Recording - October 2017 - 18

THIRTY YEARS-ONE WORD

EveAnna Manley, Manley Labs: In the olden days, we used to use
our ears to listen to what we were playing and recording. With the
advent of computer-based recording, many
no longer do that, and really do not know
how! This has taken even more vibe and
feel out of modern music. Music is an
auditory creation that originates
EveAnna Manley, AES
from our souls. How about using
2007, with Bob Ludwig
your ears to record, instead of
(photo by Scott Dorsey)
your eyeballs?
Larry Villella, ADK Microphones: The single best advice I can give anyone starting
out as a musician, producer, or recording engineer: learn to think with your ears and
not always follow what everybody else does.
I went to school to become a recording engineer in 1971. At that time everyone was
getting rid of their old tube mics for these dandy new solid-state mics. When I listen back
to Sam Rivers, Jr. "Hues" (on ABC Impulse) and hear the world-famous FET mic that was
all over this trio's tracks, the mic sounds fine on drum overheads, OK on piano, but is
absolutely abrasive on sax. What I would give-listening 50 years later-for them to
have had a tube microphone that was the signature sound for Coltrane, Parker, etc.
The great fortune for today's practitioners is that there is a thriving boutique microphone community to offer viable alternatives. I've spent a lifetime in appreciation of
vintage instruments and vintage microphones. Forget eye candy-find Tone Candy!
Frank Oglethorpe, Prism Sound: Pay attention to the details; watch and listen very
carefully. It seems obvious, but when I look back, I ask myself, "WTF was I doing?
Was I asleep or something?" I say this because even though I'm a tech I've been
extremely lucky to be close to some of the greats.
In particular, I was at Air Studios Montserrat in the mid-1980s where Geoff Emerick was
mixing the first set of never-before-released Beatles tracks. What started out as sounding like
average material became an amazing sound field with width and depth, and to this day I
wish I'd been paying more attention as to how he did it. It's been bugging me a lot recently!

Dave Pearlman, Pearlman Microphones: If
I could tell young musicians, engineers, and
producers a few things, I would tell them these
easy things to remember. Your job (unless your
name is the biggest thing in lights) is to make the
front man look and sound good. All of your work
Dave Pearlman
should be aiming the spotlight on the leader.
at the console, 1990s
The gig is not about you and how many notes
you can play; your playing should showcase
and complement the singer and the song. Keep your mouth shut and do the gig. Be
appropriate. If you're on time, you're already late (especially for a recording session).
It took me years to understand this and I'm sure it cost me some work, but if you learn
this now, you will be indispensable to those who hire. Make some great music!
John Fishell, recording musician and educator: I know I missed out on a number of
valuable experiences because it took far too long for me to learn this lesson. You'll
probably read many other excellent pieces of advice here, ranging from "get your
musical sh*t together" to "mic placement is important", but this one thing is the most
important. Here it is: Shut your mouth.
If you keep your mouth shut you'll be able to better pay attention to what your
artist, producer, client or audience wants to accomplish. Sure, you should certainly
have an informed opinion if someone requests it, and if you don't know about
something it is perfectly OK to say you don't know. But even Tenacious D needed
"quietary solitude". Give it to them.
18

RECORDING October 2017

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