaway, Rickenbacker 650A w/ Electromyography 81 bridge pickup.
Amps commonly used: Orange OR50 head, Orange Rockerverb 100 head, Sparrows Sons overdrive std (aka Sparrow amp), Bad Cat Black Cat head, Bad Cat Lynx head, THD Flexi head, 1978 Marshall 50-watt JMP non-master volume head, Ampeg V-4 head, Mesa/Boogie Quad preamp with Mesa/Boogie 2:90 power amp, 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: TC Electronic G-SYSTEM, Providence Stampede Distortion, Boss General Electric-7 Graphic Equalizer, Akai Headrush, Lincolnshire 6 MM4, Boss Pitch Shifter/Delay, Boss Heavy Metal, Boss Metal Zone, Boss Tuner, Boss Noise Suppressor.