|
|
Post by Quint on Mar 27, 2024 15:37:29 GMT -6
I don’t know the interview but he produced the Joe Henry album Fuse. In 1999. Lanois mixed some of it, but I have become somewhat obsessed with the bass sound on the title track. I wouldn’t even know how to begin to try and get that sound. Flatwounds. After that I have no idea. Fuse
Thoughts? Cheers, Geoff Overall that track kinda reminds me of Emmylou's Wrecking Ball... the overall space...depth... its so open & naked. And that big lush Lanois reverb. What WAS he using in those days?! The reverb/delay/room/space/whatever on the Willie record Teatro is a benchmark for me. It's never been clear to me what all was used by Lanois on that record to create the overall ambience and space, or if anybody really knows (and has publicly divulged it)? But I would like to know. |
|
|
|
Post by notneeson on Mar 27, 2024 16:05:51 GMT -6
Overall that track kinda reminds me of Emmylou's Wrecking Ball... the overall space...depth... its so open & naked. And that big lush Lanois reverb. What WAS he using in those days?! The reverb/delay/room/space/whatever on the Willie record Teatro is a benchmark for me. It's never been clear to me what all was used by Lanois on that record to create the overall ambience and space, or if anybody really knows (and has publicly divulged it)? But I would like to know. I would suspect it's a combo of that room (the actual theater in Oxnard, CA) and the usual suspects in Lanois's considerable delay/verb rack. Have you seen the making of video? Certainly the bleed from having two drummers firing at once is part of the sound as well. |
|
|
|
Post by jmoose on Mar 27, 2024 16:14:03 GMT -6
I was a Professor at Citrus College in Azusa, Ca. teaching intermediate Recording techniques and Acoustics. My Classroom was a $10 million recording complex featuring a Neve V72 and two Studer 820 24 track machines. As a class guest speaker I brought in T-Bone Barnett. Before his speaking appearance, I put on a 24 track of the BeeGees "Staying Alive" He did a mostly percussion mix of the song. When asked, He didn't really answer any questions about recording or mixing. Just pushed up faders. When he talked to my class, everybody had questions about recording. His answers never answered the questions, answered only with syco babble. Nobody understood what he was talking about. I had never met the man before and it left me wondering how he produced records other than sitting on the couch. Just my experience. This reminds me of meeting JJP... Jack Joseph Puig and him doing the mix w/ the masters thing an AES show a couple years ago. Kind of a bizarre scene. Think I was the only one in the room who was picking up what he was putting down... Seemed most were into asking how to EQ a vocal or something more nuts & bolts technical. Every time CLA put up a slide of his plugins 100 phones would go in the air... click click click... That wasn't JJP's trip. At least that day... he seemed to be in story telling mode. Talking big picture, philosophy of the craft kinda stuff. Which for me is far more interesting & educational. Truthfully? Those couple hours are among some of the most treasured moments in my 25+ year career. Wish there'd have been time for a deeper dive. What a rad dude. Anyway... he had very little in the way of slideshow "paint by numbers" material and so when it came to ask questions? Somehow the microphone kept finding its way back to my phat yap. Too cool. And he was nice enough to spend even more time when I kinda cornered him on the show floor a few hours later. What a rad dude! So much of production is really about managing the room and even more so... aligning and realizing expectations. Big picture stuff. In that light... guys like Rick Rubin... JJP... T Bone Walker... they know that none of the technical shit matters. Its all bullshit. Yet, it absolutely matters. That its not just bullshit. That's why they work in excellent rooms. With excellent equipment. And more so, surround themselves with equally excellent people. Eons ago as a young whipper I read an interview with Dr Dre... maybe in rolling stone? I remember it was print... He was asked - What makes you such a great, prolific producer? - And he said I surround myself with people who are good at what they do, and then let 'em do what they do. Bam. Over. Next question. And at the time I thought it was a bullshit answer. Some kinda blow off interview crap. Years later, and with a bunch more albums notched I realized he's right. On a great day, which is not everyday... but on a good day it really is about that simple. Used to be that making records was like going to work. Think of the Wrecking Crew. That was work. They show up at the studio and punch the clock. Work time! And on those projects where everything really truly comes together, everyone comes in knowing its work time. And that's when all the magic happens, and it doesn't even feel like work. Crazy. More psychobabble yeah? Bummer. Either it makes sense or it doesn't... or then maybe it'll make more sense when you've gathered enough experience. Get back to us in another dozen records. Good on you (or anyone) who found the Basement Tapes revisit thing w/ T Bone. Now go watch it about 20 more times! Try to think of yourself in that room... maybe working as an assistant engineer or back line tech. Notice all the drum doctor rental kits?? That'll keep a dude busy. I remember when that came out a handful of years ago... was on HBO or showtime. Put it on the DVR and watched it at least a dozen times myself. At that point I was already well versed in making records in that style... big room damped down... no/limited headphones... embrace yet battle the bleed... and so while its always great to see how someone else works there wasn't anything particularly new for me, from that angle. Instead it was far more interesting & cooler to see how the songs developed... and how they chased down different versions in the "b room" setup before tackling them in the big room. Birth of a song, real development from inception to finished product. Something that we, as outsiders almost never get to see. Love it. Other big takeaways? Johnny Depp as a guitarist. Had heard stories about the guy... but no. Yeah he's the real deal. Rhiannon Giddens. Wow. New fan. Reminds me of an artist I've worked with... Nadine LaFond. That world music thing. Super cool. And last but not least? Elvis Costello recording his vocal on an iphone in a planes bathroom still absolutely sounds like Elvis Costello. So right? What mic are we picking again? Who cares? It kinda doesn't matter. |
|
|
|
Post by Quint on Mar 27, 2024 16:33:03 GMT -6
The reverb/delay/room/space/whatever on the Willie record Teatro is a benchmark for me. It's never been clear to me what all was used by Lanois on that record to create the overall ambience and space, or if anybody really knows (and has publicly divulged it)? But I would like to know. I would suspect it's a combo of that room (the actual theater in Oxnard, CA) and the usual suspects in Lanois's considerable delay/verb rack. Have you seen the making of video? Certainly the bleed from having two drummers firing at once is part of the sound as well. Yes. I have seen that. It's great. I guess I just need to go and read up more on what all he has in his rack for reverb/delay. |
|
|
|
Post by jmoose on Mar 27, 2024 20:00:21 GMT -6
Overall that track kinda reminds me of Emmylou's Wrecking Ball... the overall space...depth... its so open & naked. And that big lush Lanois reverb. What WAS he using in those days?! The reverb/delay/room/space/whatever on the Willie record Teatro is a benchmark for me. It's never been clear to me what all was used by Lanois on that record to create the overall ambience and space, or if anybody really knows (and has publicly divulged it)? But I would like to know. I've never found any specifics about exactly what Lanois has used for reverb... believe me I've gone digging. Found old Mix & various articles on Kingsway in NOLA etc... and maybe we call it trade secrets but there's not much to go on. Seems like, from interviews & whatnot he's the kinda guy who just won't get into specifics on that stuff. Or miking drum kits or anything of that sort. Has said things like he's more concerned with studios having enough power outlets & XLR cables... yet... well... obviously he knows what all the gear is. Obviously cares. A lot. Can tell you what I don't hear listening to his records... Like Wrecking Ball? That's not a Lexicon verb. Its not an EMT either. None of the usual suspects. And there's absolutely a good amount of 'stairwell' or ballroom or something happening. When I do the mono cancel trick, listen to the sides the room tone & leakage is really obvious. And Kingsway was/is an old 1890s mansion or something of the sort... so there 'ya go right? Ever catch this? Seems like nothing but room to me. Maybe a little extra 10% from something else, but mostly the natural space and digging for tone. Putting that work in. The "magic" is the simplicity? That's all I've ever come up with. |
|
|
|
Post by gravesnumber9 on Mar 27, 2024 20:06:19 GMT -6
The reverb/delay/room/space/whatever on the Willie record Teatro is a benchmark for me. It's never been clear to me what all was used by Lanois on that record to create the overall ambience and space, or if anybody really knows (and has publicly divulged it)? But I would like to know. I've never found any specifics about exactly what Lanois has used for reverb... believe me I've gone digging. Found old Mix & various articles on Kingsway in NOLA etc... and maybe we call it trade secrets but there's not much to go on. Seems like, from interviews & whatnot he's the kinda guy who just won't get into specifics on that stuff. Or miking drum kits or anything of that sort. Has said things like he's more concerned with studios having enough power outlets & XLR cables... yet... well... obviously he knows what all the gear is. Obviously cares. A lot. Can tell you what I don't hear listening to his records... Like Wrecking Ball? That's not a Lexicon verb. Its not an EMT either. None of the usual suspects. And there's absolutely a good amount of 'stairwell' or ballroom or something happening. When I do the mono cancel trick, listen to the sides the room tone & leakage is really obvious. And Kingsway was/is an old 1890s mansion or something of the sort... so there 'ya go right? Ever catch this? Seems like nothing but room to me. Maybe a little extra 10% from something else, but mostly the natural space and digging for tone. Putting that work in. The "magic" is the simplicity? That's all I've ever come up with. Well that rhythm section is sick. That doesn't hurt. And yeah, that sounds like drums quietly played in a very live room. Very cool. |
|
|
|
Post by jmoose on Mar 27, 2024 20:33:14 GMT -6
Moderately live room..? Ambient. Yes.
|
|
|
|
Post by Ted Swan on Mar 27, 2024 22:32:22 GMT -6
I started to get into recording around the time the Wallflowers released their album (ok, it’s basically studio musicians and Jakob Dylan) Bringing Down the Horse. To this day I still use One Headlight and 6th Avenue Heartache as reference tracks. I had given the credit to Tom Lord-Alge (and the musicians, including Mike Campbell)…. But maybe I need to give more weight to T-Bone. In my very humble opinion, I give a ton of credit to the amazing Neal Avron for engineering that one! From what I've heard he was a huge part in getting those vocal performances out of Jakob. |
|
|
|
Post by christopher on Mar 27, 2024 23:29:55 GMT -6
Moderately live room..? Ambient. Yes. That is a truly GREAT decaying reverb. At least a couple mics are raised straight up, as if capturing what looks like a reflective ceiling. One looks like an RCA 77? The verb does seem to have a ribbon signature to me. I have no idea though. Could be he re-amps stuff through speakers and captures a chamber type thing? Man sounds amazing |
|
|
|
Post by Darren Boling on Mar 28, 2024 8:26:48 GMT -6
It's been a while since I've read it so can't remember all the details but Mark Howard goes into a lot of detail about his time working with Lanois in his book Listen Up. He also posts interesting recording setups on his Instagram www.amazon.com/Listen-Up-Recording-M-Tragically/dp/1770414827 instagram.com/mhrealmusic |
|
|
|
Post by robo on Mar 28, 2024 10:20:21 GMT -6
It's been a while since I've read it so can't remember all the details but Mark Howard goes into a lot of detail about his time working with Lanois in his book Listen Up. He also posts interesting recording setups on his Instagram www.amazon.com/Listen-Up-Recording-M-Tragically/dp/1770414827 instagram.com/mhrealmusic It’s a great read, and it’s interesting that he spends as much time describing how he vibes up a room with lighting/projectors/etc as he does about sonic processing. It’s a great reminder how much psychology is involved in making good recordings. |
|
|
|
Post by stratboy on Mar 28, 2024 11:01:04 GMT -6
I LOVE RGO. Great discussion, information and great stories. My thanks to all. Bookmarked.
|
|
|
|
Post by chessparov on Mar 28, 2024 11:16:20 GMT -6
I was a Professor at Citrus College in Azusa, Ca. teaching intermediate Recording techniques and Acoustics. My Classroom was a $10 million recording complex featuring a Neve V72 and two Studer 820 24 track machines. As a class guest speaker I brought in T-Bone Barnett. Before his speaking appearance, I put on a 24 track of the BeeGees "Staying Alive" He did a mostly percussion mix of the song. When asked, He didn't really answer any questions about recording or mixing. Just pushed up faders. When he talked to my class, everybody had questions about recording. His answers never answered the questions, answered only with syco babble. Nobody understood what he was talking about. I had never met the man before and it left me wondering how he produced records other than sitting on the couch. Just my experience. This reminds me of meeting JJP... Jack Joseph Puig and him doing the mix w/ the masters thing an AES show a couple years ago. Kind of a bizarre scene. Think I was the only one in the room who was picking up what he was putting down... Seemed most were into asking how to EQ a vocal or something more nuts & bolts technical. Every time CLA put up a slide of his plugins 100 phones would go in the air... click click click... That wasn't JJP's trip. At least that day... he seemed to be in story telling mode. Talking big picture, philosophy of the craft kinda stuff. Which for me is far more interesting & educational. Truthfully? Those couple hours are among some of the most treasured moments in my 25+ year career. Wish there'd have been time for a deeper dive. What a rad dude. Anyway... he had very little in the way of slideshow "paint by numbers" material and so when it came to ask questions? Somehow the microphone kept finding its way back to my phat yap. Too cool. And he was nice enough to spend even more time when I kinda cornered him on the show floor a few hours later. What a rad dude! So much of production is really about managing the room and even more so... aligning and realizing expectations. Big picture stuff. In that light... guys like Rick Rubin... JJP... T Bone Walker... they know that none of the technical shit matters. Its all bullshit. Yet, it absolutely matters. That its not just bullshit. That's why they work in excellent rooms. With excellent equipment. And more so, surround themselves with equally excellent people. Eons ago as a young whipper I read an interview with Dr Dre... maybe in rolling stone? I remember it was print... He was asked - What makes you such a great, prolific producer? - And he said I surround myself with people who are good at what they do, and then let 'em do what they do. Bam. Over. Next question. And at the time I thought it was a bullshit answer. Some kinda blow off interview crap. Years later, and with a bunch more albums notched I realized he's right. On a great day, which is not everyday... but on a good day it really is about that simple. Used to be that making records was like going to work. Think of the Wrecking Crew. That was work. They show up at the studio and punch the clock. Work time! And on those projects where everything really truly comes together, everyone comes in knowing its work time. And that's when all the magic happens, and it doesn't even feel like work. Crazy. More psychobabble yeah? Bummer. Either it makes sense or it doesn't... or then maybe it'll make more sense when you've gathered enough experience. Get back to us in another dozen records. Good on you (or anyone) who found the Basement Tapes revisit thing w/ T Bone. Now go watch it about 20 more times! Try to think of yourself in that room... maybe working as an assistant engineer or back line tech. Notice all the drum doctor rental kits?? That'll keep a dude busy. I remember when that came out a handful of years ago... was on HBO or showtime. Put it on the DVR and watched it at least a dozen times myself. At that point I was already well versed in making records in that style... big room damped down... no/limited headphones... embrace yet battle the bleed... and so while its always great to see how someone else works there wasn't anything particularly new for me, from that angle. Instead it was far more interesting & cooler to see how the songs developed... and how they chased down different versions in the "b room" setup before tackling them in the big room. Birth of a song, real development from inception to finished product. Something that we, as outsiders almost never get to see. Love it. Other big takeaways? Johnny Depp as a guitarist. Had heard stories about the guy... but no. Yeah he's the real deal. Rhiannon Giddens. Wow. New fan. Reminds me of an artist I've worked with... Nadine LaFond. That world music thing. Super cool. And last but not least? Elvis Costello recording his vocal on an iphone in a planes bathroom still absolutely sounds like Elvis Costello. So right? What mic are we picking again? Who cares? It kinda doesn't matter. Fantastic post!  Thanks, Chris |
|
|
|
Post by Quint on Mar 28, 2024 11:20:15 GMT -6
I've never found any specifics about exactly what Lanois has used for reverb... believe me I've gone digging. Found old Mix & various articles on Kingsway in NOLA etc... and maybe we call it trade secrets but there's not much to go on. Seems like, from interviews & whatnot he's the kinda guy who just won't get into specifics on that stuff. Or miking drum kits or anything of that sort. Has said things like he's more concerned with studios having enough power outlets & XLR cables... yet... well... obviously he knows what all the gear is. Obviously cares. A lot. Can tell you what I don't hear listening to his records... Like Wrecking Ball? That's not a Lexicon verb. Its not an EMT either. None of the usual suspects. And there's absolutely a good amount of 'stairwell' or ballroom or something happening. When I do the mono cancel trick, listen to the sides the room tone & leakage is really obvious. And Kingsway was/is an old 1890s mansion or something of the sort... so there 'ya go right? Ever catch this? Seems like nothing but room to me. Maybe a little extra 10% from something else, but mostly the natural space and digging for tone. Putting that work in. The "magic" is the simplicity? That's all I've ever come up with. Well that rhythm section is sick. That doesn't hurt. And yeah, that sounds like drums quietly played in a very live room. Very cool. So I went on a hunt for Lanois studio stuff, and came across this: Interestingly enough, within the first minute of this video, he talks about how he doesn't like room sound. So who knows what to make of that... Either way, this was a cool look inside Lanois' studio. A more recent version of his studio, in fact. |
|
|
|
Post by jmoose on Mar 28, 2024 14:29:24 GMT -6
It's been a while since I've read it so can't remember all the details but Mark Howard goes into a lot of detail about his time working with Lanois in his book Listen Up. He also posts interesting recording setups on his Instagram www.amazon.com/Listen-Up-Recording-M-Tragically/dp/1770414827 instagram.com/mhrealmusic It’s a great read, and it’s interesting that he spends as much time describing how he vibes up a room with lighting/projectors/etc as he does about sonic processing. It’s a great reminder how much psychology is involved in making good recordings. There's a whole world of people out there who simply just don't sweat the gear all that much... Knowing that at a certain level things are going to be in place. Or at least should be... That there's a standard. A well known standard. Past that we hear things about looking for studios and Lanois wants a lot of power sockets & patch cables because someone always has another box to plug in... Or I know some guys who made a record with Steve Berlin producing... Steve Berlin of Los Lobos fame and an accomplished producer in his own right. They spin this tale of going to check out the local "nice" studio. Big desk, respectable mic locker by any standard... all the usual junk 'ya need. Steve goes - Where's the lounge? I wanna see if there's enough room in the fridge for cerveza... Well, we don't really have a lounge... they see little corner with like a chair and a mini fridge - Steve goes oh no this won't do and walked out the door. Studio tour done & over in about 3 minutes flat. They ended up doing that record at a much more humble spot... Walked in saw a pool table, couches and a full size fridge. THIS is the spot! When your doing 10-12 hours a day for the next two weeks that stuff matters. Vibe & comfort are not inconsequential to the process. |
|
|
|
Post by drbill on Mar 28, 2024 14:39:56 GMT -6
Yup. vibe is super important. I used to love going to Bill Schnee's studio and seeing all the gold and platinum records lining the hallway to the bathrooms. Then MORE hanging in the men's restroom over the urnals. LOL. I always wondered what was on the walls in the women's rest room.  . Never got to see in there.... Super vibe. O'Henry's was another awesome place. Huge open area where different bands recording there could hang out. Great open area pool table. Long table where 12 or more could sit down and eat. Full on awesome kitchen with a FULL SIZE FRIDGE and a counter mounted "soda fountain" like you'd see at your local fast food place that was free and always ready with great drinks. Made working there a treat - not a job. Oh....and they had killer mics and the biggest API with Flying Faders on the west coast....but who cared?? LOL |
|
|
|
Post by notneeson on Mar 28, 2024 18:16:51 GMT -6
Well that rhythm section is sick. That doesn't hurt. And yeah, that sounds like drums quietly played in a very live room. Very cool. So I went on a hunt for Lanois studio stuff, and came across this: Interestingly enough, within the first minute of this video, he talks about how he doesn't like room sound. So who knows what to make of that... Either way, this was a cool look inside Lanois' studio. A more recent version of his studio, in fact. Interesting. You know one trick I picked up online many years ago was to hang extra mics just to drive a reverb. I wonder if it could be something like that? Edit: I love how passionate he is about the recordings he's playing. |
|
|
|
Post by jcoutu1 on Apr 11, 2024 12:40:20 GMT -6
seanRegarding tictac bass. Any experience with baritone guitar vs bass vi? Which works better for this stuff?
|
|
|
|
Post by sean on Apr 11, 2024 18:45:36 GMT -6
seanRegarding tictac bass. Any experience with baritone guitar vs bass vi? Which works better for this stuff? Doesn’t really matter…baritone works great and honestly what most people use/have. I don’t see too many Bass VI’s. Duane Eddy has brought his signature Gretsch one to a few sessions and it’s incredible…but hard to justify a $3500 6 string bass. I’m sure the Squire is great |
|
|
|
Post by gravesnumber9 on Apr 11, 2024 21:11:46 GMT -6
sean Regarding tictac bass. Any experience with baritone guitar vs bass vi? Which works better for this stuff? Doesn’t really matter…baritone works great and honestly what most people use/have. I don’t see too many Bass VI’s. Duane Eddy has brought his signature Gretsch one to a few sessions and it’s incredible…but hard to justify a $3500 6 string bass. I’m sure the Squire is great Played a retrofitted Silvertone six string bass last week that was Frankesteined out of a vintage Silvertone four string by a local luthier. Man it was hard to even put it down it was so fun to play. But the price was/is not fun for something that I'm not quite sure would be a thing I would use on the regular. But then again... I seriously spent 45 minutes playing this thing. It was that fun. |
|
