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bouldersound Wed, 06/25/2014 - 09:04

Josh Conley, post: 416309, member: 47953 wrote: my ears hurt looking at those walls.

DonnyThompson, post: 416313, member: 46114 wrote: "I avoid EQ and other "audio shenanigans" LOL.

Whatever works for ya. Let yer freak flag fly!

The proof of the pudding is in the eating. I haven't listened to any of his stuff yet so I won't comment on his process.

DonnyThompson Wed, 06/25/2014 - 09:36

bouldersound, post: 416320, member: 38959 wrote: The proof of the pudding is in the eating. I haven't listened to any of his stuff yet so I won't comment on his process.

Oh, don't get me wrong... I wasn't commenting one way or the other. If his process works for him then that's really all that matters.
I just liked his quote. ;)

Telarc Records from Cleveland was the go-to mobile recording facility for The Cleveland Orchestra for quite sometime - and they may in fact still be - and those guys didn't use any EQ whatsoever. They relied solely on various different miking arrays - Decca Trees, XY's, Blumlein, etc. - to capture the sound... and if you ever get the chance to listen to any recordings of the orchestra from the 90's forward, you'll hear just how well they did their jobs. Of course, recording at the orchestra's home base of Severance Hall probably didn't hurt, either. ;)

bouldersound Wed, 06/25/2014 - 10:32

DonnyThompson, post: 416324, member: 46114 wrote: Oh, don't get me wrong... I wasn't commenting one way or the other. If his process works for him then that's really all that matters.
I just liked his quote. ;)

I figured as much, which is why my response was calibrated to work either way. Though I haven't actually heard his stuff I have read positive comments on it.

audiokid Wed, 06/25/2014 - 11:01

Zero EQ is common for me in a one shot live recording of symphonies, choral and such, but for a multitrack production that was competing with the audio quality today, I would be amazed beyond words if we could produce anything competitive without the use of an EQ.

I can't wait to hear some examples though, what a thrill to pull that off I say! But, I'm thinking why would you want to limit yourself that anyway?
I get it for some sort of purest statement like "we can do it" but, we also use vintage pultecs for those looking for a more pristine sound common in modern music ( without the zzz ! ) :)

Isn't that like saying you can run a race without water? Or, I can mix a hit song on headphones. But why would you want to limit yourself?

audiokid Wed, 06/25/2014 - 11:13

Okay I hear it. Very appropriate to the 50's sound. I like the side stick on  http://www.crazyjoe…

Smooth.
They get it right on the tracking, balance it and call it a day. I hope this catches on. Sounds like it was tracked in a gym. Lots of those around today. Easy money, works for me! Not sure if my kids would dig it but hey, maybe its the next trend. Trends don't have to sound amazing, they just have to have that sound.

Thanks for sharing this Bolder. Awesome looking website and nothing I'd like better than seeing these guys take off.

Some similar history of this style for me:

The Stray Cats of 2014

Joe Ely

Gette Thu, 07/17/2014 - 23:11

Interesting... One thing is for sure, in about 3-5 years, he is going to wish he did not choose silver switches... Good to see people building their own gear and getting out there and just doing it. However, due to the way he built his studio, he will only ever have, just one sound.. It can be good and it can be bad. In ether case, it is an incredible accomplishment.

DonnyThompson Sat, 07/19/2014 - 04:00

Space, post: 417321, member: 32398 wrote: Yea, a one trick pony room, I would have given an arm and a leg to have developed one of those over the years. That is where the magic can happen.

I think Sun records did that :)

Oh, don't get me wrong...I wasn't knocking Crazy Joe....if it works for what he does and wants - and obviously it does - then he should absolutely go that route.

There have been more than just a few one trick pony rooms that have turned out wonderful stuff - beyond what you mentioned with Sun in Memphis, there was Motown in Detroit, Todd Rundgren's Secret Sound, even Sound City in L.A., ... these rooms had signature sonics that lent to the "magic" that you spoke of.

In the documentary on Sound City, (directed and produced by Dave Grohl), many of the engineers that worked there, including Keith Olsen, ( who did much of the engineering there in its hey-day), couldn't figure out why the room had the sound that it did; particularly with drums... so many of the producers that worked there over the years, guys like Jimmy Iovine, (who walked through the door and immediately want to leave - LOL) - couldn't figure out why or how the room sounded as good as it did (I'm not talking about the custom built Neve that they used, of course this was part of the sound... but so is the room), when by all rights, it should have sucked... and maybe by today's standards it would. But there's no doubt that, like the other studios mentioned, they turned out hundreds of great sounding recordings, with a signature sound that was part of that magic.

For better or worse, can you even begin to imagine Elvis's records sounding like they were recorded and mixed at Peter Gabriel's place? Or those classic Motown records being tracked and mixed at The Hit Factory?
Of course we can't... the "sound" of the studio that these songs were recorded in was just as much a part of the magic as the songs themselves.

IMHO of course.