TAPEOP

The Creative Music Recording Magazine

Bob Olhsson
Inside the Motown studio in the ‘60’s

Leanne Ungar

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Recording Leonard Cohen & Laurie Anderson

Howie Weinberg

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Mastering engineer of the stars

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The Bevis Frond

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Psychedelic UK home recordings

2 in 1 studio
House of Faith/Guerilla Recording
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Guitar Tuning
with Jack Endino
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Phill Brown
Recording Paul Carrack
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Build a tube Mic Pre

Compressor Tips
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Under The Radar

Computer Advice
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Gear Reviews
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Issue No. 30
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July/Aug 2002
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> > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >

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> > > Start with cutting-edge transducer design theory. Combine with
state-of-the-art technology and over 40 years of audio

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manufacturing excellence. Then add a splash of inspiration.

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The result is another in a venerable line of precision tools created
exclusively for today’s most discerning studio artists.

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Introducing the

AT4040
Cardioid Condenser Studio Microphone.

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> Precision-machined, nickel-plated brass,
acoustic element baffle provides enhanced
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element stability and optimal sensitivity

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tensioned specifically to provide smooth,
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minimizes unwanted internal reflections

> Externally-polarized (DC bias) true condenser design

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> Transformerless circuitry virtually eliminates

low-frequency distortion and provides
superior correlation of high-speed transients

> Switchable 80 Hz hi-pass filter and 10 dB pad

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> State-of-the-art surface-mount electronics

ensure compliance with A-T’s stringent consistency
and reliability standards
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> Includes AT8449 shock mount to provide

mechanical isolation and secure mounting
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Think USB
M-Audio USB solutions are the shortest

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path between inspiration and final tracks.

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Once you experience a laptop-based
virtual studio running with an M-Audio
USB interface, youʼll wonder how you ever

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made music any other way. The killer rig
now even fits in a backpack so you can
make music on your own terms—anywhere,
anytime.
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Quattro
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What sets M-Audio USB interfaces apart from the • 4-in, 4-out (1/4" TRS)
pack? For openers, the best sounding components • 1-in, 1-out MIDI I/O
• +4dBu or –10dBv operation
require more power than the USB bus can deliver. • Zero-latency direct monitoring
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Thatʼs why our Duo and Quattro were designed to run • AC-powered high-fidelity components
• Expandable via Omni
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Our USB drivers let you independently scale bit depth
and sample rate (up to 96k) to deliver the lowest USB Duo
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• 48V phantom power
the Quattro into the most versatile USB audio
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interface available. • Headphone output
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Think USB. Think M-Audio.

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Omni
Adds to the Quattro:
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• Two headphone sends
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• Dedicated monitor and record outs
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 Hello and welcome to
Tape Op #30!
As I write this I’m still recovering from the first ever Tape Op Conference,
which was held in Sacramento, CA, May 31-June 2. The event went very well,
with informative panels, lots of passionate opinions, rockin’ music at night,

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funny recording clips from movies on the big screen, a mariachi band at
lunch and a blowout party at The Hangar to wrap things up on Sunday.
Thanks again to everyone (especially Craig Schumacher who came up
with the idea for the conference) who was there in any capacity - there
was a real positive, exciting feeling about this whole event and many
people made new friends and acquaintances. It looks like we’ll

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probably do another Tape Op Conference next year, so keep your eye

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on the mag and the website to see where and when. We’re also
trying to figure out what to do with the video and audio from the
event, and we’ll let you know when that gets done. I think my
biggest surprise (besides the fact that it went so smoothly) was

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that I learned so much. I got to sit for hours and listen to people
share their knowledge and experience. Shit, it was almost like
a live version of the magazine!
-Larry Crane

Contents: l
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12 Letters
16 Under The Radar
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20 Phill Brown
22 Guitar Tuning
24 Howie Weinberg
28 Leanne Ungar
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34 Bob Olhsson & Motown

42 DIY Tube Mic Pre Photos Left to right:
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1.) Mr. Albini and the Laffer Curve. 2.) The Producers
46 The Bevis Frond Panel (L to R) Steve Albini, Jack Endino, Larry Crane,
48 A Tale of Two Studios J Robbins, Tony Visconti, Fletcher. 3.) Larry,
Paul Grove (Summit Audio) and Greg Hanna
52 Compression Tips (Royer Microphones). 4.) John Baccigaluppi and
p a g e

David Welch of NPR 5.) Albini and the largest Tape Op

54 Computer Advice logo ever. 6.) Last, but not least, that’s
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Craig Schumacher on the left.

58 Gear, Music & Zine Reviews Thanks to Wes Dooley, John LaGrou and Roman Sokol
66 Larry’s End Rant for the photos.
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TapeOp

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4/5 The Creative Music Recording Magazine Turn the page and check it out>>>
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When you start upgrading your studio equipment, some components are more critical
than others. Introducing the KSM27 from Shure. It’s a large diaphragm, condenser
microphone from the highly acclaimed KSM line that makes all your studio time
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© 2001 Shure Incorporated

worthwhile. A cardioid, side-address microphone with a wide dynamic range,

extended frequency response, and locking shock mount, the KSM27 is a studio
workhorse for all vocal and instrument applications. Once you try it, you’ll get the
message. The KSM27. Only from Shure. For more information, visit shure.com.
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 TAPEOP The Creative Music Recording Magazine

Editor
Larry Crane
Contributing Writers &Photographers
Cover art by Matt Hummel, oldcrowpress@hotmail.com
Wes Dooley, John LaGrou, Roman Sokol, Jef Brown, Rob Lodes, John Bosch,
F. Reid Shippen, Eddie Ciletti, David Weiss, Rob Gainer, Larry DeVivo,
Mike Caffrey, David Patterson, Brian Lucey, Matt Newport, Wil Bailey,
Jeff McKnight, Matt Mair Lowery, Phill Brown, Jack Endino, Glen S. Colen,
Greg Sullivan, Chad Blinman, Phillip Stevenson, Scott Hampton,

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Steve Silverstein, Anton Barbeau, Ian Mills Swanke, Katherine Copenhaver,
Jeremy du Bois, Martin Huhn, David Miles Huber, Roger Lavallee,
Ed Pettersen, and Eric Broyhill
Publisher &Creative Director
John Baccigaluppi

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Internet Designer and Production
Hillary Johnson <Hillary@tapeop.com>

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Office & Editorial Assistants
Shawn Peter, Juju & Dan Johnson
Disclaimer

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TAPE OP magazine wants to make clear that the opinions expressed within reviews, letters and
articles are not necessarily the opinions of the publishers. Tape Op is intended as a forum to
advance the art of recording, and there are many choices made along that path.

Editorial Office
(for submissions, albums for review, letters)
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P.O. Box 14517, Portland, OR 97293 ph/fx (503) 239-5389

FURNACE MFG
• editor@tapeop.com
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•
• All submissions and letters sent to us become the property of Tape Op.
• Advertising
• CD & DVD REPLICATION FOR THE INDEPENDENT
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Pro Audio, Studios & Indie Labels: John Baccigaluppi
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• (916) 444-5241, (GearAds@tapeop.com)

•
• Pro Audio, Ad Agencies, & Record Labels: Laura Thurmond
• Thurmond Media Group
• 206-526-0056/206-524-9377-FAX/Laura@Tapeop.com
•
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• Pre-press: Mark Pedras @ The Electric Page, Sacramento, CA

• Printing: Matt Saddler @ Democrat Printing, Little Rock, AR
•
• Subscriptions are free in the USA:
Subscribe on line at www.tapeop.com
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• SUPPLIES
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• AUTHORING Postmaster and all general inquiries to:

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8/9 The Creative Music Recording Magazine

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 Cactus
“We’re talking about the difference between a Chevy and a Rolls here!
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1. Letters to Tape Op The weekend was
awesome. Really great job
A quick hello and thanks for the fine weekend.
Good work on your part and a lot of fun for us...

2. Reader Response overall. I was glad to be a

a.k.a. The interactive pages
During the opening remarks
TapeOpCon2002 John and Larry thanked
lots of people for their contributions, but there was no
one to thank them. On behalf of the readers, if I may be
so bold, thank you John and Larry for doing such a great
job with the magazine. It is far better than any other
recording magazine ever published and it has attracted
a great community of people judging by the panelists
part of it. I even liked
Rebecca Gates
Please, record the speakers at the Tape Op
Sacramento more than I
expected.
Joe Chiccarelli
Conference and sell it. I will not be able to go to
Sacramento but I am very interested in hearing what
the speakers have to say. I hope you are already
Thanks for a great time at planning to do this because it would be a big help to
at
the festival. It was such a great reality check to gather all all of the readers of Tape Op who couldn’t attend.
those recording enthusiasts all in one place. The Tim Schlie, Keep On Trucking
conferences were each with merit. Those sleeper sessions Everything was recorded and videotaped and now
on Sunday, on archiving and studio design (thanks for all we’re trying to figure out what to do with it. Keep
the slides of what goes on under floors and behind walls checking www.tapeop.com and we’ll sort that out, and
in studios), were both excellent. The producer’s panel that get something out in the next few months. -LC
closed out Saturday night was the highlight - such a
I just wanted to drop you a line. I really
talented bunch of panelists. But that Mastering for the

and attendees this past weekend. Keep up the great
work and please register me for next year’s conference
now. I had a great time and learned a ton.
Mike Caffrey, www.monsterisland.com
I had a great time at the first annual conference. It was
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enjoyed the “after 21 days of 10 hour sessions”
21st Century panel drove me a little crazy. While it was
random thoughts article you wrote in the last
great to have talented engineers like Emily Lazar and John
Cuniberti dispensing advice to those gathered, I wish they Tape Op. The part about the singer who sang the
would have qualified that some of the things they were song that made you almost weep really rang true
saying, like “when burning a CD-ROM of audio files (not a to me. I also had that happen to me in a session
CDDA and they understood this) burning speed makes a I was working on a while back. I too get a bit

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real, informative and organic - just like the mag! I made
some wonderful new friends too. I won’t miss next years’. difference in sound quality” or “Interleaved Sound emotional when I hear that song. Man, moments

Tony Visconti
I had the best time and I think you guys did a fab
job. It was like an audio-ecstasy fest, warm and fuzzy
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Designer 2 files sound better that Split SD2 files”. Such like that make you just fall in love with music all
preposterous stuff! There is no factual basis for either of over again! I don’t think I’ll ever forget that
those comments. They are strictly Digital Voodoo. They experience. Thanks for writing about that. It made
should have at least added, “but these opinions are my day. Keep up the great work.

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like - okay, I won’t go there, but I loved the interaction.
contrary to available data” or something like that. But Eric Peters, “Studio X”, Fresno, CA,
Eddie Ciletti, www.tangible-technology.com
besides that stuff, I had a really great time at the whole rainsinvelvet@hotmail.com
Thanks again for having me along for the conference. shindig. Thanks for the PBR. I wish the Tape Op
I was rather disappointed with the
I had a great time and learned a lot. Conference the best of continued success. I’ll be there! attention given to the Steely Dan related letter in
Curtis Settino, www.canoofle.com Tardon Feathered, Mr. Toad’s, tardon@mrtoads.com issue #29. As a Tape Op subscriber for the past couple
It was a totally inspiring couple of days, really The panels were great, the venue was great, the food
refreshing, and I feel like I came away with renewed was great, the mariachi band was great, the shows were
l of years, I have found the letters section to be one
of the most helpful, educational, and enjoyable parts
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energy for recording and music. I want to start a new great and the party with the 60 plus cases of PBR was of the magazine, but I found it quite tedious laboring
band now more than ever! There’s nothing great. Also it was such a thrill to see and meet so many through the pages of replies which, for the most part,
better than connecting with other people friendly and well-known audio geeks. Plus I’d like to givestated the same thing. I’m basically asking that I be
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who are ruled by similar passions – I feel this
more and more as I get older too. Not only does it blow
my mind that I got to sit there with you and Tony Visconti,
Albini, Jack Endino and Fletcher, but it’s amazing to me
that for 2 days, everywhere I turned, I could get into
a shout out to all the guys and gals that traveled from spared from coming across such redundancy in future
all over the country, and of course Mark from Limerick, issues of Tape Op, my favorite regular publication.
Ireland. Anyway, great job and remember to stay on the Noli, loserwhack@yahoo.com
left of the Laffer Curve (we even got great inside jokes!) It was a touch frustrating having to read through
Graham Hick, graham@grahamhick.com three pages of opinion about one band, albeit a
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discussions with smart, open-minded, creative people, and

there was so little attitude. It really was a great event. I
know it was great for Chad [Clark] and Don [Zientara] too.
You should all really pat yourselves on the back. Again, a
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I wanted to extend my congratulations to you classic hit-maker of huge proportions, whom, whether
personally on a truly amazing conference! You guys we like it or not, are carved carefully into musical
really put in a huge effort and it definitely paid off (and history, and brilliantly so. Though I, myself, am not
a fan, I believe we are all entitled to opinion. But I

thousand thanks. Hope all is well!
J. Robbins
I’m still reeling from the intake of all that incredible
info from this past weekend. I’ve been down in my
studio all night just ripping the place apart and trying
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certainly did NOT go unnoticed)! As always, you rock!
Emily Lazar, The Lodge, www.thelodge.net think the space could have been put to better use.
Jack Younger, Basement 247, Boston, MA,
Muchas gracias for having me on a panel; it was fun YOUNGERJACK@aol.com
and an honor. Hope you’re over your PBR hangover...
Pete Weiss, www.weissy.com I promise, no more letters about Steely Dan. -LC

some new things, based on the inspiration. Thanks so
much for putting the Tape Op Conference together. If I
can be there next year, I certainly will be.
Chris Xefos, www.xefos.com
wo
I just wanted to take a minute before it gets too far Regarding the Plate Reverb Contest, the winner
away from us, to say thanks for all you did with the was Ken Dabek of West End Recording. The contest
conference! I really had a blast and learned greatly exceeded our expectations for success and
a thing or two also! It was great to meet all you guys. attention it received across the internet. Thanks to

JJ Golden, John Golden Mastering, all for their time, input and $ invested in this.
Nice to be able to talk with our peers and people we
www.johngoldenmastering.com John Ross, www.prosoundweb.com
admire in such an open and intimate setting, plus an
amazing theater. We talked about music, art, life, gear, Photos from the Tape Op Conference: Check out prosoundweb.com and their forums,
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love, cars, hoops, burritos, and more! Had a good chat www.mil-media.com/images/tapeop/tape-op-con- articles and more. There’s even a Tape Op section
with Joe Chiccarelli. I’m psyched for next year! 2002.shtml Best, online! If you missed winning a plate reverb you can
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Nick Luca, Tucson, AZ John La Grou, www.mil-media.com build one, see issue #28 for the article. -LC

Respond to Tape Op: POB 14517, Portland, OR 97293 or Editor@tapeop.com

 I’ve produced many, many independent records and I
used to own a studio in Seattle. I also do quite a bit of
engineering and mixing for bands on major labels and this
is what actually pays the bills. I understand the risky
economics of the studio/production business as well as
anyone. I’m a big boy, I’m not whining... but I am
complaining. About 6 months ago I noticed that most every
major label project was arriving as Pro Tools files. More and
more I heard A&R guys asking the question, “Do you
have Pro Tools”? For a while my flashy tape
editing skills could keep them at bay. Macho psychology 101
worked on the bands: “What do you need Pro Tools for? You
guys can play your instruments, right?” and then of course
there was always the bottom line: “Tape sounds better”. Mix
projects started arriving as Pro Tools files. My manager was
wondering why I was dragging my feet. Record company
execs and singers in rock bands who had no idea how
records were ever made in the first place were asking me if
I had it. I found myself sitting behind rented Pro Tools
systems most of the time. I lost whole days in very expensive
rooms to computer problems and crashing. I had sold my
studio and missed being able to make up lost time on
projects by working on them at my own place. If I wanted
to try something crazy or go nuts on a song, it was great to
be able to tell the band not to worry about the studio time.
I had a decision to make. Most of you can probably guess
what my dilemma was. Do I get a small/cheap home system
suitable for writing and pre-production. Or do I jump into a
full-blown Pro Tools rig that I could charge rental fees for?
Pro Tools had become the standard (at least here in the
States). Near as I could tell, they did not have the best
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12/13 The Creative Music Recording Magazine
product on the market. I knew this. They were clearly
overpriced. I wasn’t in denial about it. Relatively intelligent
people had been comparing software and complaining
about the sound of the Pro Tools mixer and it made me
nervous. The 888 was a pretty old converter and I was sure
something new would sound better. I wasn’t completely sure
I liked the sound of the thing, but as I mostly use separate
outputs and mix on large automated consoles I figured that
maybe I could get away with it. At the end of last year I was
looking at engineering two major label records, back to
back, in the beginning of 2002. With the rental fees I could
charge for the rig (which were still less than the band would
have to pay a rental company), I could pay for about half
the cost of the beast with these few months of work. Around
Christmastime I had a few days off and had to make the
decision in time to put the thing together and ship it to the
residential studio where I was about to spend three or four
months of my life. I arrived there on Dec. 26th and plugged
in. On January 7th Digidesign announced that they would
be making an announcement a week later. I had just paid a
premium price for a workstation that I had had to be
convinced to use, and things were about to get worse. Three
weeks after buying my very expensive workstation (shit, I could
have bought a 2” and a reasonable console!) the thing was a
boat anchor due to the release of Pro Tools HD. I called my audio
dealer in a panic. He explained that Digidesign had an upgrade
path for people like me. I said, “Who? Complete idiot fools who
bought Digi’s hype?” and he said, no, it was for people who had
bought their systems after Nov. 15th. I called Digidesign. I got
a very polite sales guy on the phone. I knew that he was
between a rock and a hard place, answering the phones on the
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day of the announcement and all. Here’s what they offered: I
can trade in my three (brand new) 888s for the new interface
units (the 194s) that list for exactly the same price an 888
did three weeks before for an additional $1695 per unit. I
can also trade my two-card core system in for the new one
(which also lists for the same dollar amount) for an
additional $2000. That’s something like seven grand to keep
my three week-old system current. Obviously, my business
plan was out the window. I’m all for progress and everything,
but I paid for brand recognition and compatibility. There’s
no way I can charge rental on anything except a current top-
of-the-line system. The first album I did on the system was
for a British band. Guess what? They had a few tracks already
recorded for the album and these were done at various
studios in the UK on Radar and Nuendo systems. After the
project was finished I went home to Seattle (the second
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band got dropped before we could even start the record,
more great timing for me). I called my audio dealer guy
again and he just about fell over himself apologizing. He
went to bat for me with Digidesign, as he had for other
clients who had bought within the two-month window. He
had no luck. He gave me the number of the main sales guy
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at Digi, who politely offered me the exact same deal. Oh, and
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he said that he’d throw in Digidesign’s reverb plug-in if I
signed a non-disclosure agreement. I explained that I’d
happily pay the difference in list price or just about anything
else, but no, he said he couldn’t do anything about the
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$7000. This is how they treat their “community of users”?
This is what I paid a premium price for?
John Goodmanson, Seattle, WA,
johngood@mindspring.com
continued on the next page>>>

From Classical to Rock & Roll. . .
The MP-2NV captures the highs and the lows.
Whether you’re wanting accurate
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It breaks my heart to hear stories like this! Technology
has really gotten the best of us in our fast lane, disposable
culture and our “needs” have made us too vulnerable to
corporate scams! Speaking of needs, do we really need Pro
Tools? If it were up to me I’d tell the future to kiss my ass
although it sounds like the future already took a big ol’ bite
outta John’s! There was a time when music wasn’t
perfected in a computer and it was more human, more
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tangible and I’ll listen to an imperfect band with an
imperfect recording and performance recorded 10 to 70
years ago with far greater pleasure than some finely crafted
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Macintosh product. God bless mistakes, it’s how we learn!
Jef Brown, WWRS Recording, Portland, OR,
shakdog@hotmail.com
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Never buy anything just before Winter NAMM unless
you can’t do without it and you know that it will pay
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for itself before NAMM. But even in that case rent or
borrow. It seems that John broke this rule.
Rob Lodes, rob@secret-secret.com
Studio owners have always had to make the tough choice
between giving customers what they ask for (not necessarily what
is better) or pleasing themselves. In 1994 I reviewed Soundscape
(originally a small Belgian company, now owned by Mackie and
based around dedicated hardware). Since then I’ve purchased two
systems and accelerated both for 24-track capability. These ancient
systems are still supported, are compatible with the current
hardware and I can run my system on a Pentium.
Eddie Ciletti, www.tangeible-technology.com
I sympathize with John’s aggravation over his situation, but I’m
not sure Digidesign is guilty of anything more than upgrading their
platform soon after he bought his system. I think pro audio
products, like the engineers who use them, should be expected to
consistently improve and become more valuable in the process.
David Weiss, mrdavidsam@yahoo.com
A&R people aren’t usually technically inclined and probably just
don’t know any better. Younger artists hear the magic words “Pro
co
Tools” all over the place but don’t realize that there are better and
easier alternatives. The recording process wasn’t “broken” before
the advent of Pro Tools, so why are we trying to fix it?
Rob Gainer, Sea Note Recording, www.seanoterecording.com
Remember the Sony 3348? How would you have liked to spend
)
$300,000 on a recorder you can’t get $50,000 for today, just a few
years later, because of “affordable” systems like Pro Tools? Not
ot
much different. This is the “price of doing business” and how you
react to these things will steer your future in the industry. As for
the HD system, the jury is still out and there are not a lot of new
(d
systems out there yet, so your system isn’t as obsolete as you
might think. More projects will come, the system will pay for itself
(albeit a bit longer then expected), you will prevail and you will
be stronger for it.
Larry DeVivo, www.silvertonemastering.com
l One of the first things you need to keep in mind is that the new
HD system is still under development. As far as I know, none of the
ai
key plug-ins exist for it yet, so if you had held out for the new one
For specifications and information you’d still have major issues with that system. You could have
contact Dan Kennedy at Great River spent weeks getting it running as you find new issues that no one,
Electronics – 651.455.1846 or visit our
gm
including tech support, has run into. At the rate technology has
website at greatriverelectronics.com been moving we could have a new industry standard in 18 months,
and there’s even a possibility the HD system may never become a
standard. Right now you have a system that is a standard and suits
your needs - you may find that in the long run you did actually
make the best move. And, you’ve got a system that going to be
t)
much easier and cheaper to upgrade and expand.
In the near future, Digi may be forced to reckon with Mike Caffrey, www.monsterisland.com
cheaper, better systems on the market, just like Ford
My comments are not so much about any one company (I’ve
(a
had to deal with other auto manufacturer’s fulfilling the
gotten good support from Digidesign) but the state of the entire
peoples’ desire for a car in a color other than black, and
industry. I learned Pro Tools because I had to. It’s very nice for lo-
just like video editing standard AVID is now forced to
fi applications such as radio or TV advertising. It does NOT belong
deal with systems, like Media 100 and Final Cut Pro,
in serious audio recording. Why do I bother to “upgrade” to more
that offer the same video post production features at a
tracks, greater sampling rate, newest this, greatest that? Because
fraction of the cost.
if I don’t some schmuck down the street with “more stuff” and
John Bosch, www.powerloungemusic.com
two-days’ experience takes all my business. It doesn’t matter how
If you’re a pro user, you can afford it. If you can’t good my engineering skills are: if so & so has the latest “unlimited-
afford it, you’re not a pro user. Don’t get bent, “pro” in virtualtrack-digigizmo-2003” that’s where people want to record. It
this case means someone whose clients and budgets matters not that I can make a better-sounding product with an
demand the defacto industry standard/overpriced/ MCI 4-track, if I can’t offer 128 tracks to your 3-piece band you’ll
customer-hostile Pro Tools setup. Native systems can do go down the street where you can record 30 fuck ups for every good
a lot. If you can get your work done with them, great, minute of disc space. The whole “upgrade” cycle continues, and
but they’re NOT THERE YET for the hardcore pro, and the the manufacturers laugh all the way to the bank.
name recognition is important for the major labels. David Patterson, Missing Link Audio Services,
F. Reid Shippen, Mixer, makeitwork@comcast.net Knoxville, TN, Cptanalog@aol.com
 This guy could have done his homework and found out
that HD was on the way... We all should be aware by now
that Digidesign is the “necessary evil”. If he was too busy
with clients to see the whole picture, then he can afford to
lease a HD system.
Brian Lucey, Nude and Magic Garden Recording
Studio, www.bigfatcircle.com
Thanks for quoting me so accurately in [issue #29’s]
interview. Even though we spoke at length I forgot to
mention that I had another fine assistant at Allaire
Studios during the making of David Bowie’s Heathen. His
name is Todd Vos, who covered for Brandon Mason when
Brandon went off and got married (how dare he!). Todd is
wonderful at engineering and is also an expert at death
match Frisbee. Both Brandon and Todd assisted me on the
first two days, helping me get that big Allaire drum sound,
and I gladly took their advice because of their experience
might try getting to know some of your local studio techs, also
see if there is are any antique/ham radio clubs in your area.
They usually tend to have an ex radio station chief engineer
or two. As for the Langevin AM16s, I will have to look at my
schematics. You can calculate which transistors would be likely
to give you the added gain you need by looking up what the
original transistor’s spec is for gain and then going to a
transistor substitution guide, finding what is a replacement
and compare the two gain ratings. Looks as if the one of the
ones I have is using 2N5210, so I might start there. Don’t
change the last pair of transistors, (those would be the large
ones). In all of the AM16s I’ve encountered I’ve never seen
them replaced, unless of course they went bad. One last word,
what a beautifully simple yet complex design - Class A
complimentary symmetry, zero coupling capacitors and
feedback taken from its own dedicated winding on the
primary of the output transformer. A suggestion, for your next
make sure you don’t get stuck with 638 or 640 amp cards as
these used op amps instead of discrete components.
Wil Bailey, Seattle, WA, wxbaile@uswest.com
If you need to find a replacement semiconductor
(transistor, op amp, etc), you would do well to get a cross-
reference guide. The big three are ECG (Motorola, G.E.,
Sylvania, and Raytheon), NTE (www.nteinc.com), and SK
(RCA). You should be able to get cross-reference guides for
these part series at your better local electronic shops, but
Radio Shack does not carry them. Some useful vendors are
Jameco Electronics (www.jameco.com), Mouser Electronics
(www.mouser.com), Digi-Key (www.digikey.com) and
Moyer Electronics (online cross ref at
www.moyerelectronics.com). You may also want to check
out www.mitatechs.com, the web site of the Musical
Instrument Technicians Association.
Jeff McKnight, Chief Engineer,

co
in that massive room. I’m happy to say that I’m never too Rack-It-Yourself try either a Neve 1272 or a 3400 series line Creativity/Dragon Studios
old to learn. I also forgot to mention that my eighth amp. They require the least tweaks for controlling gain, just r
home studio turned into a commercial one yet again. In
February I began renting a small studio from Philip Glass
in his Looking Glass Studios. David Bowie and I finished
GHOSTt) STORIES

)
a few last mixes in Studio B and loved the sound there.
It was up for rent and I took it. I combined my Pro Tools

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rig with Philip’s and now have more DSP than I can shake
a something-or-other at. But the pleasant addition to my
new little room is an Otari MTR-90 with a 16-track head
block (my favorite 2” format). I will be basking in the

(d
extra kick of analog in the very near future, once I get this
baby up and running again. There is a nice MCI 600 series
console in there and it sounds pretty nasty. I love it. The
entire studio complex used to belong to Tommy Boy
records, so the spirit of Old School Hip Hop will no doubt
creep into my future productions (most of your readers
just passed out). Anyway, it’s nice to have a base in NYC!
l
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Tony Visconti, somewhere in NY
Where does one find out about modifications? Looking
for the transistor number for the Langevin AM16 50 dB gain
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mod has only lead me in circles. People who do the mods

themselves are not exactly forthcoming, as I am taking
away their business by doing it myself.
Dave Heinke, DHeinke@omnispectrum.com
As a technician, I can tell you that I enjoy helping
people with these types of projects, but they do take time,
energy, and money to complete. Although I have been “The first time I ever saw a Ghost was four years ago at Gregg
known to modify equipment for friends in exchange for a Williams’ studio here in Portland. I used his board to mix some
six-pack of Bass Ale, I do like to earn money for the effort tracks for a Kaitlyn ni Donovan record and was really impressed
(a

I put into developing my modifications. Perhaps the best with it. It sounded so much nicer than every other console in its
route for you would be to teach yourself a bit about audio price range, plus it had a bunch of cool features – phase invert
circuitry. There are several forums online, such as Headwize,
switches, versatile EQ, plenty of sends, flexible routing. Even
today, to step up from a Ghost, you’d have to spend thousands
E-Panorama, Audio-DIY, rec.audio.pro, and even Tape Op’s
of dollars more, which is why I chose to put one in my own
forum. These places have regular posts from techs and
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studio last October.”

engineers, and some even feature online articles and DIY
projects. Sure, you’ll be in over your head at first, but give Tony Lash is a Portland, Oregon-based recording engineer and
yourself a little time, and you’ll catch up. Or, I suppose you producer. A partial list of his credits includes: The Dandy Warhols,
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could befriend me and contribute to my beer supply. Eric Matthews, Cardinal, Richard Davies, Elliott Smith, Heatmiser,
Matt Newport, Hi-Tone Pro Audio, Chicago IL, James Angell, Lowgold, Sunset Valley and Ida.
mnew5@juno.com
You have opened the famed Pandora’s box. Mods are and
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www.soundcraft.com
were usually distributed by the manufacturer or from technical Soundcraft +44 (0)1707 665000
TapeOp

info@soundcraft.com
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staff back to the manufacturer for approval and distribution. Soundcraft USA 1-888-251-8352
soundcraft-usa@harman.com
Finding the missing link can be difficult and painstaking. You

14/15 The Creative Music Recording Magazine

 Under
The Radar
A sampling of the home-made CD-Rs and cassettes we receive.

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Harvieux by Matt Mair Lowery
Harvieux EP (CD-R)
Harvieux EP is a stunning disc that, like Spoon’s Soft Effects or Kid Dakota’s So Pretty, finds art in the confines of its abbreviated format. Erik Lundberg, Harvieux’s driving
creative force, builds a world of sadness into the five songs here, creating a cohesive cycle that draws you in with both amazing lyrics and compelling sounds. Lundberg
recorded half the disc in his Minneapolis apartment, dodging traffic noise and water heater sounds (witness the perfectly in-time crack of the heater in “Cast off”) as he

)
tracked to a Tascam 424 and a 16-bit ADAT via a Carvin board, Symetrix compressor, Bellari MP110 tube pre and Alesis Midiverb II. The other half was recorded on a Mac
G3 with Pro Tools LE and a bunch of help from Chad Kelco at his home studio in San Diego. The recording of the acoustic guitars alone is a must-hear. Mic’d mostly with

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an AKG CS1000 (six inches out from the 13th fret), a 57 (on the sound hole), and an Audio Technica Pro 37R (up in the ceiling, run through a Rat pedal and compressed),
the sound is pure and blends beautifully with the rest of the instrumentation. In both recording situations, care obviously went into getting good sounds and performances.
Still, Lundberg was open to accidentally discovered sounds as well. A Telecaster with a toy megaphone on the pickup, run direct through a delay pedal, provides creepy

(d
ambience on the astounding “Trial Size Veins”. And a speaker cable, grounded to the case of a Rat pedal, delivers a wail on the noise-fest “Antennas over the tundra”. (EP
$5 ppd in US, $6 abroad, harvieux@hotmail.com, www.harvieux.com, payable to Erik Lundberg, 3248 Alabama Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55416)
Bathtub Full of Sharks
Rubber Sharky (CD-R)
Rubber Sharky blasts out of the speakers with a mid-fi urgency that recalls Nuggets-era garage rock and ‘70s punk: The same knack for sing-along melodies, hook-filled guitar
l
lines and dark lyrics dominates singer/guitarist Antonio Gonzalez’s tunes. The band took steps to make sure it got a driving, live feel down on tape. “We didn’t use any
compressors, effects, EQ, or noise reduction in tracking,” says Gonzalez. “I wanted it to be raw just like the band. Everything went dry into the Tascam Porta-Studio 414
ai
MKII 4-track.” A minimal mic setup, just two Sony F-V9s and a Peavey Low Z, significantly shaped the sound. Except for the bass, which went direct, Gonzalez employed
a mic close to his sources and one several feet away to capture room sounds. It definitely leaves the live feel intact. In this case, though, that doesn’t spell sonic monotony.
The band achieved varied sounds song-to-song in post-production. Check out the brash, melodic hi-hat that floats above the rest of the kit and drives “Pop Rocks (aren’t
gm

hard candy)” for proof. On this catchy tune, the drum track was EQ’d, compressed and run through a Bomb Factory 1176 plug-in (“8:1 ratio, fastest release time, about 3
dB of reduction on the meter”) to terrific, unique effect. ($5, Room Service Records, order online at www.bathtubfullofsharks.com, roomservicerecords@yahoo.com)
Post Junk Trio
Reservoir Fish (CD-R)
Reservoir Fish is one of those rare genre-hopping albums that actually works. San Francisco’s Post Junk Trio manages to blend jazz, rock, folk, pop and more into a grooving
t)

batch of songs that gels and doesn’t feel like patchwork. A spirit of sonic playfulness rules here, at times recalling the inventiveness of The Latin Playboys and the swagger
of Morphine (vocalist/multi-instrumentalist/engineer Frank Swart recorded and played with Morphine and related Boston-area acts). Most tracks were recorded by Swart at
his home on a Fostex R8 1/4” open reel 8-Track through the Fostex board that came with it. The diverse tunes are built from various sources such as live, full-band
performances in Swart’s kitchen, drum loops recorded at gigs and a Roland 606 drum machine. The Trio adds more variety by throwing in samples (A James Baldwin reading
(a

on the great, ominous “Giovanni’s Room,” some dialog from “Boogie Nights” outtakes) and other unexpected treats (like the beautiful vocals, partially in French, of Bridgitte
Vavasseur on the laid-back lament “Markie Goes To Heaven”). All this, on top of a bed of varied percussion (a great kit, pots, pans, kitchen utensils and chimes) and
thoughtfully treated bass and saxophone, makes for an interesting record that reveals new sounds each time you listen. Oh, and the songs are great too. ($11.99, order
online at www.postjunktrio.com, info@postjunktrio.com)
Skycam
lf

Minutes Into Days (CD)

New York’s Skycam revels in the joys of Luna/Yo La Tengo-ish indie guitar rock. And while they may not be doing anything new, they do it so well that you can’t help but
be sucked in by the rocking, swelling sounds that they conjure. To keep costs down, Skycam broke up the recording process, first tracking the basics live at Mad Moose in
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New Jersey with engineer Greg Thompson to his Pro Tools rig (through Mad Moose’s Trident 65 console). The band then did vocals and overdubs on their own using a Roland
VS880, later bringing the tracks back into Pro Tools for mixing. In the mixdown, Thompson used all internal effects plug-ins, particularly the SansAmp PSA1 on organ and
Kee bass, Mondo-Mod on guitar tremolo, and Filterbank and DigiRack compressors on everything. They’re all well done, and totally organic sounding, as was Thompson’s
intent. “I tried to capture the energy of the band’s live show, which pretty much bowls you over with the guitars, but I also wanted to let the listener hear the details in
e

the vocals and keyboard parts that tend to get lost in the wall of sound they project.” Mission accomplished. (www.skycam-music.com, band@skycam-music.com.)
th

Be sure to check out the new Under The Radar mp3 page (www.pdxbands.com/utr) and “Under The Radar Radio” at www.mp3.com.

Matt runs PDXBands.com (www.pdxbands.com) and Seattlite (www.seattlite.com), two sites devoted to bringing the music of Northwest artists to the internet.
th
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(a
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 THE AUDIX
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enhancement. Excellent for
snare, bongos, high-hat,
flute

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congas, sax, percussion.

D-3 - You can mic a jet

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co
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guitar cabs, timbales,
trumpet.

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with extended lows. Floor
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sax, trombone, bass cabs.

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(a

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th
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 by Phill Brown
Paul Carrack 19th March 1980

Are We Still Rolling?

I tried to do what the Ward Sister at the Middlesex Hospital
had said, and spent four weeks taking it easy, resting on the
sofa, reading Initiation (an autobiographical novel by
Elizabeth Haich) and listening to all kinds of music. Initially,
having a break from London and the recording process was
fine, but by the end of October 1978, I was feeling bored and
restless. Although part of me wanted to escape from the
music business and the feeling of endless sessions, there was
an equally strong side that needed the buzz, excitement and
the adrenaline rush of being in the thick of it. As I had not
received many telephone calls offering work, I decided to
spend some time in London, just hanging out. Having not
worked since September with Roxy Music, I was anxious to
We interviewed Phill Brown in issue number 12 of Tape Op.
Over the years he’s worked with some of the greatest artists
ever, like Jimi Hendrix, Joe Cocker, Traffic, Spooky Tooth,
Jeff Beck, Led Zeppelin, Robert Palmer, Bob Marley,
Steve Winwood, Harry Nilsson, Roxy Music, Stomu Yamash’ta,
John Martyn, Little Feat, Dido, and Talk Talk.
This is another excerpt from his (still!) unpublished book,
Are We Still Rolling?, and we’ll keep running
more chapters from it in
upcoming issues.

co
find something for the winter months, if possible.
I called in on the crew at Basing Street Studios - I still did
the occasional session there and treated the offices as a
London base. I found Robert Ash recording basic tracks with
The Only Ones in Studio 1, while Phil Ault was downstairs in

)
Studio 2, mixing some TV backing tracks. I spent some time
in each studio, catching up on the latest news and gossip,

ot
watching and listening to the proceedings and drinking some
of the ever-present supply of tea. Not wishing to be in the
way, I left after a couple of hours and went around the corner

(d
to Alan Spenner’s house in St Luke’s Road - partly to continue
my quest for work, but mainly to have a smoke, see Alan and
find out what he was up to.
14A St. Lukes Road was a detached house, the only one of
its kind in the street, with a tall brick wall surrounding it and
a pair of large wooden gates to allow entry. It was a large
house, with flaking white paint and a battered and scratched
l
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front door. I made my way along me path, stepping over a
couple of boxes of various empty wine, beer and spirit bottles.
The curtains at the bay window (the only room visible
downstairs) were, as usual, drawn closed. I could hear the
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muffled sound of music as I began to bang on the door. After

a long while someone heard and the front door was opened.
I entered the hallway, where there were stairs off to the left
and a circular window set high on the wall. Straight ahead of
me was the kitchen and to the right a door led into a large
t)

room about 15’ by 24’, being two rooms knocked into one.
With the combination of the low lighting, stacks of equipment
and clouds of blue cigarette smoke it was difficult at first to
see anything. Dimly visible were Alan and what appeared to years Alan and I had worked together with a wide boxes around the walls, there was a Marshall 4x12
(a

be most of the members of Kokomo, along with Paul Carrack,
who were set up and rehearsing, under the name of The
Retainers. I had known Alan Spenner since the days of
Olympic Studios in Barnes thirteen years earlier, during
sessions for Joe Cocker and the Grease Band. He was now 30
lf
and varied assortment of artists in addition to Joe
Cocker - Kenny Young, Murray Head, Robert Palmer,
Dana Gillespie, Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi, Jess
Roden, Roxy Music, and of course Kokomo. Above all,
we trusted each other and were good friends.
100 watt amplifier, two Fender Twin amps, an Ampeg
Portaflex amplifier, a Yamaha CP70 electric piano, an
old Moog synth, and what looked like bits of broken
gear piled up in one corner. A half-buried upright
acoustic piano protruded from a vast heap of tied-up

years old, with long dark brown hair and heavy eyebrows. Alan
exhibited three day-old stubble, was chunky (not fat) and had
the stance of someone who exercised too little and drank too
much. As usual he was wearing black boots, faded jeans, a T-
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I sat down on the floor in a corner, near to the newspapers and there were mic stands, an array of
drums but out of the way. As the band continued to foot pedals and F/X boxes, leads, ashtrays and clutter.
play through songs and discuss arrangements, I It was chaos. The little bit of carpet I could see had
checked out the room. There was little visible floor several generations of tea and coffee stains on it and

shirt and thick woolen cardigan and was standing by his space as most of it was covered with equipment, two large burns. The room had originally been
amplifier - bass guitar in one hand and the remains of a roll- cables, boxes and people. Around the walls, piled painted white, but the little of it that was now visible
your-own cigarette in the other. Alan was a hero of mine, both almost to the ceiling, were flight-cases, speaker was covered in black scuffs and there were large chips
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as a player and as a person. At 20 he had played at the cabinets, amplifiers, PA systems and cardboard boxes. missing from the paintwork around the doors. The
Woodstock Festival with Joe Cocker, later joined Spooky Tooth Pushed into the bay window there was a Hammond only daylight entered through a partly obscured
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and from the mid-1970s had formed Kokomo with another organ and Leslie cabinet littered with coats, bits of window four feet above my head. There was a strange
Grease Band member, Neil Hubbard. Over the previous 10 clothing and tea mugs. Apart from the equipment and indeterminate smell that was a combination of damp,
 tobacco, joss sticks, sweat, electrical equipment and
curry. I feared there might also be the hint of some
dead rodent or half-eaten sandwich trapped behind a
speaker cabinet.
As I sat there taking all this in and thinking it was
more untidy than usual, I became aware of the band
playing and how good it all sounded. We had Jeff
Seopardie on drums, Alan Spenner on bass, Neil Hubbard
on guitar, Mel Collins on sax and Dyan Birch on vocals.
I knew all these people well and had worked with them
many times during the previous 10 years, with one
exception. Playing electric piano and singing was Paul
Carrack, whom I had met only recently, during the Roxy
Music sessions for the LP Manifesto at Ridge Farm. On
that occasion he had appeared calm and professional
and had spoken very little. Paul was short and stocky,
with thinning hair, a dark beard and a pair of eyes that
looked straight through you. In appearance he was an
ordinary looking bloke who might enjoy an evening
down the pub playing darts with a beer and a fag or, in
the summer, sunbathing with a hankie on his head. With
hindsight, he looked like a demo for Phil Collins. Besides
the band Ace, Paul had played keyboards for Squeeze
and Nick Lowe - securing a solid reputation among other
musicians. His manner was quiet and detached, with
little verbal communication and he appeared just to let
things slide along, but he played well, wrote great songs
and had a wonderful voice.
In the environment of Spenner’s house, with
whatever drugs they were on, they were all quiet, calm
and reserved. Neil Hubbard - a sweetie and very laid-
back, Jeff Seopardie – Mr. Cool, an extrovert, like all
drummers, Mel Collins- “Mellow Mel”, a gentleman,
charming, talented and polite, Paul - withdrawn. And
then there was Spenner - a twinkle in his eye and a
broad grin on his face, swaying as he played, cigarette
in mouth. I loved his playing and his attitude. I was
having a great time sitting on the floor and listening
to them play and I spent the remainder of the
afternoon and evening there. Later that night, while
the band were in the local pub, I helped Brendan Walsh
to plug-up microphones and assemble an 8-track
system for him to record the rehearsals. We converted
a small upstairs bedroom into a control room and ran
mic cables and foldback leads down the stairs. I
borrowed an AKG D12 and a 224 from Basing Street and
Brendan bragged a couple of mics and headphones
(a
from his friend ‘Mad Pete’ in Powis Square.
Brendan Walsh was a typical shady music business
survivor. Over the years he had been a roadie, sound
engineer, manager, publisher, promoter and dealer. He
was now a 30 year old wide-boy, a cool and relaxed
lf
hustler, who worked really hard getting projects
together for artists - and then took his cut. I liked him
and found him to be one of the genuine “good guys”. I
liked his straightforwardness. He had a solid “hands-on”
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attitude to wiring and cables, earths and amplifiers,
desks and tape heads, and it all showed - the sound
quality of the equipment was very good. The band had
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an excellent batch of songs and, once they had returned
TapeOp
from the pub, they persuaded me to stay and record
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demos for them at the house. As in the old ‘40s
musicals, it was a case of “let’s do the show right here.”
20/21 The Creative Music Recording Magazine
There followed three wild days of work, beginning
on the 31st of October. I was upstairs in the bedroom
with the 8-track recording equipment while a full band
stormed away downstairs. We ate little, but did take
regular breaks to make tea (sometimes with toast), to
chop out lines of coke, roll joints and make trips to the
pub. By November 2nd we had recorded, overdubbed
and mixed six songs. It was agreed that Brendan would
take these demos to various record companies and see
what interest he could generate.
I returned home to Sussex, and over the next two
weeks received a number of telephone calls offering paid
work. During 1979 I spent time at the Marquee,
EasyHire, Basing Street, Wally Heider and the
Roundhouse studios, with a selection of artists including
The Movies, Runner, Jim Capaldi, Dire Straits and Bos
Tweed. In the meantime Brendan went around all the
record companies with the Retainers’ demo tapes.
One of Brendan’s meetings was with Dave Bates, the
A&R man at Phonogram Records (by the mid 1990s
Phonogram was part of the Polygram empire, along with
A&M, London, Philips, Island, Polydor, Vertigo, etc.,
etc.) During his 20-minute meeting with Dave Bates,
Brendan played the house demos of The Retainers and
discussed “various possibilities”. I never found out
exactly what he said, or how he achieved it, but
Brendan only played two or three tracks to Bates and
came away with an album deal. However, the deal was
for Paul Carrack - a solo deal. Perhaps Dave’s decision
was influenced by Paul’s track record (writing the single
“How Long” and his success with the band Ace) or
maybe the situation with The Retainers was not fully
explained, or possibly I had just misunderstood the
arrangement. However, for whatever reason, Paul now
l Richard Bailey, Noel McCalla, Kuma Harada, and Martin
ai
had a deal. He asked me to co-produce the album and
to use the rest of the band, i.e. The Retainers, to work
with him on the recordings. Although this didn’t seem
to me to have been the original plan, the band accepted
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these arrangements and prepared to record the album.
Before this could happen, it was necessary for Paul
and myself (as producers) to go to the A&R department
of Phonogram Records and have a meeting with Dave
Bates. This was duly set up and we played him three
t)
other songs that had been recorded at Alan’s house.
We discussed budgets, possible studios and the
musicians we planned to use. Dave was good looking,
6’ tall, with dark hair and a boyish face. He was
wearing jeans and a blue shirt and sat at a tidy desk,
with just a few papers piled up at one end and a Revox
B77 stereo tape machine at the other. This tape
machine was connected to an impressive sound
system. Dave’s attitude was cool and confident and he
had all the record company techno jargon down to a
tee. Most of the time he appeared to be more
interested in his own project, The Blitz Brothers, (a
band of which he was a member, along with Chris
Hughes) and played us their new single - twice. I was
unused to this kind of meeting and felt ill at ease.
Although I was better known as an engineer, I had co-
produced various artists (albeit without marked
success) including Amazing Blondel, Dana Gillespie,
Robert Palmer, Jim Capaldi and Andy Mackay. However,
up until now the majority of these artists had come
through Island Records, or friends and associates and,
although l had assembled budgets, booked musicians
and organized studio time, I had been to very few A&R
meetings. There was a lot to learn and the first lesson
was “Dave is in control.” I thought him an arrogant,
egotistical prat, quite possibly public school and with
a few hang-ups. After 40 minutes, as Paul and I were
getting ready to leave at the end of the meeting,
Master Bates turned to me and said, “So Phill, how do
you hear the album? What’s it going to sound like?”
This has since become the most common, and for me,
the worst question that can be asked by any A&R person.
I’ve never really worked to a fixed, tried and tested
formula, so every album I work on may sound different,
even with the same artists. If I had any formula at all in
1979, it had developed naturally over the previous ten
years and would have been made up of a combination of
co
things, including training under Glyn Johns and Keith
Grant, knowing studios like Basing Street and Olympic
very well, using similar mics on a daily basis, and
knowing what sounds and performances I might be
looking for and how to get them. Most significantly, I
)
had embraced the whole idea of the Island way of
working, whereby you captured the band’s performance
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and attitude and only helped steer the project back on
course from time to time if required. My only personal
production preferences were for open, warm sounds,
(d
with plenty of “air”.
All this is very different from knowing, beforehand,
what the finished album would sound like. Dave knew
my track record, and the musicians involved, (the plan
to use the members of Kokomo, plus Tim Renwick on
guitar, Andy Newmark on drums, and if possible
Drover). The question, “How do you hear the album?”
seemed even more irrelevant than usual. I felt trapped,
but I had to say something. I had been inhibited by
the afternoon’s antics and was now thrown by this
particular question. I was feeling slightly panicked and
out of my depth. “Well... it’s going to be cool... you
know. Like laid-back smooth, funk... er, (TING -
inspiration floods into a scrambled brain) ...Doobie
Brothers-ish” I said.
“Oh great,” said Dave. “Okay, I’ll leave it to you.”
I left the office with Brendan and Paul. Turning to
Brendan I said, “Well, at least I didn’t say ‘Man’”.
During 1979 there were many delays and sidetracks,
due mainly to the availability or otherwise of the
musicians. We finally started work on Paul’s album at
RG Jones studio in Wimbledon on the 5th of November.
A year had passed since the initial recording of the
demos in Spenner’s house. I was now becoming aware
of much more interference from the A&R departments.
They appeared to have more say in the overall sound of
an album, or how they wanted it mixed, than ever
before. This fortunately (for them) coincided with the
advent of computer mixing and the ability to retain
endless alternatives during mixing. Before 1979 I was
not really used to this form of “input”, or the speed at
which a total winner could become a turkey in the eyes
of the record company. Albums I had recorded with Reg
Laws and The Pictures were not released (both Arista),
and Jim Capaldi’s album Sweet Smell of Success only
continued on page 26 >>>
Guitar Tuning
Nightmares
Explained
(Part 1 of 2)
by Jack Endino
Everyone who’s had tuning
nightmares during a recording
session, raise your hand. Gee, that’s
just about everyone, isn’t it?
As a guy who’s been recording guitar bands for 14
years now, I have to admit to a problem: I have a
painfully accurate awareness of tuning. This means I
hear tuning discrepancies some people might not
notice consciously; other people might just feel
slightly uncomfortable without knowing why. Many of
us who are engineer/producers have this
blessing/curse. As a wee lad, I would turn on the radio
and find myself thinking “Wow... Hendrix is out of tune
there!” or “Rod Stewart’s way sharp on this whole
song” or “Why is that organ part so out of tune with
the guitars?” And some classical orchestral music
drives me nuts for this reason. Yup, a curse.
In less-commercial pop music (i.e. “indie rock”)
you can get away with more, if you’re good. Sonic
Youth and Pavement just wouldn’t be the same if they
were always in perfect tuning… but not many bands
are capable of trumping imperfect tuning with their
sheer force of personality, and you shouldn’t assume
your band is one of them.
In the studio, of course, my ear for tuning is a
blessing… but if I get fatigued, it can transform into
the Beast That Ate The Session, as my ears start
playing tricks on me. I finally resolved to learn as much
as I could about potential “tuning nightmares” so I
could better defend myself.
To begin with, it is essential to grasp one iron-clad
fact, or you will go insane:
It is impossible to ever get any fretted, stringed
instrument “perfectly in tune”. Nope. Can’t be done.
Once you understand this, you can start dealing
with the implications. Your life will become easier. I’ll
come back to this in a moment. Let’s talk tuners.
THE INFERNAL MACHINES
(a
Once in a blue moon I still get a band that actually
doesn’t use ‘em. Yeah, hard to believe, and this
becomes tuning nightmare #1 when someone wants to
do an overdub a few days later. Tuning by ear to the
tape can be damned difficult, especially with the
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crazed noisy bands I often work with. I generally beg
such a band to reconsider their tuner aversion, at least
for the few days they are in the studio with me. Seems
pretty obvious, right? (The single, amazing exception
wo
to this has been the band Zen Guerrilla, with whom I’ve
made two albums entirely tunerless. Their tuning sense
is so uncanny that I learned to just let ‘em alone.)
e
I encounter three kinds of tuners: the kinds with
little meters with needles that move (make sure you
th
hold them horizontal!), the kind with rows of flashing
LEDS, and those “strobe” types with a moving wheel
and a flashing light. I haven’t seen a strobe tuner Why does this work? Here’s a quick physics refresher.
in years, and never liked ‘em much, though they
work well if you can figure ‘em out. Oh yeah, then
The sound of a string being plucked is composed of a
fundamental tone (the “note” itself, which also happens
there’s those silly little “pitch pipes” like a mini- to be the lowest and loudest tone made by the string)
harmonica... avoid! mixed with a series of increasingly higher-toned, lower-
volume harmonics, starting with the octave (or “2nd
harmonic”) and then going on up to include higher
tones that are NOT octaves. Each harmonic corresponds
to the length of the string divided by a whole number.
The harmonic overtones are referred to by these
numbers, and they correspond to those little “nodes” or
dead spots on the strings where you can lightly place
The most common moving-needle types are the your fingers and get little chimey sounds. The 2nd
Boss Chromatic ones, and they’re pretty good, but harmonic or “octave” spot is exactly halfway along the
here’s a tip: the input jack is soldered directly to the string, right over 12th fret. The 3rd harmonic
internal circuit board, and these solder joints always corresponds to one-third the length of the string, and
co
crack eventually, which makes the tuner act can be found over frets 7 and 19, the 4th harmonic can
“intermittent,” with the needle jumping up and down. be found over frets 5, 12 and 24 (or right over the neck
I have resoldered more of these in the studio than I pickup), the 5th harmonic over frets 4, 9 and 16, etc.
can count; the plastic case comes apart easily, and you Several things to note:
can resolder the jack in seconds. If you have one, 1) The harmonics that are “powers of two” (2nd,
)
check it: it may not be a “bad guitar cable” that’s been 4th, 8th) are all octaves of the lowest, or “fundamental”
frustrating you. note. To a tuner, they are the SAME note.
ot
The little ones with flashing red and green LEDs 2) All the other harmonics represent DIFFERENT
that are often called “stage tuners” are rarely notes. It’s the unique combination of fundamental plus
accurate enough for studio use - their only these various harmonics that give any instrument its
advantage is that you can read ‘em without particular character or timbre.
(d
stooping and squinting. Hit that green LED, and 3) How you pluck the string, where you pluck the
you’re done, right? Maybe. Some are okay. The string, and where the pickup is located under the string,
cheaper moving-needle tuners are really not so determines the blend of “fundamental plus harmonics”
great either. In my opinion the truly greatest that you hear. Pluck it near the bridge, and you get a
innovation in tuners is the 19-inch-wide, single- twangy sound with lots of high tones. Pluck it near the
rackspace multiple-LED type that you can read from
clear across the stage. Korg makes some good ones.
l middle, and you get mostly a deeper, more “pure” tone.
Pluck it hard, and that initial burst of energy will cause
ai
I finally had to buy one of these super-tuners for more high harmonics. Put a pickup near the end of the
studio use; they are wonderful, deadly accurate string (at the bridge), and it will pick up more of those
machines. More on this in a moment. high harmonics; put it closer to the middle, and the
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fundamental tone will come through louder.
So… What is the tuner looking for? The
fundamental note of the string, and nothing else! All
the other tones made by the vibrating string “confuse”
the tuner, making it indecisive. Roll off your highs, use
the rhythm pickup, pluck near the middle... and just
t)
mail me a check, thank you very much. (Important:
remember to switch everything BACK before you start
playing the next song!)
Here’s another tip for tuning acoustic guitars that
don’t have built-in pickups. Go find a pair of
headphones, any old kind. AKG 240s work great. Put
SOME TUNING TRICKS the headphones “on” the guitar body, sort of straddling
Here’s another tip to make your life easier. You it front-to-back, near the hole. Plug ‘em into the input
know how when you plug a guitar in and pluck a string, of the tuner. It looks silly, but the headphones will act
sometimes the tuner needle (or LED display) wavers like a microphone.
back and forth and drives you crazy? And you have to THE REAL NIGHTMARE BEGINS
pluck it every which way before getting a good reading Consider a rock band with two guitars, bass and a
which finally settles down? Do these three things: keyboard guy with a Rhodes or Hammond. It is possible
1) switch your guitar to its rhythm (neck) pickup, if everyone will have their own tuner, and know how to
it has one; use it. But after you roll tape, you discover that
2) roll your guitar’s tone knobs all the way off, to someone is out of tune. They all check their tuning and
remove all the highs; and then everyone announces that their tuning is fine. Then
3) pluck the open string right over the twelfth fret, they all look at you (the engineer) accusingly. What to
not over the pickup. Try it; you’ll be amazed. do? Start removing variables.
 When I got my first “TEST CD” (a handy thing
everyone should have) it had some tuning reference
tones which were pure A440 Hz, etc. I was able to run
these pure notes into some typical guitar tuners. One
thing you should know is that CD players are very, very
speed accurate. They are not perfect but for our
purposes here, close enough. What I found made me
very sad. Aside from some tuners having more “slop” in
them, some of them have slight calibration differences.
Yes, one tuner’s “A” may be slightly different from
another tuner’s. (Close enough for “live,” you
understand.) Lesson: In the studio, have everyone use
the same tuner. It slows things down a bit in the short
run, but it’s worth it in the long run.
Okay, probably things are better now. But maybe
they aren’t. One guitarist is still consistently out of
tune on the recording. He checks again, and says
everything is fine. You borrow the guitar and check it
yourself with the same tuner, and it looks wrong to
you. Who’s right?
The problem is that different people, using the same
tuner, can tune in different ways. In order to see why,
you need to understand another bit of the physics of
vibrating strings. It took me years to realize this. Plug a
guitar into any old-school moving-needle tuner, and
pluck a string. You’ll see the needle shoot up and
OVERSHOOT the note and then settle back down. I
always assumed that it was just a bit of springiness in
the meter itself. It’s not! The string itself is actually
SHARP in the first instant after you pluck it. This is NOT
some artifact of the tuner detecting the extra harmonic
content during the initial attack of the note. No - it’s
actually the fundamental note of the string that goes
sharp!
This effect was explained to me once, though I
don’t recall the detailed “why” of it. However, those
giant rack-mount LED super-tuners reveal it clearly. The
essence of it is these things:
1) the harder you pluck a string, the sharper the
note of the initial attack will be;
2) the lower the tension on the string, the greater
this effect; and,
3) the higher up the neck you go on the frets, the
less this effect.
High strings hardly do it. Low E on the guitar will do
it like crazy. Bass strings can be hell. Thinner gauge
(a
strings tuned to a given note will do it more than thicker
strings tuned to the same note, because they have less
tension on them. If you listen, you can hear it when you
pluck a low E string hard: you can hear it go
“BWOWWWW” as you watch those flashing LEDS shoot
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all the way over to the right and then pull slowly back
over to the middle. By the time the note has truly,
completely “settled down,” it has almost died away.
A hell of a lot is implied by this universal behavior
wo
of a vibrating string. First of all, which part of the
string’s sound should you be trying to tune to?
Somewhere right after the pick attack? Or somewhere
e
right near the end, when it has settled down? If one
TAPEOP
guitarist is an impatient sort, and tunes near the
th
beginning of the plucked note when it has barely
settled down, and the other guy tunes using the very
22/23 The Creative Music Recording Magazine
end of the decay of the note, the impatient guy will
end up sounding flatter, at least on his low strings.
There’s no right answer to this, except to be consistent
— or have the same person tune all the band’s
instruments using one single tuner. Sometimes, in the
studio, that person is me; it’s easier than trying to
explain all this.
There’s another implication. Imagine you’re a rock
guitarist or bassist. You’re playing some fast punk rock
tunes, with lotsa 16th notes. Your picking hand is going
chug-chug-chug-chug, or gung-gung-gung-gung, on the
strings, rapidly and forcefully, for maybe an entire song.
So... which part of the note are people hearing the
whole time? Just the SHARP part, the initial attack. No
string ever rings long enough to “settle down” to that
note you were seeing on the tuner. The only time that
“in tune” note will ever exist is at the very end of the
final ringing power chord at the end of the song! If
you’re a heavy-handed pick player on the guitar, you are
It is impossible to ever get any fretted,
stringed instrument “perfectly in tune”.
Nope. Can’t be done.
going to sound slightly sharp the whole time. If you use
light gauge strings, you will be even sharper. A heavy
handed pick player on the bass can easily be 10 or 15
cents sharp the whole time, no matter how carefully he
uses the tuner! (I find this to be the case about 40% of
the time when recording rock bands.)
And, because the low strings do this “sharping-on- l
the-initial-attack” thing more than the high strings, the
ai
harder you play, the more out of tune the guitar will
sound with itself. Since it’s hard to tune to the “attack”
of the notes though (cuz that sharp instant goes by so
gm
fast) a solution I have employed often (with aggressive
rock players) is to intentionally flat the E string a slight
amount, and maybe the A string a slightly lesser
amount. Strum the guitar gently, and it sounds wrong.
But SCHWANG on it really hard, repeatedly, and it will
sound dead in tune each time, at least until you let it
t)
ring for more than a few seconds. It’s important to know
how it is going to be played!
A pattern I have observed repeatedly through rock
music history: guitars and vocals, the loudest musical
components, will seem fine, but bass will be sharp, and
the keyboards will seem flat. Wind instruments may
seem flat too. If you listen to a lot of garage records
from the ‘60s, and even a lot of well-known classics
from the ‘70s and ‘80s, you will notice this over and
over, now that I’ve called your attention to it. (Sorry!)
What’s actually happening is, the keys are fine, the
guitars are sharp, and the bass is sharper. Keyboard
instruments, for the most part, do not respond to
attack the way strings do, except acoustic pianos to a
very small extent (cuz they do have strings!). Many,
many times, when overdubbing vintage keyboard parts
later on top of guitar rock, I have had to slow the tape
speed by several cents to bring the recorded guitars
down into tune with the keys. Modern Studers and
Otaris are great for precise varispeeding. ADATs can do
it too. Pro Tools is not so great; the internal VSO has
rather coarse intervals of 7 cents at a time, which is
pretty inconvenient, though Digidesign might have
fixed this by now. Thankfully, modern electronic
keyboards have fine-tuning controls on them.
If I’m faced with a planned non-live situation
where everyone is counting on serious overdub
architecture, I’ll try to save doing the keeper bass track
until after all the guitar tracks have been laid down. Do
you want to have to retune each of the 14 guitar tracks
by ear to match a pre-existing badly-tuned bass, or
retune 1 bass to match 14 pre-existing guitars? This
completely goes against my preference for keeping the
“live” rhythm tracks when possible, but sometimes
that’s just how the cookie crumbles. These days I take
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it for granted that the bass might end up sounding
sharp, no matter what tuning contortions I go through
in advance. You don’t know until there are other
)
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instruments, actually playing the song, to compare
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with. I just accept it, and then we tune the bass to the
track by ear later and recut it, or run the “live” bass
track through a harmonizer and bring it down a few
cents. (“Of course, now with Pro Tools you can blah
blah blah...”)
If you ever work with one of those bands who tune
their guitars down impossibly low and use light strings,
you can lose your mind, because the tuning becomes a
continuously moving target. And that doesn’t even
take into account that the harder the strings are
squeezed against the neck, the sharper they can sound,
or that some people pull back on the neck when the
play chords, flexing the neck backwards and sharping
all the strings.
Here’s another tip, just to compound the
confusion: many guitars will change their tuning very
slightly depending on whether the player is sitting
down or standing up. Sit down, and the neck is sticking
out, being pulled downward by gravity. Tune it. Leave
it plugged into the tuner. Now stand up, and make an
E chord with your hand. While doing this, check the
tuning of the E string on the tuner. If it’s any kind of
bolt-on neck like a Strat, you may see the low E string
go visibly flat as soon as you stand up!! The middle of
the guitar actually “sags” a tiny bit as you support
some of the weight at the end of the neck with your
fretting hand. It doesn’t mean the neck is loose - it
means guitars are more flexible than you realized.
All of this is enough to make the producer/engineer
very gray indeed. But we’re not done yet… (see part
two next issue!) r
www.endino.com
continued on the next page>>>
Unlike the processes of recording and too clean or too perfect. With analog everything is in top end. Like everything in art and specifically, music,
mixing, which are both rather your face and sounds tight and powerful. I receive preferences are entirely subjective. You could record a
straightforward, many people are the 2-track mix on whichever format and then make piece of music in both 15 and 30 ips, play them both
unsure of what takes place during sure that each sound is consistent with the way the back and decide that the piece recorded at 30 ips
mastering. musician originally intended. I tweak the mix so that sounds better. Or vice versa. With recording there are
Though you could describe the process a few different the recording sounds smooth and the levels stay so many variables and every little alteration changes
ways, mastering is basically the last opportunity to even. It’s a very slow and exact process that requires the overall sound. Ideally, the way to go about
do anything creative on the record, along with being great attention to detail. recording is to try each format to see which is most
the first stage of the manufacturing process. I’ve Could you describe the differences suited for your recording. Of course this is rather
always thought of mastering as taking a piece of between analog and digital expensive and most artists trust the engineer to decide
work, something that’s been written, practiced, recording? Specifically the disparity which speed, ips or bits, is most appropriate. During
recorded and mixed down to two tracks, and fine- between 15 and 30 ips analog and 16, the mastering of the most recent Pantera album, the
tuning the texture of the recording. It could be 20, and 24 bit digital? band came into the studio with recordings in 16, 20
filtering or adding more bottom to the mix or Ips or, inches per second, is a term that applies to analog and 24 bit and in the end the 20 bit sounded best. It
changing the compression. It’s very important to be recording. Ips describes the speed that the tape is ended up being the happy medium between the two.
familiar with the client. A lot of times the artist is moving and the amount of music being recorded per In fact, few artists still work with 20 bit. It seems that

co
very happy with the way the recording has been inch of tape. The higher the ips speed, the deeper the 16 and 24 bit are the most prevalent these days. There
mixed and it’s just a matter of me adding a little more resolution of the recording. It is similar to EP and SP is a lot of attention focused on recreating the live
spice – adding some salt and pepper. Try to think of in relation to VHS. The video recorded in EP isn’t as sound as played in the studio. The 24 bit recordings
mastering as 2-track mixing. I receive the mixed sharp as the same image recorded in SP. 16, 20 and 24 tend to capture this sound best. These days I generally
recording in all different formats – 1/4” or 1/2” tape bit resolution applies to digital recording. Like inches deal with mastering to CD, a digital format that plays

)
running at either 15 or 30 inches per second, or per second, the bit rate determines the resolution or back at 16 bit. The newly developed DVD audio format
maybe DAT or Pro Tools, usually recorded in 16 or 24 clarity of the recording. The higher the bit rate, the plays back at 24 bit.

bit resolution. The analog formats tend to have more
coloring along with the sound that people are most
familiar with hearing. Analog has the punchy bottom
and the warmer top. The 16 or 24 bit high-resolution,
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more data. 15 ips was the standard speed at the Do you generally work with producers
beginning of professional recording. It wasn’t until the and engineers more so than bands?
late 1970s that a faster tape speed was adopted. And Oh no. I work with the artists, the producers, the
it wasn’t until more recently that people started engineers, it could be the record company A&R guy,

(d
digital recordings have the least amount of coloring recording digitally. The general characteristic of 15 ips it could be the manager – everyone can be involved.
and sound closer to what was originally played in the recordings is that classic “wall of sound” feel, music When you sit down to master how much
studio. Sometimes the digital format sounds almost with a big build up of bottom and less clarity on the time is usually involved?

Howie Weinberg not.

gotAs ahis start in the Masterdisk mailroom, believe it or l
ai
huge fan of music, Howie sought a purpose to support his
passion, and he had always dreamed of working in the field of audio
engineering. Attracted by Masterdisk’s reputation as the home of some
gm

of the finest mastering engineers in the world, Howie apprenticed at the

facility, starting in 1977, determined to become one of them and to
work with the most creative and unique artists from all over the world.
His persistence paid off. Weinberg learned and perfected his craft there,
and built a discography that includes artists such as The Clash, Beastie
t)

Boys, U2, Nirvana, The Ramones, Smashing Pumpkins and Public Enemy.
Taking a break from mastering the latest album by Elvis
Costello, Howie Weinberg spoke at length,
(a

providing insight into the murky process of

mastering and the precarious route taken
by Glen S. Colen, Photos by Greg Sullivan in becoming one of
the more famous
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men behind the

mastering
console.
e wo
th
 It depends on the project. I’d usually say two days. Some
people can’t afford the second day and we’ll have to
squeeze it all in during one. I know the clients I can
give breaks to and the ones I don’t have to, the guys
with labels and money in their budget for additional
days. The project itself dictates the length of time.
Sometimes, when the budget calls for it, I’ve taken
five or six hours to master a record and still have it
sound great.
Do you work in the studio alone?
I prefer to have some kind of direction, either a
producer, engineer or artist sitting in. Sometimes
they’ll get in the way by talking while I’m trying to
concentrate. Other times they can be really helpful by
showing me exactly what they would like to have
corrected or which sounds should be brought out in
of overall width and wideness in stereo. While digital when hip-hop was getting started so somehow I
is a little less punchy, it can sometimes almost feel ended up doing the first couple of really big ones from
more exciting. I have racks of old ‘60s valve Run-DMC, LL Cool J, Grand Master Flash and all the
equalizers - Neves and Pultecs - and each piece has other legends of hip-hop. To a lot of those guys, I
it’s own uniqueness. Those are really last resorts. became the guy to master their type of record. During
Sometimes you’ll have a tape that just needs a the first five or six years of hip-hop, I probably worked
certain sound or coloration and when you use one of on something like 75–80 percent of all those releases.
those equalizers something really amazing happens. The first records from the Beastie Boys, Public Enemy
Of course the opposite can also be true, so I use them - all that stuff.
very sparingly. I have a lot of really old stuff as well Was that the first time you worked with
as all the latest - stuff that’s new but sounds old. The mixer Andy Wallace?
great thing about mastering is that sometimes you Yeah, Andy is a good friend of mine. He’s a real good
have to use every component, while other times guy. He mixed a lot of those early hip-hop records
you’ll have to use none, depending on what the that I ended up mastering. We did a lot of the same
recording warrants. Just because you have access to work, which was great training. Hip-hop records,
tons of equipment doesn’t mean you have to use it back then, were really inventive. You’d come across

the mix. In the studio I have lots of different
speakers and monitors. I’ve got huge ones, big ones,
medium-small ones, even speakers that you’d find in
a boom box. I’m from the school of thought that likes
to hear a wide variety of playbacks. You could take a
all – that’s something out of Recording 101. [laughs]
You use what you need.
How did you come to work in mastering
in the first place?
When Masterdisk first started in the late ‘70s I was the
co
albums without samples, hip-hop that was centered
around live drummers or full bands. It’s hard for me
to get into the hip-hop that’s popular now – it just
doesn’t seem special. Hip-hop back then was totally
new and inventive. LL Cool J, Public Enemy, those

)
finished recording and play it back on five different first messenger that they hired. Doug Levine, the records made a certain statement. Maybe it’s gotten
systems and get five different sounds, each without president of the company, worked in that position to the point where there’s not much more to say.

altering any equalization or anything like that. With
my master I try to maintain an overall sound quality
consistent with the different types of speakers, as
much as that is possible.
until he grew tired of it and hired me.
How were you able to parlay that
position into working in the studio?
My interest in getting a job at Masterdisk wasn’t so that I
ot
Nowadays you have to make very polished, very clean
sounding recordings - back then the records could
sound raw and powerful. Back then I was working
with guys like Bob Ludwig, who specialized in old-

Which speakers do you believe give the
most realistic playback?
I don’t know if any system sounds truer to life than
another, think it’s a matter of familiarity, of which
system you’ve heard 1,000 records on. My main system
has 24” subs and 15” woofers with ribbon tweeters.
Is there a particular speaker brand that
you prefer?
I use original KRKs, I think the 6000, which I really like.
I have them set up in a listening area that has
(d
could work in the mail room and deliver packages. time mastering which doesn’t really exist anymore.
Masterdisk used to do all the work for Mercury records Bob was kind of my dad in the business. Back then
and I guess you could say that I got my start making he was doing a lot of classical. He really showed me
tape dubs. I would deliver packages during the day, the ropes. And yelled at me a lot too – but hey, that’s
while at night I would make dubs. We also did all the how you learn. [laughs] Basically the point of
tape work for Polygram. I think they mastered
someplace else, but they would send us copies of
l mastering back in that era was to get really good
sounding music onto a piece of really shitty vinyl.
ai
everything and I would have to make duplicates to Vinyl cutting isn’t that different from how it is today,
send to the production plants. This was before digital but back then that was all there was.
replication. I would make 15 ips Dolby analog copies. Could you explain the process of
gm

become rather famous. If you sit in-between the
speakers it’s as if you’re listening with headphones.
Once you start the session you become used to
listening to the music in that area. A lot of big artists
have used the room and are generally drawn to that
spot. I also have little Yamaha NS 10s and along with
I still remember the time I worked all night making the mastering to vinyl?
tape duplicates for Saturday Night Fever. [laughs] That Back before digital mastering, at the end of the session,
experience served as a good introduction to sound. I the tape had to be in sequence. Either it would come
would hear different types of recordings and different to me in the final running order or I would have to
production techniques used on the albums. Since we splice the album together. Mastering to lacquer had
made dupes of albums that were not mastered at our to be done at one time. You couldn’t master one track
t)

powered Advents to give the listener a boom box facility, I was exposed to different types of mastering. and then edit on the next, everything had to be done
sound. I initially listen to the music on the main I listened to lots of records. Original masters, in real time. There was incredible training involved.
speakers to get a feel for it and then work my way remastered albums, etc. It was very fascinating to Each cut sounded different and in-between each
(a

down to the KRKs. If the music still sounds really
good on the Advents, then I know we’re rockin’.
Do you prefer to master on analog or
digital equipment?
The setup I use is basically the best there is of each. It’s
lf
compare all the different qualities of sound.
So you eventually worked your way out
of the mailroom?
I was the new kid and I was really hungry to learn.
Masterdisk had been in the 57th Street location until
track you would have to program the next
equalization. You would carve the actual music into
the lacquer mold using a cutting lathe. That lacquer
would then be used to press the vinyl. Mastering each
side of the record was equivalent to doing a 20

a hybrid of some very old vintage analog equipment
coupled with some new digital components. Most of
the time it’s the vintage analog stuff that best
captures the sound that people want. You turn the
wo
1981, after which we moved to a new location on 61st minute remix without fault or variation.
Street, which was when I got my first mastering room. Is vinyl mastering something that you
That was a wide-open time in the record business. still do?
There weren’t that many mastering engineers to begin Yeah, although it’s a little different than how it was back

knobs and actually hear a response. Though I
definitely prefer to master from analog as opposed to
digital, I’ve come to the conclusion that I don’t think
the format is all that important anymore. I’ve heard
e
TAPEOP
with, and with all the new formats of music coming then. Now everything is sourced from digital tapes no
out, from hip-hop and rap to heavy metal, a lot of the matter what. In those days the recording was
older guys weren’t that receptive. I would master it mastered from the original analog tape. A vinyl record
all. From 1980 until 1985 I mastered everything from back then was 100 percent analog, while today it’s

great mixes recorded in analog, as well as in digital. the hardest rap bands to the heaviest rock bands. It something like 50 percent.
th

I do believe that analog does have a warmer, richer was mind-blowing! After ’85 I started to focus on rock Have you had people come to you and
sound, but it also has a certain coloration and a lack which is really what I love. I began mastering around say, “Help me save this”?
24/25 The Creative Music Recording Magazine continued
continued on
on the
the next
next page>>>
page>>>
 Phill Brown:
Continued from page 21
just saw the light of day. Bos Tweed’s project was
abandoned. Worst of all was a personal sadness.
Lowell George had died of an accidental overdose
while touring his solo album on the East Coast of
America back in June. It was another name to add to
the list of people I had worked with who were now
dead, joining those of Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix,

Howie Weinberg:
All of the time. I can’t really put any names down,
Keith Relph, Paul Kossoff, Lou Reisner, Mark Bolan,
John Bonham and Sandy Denny. With Lowell George
no longer there to inspire, the end of the year also
but on U2’s album, Pop, we spent almost two
marked the end of an era.
weeks mastering. That was kind of a save record,
We moved to Studio 2 at the Roundhouse on the 3rd
though they knew that they had a lot of work to
of March 1980 and prepared to mix. The Roundhouse
do at the time. We took the extra time to make it

sound great.
Do you have any advice to aspiring
mastering engineers?
I would say to listen to records done in the early ‘80s
and compare them to what’s done now and try to
co
had become my new favorite mixing room, with a
Harrison desk, old ‘60s EMT echo-plates, valve
compressors and excellent monitoring. Paul’s was the
6th project I had mixed here in the past 2 years. We
finished on the 16th of March, cut the 1/4” tape of the
album mixes into the running order, accurately timed

)
realize that mastering hasn’t changed all that
the songs and made copies. And so back to Dave Bates
much. It’s important not to place too much

ot
at the Phonogram empire, to play the finished album.
emphasis on equipment, that everyone can make
Paul, Brendan and I had spent the greater part of 18
great-sounding records. Equipment is so good and
months discussing, planning, recording and mixing this
so cheap these days. When it comes down to it,
album - now it was finally finished.

(d
it’s always going to be about what is in-between
The three of us sat down in Dave’s office on the 19th
your ears. r
of March. I was already uneasy and waiting for more
www.masterdisk.com
bullshit. I handed the 1/4” tape copy of the mixes to
Dave who was sitting behind his desk. He laced up his
Revox machine and sat back. On came the first track,
l
“Beauty’s only Skin Deep” - a track we thought was a
possible single. Dave listened, eyes closed, sitting back
ai
ATION
ST
in his chair with his legs resting on the desk and said
nothing. Then track two played – “There’s a Good
Chance”. Halfway through the song, Dave stood up,
SOUND

stopped the Revox tape machine, and looking vaguely

SEVEN
gm

in my direction said, “Phill, this doesn’t sound anything

like the Doobie Brothers.”
I was floored and unable to say a thing. It took me
a while to even place the previous conversation about
the Doobie Brothers and to realize why Dave had
t)

PR
OVID RI brought them up. I did not work again for Dave Bates
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 “Still Life with Engineer”
a conversation with Leanne Ungar

co
)
ot
(d
l
Interview and photo by Chad Blinman
ai
I first worked with Leanne Ungar in 1992, when I was an assistant engineer at The Complex in West Los Angeles.
The record was Leonard Cohen’s The Future. Leanne has been engineering records for Leonard since 1984, and she’s been Yes. It was really interesting because things were just
in the recording business since the early ‘70s. She’s engineered six of Leonard Cohen’s records, and lots more from artists
gm

changing over to 16-track at that point. They had

as diverse as Laurie Anderson, Cat Stevens, Holly Cole, and Perla Batalla. an 8-track recorder that they could put 12-track
Leonard graciously allowed us to conduct the interview at Still Life, his private studio situated in a single room above heads on, a 1” machine. And then the first 16-
the garage behind Leonard’s house. Still Life is equipped with some very nice furniture, a digital workstation, a track they got was an Auto-Tec, a dual-capstan
microphone and little more - no acoustic treatments or isolation, no racks of esoteric tube gear. Just the basic ingredients, machine made by a company called United
a comfortable space, and plenty of sunlight. Leonard’s latest record, Ten New Songs, was recorded and mixed in its entirety Recording. They just had one studio, and during
t)

here and at co-writer/producer Sharon Robinson’s home studio, Small Mercies. It’s a great record and a testament to the the second year that I was there, Geoff Daking
potential of home recording in the right hands. built a studio downstairs, below the other one. So
You got your start in recording in New Actually the first studio I was ever in was Richard I got to help wire the studio, and watch them put
(a

York. Did you grow up there? Factor’s, who started Eventide. He had a studio in the acoustics together.
No, I grew up in the Midwest. Minneapolis. After two New York for a long time - I don’t think it’s there any Was Geoff already building his own
years of college - I was going to be a dancer - I went more - and the band I was working with did a demo gear?
to New York City. there. And I just kind of walked in and went, “Wow! No, but he was the chief engineer and also the
So how did you move into recording? I gotta do this.” maintenance tech. He knew a lot. He really kept that
Well, I realized I wasn’t going to be a professional Did you immediately start looking for a place running. He taught me how to solder, how to
lf

dancer - too painful. [laughing] But I fell in job at a studio? trace a signal path through the board, pull a card,
love with New York, so I was looking for a way Well, I had a job at a publishing house, and they were find the problems... and he kept that dual-capstan
to stay there. doing... like, math lessons on cassette, little machine going. It was kind of dodgy - sometimes
wo

Music was obviously already a big part of [educational] skits. So I made them teach me how to one capstan would get out of alignment with the
your life. use all the equipment, and then I’d sneak my friends other, and it would start to kind of eat the tape.
Yeah, and I played the flute also. I always related to in at night and record music. Eventually they hired Yikes!
me [to do recording], and I did about another year’s It was really scary. So anyway, he got an Angus board
e

music in one way or another. I had a lot of friends

who were musicians, I was hanging out with them, worth of voice recording, editing, and mixing sound for the downstairs room. The upstairs had a 20-input
th

and I saw the studio and just loved it. effects for them. And then I went to Sound Ideas. API board, with eight busses and four aux sends!
What studio was that? How was that studio set up? That was What did you learn from Geoff about
1973, right? making records?
 He taught me everything. He’s a drummer - he started Do you enjoy experimenting with And he was up there for several years,
out in the Blues Magoos in the ‘60s. He taught me unusual or unnatural sounds? right?
how to get drum sounds, and how to tune drums, Oh yeah, totally. I’m always interested in sounds where Yes.
which is really important. One of the most you can’t exactly tell what they are, or where they Did you keep in contact with him the
interesting things to me about being in that come from. And also mixing real sounds together whole time, or was he keeping
situation with Geoff was, he would tune the drums - with unreal sounds to make something new. I himself secluded there?
say a jingle was coming in early in the morning - thought for a while that I might want to get into I would hear from him from time to time. You see that
we’d get a drum sound based on the way the drums film sound effects, or something like that. But I’ve red thing in the corner there [indicating a roll-
sounded when he was playing them, and then the found from the movie work I’ve done that sound to around rack containing a Tascam DA-78HR, a Brent
drummer for the session would come in and it would me is much more interesting when it exists on its Averill Neve 1272 mic preamp, a Mackie 1202 mixer,
sound completely different. Same set of drums, same own. When it’s got to be subordinate to an image, and a Stewart HDA-4 headphone amp]? That’s like a
tuning. Ding! [she makes the “light bulb on” sound] that’s not as much fun. little portable recording studio, and he had that up
You know? Pianos sound different with different It’s liberating to work on projects that there with him, for writing. But he wasn’t always
people playing - everything does - there’s so much aren’t bound by limitations of style or really comfortable with manipulating everything, so
in the fingers. pop song formats, or corporate “hit” he sometimes would call with a question, or asking
How did you meet Laurie Anderson? expectations... about an upgrade. And there were other little

co
I was a fan. And I think the reason I was a fan was I guess I’ve been kind of lucky in my career, because the projects we did, like a score for a movie of a friend
because we had friends in common, so they heard totally mainstream hit stuff has, you know, mostly of his, and another narration thing that he did for
her very early on and said, “You have to hear this ignored me. [laughs] I’ve been kind of more the Tibetan Book of the Dead. So there were
person.” Anyway, her business manager at the time associated with more eclectic people, so that there contacts all along the way.
knew that I was an engineer, and passed my name hasn’t always been a lot of that commercial pressure. Are all the instruments on this record,

)
on to Roma Baran, the producer. I worked a lot with a guy named John Lissauer who apart from Bob’s guitar [Bob Metzger
How did you approach recording that was the producer the first time I worked with played on “In My Secret Life”],

first album [Big Science]? Were the
pieces already fleshed out from her
stage show, or was there a lot of
experimentation in the studio?
Leonard at Sound Ideas. And he was one of those
guys... all his projects were always off the wall and
all the sounds that he went after were so creative.
He had a really liberating approach to sound. Laurie
ot
sequenced by Sharon?
Yes, and there was some stuff that Leonard played on his
keyboard [a Technics SX-KN6000]. It has a huge
library of sounds, with all kinds of different ethnic

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The stage shows at that point didn’t have too much of kind of took it to a new place in terms of the things percussion instruments.
that material in them. She had a lot of material. She that made the sounds, because the sources that she Did you talk about replacing the
has thick piles of notebooks of written material, and used were just... as big as the world. sequenced tracks with live musicians?
she doesn’t mind kind of appropriating from one Those records sound pretty honest and Yeah, we talked about it a lot. And ultimately we fell in
piece to another, so you see different loops, direct, like what’s unusual seems to love with what we had. Every time we would go to
different word fragments and sound fragments kind
of migrating until they find a home. Her stage show
be coming directly from the
performers rather than through a lot
l replace something it would be like, “But it’s going
to change!” [laughing] Especially with Leonard’s
ai
at that point was deafening! Huge drums and of studio processing. music, you know how little tiny shifts in the
guitars - it was pretty wild. Most of the material on Yeah. Especially since Big Science hardly even has any background affect the mood. He’s got a kind of
that record is pretty introspective and quiet. She reverb on it. It’s very, very bare. specific whole mood that he’s trying to create, and
gm

always had the loops and the basic words she was You’ve been working with Leonard some of those real musician performances can sort
going to start with, and then there was a lot of Cohen since ’73, on New Skin for of take the attention away from what he’s doing.
experimentation to see what was going to fit, and the Old Ceremony. Did you hit it The sequencing sounds very natural.
how it was going to fit together. And she was off back then? What Sharon did was perfect. The mood that she
tireless. I’d go home exhausted after twelve hours, Yes. created, and the sounds that she used, and the way
and if she wasn’t in the studio she’d be pulling out How did you end up working with him that it worked with the voice. Replacing things
t)

slides or something for another project, or getting again ten years later? wouldn’t make it better - it would make it different.
out the vacuum and cleaning the place! Through [John] Lissauer. Because I had worked on other And probably not as good. That’s what our
Did that record present some special projects with Lissauer all along. I was an assistant experience was.
(a

challenges with some of the engineer in ’73, and by the time Various Positions The programming is simple but
unusual instruments? Like the came around, in ’84, I was the main engineer. detailed, particularly in the subtle
tape head violin? I read that before doing the new record drum fills and accents, layers of
[Laughs] Well, strangely enough, the tape head violin is (Ten New Songs) Leonard had spent percussion, and stuff like that. It’s
really easy to record because you just take the direct some time in a Zen Buddhist meticulous work. Was that done from
lf

out. And she just plays it. But one of the interesting monastery. the beginning, or was it like, “Okay,
things was making the tapes for her. Finding pieces Even in ’73, when I first met Leonard, [his teacher] Roshi we’re not going to re-record this, so
of tape that she thought she wanted to play, and was coming to almost all the recording sessions. He let’s make it more detailed”?
she just popped them in. She had a guy named Bob would sit on the couch, wearing those little sandals You know, the phrase “we’re not going to re-record any of
wo

Bielecki who was - and still is - a recording engineer and split-toe socks. He was so cute - it was such a this” never really came up. It was more like a track
but also a bit of an electronics designer. And she good vibe. When Leonard got off the road after the would be there that Leonard would sing to, and then
would work with him on things like taking a little tour for The Future, Roshi at that point was getting to Sharon would put some layers around it, and Leonard
Casio keyboard apart and putting the key contacts
e

be about 90, so he didn’t know whether Roshi was would react to that, and then more things would
TAPEOP

onto her body so she could tap on herself and make going to be around that much longer. Of course Roshi happen. It was just kind of a process of trying to build
th

weird noises. He was the one who mounted the tape still is absolutely vibrant - he’s fine. But it seemed to it into something that was working, and when it was
head on the violin. Leonard like a good time to hang with him some more. working it was kind of too late to change it.

28/29 The Creative Music Recording Magazine continued on the next page>>>
 Were you involved really closely On The Future, most of the vocal recording was done at
through all of this, or did you kind of Image on a [Neumann] U67 that sounded just great
sit back and let the two of them on him. So I used that for that record. And then he
exchange their ideas back and forth? went away, and he was using his stage microphone,
Different songs went different ways. Some songs I had either an AKG C-535 or Shure Beta 57, to go into the
very little involvement in, some songs I had a lot of “red box” and put down scratch stuff while he was
involvement in. With some songs, it seemed as writing at the monastery. And he called, and said, “I
though you couldn’t really tell whether anything want to get another microphone,” and we
was going to work or not unless the mix was really auditioned a few. I don’t want to say all the name
there. And we spent a lot of time working with the brands of the microphones that we didn’t buy
different elements, trying to fit them in, so that [laughs], but we ended up with the [Neumann] U87
when we went back to mix, we realized that we had which is, as you know, very close to a 67. His voice

www.summitaudio.com or e-mail: sound@summitaudio.com

[already] been mixing. sounds very good with the 87. I’ve also used a
I was going to ask if you sort of mixed the Neumann M49, which sounded really good.
record as you went. So, the U87 through a 1272... any
Yeah, but we didn’t know it. If we had been mixing all compression to tape?

co
along, I would have insisted on more plug-ins, and No compression.
not just slapping [Digidesign] D-Verb all over Did you just set a conservative level and
everything and then trying to get it off later. let him go?
[laughs] Which was a problem in places. We would set up a rough mix, and he would try it a little
Did you do anything special in bit, and... I couldn’t tell a hundred percent where

)
recording or treating any of the the vocal was going to go, but you could get an
instruments? It all sounds clean idea. I kept it on the conservative side. There were

ot
and simple. a couple vocals that we threw out because he
You mean in the way of using any special preamps or distorted. He’d get up at 3 a.m. - that was his rising
converters? time at the monastery. So he stayed on that
Yeah. schedule, mostly because of sounds like this [traffic,

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We actually mostly went in just using the dogs barking] going on in the background during
[Digidesign] 888. Leonard has one of those Brent the day. He’d come in and do five or six takes, and
Averill Neve [1272] mic pres, and his voice we’d come in and review them in the morning.
sounds good going through that. The most So when the recording was done, and you
special thing that I can think of that I did was were just concentrating on mixing,
not using very much compression. Which kind of l
gave his voice a real “right in your face” kind of Here.
did you do that here or at Sharon’s?
ai
texture, with all the transients preserved. And I On those speakers [Yamaha MS60S]?
kind of relied on Pro Tools to ride any syllables Yeah. The whole thing with mixing is being familiar with
that needed riding. When you can get that the speakers that you’re using. And Leonard’s very
gm

specific, you don’t really need to squash things. familiar with these speakers. So what we would do
Do you do that by just drawing curves is, in between here, and his system in the house,
with a mouse? and his car, we’d kind of run around and listen. And
Yeah. I’d take it home and listen at my house, and Sharon
Did you use any kind of control surface? would listen at her place.
No. I’ve done some stuff with control surfaces but I find Having everything automated and
t)

that even when the control surface is there I tend recallable in Pro Tools, were you sort
to be going in there and mousing around anyway, so of mixing the whole album at once?
eventually I just stopped using them altogether. I We really did try to concentrate on a song at a time. But
(a

pretty much just do it with a trackball - I’m a
trackball person.
Leonard has a Pro Tools system here (a
Mix Plus, running version 5.1 on a
Mac G4) but was he still using the DA-
lf
you’re right - everything is always so easy to come
back to, and three weeks later if you just want to
take that shaker down, you can do it. That’s a
luxury, it’s just fantastic. When we were getting
ready to mix, we thought we might want to put

78 to record vocals?
Yeah, and anything that he would play. If he wanted to
learn Pro Tools, he would know it in about two
seconds. He uses [Adobe] Photoshop and Illustrator,
wo
everything back through analog, and gave that a try
and found that it changed the sounds and the
delicate relationships too much. It didn’t seem to
need “analoging” for some reason, to the point that

and he’s very computer-savvy. But that program is
more than he wants to take on, I think. He just
wants to think about the songs.
How do you choose a microphone for
e
when we mastered it, we looked around to find
somebody who wouldn’t put it back to analog to do
the EQ. And that’s how we ended up with Bob
Ludwig [at Gateway] back in Maine.

Leonard? Did you already have a What format did you bring the mixes in
th

favorite, or did you approach that on?

© 2002

fresh for this album? We just brought the hard drive.

 That seems to be going on a lot these Do you think there’s a trend in records
days. today toward unnatural levels of
Well, it’s been a real problem. All the stuff I’ve been perfection?
working on for the last, maybe, four years has been The pendulum might have swung that way. It swung all
inside workstations. Most of it has been Pro Tools, the way to the Cher record with Auto-Tune jumping
but a little bit of MOTU [Digital Performer] and stuff. from note to note, and back again. It’s interesting to
Almost everybody has been able to upgrade to 24- see what the tools will do, and then to see what you
bit, and what do you do? How do you deliver it to want them to do. It really is all about taste. And for
mastering and preserve everything you’ve got? It’s a myself, I’ve never really been the kind of engineer
real problem, you know, if you don’t want to do that that likes making giant effects, you know? I’m kind of
last conversion. And I’ve done some projects where more about “this is what this sounds like,” even when
going back to analog has sounded beautiful, but there’s nothing there but artificial sounds. Trying to
Leonard had the instinct on this one that any make something that sounds organic, that sounds
change was going to throw it out of balance, with real. So for me, when I’m using those things I’m kind
what we had carefully crafted. And actually Bob of looking at the performance, and going to fix things
Ludwig has been doing a lot of coming right out of that are taking my attention away.

co
Pro Tools and dumping it digitally into his system. Are you putting together another live
Did he do much processing from there? record for Leonard now?
On some songs, he did a little bit of adjusting the We’re sifting through material, looking to see if there’s
That’s how people feel
bottom end. And I think he might have done a little something there, yeah.
when they hear our 603
bit of spot compression on some songs. One of the Are there a lot of old recordings?
Instrument Condenser

)
things about Bob is that he is happy to lie back, and Oh yeah, there’s a lot.
Microphone. For under a
let it be what it is. [He has] the instinct to know What kind of tapes are you running hundred dollars the MXL

ot
when to do that, and when something needs across? What kind of condition? 603 represents the best
something. To be able to put it in his hands is really Well, the Field Commander stuff was all recorded on value on the market.
a luxury. Scotch, and it was fine. Whether on guitar,
The Future, Leonard’s last studio Scotch 250?

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strings or overheads, the
record, was a very different process, Yeah. But back when I did Cohen Live in ’93, we were 603 outperforms mics
with a lot of re-recording and already baking some tapes that had been recorded costing 5 times the
remixing, a lot of different studios... only ten years earlier in Europe. It was on Agfa, and price...everytime.
A lot of producers, a lot of ideas running around. This it just didn’t last. So, you know, conditions of Call 800-800-6608 for
was like a total reaction to that, wasn’t it? storage really seem to matter. I know that some of your nearest dealer.
[laughing]
I’m always telling people about that
the stuff is on Ampex, and I’m just crossing my l
fingers that I’ll get to it before it’s too late. But the
You just can’t loose.
ai
session because of the five- and six- baking process seems to work fine. “The MXL 603 -
hour days. Leonard had a really Are you just archiving everything you A flat out winner”
relaxed but deliberate way of run across? Harvey Gerst
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working, like spending three or four No. Everything that was recorded was also rough mixed Indian Trail
days mixing each song. He was in the truck at the time, so I’m just running through Recording Studio
comfortable spending as much time lots of performances. I haven’t even gotten into
as necessary to get what he wanted. what’s actually on the tape or if the tape’s playable.
Was that the case on this record? Or even where it is.
Yeah, I think we worked on this for about a year and a You’re just plotting the whole thing
t)

half. And we did two records at the same time. We out, and then you’ll go digging.
did Field Commander Cohen inside of this project. We Yeah, rather than archive every bit, we’ll look for what
started this one, and at a certain point there was will make the record. I mean, I guess eventually we’re
(a

more writing going on than recording, so I worked going to have to face the problem of archiving
on Field Commander... while the writers wrote. everything. But, even in just the last two years, 96 k
Was that mostly an effort of going has come along, and 192, and maybe it’ll get better.
through tapes and... So it seems prudent to wait.
That was picking performances and dumping them into A lot of people are talking about
lf

Pro Tools, and doing any mop-up that might be archiving now, and looking for
necessary. permanent storage. But everything
With so many facilities available now for changes so fast, you know, how do
fixing things or “improving” know if you’re going to be able to
wo

performances, how do you set plug in a FireWire drive in another

guidelines for what to fix and what ten years?
not to? I know. I really learned something from Jac Holzman, who
e

Well, isn’t that the million-dollar question in this was the president of Discovery Records when Perla
business? It’s always “is that performance good Batalla did her first record. We were getting ready to
TapeOp

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enough?” or “is that character or is it a flaw - is it mix, and I said, “We’ll mix to digital” and he was like,
going to matter?” “What? No you won’t! No way are you mixing to digital!”

20/21 The Creative Music Recording Magazine continued on the next page>>>
 TAPE OP
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and I said, “Well, it’s coming out in digital, it’s not a big You have to trust what you’re hearing. Especially with
budget, and you can save all this tape expense.” He digital, if you’re liking the way it sounds, it’s not
said, “In between each of those bits is material that’ll
be lost forever, and I can’t afford to have it be gone.”
really going to change. It’s going to change a little
bit, if you dither down to 16-bit, but that’s about it,
We ended up mixing to half-inch and digital, so that at if you’ve got good converters. If you cut something
least everything was archived for him, you know, until with analog, it’s going through a lot of changes. And
it can be put on whatever turns out to be the medium. if you’re a master at manipulating how those
I mean, we’re in a period of transition here. I think changes happen and that’s what you’re expecting,
things will settle down, and it’s worth waiting. then that can be good too. For me, analog has
That sounds like a good opportunity to always kind of plagued me, the way it changes. I’ve
compare the two formats side by side. always felt like I’ve lost high end, like I was fighting
Did you have a preference? for the detail on the top in my analog mixes. And in
digital, you have to be sure that it’s going to be
did that record for Jac, she went off on her own, and warm enough. It’s a different problem.
economics dictated that we’d have to stay in the You’re sort of a rare breed. Why aren’t
digital realm. But really, to me, quibbling about the there more female recording
details aside, it’s more about the music. Whatever engineers?
co
you have to do to get the music out. You can get I don’t know. I really don’t. It seems like something that
really snobby, and say 96 k sounds better... but, you would be a really good thing for a woman to get
know, it’s coming out in 44.1, and if you put it out into, from my perspective. [laughing]
in 44.1, people can hear it, they can play it, they’ll Are there things about the type of work,
probably mp3 it. And if they don’t mind - if they’re or about the business...
)
listening to it - I don’t mind. [laughing] It’s really surprised me, you know, the whole music
The substance of the music is more business is kind of male-heavy, and music is such an
ot
important than the science of emotional art. I don’t know why there aren’t more
recording. We can obsess about... women participating.
Well, it’s our job to obsess, and we want to have all Has it ever been difficult for you?
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recommendations handy so that when people don’t I don’t know. It’s a tough business - it’s hard to know
know what to do we have some ideas. But, yeah, we how much is coming from my being female. For the
can’t get too caught up in the details and miss the most part, I’ve met really nice people, like yourself.
forest for the trees. I just mixed a project for this girl Every once in a while you meet somebody who’s not
Sara Lovell, with Marvin Etzioni producing. And into it. Probably for as many people who didn’t want
everything we did we put on quarter-inch 15 [ips], to work with me because I was a female, there’s
and also bounced [to stereo] inside Pro Tools. So we
l been that many that remembered me or were
ai
were comparing, and we finally ended up going on interested in me because I was. So, you know… it’s
a song-by-song basis. Some songs sounded better a feature, it goes with the package.
coming back off tape, and one song really sounded Do you think there are some female traits
better staying digital. And I did a project for a guy that make for better engineers?
gm
named Wade Biery, a band called Still. It was the Yeah… You know, when I was back at Sound Ideas, and I
second record we’ve worked on. The first record was was assisting for Geoff, I thought, “I’m never going to
done analog, and mixed to tape. For the second one, be an engineer, because I don’t have the kind of
he bought a MOTU [1224] and we recorded outgoing personality to keep a whole room of people
everything at his place, and mixed it there. We were entertained like that.” He’s got that really big
t)
going along fine until we got to mastering, and we personality. And I thought, “I can sit here and move
realized that what we were hearing coming out of the knobs, but I can’t keep all these people happy.” I
the converters of the 1224 wasn’t exactly what you realized later that there are some people that want to
would hear if you went out through a good pair of be entertaining the room themselves, and they don’t
(a
converters at the mastering studio. So we had kind need any competition from the engineer. So there’s
of fallen in love with this blurry warmth that was someone for everyone. A wide spectrum of
actually the bad converters, and we had a hell of a personalities, that can do the jobs, that get matched
time mastering it. up with different personalities of producers and artists.
That’s a valuable point, how one box Making a career in this business seems
can be “better” than another to have everything to do with the
technically, but you might prefer relationships that you make. Has
the other for your own reasons. So that been true in your experience?
which is really “better”? Yeah, very much. Especially when you’re starting out young,
Yeah, we were liking it better through the worse and you think, “I’m meeting this person, and they’re
converters. Because we had mixed it to that sound always going to see me as a lowly assistant.” Well, they’re
- we had tailored it perfectly for that. not. Ten years later you can be doing their record. r
There are a lot of different opinions
Leanne has a profile with contact information online at
flying around concerning the
www.studioexpresso.com
“sound quality” of mixing in
workstations, versus mixing
through an analog desk.
 sonic circus
S e r i o u s S t u d i o I n f r a s t r u c t u r e

Currently Featuring:
A complete selection of Pultec
eq’s, mixers and filters

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We carry a variety of new
and used consoles and
equipment. Call or visit

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our site for complete
information

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 Can we start with how you got to Motown
and what you knew before you got
there?
I decided in sixth grade that I wanted to be a radio or
recording engineer because I was on a little radio
drama we did in our grade school. They had a radio
drama program they did in junior high and high
school, so I took that. In high school, as soon as I
could drive, I started hanging out Saturdays at United
Sound, which was the biggest independent studio in
© 2002 PS Songs, Inc.
(ASCAP) & TO
M 1286F A Detroit. It was open on Saturday, and it was the only
INTERVIEW BY
Productions, Inc. (BMI)
one that was open on Saturday. Then I decided I
PHILIP STEVENSON
Photos courtesy of wanted to try and get a summer job in a studio - I’d
Words: 3527
From the full-length John Gooch been hanging out at United for a couple years, going
micro cassette recording Editing by Larry Crane out and helping one of the engineers there do his own
by Phillip Stevenson Design & Production by personal remotes. This was a guy named Danny Dallas,

co
M 783VI John Baccigaluppi who had actually been the engineer for the Lone
“MAGIC AND THE MOTOWN SOUND” Ranger! I’d been going around helping on remotes
(by Philip Stevenson) with him and had gotten my first taste of gospel
music, which completely blew me away. So I decided
BOB OLHSSON
© 2002 Tape Op Magazine/ I’d like a summer job and literally, as a joke, Danny

)
Phillip Stevenson, Bob said, “Well why don’t you go down to Motown.” I’d
Ohlsson, Motown Record
Corporation practically not even heard of Motown. I was a big

ot
classical music fan and I liked big band stuff and
orchestral-acoustic kinds of things.
“I walked in the door and was taken to Smokey This is ‘64?
Yeah. So, I walked in the door and was taken to Smokey

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Robinsonʼs office and they sat me down at his Robinson’s office and they sat me down at his desk
desk and handed me an employment Itʼs the handed me an employment application and an IQ
mid-ʻ60s and test! I filled in these things and then they sent me
application and an IQ test!” tubes are glowing down in the basement to go talk to the chief
hot in studios from 30th engineer, Mike McLean. Mike gave me a tour of the
Street to Abbey Road. Wheels
are in motion and the legacy of Leonard
l place, which included seeing the first actually
working sel-sync 8-track, which of course
ai
Chess and Sam Phillips is welling up in the ears of America. In Detroit, completely put my jaw on the floor. And I saw their
Berry Gordy is alchemizing the collective genius of Stevie Wonder, Smokey Neumann half-speed cutting system which was just
Robinson, James Jamerson, Benny Benjamin and a host of others with his own, to incredible. Mike was also a big classical music fan
gm

forge a juggernaut of sonic power and consistency equal to anything before or since. and a hi-fi nut and I wound up not getting a job at
It swings like a motherfucker and it sounds like gold. The staff and musicians work that time but becoming friends with him and
hard, doing takes over and over until they get them right. They try multiple mixes wound up going over to his Friday night parties. I
and follow them all the way to acetate before deciding on a winner. In the got to know a bunch of people and continued
mastering room, Bob Olhsson is cutting vinyl on “Signed, Sealed, Delivered”, interning around town with other people until
eventually they hired me in ‘65 as a mastering
t)

another fluid combination of muscle and sweetness that jumps off the needle.
It will hit #1 on the R&B charts. This is Motown and it is beautiful. trainee.
Recently Bob moved to Nashville and heʼs excited. Astoundingly, after working They didn’t want mastering as we tend
with some of the most talented people of his generation, Bob is still optimistic and to think of it now, changing the
(a

whole mix with the EQ slope,

hopeful about the future of aesthetics in the labyrinthine, difficult world that is
compression, etc.
popular music. Heʼs still working, and poetically enough, heʼs even starting to cut
Berry Gordy had the experience of getting burned by
vinyl again. He is disarming, friendly, and generous with his time.
trying to do that. He had learned early on the hard
Thereʼs no hint of professional jealousy or egoism.
way that if you didn’t get it right you really couldn’t
Most mysteries can never be looked into; they fade into hearsay and rhetorical
lf

do anything about it. And of course, with vinyl that

inventions. Talking with Bob, I felt lucky that heʼs not about those vain distortions. was a lot more the case than with compact discs.
He reflects on things too clearly. Heʼs our window. They were very, very concerned that things not be
particularly modified in the transfer. They’d rather do
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a new mix than try and fix anything in mastering.

Photo: Eight track mixing room known as “the Mastering Room” Mono and stereo Studer C-37s flank the console
An interesting feature was that you could turn the panel of eight faders upside down and a relay would switch So I started out pretty much doing really hot flat
the channels so they still corresponded left to right. I think you could turn the meters off too. Monitors are an transfers, although if we heard something that
e

Altec 604E for mono and Acoustic Research AR-3s for stereo. That’s the third Moog modular synthesizer ever seemed obvious to change, we could throw on some
made in the background. The timer on the left was used to make sure you had faded by 3 minutes because the EQ and send an alternative version labeled with
level of a 45 dropped like a rock at that point.
th

what we did.
 You mastered a lot of stuff, including unprecedented thing. I think too big a deal is made was our remote machine in most cases. The other
many hits. of this home studio versus the non-home studio. A thing is we always had two. Only for a very short
I did, along with others, yup. studio’s just a studio and there’s good ones and bad period did they have only one 8-track machine. I
When you hear “Signed, Sealed, ones and some of them are in homes and some of mean, they had gone from mono to mono, to 2-track
Delivered” on the radio, do you them are built from the ground up. to 2-track, to 3-track to 3-track, to 8-track to 8-track.
think “I should have done I think everybody would be interested Nobody really thought in terms of doing it all on one
something different?” or “That’s what the typical set-up there was. machine - and you couldn’t. On the old machines you
perfect?” Do you get those sorts of Was everybody in the same room, or couldn’t ping-pong because the sync response had no
impressions listening to the things was there a vocal booth? high end at all! [laughs]
you did there? Well, we were seriously into overdubbing, so live vocals Some of your boards were homemade too?
Well, the way it worked, I actually mastered probably 10 were very rarely done. The setup - you mean for Oh yeah. It was entirely - the old tube studio. The other
or 15 different mixes, and they picked the one that rhythm session? thing that was interesting was there was a tube
came out the best. They were very into internal Yeah, what kind of situation was it with studio and a transistor studio.
quality control. The basic idea was that it was better mics, etc? At the same time?
for something to be a flop inside the company than Well, there are two distinct flavors: The first original set- So you were going back and forth between the two all
to get out in the world and have it be a flop there. up they used pretty ordinary mic’ing. That’s where I the time.

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So by ‘65 they had a sel-sync 8 track? first saw the Shure 545, which went on to become A completely different sound, probably?
Yeah, from what I understand, the first tune ever done the SM57. They had a bunch of those. They had two It was a very different experience and it did not do
on it was “Where Did Our Love Go”. or three U67s, a U47, an RCA 77 that I was told was good things for the reputation of transistors with
When you were working in the studio used on the bass drum, which kind of surprised me. us! [laughs] Because in the tube studio you
what kind of gear were you using? You You’d think you’d blow it up a lot. basically walked in, you plugged in the mics, if

)
described it once as a “project studio”. And EV 666s and that kind of thing, but then they did something was really raunchy sounding you
Essentially the whole place was Berry Gordy’s home something pretty wild around 1968. First off, they might stick a Pultec [EQ] in, and you went to

studio. I mean, obviously after they became
successful they were able to buy some very fancy
gear and they had a lot of home-made gear, but it
must be borne in mind that this really was the guy’s
acquired another studio which had been Golden
World Records, and they decided to do a complete
rebuild of everything and so they went out and
bought new Scully 8-tracks, because they were just a
ot
tape, and it sounded good! Transistor studio, you
plugged in the mic, you turned it on, it sounded
awful, you started fiddling with the equalizers,
you know-the routine that we do now. [laughs]

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home! On the other hand I think Abbey Road was lot better than our homemade ones. We needed a How bad was the transistor stuff?
built in somebody’s mansion, so it’s not an bunch - we actually had the first Scully 8-track, which Altec panel mixers?

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TAPEOP

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34/35 The Creative Music Recording Magazine continued on the next page>>>
Motown Studios: 1967-68
Below: Original Hitsville control room. The console consisted of two mixers, a six input switchable 3
buss and an eight. with pan-pots, if I remember correctly. It is the first console I’m aware of having
multiple sends for each input channel, the first having mutes and the first having separate mutes for
the sends. The mic preamps are in the rack on the back wall. The 6 input mixer had Langevins and
the 8 input mixer had home-brew 12AX7 preamps that had a nasty rising high-end we liked to use
for drums.
Right: Home-brew eight track. The marks on the feed reel told you where to set the variac on the
reel motors.so it would run on-speed

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Mix room racks
Left to right:
1. First 3M 8-track,
a play-only
machine.,
calibrated phono
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preamp, more
cheezy Fairchild
dynamics controllers,
Eico oscillator
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2. Echoplex,
Langevin high and
low pass filters, Altec
mixer, 7 band passive
graphic eqs, Pultec
EQP-1a, Pultec MEQQ-
t)

5, EQP1a, Fairchild
“Reverbatron.”
3. Fairchild 660 mono
limiter, patch bay,
Fairchild Auto-Ten noise
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gates. I also remember

a couple LA-2as that I
don’t see here.
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Top: Original Hitsville control room back wall rack. Left to right, top to bottom:
1. mike patchbay, mic pads, echo chamber controls, line patchbay, maybe Pultec EQP-
1as?, Eico oscillator.
gm

2. Fairchild 670 limiter, Fairchild 666 compressor, little Fairchild “LumAtten” gates and
limiters, 7 band passive graphic eq., some kind of filter, another 7 band passive graphic
eq., 2 Pultec EGHs, Langevin high and low pass filters, ?
3. first 4 tracks of 8-track monitoring, 8 track deck, transport and tension controls,
Altec mixer, Ampex MX-10 mixer, Mic preamps
4. second 4 tracks of 8-track monitoring, 3 track deck, transport controls, sel-sync
panel for 8-track
t)

5. Mic preamps, Mono Ampex 351, turntable, phono preamp

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Original Hitsville studio view from door: Mic cables hung down from the ceiling.
Studio view from the other side: Headphone system included a binaural option
using the baffled mikes that you see near the ceiling. On the left is the “guitar amp.”
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All of the guitar players and the bass player plugged in there and set themselves up
a mix coming out of one speaker. A direct from each input came up in the mic patch-
bay. Upper right corner is an Altec A-7 used for playback
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TAPEOP

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36/37 The Creative Music Recording Magazine continued on the next page>>>
 It was uh - well, it was a board that had been built by least two, which was basically the attic and one of Hence the I.Q. test
Cleveland Recording for Golden World, and it was a em had a had a JBL foghorn driver on a multi- [laughs] I mean, I didn’t particularly fit in there, but I’ve
bunch of Neumann equalizer modules and Altec cellular horn so you couldn’t blow it up! [laughs] always really liked being around people that seem
solid state stuff. It was class A mic pre amps. And a couple of 545s. Then later I think they put a obviously brighter than I am, and this was heaven.
Actually, in retrospect they were pretty good. They Bose 901 speaker up there because it was more Almost everybody there was just brilliant, which
weren’t the absolutely horrible early Fairchild omni-directional, and a KM86 I’m pretty sure. There was very inspiring. Also one thing that was kind of
transistor modules. was a second one that I’m not sure what was in it, neat is that Berry Gordy really did not tolerate ego
Yeah, those are awful. But the Golden it didn’t sound very good and we didn’t use it very trips - I mean, you were not allowed to have ‘em.
World board didn’t sound as good as much. And then we had a mono EMT plate. You worked with James Jamerson a lot.
the tube studio... Were they designed as acoustic chambers? Yeah, you had to deal with him. He was a real character.
Just was not as effortless to work with as the tube studio. Well they actually had been sheet-rocked over and [laughs]
What was in the tube studio? What were shellaced so they weren’t square and they were He seemed like a big part of the sound
you going into there? very reflective. He is and he isn’t. You know, the funny thing is that
The tube studio was a combination of a bunch of mixers. And did you use a spring as well? when I‘d remix old pieces, actually the key element
You had a monitor mixer and you had a... I believe We had a Fender spring, we had a Binson Echolette, we always turned out to be the original drummer Benny
it was a stereo mixer - stereo in that it was left, had an Echoplex. They were all rack mounted and Benjamin. Without him it was okay, you put him in

co
right and center. I think it was six inputs, it was came up in the patch bay. and there was the magic. Very, very interesting. I
from the 3-track days. And there was an 8 channel What were some of the other things in think he was in many ways more of what gave it the
mono mixer. These were on the desk in front of you, the studio? character than Jamerson did, ironically. I mean for
We had LA 2As and sure Jamerson’s contributions were incredible.
“One thing to understand is that I went from the A/V we had Fairchild Although Bob Babbitt is not credited - there’s a lot
crew to being a recording engineer - I mean there 670s.

)
of stuff that Babbitt did that people assume
Twenty grand Jamerson did! He’s just very modest and has never
were not people beating down the doors to to buy one

become recording engineers in 1964!”
and then in the rack there was an Ampex stereo
ot
made a big deal about it.
now. You worked a lot in different capacities,
Yeah, and we were so on some of those later Marvin Gaye
glad to get rid of them! [laughs] You have no idea records, especially What’s Going On.

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mixer and a couple of the Altec tube mixers. That how good the LA 2A looked when the only thing Yeah, well I did vocals, and I was in on the strings and
Ampex stereo mixer was the quietest thing in the you had was a Fairchild! Yeah, in some things a sax solos.
place. It was beautiful. Fairchild is fine but, when it’s the only limiter That’s a great record, and it has a very
So what were you using for vocal you’ve got... different feel. Was it more of his record
overdubs, a 77? And you had Electrodyne modules? than Berry Gordy’s at that point?

to something radical. They rebuilt the studios, they

l
By the time I got into the recording studio, they’d gone We had Electrodyne limiters. We bought some Electrodyne Yeah. A lot more so. When Holland-Dozier-Holland left, our
mixing consoles. And we had two of these consoles job immediately became reinventing Motown.
ai
bought those new Scullys I mentioned, and they in Detroit, and one on the West Coast. It was a very Looking at it in retrospect, I think I now really
bought around forty Neumann KM86 mics and interesting console because it used a sub grouping understand what was happening a lot more. I don’t
donated all of the old mics to the University of system and it used I think it was called Hall Effect think they were really making that much money on
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Michigan! So we had nothing but KM86s, and they
built up custom graphic equalizers, which now I’m
hearing people talk about as collector’s items
although we never thought they were that great at
the time.
That’s the way it is with most collector’s
devices for attenuators - I forget, I think that’s what the singles. I mean we were hitting ‘em into the top
it was. They were from an old homemade console ten, but I think it was costing us more money to hit
automation system that we designed in the ‘60s. em into the top ten than we could make. And so there
That’s very possibly the first automated console, was a big push to get albums happening. and a pretty
though I understand there was a secret one at EMI. big push to more or less reinvent the company.
It’s hard to say who went first, but we tried it, and And the sound had changed by this point.
t)

items, isn’t it? they had a shoot out of the automated console We were trying to get experimental and trying to come
Yeah. [laughs] So basically we had these racks of versus basically mixing by hand and splicing up up with something different because we saw
graphic equalizers and the Neumann KM86s. And mixes from pieces, and the spliced up mixes beat the ourselves as competing with the rest of the world
(a

that’s what you had to use when I started doing automated mixes so bad it wasn’t even funny. at that point rather than trying to be our own little
vocal overdubs, it was with a KM86, and... Were you aware at the time, because unique thing. We wanted to have a unique take on
You’d better like that sound... it’s harder when you’re in the same kind of sound that other people did. One
Yeah, and to be honest, it did a remarkably good job. It was something, were you aware how thing a lot of people don’t realize is that Berry
a remarkably good mic. We still had the Pultecs too. good this stuff was? Gordy didn’t want to be Atlantic records. He wanted
Does it matter what mic Stevie Wonder No! [laughs] Not at all. I didn’t have any idea how far
lf

to be RCA or Columbia. Before, there had been a

sings into? ahead we were of the rest of the industry until I left kind of factory approach where you were you had
To a certain extent. What was interesting to me was that in 1972 and came to California and it completely somebody supervising everything you did and there
after he started working in outside studios, there was blew my mind that everybody wasn’t doing what we was a standard way you were supposed do
wo

a write up that somebody did and they said, “Oh yes, had been doing. everything and so forth. When Holland-Dozier-
and we used a KM86 for his vocal.” I kind of rolled my You knew that these were talented Holland left and took Lawrence Horn, the chief
eyes when I read that. [laughs]. What else is new? people though. recording engineer, with them we wound up
You said the acoustic chamber was Oh yeah. Well, this was kind of the amazing thing about working under Cal Harris, who’d been hired from
e

the attic. the whole thing. The average level of intelligence in California, and it turns out that Cal Harris started
th

Yeah, there were two - I think at one point there were that company was absolutely spectacular. I mean out on the Beach Boys [laughs] and that’s a little
actually three attic echo chambers, there were at those are the brightest people. bit of a different sound!
 Yeah!
[laughs] And Cal basically threw out all of the production
line stuff and really allowed us to become
we got
we got your
your back
back
conventional recording engineers. I doubt that I in a bright red box
would have been able to work in the industry, had
Motown stayed how it was when I started out there.
Certainly a number of people did come out of proaudio rentals
engineering there and managed to have real good
careers, it’s not impossible but for me, Cal Harris media sales
really made it happen.
When you did something like cut strings
for What’s Going On, how would you do
transfering
it: Would you have an orchestra, or a
small string section?
archiving
It was 9 violins, 4 violas, 3 cellos and one or two
basses, often, depending on what the arranger
24/7 support

co
wrote. Typically it was that instrumentation, and
we’d double it.
Stereo mic’ing? on point
No! [laughs] Actually, when we first got the 16-track I did www.dreamhire.com
a stereo mic’ing of it, and put it on two tracks and I

)
almost got fired for it. The head of the A&R dept
didn’t realize that I’d also done the usual mono

Dreamhire

ot
tracks. [laughs] You couldn’t control how loud the
cellos were on the stereo tracks, so I think they
eventually wound up going over my stereo tracks, but
I wanted to do stereo, I mean, all the talk was about
professional audio services

(d
quad, and I figured, “Well, gee, we haven’t really ever
done stereo!”
First things first! nyc 800 234 7536 miami 305 725 4808 nash 888 321 5544
[laughs] In fact that’s kind of the great irony to me of this
whole surround sound thing now is that I’ve never
met a really top producer who didn’t prefer mono. I
mean, if you tell them, “This is mono, this is stereo,”
l
ai
they’ll probably tell you they prefer the stereo, but if
you don’t tell them what it is, 9 times out of 10 they
prefer the mono!
gm

So, why hasn’t recording improved?

[laughs] Uh, why hasn’t it improved? Well, I think
basically it’s been a steady progression of getting
cheaper. I think economics tend to drive it. In the
early days, when people did full dates, the cheapest
way to record was to use the best musicians you
t)

could get your hands on and get it done in a hurry.

That was just the cheapest way to do the job. When
you were shelling out that kind of money in salaries,
(a

what was important for a studio was that the

engineers be fast, and that the equipment be reliable
and sound quality was really small change in the
equation of things: It didn’t cost that much more to
make something sound good as well as be reliable.
lf

Then it became a glamorous industry. One thing to

understand is that I went from the A/V crew to being
a recording engineer - I mean there were not people
beating down the doors to become recording
wo

engineers in 1964! r
olh@hyperback.com
www.hyperback.com/olhsson.html
e

For Bob’s interesting take on digital recording see the bonus

TAPEOP

articles at www.tapeop.com
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38/39 The Creative Music Recording Magazine

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 Build Your Own Two Channel
Vacuum Tube Mic Preamp!
by Scott Hampton
When asked to come up with a “do it yourself” tube
mic pre project, I thought long and hard about what
topology to go with. I designed a number of different
hybrid tube/discrete class A designs (eliminating
transformers because of their large expense) but
ultimately settled upon a classic tube/transformer-
coupled design. The thought being, if you are going to
spend the time to build it, then make it worth the effort.
In my opinion, the transformers in a tube amp are just
as important to the sound as the tubes, so building a
transformerless tube amp would not provide much of the
desired characteristics which people seek in tube gear. I
stole the basic design from the tube mic pre that I build
and sell, and tried to make carefully chosen
“compromises” to get the cost down. The philosophy
was to eliminate the very expensive components that
make only subtle improvements, while putting money
into the important things (like high quality audio
transformers). The result is a two channel tube mic pre
- featuring Jensen input/output transformers (optional),
phantom power, input pads, and regulated supplies -
that can be built for about $400 in materials. A kit is
available though my company, which provides circuit
boards and key components that would be difficult to
source. Everything you need to know to build the
preamp however is contained within this document, the
kit only makes assembly easier.
WORDS OF WARNING
To build this unit requires a fair amount of
experience as a DIY-er. In addition, this circuit requires
voltages that can cause serious death if mishandled. The
kit greatly simplifies the assembly and possibility of mis-
wiring, but still can be dangerous if care is not taken.
You should be comfortable around high voltage
electricity. The audio path of this design is really quite
simple and could be point-to-point wired in a few hours.
The power supplies are a bit more complicated, but off
the shelf regulator part numbers are provided.
(a
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CHANNEL DESCRIPTION
Referring to Figure 1, the amp is basically two gain
stages (the two halves of the 6072/12AY7A) separated by
a volume control, with a buffer after the second stage to
drive the output transformer. The first stage has about 28
dB of gain, while the second provides roughly 30 dB. The
Totem Pole output follower (the two halves of the 12AU7A,
R7, R8, R9, C4) has unity voltage gain and drops the
output impedance down to about 700 ohms. The overall
gain is +64 dB with input/output transformers, which is
more than enough for low output ribbon mics. If more gain
is required, a 12AX7A can be substituted for the 6072A,
but the soft characteristics of the 6072A will be lost, and
the preamp will sonically be far less forgiving. The
6072A/12AY7A has a very soft roll-over, and generates
almost no odd harmonics when biased properly - making
it, in my opinion, the choice for the gain stages. It should
be noted that the circuit works fine without the output
transformer if a balanced signal is not required and cable
runs are not long. The output transformer is a step-down
(4:1), and will drop the amplifiers overall gain by –12 dB.
Without it, the amp will have more headroom, but will lose
some of the desirable tube compression characteristics
because the second gain stage will not be driven as hard
for the same output level. For the prototype, I used Altec
15095A line transformers that I got on eBay for about $20
each. These transformers, when used as a step-down, work
very nice for the money. Probably the most important
l buying off-the-shelf regulated supplies (see schematics
ai
component is the input transformer - I would highly
recommend not skimping here. If you are going to make
compromises, don’t do it on the front end. The Jensen JT-
gm
115k cost about $65 each and sound great, though any
1:10 step-up input transformer with proper mic input
impedance would work. Refer to my website for other
transformer options. I tried using an Altec 4722 as an
input transformer, but found they have very poor phase
t)
response past 10 kHz. If money is an issue, the amp still
works as a nice tube DI without the input transformer.
OPTIONAL INPUT CIRCUITRY
Figure 2 shows optional input circuitry that would be
inserted before the input transformer, providing a 20 dB
co
pad, and phantom power. R13 and C7 are optional,
comprising a “pop” reduction filter when the phantom
power is turned on, as well as extra filtering on the +48
volts being provided to the mic. The pad maintains the
proper impedance between the mic and transformer while
)
reducing the signal by 20 dB. Under most circumstances
the pad won’t be needed, as the amp and input
ot
transformer have a lot of headroom, and driving the first
gain stage harder usually sounds good. Also the noise
figure of the amp is degraded when the pad is activated.
(d
I put it in the design mostly because some people will
want it, and it’s only 3 resistors and a DPDT switch.
POWER SUPPLIES
The power supplies for this design are somewhat
flexible, and can be designed in a variety of ways. If you
plan on building this without the kit, I would recommend
for supplier and part numbers). The high voltage can run
realistically anywhere from 150 vdc to 240 vdc (DO NOT
EXCEED 250 vdc!), though this design is optimized for
225 vdc. The filaments of the tubes require 6.3 vdc @
300 mA each if wired in parallel or 12.6 vdc @ 150 mA
each if wired in series. Phantom power is +48 vdc @ 50
mA. For the prototype, I designed the filament supply
with a regulated +50.4 vdc @250 mA. If you connect all
the tube heaters for a two-channel unit (i.e. 4 tubes) in
series, you get 50.4 vdc. This eliminates the need for a
separate phantom power supply. It also minimizes power

dissipation in the filament regulator because of the
reduced current requirement as compared to that required
if the tubes were wired in parallel. Making this a good
clean regulated supply is important. The passive “pop”
filtering on each channel (C7/R13) drops the 50.4 vdc
down a volt or two (depending on the mic) for proper
phantom power voltage, though running the phantom
power a little high is not a problem if you choose to
eliminate it.
Figure 3 shows the +225 vdc Source Follower
regulator. This circuit, under the required load, is very
clean and simple to build. It works like this: The rectifier
B1, R30, and C30 convert the 230 vac to a rough 260-
270 vdc (loaded value), with a few volts of AC ripple.
Voltage is fed to the gate of the high voltage N channel
mosfet through R31with a zener diode (actually 3 x 75
v = 225 v in series) to ground to set the output voltage.
C31 and R31 act as a low pass filter and reduce the noise
on the rough DC to a negligible amount. Because of the
mosfet’s high gate input impedance, the filtering can be
heavy without much voltage drop across R31 other than
that set by the zener diodes, which would be the case if
a transistor were used. This means the mosfet will hold
a constant output regardless of load (within a few volts
DC). It is not a true 3 terminal design, but I felt this
circuit worked adequately, and has about 1/3 the
components of a truly regulated design. R33 in series
with C32 on the output cap is essential, otherwise the
unit oscillates during power up. The drain of the mosfet
is tied to the rough 260-270 vdc, while the source is the
output. You can generate a high voltage DC supply with
“brute force” by eliminating the mosfet and simply
having several RC stages to reduce the noise (like
(a
R30/C30). Though this design may seem more simple, it
actually costs more (i.e. expensive hi voltage caps,
mosfets are about $1) - plus the output is unregulated
lf
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TAPEOP
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42/43 The Creative Music Recording Magazine
warms up. When the AC power is turned on, the base of
U33 is held at ground, saturating the transistor and
pulling the adjust pin of the regulator to ground (the
output is always 1.25 vdc above the adjust pin on the
LM317F). As the voltage on the base of U32 charges up
through R37/C34, it eventually shuts off, and the output
of the regulator is governed by the ratio of resistors R37,
R38, and R39. Again, if you are planning on building this
without the kit, it would be advisable to simply buy the
off-the-shelf regulator. For the money, it will reduce a lot
of headaches. If you choose to use the printed circuit
board (pcb) provided with the kit, you can save a bit on
component cost, and the physical size is smaller than the
so the voltage will be a direct function of current. It also open frame “off the shelf” unit.
takes up more physical space (for equal AC out) and is MY PROTOTYPE
generally noisier. Additionally, the output impedance of Figures 5 and 6 show the prototype unit I built of the
co
the “brute force” design is higher, which can adversely design. The power supply and two audio channels are all
effect transient response of the audio amps, though located on a single pcb. The kit differs only in that the
some people like the sound of a “sagging” supply. power supply is a separate pcb. What I found was that a
Figure 4 shows the +50.4 vdc regulator. This regulator shield needed to be between the power supply and audio
is not quite as simple, since this voltage needs to be very electronics, otherwise the AC noise floor was unacceptable.
)
clean for the phantom power, and it needs to deliver more So making the two boards separate will make it easier to
current than the high voltage. It employs a Source keep the audio and power isolated. The audio connectors
ot
Follower pre-regulator, with a true 3 terminal regulator to and switches for pad and phantom power are all on the
precisely set the output voltage. In this circuit, the gate pcb, which made assembly go very quickly, eliminating
of the mosfet is tied to the output of the regulator almost all the point-to-point wiring. Two units will fit in a
through a zener diode. This sets the output of the mosfet 19” 3U rack box with room to spare (for 4 channels),
(d
to be above the regulator’s output by (approximately) the though I preferred making my unit portable.
value of the zener diode, in this case 12 vdc. The voltage
across the regulator (and the power dissipation) is then
fixed within a few volts. This protects the 3 terminal
regulator from its input/output voltage exceeding the
maximum rating (30 vdc) while minimizing its power l
dissipation (so the regulator operates cool/quiet). U32,
ai
the pnp transistor, provides a slow ramp-on feature which
eliminates the problem of the 3 terminal regulator going
into over current mode at power up. Tube filaments are a
gm
dynamic load in that their current consumption decreases
as they warm up. If you slam the voltage on to the
filament of some tubes, the current can spike up as much
as 3 times the normal operating value until the tube Sonically, when put up against mic pres in a much
higher price bracket, this design holds its ground and
has all the characteristics of a classic tube/transformer
t)
design. The bandwidth is about 6 Hz to 100 kHz, and
with the pad out has a very acceptable noise floor. When
driven hard, the harmonic content is very musical.
MODS/IMPROVEMENTS
As I stated earlier, this design is “borrowed” from my
Silverbox4 tube mic pre. In the pursuit of sonic
perfection, the cost to make small improvements
exponentially increases as you push the limits. There is
a point, though, where under a lot of circumstances,
these subtle differences, which make the material cost
per channel 5 times more, really don’t make that big of
a difference, if any. There are, however, a few things you
can do to improve/modify the unit that will raise the
price a bit, but are worth mentioning.
Step attenuators instead of volume pots. Purely
resistive attenuators are far better than pots as they have
far less reactance. The kit includes charts of resistor values
for various step attenuator designs. These are also provided
free on our website.
continued on the next page>>>
 Build Your Own
Tube Mic Pre:
Add a totem pole follower after the first stage,
before the volume control. This buffers the first stage,
allowing the pot to be reduced from a 100 K to 5-10 K.
Pots have reactance, the bigger the value of pot, the
worse the effect on the audio signal. They can cause
phase shift and dispersion if the value is too big
(making the sound a bit “mushy”). In this design the
first gain stage has to drive the pot without a buffer.
Because of the higher output impedance of the first
stage (compared to the totem pole), the 10 pF feedback

co
capacitor is required on the first stage to keep it from
oscillating at higher gain settings. If the first stage is
buffered like the second, the cap can be removed for a
slight sonic improvement in the top end.
Adjust the bias point, for fun. Changing R2 and R5

)
sets the “bias” of the two gain stages. Making these
resistors bigger under-biases the amps, reducing gain and

ot
headroom. The benefit is the amp saturates very quickly
and can sound really good on vocals/percussive signals.
Making these resistors smaller takes the amp past the
linear operating point and in general just makes it distort

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in a sonically displeasing way (lots of odd harmonics).
The design shown under-biases the gain stages slightly
from the optimum linear operating point. It’s a good
tradeoff point between accuracy and tube “color”. The
totem pole follower works best when the DC voltage going
l into the Grid of V2 (pin2), is roughly B+ / 2. So
adjustments to R5 should be slight.
ai
Double up capacitor types on caps in the signal
path. A 0.01 uF 250 V polystyrene cap in parallel with
C1, C2, C3, C4, and C5 reduces the dissipation
gm

factor/distortion of these caps. This has a subtle

improvement in the high end. Also, making C5 bigger
will make a slight improvement to the bottom end. The
values of caps chosen however provides more than
adequate bandwidth.
CONCLUSION
t)

The main objective with this article was to provide a

circuit for a very good sounding tube mic pre, at a
reasonable price. Keep in mind that if you go to a store
(a

and buy a $400/$500 mic pre, probably only $100 is

actual material cost. You simply get what you pay for.
So by investing some “sweat equity” into building it for
yourself, you will end up with something far beyond
what you could get for the same price. Additionally, I
have provided a considerable amount of assembly
lf

information (pictures, mechanical templates, pcb art)

free of charge on my website as to not make this article
too big. So if you plan on trying to build it, you will find
wo

a wealth of information there. Enjoy! r

www.hamptone.com
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www.tapeop.com
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free subscriptions online!

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 The Bevis Frond
Home Recording Before it was “Cool”
by Steve Silverstein
photos by Anton Barbeau
The Bevis Frond’s 1986 debut Miasma could have
come from any time, or maybe no time. Nick Saloman’s
home-recorded, somewhat primitive recording
techniques would have fallen under the “lo-fi” moniker
had he started working six years later. His ornamental
arrangements and stylized guitar playing had fallen from

co
favor in underground rock circles many years before its
release. While trends have come and gone, Saloman has
employed his instantly recognizable sound on all of the
Bevis Frond records.
Saloman began recording himself many years before

)
creating Miasma, and has even released one of his
earliest recordings. “That was on an old reel-to-reel tape

ot
recorder - I think it was a Grundy [Grundig? –LC]. It
belonged to my mom’s boyfriend. It had a microphone on
a lead with a kind of coax plug, just one mic for the both
my voice and the guitar. Put the microphone there, play.

That’s the first thing I’ve got that I did. I think I probably
recorded songs before that, but the tapes have disappeared
over the years. My mom actually kept that one.”
“I had this little spool of 1/4” tape, 3” spool. Even
then, I wanted to make an album, so I did 6 songs a side
- I recorded 12 songs. Some time ago, my mom gave me
the tape, still in the box with my writing with the titles
and everything. ‘Alastair Jones’ was by far the best thing
on it, so I thought that one could go on ”Bevis Through
the Looking Glass, his third album.”
as I can remember, was pretty primitive. It was probably
an 8-track, big old heavy-duty studio equipment with
l
knobs and things. I couldn’t tell you what they were. I got
offered a share of the profits or 15 pounds, and I went for
ai
the 15 pounds.”
“When I got back from college, I formed a band in
London with a couple of mates, this would be about ‘76.
gm
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Recording and mixing all happen in “a bedroom
upstairs, at the back of the house. I chose it because it
doesn’t touch any other buildings.” In that room “I’ve
got like all my amps, all my guitars, various keyboards,
drum kit, my recording equipment. The rest of the house
belongs to the family.”
Saloman owns two condenser microphones. “I’m really

“The first time I went in the studio was about 1971. I
was about 18. I booked up a studio in the outskirts of
London, and I went in to do 2 songs. I was playing all the
instruments. I figured that the song was about 3 minutes
long. I was playing guitar, bass, keyboards, vocals. I
thought, that’s about 4 things, so that should take 20
We went in the studio [for a day] and did this tape. It
was actually the best thing we had ever recorded. And
then about 2 weeks later, the Sex Pistols happened, so
suddenly I was old-fashioned overnight. I was 23 years
old. I was a has-been without ever having been
anything. And then we formed our own psychedelic punk
t)
a very bad person to interview for a technical magazine. I
wanted to use one for the drum kit, and have it
permanently on my drum kit. [It] is on a boom stand
going right into the middle of the drum kit. I figured out
that if I had a mic on the drums, whenever I wanted to
do anything else, I’d have to move it all. It was just too

minutes, plus a couple of minutes to rewind the tapes. I band in about ‘78, called the Von Trapp Family. We cumbersome. I kept one mic permanently on the kit and
wanted to do 2 songs, so I booked the studio for an hour. recorded a lot of stuff in various studios, and went back used the other to move around. They’re different ones.
I actually did 2 songs. As it was done, it was mixed. The to the one where I’d done my first single, and we did an One’s a mic with a battery in it, and the other one’s a kind
(a

studio had a vinyl pressing facility so I’ve actually got it
on vinyl. That sounded okay. I wrote one song on one side
called ‘Far Better,’ I did one called ‘Steaming.’ That’s the
first kind of recorded stuff I have that you could hold.”
He has no memory of the studio’s equipment.
Saloman’s early efforts at recording his songs failed to
lf
EP there. That took us about 3 hours or something. We
hawked it around and no labels wanted to know, and we
put it out on our own label, which was Woronzow
number 1. Just after that we changed the name of the
band to Room 13, and we did another single, and then
the band broke up.”
of phantom power source one.”
“The first attempts were dire. The longer I did it, I
didn’t make so many mistakes, and I got more ease with
what I was doing. It’s just getting used to the sounds
really, so that your ears become accustomed to whether
the drums should be louder than the bass, which again is

capture his ideas. “I was always too pushed for time. I “After Von Trapp Family and Room 13, I was really fed just a personal thing anyhow.” He has learned “that you
could never really do the kind of stuff I wanted to - I never up with playing live, because I’d been doing it for years don’t need to record at full volume all the time. I would
had enough money to do what I wanted with it. All my and just getting nowhere. I thought to myself, I’m not record so that the needles were touching the red all the
wo

money was going to paying rent and living.”
“While I was at college, I played bass on an album by
a folk rock band called Odd Socks, an LP on a label called
Sweet Folk. They were a guitar acoustic duo. They got a
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going to do this anymore. I got a 4-track, and started time. I realized you don’t actually have to do that, and
recording at home. That eventually changed my life - the that gives you more scope.”
Tascam Porta 1. I started being able to do the things I’d “I’ve upgraded to a Fostex digital DMT8. All my home
really wanted to do - had time to do it. I didn’t have stuff was on the Porta 1. Since these 8-track digitals were

deal to do an album, so they asked a drummer, and they anyone else telling me what I should or shouldn’t be around, I thought I’d go for that. At first I was bouncing
th

asked me to play bass. We went up to a studio in Wales doing. It suddenly was like a kind of door opening.” These everything on to rhythm tracks, so you would get muffled
to do that one, and that took two days. The studio, as far recordings marked the beginning of the Bevis Frond. drum kits. I don’t now. I do 8 maximum tracks.”
 “I got a DAT when I got the Fostex. When I was
doing the 4-track I used to mix straight on to
cassette, or on to the Revox [B-77]. I still use the
Revox for some stuff. I think the DAT’s kind of
sharper, which doesn’t necessarily mean better. It’s
crisper and cleaner. The Revox has got a really nice,
full sound. They both sound good.”
For monitoring, “I got a couple of little studio
speakers and a couple of big ones. I was driving home
and I saw these two really big speakers sitting in a
dumpster, so I took ‘em. They’re great. I do all my
mixing on the little ones, because I figure that if it
sounds good on the little ones, it’ll sound great on the
big ones.” Saloman chose the small monitors because
“the bloke who I bought all my equipment off of said,
‘These are good.’ I’ll [mix] on the small speakers first,

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then I’ll have a listen to them on the big speakers. If it
sounds alright on both of them, I take it downstairs and
play it on my stereo. If it sounds okay on all 3, then it’s
okay. Mixing often takes me longer than recording,
because you’ve just got to make it sound right.”

)
“When I write a song, I can visualize what I want the
sound to be like.” Capturing a recording of the song is

ot
“a bit like painting a picture. You have to prepare the
canvas or lay the foundations first. I usually start with
either a click track and some guitar with a guide vocal,
or I’ll start with the drums. It tends to be a guide guitar,

(d
drums, and bass first. [Next,] if there’s keyboards I’ll put
them and any rhythm guitars. And then all the fancy
stuff I’ll lay on top. I’ll do the vocals last. I really don’t
like spending hours doing things. I just like to get in, do
it, but I do like to make it sound right. I’m not one of
these guys who just does one take and if it’s all wrong,
that doesn’t matter. It does matter. If I get it wrong, I’ll
l
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do it again.” He records songs as he writes them, and
“when it’s time to do an album, I just go through all the
tracks that I’ve got and choose what sounds best.”
gm

Any Gas Faster marked the Bevis Frond’s first trip to

a recording studio. “I got a deal from Reckless and they
gave me money.” He spent “about 4 days” on it. “I’ve
always used Gold Dust Studios in South London. Not
because they’re so good, but the guy who runs them,
Mark Dawson, is a really nice bloke and I get on really
t)

well with him. He’s really adaptable. Whatever I want to

do, he’ll just go, ‘Okay, we can do that,’ which is great.
I’ve been in studios and said, ‘Can we do this?’ and they
(a

go, ‘Oh, it’s very difficult.’ But Mark’s a really nice guy,
great guitarist himself. Whatever I want to do, he says,
‘Fine, let’s do that.’ So I keep going back there.” Saloman
does not know what equipment Gold Dust uses.
“Going in the studio, I often feel a bit
lf

uncomfortable with playing the drums, because I really

don’t think I’m a very good drummer. If I’m going in
the studio and it all has to be arranged, then I’ll
arrange to have a drummer there. If I’m recording at
wo

home, I play the drums. I can do it over and over and

over again ‘til I’ve got it right.”
While Saloman has recorded distinctive and creative
sounding music for years, he concludes that “I always
e

felt that I was a songwriter.” r

TAPEOP

th

www.woronzow.co.uk

46/47 The Creative Music Recording Magazine continued on the next page>>>

Myles Boisen & Bart Thurber:
2 guys, 2 names, 1 studio.
by Ian Mills Swanke, photos by Katherine Copenhaver
Bart Thurber, once described by a record reviewer as BT: Most of the music I record is pretty much in the same
the punk rock Phil Spector, has a favorite expression –
“An engineer drives a train – I’m a recording guy”. He’s
a West Coast legend to the 1,800 plus rock bands
(including a Minor Forest, Diesel Queens, and J Church)
plastered on the walls of his control room at House of
Faith studios. Bart’s studio partner, Myles Boisen, is no
slouch either. He’s engineered and/or mastered hundreds
of pop, blues, and jazz recordings, as well as dozens of
avant-garde musicians from around the world, like Do you ever have bands telling you you’re
Anthony Braxton, Fred Frith, Eugene Chadbourne, John
Tchicai and the Rova Saxophone Quartet. He’s also
regarded as an authority on vintage mics and BT: Not as much as you might think. I’m kind of
microphone testing, with numerous articles published in
Electronic Musician magazine and Mix Books
publications. When Myles is at the board, the studio
changes monikers to Guerilla Recording. He also teaches
audio engineering at Guerilla (in 1979 he began
teaching one of the country’s first university-level
recording studio programs). Here begins the story
behind three tracking rooms and a sky-lit control room
(a
in a unassuming part of Oakland, California.
Do you use different mics and gear
depending on the type of music?
MB: I’ve actually done research on blues recording at
Chess in Chicago, and Rudy Van Gelder, his style of
lf
recording jazz for Blue Note and Riverside - things like
that. I think it’s a good place to start if you’re doing
music that has a historical precedent. Start there and
see how it works. Don’t be afraid to be old fashioned! Especially if the band is feuding! Make So what mics do you guys reach for first
wo
People who were recording in the ‘40s, ‘50s and ‘60s
really knew what they were doing. Feedback from the
musicians is a really important part of it. The more MB: And the engineer is the only person really hearing
e
specific they can be about the sound, the better.
When they say everything sounds good right off the BT: I think a lot of the bands who come in here expect
th
bat, I wonder if they’re really paying attention.
genre - fast and loud. A lot of dynamic mics and
crushing guitars, maybe one room mic for the drums,
depending how fast the song is, because if it’s really
fast then it’s just going to get all muddy. I can’t use
as many older condensers as I’d like because it won’t
sound right or historically accurate. They want it to
leaves out a lot of equipment sometimes.
l
be in your face, they want it to be punchy, and that
ai
doing something wrong, something
counter to what so and so does?
gm
surprised. They’re all pretty well-versed in the
recording process now, but I think that a lot of
bands realize that recording at home - with 4-tracks
or 8-tracks or whatever - and coming into the studio
are completely different things. The best thing for
t)
them creatively is to let me run this whole end and
tell them when they’re fucking up or whatever. And
the best thing on their end is to play the song and
try to be comfortable. Leave this part up to me. I do
think it’s really important to get the trust of the
band in the first 15 minutes.
MB: That’s hard to do. There are a lot of engineers out
there who maybe don’t have a lot of social skills.
They may be great at engineering but they may not
be so good at addressing the various psychological
aspects of having a band in the studio.
my bass part louder versus you’re
stealing all my guitar frequencies! BT: When I use the same thing over and over again, it
the music!
you to give them some feedback. You know, “We went
to this other studio and the guy didn’t say anything!”
Never be shy about giving the bands
feedback. If they think you’re full of
shit they’ll let you know, and if they
like it, they’re totally going to like
you. Once you realize that they do
like the suggestions that you’re
making, you can figure out what
they really want.
Do you guys have any
favorite guitar amp
micing techniques?
BT: I like to use a good old SM57
and any kind of Sennheiser, like a
421 or a 441, which is kind of a hi-
fi 421. Then you find the best
speaker on the amp - on any 4x12
co
cabinet there is one speaker that
will sound better than the others.
They don’t even have to play. If the
guy has any noise or static coming
out of the amp then you can tell
)
right away.
MB: So you listen for the brightest
ot
speaker?
BT: Mainly one that seems like it has
the most tone, the widest range. So you get the two
(d
mics, cross them over each other like an x-y pattern,
but right on top of each other. I put them half way
between the cone and the outside of the speaker - it
usually has the most tone right there - then I’ll
compress the 57 with a LA-3 or an LA-4. The LA-3 is
a lot nicer but most people don’t have that kind of
thing, so any kind of compressor will work. The 57 is
aimed more at the center of the speaker, the 441
towards the outer edge of the cone because usually
the Sennheisers are a lot brighter. So compress the 57
and print them to different tracks - that way you’ve
got a lot of range from those two mics, and they’re
always phase coherent so it’s really punchy.
Yeah, your guitar sounds are
consistently monstrous!
BT: To tell you the truth I don’t really do anything – it’s
usually that setup, or if I run out of microphones, a 57
right on the cone. People come in and say, “What if we
put a mic back in the room a bit?” and a lot of times it
just doesn’t work. It washes out the guitar sound - it
can work if you can find the right mics to do it - so we’ll
try things for about and hour and it turns out the guitar
sound they wanted was a 57 right up in the cone.
MB: I never use 57s for anything.
BT: See, he’s the hi-fi guy! [laughter]
MB: Not that I’m against them. I think the Beta 58 is a
great mic, I just have other mics I like to use on
guitars. It just goes to show that there are no rules.
for vocals?
doesn’t sound good after a while. After a couple of
weeks it just doesn’t sound right anymore - your ears
have adjusted and you have to try something else to
get it back to right again. The one mic I really like
is that Oktava - the square one.
 MB: The 219?
BT: Yeah. You can compress it hard, and it compresses BT: I always like reading about the tricks in Tape Op, so
really evenly if you have a vocalist who is loud, a
screamy punk rock kinda vocalist. I’ve found the
problem with some of the nicer mics - because I like
to use that LA-4 for compression for vocals - is you’re
getting so much more bandwidth and dynamic range
that they just don’t compress down to a nice
manageable level when you’re trying to smash them
into all these cranking guitars. When you use the
Oktava it’s really super smooth and it still sounds hi-
fi, but you can get it so that it fits in the mix really
well. Myles is lucky in that respect because he gets
to use all the better mics!
How do you get the kick and the bass to
be punchy and defined?
BT: That’s funny because I totally agonize about the
whole mixing process - is it good? Is it right? I’ll be
listening to it on headphones, those AKGs [pointing
to AKG 240s] at some point. And I try to always
make a cassette and listen to it on a little boombox
which I trust, just to see if the mix is working. I’ll
walk down the hallway, about 20 feet from the
speakers. It seems like the low end is always the
hardest thing. I might just be lucky.
Do you compress the bass?
BT: One thing that I do that’s a good trick, and I’ve read
about this before so it’s not really new, is to set up some
output busses on the board when I’m mixing. I always
have a bus that I put the kick and the snare into, and
I’ll run that through a compressor, compress it really
heavily, and then I’ll just kinda sneak that back into the
mix a little bit. And every time the kick and the snare
sound like they’re getting lost or something I’ll just give
that thing a little boost. That way it gets really punchy,
but it’s not the dominant sound - it doesn’t really sound
compressed. It just kind of thickens it up. And that’s
something you can pretty much do on any mixer. I’ll
also do that with the bass guitar.
MB: The thing I find that really helps is to keep changing
your perspective in listening to a mix. That’s why we
have 3 different pairs of speakers - Event 20/20s,
Tannoy 6.5s and Optimus Pro 7s. Each pair of
speakers might reveal something that the others MB: That’s another good way to get over the bass and
didn’t. And our hallway here is one of our best secret
weapons. To get down there about 15 or 20 feet
(a
away and listen to it - at that point it’s in mono,
you’re not hearing any kind of imaging. It’s a real live BT: The Fostex B16 is a great machine! You might not have
hallway so it amplifies things in an interesting way.
That’s the only way I know if I have enough bass.
Bass is so hard, and I would say that this control
lf
room is not the best for mixing bass. We’ve learned
to deal with it over the years.
BT: I think you just come to terms with whatever room MB: Those are really great tom mics!
you’re in. You get used to it. It’s really hard to change BT: And they’re like $125! They’re really small and
wo
rooms and then all of a sudden you’re kind of
floundering again. Where’s the bass? Where’s the bass!
MB: Listen at different levels, loud and quiet. Listen to
different speakers. Try not to get in a place were You’re a big Sennheiser fan.
e
TAPEOP
everything is always sounding good. Sometimes I’ll BT: What’s that kick drum mic we have? The Sennheiser
th
submix the bass and kick through the Anthony DeMaria
ADL 1000 tube compressor - usually on a pop mix.
48/49 The Creative Music Recording Magazine
Any recording tricks?
I’ve got about ten tricks: There’s this stuff called
Tascam stainless polish SP 2 that I think they still
make. This is an old Craig Anderton trick - I read this
back in 1980. You put this on your heads, the same
way you would to clean your [analog tape] heads - dip
your Q-tip in it, lightly rub it on your heads and tape
guides. It puts a thin, invisible film over the tape
head. And it has no effect on the frequency response
of the head, but it stops the tape from wearing
against the head all the time. I used the original
heads for years on my Fostex B16 because of this
stuff. Every three or four days just a little bit and your
heads will last a lot longer. My second tip is this
Realistic graphic equalizer - it’s got one of those
frequency display things, like a real time analyzer.
When I first started out I would play my favorite CDs
and just study this thing. It’s really accurate. So I
started playing my mixes through it. I had it wired
into my board so I could look over and check it all the
time while I was mixing, and it really helped me out
as far as the bottom end. And it’s totally cool if you’re
listening to CDs, and there is a guitar break - you can
see exactly how the guitar is EQ’d! My third trick is try
to listen to stuff really quietly when mixing. If it
sounds good to you quiet, then it’s going to sound so
good when you turn it up. I do turn it up ‘cause I can’t
help it, but I’ll bring it back down after a while.
l can find and LISTEN to them. You will
ai
gm
t)
kick problem. That’s the main thing I listen for on
these Optimus speakers - if you can hear the bass
and the kick on those, you’re home!
quality control on tracks 1 and 16, but tracks 2 through
14 are going to be really good. And you can never have
too many cassette decks. For making tapes at the end,
if only one guy gets the rough mix everybody gets
pissed off! What else - Sennheiser 604s!
lightweight, you can get them out of the way of the
drumsticks really easy, they have a nice swivel and
they sound really good.
602 - that is a beefy kick drum mic. It’s a good
modern-sounding mic that has a lot of low end on it.
MB: It kinda makes any kick drum sound the same, but
it always sounds good.
BT: Another tip - this dbx compressor, the 166a. This is
a really inexpensive way to get a brickwall mix to a
DAT. The contour button makes it sort of a low
budget multi-band compressor. It’s like a cheap
Aphex Dominator. For all the grindcore and punk
rock bands that I do, this gets it really loud. I once
read this thing about this English recording guy,
Robin Miller, who did Everything But The Girl and a
bunch of bands in the ‘80s. He’s a good recording
guy and he said if the mix isn’t bright enough,
instead of cranking all the high end up, try rolling
the high end off of things that don’t really need it.
Then you don’t have everything fighting for
brightness. Now you’ve just got the overheads,
co
which are going to be naturally bright, and you’ve
got a little sibilance on the vocals which is naturally
bright. But you don’t have to boost the high end on
the guitar at 10 k! In any kind of dense mix you’re
not going to hear that at all. I think a great engineer
)
has to have a really big record collection, different
types of music. I used to play in all kinds of bands -
ot
country bands, blues bands, all that kind of stuff.
Oh, and make the bands send you the records after
they come out so you can put them on the wall.
Okay, now it’s your turn.
(d
MB: I guess the main thing I would say is to use your ears,
and let them be your guide. Don’t assume that anyone
else knows more than you about what
you want to hear. Take all the mics
you’ve got, put them on whatever you
learn so much – it’s amazing how
different every mic can sound.
BT: Mics are actually your EQ right
there, you know.
MB: I’ll sometimes cut at 250 to 400
Hz, to scoop out some mud, but
usually I try to focus on mic
placement.
BT: Well when you first start out
recording you EQ everything! You EQ
everything at the mic and then you re-EQ everything
at the mix and everything is phase shifted to hell.
And then hopefully as you go along you start EQing
less and less and less. With drums, I always dump
out some of the 400 Hz when I track the close mic’d
stuff like the toms, and boost the low end just to get
rid of that clumpy mid range. But I’m really trying to
EQ less and less now.
MB: It’s good to go in, put a finger in one ear and listen
with the other ear - like a microphone does - to what
the instrument sounds like in the room. Then go
back to the control room and listen. If you want to
try to recreate that acoustic sound, great. That’s a
good exercise for you. If you want to do something
that’s totally different, that’s great too! But don’t
just settle for what you get. Don’t put a mic where
someone told you it was going to sound good. Really
listen to the sound and then make a judgement
based on that.
continued on the next page>>>

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lf
wo
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e
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th
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BT: One time some friends of mine were recording with
Steve Albini in San Francisco. I went, and I didn’t
want him to think I was some recording guy looking
over his shoulder, so I pretended to be their roadie,
and moved all the stuff around. And then I just sat in
the control room quietly, but I totally watched
everything he did. I could hear everything he was
doing, so the next time I had a session I tried
everything I saw him do, you know. And it didn’t work
for me at all! I just couldn’t get it to happen - it didn’t
sound right to me.
MB: It is good to compare your mixes to other people’s
while you’re mixing. If I’m doing a rock thing I might
put on one of Bart’s recordings.
BT: To make sure it doesn’t sound like it! [laughter]
MB: You can learn so much doing that it may make you
depressed. I mean, no one is the absolute authority
on recording. There are so many things you can do,
and so much creativity involved. Don’t get stuck in a
rut always using the same mic.
ai
gm
t)
(a
BT: I used to do speed mixes after the band
left. I would set it up and try to mix it really
fast, try to go for a really good gut mix. And
that was great practice. A lot of times I was
just being way too analytical about mixing.
That’s the great thing about
digital - being able to do
different automations.
MB: One of the few good things about
digital. [laughter]
BT: I think I’ve done about 1,800 projects
now and 2 of them were on digital multi-
tracks. And after the second one, I swore
I’d never do it again. There’s one thing I’ve noticed
about modern music - it seems to me that
everything is becoming really well-recorded. Ten or
co
fifteen years ago people were taking a lot more
chances, things were way more effected out.
Recordings were way crazier. And now things are
much better recorded, which I think Albini had a lot
to do with. You can really hear the space that the
)
band was recorded in, it’s way more ambient and
natural. But now, I’m finding that I like things that
ot
sound crazier again, like the Flaming Lips’ new
record. That record is great! I saw them a few
months ago and everybody in the audience got
these little headphones that transmitted from the
(d
mixing board! All those great recordings from the
‘70s and ‘80s have that wretched excess, which I
kind of miss. Sometimes when a band is recorded
really well and everything is recorded really dry it
just kinda sits there. It doesn’t really capture my
l attention or leap out and say, “Check this part out!”
Some people are trying to create a
representation of a sonic reality
and other people are painting with
giant brush strokes.
BT: And I think that’s a great idea! With this big
explosion of affordable home multitrack recording
hopefully people will start getting crazier.
MB: Recording is not about an objective reality, it’s about
defining a reality - it’s an art form. I go out and listen
to jazz gigs or free jazz and really try to listen to it as
if I were listening to a recording. It’s a good exercise,
but I’m constantly reminded that recording music is not
about this, it’s not about experiencing music live. It’s
about creating this reality that maybe reminds you of
something - it may be nostalgic or very expressionistic
or whatever, but it’s not about reality. r
Myles has a website at: http://hometown.aol.com/
mylesaudio/myhomepage /index.html
Tape Op is made
possible by our
advertisers.
Please support them and
tell them you saw their
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ot
(d
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Dynamics Processor Tips
with an emphasis on Classic Optical Compressor/Limiters
by Eddie Ciletti
In issue #29 I wrote about an IC op amp upgrade for
the UREI LA-4, a ‘70s-era optical limiter whose
ancestors were the Teletronix LA-2 (vacuum tube) and
the Universal Audio LA-3 (solid state). The original plan
was to write more about the modifications but I’ve
decided instead to share some tips for using all
compressor/limiters and explain how they work. If you
have any questions about LA-4 mods, just e-mail me at
eaudio@tangible-technology.com.
Dynamics processing is fascinating because there is
so much to learn about each type - Optical, FET,
variable-mu and VCA - as well as the products that use
Needless to say, slamming the gain reduction meter
does less for percussion than it does for guitars. To open
up a drum sound, peak limit either a submix of the kit
or the entire mix starting with the suggested Peak
Limiting settings. For vintage and retro products with
VU meters, a Gain Reduction indication of as little as a
half-dB is all it takes to get 6 dB of Peak Limiting, which
is really about all you need. This is much easier to see
on an LED bar graph display.
COMPRESSION
Oversimplified, Think of Compression as “Extreme
Limiting”, using less aggressive RATIO, Attack and
TIP-2: Delicate Under-Things
Start the LA-4 at its maximum RATIO of 20:1. For all
other Compressor-Limiters equipped with LED metering,
adjust Attack and Release to their FASTEST settings and
Maximum RATIO. Adjust Threshold until the meter
deflection just begins to indicate Gain reduction, then
back off a hair. Be sure to listen. Set Threshold for no
more than 3 dB of Gain Reduction. If you feel the need
to use more aggressive amount of Gain Reduction with
less artifacts, slow the attack and reduce the Ratio
controls until the desired result is achieved. For
example, the more aggressive of these settings would
extract more “ambience” from a drum kit (peak limiting
a stereo sub mix). Use the less aggressive approach if
peak limiting a stereo mix. Consider daisy-chaining a
compressor and a limiter, tweak the controls then try

them. Quite by accident, my course of study has
alternated between real world sessions and the geek
stuff - bench testing, repair, restoration and
modification. I like the aforementioned vintage optical
compressor/limiters for their extreme simplicity, an
co
reversing their order.
Release settings but with a more aggressive Threshold.
A mix is more challenging than an individual track,
reason enough to use a Compressor and a Limiter or
(Translation Detour)
When integrating vintage analog with digital gear,
use a Multi-Frequency Processor like the Finalizer. For
translating a VU meter reading to Digital Bar graph
Compression (from my own perspective), ratios of 2:1
(peak) meters starts with a test tone. Assuming the

)
inherent discipline that minimizes the variables, making to 8:1 are typical, although the area between 1:1 and
them a good place to start. operating levels are correct - “Plus-Four” is the
2:1 is worth exploring using the most sensitive

LIMITING
Dynamics processing all started with the need to
protect amplifiers from clipping. You can think of a
ot
professional level, “Minus Ten for consumer gear - “0-
Threshold settings.
VU” should fall between –20 dBfs and –12 dBfs in the
TEMPTATION digital world. (For digital, the 0 dB maximum is referred
The urge to smash a track within an inch of its life is to as “Full Scale,” “FS” or “fs.”) Using both meters

limiter as a “soft” brick wall, keeping any signal from
going beyond the THRESHOLD without annoying
distortion. The “brick wall” aspect refers to the RATIO,
which for limiters is generally high - 8:1 to 20:1 - the
larger number being more extreme. Table-1 shows the
Approximate Range of Gain Reduction - the earlier
topologies are at the top. Attack and Release speed is
also a consideration, faster being better. Aggressive
settings can yield fantastic results when combined with
a conservative Threshold.
COMPENSATION
(d
hard to suppress, but it is better to conservatively together is the best solution - VU to indicate the
process twice - to and from a recording device, for “average” signal level or Loudness, the Digital Display to
example - rather than aggressively squash once. This indicate Peaks/transients.
becomes more obvious with older technologies that
simply sound better when comfortably used within their
l
most effective operating range. For details regarding the
(Geek Stuff)
All of the dynamic processing topologies can be
basic technology inside all of the boxes, check out the
ai
considered three-terminal black boxes with Input,
GEEK STUFF sidebar.
Output and Control connections. In most cases - UREI
TIP-1: Optimizing for Bass 1176, dbx 160 series - audio (AC) is converted to DC,
Acoustical spaces and loudspeaker idiosyncrasies can then “shaped” via Resistor-Capacitor (RC) networks to
gm

create “local” sonic peaks and dips making note-to-note create a Control Voltage (CV) that can be dynamically
With “speed” in mind, any dynamics processor that consistency of bass instruments hard to judge by ear, manipulated by Attack and Release pots (variable
relies on a mechanical VU requires skill in using “The but easy to see with a VU meter, the inherent resistors). The exception are the classic Optical Limiters
Force.” VU meters are great for judging vocals, bass and mechanical ballistics being perfect for this task. Without - the LA-2a, the LA-3a and to a lesser extent the LA-4.
electric guitar levels but terrible for judging transients. any Gain Reduction, first set the Meter Mode switch to The Optical Transmitter in the LA-2 and LA-3 is an
Consider the task of setting record levels when using a read Input or Output and observe the level of each bass Electro-Luminescent panel directly driven by audio - the
t)

mechanical VU meter and/or the slightly more note. Assuming that some processing needs to be done former from a tube and the latter from a transformer-
complicated process of recording to analog tape. switch the meter to Gain Reduction, then adjust coupled transistor-pair, most respectively. In this case,
Percussion instruments like tambourine, handclaps and Threshold to “level” the bumps - about 3 dB to 6 dB, LIGHT is the Control Signal so there is no need necessary
(a

snare have such a fast Attack that the recording levels using more compression if the “dips” are too deep. What for a DC CV. In the LA-4, there is a detector (to convert AC
must peak at a conservative “–5 dB,” the actual level to could be easier? to DC) followed by an op amp (to manipulate Ratio and
tape could easily be 6 dB to 14 dB higher. For For the LA-4, the equivalent “gentle” RATIO options Threshold) feeding a transistor to drive the LED. (The
tambourine, pushing the electronics beyond the available are 2:1, 4:1 or 8:1. For aggressive bass - as is the case Electro-Luminescent panel was originally designed to back
headroom will add clunky, low frequency artifacts. when the strings are popped or light aircraft displays and is now used for night-lights.)
lf

TOPOLOGY ** Approximate Range of Gain Reduction ** snapped - a peak limiter is While the OT responds almost instantaneously to the
Variable-Mu 12~25 dB appropriate. Use RATIO settings of audio signals it is the Optical Receiver/Gain Reduction
Optical 25~30 dB 8:1, 12:1 or 20:1 dialing in just Device (GRD) - a photo-resistor - which determines the
FET 40~50 dB enough Threshold to barely move response time. The LA-4 (IC op amp) falls somewhere in
wo

VCA 100 dB the meter, going no further than 3 between its predecessors and the modern Optical
pwm-FET 30 dB dB of limiting. For all other processor. By using an LED for the OT, a slightly more
Table-1: Of the four primary dynamics processing topologies - optical (photo- processors, start with the Attack complicated Detector Circuit is required (but not timing
e

resistor), variable-mu (vacuum tube), FET (Field-Effect-Transistor) or VCA

and Release controls “straight up,” circuitry), the bonus being the Ratio Control. The speed
(Voltage-Controlled Amplifier) - ALL have a “window,” the optimum range where
the halfway position, with gentle of its photo-resistor is like its predecessors - medium-
th

the device performs best. Note that all have a limited range when compared to
RATIO settings. Tweak as necessary. fast attack and slow release.
a VCA. EMT and Crane Song use PWM technology in their dynamics processors.
 CHANDLER LTD.
Modern Optical processors like the Pendulum
Audio OCL-2 and JOEMEEK use a very fast GRD,
requiring that the designer include both Attack and
Release controls and that the user better understand
how to adjust them.
The simple act of charging and discharging a
capacitor is a “Time” issue that has a great effect on
the overall dynamic envelope. The Empirical Labs
Distressor and the RNC (Really Nice Compressor) are two
products that take a unique approach to minimizing LTD-1 “EXPANDED 1073” PRE AMP & EQ
and/or eliminating the effects of capacitor aging on the DOUBLE EQ SELECTION. ORIGINAL CLASS “A” CIRCUIT
timing circuits. The RNC does this by digitizing the
sidechain signal so that the timing is virtual via DSP
48 V, DI, PHASE REVERSE, OUTPUT FADER.
processing. (The RNC’s analog path is an input op amp,
a VCA and an output op amp.) Other sonic contributors LTD-2 “2254 TYPE” COMPRESSOR
include Input and Output Transformers interfaced with
Class-A amplifiers (Neve) versus Class-AB (API). The 6 POSITION ATTACK NOT ON ORIGINAL. MORE RELEASE TIMES.

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Crane Song Trakker emulates many of the classic
“sounds” including those Compressor-Limiters whose CV
leaks through to the audio signal. And you thought it
LTD-3 “1272 PRE AMPS”
was magic! r 48 V, DI, PHASE REVERSE, OUTPUT FADER.
www.tangible-technology.com

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Phone: (319) 352-2587 www.chandlerlimited.com

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52/53 The Creative Music Recording Magazine continued on the next page>>>
This #*%&
Computer!!
Have you got questions about recording
with a computer? Write to us and our
panel of experts will throw knowledge
at you like there’s no tomorrow.
computeradvice@tapeop.com
Question: Here is the wall I am currently
trying to scale. Phase and its many unintended
consequences. I love mixing in analog, love having real
knobs to tweak in real time, so I went out and bought
a Mackie SR32-4 board to take the channels out of my
MOTU 2408. I have a bunch of old and new preamps,
compressors and EQs that I have as inserts primarily on
the channels returning from the MOTU. I assign the
channels in my software, depending what signal chain I
want to go through. The main outs of the Mackie go to
a second computer with a 24/96 card. I have mastering
software on that machine. Each signal path obviously
has different latency, from the MOTU card and box to the
analog or digital effects sends, and even cable types and
lengths. To add to the confusion, I have a Tascam TM-
D1000 digital deck that is handling 8 TDIF channels on
its own, sent back to the Mackie on 4 analog channels
(I have it word clocked to the MOTU). I recently
purchased a Behringer Edison, which has a phase
correlation meter and was surprised that the phase was
way off even when I panned everything to the center. I
have read up on short delays and comb filtering, and
how phase can destroy a mono mix. But in seeing other
studios I’m not sure if this is the unavoidable nature of
the beast or if there is someway to reduce this, or if at
the end of the day it is even really an issue if the mix is
good. I’ve read of top engineers that send snare tracks
out to guitar amps under snares and re-mic the result for
more bite, and that must be a significant delay. Of
course you could move the track if you are using a DAW
setup, but this makes me wonder if I am overreacting.
What’s the scoop on latency nowadays? Should I look at
going to digital boards with built in DSP cards, DSP cards
on the DAW stations, what’s the latency on plug-ins,
continue to rely on outboard?
(a
Chris Mulholland, Men Who Sweat Recording,
Mwsprod@aol.com
The Answers: As long as you delay all
of your tracks to your most latent track all will be well.
Like if you have one track that is using three plug-ins
lf
and is going out if the computer to an analog
compressor then back in to the computer. You need to
know how much delay to apply for each plug-in, send,
wo
bus and converter.... You can find out in the owner’s
manual or in user forums. If your problem is acoustic
then you can try to fix it by looking at the waveforms
and moving the regions around a bit. The main thing
e
is to make sure your drums and multiple mic’d sound
sources are in phase from the start.
th
Jeremy du Bois,
Producer/Engineer, www.jeremydubois.com
The problem is in the use of the phase correlation
meter. Unless I’m completely misreading the question,
you’re running the stereo mix through the meter and
seeing imperfect phase. The meter is reading many
unrelated things and that’s why you see it showing that
the phase is all over the place. Phase is important when
combining two different signals of the same source. For
instance, if you have a top and bottom snare mic, they
will probably be out of phase until you flip one at the mic
pre. A snare mic and a guitar mic cannot be out of phase
with each other because they are two completely
different sources. The exception would be if the guitar
and drums were tracked in the same room and there was
bleed. Then the snare on the snare mic track could be out
of phase with the snare that bled through the guitar mic.
In your case, if the drums went straight to the board and
the vocals went through a long digital chain of plug-ins
there would be no phase cancellation caused by the vocal
latency since it came from two different sources. If you
sent the left overhead straight to the mixer, but the right
overhead went through five plug-ins, the latency might
cause phase problems because you have two different
signals/recordings of the same source - the drums. The
only time this meter will be useful on the stereo mix is
if there is something hugely out of phase like a wide
panned keyboard track that’s really loud in the mix. Then
you may see the mix more out of phase than ever, and
know to look for a problem. A better use is when you’ve
mic’d and DI’d a bass and it’s not exactly 180 degrees out
of phase. In that case flipping the phase of one track will
not solve the problem. Send just the two bass tracks to
the phase correlation meter, hard panned. Then delay the
DI track with the track delay feature on an MDM or by l
nudging it in a DAW until they are in phase. That’s what
ai
this meter is for. However, I’d consider using your ears
over the meter because ultimately what matters is that
it sounds right.
gm
Mike Caffrey, www.monsterisland.com
Perhaps the best answer would be to route pink
noise through some of the signal paths you mentioned
and use your ears. It is hard enough for any product to
manage its own latency, let alone ALL of the variations
t)
you’ve added. Say for example that you’ve got two
tracks of pink noise panned hard left and right. Pan
them up the center and they should sound the same,
just louder. Now, on one channel insert a compressor.
This could be hardware or software, analog or digital.
The inserted device should be adjusted so that there is
no level change. Any change of phase, or worse,
latency, would produce a comb filter effect, just like a
“stuck” phase shifter. Of course, you should always
process stereo pairs the same way, but to “fix” the
problem and to make a point, add a delay line to the
unprocessed channel and adjust until the comb filter
effect goes away. In short, this is how a digital product
should manage its latency - by providing the option to
the user to add in the maximum latency per channel
(or not, when latency is a problem) and then
subtracting by the correct amount as “effects” are
inserted. Latency is a problem when working with live
musicians, especially when over-dubbing. It is not a
problem, in most cases, when mixing.
Eddie Ciletti, www.tangible-technology.com
Let’s get rid of a few misconceptions. In analog-land
cable length does not add delay. Electricity moves at the
speed of light, you’d have to have a REALLY long cable
to induce delay. Running a snare out to an amp and re-
mic’ing it will not add significant delay, as long as you’re
careful with mic placement and phase relationships. The
further you move the mic from the amp, the greater the
(time) difference between the original signal and the re-
mic’ed one, the more potential for phasing. I’d
recommend you go read up on polarity and phase
relationships in a good basic engineering book, to get
the theory down. Then throw away your phase meter
and play with your gear. Make two copies of a snare
drum track in DP, and send them into your Mackie on
channels 1 and 2. Pan them both dead center, mute
track 2, and hit play. You hear snare. Mute 1 and open
co
2. Same snare. Open both up, you hear the same snare,
just louder. Dig the Edison back out of the dustbin and
check the phase. If it still tells your eyes that it’s “out
of phase” it’s busted. Now nudge track 2 in DP by 1
msec. That’s phasing. Undo, and patch in whatever
)
ANALOG signal chain you like on channel 2. With analog
you can change the sound of the snare, but not the
ot
phase relationship [unless you’re using the IBP (by Little
Labs) or a delay line. -LC]. Insert a digital device and
you will hear phasing, because the inherent delay in the
converters will change the time of arrival for that
(d
channel. Anything that’s in phase coming into an
analog mixer with analog inserts will remain that way
coming out. This phase relationship problem is one of
the reasons that nearly all of the major recording
facilities in the country have opted out of digital desks
and returned to analog mixers. I use Pro Tools every day,
for playback, and I mix analog.
F. Reid Shippen, producer/mixer, Nashville, TN,
makeitwork@comcast.net
Phase is predominantly an analog problem - latency, a
digital one. Although not exclusive to each domain, they
are accepted as that. Phase is introduced by the
addition of electronic components into a circuit. They
change as the devices effect the signal. Since they are
not linear to all frequencies (they affect different
frequencies differently) when you apply a nice EQ to the
mix it will change the phase as well. Latency is the time
it takes to process the signal through the device, analog
to digital, through the DSP (Digital Signal Processor)
and back through the D to A. When this happens, it
affects all frequencies! Thus everything is late. The use
of tricks to change the sound and delays are common,
but a simple path of snares in a guitar amp are not only
reshaping the sound they are adding a delay, thus
anticipation of the snare sound psycho-acoustically. If
you are adding it to the dry sound you are then creating
some comb filtering. The less A to D to A, the better.
Have your mixer tested for phase (most decent shops
can do this) and having a house word sync [clock] is a
great idea. Software is available that will look at your
phase, spectrum, and other things like distortion. Not
cheap, but very effective. Also turn off all those
screensavers, and non-critical applications that take up
too much processor time. Ultimately, trust your ears,
they are the best tool you have!
Martin Huhn, martin@axl-technical.com
 In the end who cares about the phase meter? If you
can mix music out of that rig and you dig the results and
things are not totally dying if you hit the mono button,
you’re fine. Please don’t go buy a digital board to get in
phase. Just make what you have sound as good as you
Go Where You’re Inspired*
possibly can. *Natural Reverb Not Included
Brian Lucey, Nude and Magic Garden Studio,
www.bigfatcircle.com

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54/55 The Creative Music Recording Magazine

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Tape Op
Gear
Reviews
M-Audio
DMP3 Mic Pre and Duo Mic
Pre/USB Audio Interfaces
Bucking the trend towards expensive, high-end mic-
preamps, the folks at M-Audio have recently released two
affordable models that caught my eye.
DMP3 Mic Pre First off, the DMP3 dual mic pre ($249
retail) is a straightforward, half-rack device that offers 2
independent channels and sports XLR mic and 1/4”
instrument inputs, VU metering, phantom power, phase
reversal switching (on both channels), Hi/Lo gain switch
(allowing variable gain at ranges from +6 to either +36 or
+66 dB), Lo cut @ 75 Hz, clip LED indicator and balanced
line outputs. Beyond the retro look (the cool VU meters
remind me of a PT Cruiser’s dashboard) the DMP3 has a
smooth, present sound that might be expected from a
more expensive preamp. Given that M-Audio proudly
publishes the frequency response as falling between 20-
100 kHz (+0/-1 dB), this small, lightweight box is
definitely worth checking out as an alternative to
blowing all your budget on a mega-buck pre.
Duo Mic Pre/USB Audio Interface The Duo ($349) is
a bit of a different animal, in that it’s both a 2 in x 2 out
USB audio interface (PC/Mac) and a standalone pro-
quality mic pre. As an interface, the Duo works at rates up
to 24-bit/96 kHz, offers various +4/-10 dB level options
for the line I/Os and has a “direct monitor” feature that
can route the input directly to the monitor output (so as
to eliminate latency delays that can be introduced by the
computer and/or editing software). As a bonus, this
multifunctional toolbox includes a pair of high-quality
mic pres that offer XLR inputs, switchable phantom
(a
power, independent 20 dB pads and signal/clip LEDs. In
its normal mode, the mic or line inputs are directly routed
to the audio editing application’s input, however, when
the front panel “Stand Alone Mode” button is pressed, the
Duo becomes a stand-alone mic pre that can be used
without a computer. In addition to this, the amazing
lf
dynamic Duo can also be used as a standalone A/D
converter, which lets you stream either the mic or line
inputs through to its S/PDIF digital outputs at selectable
wo
rates of 44.1, 48, 88.2 and 96 kHz! I also found that the
duo can be used as a handy-dandy “stand alone”
headphone monitor amp. Basically, the term “Duo”
doesn’t do this little, half-rack box justice. You’d be hard
e
pressed to find such a small, affordable tool that leaps
th
through more hoops in a single bound than this one.
(www.midiman.com) -David Miles Huber, www.modrec.com
Stapes
Omni Condenser Microphones
When I received these mics I was shocked at their
size. They are built right into standard XLR connectors
with a small brass tube coming out of the end. All
told, these things are about 3 1/2” inches long and
weigh little more than a Sharpie. I’m told that the
design was inspired by a Tape Op article a few years
back and utilize the same Panasonic electret mic
elements, but that the electronics were improved for
higher SPL, wider frequency response and phantom
power. First trial, I put a pair on a piano up against a
pair of vintage AKG C-12s, all run through channels on
a Neve 8068 at RPM studio in NY. What we found was
that the Stapes sounded great on the piano. Warm,
even, very nice clarity on the bottom end and a crisp,
but not quite hyped top end. The omni pattern made
for a full sound, with a nice stereo image, though not
as much separation as you would have with cardioid.
Second trial was as a room mic on a guitar track. We
put one about four feet away from an AC30. Some
mics can tend to thin out in this position, but I was
blown away by the Stapes, getting the best sounding
“distant” guitar tone I’ve gotten out of any mic. It
sounded huge. Back home, I put the mics through the
paces as overheads on drums. I had been using Audio-
Technica ATM33s or CAD E-100s as overheads for
years, and had been very happy with them. I popped
up the Stapes and once again I was blown away.
Straight through the pres in a Mackie 8-bus board,
they sounded amazing. Great cymbal tone without
being too sizzly, with a nice evenness in the stereo
image. I like the sweetness of the top-end on these
mics. They’re modern and clear sounding, but without
l (www.auralex.com) -LC
ai
the harshness that I sometimes get with overheads.
Maybe it’s the omni pattern that has something to do
with it as well. The drums sounded full and punchy (I
try to use overheads for more “drum” tone, than just
gm
cymbals). I also love the size and lightness of these
mics, as I don’t need any special mic stand to put
these up. A spring-loaded clip is the only special
requirement. No drooping boom stands. You can stick
these things almost anywhere. Next, I tried one as a
t)
close mic on a guitar amp, and another as a room mic.
I already stated that it has become my favorite
distant mic, but it also shined right on the speaker.
I’ve been using condensers on guitar speakers more
and more lately, and I found the Stapes to be great
on crunchy guitar track. I kept the mic about a foot
in front of the speaker, slightly off-axis and got a fat
and punchy direct tone, with a nice crisp attack
(through a solid state pre) with just enough “air”
around the sound so that I didn’t need the room mic.
I am thoroughly impressed with these mics. The only
complaints that I may have about them are that with
higher gain settings on the preamp (like on a distant
source), I found that they got a bit noisy. I also didn’t
have great luck using them as a vocal mic. I did like
them for a three-part backup vocal, but as a lead
vocal mic, I never got the sound I was after. The only
other complaint is that I don’t have more of them.
(www.stapesaudio.com) - Roger Lavallee
Auralex Acoustics
MoPads Monitor Stands
The MoPads are a set of 4 dense foam pads that fit
under your studio monitors to isolate them from low
end acoustic coupling that occurs all too frequently in
studios. The pads go two to a speaker, one on each
side, and since they provide a slightly downward-facing
angle (towards the console) there are some triangle
wedges provided to even out this angle, if desired. My
speakers sit on a board that lays across two speaker
stands, and the monitors (Dynaudio BM 6A) have sat
on top of mouse pads to slightly decouple them. When
I placed one of the monitors on MoPads instead, and
fed the speakers mono source material which I could
pan left and right, the first thing I noticed was that the
MoPad speaker was slightly lighter in the low end due
to the loss in coupling. Then I noticed that despite this
co
fact it was easier to hear what was going on in the low
end on that speaker, whereas the one without the pads
was a bit muddy. I placed pads under both speakers and
auditioned a bunch of CDs I had mixed. The downward
angle of the pads actually helped line the speakers up
)
better with my head, providing clearer imaging, though
in some studios the speakers might end up pointing too
ot
far down. In this case you would add the provided
wedges, though this would raise the speakers up over
1.5” from where they had been. A few people
(d
commented to me that Auralex was asking $59.95 for a
few pieces of foam, but the special, dense foam used
in the MoPads isn’t the same as the kind I find in
acoustical treatments or in local “foam shops”, plus
I’ve seen these advertised for $30 lately, not a bad
price for this much sonic improvement!
Fostex
T50RP Headphones
Most studios have pairs of T40RP headphones on
hand for tracking. I’ve got three and have been using
them constantly. The cups don’t swivel all around like
some headphones so they’re easy to take on and off
while playing guitar, the cables are easily replaceable
with locking 1/8” plugs on the headphone end, and the
rubber headband across the top keeps them from
slipping off unless the drummer’s hair is too greasy. The
T50RP is the new big brother of the 40, with a slightly
bigger earcup size and wider frequency response
(claimed to be 15 Hz – 35 kHz!), but all the good
features remain. In tracking use I found that these
‘phones were a little less midrangey than the 40 series,
which sometimes was good and sometimes bad. One
drummer claimed she couldn’t hear as much through
them as T40s or Sony MD 4506s, ironically probably due
to the wider response and less harshness in the mids. I
tracked some bass on these (along to live drums and
guitar) and found that I was hearing the lows pretty
well, which I liked. I also found the T50RPs good for
checking mixes on, more like a pair of audiophile
‘phones than the usual tracking headphones. Basically
these headphones are great for certain situations, just
be aware that they don’t rock the mids like their little
brother the 40RP. ($199 list / $99 retail if you look hard
enough, www.fostex.com) -LC
 EnRoute Music
The Porchboard (floor) Bass
Percussion Device
People always seem to be interested in finding
“tricks” of the recording trade so here is one of
mine: The Porchboard Bass is a solid, finely-crafted
piece of wood employing a pressure sensor from a
motor vehicle air bag which creates not only a kick
drum-like sound but also a bass tone at around 100
Hz. A footrest/bar is struck much like a pedal from
a kick drum which triggers the sensor to a standard
TS 1/4” output. What’s unique about the
Porchboard is that in a mix or live performance it
can lend the impression that a bass guitar is
present and “moving” with the chords or changes of
the song. I frequently use it to reinforce kick drum
tracks to get a deeper, fuller sound and presence
out of the bottom in mixes. Live, it can replace a
kick drum AND lend more depth and bottom to your
arrangements and overall sound. (I hear that Willie
Nelson’s drummer actually used it on tour
occasionally to replace his kick). Typically I run the
output of my Porchboard to a basic gate (in my case
a dbx 363X) to eliminate “pops” from recoils when
the board is struck too hard, then to any direct box.
Add compression to taste. With creative use of EQ
and reamping, many other interesting and useful
variations can be created from a seemingly basic
percussion track. I am constantly finding new and
unusual applications for this funky unit. Of course,
like anything else, you can easily over-use it too.
Two models are available, mahogany ($450) and
pine ($250). (www.porchboard.com) -Ed Pettersen
Uncle Albert’s
Vacuum Tube Direct Box
My seemingly endless search for the perfect tube
DI has led me to Uncle Albert’s doorstep. Here I
found a no-frills, basic but excellent vacuum tube
direct box for under $500. All the essentials are
here - 1/4” in, line level unbalanced 1/4” and
balanced XLR outputs. Only the XLR comes out of
the transformer, which is custom-designed for this
unit. There is a step attenuation switch on the rear
of the unit which also acts as a pad/lift. It
measures a neat, compact 8” x 5” x 3” and fits as a
half-rack space unit on a shelf or in a live rig or
(a
pedal board. Most importantly, the sound is clear,
open and terrific in all frequencies. The unit
imparts just the right amount of warmth without
being intrusive, and I could easily see using two
units for use in mixdown from live stereo mixes or
lf
for pre-mastering. I have been using it in my live
rig with 5 or 6 different acoustic instruments and it
remains consistent throughout. I can even use it at
home in my studio to record guitar tracks direct or
wo
to feed a cab for that classic tube amp sound (not
surprising since Kevin, the designer, also builds and
repairs tube amplifiers). Simple genius... now I
e
want two! (800-416-2444, members.aol.com/
TapeOp
paradox941/UncleAlberts.htm) -Ed Pettersen
th
58/59 The Creative Music Recording Magazine
PreSonus
Digitube Mic Pre/Direct Box /EQ
With the proliferation of DAWs in home recording,
some enthusiasts have been searching for an easy,
clean and efficient way to record digital audio
pristinely and directly into their computers without
additional conversion or interruption of the signal
path. PreSonus has answered with their new Digitube,
a single-channel tube (12AX7) mic preamp/DI with
digital S/PDIF output and standard XLR out. It
employs a dual servo gain stage (no capacitors)
which provides low noise and wide dynamic control.
It has a Neutrik combo connector (1/4” and XLR)
with phantom power available. The XLR can accept
line level signals when the Line/Pad switch is
engaged. The 1/4” input accepts instrument level
only and is not affected by the Pad/Line switch.
There is also a 20 dB pad button. An internal clock is
switchable on the back of the unit from 44.1 to 48
kHz. I found the unit to be very versatile, especially
for the price ($250 retail). The EQs were quite
manageable, though better suited for boost than cut
in some frequencies (the highs cut nicely but dropped
significantly out if I cut more than 5 or 6 dB). I found
I could get a pleasant mic signal using several
variations of drive (tube section) vs. gain but the big
surprise for me was the DI capability. PreSonus
doesn’t advertise or market this unit as a DI so much,
but it worked splendidly for me in a live setting when
switching between a few different acoustic
instruments and was very warm and consistent.
Driving the unit too hard does reveal it to be a bit
noisy but here again I was impressed that it was
“musical” noise as opposed to just noise. It could
l You press any other button and it stops and starts
ai
easily have been used as an effect as much as an
accident and still work. All in all the Digitube is a neat
little unit that just might come in handy now and
then in the studio and on the road.
gm
(www.presonus.com) -Ed Pettersen
Lehle
1@3 1/4” Switcher
Here’s a great little item that can be useful in
immeasurable ways: The Lehle 1@3 switcher pedal.
t)
Basically it takes a 1/4” TS, unbalanced signal and
switches or splits it to three other outputs without
losing any signal quality. It might as well be a direct,
uninterrupted path as far as my ears can tell. I use it
in my live rig to split my signal after my pre-amp to
send one line to an amp, one to my RNC then to the
board and the third channel, “C” back into a fourth
output “C/B” which allows me to connect all my pedals
to channel “C” which then feeds only channel “B” or
my amp signal without degrading my signal path or
affecting the direct signal sent to the board via
channel “A”. Pretty cool huh ? Anyway, I’m sure you can
find many other uses. Also, this pedal is made like a
tank - solid steel and built to last. Lehle makes a bunch
of other great pedals like this such as the 3@1 (3
balanced TRS to one TRS) and the Dual which splits one
TS signal to 2 separate channels with adjustable trim
pots on each channel.
($225, www.europeanmusical.com) -Ed Pettersen
Waves
L-2 Stereo Limiter
This is the Holy Grail of limiters - the most
transparent limiter I have ever used. This is not a plug-
in, but a dedicated piece of hardware that does all its
own number crunching at 48 bit. It’s very flexible,
offering AES/EBU and S/PDIFdigital ins/outs, as well as
a word clock in. To my surprise the analog to digital
converters included with the unit sound very, very good,
and include a variable gain, making them very flexible.
Using the L-2 is simple and the manual does a good job
explaining the features and appropriate uses of them.
The L-2 is the answer for anyone looking to master mixes
loud without being forced to make them distorted and
harsh. A mastering engineer’s wet dream in a time when
commercial music is demanding volume over quality.
($2395 list, www.waves.com or www.audiomidi.com)
co
-Eric Broyhill
Electrix
Repeater Looper/Sampler
Loopers have been asking for years for a product
)
that not only repeats phrases or loops that they create
but a unit that SAVES and STORES the information for
ot
later use. The folks at Electrix have heard their pleas.
Not only does the Repeater loop and sample at CD-
quality, 16 bit, 44.1 kHz resolution, but offers 4
separate channels of sampling with up to 99 loops per
(d
channel and also four tracks per loop. That’s a lot of
flexibility and a lot of storage. Other key features are
beat detection mode, which can detect and sync to any
incoming signal, external effect loop capability and
idiot-proof ease of use. You press record and it records.
automatically looping. Editing is a breeze allowing you
to easily trim starts and finishes. I purchased my
Repeater as a live sampler/sequencer to play certain
small snippets of music, loops or samples via just
about any numeric MIDI pedal (Digitech Control 8,
Rolls MIDI Buddy, etc.). Recording is also operable via
standard footswitch. Sequencing via the MIDI pedal is
effective but tenuous if you decide to get more
elaborate than merely triggering basic, pre-recorded
samples via individual pads and banks. You can record
and sequence easily via MIDI pedal or controller, but I
have heard of problems when attempting anything
more complicated. From what I gather from internet
newsgroups and Electrix, this will be ironed out better
in future software upgrades (available free online). The
version I purchased and tested is OS version 1.1. Extra
storage space is available via smart cards and the unit
features stereo phono inputs, 1/4” unbalanced input
and output as well as digital S/PDIF output and
headphone jack. Effect loop outputs are unbalanced.
($500 retail, www.electrixpro.com) -Ed Pettersen
www.tapeop.com
free subscriptions online!
Coming Soon:
Archived Gear Reviews
continued on the next page>>>
 several of the Bomb Factory vintage comps without any
Brauner ADL Labs problems on our dual processor Mac G4. (BTW, these
Valvet Voice Condenser Mic 100-G Tube DI cards should be really cheap on the used market by
The new Brauner Valvet Voice is a fixed pattern With the advent of home-based digital recording, the now). So although this worked fine, the USB interface
(cardioid) large diaphragm tube mic, specially designed search for a decent, versatile tube direct box with gain (Frees up a PCI slot) and true 24 bit compatibility had
control felt like the search for the Holy Grail. The ADL G-
for recording voice. It’s only available in a limited run of me very curious to try the MBox. When the unit arrived,
500 mics, and is at a lower cost ($2695) than most 100 ($599 retail), is not a new piece of gear and has the headphone jack on the back had already come
Brauner products. The mic comes with a power supply, been available for a while. If I had only known about unscrewed and the threaded part was too short for the
cable, suspension mount and a case. Since it’s designed the G-100, it might well have found its way into my box, so this took a few frustrating minutes to fix. When
for voice, we initially tried it on acoustic guitar, up studio much earlier. I was primarily looking for a box for I first hooked up the unit, all I got was static noise and
against a Manley cardioid reference mic. The Valvet wasn’tmy home studio that would also function as a live DI box then no audio at all despite all attempts to get
as boomy in the low end, but it did sound a tiny bit before interfacing with other gear. The fact that I play otherwise. The next day, while I was on hold to Digi’s
brighter. As we compared the two mics on piano, speaking five different instruments with five different pickups was tech support the unit started working perfectly. The
voice and singing voice, these characteristics became just part of the challenge. This hand-built unit allows tech folks were very helpful and explained that in such
more apparent. The low end seems to roll off somewhere you to hit the tube stage or bypass it completely. It has cases you needed to unplug the USB cable and plug it
right around 140 Hz, but in a very gradual and natural an amp standard TS 1/4” out and a mic level XLR out. back in effectively “jump starting” the box. Because
way. On voice it helped eliminate muddier qualities, on The gain stage affects both the line 1/4” out and the my CPU was in another room, I was using a powered
USB hub to interface the unit to my Mac. This was a

co
guitar it cut out the thick boominess, and on piano it XLR out, really allowing you to “burn to tape”. Running
cleared up some of the nasty rumble of our old upright. acoustic guitar with a Fishman Rare Earth combo no-no according to Digi, use a dedicated USB line no
Most notably, on singing and spoken voice, was the magnetic/mic pickup, banjo with a Pick-Up-the-World more than 15 feet long. I was also told to download
pronounced high end bump. It seems to have a slight contact filament pickup, mandolin with McIntyre new drivers and a new version of Pro Tools that should
high mid boost (4 kHz?) but then some sparkle way up passive, a 12-string with a traditional piezo and help with this problem. This also cleared up a problem
Washburn acoustic bass through it provided a nice,
high (it’s rated to 28 kHz) that was even brighter than the whereby the system would lose clock every 20 minutes

)
Manley mic (which I always pull out for dull voices). characteristically warm, clean tube response. The bass or so (not good if you’re in the middle of a take) until
you ‘jump started’ the USB cable. But of course you

ot
had noticeably more punch than I expected, as well as
Brauner was correct to label this a voice mic, as it really
does bring out more detail and clarity in a variety of sounding warm without too much coloration, and also know to always download the latest version of any
vocals. I get the feeling that if I had the Valvet Voice needed less post EQ than normal in a mix. The gain knob software you’re using, right?
also came in handy when plugging in my Telecaster. Just
around for all my sessions that I’d use it quite a bit (and As I could clearly see that my AMIII card had an

(d
I already have the Manley and a Soundelux 251) and that terrific and totally appropriate for clean direct sounds or onboard Motorola DSP chip, I was concerned that the
I wouldn’t be adding as much high end EQ to vocals powering a cab. The real treat that I uncovered was MBox might not have any onboard DSP and would be
during mixing. (www.braunerUSA.com) -LC when I plugged in my Porch Board (see the review this more sluggish in running plug-ins and handling audio
via the much slower (than the PCI bus) USB bus. I tried
Fostex issue). The ADL actually sounded as good or better than
when I’ve run the Porchboard through a Neve or an to open the unit up, (I also wanted to check out the
M-11 Printed Ribbon Microphone Avalon U-5. It had a richness I hadn’t previously heard. l built-in Focusrite mic pres) but it was pretty
This unidirectional ribbon mic has been the secret All in all a terrific deal in a real, accurate, genuine tube unserviceable and being a loaner I didn’t get very far
ai
pride of the Fostex pro audio arsenal for quite some DI and a gain option that really puts it over the top. with it. I was worried about nothing as it turned out.
time. While at the NAMM show in January I asked if it (www.adl-tube.com) -Ed Pettersen The CPU usage meter with the MBox was about 30%
would be possible to review one of their M-11 mics, and lower than the same song on the AMIII card. My next
my wish was granted. I immediately placed the mic in Digidesign test was to see how the mic pres sounded and how well
gm

front of a guitar cabinet and was pleased with the full, MBox the phantom power worked, being powered via USB. A
present tone. I proceeded to use it on guitar amps for Like a lot of midsize studio owners, I have a lot of my mic pres have a problem getting phantom
many sessions, almost always being pleased with the dilemma. I’m committed to my two inch analog power to my Earthworks mics so I thought this would
sound I received. During one session with a female machine, but for a variety of reasons I need to be able be a good test for the phantom power. They worked
vocalist, I pulled it out on a lark and she ended up to offer my clients a non-linear digital medium and fine! I can’t say I was blown away by the sound of the
t)

loving the breathy, smokey mids that the mic brought Digidesign’s Pro Tools format in particular. But I just pres though. I AB’d them against a Grace 101 pre and
out in her voice. We used the mic on nearly half the don’t have the money to keep up with Digi’s ever the Grace clearly sounded much better in both the
vocals on the album, the other half using a Soundelux expanding hardware. My solution: inexpensive digital midrange and top end detail. According to Focusrite,
Elux 251, and the contrast between the different mics recording systems like M-Audio, MOTU, Metric Halo, the MBox pres are from the same lineage as the Trak
(a

was very pronounced. The ribbon provided a close, etc., combined with software like Logic Audio or Master and Control 24 pres, so maybe this isn’t a fair
intimate sound with a pointed midrange – the 251 was Digital Performer and lastly, an inexpensive “home test, as the Grace is a few hundred bucks more. Feature
completely different with bright and open sounds. The studio” version of Pro Tools. I use my mid-priced multi- wise, the MBox has two inputs, switchable between
cool thing was that both worked for different songs. channel system to track or transfer from two inch and mic, line or instrument level. Zero latency headphone
Later I put the M-11 up against a Royer R-121 ribbon then import the SDII or AIFF files into Pro Tools for monitoring is provided. I/O is 24 bit through out with
lf

mic to see how they differed. On electric guitar the R- overdubbing and mixing. For a studio of my size, this both SPDIF digital I/O in addition to analog I/O. There
121 had a deeper low end response than the M-11, and works fine allowing me to track and overdub on any are also insert points (TRS) for the inputs, a nice touch
the Fostex also had a more pronounced, nasally EQ peak project with PT compatibility. For lower budgets, the when tracking. Overall, I have nothing but praise for
in the mid frequencies. This peak helped bring out mixing capabilities are more than adequate and the the MBox. Those of us fortunate enough to have good
wo

certain pushy mid sounds on some guitar amps – files can be taken to a bigger mix room if necessary. I analog gear can sing the praises of analog and curse
whether you find those sounds pleasing is up to you but had previously used the Audiomedia III card with an the advent of digital recording and Pro Tools, but it’s
most of the time I did. On vocals the R-121 felt quite a outboard A to D (to take advantage of the 24 bit SPDIF not going away. Pro Tools is a very mature, stable,
e

bit boomier in the bottom end, whereas the M-11’s mid- I/O as opposed to the 18 bit analog I/O) and this powerful and easy to use piece of software and again,
boost helped make the vocal sound clearer. All in all the worked great. Even clients who’ve worked in full blown as an industry standard, it’s not going away. The MBox
th

Fostex M-11 is a distinct-sounding ribbon mic and a Pro Tools rooms felt like the system worked fine for is great for small to mid sized studios and an amazingly
complement to other ribbon mics you might own, not a overdubbing. For lower budget mixes I could run 24 low cost, yet powerful option for the home recordist.
replacement for them. ($1199 list, www.fostex.com) –LC tracks with plug-ins like Channelstrip, RealVerb and ($495 list, www.digidesign.com) -JB
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 Emigre #62
Elliot Earls
Catfish DVD Scram Magazine #15
You may remember Elliot Earls from a Tape Op interview in issue #14, but we’ll come back to that. Emigre is a I skim through all the other recording
magazine published by husband and wife Rudy Vanderlans and Zuzana Licko. Early issues were almost zine like magazines all the time, just to see what’s going
with a pop culture feel, but the magazine quickly turned into the bible for the then exploding DIY graphic design on in their worlds – and I read every issue of
community who had discovered the Macintosh computer as a powerful new tool. Licko went on to design Mojo and Big Takeover – but outside of that I
typefaces (along with pottery and pajamas ?!) for Emigre, many of which have become almost completely don’t read many magazines or “’zines” these
integrated into our visual culture, while Vanderlans focused on the magazine, book publishing and whatever else days. Luckily editor Kim Cooper of Scram,
struck his creative fancy. At one point, Rudy started an Emigre record label and worked with artists like Basehead, realized I would salivate over this issue – for it
The Grassy Knoll, Super Collider, Ui and others before abandoning the money sucking idea. In the past year features an unpublished interview with the
however, Vanderlans has grown tired of the conservative, derivative and stale design community and decided to great Gary Usher! For the clueless among you,
return to his love of music, which if you followed the magazine was never very far away anyway with pieces on Gary was a songwriter and producer in L.A. from
4AD/Vaughn Oliver and recent self-published monographs (with musical accompaniment) on Gram Parsons, the early ‘60s on. His start came from writing
Van Dyke Parks and Captain Beefheart. Starting with issue #60, Vanderlans has become a modern day patron of songs with Brian Wilson, and he went on to
difficult music and changed Emigre from a standard sized magazine to a half sized magazine in a pressboard produce, most notably several albums with the

co
mailer with a free CD enclosed. Recent issues of the mag featured Honey Barbara and The Grassy Knoll. This isn’t Byrds, including their pinnacle, The Notorious
the first major change for the magazine which originated as an oversized two color magazine, then went to Byrd Brothers. The mag’s worth it for that alone,
standard size, then to full color with a free distribution to their mailing list of 25,000 regular customers of their but throw in a recent interview with Hans
typefaces and small press books on graphic design. (Emigre’s business model was one of the inspirations for Tape Fenger about the Langley Schools Music Project
Op’s current business structure.) Issue #62 is a landmark issue however and anyone involved in the indie music and a great Dan Clowes (Eightball, Ghost World)

)
scene should check it out. Bundled with the issue is the latest project from Elliot Earls, a feature length DVD, interview and I’m hooked. My faith in fanzines
Catfish. The magazine itself, aside from a feature on Earls, has an eloquently written essay by Kenneth Fitzgerald is temporarily restored.

ot
on why independent DIY publishing and indie labels are so vital and important to our culture. And then there’s ($4, scram@scrammagazine.com) -LC
the DVD of Catfish. This is flat out the most amazing thing I’ve seen come out of the desktop digital DIY revolution
to date. Earls is a master of just about every creative technology that can be put on a computer, and Catfish is

(d
his tour de force. At once a monograph for his visual art and music (this is his third ‘album’ of songs) it is also
a feature film unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Imagine David Lynch at his absolute most non-linear, bizarre best
collaborating with The Beatles on Help! had it been done with today’s technology and you have an idea of what
this mixture of music, film, art, design and poetry is like. ($7.95, www.emigre.com) -JB

1 96 24 8 2 1 8 2 96 24 1 2 8 24 96 2 8 1 24 8 96 8 2 24 1 96 24 8 2 1 l
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Consoles-Sidecars & Mixers
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Mic-pre/Equalizers Compressor/Limiters
ai
Huge recording room w/ 30 ft. All Discrete & Transformer Coupled
ceilings and lots of iso booths.
MCI two inch recorder. MOTU, Mac G4,
gm

Pro Tools LE, Logic, Cubase

32 channel Soundcraft Ghost console.
Preamps/dynamics: Millenia Media (9),
Neve 1272 (2) & 1073 EQ, Avalon 737,
t)

UA 2-610 & LA-2A, Drawmer 1969/MX60,

Daking Pre/EQ (2), Focusrite ISA 220,
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Mics: Neumann U-67, Soundeluxe U-99,
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lf

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Lots of album credits.
For more info contact John:
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S D A K I N G
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<John@tapeop.com>
<www.tapeop.com/john> A 302-658-7003 w w w. d a k i n g . c o m
What’s in the Here are some short reviews of a handful of the new
releases that we’ve been enjoying down here at Tape
Op world headquarters. Support these artists – they
Tape Op are the ones making the cool sounds of tomorrow.
–LC

CD Player? Mary Lorson and Saint Low Tricks for Dawn

Mary Lorson, once the voice of Madder Rose, steps out
with this haunting collection of songs on her second
“solo” record. She and partner Billy Coté produced, with
mixes by them and Will Russell (of Electric Wilburland) and a
couple by Paul Q. Kolderie at Q Studios. A beautiful record full of strings, SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY
horns and even some harp. (www.saintlow.com/www.spinartrecords.com) TED NUGENT
DJ Shadow The Private Press Is there anyone out there that can carefully craft JON BON JOVI
samples, loops and noises as well as Josh Davis? I doubt it. A lesson in what
R KELLY
can be done in a home studio given talent and what must have been a lot of
time! (www.djshadow.com) DEEP PURPLE
Go Go Airheart Exit the UXA Rafter Roberts, who was featured in issue #28, STEVE WYNN

co
helped record this record in various places and mixed it at his Singing FAT JOE
Serpent studio. A great example of an arty rock band making a record on a SWERVEDRIVER
tight budget, getting some cool sounds, and succeeding wildly. PRO-PAIN
(www.goldstandardlabs.com)
RAGING SLAB
The Long Winters The Worst You Can Do is Harm John Roderick is an

)
introspective songwriter who is lucky enough to have friends like Chris Walla LOVE & ROCKETS
(Death Cab For Cutie) and Sean Nelson (Harvey Danger) help him record and JOHN WESLEY HARDING

ot
play on his record. Not to mention getting John Goodmanson to mix half of
the tunes (no, he doesn’t make them sound like Wu-Tang Clan). The
recordings/arrangements are interesting and varied, a great example of how

(d
Chris’ Hall of Justice studio (mark 4?) has advanced into an actual 24-track,
2” facility (well, actually it used to be John’s but that’s another story…) classic 211 WEST 61 STREET 6TH FLOOR, NEW YORK, N.Y. 10023
(www.barsuk.com) sound FOR BOOKING CONTACT ANDREA YANKOVSKY 212-262-3300
OR EMAIL: ANDREA@CLASSICSOUND.COM
David Bowie Heathen Here’s the record that Tony Visconti was talking about inc
in issue #29. Is it good? Certainly the best I’ve heard since Outside and my
favorite since Scary Monsters, Tony’s last previous co-production with Bowie.
There’s a more musical and adventurous spirit than many (any?) of his
peers/generation, some crazy cover songs (Pixies, Neil Young, Legendary
l
ai
Stardust Cowboy), great drumming from Matt Chamberlain, and cool sounds
and arrangements too. We could try to credit Tony with some of this success,
but since we know he’s “transparent” we’ll just have to enjoy the record
gm

instead. (www.davidbowie.com)
Concentrick Luciddreaming Concentrick is the baby of Tim Green of the
Fucking Champs, ex-Nation of Ulysses, and proud owner/engineer of Louder
Studios in San Francisco. If you know the Champs for their abrasive, loud
guitars be aware that this is spacey music to zone out to. It ain’t new age,
t)

but it’s not rock and roll. Cool sounds and studio experimentation - what
engineer/musicians do on their time off! (Emperor Jones, PO Box 49771,
Austin, TX 78765)
Orbiter Sparks on a String A shining example of the work of Tucker Martine
(a

(issue #29), recorded at his Flora Ave Studio, another place called Airstream,
and also at Martin Feveyear’s Jupiter Studios. It’s a sonic treat with many
“Tucker” touches, like processed drum sounds, backwards sounds and open,
evolving, interesting mixes. Cool poppy rock action too, with guy/girl vox
and some crazy guitar work. (www.orbitermusic.com)
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Roger McGuinn Treasures from the Folk Den Wherein our hero Roger (ex-
Byrds) and his wife Camilla drive around (with a computer loaded with Cool
Edit Pro and a Yamaha SW1000XG card, a Stedman 1100B mic and a mixer
and mic stands) visiting friends and recording old folk songs. That their
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friends happen to be people like Joan Baez, Odetta, Pete Seeger and Judy
Collins doesn’t hurt any. Sometimes the recording quality is a bit rough
(hums, strange mic placement) but it’s all about the performances here, and
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you get them. Fascinating stories in the lengthy booklet and a valuable
archive of songs, who needs more? Hats off to Roger for understanding the
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true value of song and still being in love with music. (www.appleseedrec.com)
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Document & Archive
By Larry Crane.

Okay, here’s the rant I’ve been building up on for years and during the Tape Op Conference it
came up a few times. What the fuck is wrong with some of you engineers out there that can’t be
bothered to include documentation with materials that leave your studio? And what’s the deal with
not educating artists and archiving their sessions?
Documentation
Multitrack Reels and Tapes: ON THE BOX
Info needed on the spine/box includes the tape number, date, artist and where it was recorded.
If the name of the album or project has already been determined please put it here! On the actual
Do this tedious, yet quick, work during the session and all
of our jobs will be easier. Good labeling can save a client a
trip and save the studio owner the time spent checking a tape
just to see if it’s compatible with your machine. No more
cancelled sessions because you have a 16-track 2”, not 24.
No more searching for the right mix on an unlabeled and mis-
ID’d DAT. (Then again, you can’t trust musicians to read the

analog reels write all the above info plus the number of tracks (24/16/8), tape speed, noise
reduction (if used), EQ used (AES or CCIR), tail out (I hope) and the operating level (i.e. +6/185
nWb/m). If there are reference tones, make note of where they are located (“tones on tail,” “tones
on reel #1,” etc.) There should be a Bass Sweep from 200 Hz down to 20 Hz. If a sweep oscillator
is not available, 50 Hz is a better reference tone than 100 Hz. Also note where any bias pads are
for setting up the machine on a new deck. These should always be at the end of a reel to avoid
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documentation right over the phone half the time).
You Make the Call
My last point is a hazier subject. As recording engineers I
think it is our responsibility to send our clients home with
archived sessions that they can easily remix or work on at a

)
recording into the top of a song. later date. If this means you have to sit around and spit out

Digital multitrack tapes should include all of the info that is on the box, plus the bit/sample
rates. Somewhere with the reels or tapes there should be a track sheet telling where all the songs
are in absolute time, either on the tape case or an included sheet. Please. If there are alternate
takes that won’t be used for the album note this.
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CD-Rs for a few hours after a session do it. Do you understand
how useless your work is when all the artist has is a hastily
prepared 2-track mix that would have made it on the album
if it could have been remixed? No one’s gonna complain about

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the cost of blank CD-Rs these days! Hard drives can be used
Track Sheets: IN THE BOX or IN A FOLDER as back up but who knows how long the moving parts in them
Track sheets are mandatory for anything over 2 stereo tracks. I don’t care how obvious it may
will last. Assuming they spin up at some future date, will the
seem, I wanna know where the instruments are printed. If you’re really smart you could include
file format still be compatible? Will there be a utility to
what mic/pre/comp/EQ combo you used and even guitar/amp combos in case I need to patch
recover the information?
something in. Track sheets should also carry info like the artist’s name and song title - a “working”
title put in quotes is better than a blank space. Reels/tapes and songs should be numbered,
including absolute time listings, song timing (where’s the chorus?), engineer, producer and
l Steve Albini even recommends dumping Pro Tools-type
sessions to analog tape as he believes the current platforms
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will be obsolete in the near future. An analog or digital tape
assistant names. For analog tapes, please include tape type, EQ (AES or CCIR?), noise reduction
deck could always be resurrected from “donor” machines.
type (if used), operating level, the date of the initial session, tape speed, number of tracks used
Compared to the technology in a digital tape deck, an analog
(especially if the studio can do 24- or 16-tracks on an analog deck). If the song is to be mixed or
deck could even be built from scratch, the headstack being
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recorded on at an odd speed for pitch or timing reasons note this in large letters and use a hi-liter
the most complex component. Digital technology uses many
too! Commonly used terms should be applied, like TBE (to be erased), * (for keeper tracks) and L
specialized parts such as ASICs (Application Specific
or R (left or right). If you think there’s any confusion why not make it clear? Write track sheets in
Integrated Circuits) many of which are already unavailable.
pencil in case things change later!
Even analog can present problems. I used to rent 2” reels
DAT and CD-R for 3 months to clients on a budget. Several times people
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Always make backups of digital media. Always. I’ve taken to running two live DAT mixes if called me 3 months and a week later and wanted to remix
that’s the only medium I’m mixing to. One of them has to work. Always print at least one minute their songs, but I had already rented the reels to another
of silence at the top of a DAT - this provides blank tape for the machine to eat if it is so inclined. client. Usually they claimed I was lying (even though I had
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Five minutes of a 40 Hz tone can tell you that the machine is functional or not. Make sure the ID
numbers on DATs correspond to the songs and are in the right places. Many times they don’t and
it’s annoying, especially at mastering. Use “safe” ink pens when writing on CD-Rs, not Sharpies.
Write the source and date on mixes, along with the song titles and any notes (“vox up 1 dB”).
Writing “2-Track Audio” on CD-R references might not hurt in telling data and audio CD-Rs apart
later. Make sure DAT and CD-R cases have the same labeling as the tapes. This way everything ends
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invoices to prove otherwise) and threatened to call the Better
Business Bureau. Now I hook people up with used tape and
send them home with the carefully documented-on reels.
I know it’s hard to educate clients about the whole
recording process, but I believe this is part of our job that
must be taken seriously. Even if all you do is record yourself,

up in the right box! take time to organize your archives and make backups. A
number of times in my past I wish I’d sprung for a reel of tape
Condition so I’d have the masters or alternate mix backups. Now all I
Analog reels should always be stored tail out to prevent print through. I splice leader on the
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have are those memories and some poor-sounding mixes.

ends and between the tones and even between every song. When using SMPTE, keep in mind that
pre roll is required for syncing, so provide adequate time (no less than 10 seconds, more if you can Thanks to Eddie Ciletti for editing this article!
spare it). Put reels back in the plastic bags they came in if those are available. Digital multitrack
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and DAT tapes should always be rewound to the top. This is a safer way to store them. Keep all
track sheets with the tapes - in the reel case or fancier ADAT boxes or even bound to the tapes
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with a rubber band.

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