Working with Music Producers

In many ways engineering for a music producer is no different that any other recording session. The engineer quickly figures out what the producer expects of them. That is, do they want the engineer’s opinion and help in the production, or do they want them to simply “shut-up and push the buttons”. In either case, in addition to making sure that everything is properly recorded, most good engineers try to add some value to the session. It might be a suggestion of another way to accomplish what the producer wants, or pointing out something that the engineer heard during a take.

Producers also have various ways of working with performers. Some music producers will have the performers do multiple takes before they even start to give any direction. Then they will direct many more, so that a great performance can be edited from the many available takes. Being able to keep all takes is perhaps the biggest advantages of non-linear systems over previous tape-based recorders.

Other producers prefer to have performers do fewer takes, so that they sound fresh and spontaneous. When I worked with Gnarls Barkley, producer Brian Burton (Danger Mouse) told me that Cee Lo always does one take only. Using a pen a legal pad, Cee Lo sat at the console and composed the lyrics to “Who’s Gonna Save My Soul”. He then walked into the studio and we recorded his vocal in just one take. It was the easiest session ever!

The Voice - The New American Idol?

If you caught an episode of The Voice in the first season, then you're well aware of how different it is from American Idol. The question is: Which show is better?

It's undeniable that talented individuals are produced from both shows. However, it appears that The Voice gives much more creative control to the artists competing for the win, whereas American Idol contestants are hand held through the entire process. Many would say that the creativity in the performances and renditions of the songs chosen make The Voice much more exciting to watch.

On the other hand, even though American Idol's audition process could easily be confused with a circus act, it does specialize in taking the average Joe, who is a hit at the karaoke bar, and turning him into a Billboard chart topper. It's hard to compete with a show that makes the glamorized version of the "American Dream" come true. Viewers don't get to see the audition process on The Voice, we just have to leave it to the professionals to choose for whom the judges fight.

So, which show is better? We'll leave it up to you to decide.

Audio Home Ec.

We've been baking! Yes, you read correctly. Our audio engineers have been doing some home, or shall we say studio, economics, but it's probably not the kind of baking you might think.

Magnetic tape recorded after 1973 generally presents a problem when transferring. The issue is caused by humidity in the air that is absorbed by the binder that holds the oxide on the tape. This problem is called “Archival Shed Syndrome” (also known as “Sticky Tape Syndrome”). When these tapes are played, they very quickly slow down and eventually come to a complete stop as the tape becomes glued to the heads and guides of a tape machine.

To solve this problem, we use a process whereby we systematically bake the tapes in a convection oven. Our process “dries-out” these tapes so that the original recordings can be transferred safely to a digital format.

Need tapes transferred to digital files? Call Michelle Streitmarter at 513-241-7475 or email Michelle@SoundImages.com to find out how we can help you.

Employee Highlight - Adam Pleiman

As a “Jack of All Trades”, Adam joined Sound Images in 2010 with a wide-reaching depth of experience. He is a composer, multi-instrumentalist, sound designer, engineer and producer who also dives into 3D animation and design. This combination of talents has landed him in roles working with advertising agencies, Fortune 500 companies and artists like Coldplay, 30 Seconds to Mars, Vanessa Carlton, and Taking Back Sunday.

As a “Jack of All Trades”, Adam joined Sound Images in 2010 with a wide-reaching depth of experience. He is a composer, multi-instrumentalist, sound designer, engineer and producer who also dives into 3D animation and design. This combination of talents has landed him in roles working with advertising agencies, Fortune 500 companies and artists like Coldplay, 30 Seconds to Mars, Vanessa Carlton, and Taking Back Sunday.

Remixing the Beatles Part 2

As I was remixing the Beatles Sgt. Pepper album just for fun, I had a revelation. I found that I was able remix the 4-track stems to very closely match the actual album mixes, but that shouldn’t have been possible, at least without one more step.

The one more step being that generally after every mix session the materials are handed off to a mastering engineer. They adjust EQ and volume levels to correct for differences between songs. Then they dynamically compress the mixes in order and to make a louder LP or CD. However, I wasn’t hearing any additional EQ or compression. It wasn’t that Beatles’ engineer Geoff Emerick wasn’t using compression in the mix. The piano chord at the end of “A Day In The Life” lasts a whopping 45 seconds, which wouldn’t have been possible without a serious amount of compression. As Spinal Taps’ lead guitarist Nigel Tufnel once said, “Listen to that sustain.”

The lack of mastering compression and EQ might have been because, after all, it was the Beatles’ record, and no one wanted to do anything that might screw it up. The mastering engineer may have gotten a note from George Martin that said something like “Press Lacquers Flat”, meaning don’t do anything but a straight transfer of the tape to disc. I suspect that it was both of these, plus the fact that unlike today, recording artists in 1967 were not all in a race to see who could make the loudest record.

Remixing the Beatles

Recently I downloaded a digital transfer of the original 4-track tape master of the Beatles Sgt. Pepper album. (Google is Wonderful!) Just for fun I remixed several of the songs to try to duplicate the sound on the original LP.

In the process I discovered some things about the recording I had never heard before. For instance, at 3 minutes into “A Day In the Life” there is a sneeze on the piano and shaker track that you can actually hear in the final mix. There is also a conductor counting on the vocal track during both of the orchestra build sections that was muted in the final mix. You can even hear Paul McCartney counting to himself before he starts singing the middle section of that song.

On the 4-track master of the title song, track 1 is the entire rhythm track (guitar, bass, piano, drums), track 2 alternates between lead guitar licks and brass ensemble, track 3 is all the vocals premixed with reverb, and track 4 is the crowd reactions.

Remixing these songs made me remember how difficult it used to be to record and remix on analog tape machines with a limited number of tracks. When material on a track changed during the mix (like going back and forth from guitar to brass) the engineer would have to adjust volume, panning, EQ, reverb, and other processing instantaneously as the tape rolled. They did this without any of the automation that engineers today take for granted.

Watching the faders, panners, and effects move after the my mix had been automated, I could almost see the Beatles’ engineer Geoff Emerick’s hands (along with producer George Martin’s) working the knobs.