McSnare,
New here, came from Harmony-Central, looks great. Quick question (please delete if inappropriate, or otherwise advise): is the Dave McNair (guessing McSnare) moderating here the same Dave McNair who I was lowly studio assistant to on a John Mayall record ten years ago? The album was recorded at Clubhouse in Burbank, and R.S. Field was the producer. If this is this the same Dave McNair I would like to say thanks- that album was a lot of fun to work on and I have great memories and learned tons. In fact, one of the aneCDotes I retained from that era goes a little something like this;
Buddy Guy came in to do a duet with John Mayall, and I was helping him get set up with a guitar amp we had for him. He plugged in his guitar and after plucking out a few notes cranked all the amp dials. The resulting sound was, to speak delicately, terrifying. He grinned at me and said, "Yeah! That's what I like!"
I of course was not about to start arguing with a living legend, especially as he was now in the throes of an astounding warmup- the amp sounded hideous, sure, but I'm talking about a straightup Guitar God who could make anything sound good.
Still: I proceeded directly to the control room and discretely told Dave what was up. He nodded and went over to the amp room. Mr. Guy stopped playing for a second, giving Dave a chance to nod and say, "That sounds terrific, but I don't think it's what we are going for." Dave then walked over to the amp and turned down the pregain, etc. Buddy Guy started up again and from his expression he was even happier with the new tone. All was well and I had to admire the skill and diplomacy on display.
Anyway, I learned a lesson in tact that I have deployed on a number of occasions, so a rightful thanks to Dave McNair.
Cheers, Doc.