Kingtone

I love the sound of old records. Especially ones from the 50’s and 60’s - the golden era of open reel tape recording - often utilizing fewer than 8 tracks. Great musicians made the music (usually all together), great producers coaxed and coerced great performances and brilliant engineers made it sound spectacular - using great rooms, great mics and simple recording paths.

One of those great engineers just passed away, Larry Levine. It was he who invented the Wall of Sound with Phil Spector at the venerable Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles on such hits as The Ronettes, Be My Little Baby and the Righteous Brothers’ You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling. He who recorded Eddie Cochran’s, Summertime Blues, The Beach Boys’, Pet Sounds, Herp Albert’s, A Taste of Honey and even the Ramone’s, End of the Century.

Man ‘o man, I miss those kinds of sounds.

I got into home studio recording over 20 years ago after purchasing a Tascam Porta one four track cassette recorder from Manny’s in New York City. Since then it has been a process of trying to maintain ‘right brain’ musical integrity while not over-using the necessary ‘left brain’ audio engineering side. Reinventing or even fully understanding the wheel is to be avoided. One way to achieve this is to have a great mentor. Friend, great audio tech and fine musican Lawrence Fellows-Mannion has saved me countless hours with his advice and guidance over the years - thanks ‘Rance! Steven Jarvis is another person who helped me when I made the leap to the professional.

Of course, good mentors are usually very busy, so you gotta have some virtual mentors too. Pete Townshend is one of mine. Besides his great musicianship, Pete was one of the first to grasp the advantage and power of the home recording studio. His Scoop ‘demos’ LP was an early inspiration - especially the tantalizing gear pics and recording details in the liner notes.

Nowdays we have the internet and look what I found today! An amazingly detailed interview with Pete about recording that covers his many studios and methods from the early monophonic to the present polyphony. If you ever wanted a superchared version of the Scoop liner notes, this is it. The snippet below is some of the best advice that could be offered to anyone concerned with making a better studio recording at home:

For the composer, computer tools present a dilemma. For most people, creative ideas emanate and are nurtured on the right side of the brain. However, technical matters are dealt with on the left. So one immediate problem is that before we can get creative with a computer we have to do things like organize our tracks, create a file, make sure we have somewhere to store it, etc. Being able to just run a tape machine (analog or digital) on a whim, always set up and ready to go, is a good thing to have in your life. Or you could have something like an Edirol R09 digital recorder handy. Try to stay in the right side of the brain until the music is properly shaped. Then computers (and compact microprocessor controlled digital studios) are wonderful to arrange and modify what you have composed. For me, tape machines offered a way for me to compose, not to record great music, but merely to write it — as I had no other way of doing it.

Of course those people who work entirely within the computer environment, using loops, MIDI, samples and reflex-driven software like Ableton Live, can get used to making very frequent jumps from one side of the brain to the other. But the music they make tends to sound a little different to the kind of music most of us feel reflects something of the heart. There are many exceptions. This is not a rule, but I often urge musicians I meet who love to work with MIDI software to try some of the old methods — however, getting a decent tape machine is not easy, nor is it cheap.

So remember, start with a good sounding space. And if it sounds bad, fix that first. You may just have to deaden it right down. Next, buy at least one truly great microphone. Next, buy at least one truly great mic preamp. If you can, buy a single module from some old board — an API, a Neve, or whatever. If not, buy a new “classic” channel, or something as good as you can afford. Next, pick your recording medium, and use your brain. If you start with tape, use nothing less serious than a reel-to-reel Revox, TASCAM or Fostex of some kind. If you start with digital hard disk, try some test sessions at different sample rates and bit depths — you may be surprised that your system sounds better at “lower” quality rather than higher because it doesn’t have to work so hard. So, use your ears if you can when making these assessments; pretend to be one of those old jazz guys who could “really” hear. I would recommend using a single pair of earphones for some of these kinds of tests. Pick the ordinary ones used in studios. Use your speakers just for playbacks of these tests and checking detail. If you can afford none of these things, buy a small tape Portastudio. Four tracks will sound better than eight. Remember that what you are doing is using a medium, not a modifier.

Some sage words from Ian MacKaye - one of many inspirations - on recording music:

A good recording can’t save a bad song, but a great song can survive anything.

He also had this to say about arrangements - or lack thereof:

Fuck once - anybody can do that. Make it interesting enough that people want to hear it a second time.

I understand this as long as it leaves space to improvise - assuming one is good at that. I wish more people were…

Lisa Mezzacappa and Jon Brumit are running Community Music Sound Project/Gold Record Studios - a free recording studio every Sunday through mid-May at the Laney College flea market in Oakland. They have an antique record cutter and are inviting YOU, the public, to join them and weekly special guests (me, Joe Rut and John Hanes on this day), and record a gold record on the spot!

It was insane fun. I was out there hustling potential stars to make a record. Some people took up the challenge and we had some hilarious jams, which will be published on a compilation CD.

Depends…Often when you’re under the microscope of the studio you can rarely judge accurately if you’ve given it your best. You can rarely be objective enough to know what you put down is actually what you are after. A good producer can offer that. However, if you are really focused you can do it yourself. Take for example, one of my favorite artists, Billy Childish, who loathes the idea of a producer yet has managed to put out over 100 cool records. Then again, Billy Childish is one focused fella when it comes to his art.

Some of my favorite producers - Roger Moutenot, Chris Thomas, Tucker Martine, understand that the gig is just as much about people and psychology as it is music. They become an integral part of the formula and work very transparently. Consequently, they often don’t get credit where it is due (what did he actually do?!). No matter - let’s look at what can happen without one.

Case A: The artist knows what he/she is doing, has the studio and all the musicians in order, songs together, band rehearsed, nails the performance, pays attention during the mix and leaves with an amazing record. Now this takes a lot of work, a lot of mistakes and a lot of experience to do. Nothing like finding that out in a studio! Do you need that kind of stress? Maybe. If you have done 10 years of 4 tracking and are able to produce in your own environment - then consider making a record that way, because that will all change the moment you walk into another studio. Your experience will need breadth as well as depth. Frequency - rare.

Case B: The engineer or someone playing on the session ends up producing by default. Usually this person will develop a migraine from the multi-tasking, won’t have much fun and will probably feel underpaid. This will affect the session. What? The engineer/producer erased a track? The mix isn’t what you wanted? The guitarist hates what he played? Frequency - often.

So, if you are not afraid of a new relationship and are willing to put an effort into finding a good producer, it can pay off. You are going to have to put a lot of trust in the person producing, trust that he/she is of like mind about your project and that you’re both going for what you ultimately want to hear.

One last caveat! (Case C) A bad producer is the result of bad communication. And a bad producer is probably worse than none at all. So choose wisely.

Production Tip #1 - Work on your songs and arrangements before you step into a studio. Work is the key word. Takes up time. Makes better records. Great SONGS and compositions are the most key ingredient in making make great records.

In the spring of 1997, I played electric guitar on The Power of a Hat, a fabulous record by Gunnar Madsen (The Bobs). I got the gig through my friend Tobias Hawkins, singer and drummer extraordinaire (Girlfriend Experience, Laundry, Counting Crows, Ramona the Pest, etc). Gunnar, whom I’d never met, sent me a CD of piano and voice demos and said he was looking for a “Marc Ribot/Elvis Costello” sort of vibe on the ‘lectric guitar. I liked what I heard and really wanted the gig, so I did something a bit audacious…I dumped a few of Gunnar’s demos onto my reel to reel 8-track, added some Tom Waits’ Raindogs influenced guitar and mailed a cd back to him…I guess it worked.

The sessions took place in a top of-the-line private recording studio called Sage Arts situated in the basement of a spectacular mansion an hour north of Seattle, WA and were produced by Kent Sparling - a veteran of George Lucas’ studio.

I must admit, I had some apprehension about the session going in. We had only rehearsed a few times - without a bass player and with Toby using only a djembe. He had not possessed or been behind a full kit in years, though his capabilities were the stuff of local Berkeley, CA legend. Other than Toby, everyone was pretty much a stranger. There was a heavyweight Seattle based jazz bass player named Chuck Deardorf on the gig and Gunnar is a monster on the piano, so it dawned on me that this situation could really be transcendental or a nightmare. It all hinged on Toby.

Let me tell ya, what followed was one of the most amazing performances I’ve been a part of in a studio. Toby set up a rented standard Yamaha studio kit - twisted it all around and attached all sorts of crazy percussion items - cracked jokes the whole time and then proceeded to nail the 1st track so hard that all doubts were removed. We tracked the basics live and then added a few tasty overdubs.

Do check the record out, the songs are really eclectic and Gunnar was especially great. My faves are ‘Dirty’, ‘Lullubelle’, ‘Naked in the Garden’ and ‘Gentle is the Lamb.’

This the history and evolution of my recording set-ups. The idea was lifted from the liner notes to the Pete Townshend “Scoop” LPs.

Studio #1 1985-1989 Various east coast USA locales. 4 track. Purchased the venerable Tascam Porta-One cassette from Manny’s in NYC and a couple of Shure 57’s. Recorded ALOT of demos, ideas and several cassette releases.

Studio #2 1990-1997 Boston, MA, CT and SF, CA. 8 tracks. My first real studio with a Tascam TSR-8 1/2″ open reel deck, Seck 1282 mix console, Tannoy monitors, Sony DAT deck, Lexicon reverb and a Symetrics compressor. All very decent sounding and popular semi-pro gear that I acquired while an employee of the now defunct EU Wurlitzer Music in Boston (thanks David Bryce and Ducky Carlisle). I eventually purchased a few more mics including a really nice AKG 414TLII, made many demos and several records.

Studio #3 1999-2002 Berkeley, CA. 8+ tracks. I moved into a warehouse complex right on the train tracks in West Berkeley and made the move to (mostly vintage) pro gear (with the help of my good friend and SF bay area audio guru, Lawrence Fellow-Mannion). The centerpiece was a beautiful 1969 3M M23 1″ 8 track that I found sitting in a forgotten corner of El Cerrito Guitar Center, a late 70’s Soundcraft Series II 16/8/2 desk from Wallysound, a couple of Dan Alexander Neve 1272 and Ampex 601 mic pre’s, some good compressors, an Otari MX 5050bIIb 1/4″ deck and a tt patchbay with fancy quad cabling. I added an amazing Lawson L47 tube mic and a Coles 4038 ribbon to the collection. My friend Ricardo Esway, chipped in some digital gear including 8 channels of MOTU digital in/out (that paled in comparison to sound of the M23).

The tracking room had great sound and fantastic reverb decay due to the 30′ arched wood ceiling. We built a proper double-walled control room but left the rest of the space as is (ie not remotely soundproof). Amazingly the trains that frequently roared by rarely interfered with recording…

I eventually moved out of the space and broke up the studio (no more tinkering and soldering!). The M23, Soundcraft and patchpay live with Chris Butler and his vintage collection in Hoboken, NJ, but I did keep some crucial gear…

Studio #4 2002-2003 - Emeryville, CA. 8track. I struggled for a year with a free version of Protools 4.0 and an old Digidesign Audio Media III card (16 bit, 2 i/o) running on a really old Mac 7600 (G3) in a dark and dank rehearsal studio. The setup was hodgepodge and without a proper patchbay, but it sounded okay. I recorded alot of cool music - much of it for the Immersion Composition Society.

Studio #5 2003 to 2006. 16 tracks+. I moved to a more spacious and brighter studio and fully committed to the digital age after discovering and purchasing a ‘vintage’ DAW platform, PARIS. Fantastic sounding, stable, with really intuitive (ie analog) recording, mixing and editing capabilities. 16 tracks, 24 bit, no latency with real time fx, eq and aux capability and a decent control surface. Since it had its own processing power, I ran it for years with my old 7600 with no problems. I added a sweet Ampex 350 mic preamp (rebuilt by Rance) and a FMR audio Really Nice Preamp to the setup which was now neatly contained in two roll around racks.

Studio #6 2006-2007. The PARIS system’s main card died - RIP. Faced with the prospect purchasing another card with a limited life span and continuing to run OS9, I chose to sell the PARIS parts off. I’ve since been using an MBox I found for $200 to access Pro-tools.

Studio #7 2008. Of late, I’ve been obsessed with keeping the smallest footprint possible - something both portable yet totally pro to track with - making do with what I already have excepting a few necessary upgrades (it’s about THE MUSIC right?!). There are so many options available these days it sets your head spinning but it boils down to two or three paths. Digital recording involves living with certain compromises and after a bit of trial and error and several false starts, I decided on a Metric Halo firewire AD/DA interface running Digital Performer and Protools (thru an Mbox) running on a black MacBook. This setup gives plenty of ultra high quality ins and outs. The addition of a Mackie Big knob (great piece of gear) has enabled me to do with out a mixer and keeps my table top nice and clean and I also picked up an M-Audio Sputnik tube mic that is really great. Small, mobile and powerful.